Answer ONE of the following. Essay should be between 3 and 4 pages long, typed, double-spaced with a one inch margin. No covers or binders. Include your name on the first page, a title for the essay, and a number from the list below to let me know which topic you chose. You are encouraged to refer to specific sites from class (Borobudur, Pambamarca, Egypt, West Oakland, etc.) as they pertain to a term or concept you are discussing. Written sources should be cited using the Modern Language Association (MLA) format guidelines and bibliography. For a good citation guide and examples of MLA format, go to http://www.lib.ohio-state/guides/mlagd.html/

Papers will be accepted early, but not late. Deadline is Tuesday, November 24.

1.) How did early hominins make stone tools? Write up the process and method used in the first lithic industries. Use hammerstone, striking platform, bulb of percussion, knapper, blade, flake, debitage, core, and chopper in your essay.

2.) Outline distinguishing physical traits of primates, with examples of attributes unique to the Homo genus. How do these traits combine to endow Homo with exceptional intelligence? Use archaeological examples from class and the reading

3.) The dating of early human ancestral fossils can be problematic. Discuss one absolute dating technique and one relative dating technique that can be used to date the earliest hominins.

4.) The discoveries in East Africa during the past 75 years have greatly expanded our knowledge of hominin evolution. Identify three sites in East Africa where hominin fossils have been discovered, identify the species found at the three sites, and describe those species’ place in the continuum of hominin evolution.

5.) Discuss the significance of the Zhoukoudian archaeological site near Beijing, China. How has this site helped solve the mysteries of early hominids?
archaeological, climactic and social evidence to support your claim.

6.) Describe the main features of the food-sharing hypothesis and the specific archaeological evidence that Glynn Isaac drew upon to develop this hypothesis. What alternative interpretations have been proposed that challenge the food sharing model?

7.) Go to pbs.org and enter “dig and deduce” in the search browser. Select NOVA Online/Neanderthals on Trial/Dig and Deduce. You should be at the “Dig and Deduce” page by Rick Groleau. Click on “Dig and Deduce” and follow the instructions.

You will be “excavating” three sites and interpreting the results. Read and review the findings of the sites. In each case, agree or disagree with one or the other interpretation being presented. Which interpretation do you agree with and why? Can you identify any biases you have? Are plausible interpretations being missed by the “experts”? If so, what are they? Be careful to avoid “just telling stories” as one archaeologist from Neanderthals on Trial put it. Write each conclusion separately. Each should be approximately one page typed double spaced minimum.