DNA Lab Reveals Human Evolution

INHERITANCE AND DNA LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Laboratory In
Physical
Anthropology
ANTH 104
Dr. Scott Suarez

SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE | VERSION SPRING 2020
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LAB 2: INHERITANCE AND DNA .............................................................................................................................. 0
LAB 3: PEPPERED MOTHS & MICROEVOLUTION .................................................................................................... 0
LAB 4: SKELETAL ANATOMY .................................................................................................................................. 8
LAB 5: FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY ...................................................................................................................... 21
LAB 6: HUMAN VARIATION .................................................................................................................................. 31
LAB 7: TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS ................................................................................................................ 44
LAB 8: PRIMATE TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS ................................................................................................ 51
LAB 9: OBSERVING PRIMATE BEHAVIOR ............................................................................................................. 62
LAB 10: READING PRIMATE BONES ...................................................................................................................... 69
LAB 11: PRIMATE EVOLUTION .............................................................................................................................. 80
LAB 12: BECOMING HUMAN ................................................................................................................................ 93
LAB 13: EARLY HUMAN ANCESTORS ................................................................................................................. 104
LAB 14: MEMBERS OF THE GENUS HOMO ......................................................................................................... 113
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LAB 2: Inheritance and DNA
Goals:
1. Master the vocabulary associated with genetics
2. Understand how genes are formed
3. Use mtDNA to estimate dates of ancestors
4. Predict likelihood of offspring genotypes using Punnett squares
5. Understand differences between Autosomal and X -Linked traits

For most students of biological anthropology classes, the least interesting content is the information on
inheritance and DNA. This is typically for two reasons. First, much of the information covered in this
section of the lecture and lab classes is a repetition of content that students have been learning about
since middle and high school. Hearing about it one more time is just painful and boring. Second, many
students choose to take Anthropology classes rather than taking a course in Biology in a mistaken
attempt to avoid learning about genes and DNA because they just didn’t enjoy learning about it the first
three times they learned about it. Because Biological Anthropology is an evolutionary science, though,
DNA and genes form the basis of nearly everything else we will be learning about in class this semester.
For this reason, it is important to review what we almost certainly have learned about quite a few times
before. And hopefully we’ll be able to make the content more entertaining and interesting.
Station 1 – Karyotype
• Task – Each group receives on Karyotype set, including a magnetic board, and a jar of
chromosomes (coiled up strands of DNA).
• Empty out the strands of DNA onto the table, image side up.
o Notice that the chromosomes differ in
length, banding pattern, and the position of
the centromere. In this set, the strands of
DNA have replicated (just prior to cell
division), and therefore look like little X’s.
o Sort the different chromosomes into
homologous pairs. Each homologous pair will have the same length, banding pattern,
and position of the centromere (the squeezed in part of the chromosome). Because this
set represents human nuclear DNA, you should have a total of 23 pairs of homologous
chromosomes.
o Once you have all the pairs, next sort them by size from longest pair to the shortest pair.
Place these pairs in the numbered spaces on the magnetic board.
• Question: Is the child male or female? How did you know? Are there any genetic anomalies?
o Hint: If you have two chromosomes left over that are of different lengths, one of them
is likely to be a Y chromosome. If all chromosomes are matched into same length pairs,
one of your pairs will be a set of XX chromosomes.
o Chromosome pairs 1-22 are collectively called Autosomes
o Chromosome pair 23 is called the sex chromosomes and plays an important role in the
development of the biological sex of the individual.
o Occasionally, people are born with additional chromosomes. One relatively common
extra chromosome condition is referred to as trisomy-21, because the individual has
three copies of chromosome 21. This genetic circumstance leads to the physical
condition that we call Down’s Syndrome. Does your individual have trisomy-21?
• Find another group with an opposite sex child, and a group that differs from yours in chromosome
number.
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Station 2 – Nuclear DNA and Protein Synthesis
Nuclear DNA, the genetic information found inside of the nucleus of every cell in the body, has two
primary functions. The first job of nuclear DNA is to make copies of itself, a process that we call DNA
replication. This is important when our bodies need to manufacture new cells during the processes of
growth and repair. Each new cell will have a nucleus, and each nucleus will need to have all 46 strands of
nuclear DNA.
The second major job of DNA is to direct the manufacture of proteins. Proteins can serve many different
functions in our bodies. Hormones are proteins that cause our bodies to react or grow in particular
ways. Structural proteins help give shape to things like blood cells or chromosomes. Other proteins act
as catalysts in our body’s metabolic functions, helping to maintain normal functions. A single strand of
DNA can carry on it the recipes for many kinds of proteins. We call these protein recipes genes. In
short, a gene is simply a recipe for a particular kind of protein.
The process of protein synthesis starts in the nucleus. A strand of DNA splits open at the location (locus)
of a gene. A short copy of that gene forms at the exposed bases, essentially photocopying the
information contained in the gene. We call this process transcription, and we call the copy of the gene
messenger RNA. This messenger RNA then leaves the nucleus and travels to the ribosomes, where the
recipe will be read, and the proteins will be manufactured. The process of reading the recipe and
manufacturing the proteins is called translation. At this station, you will simulate translation and
manufacture a protein of your own.
• From the strips of paper at this station,

randomly select one.
• Each strand of paper represents a strand of
messenger RNA (mRNA). The sequence of
letters that you see on the strand are the four
bases that make up nuclear DNA: Adenine,
Guanine, Cytosine and Uracil (the replacement
of Thymine on nuclear DNA). As you read down
the letters from left to right, you are reading
the code for a gene.
• For this task, you will replicate one of DNA’s
most important jobs. You will synthesize a
protein. Recall that a protein is a simply long
string of Amino Acids.
• Read the sequence of bases three at a time. A sequence of three bases is called a Codon. Each
codon gets read in the ribosomes and tells the tRNA which amino acid to add to the sequence.
Use the chart to the right to determine which amino acid gets coded for by each codon.
Remember that in mRNA, the strand of DNA that carries the code of a gene from the nucleus to
the ribosomes, Thymine is replaced with Uracil.
• Write down the complete sequence of amino acids that make up your gene.
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Station 3 - mtDNA and Divergence Dates
Nuclear DNA is not the only genetic information carried in your cells.
Mitochondria are another organelle found in your body’s cells. You, no
doubt, have heard that the mitochondria are the ‘powerhouse of the cell’
because their job is to manufacture energy for the cells processes. But for
the mitochondria to work, it also must manufacture proteins. Therefore,
the mitochondria also have genetic information of their own. This genetic
information is found in what we call mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA.
mtDNA is shorter than its nuclear cousins and is circular in shape rather
than long and thin, though the bases and support structure that make up
mtDNA are essentially the same as in nuclear DNA.
What is interesting about mtDNA, though, is how it is passed down from parents to offspring. Egg cells
have mitochondria in them, and therefore mtDNA. But sperm cells do not contain mitochondria in the
information capsule, instead only having mitochondria in the engine of the sperm that wiggles the
flagella. So when a sperm and egg collide and combine genetic information, both cells bring together
nuclear DNA, but only the egg cells contribute mtDNA. Therefore, all of the mtDNA that each one of us
has in our bodies was inherited directly from our mothers and is an exact copy of the mtDNA that mom
had in her mitochondria.
It is this maternal inheritance of exact copies of mtDNA that is interesting to use as biological
anthropologists. If we compare any two people (or species) at random, we can expect them to share
exact copies of mtDNA, each inherited exactly from some long distant grandmother that they share. But
the truth is that any two randomly selected people will have very similar DNA, with a few base pairs that
differ between them. These base-pair differences are the result of mistakes in the copying process of
mtDNA. We call these mistakes mutations. If we know how many mutations have occurred in the time
since two people shared a great-great-great-grandmother, and we know the rate at which mutations
occurred, we can actually predict how long ago the great-great-great grandmother of the two people
lived! We will examine that method at this station.
• At this station, you will find strips of paper with DNA bases listed on them. The DNA at this
station represent mtDNA, a type of genetic code that differs a little from nuclear DNA that is
found in the mitochondria. At random, select two different strands, representing the mtDNA of
two different people. Check that they are different from each other by comparing the numbers
at the left end of the strand.
• Lay the two strands of DNA down one above the other, so that the letters are lined up neatly.
Cover all the letters except for the left-most base letters with a spare piece of paper.
• Compare the two uncovered letters to each other. If they are the same, slide your piece of
paper over once, uncovering the next set of letters. If they are different, make a tally on a
scratch piece of paper. Compare every set of letters one at a time, totaling the number of
differences that you see between them. These differences are the byproducts of mutations that
have occurred since the two people represented by your paper strands shared a common
ancestor.
• Assume that half of the mutations that you see occurred in one line of descendants from the
common ancestor, and the other half in the other line. Divide your total number of detected
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mutations (differences) in half. This is the number of mutations that have occurred since the
two individuals shared a common ancestor.
• Question? How long ago did the common ancestor for your two mtDNA samples live? Assume
that for humans, one mutation occurs in mtDNA every 40,000 years.
Station 4 – Punnett Squares
Gregor Mendel taught us that many of the traits that our bodies manifest, what we call phenotypes, are
controlled by pairs of genes. Each of the genes that makes up the pair is found on a corresponding spot,
called a locus, on a pair of homologous chromosomes. While each of the genes in the pairs serves to
provide information for the same phenotype, these two genes might be subtly different from each
other. We call these variants of a gene alleles. When both alleles in the pair are the same, we say that
those alleles are homozygous, and when they are different, we say that those alleles are heterozygous.
In heterozygous individuals, often one allele is expressed, while the other one is not. When this occurs,
we say that the expressed gene is dominant, while the non-expressed gene is recessive. Dominant
alleles are typically written with capital letters, while recessive alleles are represented with lower-case
letters. When we write out the pairs of letters representing the alleles, we call this a genotype, which
represents the underlying genetic information that codes for a particular phenotype.
If we know the phenotypes of two different parents, we can make

some probabilistic predictions about the likelihood that the resulting
offspring of those parents will have a particular genotype. To do this,
we create a predictive device called a Punnett Square. In a Punnett
square, one parent’s genotype is writte across the top of the box, with
one allele above each box. The other parent’s genotype is written
across the left side of the box, with one allele for each row. During the
formation of gametes (meiosis), a parent might pass down one or the
other of their alleles with equal likelihood (for further information, read
about Mendels laws of Segregation and Independent Assortment).
Each box in the square represents the likelihood that an offspring will receive a particular combination
of alleles, one from each parent. Because the odds of a parent passing down one allele or the other is
50/50, the probability of any combination of a pair of alleles is 25%. Each box in the chart has a 25%
probability of happening during reproduction.
At this station, you will practice your command of the above vocabulary and practice calculating the
probability of particular genotypes and phenotypes by creating Punnett Squares to answer the following
questions.
• The phenotype Tongue Rolling is the result of an autosomal dominant gene. The dominant
allele (R) provides for the ability to roll one’s tongue, while the recessive allele (r) doesn’t aid in
the body’s ability to roll the tongue
o A pair of parents approaches you, concerned that their unborn child may not one day be
able to roll its tongue. The biological mother and father are both heterozygous for
tongue rolling. What is the probability that their child will be able to roll its tongue?
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o Replicate the previous question, but assume that the mother is homozygous dominant,
and the father is homozygous recessive.
o Replicate the previous question, but assume that the mother is a heterozygote, and the
father is homozygous recessive.
• Sometimes both alleles contribute equally to a particular phenotype. When this happens, we
say that those alleles are codominant.
o To prepare for prom season, you decide that you want to crossbreed a Pink Carnation
with a Red Carnation. Using a Punnett Square, what is the probability that any offspring
plants will be Red? White? Pink? Recall that the allele for Red (R) is codominant with
the allele for White (W).
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Station 5 – Pedigree Charts
Years ago, when two people wanted to get married, they first had to consult with a doctor to seek
genetic counseling. The goal of the counseling was to determine how likely it would be that any children
resulting from the marriage would have an often lethal disease. The doctor would determine this by
creating a family tree for each the bride and the groom. Then she would ask whether or not any family
members were known to have manifested particular diseases (phenotypes). Once known, the doctor
would then predict the genotypes of as many family members as possible, including the couple to be
married, and use Punnett Squares (see station 4) to see the probability that a child would carry a
particular disease. This probability requires that the doctor know about the genetic cause of a disease.
For example Cystic Fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disease, meaning that the genes that cause it are
found on one of the chromosomes 1-22, and that to have the disease, the child must be homozygous for
the recessive alleles. If both parents are heterozygotes for the recessive allele that causes cystic fibrosis,
then the child has a 25% chance of being born with a disease that will cause overproduction of lung
mucus, very likely leading to death after only a few years.
For this activity, we will explore a more mundane phenotype. Use your knowledge of Mendelian
genetics to play the role of a doctor in filling out a family tree. We call a family tree a pedigree. In the
chart, biological females are represented as circles, and biological males are represented as squares.
Individuals who manifest the phenotype in question are colored in, while those who do not are left
blank.
• This is a pedigree chart for trait R in a family. R is the Mendelian trait in humans for tongue
rolling. The allele for rolling (R) is dominant over the allele for the inability to roll the tongue (r).
• In the following table, list the genotypes and phenotypes for all of the labeled people.
• Be aware that sometimes it is impossible to determine (because of missing information) what
someone’s genotype might be. In that case, list all possible genotypes that a person might have.
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Station 6 – X-Linked Traits
At previous stations, you have gotten the chance to practice with what we call Mendelian Traits. These
are traits that are controlled by pairs of alleles, and that typically express compete dominance. In most
of the cases, those traits are also Autosomal traits, with genes located on chromosomes 1-22. Our sex
chromosomes, however, also carry genes on them. Some of these genes code for the hormones that
help determine aspects of our biological sex. But there are also some non-sex traits that are coded for
by genes on the sex chromosomes. Because of a quirk in the sex chromosomes, these genes play by
slightly different rules.
The X Chromosome is long and contains many loci on it for

genes. A biological female, with two X chromosomes, will
therefore have genotypes that play by the same rules as
autosomal genes. Biological males, with one X and one Y, are
another story. They Y chromosome is incredibly short and is
missing quite a lot of genetic information. For any gene
located on the long part of the X, a male will not have a
second allele to code for the gene. The genes that determine
colorblindness are located on the long part of the X
chromosome for which the why has no corresponding gene. A male, therefore, will only have a single
allele in its genotype determing colorblindness, while a female will have two alleles, one on each
homologous X chromosome. Because colorblindness is the result of recessive genes, if a male has a
recessive allele on its X chromosome, there is no corresponding allele on the Y chromosome to mask the
recessive allele. That male will be colorblind. Any trait, like colorblindness, that is found on the long
arm of the X Chromosome with no corresponding locus on the Y chromosome we call an X-linked trait
(or sometimes a Sex-Linked trait).
In this activity, you will create a family and a pedigree to practice with X-Linked traits so that you can
better understand how they differ from autosomal traits. To simulate the randomness of the process of
Meiosis in determing which of a parent’s two copies of a chromosome (gene) gets passed down, we will
flip a coin. The trait that we will examine is colorblindness.
• To start, begin creating a pedigree for a male and female mated pair. The male will have normal
vision, and the female will have color vision, but be a carrier of the colorblind allele. That is to
say, she is a heterozygote. Refer back to station 6 to remind yourself how to draw males and
females in pedigrees, and how to indicate individuals who are colorblind.
• These parents will create three children. For each child, you will need to use a coin to randomly
select one sex chromosome from each parent. For each child, the male will either pass on an X
chromosome, or a Y chromosome. The female will randomly pass on an X with a normal color
vision allele, or an X with a colorblind allele. Indicate the sex and the phenotype (colorblind or
normal vision) for all three children in your pedigree. Be sure to leave a little space next to each
child. You will be assigning each of them mates in the next step.
• Now randomize a mate for each offspring. The sex of the mates is easy: if the child is male, the
mate will be female. For each X-chromosome for the mates, flip a coin to determine if the gene
is normal (heads) or colorblind (tails).
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• Finally, create a third generation. For each mated pair that you created in the last step, let each
one create a single child.
Answer the following questions:
• You started off with two parents who were not colorblind. Did you end up with any children
who are colorblind? If so, what are the sexes of those children?
• Can a non-colorblind mother have a colorblind son? Can a non-colorblind father have a
colorblind daughter?
Station 7 – Mendelian Traits in Humans
• Work with a partner to determine your own phenotype and possible genotypes for the following
traits.
• I have indicated whether the trait you see is Dominant (the product of having at least one
dominant allele), or Recessive (being homozygous for the traits allele). U
• Convention is to use the first letter for a trait to indicate the allele for the trait. For example,
use C for a cleft chin allele, and F for a freckles allele.
Mendelian Trait Your Phenotype Your Possible Genotype(s)

Cleft Chin (Dominant)
Freckles (Dominant)
Attached Earlobes (Recessive)
Hitchhiker’s Thumb (Recessive)
Widow’s Peak (Dominant)
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MICROEVOLUTION Laboratory In Physical Anthropology
LAB 3: PEPPERED MOTHS & MICROEVOLUTION
Goals
1) To calculate allele frequencies

2) To apply the calculations of the Hardy Weinberg formula to
detect microevolution
3) To begin to examine five factors that affect allele frequency
MICROEVOLUTION LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Microevolution
Introduction
Early on in this course, we will aim to understand the mechanics of the evolutionary process. In class,
we begin with a review of the functions of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid), including gene replication and
protein synthesis. From there, we cover the role of genes in influencing these two processes. We
discuss that our DNA is made up of sequences of base pairs stretched along segments of DNA, and long
sub-sets of this genetic code are specific sets of instructions that tell our bodies how to construct the
proteins that guide the functioning of our bodies. These genes come in a number of variations, each
slightly different from each other. These variations, or alternate forms of genes, are known as alleles.
Pairs of these alleles, received one from each parent, form what we call our genotype, and an
interaction between the two dictates how they are expressed in a living being. The resulting physical
expression is known as a phenotype, and we recognize that individuals with different combinations of
alleles have different genotypes, and very often, different phenotypes. Hopefully, most of the things
that are described in this paragraph are not new to you but have been covered in other high school or
college biology courses.
Today’s lab exercise is based on a true-life example of the evolution

that occurred in a population of peppered moths found in
Manchester, England, around the turn of the 19th century when
rapid industrialization brought increased pollution to the forests
surrounding the factories. The factories pumped out large
amounts of smoke and soot, and this soot settled on forest trees.
This soot choked out and killed the light-colored lichens that
naturally covered the trees, leaving the bark exposed and
darkened. Peppered moths sometimes rest on tree trunks during
the day, and the sudden change in their substrate affected their
survival, making them vulnerable to predation by birds.
In this population of moths, there were two

phenotypes, light--colored moths, and dark--colored
moths. Light colored moths were camouflaged
against the lichens on the tree trunks but exposed to
predation pressure when that lichen disappeared.
Dark--colored moths were much less vulnerable on
the lichen--less tree trunks, and blended in well
against the darkened bark of the trees. Depending on
the surrounding environment, the colors of these
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two variants of peppered moths could be considered adaptations, as coloration plays a role in the
survival of the individual.
Population genetics is the study of factors that influence the evolution of a population across a short
period of time. In fact, we define evolution here as a change in allele frequency from one generation to
the next. This kind of evolution is more specifically called microevolution. We will explore
macroevolution, the creation of new species, later in class. The Hardy-Weinberg formula offers a
mathematical representation of random mating and random inheritance in an ideal population, serving
as a control group against which we can compare actual populations. If observed populations deviate
from the expectations derived mathematically using this formula, we can say that evolution is
happening!
The Hardy--Weinberg Formula (HWF) is a very important tool used by

biological anthropologists in the detection of microevolution. Given
the initial allele frequencies in a population, the HWF is a mathematical
equation that can be used to generate expected genotype frequencies
in the next generation (assuming that some basic assumptions are
made about the population itself). Once expected genotype
frequencies are predicted, these can be compared to observed
frequencies in that population in the next generation. If the
frequencies match, the population is said to be in Hardy--Weinberg
equilibrium. In order for this equilibrium to occur, five conditions must
be met:
1. Mating is random (lack of Sexual Selection) with respect to

genotype – no one individual is more attractive than another
2. No mutations occur, such that no new alleles are introduced in
the population.
3. No selection (lack of Natural Selection) is acting on the
population. All genotypes are equally fit, and all are equally
likely to produce offspring in the next generation.
4. No genetic drift is acting on the population. Another way to say this is that the population is
infinitely large.
5. No migration occurs between populations. No new alleles are introduced into a population by
individuals who move into the population.
The alternate possibility is that the observed genotype frequencies do not match those predicted by
HWE. We can assume that if this occurs, at least one of our assumptions or conditions has not been
met. When this happens, biological anthropologists will then investigate the population to determine
which conditions were violated. Very astute students will notice that a violation of any of these five
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conditions would result in a change in allele frequencies from one generation to the next, a situation
that we described as microevolution. These five conditions are therefore five different factors
responsible for evolution!
We will discuss (or perhaps already have discussed) the derivation of the HWF in class. Our main
objective here in lab is to put the use of the formula into action.
In our laboratory exercise, today, we will recreate a variation on the peppered moth evolution. In our
population of peppered moths, there will be three phenotypes, each of which describes the color of the
moth wings. Each phenotype corresponds to a particular genotype, made up of the two alleles in the
population.
Phenotype Genotype
Black BB Homozygous
Gray Bb Heterozygous
White bb Homozygous
To complete this exercise, each group will have:
• A plastic bag containing 45 black, 45 gray, and 45 white moths

