Hominin traits are able to help us learn more than we would think about humans and help us understand our biology in the present day more than ever before it seems like. One trait in particular for based on a hominin trait is the size of the brain. The lecture kept comparing the hominin’s brain size to a chimp, and a chimp size brain is relatively small when compared to a human brain. Taking one of these traits into account can really inform us how we are different or similar to other primates presently and can be compared in the past timeline to other hominins. I thought that was interesting to learn the size, because when did it start to enlarge. I know humans do have the largest brains out of these organisms that was introduced to us. How did that happen to our species that gives us that capability to create a society that we have today? I guess that is what many are wondering hence these techniques and research; I think that is great and interesting.
Another hominin trait is bipedalism. That is another trait I saw stand out from the lectures that can majorly help us inform more on modern human biology. Being bipedal is something unique in humans and it was found as an outstanding trait to other hominins that can definitely help us learn more about human evolution as well. Fossils can show whether or not one organisms are bipedal or not, and that can put more pieces of the puzzle together for human evolution.
Third hominin trait that stood out to me from the lectures is the molar size that was mentioned. Along with the mandible/jaw size of the fossils of the hominins that is again compared to the human skeleton. They are often much larger than what we have and that was narrowed down to different habitats such as more wild areas. Something else about the teeth that would be mentioned are the canines. It seems that as time passes canines get smaller. We can observe our own canines now that they are present but not as big as a carnivore. A baboon has huge canines, but from the lecture its purpose is not to tear through meet. So from there, canines seem to get smaller due to diet changes, but in addition could be used for other purposes such as intimidation and protection like the baboons.
Hominin diversity is much greater than I anticipated and from the lectures and other information this week, I learned a lot about different species that can really not just inform us, but show us how humans have evolved over millions of years. So overall, hominin diversity has affected human evolution very positively, and has helped us learn about our history, since there is always more information to be discovered about the human body and our life history.
Fossilized skeletal remains of early human ancestors can inform anthropologists through observing traits such as the ones mentioned above and compared to modern human biology. From the fossil remains, even DNA analysis can be extracted to compare if the remains are not too old. Even from comparing skeletons, anthropologists can definitely rebuild and reconstruct the past to learn more about our human evolution.
Hey Andrea! I liked how personal your post was in the beginning, it definitely made it really relatable. I never really thought about how diverse primates are, despite the fact that they are all connected. The bit about the teeth was particularly interesting to me (though kind of strange(?), but in a good way I suppose, I think teeth just weird me out) and I’m glad you mentioned it in your post. The fact that you also mentioned how canines evolved not only for dietary reasons but also for protection and intimidation was honestly a really nice touch. I also liked how your post carried us throughout time, bringing in examples of fossils and then also mentioning modern baboons. You did a really great job!
Hi Andrea, After reading your post, particularly about the chosen hominin traits used to discuss for the comparisons are quiets well described and I believe you have answered the prompt very well. Hominis traits are constant state of change and evolution which is benefited humans and their relatives ability to adapt to one’s environment, our biology specifically anatomy hasn’t changed but certain aspects of our biology adapts to our environment. Traits such as walking and teeth are fascinating to study because when we were discussing primates, on how one of the reasons we are related to shared biological features is one of the reasons we connected and that transition from chimpanzees to early humans and to now modern humans. I agree with you on how fossil skeletal are significant to confirmation of several theories discussed by anthropologist.
Nice work, it seems that the focus on the enlarged brain size and the bipedal shift are the most common in all of our analysis. The aspect of your blog that I found to be the most interesting was that you decided to tag on some questions alongside your own analysis and answer to the prompt. By asking questions you made your post more engaging and I think I ended up asking the very same questions myself once I read your post. You managed to incorporate the concept of “how” into your blog post. By doing that you are able to create a much more interesting and elaborate area of discussion and study, which is what we should all attempt to do while taking this course.
Hay Andrea, Very insightful post!
I like how informative your post was. If someone missed the lesson this week and didn’t understand the content behind it, you did an excellent job breaking down some of the Key points. As you mentioned in your post, one thing that caught my attention was the bipedalism. I found this very interesting because I always thought monkeys and chimps naturally walked on their feet. I didn’t know it was terms to refer to primates walking on their feet (bipedal) versus walking on their hands and feet (quadrupedal.) I do agree, that if hominins are bipedal, it could help us understand our biology a little better than before. Essentially, we could put more pieces of the puzzle together that could help us understand human evolution.
Great Job on your post!
Hello!
I. W.a.s also fascinated on the evolution on bipedalism. I talked about it in my blog post and also left a comment elaborating on that on another post. It’s so intresting to me that we used to be dependent on trees and all thre traits such as even tails and the grip of hands to be able to travel. I liked how you showed the linkage between the traits and why they came about. Also i liked how you asked a question to make me think and really broke all necessary information down well and easy to follow along. I liked how you also stated how diversity has to do with evolution. Studying these fossils really help us answer these why and confirm pieces if what we theorize.