(a) Discuss major species of Australopithecus discovered from South and East Africa. Describe the discovery, physical features…

(a) Major species of Australopithecus from South and East Africa, and the Taung baby

East Africa: A. anamensis (about 4.2–3.8 mya, Kenya and Ethiopia), A. afarensis (3.9–3.0 mya, Hadar, Laetoli, "Lucy", with the Laetoli footprints) and A. garhi (about 2.5 mya, Ethiopia). The robust forms, A. aethiopicus and A. boisei (2.3–1.2 mya, Olduvai and Koobi Fora), with massive jaws and sagittal crests, are now often placed in Paranthropus.

South Africa: A. africanus (about 3.3–2.1 mya, Taung, Sterkfontein and Makapansgat), gracile with a rounder skull, A. sediba (about 2 mya, Malapa), and robust Paranthropus robustus (Kromdraai and Swartkrans).

Taung child: found in 1924 in a limestone quarry at Taung, South Africa, and described by Raymond Dart in 1925 as Australopithecus africanus. It is a juvenile about 3–4 years old, with a skull, face, mandible and endocast of the brain. Features are a cranial capacity of about 405 cc, a forward-placed foramen magnum indicating upright posture, small canines, a rounded vault and a flat face.

Significance: first fossil of a bipedal, small-brained early hominin, it supported Darwin's prediction of an African origin and showed that bipedalism preceded brain enlargement. It was rejected by authorities for decades, since the Piltdown hoax distracted them and they expected a large brain, until later discoveries confirmed it.

(b) Palaeolithic environment, with special reference to India

The Palaeolithic spans the Pleistocene, when alternating glacial and interglacial phases (pluvial and arid phases in India) changed rainfall, vegetation and river regimes. Evidence is of several kinds.

Geological: river terraces, gravels and cemented deposits show aggradation and downcutting in the Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Son and Soan valleys, with tools in gravel beds. Lake and dune deposits in the Thar (Didwana, Lunkaransar) show alternating wet and dry phases.

Palaeontological: fossil fauna include Elephas namadicus, Bos namadicus, Equus namadicus, Hexaprotodon and rhinoceros, suggesting wooded grasslands and swamps. Pollen records from Thar lakes show change between grass and scrub.

Archaeological: Acheulian and later sites at Attirampakkam, Hunsgi–Baichbal and Bhimbetka, and Soan sites in the Siwaliks, show occupation near water in varied environments, with rock shelters and cave sites in the Kurnool and Vindhyan regions.

Hominins adapted by varying tools and settlements with the climate.

(c) Forms of malnutrition and protein-calorie malnutrition

Forms of malnutrition:

• Undernutrition: underweight (low weight-for-age), stunting (low height-for-age) and wasting (low weight-for-height).
• Micronutrient deficiency ("hidden hunger"): iron deficiency anaemia, vitamin A deficiency (night blindness, xerophthalmia), iodine deficiency (goitre, cretinism), and deficiency of zinc, folate and vitamin D.
• Overnutrition: overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable disease.

Protein-calorie malnutrition: a spectrum of undernutrition in early childhood, worst after weaning.

1. Kwashiorkor: protein deficiency with a relatively adequate energy intake; oedema, moon face, fatty liver, hair and skin changes, apathy, and often a child displaced by a younger sibling.
2. Marasmus: deficiency of both energy and protein, with severe wasting, loss of subcutaneous fat, an old-man look, and no oedema.
3. Marasmic kwashiorkor: features of both.

Causes are poverty, early weaning, infections and poor feeding. In India, the burden is high among tribal and poor children, and is tackled by ICDS, the mid-day meal scheme and Poshan Abhiyaan.