• One sheet of black or white paper to serve as a tree
• 90 black and 90 white beans representing the two alleles available in this population
• A brown paper bag serving as a gene pool for mixing gametes during reproduction
➢➢ Students should form into three groups, each with about five members. One member should
volunteer to be the predator bird (I like owls). The predator should stand up near the center of the
table, and turn away from it, not facing the poster board tree.
➢➢ The remaining group members should construct the first generation of 45 moths consisting of 15
black moths, 15 grey moths, and 15 white moths. Spread the moths randomly on the tree, with no
moths sitting on top of each other.
o At this stage, the group should fill out the first line of their record sheet. Record the
number of moths of each phenotype in the first three columns of generation 1. In this
population, how many alleles are there of each type? Recall that each individual carries
two alleles. Enter these numbers in the next two columns.
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o Next, we want to know the frequency of each allele in our population. That is to say, we
want to know the percentage of each allele type (frequency and percentage are really
the same thing). To do this, we can use the following formulas:
Frequency of the allele W (p) = # W/#W+#B

Frequency of the allele B (q)= #B/#W+#B
It should be obvious to you that, as there are only two different alleles in this population, the
frequencies of these two alleles should add up to 1.00 (also expressed as 100%).
o As standard practice, in a population where there are two alleles for a particular gene, we use
the lower--case letter ‘p’ to represent the frequency of one allele, and the lower--case letter
‘q’ to represent the other allele. We can summarize the above statement as:
p+q=1
o Next, we need to make some predictions about how many moths of each genotype will be
found in the next generation. To do this, we start by using the HWF to make predictions
about the frequency of each genotype in the next generation. The HWF is written as:
P2 + 2pq+q2 = 1
We can perhaps more clearly express this in the following table.
Allele from Allele from Probability HWE

Mom Dad
W W P*P, P2
W B p*q
2pq
B W q*p
B B q*q q2
=1
o Enter the expected frequencies for the next generation (assuming that the 5 conditions are
met) in the next three columns of your data table.
o Finally, we need to figure out how many moths of each genotype you should expect to see
in the next generation, assuming that there will be 45 moths on your tree trunk. To do this,
you simply need to multiply the frequency of each genotype (calculated in the last step)
times the total population size for moths. In your case, your population will remain stable in
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size, giving you 45 moths in the next generation. Calculate these values and enter
them in the table in the last three columns of the first row of your record sheet.
➢➢ When the lights are turned out, the predator should turn around and pick up 25 moths in 30
seconds. One team member should volunteer as the stomach to help the bird count the moths
as these are picked up and ‘eaten.’ When eaten, they are removed from the tree and set
aside.
➢➢ When the lights are turned on, gather the remaining moths. The survivors get to contribute
their genes to the next generation for reproduction.
➢➢ To create the gene pool for your population of moths, each parent moth has to be represented
by its alleles. For each surviving black moth, place two black alleles (beans) into the gene pool
bag. For each white moth, place two white alleles. For each grey moth, place one white allele
and one black allele. There should be 40 alleles in the gene pool when you are done. Shake up
the alleles when you are done. As these moths only get to mate once and then die, remove the
survivors from your tree.
➢➢ To simulate mating, leading to the production of the second generation, have one group
member close their eyes, reach into the back (without peeking), and remove two alleles at
random.
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his pair of alleles will represent the first offspring in your population. For example, if you draw
two black alleles, have a group member place a black moth on the tree. Place the alleles back
into the bag and mix them up again to prepare for the next draw. Repeat this process until you
have 45 new moths on the tree. Record the composition of this population (generation 2) in
the data table provided.
➢➢ At this point, you should compare the number of moths found in the second generation, with
the number that you expected to find as calculated in generation 1 using the HWF. Do your
observed numbers match your expected numbers? Why or why not? If they do not match,
which of your five conditions do you think may have been violated? Compare your results to
those of other groups near you. If your expected and observed numbers do not match, you
may celebrate. You have just detected an evolutionary event!
➢➢ Repeat this process of predation and mating for two more generations (or until time runs out)
and compare your results to those of other groups.
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LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Observed Genotype Number of Alleles Allele Frequency Expected Genotype Expected Number
Frequency
BB BW WW B W B W Black Gray White Black Gray White
Generation 1
Generation 2
Generation 3
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Generation 4
Generation 5
Generation 6
Generation 7
MICROEVOLUTION
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SKELETAL ANATOMY LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 4: SKELETAL ANATOMY
Goals
1) To learn the names of all major bones in the body and cranium
2) To learn anatomical terms for orientation
3) To identify bones in and out of anatomical context
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Anatomy Laboratory
Introduction
Simply stated, osteology is the study of bones. Perhaps it could be more fully defined as the study of
the skeletal system, and about what can be determined about an organism from its skeletal remains.
The skeleton is a dynamic system which performs three basic functions. The skeleton (1) gives form to
an organism, providing a rigid framework for muscle attachment. The bones of the body also (2) protect
the internal organs, and (e) produce red and white blood cells.
Bones also serve many important functions for the biological anthropologist. Due to the calcification of
petrified bones, skeletal remains are often well preserved for long periods of time. This results in an
extensive fossil record that provides a glimpse into the evolution of
human and non-human primates. By comparing these ancient
bones to those of modern humans and non-human primates,
paleoanthropologists can trace evolutionary developments and
divergences. Bones can also reveal detailed information about the
individual itself. Forensic anthropologists examine features of
bones that reveal information about age, sex, stature, lifestyle,
injury, disease, and more to establish a biological profile for use in
legal cases. The same skills apply not only to criminal cases
involving recently uncovered remains, but also to prehistoric
fossils. We can also learn a lot by studying bones in their living
form. The fields of biomechanics and functional morphology focus
on the function of bones in living organisms. These functions often
reflect behaviors such as locomotion and diet, and thus provide a
means of interpreting the behaviors of extinct animals based on
living analogies.
An understanding of the major bones of the skeleton is therefore fundamental to the study of physical
anthropology and will provide an important basis for all future labs. We will begin this lab with an
introduction to the bones, focusing on the primary function of each. You will be able to examine these
bones in a disarticulated state but be sure to take advantage of our mounted skeletons so that you can
understand each bone’s relationship to all those around it. Analogous bones of nonhuman primates will
also be available for comparison.
IMPORTANT:
• Handle all bones over the tables.

• Most of the bones in this lab are real and come from real donors. Please treat these bones
with the dignity and respect that the donors deserve.
• It is strongly advised that you wash your hands immediately following the conclusion of the
lab.
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Terms of Direction and Orientation

When discussing osteology, it is often necessary to specify the direction or location of a structure on a
bone. The following terms of direction all refer to the human body in a standard anatomical position:
facing forward with feet together and palms of the hands facing towards the front. These terms are also
used when discussing the anatomy of non-human primates but must be interpreted given their typically
quadrupedal stance.
Superior Above another
Inferior Below another
Anterior Towards the Front (see ventral)
Posterior Towards the Back (see dorsal)
Cranial Closer to the head
Caudal Closer to the feet or tail bone
Medial Toward the midline of the body
Lateral Away from the midline of the body
Proximal Toward the trunk of the body
Distal Away from the trunk of the body
Ventral Toward the front
Dorsal Toward the back
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STATION 1 - The Skull
The skull can be divided into two major components: the cranium and the mandible. The skill is
composed of a series of flat bones that are connected to form the casing for internal organs such as the
brains, eyes, and tongue. Some of the sutures connecting these bones (sutures are actually joints!) are
fused during growth and development.
Use the diagrams provided to examine the following bones on the labeled cranium:
Maxilla Mandible Frontal Parietal (2) Temporal (2)
Zygomatic (2) Nasal (2) Sphenoid (2) Occipital
When you are comfortable with these bones, color in and label the bones in the figure below.
Use a real skull to help with the following questions:

• List all of the bones articulate (touch) the frontal bone.
• List all of the bones that articulate with the temporal bone.
The sutures of the cranial bones are also shown. Label the Coronal, sagittal, squamosal, and
lambdoidal sutures in your diagram, and be sure that you can identify them on the skulls at the station.
Additionally, some bones in the skull have important features that we will be using later in the class. Be
able to identify the following features. Mastoid process, mental protuberance, foramen magnum,
occipital condyle, and external auditory meatus.
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STATION 2 - The Dentition
When discussing the dentition, we use distinct terms of direction, as listed below.
Buccal Toward the cheek
Lingual Toward the tongue
Distal Toward the back of the mouth
Mesial Toward the front, midline of the dentition
Labial Toward the lips
Occlusal The part used for chewing
Teeth compose a great deal of the primate and human fossil record due to their extreme durability.
Teeth provide taxonomic information, clues about diet and social organization, as well as providing clues
as to age and cultural habits.
Each tooth is composed of four parts:
The enamel is the outermost part of the

tooth. It is a white, compact, and very hard
substance that covers and protects the
crown of the tooth. Physical anthropologists
often study the microscopic patterns of
enamel formation in order to learn more
about the age, diet and species of an
individual.
The dentin is the chief tissue of the tooth

and surrounds the pulp cavity. It is protected
by the enamel and cementum.
The pulp cavity is contained in the center of the tooth and is where the nerves and blood vessels are
found.
The cementum is a layer of bony tissue that protects the root (non-exposed) portion of the tooth.
In addition, the tooth is divided into three major areas. The crown is the portion of the tooth above the
gum line. The neck is the slightly constricted portion of the tooth just below the crown, where the
enamel and cementum meet. And the root is the portion of the tooth below the gum line which is
covered by cementum and holds the tooth in the socket.
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Teeth are primarily involved in the ingestion and processing of food.

Characteristics of diet and behavior can be explored by examining the
morphology of a tooth and the patterns of wear detected on the occlusal
surface of the teeth.
Most primates have four types of teeth: incisors, canines, pre-molars, and
molars
• Find these teeth in the human mandible. Make sure that you can
differentiate the teeth using the diagram provided here. The key
features for identification are location, shape, and the number of
cusps (points) on the occlusal surface of the teeth.
• We will later describe primates based on their dental formula. This is

a notation form that reflects the number of each category of teeth,
starting with the incisors, and ending with the molars. A separate
count is often provided for the upper and lower tooth rows, each reflecting one side of the
mouth. A human skull has a dental formula of 2-1-2-3 in the top and 2-1-2-3 in the bottom. This
means that the human has, in one quarter of the mouth, 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3
molars.
• Examine the two primate skulls provided at this station. What are their dental formulas?
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STATION 3 - Axial Skeleton
The postcranium (everything behind the head) is composed of the axial skeleton and the appendicular
skeleton. The axial skeleton represents the core of the skeleton and is composed of the vertebrae, the
ribs, and the sternum.
Vertebrae
The vertebral column runs along the dorsal aspect of the
skeleton, and connects the cranium, rib cage, and pelvis. The
column is divided into five sections.
Cervical vertebrae – 7 in humans – These are the smallest
vertebrae and support the cranium.
Thoracic vertebrae - 12 in humans – These vertebrae connect
to the ribs, and can be identified by rib facets, which are
the surfaces where ribs attach.
Lumbar vertebrae – 5 in humans – These are the largest
vertebrae, and support the column.
Sacral vertebrae – 5 in humans – These vertebrae are fused
together to form the sacrum at the base of the spinal
column, and articulate with the bones of the pelvis.
Coccygeal vertebrae – 4 in humans – These are fused to form
the coccyx; in non-ape primates, these bones form the
tail.
• Examine the mounted skeletons in the classroom.
Identify for yourself each type of vertebrae. Also
examine the vertebrae strung together. See if you can spot the articular surfaces for ribs found
on the Thoracic vertebrae.
• Examine the mystery vertebrae at this station.
o Which one is the cervical vertebrae? How do you know?
o Which mystery vertebra is a thoracis vertebra? How do you know?

o Which mystery vertebra is a lumbar vertebra? How do you know?
Ribs
There are 12 ribs on each side of the vertebral column that curve around to form the thorax. This bony
cage protects vital internal organs such as the heart and the lungs.
• Examine the free ribs at this station. Determining which side the rib comes from is called ‘siding’
the rib. On a rib, run your finger along the top and bottom of the rib. The inferior surface will
feel sharper than the superior surface. The more curved end of the rib will be dorsal, while the
more gradual curve will be ventral. Try siding several of the ribs here at this station.
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Sternum
The sternum, or breast-plate, is composed of three fused bones and is connected to the ribs by
cartilage. The sternum provides further support for the thoracic cavity and the organs it contains.
• Be able to identify the ribs and the sternum in the articulated skeletons and in the disarticulated
skeleton at the front table.
STATION 4 - Appendicular Skeleton: Shoulder Girdle
The appendicular skeleton includes the bones of the shoulder girdle, the upper limbs, the pelvis, and
the lower limbs. The shoulder girdle provides support and mobility for the upper limbs and includes the
clavicle and the scapula.
Clavicle
The clavicle is a long, curved bone that attaches to the axial
skeleton at the sternum and articulates with the scapula.
Compare this to the ribs. Although they might look superficially
similar, they are not at all the same.
Scapula
The scapula is a smooth, slightly dished bone that is placed
superiorly and posteriorly on the rib cage. The scapula allows for
much of the mobility in the upper limbs and has attachments for
many of the major muscles of the upper body.
• Find each of these bones in the articulated and disarticulated skeletons. Learn to orient them
correctly.
o Can you find the surface on the scapula where the upper arm articulates?
o Side the scapula?
o Which is the dorsal surface of the scapula?
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STATION 5 - Appendicular Skeleton: The Upper Limbs
Humerus
The humerus is the bone in the upper arm. It has a rounded
head that articulates with the scapula for great mobility. The
distal end of the humerus is a wide, flaring bony surface, and
serves as the articular surface for the bones of the forearm.
On the humerus, identify:

• The humeral head
• The Olecranon fossa
• The medial epicondyle
• The lateral epicondyle
Be prepared to side a humerus.
Ulna
The ulna is the large, stabilizing bone of the forearm. It has a distinctive “U” shaped hook at the
proximal end where it articulates with the humerus and the radius.
On the Ulna, identify:

• The ulnar notch
• The olecranon process
Radius
The radius is the second bone of the forearm and is responsible for the rotation of the lower arm. To
facilitate this, the proximal end of the radius is characterized by a smooth, round surface.
The Hand
The hand is made up of three sections of bones. The carpals are
a collection of eight small, pebble-like bones that form the base
of the hand. The metacarpals compose the body of the hand
and fall between the fingers and the wrist. The phalanges are
the bones of the fingers. The thumb, or pollex, is composed of
two bones, while the other four are made up of three bones
each. The singular of phalanges is phalanx.
• Find each of these bones in the articulated and disarticulated skeletons. Learn to orient them
correctly, identifying the proximal and distal ends. Be sure that you can tell the difference
between the radius and the ulna. See if you can articulate them with a humerus in the
disarticulated skeleton.
• What two bones are immediately distal to the humerus?
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STATION 6 - Appendicular Skeleton: The Pelvic Girdle
The pelvis provides support for the upper body, mobility for the lower body, and forms the birth canal
in females. Just as with the scapula in the upper limbs, the pelvis provides attachments for major
muscles of the lower body. The locations of these attachments are related to locomotor patterns of
primates.
Two large bones, the os coxae, join with the sacrum to form the pelvic girdle. Each os coxa, or
innominate (singular) consists of three fused bones: the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis.
• Examine the pelvis at the station. Identify

the different sections of the bones as
illustrated in the image to the right. To
help, examine the articulated skeleton of
the juvenile human. In this young
individual, the bones have not fused yet,
making it easier to see where each is.
• On the pelvis, identify:
o The illium
o The ischium
o The pubis
o The pubic symphysis
o The sacroiliac joint
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STATION 7 - Appendicular Skeleton: The Lower Limb
Femur
The major long bone of the lower limb is the femur.
This bone is distinctive in appearance due to the
large protuberance on the proximal end. This
rounded bit of bone forms a ball-and-socket joint
with the pelvis, providing for high lower limb
mobility. The distal end of the femur contains a
clear dished groove. This is where the patella, or
kneecap, is suspended in cartilage.
• What two bones are immediately distal to

the femur?
• With which bones does the femur articulate
with proximally?
• Can you side a femur?
• On the Femur, identify
o The femoral head
o The femoral neck
o The greater trochanter
o The lesser trochanter
o The medial condyle
o The lateral condyle
o The pilaster
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Tibia
The tibia is the second largest bone in the lower limb and is the principal weight-bearing bone of the
lower limb. The tibia has a wide, flat articular surface at its proximal end where it articulates with the
femur. This articular surface gives the bone a “T” outline.
Fibula
The fibula is a long slender bone in the lower limb.
The Foot
There are seven tarsals that make up the ankle.
These oddly shaped bones provide support for
the leg, as well as mobility for the foot.
Just as is found in the hand, the foot contains

five metatarsals and phalange (toes). The big
toe, or hallux, is composed of two bones, while
the other phalanges of the foot are composed
of three. The large heel bone is called the
calcaneous.
• Be sure that you can identify the bones of the lower limbs when articulated. Practice fitting the
limb bones together as they are in the mounted skeletons. Go ahead and see just how flexible
the ball and socket joint at the hop can really be.
Station 7 – Directional Terminology
• Describe the location of the radius, relative to the carpals

• Describe the location of the Olecranon fossa on the humerus
• Describe the location of the sternum relative to the vertebra
• Describe the location of the mastoid process relative to the mandible
• Describe the location of the mandible relative to the zygomatic bones
• Describe the location of the pilaster on the femur
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FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 5: FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Goals
• To learn methods of aging human remains
• To learn methods for sexing human remains
• To learn the basics of establishing a biological profile
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FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Now that you have gained a basic familiarity with the major bones of the body, you are
prepared to put your knowledge to use as a forensic anthropologist. A forensic
anthropologist analyzes skeletal remains in the context of legal or criminal
investigations. When a forensic anthropologist is presented with a collection of bones, a
series of questions must be answered.
1. Are the remains human bones or animal bones?

