2014
Essay Assignment #2
Objective
The purpose of this essay assignment is to develop your understanding of primate socioecology and how to use this understanding to make inferences from the fossil record.
Assignment
Suppose you have had the good fortune to discover two previously unknown species of fossil
hominin at separate sites in Kenya. At the first site, you find at least ten different adult individuals of both sexes. Based on the preserved postcranial material, you estimate that male body size was 135 kg and female body size was 90 kg. Several mandibles you discover contain molars with high cusps, shearing crests, and thin enamel. You name this species Praeanthropus dimorphicus. In the same layers as the hominin fossils there are the remains wildebeest and zebra, which are known to live in relatively open habitats. You can assume that Praeanthropus dimorphicus was large enough that predation pressure was not a strong selective force.
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At the second site the preservation of the fossils is poorer, so you only find the remains of one adult male and one adult female. Fortunately, the female is represented by a relatively intact skull. Based on careful examination of the fossils, you deduce that males and females both weighed roughly 60 kg and possessed molars that were large, with low and rounded cusps, and very thick enamel. You also estimate that female brain size is larger than you would have predicted based solely on body size. You name this species Praeanthropus monomorphicus. The hominin-bearing layers contain fossils of several species of strictly arboreal monkeys.
Based on your knowledge of the socioecology of living primates from lectures, discussion sections, and your textbook, reconstruct the socioecology of your two hominin species in the form of an integrated essay. You may organize your thoughts in any way that makes sense, but be sure to address the following characteristics for each species: habitat, mating system, group size, ranging behavior and territoriality, and diet (both preferred and fallback foods). Make sure you fully explain the logic and theory underlying your arguments.
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Jermaine Byrant
Nicole Johnson
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