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Anthropology

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Many absolute dating methods are based on the rate of decay of a radioactive isotope. A <OpenstaxTerm>radioactive isotope</OpenstaxTerm> is a chemical element that dissipates excess energy by spontaneously emitting radiation. These emissions happen at known and stable rates. Once the rate of decay of a radioactive isotope is established, the age of a specimen containing that isotope can be estimated within a range of possible error.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxH3>C-14</OpenstaxH3>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The best-known method for determining the absolute age of fossils is carbon-14 or 14C (pronounced “C-14”) dating. All plants and animals contain the isotope carbon-14 (14C). Plants absorb 14C from the air, and animals ingest plants containing the isotope. Because plants only absorb 14C when they are alive and animals only consume plants when they are alive, scientists can determine how long ago an animal or plant died based on the amount of 14C that remains in their cells. Carbon-14 has a known half-life of 5,730 years. This means that approximately half of the original 14C in an organism will be eliminated in 5,730 years after its death. For example, if an organism had an original 14C value of 100, then after 5,730 years, only 50 units of 14C would be present.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxH3>Thermoluminescence</OpenstaxH3>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Another absolute dating technique that is frequently used by paleoanthropologists is <OpenstaxTerm>thermoluminescence dating</OpenstaxTerm>. Thermoluminescence dating requires that either the fossils to be dated or the sediments that the fossils are within have been exposed to a high-temperature event, such as a volcanic explosion. During such a high-temperature event, all the radioactive elements within the material are released. Consequently, the amount of radioactive elements that have accumulated in the artifact since the time of the high-temperature event can be used to calculate the artifact’s age.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxH3>Primates of the Paleocene Epoch</OpenstaxH3>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The <OpenstaxTerm>Paleocene epoch</OpenstaxTerm> began approximately 65 MYA and ended about 54 MYA. It is the most poorly understood epoch of the Cenozoic era, as it is the time period with the fewest fossils to represent it. However, this epoch is considered important to primate evolution because it offers the first unequivocal record of the earliest primates. Evidence of the most primitive primate yet identified was found in the U.S. state of Montana, in a geological deposit that was dated to the earliest part of the Paleocene. This creature is known as <OpenstaxTerm><OpenstaxEm>Purgatorius</OpenstaxEm></OpenstaxTerm>. <OpenstaxEm>Purgatorius</OpenstaxEm> is similar to extinct and living primates – and distinct from other mammals – in the presence of an elongated last lower molar and an enlarged upper central incisor (resulting in what one could think of as “Bugs Bunny teeth”). These two characteristics, which are shared by all living primates today, suggest that <OpenstaxEm>Purgatorius</OpenstaxEm> may be the common ancestor of later primates.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00001" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/5d9ee4a73ecad5100382270de0881cf264548787" alt="Sketch of small mammal with a tapered skull, small ears, and long tail. The animal stands on all four legs. A scale beneath the sketch identifies the animal as 7 inches (17.78 cm) from head to tip of tail." mediaType="image/png" width="1096" height="715" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="1096">
	Figure 4.28 Purgatorius unio may be the common ancestor of all later primate. Remains of Purgatorius unio have been found in deposits dated to be about 63 million years old. (attribution: Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)
</OpenstaxFigureText>
<OpenstaxH3>Primates of the Eocene Epoch</OpenstaxH3>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The <OpenstaxTerm>Eocene epoch</OpenstaxTerm>, which began approximately 54 MYA and ended about 34 MYA, is marked by the disappearance of <OpenstaxEm>Purgatorius</OpenstaxEm> and the first appearance of primates that more closely resemble modern-day primates, especially in the fact that they possess postorbital bars composed entirely of bone. A postorbital bar is a bony ring surrounding the entirety of the eye orbit. This contrasts with other mammals whose postorbital bars are part bone and part cartilage. Some fossil specimens also possess a toothcomb and/or a grooming claw, characteristics that are exclusively found in strepsirrhine primates today. Other anatomical characteristics that are significant would be the ankle bones which researchers believe played a key role in the evolutionary success of primates. The evolution of primates during the Eocene was tremendous. It has been hypothesized that there were four times as many strepsirrhine primates during the Eocene than there are living primates today. Fossil primates in Eocene deposits are common in North America and Europe and are becoming known in Asia and Africa. However, there are currently no known fossil primates from the Eocene in South America or Antarctica.