2. If they are human remains, are they historic or recent?
3. How many individuals are represented by the bones?
4. What was the age of each individual at the time of death?
5. What was the sex of the individual at the time of death?
6. What was the ethnic affinity of each individual?
7. Can height and weight be estimated?
8. Are there any behavioral indicators in the person that give a clue to who
they might have been?
9. How long has each individual been dead?
10. Can the person be positively identified through medical records?
11. Can the manner of death be determined?
The sum total of the information gathered on the body will be used to create what forensic
anthropologists call a behavioral profile. The behavioral profile aids in the identification of an
unidentified body.
It is important to understand that the skills used by forensic anthropologists are also used by
paleoanthropologists, scientists who study our fossil ancestors. These skills allow us to know with
confidence that the famous human ancestor Lucy was a female based on the shape of her pelvis and that
the La Chapelle Aux Saints Neanderthal fossil was indeed an old man. Therefore, we will revisit these
same skills later this semester as we analyze the skeletons of human ancestors.
Station 1 – Is It Human?
Once unidentified human remains have been located, one of the

first questions to assess is whether or not the bones belong to a
human, or to another animal. An untrained person may easily
misidentify the postcranial remains of a deer or dog for those of a
human. But even experienced eyes may sometimes be fooled by
some animals. For example, the hand bones of a bear are
surprisingly similar of a human.
• Examine the bones at this station.

o Which of these bones are not human?
o Can you identify which bones these are by comparing them to those of the skeleton in
the class? In general, you should be able to find features that resemble those of
humans. This will help your identification.
2
Station 2 – MNI
A forensic anthropologist, archaeologist or paleoanthropologist may encounter a

situation in which the remains of several individuals have been mixed together. In such
situations, it is necessary to estimate how many individuals are present in the remains.
The minimum number of individuals (MNI) in a sample is estimated by placing each
bone that represents the same skeletal element into distinct piles. Careful attention
must be paid to distinguish bones from the left side of the body from bones from the
right side. The pile with the largest number of bones gives the minimum number of
individuals represented in the sample.
• Examine this collection of bones.

o Sort the bones into types. Record in your notebook how many of each bone you see.
Be sure to note whether these bones are from the left or right side.
o Which bone is represented more than the others?
o What is the MNI at this site?
Station 3 – Aging the Pelvis
At this station, we will attempt to estimate the age of the person who owned these
pelvises by using the characteristics of the pubic symphysis. First look in the box of
example pubic symphysis casts. Examine the
surface of these and compare them to the
provided diagrams. The main features to compare
are: the ridges on the surface of the symphysis, the
sharpness of the edges of the symphysis, and
pitting on the surface related to bone degradation
due to age. We will be using a six-stage developed
by Suchy-Brooks to determine the age, each
represented as a row in the box. Read the
accompanying description for each phase. The
descriptions are a bit dense, but give it a shot, and
we’ll see how it works out. Even if the terminology
makes little sense, you can get a decent idea of
how the process is done. Once you have a general feel, try to estimate age on the set of
example casts available here.
.
• Examine the half pelvises at this station. Pay attention to the characteristics of the pubic
symphysis. Pay particular attention the following characteristics:
o The depth and clarity of the ridges
o The sharpness of the edges of the symphyses
o The pitting on the surface of the pubic symphyses
• Once you have a general idea, compare the pubic symphyses at this station to the models.
o To which age set are they most similar? Remember that age sets are described in six
stages, each divided into early and late?
o What features did you use to make your determination?
o What are the age ranges that correspond to each age?
2
Station 4 – Dentition
Examine the mounted jaws for signs of age. Look for dental eruption patterns (you can
use your skills at identifying teeth here), wear on the teeth, and loss of teeth (as well as
filled-in places on the mandibles where the teeth once were). Examine the teeth on
these mandibles and skulls.
Look for examples of where the enamel has worn thin or through. Look also for signs of
bone degenerating and becoming thin and worn.
• Examine the erupted teeth on the examples at this station. Compare the emerged teeth to the
dental development chart presented to this station. Also examine the child skeleton at station
5.
• The trick is to try to distinguish baby teeth (deciduous) from adult teeth.
• How old, approximately, is each individual at this station?
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Station 5 - Epiphysial Fusion
Take a look at the mounted child skeleton. Check out the long bones and see how many of them have
not yet ossified. Lack of ossification can be determined by a visible line between the end cap of the
bone (epiphysis) and the shaft of the bone (diaphysis). The space between the two bones is where the
growth plates are. As the individual reaches the point where the bones don’t grow
any larger, the cartilaginous disk between the epiphysis and the diaphysis ossifies,
fusing the two bones together. In a young individual, like the one we have here, the
space is easily visible, and gets harder to see as the individual reaches full adult body
size. In an adult skeleton, the space
• Examine the chart below. Based on your own age, which of your own bones
have not yet ossified their epiphyses?
• The bones of the cranium begin to fuse in some individuals much later in life
(after 30 years). Examine the skulls at the other tables. Can you find any
whose sagittal suture has begun to fuse? Record the number of that skull
here. Be careful here. Some individuals reach old age without their cranial
sutures ever really fusing. An unfused cranium doesn’t tell you a lot. But a
cranium with fused sutures can be very useful.
25
26
Station 6 – Sexing the Pelvis
The most effective way of determining the biological sex from a body is to examine the skeleton.
Because the female pelvis must be adapted to deliver a child during childbirth, the pelvic shape reflects
adaptations that make this possible. Most of the adjustments function to increase the size of the pelvic
inlet, the section of the pelvis the child passes through during childbirth.
Despite being relatively easy to distinguish male and female pelvises, one should always examine several
different features. The sum total of the assessment at different locations of the pelvis will allow the
strongest determination of biological sex.
• Examine the pelvises here. Create the

following chart in your notes. Examine each
pelvis for the following features to
determine whether the pelvis is biologically
male or female. Use the table below to
determine the biological sex of the pelvises
placed at this station.
Feature P1 P2 P3 P4
Overall size and robusticity
Sub-Pubic Angle (narrow/wide)
Pubic Symphysis (tall and narrow/short and broad)
Pelvic Inlet (narrow/broad)
Greater Sciatic Notch (narrow/wide)
Preauricular Sulcus (present/absent)
Ventral Arc (present/anbsent)
Sex Designation?
27
Station 7 – Sexing the Cranium
Men and women differ in several aspects of the cranium. Look for differences indicated
on the sheet at the table. When you are familiar with the traits, try to identify the sex of
the other crania at the table. As with the pelvis, come ask me to show you one or two
tricks. Also use as many traits as possible to arrive at your answer.
Male Female
• Examine the skulls here (or at other stations). Create the following chart in your notes. Examine
each skull for the following features to determine whether the skull is biologically male or
female. Recall that it is much more difficult to sex a skull than it is to sex a pelvis.
Characteristics S1 S2 S3 S4
Overall Skull Size
Overall Skull Robusticity
Shape of forehead (sloping/rounded or bulging)
Supraorbital ridge (present/absent)
Orbital Shape (more square/more rounded)
Upper Orbital Margins (rounded/sharper)
Mastoid process size
Rugosity in the occipital bone (rugosity/smoothe)
Chin Shape (square/rounded or v-shape)
Angle at the back of the mandible (90 degrees/ 120 degrees)
Sex Determination?
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Station 8 – Height and Body Mass from Bones
Forensic anthropologists can use isolated bones to estimate the height of the person
when they were alive. The particular equations used depend on the bone and on the
cultural history of the person. For this exercise, please use the equation below. For this
exercise, you will need to use two different anthropometers. For the length of the
femur, use the bone board to measure the total length of the bone in centimeters. For
the width of the femoral head, use the digital calipers.
The equation for estimating height from a femur is:

▪ 2.38 * (Femur length in cm) + 61.41 cm = height + 3.27 cm
The equation for estimating body mass from the femoral head is:
▪ (2.741 * (Width of the femoral head from front to back in mm) – 54.9) * 0.90
I also have available here a forensic anthropology app (Anthropomotron 2.0, created by
Keith Chan, Chantastisoft, 2012-2013) that calculates for you height and body mass using
a number of different equations and measurements from many different bones. Feel
free to play around with it to see what kinds of estimates you can create from various
bones in the body. The app was free to download. Consider downloading it to your own
iDevice as well, in case you ever need it!
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Station 9 – Injuries and Pathologies

Here we have several examples of premortem and perimortem injuries,
including cranial deformation, trepanation, and gunshot trauma. Take a look at them to
see if you can see the kinds of things that a forensic anthropologist might examine in a
body to either build a behavioral profile, or to determine cause of death.
• At this station, examine the examples of injuries and pathologies to see how each can be used to
determine identity, or how they might contribute to a determination of the situation around the
individual’s demise.
Gunshot Trauma
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HUMAN VARIATION LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 6: HUMAN VARIATION
Goals
• To distinguish continuous from discrete traits

• To quantify variation using mathematical tools like indexes
• To examine variation in traits across the students in the class
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Human Variation
Introduction
In an earlier lab exercise, we examined how variation occurs at the genetic level and how this variation
is passed through generations. In this lab, we look at how variation can be expressed at the phenotypic
level, and how it might be distributed across a population (ours).
Polymorphism refers to the expression of two or more alleles of a single gene in a population. It is this
condition that results in the large variety of traits that we observe among humans. Apart from looking
at the frequency of these various genes in a population, we may also wish to look at the distribution of
the traits in terms of their phenotypic expression. Identifying trends in the distribution and appearance
of variation within and between human populations has implications for cultural, medical, and
environmental developments. Natural selection acts on variation, thus understanding variation is a
necessity. The study of human variation can help us to understand diseases such as sickle cell anemia or
provide us with information concerning patterns of development.
Physical anthropologists study human variation in many different ways. Anthropometry is the study of
human measurements. Height, length and breadth of
various components of the human body can be
measured to create a comparative scale of variation
among a population. Since the things being measured
change during an individual’s lifetime depending on
factors such as age, diet, and environment, and since the
things being measured vary from person to person, they
provide examples of continuous traits. An example of
this is found in the picture to the left, showing the
distribution of height in a sample population. Notice the characteristic bell-shaped curve that results
when many individuals are included in the sample. Most people are of average height, while fewer are
very tall or very short. In the first half of the lab you will be taking measurements of continuous traits on
lab partners in order to compute indices that can then be compared to other members of the class.
Humans also express a great degree of variation in terms of discrete traits. Identifying such traits is
clear: you either have one form of the trait, or you have the other form. Theoretically, these traits are
purely under genetic control, and therefore there are no intermediate stages in expression. For
example, your earlobes are either classified as attached or dangling, and no environmental influence
(short of surgery) will change that. Discrete traits are quite useful in constructing pedigrees, which, as
you should recall, are graphics simultaneously representing relatedness and presence or absence of the
phenotype in question. Quite a few discrete traits have been described for humans. In the second part
of the lab exercise, we will be identifying these traits in the members of our lab class. And we will also
explore the possibility that many of the traditionally described discrete traits may show more variation
than traditionally described.
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Variation in traits often becomes interesting once we begin to compare our data. Such traits may be
compared across individuals within a population, between populations, or across geographic ranges.
Trends that emerge across geographic areas are referred to as clines. For the purposes of this lab, we
will be comparing the distribution of traits within our lab population. We will later incorporate data for
the whole class to see if any trends emerge.
EXERCISES
• Ideally you should work in pairs, though working in small groups is fine as well. Both partners
should record their data in the sheet provided. When you have completed your data sheet,
enter the information for both partners into the data sheet provided by the lab instructor.
• All measurements should be conducted using the metric system (centimeters or millimeters for
our exercises here).
PART 1: MEASURING THINGS
AS A GROUP: Calipers, Variation, and Metric System
• For your group, grab a pair of Dial Calipers. These are

very useful. It is important that you know how to read
them. To start, close the calipers completely. The
distance between the arms will be 0 cm. Look for any
arrow on the calipers pointing to the 0.
• Place your thumb on the ridged wheel, and slowly pull it
to you, applying light pressure. The arms should open.
Notice that the hand on the wheel spins around from 1
up to 10. When it reaches 10, notice that the arrow
that originally pointed to 0 now points at 10 mm or 1 cm (1 cm = 10 mm). To read the
calipers, add the number on the wheel to the 10s marked on the arrow.
• Use the dial calipers to measure the medial-lateral width of your thumb, halfway down
your thumbnail. Write the measurement down in mm. Pass the calipers around the
circle for your other partners to do the same.
• Pass the calipers around the circle three times so that you measure your own thumb
three different times, noting measurement each time.
Measurement 1 Measurement 2 Measurement 3
Do the measurements differ from measurement to measurement? We expect to see some small
amount of variation from measurement to measurement as a result in variation of placement of the
tools. Some variation may also come from environmental factors such as temperature or humidity. And
others may come from misreading of the instrument itself. Careful use and reading of a tool can help to
33
mitigate some of the error. This rest of the variation between measurements is normal. We can better
understand this measurement variation by always using multiple measures of what we are examining.
PART 2: CONTINUOUS TRAITS
An Index is a mathematical tool that is used to measure either the relative size of something compared
to something else, or to measure the shape of something. For example, we might want to know how
much of our standing height is made up of our torso length. We could simply measure people’s sitting
height to calculate torso length. But because people vary continuously in total height, these sitting
heights might not be useful measures. Instead, we can divide sitting height by standing height to see
what percentage of our total height is made up of our torso length. The resulting number is a decimal,
and you should round it to two decimal places. In practice, we multiply this decimal by 100 to create a
whole number. The resulting number is called an index. While there are standard indexes used
frequently in biological anthropology, you can create any index you like that you think might help you to
answer some question of interest.
STATION 1: Skeletal Index
• Sitting Height: Sit straight on the tabletop (or a chair). Have

your partner measure the distance from the tabletop to the
highest part of your head. Record the result in the space
below.
• Standing Height: Stand up straight with your shoes off.
Have your partner measure you from the floor to the
highest part of your head. Record the result in the space
provided below.
Sitting Height _______________
Standing Height _____________
Skeletal Index: The skeletal index describes the length of the trunk compared to the length of the lower
limbs and varies across populations. Individuals can be classified as brachyskelic (index less than 50.9),
mesoskelic (index between 51 and 52.9), and macroskelic (index greater than 53). The skeletal index is
calculated as follows:
Skeletal Index = (Sitting Height / Standing Height) * 100
• Calculate your own skeletal index and record this number in the data sheet in the space
provided. Note that an index is a unit-less measurement. As long as the two measurements
used are taken in the same units, units will cancel out in the equation for calculating the index.
Question: In which category would you be classified?
34
STATION 2: Cephalic Index
Head Breadth: Have your partner measure your head breadth as the maximum distance
across the head just above and behind your ears, using the spreading calipers. Record
the result in the space below.
• Head Length: Have your partner measure your head length as the maximum distance from a
point between your eyebrows to the back of your head using the spreading calipers. Record the
result in the space below.
Head Breadth ___________
Head Length____________
Cephalic Index: This index describes the shape of your head

looking from the top down. This value varies across
populations. Individuals may be classified as dolicocephlic
(index less than 75.9), mesocephlic (index between 76 and
80.9), and brachycephalic (index greater than 81). The
cephalic index is calculated as follows:
Cephalic Index = (Head Breadth / Head Length) *100
• Calculate your own cephalic index and record the

number in the data sheet in the space provided.
Question: Into which category would you be classified?
Question: In purely descriptive terms, how would you describe the shape of your head (long? Narrow?
Round?)?
35
STATION 3: Nasal Index
• Nasal Breadth: Have your partner measure, with

the sliding calipers, your nasal breadth as the
maximum width of your nose, on either side of
your nose holes. Record the result in the space
below.
• Nasal Length: Have your partner measure, with the

sliding calipers, the length of your nose from a
point at the top of the nose (between the eyes) to
the point at which the nose joins the lip. Record the result in the space below.
Nasal Breadth ________

Nasal Length _________
Nasal Index: This index describes the shape of your nose from the frontal view. This index also varies
across individuals and populations. Nasal breadth is correlated with environmental temperatures, for
example. People with ancestry in hotter climates tend to have broader noses, while people with
ancestry from colder climates tend to have narrower noses. Individuals can be classified as leptorrhine
(less than 47.9), mesorrhine (48-52.9), and platyrrhine (greater than 53). The nasal index is calculated
as follows:
Nasal Index = (Nasal Breadth / Nasal Length) * 100
• Calculate your own nasal index record it in the data sheet in the space provided.
Question: Into which category would you be classified?
Question: How would you describe, in descriptive terms, the shape of your nose?
Leptorrhine Mesorrhine Platyrrhine
36
STATION 4: Brachial Index
• Using the measuring tape, measure the length of your arm, from your shoulder to your wrist.
Essentially, what you are trying to measure is the total length of your humerus plus your radius.
Write the measurement in the space below.
• Next, measure the length of your whole leg, from your hip to the ankle. Here you are trying to
measure the length of your femur plus the length of your tibia. You may need to poke around in
your hip, moving your leg around a bit, to find the top of your femur. The distal tibia can be
found just past the bulge on the medial side of your ankle. Record the measurement in the
blanks below.
Arm Length _________
Leg Length __________
Brachial Index = (arm length/leg length)*100
We’ll discover in some later labs that the relative lengths of the arms and legs can be useful in assessing
the primary mode of movement for different kinds of primates, fossil primates, and human ancestors.
STATION 5: Create your own Index
When anthropologists are studying a particular question, they may find that there is not an appropriate
index already in use by other scientists in the field. When this happens, they typically have to create
their own index. For example, you might want to know if the commonly-held belief that the length of
your foot is the same as the length of your forearm. In this case, you would need to include foot length
and forearm length in your measurements. But perhaps you wanted to know whether biological
females have relatively longer ring fingers than biological males. Obviously, ring finger length would be
necessary to measure. But for the second variable, you might want to take into account that men are
generally larger than women. Therefore, you would want your second measure to be something that
represents the difference in body size between men and women. It could be standing height. Or hand
length. Or foot length. Or some other measure of your own creation.
• Come up with some kind of question to ask that can be answered with an anthropometric index.
• Write the question below, along with a short description of what you measured.
• Calculate your index for at least four people. You may need to seek classmate help for this one.
37
PART 2: DISCRETE TRAITS
Described below are a number of traits that have distinct forms in different individuals. Read each
description and determine whether or not you or your partner possess these traits. Record either
‘present’ or ‘absent’ for each trait in the data sheet provided.
STATION 6: Taste Test
Phenylthocarbamide (PTC) is a harmless, artificially synthesized compound which tastes bitter to some
people while to others it has no taste at all. This pattern of tasting v. not tasting PTC is inherited along
simple Mendelian lines. The ability to taste is the dominant characteristic, meaning that individuals
have either a genotype of TT or Tt, while non-tasters must inherit two recessive t alleles. The
percentage of tasters varies geographically, being as high as 95% in Sub-Saharan Africa, and as low as
60% in India. Researchers have speculated that the bitter taste of PTC is similar to compounds found in
plants such as turnips, kale, and Brussel sprouts, which if over-consumed may cause thyroid problems.
The theory that this is an adaptive feature is supported by the fact that several primate species also
show a PRC tasting polymorphism.
Interestingly, there is a second gene known to influence the ability to taste PTC. This gene operates only
for people who are tasters. Some tasters get a strong reaction from the PTC paper, while others
perceive a much less strong taste. Compare the reactions of tasters in your group or class to determine
whether you might be a strong or a weak taster.
• To test your own PTC tasting ability, tear off a piece of PTC paper provided, place it in
your mouth, and chew on it. If you taste a bitter taste, then you have the ability to taste PTC. If
you do not taste anything, you do not have the ability to taste PTC. Compare your reaction to
the reactions of others to determine whether or not you are a strong taster. We have provided
some samples of control paper, which should be tasteless to you. Record your results in the
data sheet.
QUESTION: Now that you know your phenotype (taster or not) for this trait, list your possible
genotypes.
We also have Sodium Benzoate, a salty compound sometimes added to soft drinks as a food
preservative. To the 75% of western people that can taste it, it is described as having a bitter or
strangely sweet flavor. Tasters seem to have the dominant allele for tasting, although as with PTC, there
are likely to be several genes operating to influence a person’s perception of taste for Sodium Benzoate.
Can you taste it? How would you describe the taste? Salty, Sweet, or Bitter?
38
STATION 7: Tongue
• Tongue Rolling: Can you roll your tongue into a tube shape (i.e.
the edges of the tongue turned upward)? This is an inherited
dominant trait. Mark in the data sheet whether this trait is
present or absent.
• Tongue Folding: Can you fold the edges of your tongue back while
pointing the middle tip of your tongue, forming a clover-leaf
pattern? This is a dominant trait. Record your results in the
data sheet.
STATION 8: Fingers
• Mid-Phalangeal Hair: Do you have hair on the back of any or all of the
middle sections of your fingers? This is a dominant inherited trait. In
the data sheet, record the presence or absence of this trait.
• Hitch-Hiker’s Thumb: Hold your thumb up as if you were

hitchhiking. Does the joint below your thumbnail bend backwards?
Once again, this has been incorrectly described in humans as being
discrete, and under the influence of a single gene. Compare your
thumbs to those of others. Does the variation among you appear
discrete or continuous? Are your left and right thumbs the same or
different? Can you imagine a way to measure this variation?
• Interlocking Fingers and Thumbs: Grasp your hands together as you would automatically, so that
your fingers and interlaced. Is your left thumb resting on top of your right thumb? Clearly this is
a discrete trait. You have only two choices as to which thumb rests on top. Unfortunately, this is
also not a simple trait controlled by a single gene. Children of Left-on-toppers (reported as
being homozygous for the recessive allele) can and do have children that are Right-on-
toppers. Sigh.
39
STATION 9: Ears
• Earlobes: Are your earlobes attached or free-hanging?

