Anthropology Reporting Fossilized Hominid Skeleton Paper

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Description

For this assignment, imagine you are an evolutionary biologist/paleoanthropologist who has just uncovered a relatively complete fossilized hominid skeleton.You have determined that this is a new species and plan to publish your results in the peer-reviewed journal New Discoveries. You are also aware that new hominin species attract lots of public interest, so you need to prepare a visual depiction highlighting the salient features of your hominin.

Written Paper

This should be at least an 800-word long description and interpretation of what was uncovered. The paper must cover the following (you must include something for each of these points – you will be downgraded if you say that nothing was found):

  • The environment where the fossil hominid was found; what made you choose that location to search?
  • The dating techniques utilized to determine the age of the fossil hominid and why (the method you choose should be appropriate for the context where the remains were discovered, and the age should be appropriate for the method chosen)
  • The morphology (physical features) of the fossil hominid and what you were able to interpret about the behavior of the species based on this (i.e. locomotion, eating habits, activity patterns, etc.)
  • Any other associated faunal (animal) remains, and what this tells you about the ecological niche (if there are no associated faunal remains, you should explain why there are not any) 
  • Any associated artifacts, tools (how were they used and what brought you to this conclusion)
  • Other species you feel this species is related to and why
  • The genus and species name you have given this species and why
  • A visual depiction of your specimen (either the entire fossil or salient features)

Explanation & Answer:
1 Discussion
1 Paper
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Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Reporting Fossilized Hominid Skeleton - Outline
I.

A part of a suspected hominid skeleton was extracted from a mine remain in Greece in a
cave that had been marked as of interest by past anthropologists

II.

In determining the age of the skeleton, the argon-argon dating technique was employed to
understand the age of ashes and volcanic flow

III.

The arrangement of the skeleton revealed a hominid structure with bones suggesting
bipedalism

IV.

A closer look at the skeletal teeth revealed that they were conserved without any
breakages to suggest carnivorous nature

V.

Apart from the skeleton, a thorough search of the grave revealed some bracelets and pots
that are believed to have been part of their livelihoods

VI.

The hominid appearance places the skeleton in the same species of Australopithecus
since the time period can be well established

VII.

Since the species appears different from anything else that has been excavated or
discovered so far, I have named it Australopithecus novena


Running head: REPORTING FOSSILIZED HOMINID SKELETON

Reporting Fossilized Hominid Skeleton
Name
Institution

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REPORTING FOSSILIZED HOMINID SKELETON

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Reporting Fossilized Hominid Skeleton
A part of a suspected hominid skeleton was extracted from a mine remain in Greece in a
cave that had been marked as of interest by past anthropologists. With much attention given to
fossils obtained from Africa, I thought it would be relevant to discover new information about
any hominid found in Greece. After looking at the possible areas where remains had been found,
I settled for the Kentya grave that was of interest to many anthropologists. Also, in the previous
years, several remains had been obtained from the location but not many studies had involved
thorough analysis. The skeleton that was obtained in this location appeared after a series of
excavation of areas that were believed to be homes for the evolving species. The first part to be
found was the femur after blasting some of the limestone rocks in the area. Thorough extraction
of the gravesites and the area around revealed more bones which I reconciled with the help of my
colleagues to reveal a fossilized hominid skeleton that is of interest.
In determining the age of the skeleton, the argon-argon dating technique was employed to
understand the age of ashes and volcanic flow (Brown, 2016). Since the bones were fragmented
and damaged, it was essential that careful handling and cleaning was done to conserve all
information that may be obtained. The results estimated the skeleton to be about 1.5 million
years old (Brown, 2016). However, the dating showed that the rocks around the fossil were about
one million years, which could be explained by the multiple mudslides that could have formed
the rocks (Brown, 2016). The dates, therefore, show a hominid who could provide vital historical
information in understanding the evolution of man.
The arrangement of the skeleton revealed a hominid structure with bones suggesting
bipedalism. The distal femur showed unique characteristics such as condyles that had an angle to

REPORTING FOSSILIZED HOMINID SKELETON

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the shaft, which allowed for bending (Bräuer et al., 2019). Part of the bones was a patellar tip
which is normally responsible for helping keep the knee in motion without dislocating during
movement (Bräuer et al., 2019). The pelvis also showed adaptations for upright structure with
the big toe appearing convergent to help with locomotion. Lastly, the vertebrae have some
curvatures that could be indicative of an upright stance. Another critical element was the small
size of the bones which suggests that they may belong to a female (Bräuer et al., 2019). The
pelvic region also shows signs of a female with smaller structures that would be expected for a
male. Further, the skull sutures have closed which reveals that the female was fully developed at
the time of death. However, the bones did not have any scars or markings, which made the
establishment of the cause of death impossible.
A closer look at the skeletal teeth revealed that they were cons...


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