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxH3>Primates of the Oligocene Epoch</OpenstaxH3>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The <OpenstaxTerm>Oligocene epoch</OpenstaxTerm>, which began approximately 34 MYA and ended about 22 MYA, marks the appearance of the first fossil monkeys. The earliest unambiguous haplorrhine fossils were found at the <OpenstaxTerm>Fayum</OpenstaxTerm>, an archaeological site about 60 miles from Cairo, Egypt, that today represents part of the Sahara. The Fayum primates are divided into two main groups: <OpenstaxTerm>Parapithecoidea</OpenstaxTerm> and <OpenstaxTerm>Propliopithecoidea</OpenstaxTerm>. Based on their teeth, these primates are believed to be the earliest New World and Old World monkeys, respectively. Teeth are generally described according to a dental formula that indicates the number of each type of teeth in each quadrant of the jaw. An organism with a 2.1.2.3 dental formula has two incisors, one canine, two premolars, and three molars in each quadrant of their upper and lower jaws. Based on the presence of a third premolar, a trait found in all New World monkeys, it is probable that Propliopithecus represents the earliest New World monkeys, even though they first evolved in Africa. Likewise, it is probable the propliopithecoids represent the earliest catarrhine primate, as they are the first fossil monkeys that possess a dental formula of 2.1.2.3 found in catarrhine primates.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxH3>Miocene Apes</OpenstaxH3>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	The <OpenstaxTerm>Miocene epoch</OpenstaxTerm> contains fossil evidence of some of the earliest apes such as <OpenstaxEm>Proconsul africanus</OpenstaxEm> africanus which lived in Africa from 23 to 14 mya. The earliest Miocene ape, found in Africa, is <OpenstaxTerm><OpenstaxEm>Proconsul</OpenstaxEm></OpenstaxTerm>. Unlike modern-day apes, the <OpenstaxEm>Proconsul</OpenstaxEm> lacked long, curved digits, suggesting that they were able to hang from branches but more often moved about on all four of their limbs. <OpenstaxEm>Proconsul</OpenstaxEm> also lacked a tail, which is why they are considered apes and not monkeys. Like all Old World monkeys and apes, including humans, their teeth show a pattern of 2.1.2.3. Another well-known ape from the Miocene is <OpenstaxTerm><OpenstaxEm>Sivapithecus</OpenstaxEm></OpenstaxTerm>. <OpenstaxEm>Sivapithecus</OpenstaxEm> fossils are very common throughout Asia, with a particularly large number having been found in Turkey. Like modern-day humans, they exhibit very thick dental enamel, suggesting that these apes regularly ate very hard foods. The most intriguing aspect of <OpenstaxEm>Sivapithecus</OpenstaxEm> morphology is that the skulls show a tremendous resemblance to the living orangutan in features such as its tall nasal openings and high eye sockets.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00002" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/86c99d9fb52b1f6e94edc8d0d1a91411596a40ec" alt="Partial skull with large eye sockets and protruding jaw. The teeth are intact." mediaType="image/jpeg" width="701" height="800" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="701">
	Figure 4.29 Sivapithecus is one the earliest known ape species. Fossil remains exhibit the tall nasal openings and high eye sockets currently visible in orangutans. (credit: “Sivapithecus indicus (Fossil Ape) (Dhok Pathan Formation, Upper Miocene; Potwar Plateau, Pakistan)” by James St. John/flickr, CC BY 2.0)
</OpenstaxFigureText>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	While it is known that orangutans probably evolved from a <OpenstaxEm>Sivapithecus</OpenstaxEm>-type ape, there are no clear candidates for the ancestors of modern African great apes. There have only been two fossils found that clearly and unequivocally belong to the ancestors of modern African apes. <OpenstaxTerm><OpenstaxEm>Samburupithecus</OpenstaxEm></OpenstaxTerm> is a large late Miocene ape found in northern Kenya. It is known to resemble modern African apes. It differs from other Miocene fossils in having molar teeth that are elongated in a direction from the front of the mouth toward the back, instead of from cheek to tongue. Another fossil from the late Miocene (9–10 MYA) that is sometimes identified as an ancestor of modern African apes is <OpenstaxTerm><OpenstaxEm>Ouranopithecus</OpenstaxEm></OpenstaxTerm>, found in Greece, which has facial morphology that links it to both African apes and humans.
</OpenstaxParagraph>

