Go through the class lecture notes and your textbook. Here are some things for you to consider while you are studying.

Dating Methods

            Name of method, how it works, is it absolute or relative?

                        C-14, K-Ar, Ar-Ar, biostratigraphy, paleomagnetism

            Effective range (e.g. C-14 can go back 40k years)

            What sets the clock to zero (e.g. for C-14 the material is burned or animal dies)

Paleoclimate methods

            Name of method, how it works

                        Carbon and oxygen isotopes, etc.

            How does it relate to hominin radiations (e.g. climate change 6-8 mya? 2.5 mya?)

When was the Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene?

What does Lower Paleolithic technology look like? When and where do we find it?

What is the Acheulian Tradition? Who made these tools? Where do we find them?

When?

What is the ‘Human Revolution’?

Hominin radiations

            What traits distinguish hominins from hominoids (other apes)?

            What are the trends in our evolution?

            What does the term hominin mean (as opposed to hominid)?

            When did the first hominin appear? Where?

What are some possible explanations for the origin and adaptive significance of bipedalism?

Who were the Australopithecines? Where did they live? What were they like?

What is the taphonomic context of the East African versus South African sites?

            What happened around 2.5 mya in the hominin lineage?

What distinguishes Paranthropines from Australopithecines? What kinds of adaptations make them different and what are these adaptations related to?

If I said there were minimum 4 species of hominin in East Africa at the time, to whom would I be referring?

            What distinguishes the Genus Homo from other hominins?

What is AmHs and what distinguishes them from other hominins?

What species do these terms refer to?

What is back tooth dominance? Who had it, why? What other features relate to it?

            What is anterior tooth loading? What is the functional/anatomical significance?

            Sagittal keel versus sagittal crest

            Occipital torus versus occipital bun

            Who is… (Time? Place? Adaptations (in general)?)