This is yet another example of a falsely presented
dichotomy. It turns out that it is much more difficult to
determine attached from free-hanging in a population,
as this trait is continuous. Compare the earlobes of
several of your friends to see if you can spot those that
are easily or not-so-easily categorized.
• Darwin’s Tubercle: This is a slight bump or projection on the

curve of the top of the ear. The size of the projection may vary,
and it may only be present in one ear. This trait varies in size
across individuals, as well, and is not a true discrete trait,
though it is often presented that way. Can you spot it in
anyone?
STATION 10: Statistical Variation
When dealing with sets of quantified measurements, such as you might calculate for a group, you may
find that you want to summarize that variation in a single measure. This is most often calculated
through the use of one of three values.
• The Mean or Average is a weighted measure of central tendency in a group of numbers. It is

also easy to calculate. Simply add up all of the values in your set, and then divide the sum by the
total number of items in your set.
• The Median value is the one that sits directly in the center of your set. Arrange the values in
your set from smallest to largest. If you have an odd set of numbers, the median will be the
value in the middle of the set. If you have an even set of numbers, find the two in the middle,
and then take the average of those (add them together and divide by two).
• The Mode is the most often occurring number in your set. Arrange the values in increasing
order. Whichever one in the set you have the most of is the mode.
40
In addition to describing a generalized statistic for your group (Mean, Median, Mode), you may also find
that you want to describe just how much variation is occurring in your set. Are most of the values close
to the mean? Or are some far away? Here you will want to calculate a Standard Deviation for your set.
You can compare the standard deviations for two different sets to see which one has the most variation.
Calculating the standard deviation is relatively simple for small sets.
1. Calculate the mean of your set of numbers.

2. Subtract the mean from each of your numbers to find out just how far away each is from the
mean. Some of your numbers may be positive, and others may be negative. You would like to
know what is this average deviation from the mean, but the positive and negative numbers will
cause you trouble. So…
3. Square each of the deviation values. Recall that if you square a negative number, the square will
be positive. This step gets rid of all of the negative values!
4. Now you want to find the average of the squared deviation values:
a. Add together all of the squared deviation values. Statisticians call this value the Sum of
Squares.
b. Divide the Sum of Squares by the number of items in the set. [Technically, if your
sample is only representative of the total set and does not measure every single item in
the world, you should divide the Sum of Squares by the total number of measurements
minus one. For example, if you add up 7 squared deviations, then you will divide your
Sum of Squares by 6. To understand better why this is done, talk to a statistician.]
5. Now you have an average of the squared deviations. You are going to want to return your value
to the unsquared condition. To do this, take the square root of the value that you calculated in
step 4. This final value is considered the Standard Deviation.
• To practice this, calculate a Standard Deviation for at least one of the Indexes from the first half
of the lab. To keep it simple, gather five values from students in the class for one of the indexes
in the lab. Use these to calculate a standard deviation.
41
When you have completed all of the stations, enter the information from your data sheet into the
electronic one provided by the lab instructor. The instructor will summarize the data for the class.
Based on this summary, answer the following questions.
Question: Which trait had the least variation?
Question: Which trait had the most variation?
Question: Was there any relation between the distribution of any of the traits and the sex of the
individual?
Question: How did the distribution of the continuous traits compare to that of the discrete traits?
CONCLUSION AND CURRENT ISSUES
Variation provides the momentum for evolutionary processes. Studying human variation is essentially
studying the process of evolution as it is occurring. Looking at human variation allows us to now only
genetically map distributions of gene frequencies, but also fosters an appreciation of different cultures
and adaptations. It is important to remember that the study of variation should not be used as a basis
to divide people based on factors such as ethnic affinity. Variation should be valued as the basic means
for evolution by natural selection rather than used as a means by which to exclude or condemn different
groups of people.
Question: How could new technologies such as cloning and genetic engineering affect human variation?
42
Lab 6 Data Sheet
Partner 1 Partner 2 Partner3 Yourself
Continuous Traits
Skeletal Index
Cephalic Index
Nasal Index
Brachial Index
Discrete Traits
PTC
Sodium Benzoate
Tongue Rolling
Tongue Folding
Mid-Phalangeal Hair
Hitchhiker’s Thumb
Earlobes (attached, free)
Darwin’s Tubercle
43
TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 7: TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS
Goals
• To become familiar with the basic processes associated with

the establishment of classification systems based on shared
heritage
• To create a classification system for a set of objects,
establishing synapomorphies for each group.
44
Systematics and Taxonomy Introduction
In this lab, we will take a hands-on approach to the process by which biologists determine the
evolutionary relationships among sets of living taxa. We will put ourselves into the shoes of early
taxonomists like Carolus Linnaeus and John Ray who were concerned with organizing living species into
groups of similar organisms. But unlike these early taxonomists, who were primarily concerned with
understanding the plan of their divine creator, we will build our taxonomy with the hopes that our
classification system reflects the underlying evolutionary structure.
While other taxonomists were concerned with the naming

and grouping of living plants and animals, Carolus Linnaeus
advanced the most systematic and thorough classification
system of his day. In the Linnean system, which is still used
today, each organism can be assigned to a series of
hierarchical categories that range from broad inclusive
categories to uniquely specific categories. Each category in
the system was grouped with similar categories of the same
taxonomic level under a higher level of classification. Each
of these was grouped under an even higher level, and so on.
This can be nicely illustrated by looking at how human
beings are currently classified.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Anthropoidea (Haplorhinia)

Infraorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Genus: Homo
Species: sapiens
This system reflects primarily a process of assigning names to certain groupings and is referred to as
taxonomy. When classifying primates and humans in this class, it is preferred to base a taxonomy on
evolutionary relationships, or phylogenetic relationships. The study of cladistics/phylogenetic
systematics constructs such phylogenies based on shared, derived traits (synapomorphies) observed
among groups of animals. The key to cladistics is to identify these novel traits that have recently
45
appeared in a group of organisms, and thereby are characteristic of most members of that taxonomic
category. Traits which are common to a group because they belonged to a distant, primitive ancestor
(sympleisiomorphies) must also be distinguished. This process results in establishing an ancestor-
descendent relationship between groups that can be thought of as a branching tree, or cladogram. For
example, monkeys possess tails, while apes and humans do not. The presence of a tail is a primitive trait
shared by monkeys, lizards, dogs, and most other organisms due to an ancient common tailed ancestor,
and thus provides little information on how to classify monkeys or apes. The absence of a tail in humans
and apes, however, is a synapomorphy, as this trait is shared by all members of these two groups,
presumably because the common ancestor of these groups also lacked a tail. The lack of a tail, then, sets
humans and apes in a grouping separate from the common ancestor they share with monkeys, and
establishes a phylogenetic relationship.
These diagnostic features, however, may not always be so

clear. Two organisms may possess what appears to be a
shared derived trait. But on closer inspection, it may be clear
that each of these two groups has evolved this trait
independent of the other group. This often happens when
both populations face similar selection pressures, such as
when two taxa live in similar environments. Such a trait is
called a homoplasy and does not provide any information
about ancestry. This phenomenon is quite common, and
results in convergent evolution as is shown in the classic
example of the development of wings in the distinct lineages
of bats and birds. If the appearance of a shared derived trait
reflects a recent common ancestry of two or more groups, it is
said to be homologous. If a shared trait reflects convergent
evolution, it is said to be analogous. The determination of
whether a trait is considered to be homologous often involves detailed morphological, developmental,
46
or genetic studies, as well as a robust fossil record. Another technique to distinguish synapomorphies
from symplesiomorphies involves the inclusion of a taxa closely related to the other taxa being
investigated. This is distantly-related group is called an out-group. Any trait found in the out-group and
shared with the taxa being investigated is thought to be a shared primitive trait. The identification of
homologies provides the basis of identifying phylogenetic relationships.
EXERCISES
In this laboratory, you will work in groups of five or six. Each group will need a table, a dry-erase board,
paper and pens for notes and a lot of space. Clear all of your personal items from the table before you
start.
1) Examine the items laid out in front of you on

the table. To start, it may be most effective
to spread them all out. Begin by
brainstorming a list of traits on the board that
can be used to distinguish each object. Also
look for characteristics that are similar in at
least two objects. These characteristics will
be your starting point for classifying your
items.
2) Give each of the items on your table a unique
name (if it doesn’t have one already). Write the
names of these items in the left--most column
below. Or, if you prefer, replicate the table on
the dry--erase board. Keep a separate list of
shared traits and give each one a number.
47
Shared Traits
Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1_________________ 2_________________ 3_________________ 4________________________

5_________________ 6_________________ 7_________________ 8________________________
9________ 10________________ 11________________ 12_______________________
3) For each trait, score the item in the table with a 0 if the item does not show the trait, or a 1 if
the item does show the trait. For example, if the trait is “items are red,” score a 1 if the item is
red, or a 0 if the item is not.
4) Now, examine your table carefully. Is there a trait that shared by two and only two items? If
yes, this trait will be your synapomorphy (shared derived trait) for the taxonomic group that
contains these two items. If no, keep examining the photographs until you find a trait that is
shared by only two groups. On the dry--erase board, begin to draw your phylogeny, following the
example below. Place these two taxa in the right--most spaces. At the juncture of the lines below
these two boxes (which represents a last common ancestor to these two taxonomic groups),
indicate the synapomorphy that these two items share. This is your first taxonomic group.
48
5) Now go back to your list. Is there a trait (not the one listed above) that these two groups
possess that is only possessed by one other group? If you can find one, add that group to
the line immediately to the left of your first taxonomic group. The trait that is shared by all
three of these items is considered the synapomorphy for the hierarchical group that
contains the original category plus this third, similar one. Name this taxonomic group. If
you can’t find a trait shared by the first taxonomic group and only one other item, re--
examine the items until you can find one.
6) Repeat the above process until you have created a phylogeny that contains all of the
items. Each nested group should have a single trait that makes it distinct, and each nested
taxonomic layer should have a unique name. You may find that you need to create new
traits, shift items around on the chart, or start over a number of times. Let your professor
and lab assistants know when you think you are done.
49
7)
QUESTIONS
1) Is there a synapomorphy for your entire group? That is to say, is there a trait that is
shared by all of the items on your table? What is it?
2) Is there a synapomorphy for your smallest taxonomic level? What is it?
3) For your smallest taxonomic level, name three symplesiomorphies (shared primitive traits).
List them below. Now, for each symplesiomorphies, identify the taxonomic group for
which the trait is a synapomorphy. A key to your understanding of this topic is that any
particular trait might simultaneously be a synapomorphy at one taxonomic level, and might
be a symplesiomorphies at another level.
4) Compare your chart with those of the other groups. How similar or different are they? Did
any of the other groups identify traits that your group had not considered? What are
they? How might your phylogeny have been different had you incorporated a different
set of traits?
5) Did you find any examples of homoplasy or convergent evolution in your taxonomy?
How did you know that the trait was homoplasic, and not due to shared heritage?
6) You almost certainly had previous knowledge of the underlying evolutionary

relationships underlying the set of items that you were given. What challenges do you
imagine you would find if you had no a priori understanding of the evolutionary
relationships among the items?
50
PRIMATE TAXONOMY LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 8: PRIMATE TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS
Goals
• To become familiar with the order Primates and the
characters that distinguish each of its taxonomic
subcategories.
• To use the techniques of cladistics in the classification and
identification of primate taxa.
51
Primate Taxonomy
In the previous labs we learned about the basic principles of
evolution, taxonomy, and anatomy. We now begin to apply this
knowledge to the study of primates. Primates are a unique group of
mammals that vary greatly in anatomy, from the tiny mouse lemur,
to the massive gorilla, to the agile spider monkey, to the goofy
hairless humans. Given the great diversity observed in primates, it is
first necessary to review the system used to separate primates into
different taxa. We will then look at the traits which characterize
these classifications.
A system of biological classification was first proposed by John Ray

and formalized by Carolus Linneaus. In the Linnean system, each
organism can be assigned to a series of hierarchical categories that
range from broad to specific. For example, according to the Linnean
system, human beings can be placed into the following classification.
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Primates
Suborder Anthropoidea (Haplorhini)
Infraorder Catarrhini
Superfamily Hominoidea
Family Hominidae
Genus Homo
Species sapiens
This system reflects a process of assigning names to groupings of living things and is referred to as
taxonomy. When classifying primates, it is preferred to base a taxonomy on evolutionary
relationships, or phylogenetic relationships. The study of cladistics/ phylogenetic systematics
constructs such phylogenies based on shared, derived traits (synapomorphies) observed among
animals. The key to cladistics is to identify these novel traits which have recently appeared in a group
of organisms. Traits which are common to a group because they belonged to a distant, primitive
ancestor (symplesiomorphies) must also be distinguished. This process results in establishing an
ancestor-descendent relationship between groups which can be thought of as a branching tree or
cladogram. For example, monkeys possess tails while apes and humans do not. The presence of a tail
is a primitive trait shared by monkeys, lizards, dogs, and many other organisms due to an ancient
common ancestor and thus provides little information on which to base a classification. The absence
of a tail in humans and apes, however, represents a synapomorphy as it is a unique trait shared by
these two groups. This trait sets humans, apes, and their common ancestor in apart from the other
primates and establishes apes as phylogenetic relationship.
52
General bony traits of the Order Primates
STATION 1 - Primate vs. Non-Primate: The Auditory Bulla
A characteristic that distinguishes primates

from other mammals is the development of
the auditory bulla. The auditory bulla is the
inflated chamber of the ear which appears as a
protuberance on the base of the skull.
While all mammals possess this bony
structure, only primates have an auditory bulla
that is composed of the petrosal portion of the
temporal bone, thus called a petrosal bulla. In
other mammals the auditory bulla is usually
formed from the ectotympanic bone. The
bones of the bulla are fused in the adult form
making this trait often difficult to differentiate.
Data concerning the early development, or
ontogeny, of the bulla provides the best
evidence of composition.
Find the Auditory bone on the skulls at this

station. You will not be able to distinguish
how it developed, compare the auditory
bullae of the primate and non--primate skulls
Ectotympanic Ectotympanic
bone bone
Ectotympanic
Entotympanic
Petrosal part
bone
bone
temporal bone
53
Station 2- Primate v. Non-Primate: The Post-orbital Bar
All primates possess a post-orbital bar. This bony column connects the zygomatic arch to the side of the
skull, forming a protective ridge that encircles the orbit.
In many mammals there is no such connection around the orbit.

Artiodactyls (cows, sheep, antelope, etc.) and some perissodactyls
(horse) have what can be referred to as a post-orbital bar.
However, the bones that constitute the

post-orbital bar in primates differ from
those found in these other mammals. In primates, the post-orbital bar is made
up of the zygomatic and the frontal bones, while in other mammals, the post-
orbital bar is formed by the temporal and the zygomatic bones.
• Examine the skulls at this station. Locate the post--orbital bars on the skulls that have it.
See if you can tell the difference between the post--orbital bars on the primate and the
non--primate mammals.
Question: Would you consider this trait an example of homology or

homoplasy when considering the relationship between the primate
and the horse pictured above?
• The post--orbital bar is thought to be an adaptation to protect the eyes

from the temporalis muscles while chewing, a threat particularly
important to primates because their eyes are rotated to the front of the
skull, pulling the temporalis muscle to the rear of the eyes. Compare the
degree of frontation of the orbits between the primate and the non--
primate skulls. Can you devise a way to measure frontation?
• Moving the eyes to the front of the skull means that primates must reduce the size of their noses. Compare the
size of the nasal regions of the primate and non-primate mammals at this station. Can you detect a difference in
the nose? Be sure to pay attention throughout the rest of the lab to variation within the primate taxa with
regards to the size of the nasal region.
54
• Station 3: Primate v. Non-Primate: Brain Size
Compare the size of the cranium in each of these skulls.

Primates, in general, have larger brains than do non-primate
mammals of the same body size. Larger brains require larger
craniums, the bony area at the top of the skulls. Brain size and
cranium size vary greatly across primate taxa. Be sure to pay
attention to which primate taxa have the largest and the
smallest brains.
STATION 4: Prosimian vs. Anthropoid
Traditionally, the order Primates was split into two main categories.
The first are the Prosimians. The prefix pro

here means primitive, and simian refers to
monkeys or apes. Prosimians are the most
primitive of all of the primates. . This
suborder (Prosimii) typically includes lemurs,
lorises, galagos, and tarsiers. These
taxonomic groups are placed into the
suborder Prosimii because they retain a
number of primitive traits. Primitive traits
are those symplesiomorphies that are
retained in primates. Typically, these are
traits found in non-primate mammals.
The suborder Anthropoidea is the second category into which the order Primates was traditionally split. Anthro
means human, so this group are the more advanced (or derived) human-like of the primates. This group includes all
monkeys, apes, and humans. This group has changed more from their non-primate ancestors than have the
prosimians.
55
Practice using this traditional naming scheme. Use the descriptions to identify these traits on the labeled
skulls provided.
Prosimian Anthropoid
Post-Orbital Closure: Post-orbital closure refers to the bony

cup-like wall that surrounds the interior of the orbit.
Absent or Present
Placement of Lacrimal Bone: The lacrimal bone is a small
bone that contains the tear duct. It can be found
either inside the orbit or outside the orbit, on the
snout.
Fusion of the Mandibular Symphysis: Each side of the
mandible can be fused, forming one sturdy structure,
or the sides of the mandible can remain unfused,
providing greater mobility to the lower jaw.
(Although often glued together on casts, you should
be able to identify an unfused mandible by the
sutures).
Fusion of the Frontal Bone: As with the mandible, the bones
of the frontal can be fused together, or remain
unfused.
Presence of a Tooth Comb: In the mandible, look for a set of
incisors and canines projecting forward to form a
tooth-shaped structure
Presence of a Grooming Claw: Examine the feet. In most
cases you will find flat nails. However, on one
skeleton, you will find claws on one or two of the
toes.
Complete the chart below and determine whether the mystery skull is an anthropoid or prosimian primate.
Mystery
Post-Orbital Closure:
Placement of Lacrimal Bone:
Fusion of the Mandibular Symphysis: Skull C is a

Fusion of the Frontal Bone
Presence of a Tooth Comb:
56
STATION 5: Haplorhini vs. Strepsirhini
The prosimian/ anthropoid dichotomy is complicated by an unusual

primate called the tarsier. The tarsier seems to exhibit derived anthropoid--
like traits such as partial post--orbital closure, fused frontal bones, lack of a
tooth comb, and a dry nose. At the same time, the tarsier has primitive
prosimian--like features such as an unfused mandible, the presence of a
grooming claw on its toe, large mobile ears, a bicornate uterus, and two pairs
of nipples.
To solve the problem of what to do with the strange tarsier, taxonomists created
a new taxonomic division based on the shared, derived trait of possessing a dry
nose. Haplorhini literally means ‘hair nose’ or ‘dry nose,’ a trait possessed by all
anthropoid primates and the tarsiers. Strepsirhini, therefore, means ‘wet
noses,’ a symplesiomorphy retained by the taxa prosimians minus tarsiers, and
shared with the more primitive non-primate mammals.
Compare the skulls of the Anthropoid (Haplorhini) and Prosimian