4.6.5 Absolute Dating Techniques

1 What Is Anthropology?

1.1 The Study of Humanity, or "Anthropology Is Vast"

1.1.1 The Heart of Anthropology: Central Narrative and Commitments

1.1.2 Central Commitment #1: Exploring Sociocultural Diversity

1.1.3 Central Commitment #2: Understanding How Societies Hold Together

1.1.4 Central Commitment #3: Examining the Interdependence of Humans and Nature

1.2 The Four-Field Approach: Four Approaches within the Guiding Narrative

1.2.1 Biological Anthropology

1.2.2 Archaeology

1.2.3 Cultural Anthropology

1.2.4 Linguistic Anthropology

1.2.5 How the Four Fields Work Together: The Example of Race

1.3 Overcoming Ethnocentrism

1.3.1 Enculturation and Ethnocentrism

1.3.2 Primitivism and Orientalism

1.4 Western Bias in Our Assumptions about Humanity

1.4.1 Primitivism and Orientalism in Popular Culture

1.4.2 The Bias of Backwardness

1.5 Holism, Anthropology’s Distinctive Approach

1.5.1 Society as an Integrated Whole

1.5.2 Sources of Contradiction, Conflict, and Change

1.6 Cross-Cultural Comparison and Cultural Relativism

1.6.1 Relativism Is Not “Anything Goes”

1.6.2 Morality, Activism, and Cultural Relativism

1.7 Reaching for an Insider’s Point of View

1.7.1 The Challenge of Representing Others

1.7.2 Collaborative Methods of Representation

1.7.3 Working across Cultures toward Common Goals

1.7.4 Suggested Readings

2 Methods: Cultural and Archaeological

2.1 Archaeological Research Methods

2.1.1 Archaeological Techniques

2.1.2 Archaeological Dating Methods

2.2 Conservation and Naturalism

2.2.1 Early Efforts

2.2.2 Salvage Anthropology

2.2.3 Museum Collections

2.2.4 Interpretation and Voice

2.3 Ethnography and Ethnology

2.3.1 The Development of Ethnography and Ethnology

2.3.2 Perspective and Interpretation in Ethnography

2.4 Participant Observation and Interviewing

2.4.1 Participant Observation

2.4.2 Interviewing Informants

2.4.3 Ethical Considerations

2.5 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

2.5.1 Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Information

2.5.2 Modeling

2.5.3 The Science of Anthropology

2.6 Collections

2.6.1 Archives

2.6.2 Three-Dimensional Collections

2.6.3 Ownership

2.6.4 Suggested Readings

3 Culture Concept Theory: Theories of Cultural Change

3.1 The Homeyness of Culture

3.2 The Winkiness of Culture

3.3 The Elements of Culture

3.3.1 Culture Is What We Make

3.3.2 Culture Is What We Do

3.3.3 Culture Is What We Think

3.4 The Aggregates of Culture

3.4.1 Symbols

3.4.2 Ritual

3.4.3 Social Structure

3.5 Modes of Cultural Analysis

3.5.1 Evolution, Adaptation, and Historical Particularism

3.5.2 Functionalism

3.5.3 Structuralism

3.5.4 Ontology

3.6 The Paradoxes of Culture

3.6.1 Paradox 1: Culture Is Continuous, but It Changes

3.6.2 Paradox 2: Culture Is Bounded but Mobile

3.6.3 Paradox 3: Culture Is Consensual but Contested

3.6.4 Paradox 4: Culture Is Shared, but It Varies

3.6.5 Suggested Readings

4 Biological Evolution and Early Human Evidence

4.1 What Is Biological Anthropology?

4.1.1 Looking to the Deep Past

4.1.2 Exploring What It Means to Be Human

4.2 What’s in a Name? The Science of Taxonomy

4.2.1 Defining the Science of Taxonomy

4.2.2 Defining a Species

4.3 It’s All in the Genes! The Foundation of Evolution

4.3.1 The Units of Life

4.3.2 Gregor Mendel and the Laws of Heredity

4.3.3 Mendelian Inheritance in Humans

4.4 Evolution in Action: Past and Present

4.4.1 Early Evolutionists and the Fixity of Species

4.4.2 Charles Darwin’s Role in Changing Views of the Natural World

4.4.3 Understanding Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

4.5 What Is a Primate?

4.5.1 What Is a Primate?

4.5.2 Primate Behavioral Variation

4.5.3 Explaining Primate Success

4.5.4 Primate Classification and Taxonomy

4.6 Origin of and Classification of Primates

4.6.1 Understanding Concepts of Time

4.6.2 Fossils and Dating Methods

Question	Answer
a superfamily of primates from the early Oligocene that is believed to represent the earliest New World monkeys, though they first evolved in Africa.	Parapithecoidea
a superfamily of primates from the early Oligocene that is related to Old World monkeys and is believed to represent the earliest catarrhine primate.	Propliopithecoidea