Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Who is the Real Eve? (a woman from whom all modern humans may be descended)
Where and when did she live? (Africa about 150,000 years ago)
What is the scientific basis that a Real Eve existed? (genetic tracking through mitochondrial DNA; new knowledge of climate and geographical
changes)
What is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)? (the unique DNA found in the mitochondria of living cells)
How is mitochondrial DNA passed through generations? (Humans inherit it from their mothers.)
How many years ago did the first hominids appear? (3.5 million)
When did this group of hominids migrate out of Africa? ( 80,000 years ago) What was their migration route? (across the Red Sea into what is now
Yemen)
What were the primary causes of the migration of hominid groups? (climate and geography, such as polar caps, deserts, and volcanic eruptions)
When did modern-day humans first migrate into what is now Europe? (50,000 years ago)
What hominids had been living in this region for hundreds of thousands of years? (Neanderthals)
What caused humans to evolve into different races with unique characteristics? (adaptations to different climates)
OUTLINE
These notes are perfect, in the sense that they capture everything you needed to glean from “The Real Eve” documentary. The organizational
structure mirrors the chronological flow of the documentary itself. Note that there is some use of abbreviations, though you would certainly
want to abbreviate much more if you were writing these notes out longhand.
Ultimately, you might want to use these notes as the spine around which you integrate and organize your information for this Unit, including
lecture notes, notes from the Unit 3 online video, and annotations and important highlights from the Reading. In a class like this you want to try
to integrate materials from as many sources as you can, because by integrating them you start seeing recurring patterns – the stuff that’s
repeated the most tends to be the most important. Integration can also allow you to see how different materials, from different sources, can
often come together to form a big picture that you didn’t see before, when you were learning the material separately.
1. 150K yrs ago, Earth was in an Ice Age w/Humans Struggling to Survive
(oceans 400 feet lower & Africa was a desert)
a. Modern humans struggled & lived as hunters/gatherers, fighting the growing deserts in Africa.
b. Hunting was key to survival – Hunting required cooperation, planning, & communication. Smarter was rewarded w/more food.
7. Crossing to Australia
a. Some of the descendents of ancient Sumang moved on to Australia.
b. Lower sea level (160 feet) made crossing to Australia fr: SE Asia much easier then than today (could island hop w/o any long
ocean crossings).
c. Multiple variations of Mitochondrial lines (unique to Australians & derived directly from “Out of Africa Eve”) among different
females arriving at similar times indicates planned migration, rather than raft wreck.
d. Australia home to strange creatures
Mega-fauna, mega-flora all extinct with a few thousand years after human arrival. (Probably burned enough mega-flora that
animals that depended on it died off).
e. When Ice age recedes, ocean levels rise, isolating Australia for tens of thousands of years.
8. Mungo-Man 3
a. DNA Tested to 64K BP & no links to any other known DNA (If true, would blow up “Out of Africa” theory)
b. Dr. Stringer says:
i. Could be contaminated DNA
ii. Can still be interpreted consistent w/Out of Africa theory
10. EUROPE: 50K yrs. ago first homo sapiens to Europe (Why later than Australia?)
a. Oppenheimer: Europe was closed off during initial migration due to ice age. Glaciers receded & rains came to Middle East
approx. 50K yrs ago.
b. Humans (from 1st southern migration) walked from Mid. East into Europe
c. Genetic ev. Supports southern route to Europe from Middle east settlers (between the Tigris & Euphrates rivers)
d. People came to have fixed burial grounds & sacred places
Mourned their dead, ceremonies.
e. Neanderthal interactions
i. Found Neand. Skeleton in Neander Valley in Germany.
ii. Stringer on Neanderthals:
1. Skull/Body
Strong brow ridge, face pulled forward, huge nose. Appears cold adapted. Short & stocky conserves heat. Big
nose/nasal cavity warms air.
2. Not dull. Brains were as big as HS. Common ancestors approx. 500K yrs. Ago. DNA 10X closer to us than chimps.
3. Genes have died out if interbred w/HS.
4. Otherwise, Neanderthal & Homo Sapiens (HS) competed for territory in Europe, & Neanderthals lost.
5. Neanderthals used tools for 100’sK years, w/very little innovation. Much copying of HS tool innovations upon HS
arrival in Europe.
6. Neanderthals were extinct within 10K years of HS contact.
Reason may have been slow to adapt & compete w/more resourceful HS.
f. Waves into Europe
4 separate mitochondrial lines into Europe 45-10K years ago, from Asia & Mid East.
11. Ornamentals
a. Small carvings out of Mammoth ivory. Some painted. Very smooth (maybe handled for generations?).
b. Realistic or idealized forms? Uncertain.
c. Evidence of sewn clothing
i. Bone needles = sewing
ii. Maybe weaving fabrics
iii. Increase personal expression = fashion.
iv. Burial garments w/ 1000’s of beads (hours per bead)
d. Carving in mammoth tusk (50K yrs) of a mammoth.
e. Cave paintings go back 35K years.
(often depicts animals & magical forms, part of Shaminism/magic rituals?