(Strepsirhini) primates with that of the tarsier (Haplorhini). See if you can
spot the prosimian and anthropoid traits that it possesses.
• Pay close attention to the post--orbital closure; Is it completely closed? Partially closed? Open? Is
the post-orbital closure of the tarsier more like Anthropoids or Prosimians? Or it is a bit like both?
• Examine the size of the eye orbits. Compare them to the eyes of other primate skulls in the
room. Are the eyes frontated, like an anthropoid, or angled to the sides like the prosimians?
• Get out a magnifying glass and examine the upper incisors of prosimian,
anthropoid, and tarsier. In prosimians, there is a gap between the upper
central incisors. This gap plays a role in getting scents to the Jacobsen’s
organ in the roof of the mouth, a primitive scent organ used typically in
the detection of social smells. The gap between the incisors can
therefore be used to detect whether the species had a wet nose or a dry
nose. Does the tarsier have this gap between the upper central incisors?
In the updated taxonomy, the

suborder Strepsirhini (meaning wet
nose) contains only the lemurs,
lorises, and galagos. Haplorhini
(meaning dry-nose) includes all of the
dry-nosed primates, including the
tarsiers and the rest of the
anthropoids. This system is a cladistic
system, based around the concept of shared-derived traits, which we call synapomorphies. The
synapomorphy of Haplorrhines is then the presence of a dry nose.
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STATION 6: Platyrrhine v. Catarrhine Primates
Anthropoid primates (whether as a subcategory of the order Primates, or as an infraorder under

Haplorhini) can be further distinguished into two categories: Platyrrhini (New World monkeys) and
Catarrhini (Old World monkeys, apes, and humans).
There are three basic traits on the skull that separate these two groupings.
First, count the number of premolar teeth.
Second, check out the shape of the ectotympanic tube leading from the auditory bulla to the outer ear.
Third, examine the bones that make contact with each other in the side of the skull.
Platyrrhines and Catarrhines exhibit different patterns in each of these sets of traits
Use the three of these together to identify the mystery skull placed at this station.
Use the labeled skulls at this station to fill in the following chart.
Apply what you have learned to identify to which taxonomic group the mystery skull belongs.
Platyrrhine Catarrhine
Dental Formula: Count the teeth. Pay particular
attention to the number of premolars.
Shape of the Ear Region: Identify the ear hole on

the temporal bone on the side of the skull.
Bony Contacts on the Side of the Skull: Examine

the sides of the skull to find the Zygomatic,
Parietal, Frontal, and Sphenoid bones. Of
these four, which touch each other?
Mystery
Dental Formula
Shape of the Ear Region
Bony Contacts on the Side of the Skull
58
STATION 7: Cercopithecoidea v. Hominoidea
Catarrhine primates, or Old-World Primates, can further be subdivided into two main taxonomic
groups, Old World monkeys, and apes. Cercopithecoids, or Old-World monkeys, and Hominoids, or
apes, differ from each other in a number of ways. Use the skeletons and skulls at this station to help
you to learn the differences between them.
Cercopithecoid Hominoid
Shape of the Molars: Bilophodont molars are divided into a

front and back half, with two cusps each. Y-5 molars have
five cusps, and a y- shaped basin running between them.
Tail: Present or Absent
Shape of the Nasal Aperture: Narrow or Broad
Length of the Lumbar Region: Short or Long
Size of the Cranial Vault: Indicative of brain size.

Bigger or Smaller.
Cercopthecoid Skull Hominoid Skull
Use the chart above to help you determine whether the mystery skull belongs to a Cercopithecoid or to a Hominoid.
Mystery Skull
Shape of the Molars
Shape of the Nasal Aperture
Size of the Cranial Vault
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STATION 8: Cercopithecinae v. Colobinae Primates
Cercopithecoid primates can be further subdivided into two taxonomic groups at least partly distinguished
by dietary specializations. Colobinae (leaf-eating monkeys) are distinguished by a set of adaptations that
helps them to break down the cellulose in leaves for easier digestion. Cercopithecinae (all other Old-
World monkeys) have a much more diverse diet, including ripe fruits, leaves, and insects.
Colobinae Cercopthecinae
Use the example mounted skeletons and skulls to fill in the following chart.
Cercopithecinae Colobinae
Cusps and Ridges on Cheek Teeth: Molar teeth

and premolar teeth may either be
characterized by lots of high cusps, with
blade-like ridges joining different cusps
together, or by being relatively flat with low
cusps.
Incisor Width: Incisor teeth may be narrow or

broad.
Inter-Orbital Region: The space between the eyes

may be relatively narrow or broad.
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PRIMATE EVOLUTION LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Use the previous chart to help you classify the mystery skull at this station as either a
Colobine monkey or a Cercopithecine monkey.
Mystery Skull
Cusps and Ridges on Cheek Teeth:
Incisor Width:
Inter-Orbital Region:
Primate Taxonomy Summarized
61
OBSERVING PRIMATE BEHAVIOR LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 9: OBSERVING PRIMATE BEHAVIOR
Goals
1) To observe the natural behavior of a wild primate
2) To practice techniques for observation of primate behavior
3) To quantify primate behavior in building a behavioral profile
62
Introduction
In lectures and in labs, we examine primates through a combination of morphology and behavior.
Understanding how we know what we know about living primates, however, requires us to explore
the process of studying primate behavior by direct observation.
The diversity that we observe in the morphology of

the primate radiation extends to behavior as well.
There are many ways in which we learn from
studying primate behavior. We can find out more
about how animals interact with each other and
with their environment and attempt to establish
patterns of relationships between the two. Like
humans, primates are big- brained mammals that
learn a lot from their social environments, and that
apply their intelligence to in ways unlike any other
mammalian order. Studying primate behavior,
then, helps us to understand ourselves better. Nonhuman primates are our closest living relatives, and
thus share many of our own basic behaviors. The more we know about primate behavior, the more we
know about the development of such behaviors in ourselves. Researching primate behavior also helps to
better combat the threats that currently place many of them under the shadow of habitat loss and
potential extinction. If we can better understand the fragile nature of primate behavior, we may be able
to create more effective conservation strategies and prevent future extinction.
However, in order to study primate behavior, we must become familiar with the
appropriate methodology, as well as with the components of the behaviors
themselves. As with any other science, primatology adopts a regimented approach
to the collection of data. And as a science, we begin with questions, construct
informed hypotheses, and test them using quantifiable data. We will explore this
aspect of primatology in this lab as we try out different data collection techniques,
considering the strengths and benefits of each one.
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Data Collection
Primatologists begin their research by developing a research question. Such questions often arise from
the study of relevant literature, or sometimes from a moment of inspiration and curiosity arising from
something they’ve seen on a previous research project. Once a question has been developed, it is
necessary to formulate a series of hypotheses that serve as educated predictions of potential answers to
the questions being investigated. When planning a field study, the primatologist has to choose an
appropriate study population. This selection may depend on the species, the habitat, or specific
behavioral patterns characteristic of a species. If the study involves direct observation of the animals,
the animals must become habituated (accustomed) to the presence of an observer. This process may
take a long time, depending on the species to be habituated.
Once study subjects are habituated, a researcher must choose the most effective data sampling and
recording methods. Sampling methods indicate a decision about what will be the focus of the observer’s
attention, either animals or behaviors. Recording methods refer to the manner in which the data are
recorded.
Sampling Methods Recording Methods

Ad libitum sampling – watching whoever and whatever catches your attention with no real
structure for collecting data. This system is useful, but not very scientific
Focal Attention is restricted to one Instantaneous Record behavior at specific
primate for a pre--determined points in time which occur
length of time at regular intervals
Scan Attention is divided evenly One--Zero Record whether or not a
and quickly across a set of behavior occurs between
animals at some specific points in time,
predetermined interval which occur at regular
intervals
Behavior Attention is given only to a Continuous Record sequentially all
particular behavior across all behaviors, noting the times
members of a group that each starts and stops
In today’s lab, we will restrict our efforts to focal sampling (watching a specific focal subject), and will try
three different methods of recording behaviors
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Exercise 1 – Ad Libitum Sampling
In this exercise, we will watch a five-minute video segment of a group of Phayre’s leaf monkeys
descending to the ground to drink water from a creek. We will focus our attention on one particular
female, named B5, who starts in the video on the right side of the screen, clinging to a small tree trunk.
When instructed, take notes about anything or everything that catches your eye while watching.
What do you think might be some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with
Ad Libitum data collection?
What challenges did you find during your observation? Did you lose track of B5? Were there things
that you could not see well?
65
For the next exercises, we will watch the same video segment again, will focus again on B5, but will
incorporate a much more rigorous approach to data collection. But before we do, we must first limit and
define the kinds of behaviors that we will focus on.
Below, you will find an ethogram, which is the complete set of behaviors that a researcher will consider
when conducting a research project. Behaviors in ethograms should be clearly defined, and behaviors
must be mutually exclusive from one another, so that there is no question to the observer how to
categorize the behavior of an animal at any time. Today, we will use a very simple ethogram for this
example. Our ethogram is considered below.
Ethogram
Behavior Description Code
travel Moves from one spot to another. tr
sit Not moving, drinking or engaged in agonism si
drink Face down close to water to place mouth on the water dr
agonism Directing aggressive behavior or receiving aggressive behavior ag
from another.
Another thing to consider as we collect our data is that behaviors are typically placed into two
categories. Behaviors are either events, behaviors of either a very short duration or for which the length
of the behavior is meaningless (e.g. a sneeze), or are states, a behavior that can be meaningfully
measured in units of time (e.g. a nap). As you watch the video, think about whether each behavior in our
ethogram should be considered events or states.
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Exercise 2 - Instantaneous Sampling
In this exercise, we will watch the same video segment, and will again focus our attention on B5. Once
the video starts, the instructor will start a stopwatch set to ‘beep’ every 30 seconds. Thirty seconds,
then, is the sample interval. When you hear the beep, try to take a mental snapshot of B5 in your head,
and record her behavior at exactly the beep. What she does before and after do not matter.
Sample Point Behavior

0:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:00
4:30
5:00
• Count up the number of times each behavior occurred, and divide the totals by
10. This will give you an estimate of the percentage of time spent in each behavior.
• Compare your results with the rest of the class. Did everyone agree on
the number of times each behavior occurred? Why or why not?
• Were some behaviors under-represented in this percentage, do you think?

Why or why not? (hint: think about states verses events)
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Exercise 3 – One- Zero Sampling
In this case we will again focus on the focal animal, B5. This time, however, we will use the one- zero
recording method. One- zero methods are better than instantaneous sampling for capturing events. In
this method, time is divided into successive intervals. As with the last example, we will continue to use
30- second intervals. During the interval, keep an eye on B5. At the end of each interval, record in the
box a 1 if you saw her engage in the behavior, or 0 if she did not. The number of times the behavior
happens does not matter.
Sample Point dr ag
0:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
3:00
3:30
4:00
4:30
5:00
Total
• As before, total the number of times that you observed the two
events. Calculate the percentage of intervals in which each even
occurs.
• Did this method better represent the occurrence of the events

than instantaneous sampling?
• Which of the techniques is better for sampling events? Which is better

for sampling states? What are some of the pros and cons of using either
one?
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READING PRIMATE BONES LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Lab 10: Reading Primate Bones
Objectives
1. Interpret diet from the teeth of a primate

2. Interpret social system from body and canine dimorphism
3. Interpret broad and fine-tuned locomotion patterns from postcranial bones
4. Interpret activity pattern from orbit size
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Reading Primate Bones
Earlier this semester, we engaged in a lab on Forensic Anthropology where we learned how to interpret
variation in bones to determine age and sex in modern humans, ultimately with the goal to apply those
same skills to the study of human ancestors. Today we will do something similar. Today we will
examine variation in the bones of primates to learn how to read things like diet, social system, and
patterns of locomotion. Even though all primates share the same basic skeletal and dental structure
system, different diets, habitats, and social systems present primates with challenges. Those individuals
will anatomical variations that give the primate an edge in survival or reproduction will get passed down
to the offspring, while ineffectual variants will disappear from the population. When we examine
anatomical variation in modern primates, we assume that much of the variation we see across species is
the result of millions of years of natural selection operating to make that species good at surviving the
challenges facing it.
Researchers who want to understand these variations in terms of their

adaptive advantages are engaged in a field called functional
morphology. To study the relationship between anatomy and
behavior in primates, first, one must observe wild primates to
determine what they eat, what kinds of social systems they live in, and
how they move about in their habitats. Then, one must look for
patterns in anatomy that correlate with those behaviors. The field
combines an understanding of evolution and natural selection,
taxonomy, anatomy, primate behavior, and a wee bit of engineering
and math. We’ll minimize these last two today.
Station 1: Reading Primate Diets
Most primate diets are comprised of three basic things. Fruits provide sources of carbohydrates and
lipids that primates use for energy. Insect are a fantastic source of proteins, used for growth and repair
of the body. Leaves are poorer source of proteins than insects but are an effective source of proteins
for primate species that are unable to rely on insects as a source of nutrition. Nearly all primates eat
some combination of these three things though individual species might differ in the degree to which
they rely on one versus the other. Other food items, such as tree sap (gums), grains, meat from animals,
nectar from flowers, and soil (yes, soil) are occasionally added to the basic three. At this station, we will
examine how dental, mandibular, and cranial anatomy adapts to the challenges associated with
different food types for primates.
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Frugivores are primates who rely heavily on fruits in their diets. Most tropical fruits in the diets of
primates are unfamiliar to us, but structurally, they are similar to the ones that we know. The
nutritional portion of most wild fruits is in the pulp around a seed. Pulp is soft and relatively easy to
process. Some primates even swallow fruits whole, without needing to process them much at all.
Generally, the upper incisors of frugivores are broad to help them take bites out of larger fruits. The
premolars and molars of frugivores are relatively flat (compared to the molars of insectivores and
folivores) and are used primarily to mash the pulp of the fruit.
Insectivores are primates that rely heavily on insects in their diets.

Insects provide a structural challenge to primates. Their outsides are
made up of a material called chitin, a hard external
skeleton that protects the soft insides of the insect. The incisors,
premolars and molars of insectivorous primates tend to be characterized
by having tall points called cusps on the teeth that function to help the
teeth puncture the chitin. Furthermore, relying on insects to get protein
adds an additional challenge to primates. Because the insects that most
primates eat are uncommon, found by turning leaves over or breaking
open park, they are typically found and consumed one at a time before
having to go off and look for another. The slow pace of finding and consuming insects means that
larger-bodied primates have difficulty in finding enough insects to satisfy their nutritional content. In
general, then, it is the smaller-bodied primates that rely on insects for their protein. The scientist
Richard Kay found that most insectivores tend to weigh less than 500 grams (about one pound).
Primates larger than a pound must look for a more common source of protein (see folivores!). We call
this 500g division between insectivores and folivores Kay’s Threshold. Use body size to help you
distinguish insectivores from folivores.
Folivores are primates typically larger than 500 grams that have to look for a more readily available
source of proteins than insects. That protein source is abundant leaves. Leaves are everywhere in the
rainforest and are therefore easily found in large volumes. There are several down sides to relying on
leaves to get proteins, however. First, the structure of the cell walls that make up the leaves is cellulose.
Cellulose is difficult to digest for most animals, and often flushes straight through the digestive tract in
what we call non-dietary fiber or non-digestive fiber. For folivores to extract protein from the cellulose
in the leaves requires at minimum some dental adaptations. Unlike the incisors of frugivores, the
incisors of folivores are small. Folivorous primates typically strip handfuls of leaves from branches
before putting them in their mouths, meaning that the upper incisors don’t play much of a role in
preparation. The dental adaptations for eating leaves are found in the premolars and molars. These
teeth are characterized by having tall cusps (similar to insectivores) connected to each other by a long
ridge or crest between the cusps. These crests can be found on the buccal or lingual side of the teeth
(depending on taxonomic group). The crests on the top teeth slide against the crests on the bottom
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teeth in much the same way that the two blades of a pair of
scissors slide against each other to cut paper. The resulting
shearing action helps to chop up the cellulose in the mouth,
making it easier to digest later. The effective processing of
leaves also requires powerful chewing. This can manifest in
several ways. The temporalis muscles run along the side of the
cranium, down inside the arc formed by the zygomatic and
temporal bones and attach to the inside of the ascending ramus
of the mandible. Large powerful chewing muscles can be
interpreted by a broad ramus of the mandible, and sometimes
by a bony crest along sagittal suture that serves as an
attachment site for large temporalis muscles. This crest is called a sagittal crest. Additionally, the
powerful forces exerted by these larger muscles in the mastication of leaves puts a lot of strain on the
mandible. The mandibles of folivores tend to be robust, deep (top to bottom below the teeth), and
sometimes the halves are fused together in prosimians.
Gumnivores are primates that gain nutrition from tree saps and
gums. These primates normally gouge holes in tree trunks to cause
the sap to flow, much in the same way that we puncture holes in
Maple trees in order to extract syrup. Gumnivorous primates use
their incisors to gouge holes in the tree trunks. Therefore, their
lower incisors tend to be stout and to project forward, rather than
run straight up and down like in other primates.
At this station, you will find a collection of skulls and teeth, some labeled and some not. Examine the
dentition (sets of teeth) at this station. For each example:
• Describe the incisors. Are they narrow? Broad? Projecting?

