Describe what Upper Paleolithic cave paintings usually depict. Identify where most of these caves are found.

User Generated

gbal0529

Science

ANTH001

Description

Part A:

Reflect on one of the following prompts - select only one (1). 150+ words

A. Describe what Upper Paleolithic cave paintings usually depict. Identify where most of these caves are found and why anthropologists think the paintings may have been produced.

B. Using your knowledge of the fossil record and the genetic evidence, identify which model of modern human origins you believe is best supported by the current data.


Part B:

minimum of 100+ words - please cite any resources used.

THE TASK:

  1. Surf the web for a specific Upper Paleolithic site or object that appeals to you and provide an image and link for further reading. (10 points)
  2. Write a brief report to explain what you find fascinating about your selection. (10 points)

The more detail in Part B is in the PDF.

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Looking at Upper Paleolithic humans! An intriguing question for many researchers revolves around the demise of Homo neanderthalensis, Since the disappearance of this species coincides with the rise of modern humans, it suggests there might be a link. Speculation has raged about this topic for decades but in recent years the combination of multi-disciplinary evidence and a greater understanding of the ancient world has led professionals to believe: maybe. One old refrain claims modern humans killed off the Neanderthals through conflict and warfare – but no evidence points to this scenario, yet still, the idea persists. Population densities at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic must have been very low (by comparison to today) and it's possible the two groups were rarely at odds with each other over resources. We also know that modern humans utilized a much wider subsistence strategy than Neanderthals, who were apex predators and survived primarily on protein. Consequently, when the climate began to change, the weather warmed, the ice sheets receded and the megafauna began to disappear – this must have impacted the Neanderthal diet more strenuously. Most extinctions are a complex result of multiple factors and Neanderthal will likely turn out the same. Genetic evidence indicates an admixture of human and Neanderthal genes, interbreeding that resulted in a portion of the world’s population deriving part of their heritage from Neanderthals. It is in the Upper Paleolithic world that something remarkable happens. Culture appears in the form of art. This is the first evidence of not just complex cultural behavior, but also the emergence of symbols and abstract thinking. The Upper Paleolithic was a period of great transition in the world. The Neanderthals in Europe disappeared by 33,000 years ago, and modern humans began to have the world to themselves. Stone tools of the Upper Paleolithic were primarily blade-based technology. They were used to create an astonishing range of formal tools, tools created to specific, wide-spread patterns with specific purposes. In addition, bone, antler, shell and wood were used to a great degree for both artistic and working tool types, including the first eyed needles presumably for making clothing about 21,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic is perhaps best known for the cave art, wall paintings and engravings of animals and abstractions at caves such as Altamira, Lascaux and Coa . Another development is mobile art, including the famous Venus figurines and sculpted batons of antler and bone carved with representations of animals. Debate has raged for twenty years about the Slovenia artifact . This 50,000 year old bone fragment found in Slovenia might just be a flute manufactured by a premodern human. THE TASK: 1 Surf the web for a specific Upper Paleolithic site or object that appeals to you and provide an image and link for further reading. (10 points) 2 Write a brief report to explain what you find fascinating about your selection. (10 points) Patterns of Hominid Dispersal How did we get where we are today? There are two theories about the origin of modern humans:  One, they arose in one place — Africa.  Two, pre-modern humans migrated out of Africa to become modern humans in other parts of the world.  Most evidence seems to point to the first theory because:    fossils of modern-like humans are found in Africa stone tools and other artifacts support African origin DNA studies suggest a founding population in Africa The Hominid Continuum… …and the Hominid Continuum Three Major Evolutionary Transitions 1. The transition from early Homo to Homo erectus. 2. The transition from Homo erectus to archaic Homo sapiens. 3. The transition from archaic Homo sapiens to anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Understanding the issue:  One of the most hotly debated issues in the study of human origins focuses on the origins of modern humans, Homo sapiens.  Roughly 100,000 years ago, the Old World was occupied by a morphologically diverse group of hominids.  In Africa and the Middle East there was Homo sapiens; in Asia, Homo erectus; and in Europe, Homo neanderthalensis. Modern Homo sapiens sapiens  By 30,000 years ago this taxonomic diversity had vanished and humans everywhere had evolved into the anatomically and behaviorally modern form.  The nature of this transformation is the focus of great deliberation between two schools of thought: one that stresses multiregional continuity and the other that suggests a single origin for modern humans. The Multiregional Continuity Model This contends that after Homo erectus left Africa and dispersed into other portions of the Old World, regional populations slowly evolved into modern humans. The Multiregional Continuity model contains the following components:  some level of gene flow between geographically separated populations prevented speciation, after the dispersal.  all living humans derive from the species Homo erectus that left Africa nearly two million-years-ago.  natural selection in regional populations (ever since their original dispersal), is responsible for the regional variants (sometimes called races) we see today.  the emergence of Homo sapiens was not restricted to any one area, but occurred throughout the entire geographic range where humans lived. The Out of Africa Model In contrast, this model asserts that modern humans evolved relatively recently in Africa, migrated into Eurasia and replaced all populations which had descended from Homo erectus. Critical to the Out of Africa model are the following tenets:  after Homo erectus migrated out of Africa the different populations became reproductively isolated, evolving independently, and (in cases like the Neanderthals), into separate species.  Homo sapiens arose in one place, probably Africa (geographically this includes the Middle East).  Homo sapiens ultimately migrated out of Africa and replaced all other human populations, without interbreeding.  modern human variation is a relatively recent phenomenon. To understand the controversy, the anatomical, archaeological, and genetic evidence needs to be evaluated.  