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Essay Available:
Pages:
3 pages/≈825 words
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Check Instructions
Style:
APA
Subject:
Social Sciences
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Total cost:
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Topic:

Human Evolution

Essay Instructions:

Objective
The purpose of this essay assignment is to give you an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of primate functional anatomy and behavior. You should use the concepts that you have learned in lectures, discussion sections, and your readings to creatively address the questions posed below.
Assignment
As human evolutionary biologists, we are deeply interested in understanding how human morphology and behavior have evolved since we split from our last common ancestor with chimpanzees roughly six or seven million years ago. Unfortunately, fossil evidence for morphology is limited and behavior does not fossilize at all. Therefore, we must use our knowledge of evolutionary principles to make inferences about the ecology and social behavior of our fossil ancestors.
Suppose that you have discovered two species of ancient fossil hominins at separate sites in east Africa. At the first site, you determine that there are at least a ten different adult individuals of both sexes, and you have sufficient post-cranial material to estimate body sizes for males and females. You estimate that male body size is 77 kg and female body size is 44 kg. Although you did not find any complete skulls, based on study of several mandibles you discover that the teeth have high cusps, shearing crests and thin molar enamel. You name this species Biganthropus ginormous. This site contains fossil remains of other animals that are typically assumed to be grazers and browsers living in relatively open habitats.
The hominin material at your second site is more limited. The material is fragmentary and appears to come from only one male and one female, but happily the female fossil has a relatively intact skull. Based on careful measurements of the fossil material, you discover that males and females both weighed roughly 13 kg and possessed molars that were large, low, and rounded in shape, with very thick enamel. You also estimate brain size as being considerably larger than you would have predicted based solely on body size. You name this species Monopithecus craniomagnus. In addition to your new fossil hominin fossils, this site contains fossils of several species of strictly arboreal monkeys.
Based on your knowledge of the socio-ecology of living primates and the existing hominin fossil record gleaned from lecture, discussion section, and readings, describe the socio-ecology 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 dietary composition during different seasons. In addition, suggest an extant (i.e., living) primate species or several species that might be considered as a reasonable model(s) for each of your fossil hominins. Be sure to fully explain the logic and theory underlying your arguments.
Grading
This essay assignment is worth 11% of your grade. Essays are expected to be between 800-1,000 words (approximately four pages). Your essay must be submitted directly into Canvas as text, and it will be graded for content as well as for clarity. Clarity refers to organization, focus, development of ideas, style, and mechanics (grammar, spelling, etc.).
Please put your name, your TA’s name, and your section time at the start of your essay, along with the title of your paper. Be sure to cite any sources (including the reading, textbook, and lectures) you use in writing the essay. If you are unsure of proper citation format, please see your TA.
You may discuss the assignment with other students, but all writing must be solely your own work as per the UC Davis Code of Student Conduct. 链接到外部网站。As with the first assignment, you will be required to upload your paper to the course website in addition to submitting a paper copy. More instructions on this can be found though the “Assignments” tab of the class website.
Due Date
Your essay will be due on Canvas by 12 pm on March 12 (see the syllabus). Late assignments that have not received approval for late submission from the student’s TA prior to the due date will receive no credit.
Submission
You may submit your completed assignment here.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Human Evolution
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
March 8, 2020
Understanding human is perhaps one of the most interesting yet difficult fields in Anthropology. This is because despite of its importance, evidence relating to the path that humans took is also scarce and many gaps are yet to be filled as of the moment. In line with this, this article would focus on understanding the relation between anatomy and socio-ecology of two the species (1) Biganthropus ginormous and (2) Monopithecus craniomagnus. All in all, the author of this article believes that by looking at the distribution, anatomy, and other pertinent circumstances surrounding the discoveries of the said species, it becomes possible to understand how these species have lived in the past.
Physical Features
Based on the findings of the fossils of the two species the differences in their diet, mating pattern, and tool use could be inferred. One of the prominent features of the two species are their different dental features. On the one hand, the Biganthropus ginormous had teeth characterized by high cusps, shearing crests, and thin molar enamel (Rabenold and Pearson, 2011). This means that they are mostly fungivores that relied mostly on a diet of leaves. Accordingly, it is also noticeable that there is a huge difference between the male and female body sizes, which means that males during those times would have to compete with other males in finding a mate. Although the number of these species could not be determined based mostly on the number of fossils found, this tendency of males to fight another for the search of a mate could also mean that there are less females as compared to males back then.
On the other hand, the large, low, and rounded molars of the Monopithecus craniomagnus means that their primary diet consists of hard, brittle foods that can easily be destroyed by biting them with their molars. This might include foods like fruits, nuts, flowers, and buds (Teaford and Ungar, 2000). Accordingly, the relatively smaller size difference between the two means that these species are mostly monogamous, with finding a mate not as difficult as compared to the other species. This shows that either male-to-female ratio was almost equal back then or that males do not have to fight in order to find one. Lastly, it must also be noted that the cranial size of these species are larger relative to its body size. This could mean that thes...
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