• Describe the molars. Are they flat? With pointy cusps? With ridges between the cusps?
• Compare the thickness of the mandible and breadth of the ascending ramus. Are any relatively
larger than the others?
• How big was the primate? You may want to compare the dentition to with some of the example
skulls or the mounted primate.
Based on the information that you gathered for this station, what is the likely diet for each specimen?
Keep in mind that a primate might have anatomy adapted for more than one food category?
72
Station 2
The more astute students in this lab will notice that we did not examine the canine teeth in the section
on diet. While in some species of animals, like the great cats for example, canine teeth play a role in the
killing of prey, the canine teeth of primates are used primarily in social functions. (This isn’t entirely
true: Some primate species that specialize on hard fruits and seeds use their canine teeth as can-
openers to break open the fruits). In social systems where male primates compete for access to
females, males use body size and canines as weapons to fight with each other. We call this competition
intrasexual competition. Because female primates invest
heavily in a single offspring and are limited in the number
of offspring they can have due to the costs of gestation,
most intrasexual competition occurs between males. A
male who is larger or who has larger canine teeth has a
competitive advantage over other males, and therefore
has a greater chance of siring more children, thereby
passing on more of his genes. In species where
intrasexual competition is intense, we expect males to be
larger in body size and to have larger canines than the
females. We call these differences in size across sexes dimorphism.
Social systems in primates can be simplified into four broad categories. Polygynous primates live in
groups with a single male and several females. Because the male gets to mate with all of the females,
his position in the group is enviable to males outside the group. Males without groups live in all-male
bands and work together remove a resident male from his polygynous group, and then to replace him
with one of their own. Because the loss of his position within a polygynous group means the end of his
reproductive career, resident males in polygynous groups will fight heavily to stay in their position.
Competition for these males is very high.
Polygamous primates live in groups with multiple males and multiple females. In these groups, males
compete with each other for access to females, but because the losing males in a fight aren’t kicked out
of the group, the reproductive cost of losing a competition over a female is smaller. Competition in
these species is moderate.
Monogamous primates live in groups with one male and one female. Competition between males in
these groups is much lower, as males seem to direct much of their energy to their partners and their
children as a way to maintain exclusive reproductive access to the female. Competition between males
for females in these groups is quite low. Similarly, polyandrous primates live in a group with one
reproductive female and several males. The female mates with all of the females, and no male can
monopolize her. Like in monogamous primates, competition is quite low.
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If we link the levels of competition for the three social systems to body and canine dimorphism, we see
a pattern something like this. Be aware that in some species, both male and female primates have large
canines. In others, canine size is relatively smaller in both species.
Social system Polygyny Polygamy Monogamy/Polyandry

Male-male
High Medium Low
competition
Body Size
Dimorphism
Canine Size
Dimorphism
At this station, we’ll attempt to read the social organization for the specimens in a scientific way. For
each example, we’ll create indexes of body size and canine dimorphism.
• To compare male and female body size:

o Measure the relative lengths of skulls or mandibles. Create a body-size index of
female/male body size. This index could include head length, jaw length, maxilla length,
breadth of the second molar, and tooth row length. Your indices might look like this:
(𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕⁄𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕) ∗ 𝟏𝟎𝟎
• To compare male and female canine dimorphism:

o Measure the length of the canines for the female and the male primates. Create an
index of the differences in sizes for males and females.
Do you note any other features that differ between male and female features in these samples?
What patterns do you see? Can you predict social systems from the information here?
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Station 3 – General Locomotor Patterns
At this station, we will examine the broad locomotor patterns of different kinds of primate species. If
we ignore humans for the moment (we will come back to them in lab 12), we can divide primate species
into four broad locomotor patterns.
Most primates walk on all fours, with their hands and feet more or less flat
on the substrate that they are walking on. Some of these species, like
baboons and macaques, spend a majority of their time on the ground. To
keep their torso parallel to the ground, these species have arms and legs
that are approximately the same length. We call these species terrestrial
quadrupeds. Because falling from trees is not a problem for these species,
body size tends to be larger than tree-dwelling monkeys. Tails in these
species range in size from very small to quite long.
Those primates that walk on all fours but spend most of their time in the
trees, like nearly all platyrrhines and many catarrhines, are called arboreal
quadrupeds. In addition to keeping their torso parallel to the ground, these
primates also have to do a bit of jumping to get from tree to tree. To aid in
jumping, the legs of arboreal quadrupeds are just slightly longer than their
arms. They also have longer tails for balance, and tend to be smaller in
body size than terrestrial quadrupeds.
Other kinds of arboreal primates rely on a different kind of locomotion. These primates cling vertically
to tree-trunks, and then leap great distances to get from tree to tree. We call these primates leapers.
Among the strepsirrhines, many species use a special form of this locomotion called vertical clinging and
leaping (VCL). These primates require extra-long legs to help them to leap great distances. Some of
them even elongate their ankle bones (tarsals) to lengthen the legs for even more leaping power.
Finally, some arboreal primates hang below branches rather than travel on top of them. Hanging below
branches we call Suspensory behavior. Many suspensory primates, like gibbons, swing from arm to arm
underneath the branches in a movement pattern we call brachiation. Spider monkeys frequently do
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something similar, though they cheat and use their tails as a third hand. This is called semi-brachiation.
Suspensory primates have very long arms, useful for increasing the distance between swings, thereby
covering more distance each swing.
Because each of these broad locomotor patterns differs in the relative lengths of arms and legs, it makes
sense to calculate an index for each locomotor type. We’ll use a standard index that we call an
intermembral index. The intermembral index is calculated as the length of the arm divided by the
length of the leg:
Locomotor Pattern Index

((humerus + radius)/(femur + tibia))*100 Terrestrial Quadruped ~95
Arboreal Quadruped ~85
Leaper / VCL ~70
Suspensory ~130
Examine the sets of bones and skeletons at this station. Calculate an intermembral index for each and
see if you can determine the generalized locomotor pattern.
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Station 4 - Fine-Tuning Locomotion Patterns
By examining individual bones more closely, we can create a more fine-grained understanding of the
movements of primates.
Femoral Head: In general, rounded femoral heads permit great range of motion
in the hip for the legs. Among primates, the most mobile hips are found in
arboreal quadrupeds, as they need to move their limbs in many directions while reaching for branches
while climbing. Terrestrial quadrupeds have slightly less mobile hips, and thus their Arboreal Quadruped
femoral heads may be slightly more cylindrical rather than round. The least mobile
hips in primates are typically found in leapers, who sacrifice mobility for stability
in front-back movement during jumping. The femoral heads of leaping primates
are therefore the most cylindrical.
Leaper
Greater Trochanter: The greater trochanter on the femur is an attachment site for several muscles in
the hip. In primates that rely on strength rather than agility in their hips during movements, you will
generally find that when viewed from the side, the greater trochanter will sit higher than the femoral
head. Vertical clingers and leapers rely on leg strength to propel themselves, and therefore have high
greater trochanters. Primates that need flexibility or agility rather than power typically have greater
trochanters lower than the femoral heads. Be aware that some arboreal quadrupeds like squirrel
monkeys are quite agile in the trees, but others are more deliberate and powerful climbers. Terrestrial
quadrupeds are usually strength based.
Leaper Agile Arboreal Terrestrial

Quadruped Quadruped
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Humeral Head: As with the femur, rounded humeral heads are found in agile
primates, like arboreal quadrupeds, and cylindrical humeral
heads are found in primates with reduced agility, like
terrestrial quadrupeds. For most primates, however, the arms
are generally more mobile than the hind limbs, and so you
won’t find many cylindrical humeral heads among the living
primates. For an example of a forelimb with reduced agility
Humeral Head of a Humeral Head of a
and flexibility, examine the mounted dog skeleton.
Spider Monkey Dog
Olecranon Process of the Ulna: The ulna also can tell us a bit about the
movement patterns of a primate. The olecranon process is the bump just
proximal to the trochlear notch and is the attachment site for the triceps
muscles on the back of the upper arm. The larger the olecranon process, Leaper
the larger the triceps muscle, and therefore the more strength-based the
movement. Smaller olecranon processes are usually indicative of flexibility
Suspensory
and agility. However, there is a little twist. Many arboreal quadrupeds need
strong arms for climbing, and therefore have long olecranon processes.
They also tend to walk with their arms flexed so that their torsos are lower
to the branch that they walk on, lowering their center of gravity. Because
they are not constrained by movement in trees, terrestrial quadrupeds
sometimes run. To increase speed when running, terrestrial quadrupeds Terrestrial Quadruped
straighten their limbs. A long olecranon process, though, would prevent the
forelimbs from straightening, as it would bump into the back of the distal humerus. To compensate,
terrestrial quadrupeds have a deep olecranon fossa on the dorsal surface of the distal humerus to allow
limb to straighten. Sometimes terrestrial primates have an olecranon process that projects dorsally as
well, increasing strength. Suspensory primates such as gibbons also need to straighten their forelimbs
when hanging. Because hanging requires mobility over strength in the elbow (though may require
strength in the wrist and other bones), suspensory primates typically have reduced olecranon processes.
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Other Useful Details:
• Strength-based movement in primates means bigger muscles. Attachment sites on limbs for
large muscles often manifest in raised ridges and lines along the bone.
• Muscular primate limbs tend to be robust and thick, whereas agile bones tend to be thinner.
• Leaping animals like rabbits or vertical clingers and leapers often reinforce the durability of their
lower legs by either moving the lower tibia and fibula tightly together, or even fusing them
together in extreme cases. Strengthening the lower leg comes at a cost of reduced mobility.
Our collection of primate limb bones is limited. But spend some time examining the bones here. You
may not have all the details for each specimen available to examine.
• How long is the olecranon process on the ulna?

• What shape is the humeral head?
• What shape is the femoral head?
• How high is the greater trochanter compared to the femoral head?
• How long are the fingers and toes?
• How long is the tail?
• How large was the primate?
Based on the information here,
• Is the primate built for power or for mobility?

• Is the primate likely arboreal or terrestrial?
Station 5 - Activity Patterns
Primates who are active at night, called nocturnal primates, have the challenge
of seeing in the dark. One way that nocturnal primates can increase the
amount of light that reaches their optic nerve is to increase the size of the eye
itself. Cranially, this means that nocturnal primates have generally larger eyes
relative to their skull than do diurnal primates who are active in the daytime.
Nocturnal Sifaka
Examine the nocturnal and diurnal skulls here to familiarize yourself with eye
size. Then examine the mystery skull to see if you can figure out its activity
pattern.
Diurnal Squirrel Monkey
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LAB 11: PRIMATE EVOLUTION
Goals
1) To familiarize yourself with major taxa of extinct primates

2) To apply knowledge of extant primate taxa to extinct primate species
3) To trace primate evolution from the Paleocene through the Miocene
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Introduction
In both the laboratory and the classroom, we have examined the wide variety of living primates in terms
of both anatomy and behavior. However, today we are offered only a glimpse of the diversity that has
existed during the last 65 million years of primate evolution. For example,
while primates are currently limited to the tropics of South America, Africa,
and Asia, they once occupied a much larger range, including North American
and Europe. Distribution of body size in fossil primates also reveals a
different picture from what exists today. Specimens that can be classified as
apes were once the size of monkeys, while some ancient lemurs were the
size of female gorillas. Features of their bones and teeth also indicate
varying trends in locomotion and diet that would seem to contradict
present observations. For instance, who could have imagined that the
locomotor pattern of many large subfossil lemurs, such as the 154 lb.
Megaladapis (as seen on the right), resembled that of sloths more than that
of modern strepsirrhines.
These differences in past diversity and distribution are primarily due to changes that occurred in climate
and geography during the Cenozoic era. These periods are marked as epochs and denote major faunal
changes. Each epoch is, therefore, also characterized by a major event in primate evolution. You should
become familiar with the following chart.
Epoch Time Span Major Event in Primate Evolution
Paleocene 65-58 mya Archaic primate-like mammals (plesiadapiformes)
Eocene 58-35 mya Euprimates (prosimians)
Oligocene 35-25 mya First anthropoids (catarrhines and platyrrhines)
Miocene 25-5 mya First hominoids and old world monkeys (cercopithecoids)
Pliocene 5-1.6 mya First hominids
Pleistocene 1.6 mya – 10 kya First members of the genus Homo
Holocene 10kya-present Spread of modern Homo sapiens
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It is during these time periods that we begin to witness the adaptive radiations of primates. Using the
techniques of systematics, physical anthropologists are able to reconstruct evolutionary relationships by
examining and comparing primitive and derived traits across taxa. While many fossils allow us to construct an
almost complete view of primate lineages, others are less clear and are the sources of much debate. In this
lab, we will explore the major developments in primate evolution associated with each epoch.
EXERCISES
STATION 1 Primate Relatives
Before we discuss primate evolution, it is necessary to examine the mammals to which we are the
most closely related. Molecular, morphological, and paleontological studies show that primates are
most closely related to tree shrews (order Scandentia), flying lemurs (order Dermoptera), and an
extinct orer of mammals that we will explore today (order Plesiadapiformes). These three orders,
along with the order Primates, are grouped into the superorder Euarchonta, although there are
debates regarding the specific relationships among the individual orders. While modern primates
may seem very different from these mammals, these other members of Euarchonta can be used to
determine the polarity of particular traits (whether or not traits in question are primitive or
derived), and can therefore aid us in understanding the evolution of the suite of traits that we know
to characterize the order primates.
➢ At this station you will find the skull of a modern primate, and the skull of a tree shrew.
Compare these two skulls. How are they similar? How are they different? Be sure to examine
the shapes and number of teeth, the shape of the skull, and the presence of a post-orbital bar.
• Also pay attention to the way that the lower incisors project forward. What prosimian trait
does this resemble?
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Primate Evolution
The Paleocene
By the beginning of the Paleocene, dinosaurs had gone extinct and mammals were beginning to
appear. South American and Africa were both isolated from the rest of the world, while North
America and Europe were connected by a land bridge. Because of this connection, the fauna of
North America and Europe were quite similar. The climate at the time was much cooler than
current temperatures, and North America and Europe were dominated by deciduous forests.
It was during this period that the first primate-like mammals, the plesiadapiformes, appeared.
Plesiadapiformes were very successful radiation that included more than 35 genera and over 75
species that ranged throughout North America, Europe, and some parts of Asia.
Plesiadapiformes were once considered a suborder of primates but are now

placed in their own order based on the presence of distinct traits. Most
plesiadapformes have a derived mammalian dental formula of 2-1-3-3/2-1-3-3
(Note: Purgatorius is an exception). Plesiadapiformes also have large
procumbent incisors and retain a large diastema. The skulls of plesiadapiformes
are low and flat with a long snout, small brain, and large zygomatic arches. Their
skulls also show that they lack two key primate features: they have no post-
orbital bar, and the auditory bulla is not
derived from the petrosal bone. The postcranial remains also show that
they have retained claws, and do not have a divergent hallux.
Plesiadapiformes do, however, show some similarities to primates in
terms of tooth morphology.
Their molars have low cusps and large talonid

basins much like early primates. The general
shape and proportion of their teeth also show
general primate tendencies.
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STATION 2 Plesiadapiform, Primate, and Rodent
Explore Morphosource to examine fossils of Plesiadapis, a Paleocene

mammal from the taxonomic group called Plesiadapiformes. The
skull on Morphosource was crushed flat during the fossilization
process, so all of the features might not be easily visible.
• Find a skull. What features in this skull tell you that it isn’t a
primate?
• Find a mandible. What can you tell about its diet? What are the
most identifying features? How can you tell that this isn’t a
primate?
• Find a femur. What can you surmise about its locomotion?
• Find a humerus and an ulna. What does its anatomy tell you about
the locomotion?
STATION 3 Plesiadapiform Teeth
➢ Examine 3D models of plesiadapiform mandibles and

compare them to those of the primates. Make sure that
you can identify the disatema and the talonid basins on
the molars.
➢ Based upon your comparisons, would you support the

argument that plesiadapiformes are related to primates, or
would you support that they are a separate lineage. Be able to defend your answer.
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The Eocene
During the Eocene, the bridge connecting North America and Europe was gradually fading. The climate
was much warmer, causing sea levels to rise, resulting in tropical fauna throughout North America and
Europe.
This period witnessed the first appearance of primates of modern aspect, or euprimates. Unlike the
plesiadapiforms, these fossil primates possessed distinctive primate traits, such as a post-orbital bar,
an auditory bulla derived from the petrosal bone, nails instead of claws, and an opposable hallux.
These specimens also reveal a primate trend toward larger braincases and smaller snouts. The
primates of the Eocene are divided into two families: the Adapoidae and the Omomyoidae.
STATION 4 - Adapoidae and Omomyoidae
Adapoids were found in North America, Europe, Asa, and parts of Africa. They varied in body size,
ranging from 2kg to 7kg. Adapoids are characterized by a dental formula of 2-1-4-3/2-1-4-3, and
exhibit canine sexual dimorphism.
Omomyoids lived in North American and Europe and had a smaller body size than did adapoids,
reaching up to only 3kg. Many omomyoids had a dental formula of 2-1-4-3/2-1-4-3, but later forms
often had a more derived formula of 2-1-3-3/2-1-3-3.
Explore Morphosource to examine the following fossils.
➢ Find a skull of Adapis paresiensis, (or Notharctus) a European adapoid primate from the Eocene
o Is it a primate? How can you tell?
o Which living primate taxa does it most closely resemble?
o What can you tell about its diet from the teeth?
o Is it diurnal or nocturnal?
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o Can you make any guesses about its social system?
➢ Find a skull of Rooneyia viajensis, a North American omomyoid primate from the Eocene
o Is it a primate? How can you tell?
o Which living primate taxa does it most closely resemble?
o What can you tell about its diet from the teeth?
• Can you make any guesses about its social system?
How can you distinguish an adapoid from an omomyoid?
➢ Examine the adapoid and omomyoid skulls and complete the following chart. Based on what
you know from living primates, what do you think the anatomy says about their behavior?
Adapoid Omomyoid
Orbit Size (reflects activity pattern)
Relative size of incisors to molars
Height of sheering crests on molars
You may find that the images in the Photographic Atlas are helpful. Consult 3.16A, 3.19, 3.21, and 3.2
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You should also hunt for the postcranial bones of Notharctus, a North American adapoid. Although
this is simply an illustration, we can still determine an approximate inter-membral index to predict its
form of locomotion. The inter-membral index is calculated as the (length of the forelimb/length of
the hindlimb)*100. Long hind limbs typically are found in leapers, while even fore and hind limbs
usually indicate a quadruped.
STATION 5 - Adapoid and Omomyoid phylogeny
Although it is agreed that adapoids and omomyoids are true primates, their phylogenetic relationship
to living primates is a matter of debate. Adapoids are often linked with strepsirhines due to shared
features such as similar ear morphology and the possession of a grooming claw on the second toe.
Omomyoids, on the other hand, are often associated with tarsiers. However, although many
characteristics may support these relationships, others seem to contradict them.
➢ Compare the skull of Adapis (an adapoid) with that of Lemur catta (a modern prosimian, the
ring-tailed lemur) and the skull of Rooneyia (an omomyoid) with that of the tarsier. Use the
following chart to guide your comparison.
Adapoid Lemur catta Omomyoid Tarsier

Relative size of the snout
Relative position of the orbits
Orbit size
Tooth comb
Dental formula
Fused mandible
Fused frontal
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The Oligocene
By the Oligocene, the continents had moved further apart, resembling their positions of today. Only
South America remained isolated. There was a significant change in climate as a glaciations event
resulted in a dramatic drop in worldwide temperature and in sea levels as the polar ice caps formed.
The cooler climates of North America and Europe were now unsuitable for early primates, and traces
of adapoids and omomyoids disappeared in these areas at the beginning of the Oligocene. Those
primates that did survive were found in the warmer climates of Africa and Asia, and gave rise to the
anthropoids. These early anthropoids were divided into three families: the oligopithecids, the
parapithecids, and the propliopithecids.
The Fayum deposits of Egypt have provided the most information regarding the origins of Old and New
World primates. The fossils found there are classified as anthropoids based on derived features such
as post-orbital closure, lacrimal bone inside the orbit, and a fused frontal bone and mandible. These
early anthropoids had a wide range in body size, diet, and locomotion.
STATION 6 Old World and New World Monkey Origins and Locomotion
Although South American was isolated at this time, fossils of New World monkeys appear in the
Oligocene. This presents one of the greatest mysteries of primate evolution: Where did this New
World primate come from, and how did it get to South America. While the “how” is still a matter of
uncertainty, the “where” seems to be more clear. It is suggested that all anthropoids originated in
Africa, and among these can be found the common, primitive ancestor of New and Old World monkeys
(though some suggest that the earliest anthropoids can be found in China).
➢ Find Catopithecus, an Oligopithecid primate taxa from the late Eocene/early Oligocene.
o Examine a skull and jaw. To which living primate taxonomic group does it most
resemble? Be sure to find a mandible where you can count the teeth.
o Based on the jaw and teeth, what do you think it might have eaten?
➢ Find Apidium, a parapithecid primate from the Late Eocene/early Oligocene
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o Examine a skull and jaw. To which living primate group does it most resemble?
o Based on the jaws and teeth, what do you think it might have eaten?
o Based on the femur, humerus, ulna, tibia and fibula, how do you think it might have
moved?
➢ Find Aegyptopithecus, a propliopithecid primate from the early Oligocene.
o Examine a skull and jaw. To which living primate group does it most resemble?
o Based on the jaws and teeth, what do you think it might have eaten?
o Based on the femur, humerus, ulna, tibia and fibula, how do you think it might have
moved?
What social system might it have lived in?
➢ Which do you think could possibly be the ancestor of anthropoid primates, including the New
World forms and which do you think gave rise to the catarrhines (Old World monkeys, apes,
and humans)?
The Miocene
In the Miocene, temperatures became considerably warmer compared to the cool Oligocene. Land
formations continued to approach their modern positions, and large connections between Africa and
Europe were frequent.
It is during this epoch that we see a major radiation of the apes. While there are only a handful of ape
species today, there was once a great diversity of apes that were found in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
While some of these early apes may resemble Old World monkeys in physical appearance, others were
larger than a modern male mountain gorilla.
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STATION 8 Proconsul
In the early Miocene, the fossil record of East Africa reveals an array of specimens designated as
Proconsulids. These anthropoids appear to be more derived than the Fayum catarrines, but more
primitive than subsequent radiations of apes. Whether they can truly be classified as hominoids is a
matter of debate. They are commonly called “dental apes” as their dental morphology most resembles
that of modern apes. However, the postcranial remains appear most similar to smaller monkeys.
➢ Compare the skull of Proconsul to that of a modern

chimpanzee. Specifically, look at the teeth. Describe any
similarities or differences that you see in the shape of the
molar teeth. Recall that modern apes have simple molars
with five cusps (with a y-shaped valley between them).
➢ Look at the skeleton of Proconsul. What can you surmise
about its locomotion?
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STATION 9 Fossil Apes
Here we will examine several fossil apes

from different periods of the Miocene.
Afropithecus is an early-middle Miocene
fossil ape from East Africa with few clear
ties to modern apes. Turkanopithecus is a
middle Miocene fossil ape from East Africa.
Its was estimated to weigh about 10
kilograms, making it not much larger than
medium to large-sized monkeys living
today. It also has no clear ties to any of the
living apes.
➢ Go to AfricanFossils.org. Find Afropithecus and Turkanapithecus, middle Miocene Apes.
o In what ways do they resemble a living ape?
o Do they resemble any particular living ape species?
▪ Pay attention to the shape of the eyes, and the distance between the eyes
▪ Pay attention to the profile
▪ Pay attention to the shape and size of the canine teeth
STATION 10 Sivapithecus and Gigantopithecus
At this station you will find two fossil Miocene apes (though Gigantopthecus also lived in the
Pliocene). Sivapithecus is found in Asia, and ranged in body size from 40-90 kg (about 90-200 lbs).
Gigantopithecus was also found in parts of Asia, and was perhaps the largest primate species ever to
live, weighing as much as 300 kg (about 660 lbs).
➢ Compare the skull of Sivapithecus to the skulls of the extant apes. Which species does it
most resemble?
➢ Compare the mandible and teeth of Gigantopithecus to those of the gorilla. Impressive, no?
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CONCLUSION AND CURRENT ISSUES
Understanding primate evolution allows us to observe trends that occur over millions of years. We
are able to correlate divergences in diet, locomotion, species diversity, and geographic distribution
with other aspects of the environment, such as climate and biogeography. This is particular important
for studying the factors that lead to species extinction, and to the evolution of modern humans.
While we have learned much about primate evolution in the past 200 years, there still are many
unanswered question. In particular, how did the platyrrine monkeys end up in South America, why
does the ape fossil record end so abruptly and where do tarsiers fit in. There is still much more that
we are likely to learn in the upcoming years.
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BECOMING HUMAN LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 12: BECOMING HUMAN
Goals
1) To examine characteristics unique to Homo sapiens