The multiregional view posits that genes from all human populations of the Old World flowed between different regions and by mixing together, contributed to what we see today as fully modern humans.  The replacement hypothesis suggests that the genes in fully modern humans all came out of Africa, and as these peoples migrated they replaced all other human populations with little or no interbreeding. Anatomical evidence:  Sometime prior to 1 million years ago, early hominids (sometimes referred to as Homo ergaster), exited Africa and dispersed into other parts of the Old World.  Living in disparate geographical areas their morphology became diversified through the processes of genetic drift and natural selection.  In Asia these hominids evolved into Peking Man and Java Man, collectively referred to as Homo erectus.  In Europe and western Asia they evolved into the Neanderthals. Anatomical evidence…continued  Neanderthals lived in quasi isolation in Europe and are distinguished by a unique set of anatomical features.  By 130,000 years ago, following a prolonged period of independent evolution in Europe, Neanderthals were so anatomically distinct that they are best classified as a separate species — Homo neanderthalensis.  This is a classic example of geographic isolation leading to a speciation event. Anatomical evidence…continued  At roughly the same time, in Africa, a body plan essentially like our own had appeared.  While these early Homo sapiens were anatomically modern they were not behaviorally modern - it is significant that modern anatomy evolved prior to modern behavior.  Hence, the anatomical and paleogeographic evidence suggests that Neanderthals and early modern humans had been isolated from one another and were evolving separately into two distinct species. Archaeological evidence:  Very interestingly, while Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens were distinguished from one another by a suite of obvious anatomical features, archaeologically they were very similar.  Hominids of the Middle Stone Age of Africa (H. sapiens) and their contemporary Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals of Europe had artifact assemblages characterized by little variation in stone tool types. Archaeological evidence…continued  The archaeological picture changed dramatically around 40-50,000 years ago with the appearance of behaviorally modern humans.  This was an abrupt and dramatic change in subsistence patterns, tools and symbolic expression - literally a “creative explosion” which made us who we are today.  The appearance of fully modern behavior apparently occurred in Africa earlier than anywhere else in the Old World, but spread very quickly, due to population movements into other geographical regions. Archaeological evidence…continued  Some archaeologists suggest changes in social relations (such as development of the nuclear family), played a key role in bringing about the transformation.  Others proffer the notion that biological change (brought about by mutations), played the key role in the emergence of behaviorally modern humans. The Venus of Wilendorf, dated at 24,000BP. Archaeological evidence…continued A possible flute made from the femur of a cave bear, found in Slovenia. Dated to 45,000BP.  Shortly after fully modern humans entered Europe, roughly 40,000 years ago, the Neanderthals began a fairly rapid decline, culminating in their disappearance roughly 30,000 years ago.  Neanderthals were apparently no match for the technologically advanced fully modern humans who invaded Europe and evidence for interbreeding of these two types of hominids is equivocal. Genetic evidence:  Genetic variation in modern human populations supports the view that the origin of Homo sapiens is consistent with the Out of Africa Model.  Studies of contemporary DNA, especially mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), reveal that humans are astonishingly homogeneous, with relatively little genetic variation.  There is significantly more genetic variation between two individual chimpanzees drawn from the same population than there is between two humans drawn randomly from a single population. Genetic evidence…continued  The highest level of genetic variation occurs in African populations and implies that Homo sapiens arose first in Africa and has had a longer period of time to accumulate genetic diversity.  The genetic distance between African populations and others suggests Homo sapiens arose between 100,000 and 400,000 years ago in Africa.  The low amount of genetic variation in modern human populations suggests that our origins may reflect a relatively small founding population for Homo sapiens. Genetic evidence…continued  Scientists recently succeeded in extracting DNA from several Neanderthal skeletons and after careful analysis, it is apparent that Neanderthal DNA is very distinct from our own.  The degree of difference between DNA in Neanderthals and modern humans, suggest the two lineages have been separated for more than 400,000 years.  Such genetic studies support the view that Neanderthals did not interbreed with Homo sapiens who migrated into Europe and it is unlikely that modern humans carry Neanderthal genes in their DNA. Additional considerations:  The chronology in the Middle East does not support the Multiregional Model where Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans overlapped for a long period of time.  Cave sites in Israel, most notably Qafzeh and Skhul date to nearly 100,000 years and contain skeletons of anatomically modern humans.  Neanderthal remains are known from sites such as the 110,000-year-old Tabun cave, which predates the earliest Homo sapiens by about 10,000 years in the region. Additional considerations…continued  There are locations and remains that seem to support one dispersal model or another, but all have problems with interpretation.  China may contain the best evidence for supporting the Multiregional Model with the discovery of a couple of skulls dated to roughly 100,000 years ago that seem to possess a mixture of classic Homo erectus and Homo sapiens traits.  Better geological dating and more complete specimens are needed to more fully assess this possibility. Conclusion:  For the moment, the majority of anatomical, archaeological and genetic evidence gives credence to the view that fully modern humans are a relatively recent evolutionary phenomenon.  The major neurological and cultural innovations that characterize the appearance of fully modern humans has proven to be remarkably successful, culminating in our dominance of the planet at the expense of all earlier hominid populations.
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head:UPPER-PALEOLITHIC CAVE PAINTINGS

Upper-Paleolithic Cave Paintings
Name
Institution
Date

1

UPPER-PALEOLITHIC CAVE PAINTINGS

2

Upper-Paleolithic Cave Paintings
Part A
Upper Paleolithic paintings are the earliest cave paintings dated approximately forty
thousand years ago. Their purpose has never been established since they exist as just living area
decorations and are found in caves that did not have any ongoing habitation signs in Europe and
Indonesia. Additionally, they are found in the sections of caves t...


Anonymous
Really helped me to better understand my coursework. Super recommended.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Related Tags