2) To learn to identify anatomy associated with bipedality, dentition, and
encephalization
3) To interpret the humanness of early potential human ancestors, and
to identify in the human lineage traits that may have evolved early.
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Introduction
In the upcoming weeks, we will begin to explore the evolutionary lineage leading to the development of
our own species, Homo sapiens. In addition to learning the anatomical and behavioral characteristics of
each individual species, we will also try to get a sense of the
evolutionary trends that are evident across longer periods of times
that encompass many different paleo--taxa. We will therefore be
exploring fossil lineages to determine when we first see the traits
that characterize and distinguish modern humans. In order to do
this, we need to first consider what exactly it is that separates
modern humans from our non--human primate cousins.
There are many behavioral traits that are thought to separate

humans from our non-primate relatives. Humans make tools, speak
languages, think using symbols, practice culture, create music and
art, and make moral decisions. Though many people think of these
characteristics as setting us apart from our more bestial kin, many
primatologists and animal behaviorists are beginning to discover that
insipient or even full-blown versions of these can be observed in monkeys and apes. For most of human
evolutionary history, however, we are unable to examine for the presence of these behavioral
characteristics. We are limited to the examination of anatomy, as the earliest paleontological evidence
is limited to the fossilized remains of ancestral species.
Therefore, we will examine three categories of anatomy for which modern humans are distinct. We
differ from non-human apes in the size of our brain, in the shape of our dental anatomy, and in the
myriad of anatomical features that are modified in order to allow us
to walk bipedally. By becoming familiar with the ape--like form
and the modern--human--forms of these characteristics, we will be
able to examine individual fossils for evidence of big brains, reduced
dentition, and bipedality. And by documenting when and in which
species we first see the development of these traits, we can begin
to understand how modern humans came to be how we are today.
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STATION 1 Brain Size and Cranial Shape
One of the most outstanding Cranial Volume

differences between modern humans
and non-human apes lies in the size of Modern Humans 1400 cc
our brains. Modern human brains are
Chimpanzees 400 cc
three to four times the size of the
brains of our living ape relatives. Our Gorillas 500 cc
brains are huge. The shape of the
human skull, therefore, reflects a Orangutan 460 cc
number of adaptations for making
room inside for our enormous
cerebral material. You should examine
the skulls here to explore some of the
differences
between the shape of the cranial vaults of modern humans and non--human apes.
➢➢ Cranial volume is measured in cubic centimeters (cc). It should be obvious to you

which of the skulls at this station have the largest area for the placement of a brain.
But in order to make room for this big brain, how has the modern human skull been
remodeled? How would you describe the differences in the frontal, parietal, and
occipital bones between modern humans and non--human apes?
➢➢ Examine the skulls from the top. Notice that in the ape skulls, there is a large
degree of post- orbital constriction behind the eyes. Do you see the same thing in the
skulls of modern humans? Create an index that can be used to compare post--
orbital constriction across species and calculate it in the skulls you see here.
➢➢ Apes are built for more powerful chewing than are modern humans. Examine the
non--human ape skulls for evidence of chewing muscle markings. Pay particular
attention to the sagittal crest at the top of the skull. This serves as an attachment site
for the temporalis muscles, which attach below on the inside of the ascending ramus
of the mandible. Also examine the size and shape of the brow ridges. How might
these function in helping the skulls reduce the effects of the stresses induced by
powerful chewing?
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STATION 2 Dental Anatomy
The jaws and teeth of modern humans and non--human apes also differ greatly. Living apes
still exhibit a high degree of prognathism (jutting forward of the lower face), while modern
humans have a face that is quite orthognathic (a flat face that does not project far beyond
the plane of the skull). In order to tuck the mouth underneath the skull, many important
changes have been made to the maxilla, mandible, and the teeth themselves. Compare the
skulls and mandibles of modern humans to the non--human apes.
➢➢ Turn the skulls over to examine the maxilla and the shape of the tooth row. In the
area below, sketch an outline of the tooth rows. How would you describe the
different shapes that you see?
➢➢ Compare the sizes and shapes of the teeth for the maxilla and mandibles at this station.
Compare the relative sizes of the incisors and the molar teeth. Which species has
larger teeth? Also, recall that apes have thin enamel while humans have thick
enamel.
➢➢ Apes, particularly the males, have large canine teeth. In order

for the mandible to close, there must be corresponding gaps in
the maxilla and mandibles into which these large canines can
slide. These gaps are called diastema. Also notice that the upper
canines slide against the first lower premolars and canines when
the mouth closes. This serves to sharpen the upper canines,
making them formidable weapons. This adaptation is known as
a canine-premolar honing complex.
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➢➢ Examine the shape and the thickness of the mandibles. Which mandibles are
more robust, and which are more gracile? Pay particular attention to the front of
the mandible where the two halves come together. In order to strengthen the
jaw, the bone in this area is thicker. Is the thickest part of the mandible on the
inside or the outside? Also examine the shape of the ascending ramus of each
mandible. How does it differ between modern humans and non- human apes?
What other differences do you see?
Orangutan Gorilla Chimpanzee Modern Human
Size of the
Incisors
Size of the
Molars
C-P Honing
Complex
Mandible
thickness
Mandible
Reinforcement
Shape of
Ascending
Ramus
STATION 3 Bipedality and the Cranium
Turn the skulls over to examine the placement of the foramen magnum, the large hole in
the bottom of the skull through which the spinal cord passes. In order for a bipedal
creature to balance their head on top of the body, this hole is located more towards the
front of the skull, while in quadrupedal or knuckle-walking creatures, it is farther towards
the back.
➢➢ Where is the foramen magnum located in the monkey, the apes, and the modern
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human? At this station, we also have the skull of a juvenile chimpanzee. Where is
the foramen magnum located in this skull? How does if differ from the placement
in an adult chimpanzee?
➢➢ Also examine the angle of the nuchal plane, the

angle of the occipital bone at the back of the skull
where the neck (nuchal) muscles attach. How does
it differ between modern humans and non-human
apes? Between the adult and juvenile
chimpanzees?
STATION 4 Bipedality and the Vertebrae
There are some important differences between a knuckle-walking or suspensory ape and a
bipedal modern human in the shape and form of the vertebral
column.
➢➢ Taken as a whole, the vertebral

column of a chimpanzee and of a
modern human each has a unique
shape. Compare the mounted
chimpanzee here with that of the
mounted modern human in the
cabinet. In the space below, sketch
the overall shape of the vertebral
column of each. How would you
describe the shape of each?
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➢➢ Pay close attention to the size and shape of each vertebra as you move from the
cervical vertebrae in the neck, to the thoracic vertebrae attached to the ribs, to the
lumbar vertebrae in the lower back. How are the chimpanzee and the human
similar? How are they different?
STATION 5 Bipedality and the Pelvis
In order to support an upright posture in bipedal

primates, the pelvis has undergone the most change.
It has become short and squat in order to lower the
center of gravity. By comparison, the gorilla pelvis
(and the baboon pelvis here) are both tall and narrow,
with a high center of gravity. In bipeds, the iliac blades
have rotated so that the gluteus maximus and medius
muscles are more on the sides, helping to maintain
balance when one foot is raised off the ground. In
quadrupedal primates, the iliac blades are oriented
towards the back.
➢➢ Compare the shape of a modern human pelvis with that of a gorilla and of a
baboon. How would you describe each? How does the orientation of the iliac
blades differ?
➢➢ Place a chair against a flat spot on the wall. Stand about a meter away from the
wall, facing it. Lean forward over the chair until your forehead touches the wall and
is supporting the weight of your body. Pick up the chair. Now, try to stand up.
Women, with wider pelvises, have lower centers of gravity, and should be able to
stand up. Men, with relatively narrower pelvises, should find it impossible to stand
up.
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STATION 6 Bipedality and the Lower Limbs
When standing upright, the entire weight of our bodies, from our giant brains, to our
torsos and pelvises, rests on our lower limbs. Walking, therefore, puts a lot of stress and
strain on our lower bodies. As with the rest of the body, we have made some important
adjustments to the shape of our legs and feet.
➢➢ Take the femur of the modern human, and the femur of
the non- human ape, and stand them upright. Notice how
the modern- human femur stands at an angle. This angle
allows our knees to be placed under our body, so that our
center of gravity is placed directly over our feet. This angle at
the knees is referred to as a valgus knee.
➢➢ Different forms of locomotion are often reflected in the relative lengths of the fore- and
hindlimbs. This general rule is derived from functional morphology and biomechanics. We
would expect a bipedal primate to have long legs, as longer legs means longer strides when
walking, and ultimately, more distance walked per stride. On the other hand, a suspensory
primate might be expected to have longer fore--limbs to maximize distance covered
while swinging through the trees. The intermembral index is a frequently--used
measure to describe the relative lengths of forelimb and hindlimbs in primates. It is
calculated as follows:
Intermembral Index=(Length of humerus +length of radius/length of femur+length of tibia) *100
• Calculate the intermemberal index for the modern human skeleton

(mounted) and for the mounted chimpanzee. Which has longer legs?
100
➢➢ Our feet bear the weight of our entire bodies when we stand and take
the stresses of pounding when we walk. To prepare for this step, take
one or two very slow, deliberate steps. Pay attention to which parts of
your feet push you forward, and which ones hit the ground hardest.
Then, compare the feet of an ape with the feet of a modern human.
o The calcaneus is the heel bone. How is it different in

humans and non- human apes?
o The hallux is the big toe. How is it different, both

in size and placement, between humans and non-
-human apes?
101
STATION 7 Are These Fossils Early Humans or Are They NonHuman Apes?
At this station we will examine two potential candidates for early human ancestors. For each one, you
should examine the fossil evidence
STATION 7a Sahelanthropus tchadensis
This is the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis found in Chad, a 6-7 million-year-old fossil that sits
very close in time to the potential last common ancestor of humans and apes. Despite the distortion
that it suffered as it fossilized, it still shows an interesting mix of ape and human traits.
• Compare the brow ridge and inter--orbital breadth to that of male and female gorillas
• Examine the degree of prognathism. Is it closer to that of chimpanzees? Or to that of

modern humans?
• Look for the evidence of a sagittal crest towards the back of the skull. Is it a crest? Or
something else?
• Compare the size and shape of the canines to those of other apes and to humans.
• Note the position and angle of the foramen magnum on the bottom of the skull. Is
it forward (like humans) towards the rear like apes, or something in between? What
does this say about bipedalism?
[Look to page 282 in the Photographic Atlas for photos and info]
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STATION 7b Ardipithecus ramidus
Discovered almost twenty years ago, but only fully presented

to the public in the past decade, Ardipithecus ramidus is an
astounding find. It is well dated to 4.4 million years ago and
shows some fascinating transitional morphology. If ever there
was a missing link, this species, represented by a number of
individuals, both male and female, is it. She is characterized by
long arms and big hands a short, bowl-like pelvis, but feet with
a divergent big toe.
• Compare the brain size to that of a chimpanzee, and

later, to that of Australopithecus afarensis
• Compare the canines to those of a chimpanzee. Are

they bigger or smaller? Do you see evidence of a
canine--premolar honing complex?
• How does her prognathism compare to that of chimpanzees?
• Examine the postcranial remains and compare the foot to that of a chimpanzee or
gorilla. Pay particular attention to the articulation and angle of the proximal hallux (big
toe). Which does it resemble more? Humans or chimpanzees? What does this say about
the evolution of bipedality?
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EARLY HUMAN ANCESTORS LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 13: EARLY HUMAN ANCESTORS
Goals
1) To learn to identify fossils considered to be early human ancestors

2) To examine in cast material traits associated with key early
human species
3) To trace the development of human characteristics across the
paleocene
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Introduction
The transitional period starting at the end of the Miocene and running through the Pliocene
marks a distinctive switch in the primate fossil record. There is an unfortunate absence of ape
fossils, leaving the ancestors of our great ape cousins unknown. Instead, we find a
wide variety of early hominid fossils. Early on, about 6--7
million years ago, we see a few fossils that are difficult
to categorize as either on the human line, on the line
leading to the living great apes, or on a line leading to an
extinct species of great ape.
Then, beginning at around 4.4 million years ago, the
early hominid fossil record becomes more complete.
Fossils have been found in Central, East, and South
Africa, indicating the possibility of a wide geographic
range, as well as the coexistence of different hominid
forms. Originally, many of these fossils were grouped
into the genus Australopithecus. As more fossils have
been discovered, it has become clear that the hominid
collection may in fact represent a wide variety of
genera, each distinguished by a suite of specific derived
traits.
The study of hominid evolution witnesses the gradual transformation from an ape-like creature to
one that is fully human. This complex process occurred in a relatively short period of time and
involved what can best be described as mosaic evolution. Hence, we have many fossils that
differ in only one or two characteristics, but nonetheless mark a new event in hominid
evolution. At the same time, this period is also characterized by major evolutionary
developments. Brain size increases a little bit, allowing greater cognitive abilities that ultimately
result in the first appearance of tools and art (which we will explore more fully in later labs).
The early hominid fossil record also reveals the gradual development of a truly bipedal form of
locomotion. This, too, had significant repercussions in the
emergence of a novel primate lifestyle.
In this lab, we will begin to explore the hominid fossil record. It is

important to keep in mind that this is a dynamic field, and that new
information often changes classification schemes and proposed
time spans. The chart below lists the most recent information
concerning early hominid fossils and their relative dates. As you go
through the different stations, you should complete the data sheet
provided at the end of this lab. This will help you to assign a list of
character traits to each individual species and provide a basis for
comparison.
105
Species Time Span Location
Sahelanthropus tchadensis 6-7 mya Central Africa
Orrorin tugenensis 6 mya East Africa
Ardipithecus kadabba 5.8-5.2 mya East Africa
Ardipithecus ramidus 4.4 mya East Africa
Australopithecus anamensis 4.2-3.9 mya East Africa
Australopithecus afarensis 4.2-2.5 mya East Africa
Australopithecus bahrelghazali 3.5-3.0 mya Central Africa
Kenyanthropus platyops 3.5-3.2 mya East Africa
Australopithecus deyiremeda 3.5-3.3 East Africa
Australopithecus africanus 3-2 mya South Africa
Australopithecus sediba 2.0-1.5 South Africa
Australopithecus garhi 2.5 mya East Africa
Paranthropus aethiopicus 2.5 mya East Africa
Paranthropus boisei 2.3-1.2 mya East Africa
Paranthropus robustus 2.0-1.5 South Africa
Those fossils shaded in grey are ones that we do not have casts of in our lab, and therefore cannot
examine compared to others.
106
EXERCISES
Station 1 – Australopithecus anamensis: 4.2-3.9 mya – East Africa
Australopithecus anamensis fossils are found in sediments in Kenya and Ethiopia dating from 4.2-3.9
million years ago. While this species overlaps other hominin species living in east Africa at the time, it is
thought to be distinct enough from the others anatomically to be placed in its own species. Some
scientists include Au. anamensis with Au. afarensis, while others believe it to be a direct descendant of
Ardipithecus ramidus.
• Compare the mandible and maxilla to Ardipithecus ramidus

(from the last lab), and to Australopithecus afarensis (at the next
station). Pay particular attention to the size of the canines.
• Find the proximal tibia. Compare the articular surfaces to those

of a chimpanzee and a human. Which do you think they more
resemble? What might that indicate about the locomotion of A.
anamensis?
Just this year, a fairly complete cranium was

discovered for this species. While we do not yet
have a copy to examine, compare the image here
to the skulls available.
• Note the presence of a crest at the top of

the skull.
• Note the degree of prognathism.
107
Station 2 - Australopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis is represented by fossil finds in East Africa dating between 4.2 and 2.5 million
years ago. Perhaps the best known and most complete fossil of this species is a female named “Lucy.”
The cranial capacity of A. afarensis is estimated at 433cc, only slightly greater than that of a chimpanzee.
A. afarensis exhibits traits intermediate between the more primitive apes and the derived humans
• Compare the mandible of A. afarensis to that of the human and chimpanzee. Sketch the
shape of the dental arcade.
• Compare the size of the incisors in each species.
• Compare the size of the canines in each species.
• Compare the size and shape of the premolars and molars of each species.
• Is Australopithecus afarensis more similar to an ape or to a human?
[Look to pages 286-287 in the Photographic Atlas for more photos of crania, maxilla, and mandibles]
STATION 3 – Australopithecine post-crania
Here we have some examples of Australopithecine postcrania.
• Compare the shape of the pelvis in the modern

human, the chimpanzee, and the pelvis of A.
afarensis. Which does it most resemble? Is there
any evidence for bipedality? Did this pelvis belong to
a male or to a female?
Examine the metatarsal of A. africanus. Compare its curvature

with the finger curvature of the chimpanzees, gorillas, and
humans in the set. Curved metatarsals can be indicative of
arboreal behavior
• What does this suggest about the locomotion habits

of the Australopithecines?
108
STATION 4 - Taung Child
This is the “Taung child,” the skull of a juvenile hominid discovered by Raymond Dart in South Africa in
1925. Faunal correlation dates it to 2-3 million-years-ago. He placed it in the genus Australopithecus
africanus, thinking it ancestral to modern human beings. His research was dismissed by other scientists
at the time, thinking that it looked like a young ape, and thinking that it showed the opposite set of
features that the Piltdown cranium (later proved to be a hoax) showed.
• In what ways does this skull look like an ape? Be sure

to examine the overall shape of the skull.
• In what ways does this skull look like a modern

human? Compare tooth size to the teeth in the
chimpanzee and human skull. Compare the sizes of
the supraorbital torus. Examine the shape of the eye
orbits. Look at the foramen magnum. Where is it?
What does it suggest?
• Compare the overall skull shape to that of a juvenile

chimpanzee and a juvenile human. Which does it
resemble more? How?
STATION 5 - Australopithecus africanus
This fossil is known as Mrs. Ples (If you really care to know why,
look at table 8.2 in the Photographic Atlas for clues),
and is thought to be a fully adult female member of
the species Australopithecus africanus. Compare her
skull to that of the A. afarensis skull at station 4.
• How does the overall shape of the skull compare to

that of A. afarensis?
• Is the maxilla shaped more like an ape or like a human?
• Can you find evidence of large canines? If not, how about a diastema?
• How does the facial projection (prognathism) compare to other species?
[Look to pages 289-290 in the Photographic Atlas for photos of mandibles, maxilla, teeth, skulls, and
other info]
109
STATION 6 - Paranthropus
Here we have three different species for you to examine. At the previous stations, you have examined
what are known as the gracile Australopithecines. The three here are frequently referred to as robust
Australopithecines. Some authors consider all three of these species to be in the genus
Australopithecus. Others (including me) consider the three species to be similar enough to each other,
yet different enough from the gracile species to be placed in their own genus. In this class, therefore,
we will call them Paranthropus aethiopicus, Paranthropus boisei, and Paranthropus robustus. The dates
and locations for these three species are summarized in the table below.
P. aethiopicus East Africa 2.5 MYA
P. boisei East Africa 2.3 to 1.2 MYA
P. robustus South 2.0 to 1.5 MYA

Africa
These three species are considered robust because of a suite of traits found in their skulls that seem to
indicate adaptations for powerful chewing. There are many of these.
• Look for evidence of powerful chewing muscles in these three species. Look in particular for
sagittal crests, compound temporal-nuchal crests, size and shape of the zygomatic arches,
and face shape
• See if you can spot what paleoanthropologists refer to as ‘dished faces’
• Compare the sizes of the post-canine teeth to those of other species. Compare these teeth
to the incisors and canines as well
• Compare the skull of the early P. aethiopicus to that of Australopithecus afarensis. What
similarities do you see?
• P. aethiopicus is older than the other two species in the genus. Does it look more primitive?
How so?
[Look to pages 288 and 291-293 in the Photographic Atlas for more photos of crania, maxilla, mandibles,
and postcrania, as well as additional info]
110
STATION 7 – Kenyanthropus platyops
This species, Kenyanthropus platyops, was discovered by Meave Leakey in Kenya (surprise!). The
discoverers felt that the skull was different enough from the gracile Australopithecines and the robust
Paranthropines to be placed in its own separate genus. Key differences were supposed to be found in
the flatness of the face, as well as the size of the teeth.
• Compare the flatness of the face to members of Australopithecus as well as to

Paranthropus.
• Does the dentition look more ape-like, or more like modern humans? Is it very different
from Australopithecus?
[This species is not included in the Photographic Atlas]
111
Data Record Sheet
Chimpanze S. A. A. A. K. P. P. P.
e tchadensi ramidu afarensi africanu platyop aethiopicu boise robustu
s s s s s s i s
Position of
foramen
magnum
Pneumatizatio
n
Prognathism
Relative size of
incisors and
molars
Size of
braincase
Post-orbital
constriction
Thickness of
cranial bone
Dished face
Megadont
Flaring
Cranium
Zygomatics
Diastema
Size of pelvis
Shape of pelvis
Postcranium
Valgus knee
Curved
phalanges
112
GENUS HOMO LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
LAB 14: Members of the Genus Homo
Objectives:
1. Recognize the different species attributed to the genus
Homo.
2. Trace trends in the evolution of human anatomy across
the Pleistocene.
3. Form initial hypotheses regarding the evolutionary.
relationships and identification of controversial species.
113
Early Members of the Genus Homo
In this lab, we will continue to examine the evolutionary lineage that ultimately leads to Homo sapiens.
In the last lab, we examined early taxa who were either likely or definitely not non-human apes, but who
are also decidedly different from modern humans in a number of ways. All of the species that we
examined had brains that were essentially the same size as those of living apes. All had dental arcades
that more closely resembled those of apes, even when they began showing the loss of large canines, and
adjustments in the shapes of molars and premolars. And although the evidence thus far suggests that
early human ancestors were all bipedal, none demonstrated a number of key adaptations for bipedality
that modern humans show.
With the emergence of the genus Homo, we see evidence of tool use
and manufacture. And we see the first species to migrate all around
Africa, eventually leaving it, and ultimately traveling to Europe, the
Near East, and the Far East. We also find the first fully modern bipedal
forms, as well as a significant expansion of the brain and braincase.
However, it seems that as we get closer to our own species, Homo
sapiens, the issues of taxonomy stay confusing, with the attribution of
specific fossils controversial, the relationships among taxa unknown,
and a few genuine mysteries thrown in as well.
In this lab, we will examine what distinguishes the genus Homo from
early hominids. We will also look at the controversies surrounding the
taxonomy and phylogeny of this group. As with the previous lab, be
sure to complete the data sheet at the end of this lab.
Homo rudolfensis 2.4-1.6 mya East and South Africa
Homo habilis 2.0-1.6 mya East Africa
Homo ergaster 1.9-1.5 mya East Africa
Homo erectus 1.9 mya – 300,000 (27,000) ya Africa, Asia (Europe?)
114
STATION 1 – Homo habilis vs. Australopithecus africanus
A number of traits distinguish the genus Homo from the more primitive Australopithecines. Here you
find a skull of Homo habilis, a species found all across Africa from about 2.0 – 1.6 mya (though perhaps
as old as 2.5 mya). This species is not very distinct taxonomically. See if you can spot a few of the
suggested differences.
• Compare this skull to A. africanus (Mrs. Ples): Are there noticeable differences in cranial
shape? In brain size? Pneumatization (swollen areas near the mastoids filled with air pockets) at the
base of the cranium?
• Are there differences in tooth size or prognathism?
• Does the maxilla look more ape-like or more human-like?
Look for the presence of canine pillars in each cranium. Canine pillars are raised areas of bone found
above the upper canines, and normally extend to either side of the nose opening.
Some anthropologists have suggested that Homo habilis is in fact more primitive, and thus more similar
to Australopithecus africanus than they are to later species of Homo. Based on your observations and
comparisons, is this statement true? If so, what are the implications for hominid taxonomy?
[Look to pages 293 and 294 of the Photographic Atlas for photos and info]
115
STATION 2 Homo habilis vs. Homo rudolfensis
Some people separate out a few individuals of Homo habilis, claiming that they are different enough to
warrant being designated as a separate species, Homo rudolfensis. Here we have the two cranial
specimens from Eastern Africa, KNM-ER 1813 and KNM-ER 1470, which were compared in the two-
species claim. You’ll have to do your best to re-assemble KNM-ER 1470 for comparisons.
• Part of the reason for splitting these into two

species is because of the extreme sexual dimorphism that this
species would have to have. Compare the size difference
between the H. habilis and H. rudolfensis to that between the
male and female gorilla skulls. Which has greater dimorphism?
Consider using quantitative data and indexes to compare the
dimporphism.
• In order to claim that sexual dimorphism

accounts for the body size differences in the two Homo habilis
(sensu lato) skulls, you need to first show that the larger of the
two is a male. Use your forensic anthropology skills to determine
which of these two looks more male.
• There are supposedly some morphological

differences between the two skulls. Compare the cranial vault
size and shape. They are also supposed to differ in the location of
the widest part of the face. Where is the widest part of the face
on each? Can you spot any other differences (think prognathism and dentition)?
• Some similarities have been noted between Homo rudolfensis and Kenyanthropus
platyops. What similarities do you see?
116
STATION 3 Oldowan Tools
Fossils of H. habilis, whose name means “Handy man,” are also found along
with stone tools. Although it is possible that earlier species may have made
and used stone tools (A. garhi, P. robustus), it is clear that H. habilis was most
definitely a tool maker. The capacity for tool use is indicated by anatomical
specializations of the hand that enable a precision grip. The tools of this
period are referred to as the Oldowan technology. These tools were simple
choppers that were made by pounding off chips of stone by using the force of
another stone. The action resulted in flakes with sharp edges that could be
used for digging and cutting.
STATION 4 Homo ergaster v. Homo erectus
Here we compare the skulls of the African Homo ergaster and Asian Homo erectus. See if you can spot
why Homo ergaster is sometimes called, ‘Homo erectus lite.’ We are fortunate to have a diversity of
fossils of each type. For Homo erectus, we include examples from Dragon Bone Cave in China, and from
the island of Java.
• See if you can find the three identifying tori in these crania: sagittal torus, supraorbital
torus, and transverse occipital torus. Go ahead and give the pencil test a whirl. I know you want to.
• Compare the brain size to that of the Homo habilis / Homo rudolfensis skulls.
• Turn the skull around to the back and sketch the shape from the rear. Where is the
widest part of the skull? Pay attention to the angled parietal bones.
• Do you see the para-sagittal depression? The flat occipital bones?
• Can you find examples of the extreme cranial thickness in these fossils?
117
Most of the early Homo erectus skulls from China (discovered by Weidenreich) were lost from a ship
destined to leave for the US on the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Fortunately, these
skulls were meticulously documented, and are presented in the Photographic Atlas (pp. 298 – 305). Use
these as well in your comparisons. The cast here is created from these images.
Check out the skulls labeled Dmanisi, from the country of Georgia (in the Near East), dated to about 1.8
mya. Five skulls were discovered, and we are lucky to have casts of three of them. These are sometimes
referred to as H. georgicus. As a group, these are thought to be more primitive than Homo ergaster in
Africa. The smallest individual is thought to have a cranial capacity of only 600 cc, where the average
cranial capacity for H. erectus is about 1000 cc. Is this name justified?
• Compare the size of the skull to other H. erectus and to H. ergaster. To which is it more
similar?
Compare the smallest to Homo habilis. Does it look different or more modern?
• Which species do the skulls resemble more? Look for the diagnostic characteristics.
• What does your decision mean about the taxonomy of the Dmanisi individuals? Should
these guys be lumped in with Homo erectus? Should everything from Homo habilis through Homo
erectus be included together? Or should we separate all into different species, as some
paleoanthropologists currently do?
[Look to pages 296-297 in the Photographic Atlas for examples of H. ergaster, and pages 298-305 for
examples of H. erectus]
STATION 5 – Achulean hand axes
African Homo ergaster made use of their bigger brains. Rather than the simple
Oldowan choppers used by Homo habilis, H. ergaster created a much more
sophisticated tool kit. The most striking tool in their repertoire is the Achulean hand
axe. All hand axes of this type, no matter the size or stone, have a distinctive tear-
drop shape. They are completely worked on both sides (front and back) and have two
sharp edges used for cutting. The base is fat, and just perfect to hold in the palm of
your hand.
118
Later Members of the Genus Homo
Introduction
In this lab, we will examine the species of humans that are clearly more similar to modern humans than
they are to our ape-like ancestors. They are all as tall as modern humans, fully bipedal in locomotion,
use their hands skillfully to make and use stone tools, and display a
continued increase in brain size as compared to Homo habilis or Homo
erectus.
You might imagine that the closer we get to modern humans, the easier
it would be to determine the relationships among the different fossil
species. Sadly, this is far from the truth. Members of these hominid
species lived in a variety of habitats, so that regional variation is present
across taxa. Some taxa are easy to distinguish. Others seem to be
transitional, showing characteristics of more than one other species.
But to make matters worse, they are not always consistent in which
characteristics they exhibit, so that even in a single population, some
individuals look more like one species, and other more like another.
And to make matters even more complicated, more modern techniques

for analyzing bones are complicating the picture. Researchers have
been able to extract DNA samples from some bones. This allows comparison among species,
demonstrating that Neanderthals and modern humans were more different from each other than
previously thought. But it also makes things more challenging. For example, just this year, a new
species of humans was identified from the DNA found in a finger bone alone. We have a new species to
learn about, and we have no idea what they even look like. We should expect that this area of
paleoanthropology to change rapidly over the next several years. These will certainly prove to be
exciting times.
The goal of this lab is to give you a chance to explore some of the differences between early ancestor
species on your own, and at your own pace. The questions here are intended to be a starting point for
your investigations, and NOT intended to provide
a complete list of traits for each species. We will
do more of that in class. Feel free to pick up, hold,
and examine the casts (although be EXTREMELY
careful with them, particularly the ceramic casts).
You might find that sketching some aspects of the
skulls helps you remember things about them. I
will not grade your answers. This lab is meant to
enhance your understanding of these fossils, and
the benefits you derive will be directly related to
the efforts you put in.
119
Homo heidelbergensis 800,000 (?) to 200,000 Europe
Homo antecessor 800,000 ya Europe (Spain)
Homo rhodesiensis 600,000 ya Africa
Homo naledi 335,000 tp 236,000 South Africa
Homo neanderthalensis 175,000 to 27,000 Europe
Homo sapiens idaltu 200,000 Africa
Modern Homo sapiens 94,000 Everywhere
Homo floresiensis 74,000 to 12,000 ya Flores
Denisovans 30,000 to 48,000 Russia
Red Deer Cave People 11,500 ya China
STATION 6 - Homo heidelbergensis
These skulls are placed in the trash-can taxon called Homo heidelbergensis. They show an odd mix of
Homo ergaster and Homo neanderthalensis characteristics. See if you can spot similarities to either
group. Those individuals from Europe are typically placed in the genus H.
heidelbergensis. Those from Africa are sometimes placed in the taxa H.
rhodesiensis. Many researchers believe that these two are simply regional
variation of the same species. Clearly, more research needs to be done
here.
• Compare the shape of the brow ridges to those of H.

ergaster and to H. neanderthalensis.
• How does the cranial vault size and shape compare? What
about post-orbital constriction?
120
Look at the example of Homo antecessor, an 800,000 year old fossil located in the mountains of Spain.
Can you find the canine fossa? Do you see canine fossae in the other H.
heidelbergensis fossils? How about in modern Homo sapiens?
[Look to pages 306 to 312 in the Photographic Atlas for examples of

H. ergaster, and pages 298-305 from Europe and Africa (and one
from China)]
STATION 7 - Homo neanderthalensis
At this station, we will attempt to examine the characteristics of Homo neanderthalensis. Neanderthal
crania show a surprising amount of diversity, yet we only have two representatives here at Miami
University. You may need to examine the images from pages 312-318 in your textbook to practice
finding key anatomical traits. Try to find these traits and characteristics in several of the skulls that we
have. One of the skulls that we have in our collection comes
from a juvenile Neanderthal. See if you can spot the traits in
that one as well.
• Examine the cranial vault from behind. Where

is the widest part?
• Can you locate the occipital bun?
• What shape are the brow ridges?
• Which part of the face projects the farthest

forward? What effect does this have on the zygomatic
arches?
• Can you find examples of Neanderthals with large nasal openings and orbits?
• Can you find examples of interesting incisor wear? [pp. 316-317]
• Can you spot a retro-molar gap?
121
The more worn individual is known as La Chapelle Aux Saints. His poor condition
tells us something about the Neanderthal social system. What evidence do you
find that he was in need of social aid?
[Look to pages 312-318 in the Photographic Atlas for additional examples of

Neanderthals]
STATION 8 - Homo sapiens
Here we have several individuals that represent Homo sapiens. All of these skulls share quite a few traits
with modern Homo sapiens. One of them, however, still has some very large brow ridges. This skull is
sometimes placed in the subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu, an early form of humans. Anatomically, they
are characterized by their especially heavy brow ridges. We also have the skull of Cro Magnon (dated to
about 30,000) as our example of fully modern Homo sapiens. There are not many synapomorphies to
describe Homo sapiens.
• Where is the widest part of the skull? What shape do you see when you examine the
skull from the rear?
• Do you see any facial prognathism?
• Compare the size of the mandible with those of earlier species. What differences do
you notice?
• Compare the size and shape of the brow-ridges to those of earlier species.
[Look to pages 318 to 323 in the Photographic Atlas for additional information and images]
122
STATION 9 - Homo floresiensis
This odd little fellow (or lady) is causing a lot of problems in the paleontological world. He has been
given the name Homo floresiensis, as he was found on the island of Flores in Southeast Asia (not too far
from Java). The skull is quite small (compare this to the fully modern skull), and perhaps shows some
similarities to earlier species, the dates, however, are currently estimated to be between 60,000 and
150,000 years ago, with nearby tools dating as far back as 190,000. Some other
nearby fossils date as far back as 700,000 years ago!!!
• Do you see any evidence that this individual, although small, is NOT a
child?
• Compare the brain size to that of the other species (even gorillas!).
To which is it most similar?
• Examine the skull from the rear. Which species does it most
resemble?
• Some people suggest that it is similar to Homo erectus in some ways.

Do you see any similarities?
• Do you spot a mental eminence (chin), suggesting an affinity to

Homo sapiens?
• Look at the teeth. Small, aren’t they?
123

DNA Lab Reveals Human Evolution

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DNA Lab Reveals Human Evolution

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INHERITANCE AND DNA LABORATORY IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Dr. Scott Suarez

LAB 2: Inheritance and DNA

1. Master the vocabulary associated with genetics

2. Understand how genes are formed

3. Use mtDNA to estimate dates of ancestors

4. Predict likelihood of offspring genotypes using Punnett squares

5. Understand differences between Autosomal and X -Linked traits

Station 2 – Nuclear DNA and Protein Synthesis

• From the strips of paper at this station,

Station 3 - mtDNA and Divergence Dates

Station 4 – Punnett Squares

If we know the phenotypes of two different parents, we can make

Station 5 – Pedigree Charts

Station 6 – X-Linked Traits

The X Chromosome is long and contains many loci on it for

Answer the following questions:

Station 7 – Mendelian Traits in Humans

Mendelian Trait Your Phenotype Your Possible Genotype(s)

LAB 3: PEPPERED MOTHS & MICROEVOLUTION

1) To calculate allele frequencies

Today’s lab exercise is based on a true-­­life example of the evolution

In this population of moths, there were two

The Hardy--­Weinberg Formula (HWF) is a very important tool used by

1. Mating is random (lack of Sexual Selection) with respect to

To complete this exercise, each group will have:

• A plastic bag containing 45 black, 45 gray, and 45 white moths

Frequency of the allele W (p) = # W/#W+#B

We can perhaps more clearly express this in the following table.

Allele from Allele from Probability HWE

LAB 4: SKELETAL ANATOMY

• Handle all bones over the tables.

Terms of Direction and Orientation

Superior Above another

Inferior Below another

Anterior Towards the Front (see ventral)

Posterior Towards the Back (see dorsal)

Cranial Closer to the head

Caudal Closer to the feet or tail bone

Medial Toward the midline of the body

Lateral Away from the midline of the body

Proximal Toward the trunk of the body

Distal Away from the trunk of the body

Ventral Toward the front

Dorsal Toward the back

STATION 1 - The Skull

Use a real skull to help with the following questions:

STATION 2 - The Dentition

Buccal Toward the cheek

Lingual Toward the tongue

Distal Toward the back of the mouth

Mesial Toward the front, midline of the dentition

Labial Toward the lips

Occlusal The part used for chewing

Each tooth is composed of four parts:

The enamel is the outermost part of the

The dentin is the chief tissue of the tooth

Teeth are primarily involved in the ingestion and processing of food.

• We will later describe primates based on their dental formula. This is

STATION 3 - Axial Skeleton

o Which mystery vertebra is a thoracis vertebra? How do you know?

STATION 4 - Appendicular Skeleton: Shoulder Girdle

STATION 5 - Appendicular Skeleton: The Upper Limbs

Today’s lab exercise is based on a true-life example of the evolution

The Hardy--Weinberg Formula (HWF) is a very important tool used by

• Hitch-Hiker’s Thumb: Hold your thumb up as if you were

• Earlobes: Are your earlobes attached or free-hanging?