Anthropology Exam 2

Basic Primate Tendencies

grasping hands/feet

shift from smell to sight based information

shift from nose to hand based information

increased brain complexity

high parental investment in offspring

social complexity

Homologies

traits inherited from a common ancestor

Analogies

similarities arising as a result of similar selective forces “convergent evolution”, not inherited from a common ancestor

Anthropoid

“human like” primates part of the Haplorrhines

Platyrrhines (flat nosed) - new world monkeys

Catarrhines (sharp nosed) - old world monkeys and apes (including humans)

Primate Adaptations

grasping hands/feet

shift from smell to sight based information

shift from nose to hand based information

increased brain complexity and large brain to body size ratio

Strepsirrhini - lemurs and lorises

small body size

longer snouts

tend to be arboreal

large ears

nocturnal and diurnal

solitary

Haplorrhini - tarsiifiers and simiiformes

increased brain size

tend to be diurnal

larger body sizes

increasingly complex social systems

Platyrrhines (Flat Nosed) - New World Monkeys

arboreal

prehensile tails

Catarrhines (Sharp Nosed) - Old World Monkeys

asian and african apes

arboreal species smaller than terrestrial

increased sexual dimorphism in terrestrial species

terrestrial species have rough patches of skin to sit on

Which Monkeys Have No Tail

apes

Ape Characteristics

Brachiation

arm swinging locomotion where the shoulders are used to allow the arms to go above the head

Non-Human Primates with the Most Recent Common Ancestor

chimpanzees and bonobos

Basic Primate Taxonomy

1) Strepsirrhini - lemurs and lorises

2) Haplorrhini

• Tarsiers

• Simiiformes

  • Monkeys of the Americas

  • Old World Monkeys

  • Apes (including humans)

Arboreal

living in trees

Sexual Dimorphism

the observable differences between males and females of the same species

chimpanzees have less sexual dimorphism

bonobos have a female centered society

Absolute Dating

the dating technologies that provide some sense of time

Relative Dating

the ability to say that one thing happened before or after another

Hominin

member of human lineage after its split from ancestral chimps

includes all human species that have ever existed, including the extinct ones

first hominin appears approximately 6-7 mya

Appearance of Ardipithecus

appears 6-7 mya

Appearance of the Homo Genus

2.4 mya

Hominin Characteristics

bipedalism

increasing brain to body ratio

increasing tool use and the capacity for abstract thought

patterns of large back teeth in early hominins lost in subsequent human evolution

Skeletal Changes From Bipedalism

relocation of Foramen Magnum (hole at the base of the skull)

spine curvature

Brain Size, Bipedalism, and Child Birth

large skulls require large birth canals bur bipedalism requires strong pelvic support; therefore, human babies are born without being fully developed so the mother can still have a pelvic small enough for bipedalism but the baby still has the large brain of humans

Hominins Only in Africa

Ardipithecus, Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus afarensis, A. Africanus, A. Boisei, A. robustus, A. Garhi, Homo Habilis

every hominin that existed before homo erectus

First Hominin Out of Africa

Homo Erectus, which lived in Africa, Europe, and Asia

First Hominin to Use Fire

Homo Erectus

the use of fire drastically increases the range of habitats humans can live in aids homo erectus in the spread out of Africa into different kinds of climates

Basic Hominin Chart From Oldest to Most Recent

Genus Ardipithecus - 7mya

Genus Australopithecus

Australopithecus anamensis and afaransis

Boisei and Robustus

Genus Homo - 2mya

Homo Habilis

Homo Erectus

Homo Sapiens (Archaic/ Denisoven/ Neandertals/ Anatomically Modern Humans)

Boisei and Robust

distinct for their strong presence of a sagittal crest (a point at the top of the head and flarng zygomatic arches (cheek bones) which demonstrate natural selection because their environment selects for strong jaw muscles — they also had a large lower jaw and even larger back teeth

Homo Habilis

Olduwan Toolis - simple stone tools

found only in Africa

Homo Erectus

Acheulian tools - superior tools

use of fire

Africa, Asia, Europe - includes India and Indonesia

significantly larger brain size

Archaic Homo Sapiens

present with Neanderthals

largely gone by about 30k years ago

Neanderthals

Europe and Southwest Asia

adapted to cold temperatures

Mousterian Tools - advanced tools

lived in shelters and camps

buried their dead

Neanderthal Debate

Neanderthal remains that don’t have a previous history or the relationship they have with homo species

Out of Africa theory: supported by mtDNA and we stem from a single species in Africa that replaced other living hominins

Multi-Regional Hypothesis: gradual evolution linked by gene flow; evolved us from homo erectus to humans now

led to the idea of mxing in modern ideas of race where we are seperate and shouldn’t mix with people of another race

the interpretation of the fossil record as Neanderthals being a seperate race is biased and due to the ideas of race that occired during the 1890s and 1930s

The Relationship Between Humans and Neanderthals

Svaante Paabo’s mapping of the neanderthal genome and his idea that “we have always mixed”

4 Processes of Evolution

Mutation

Natural Selection

Gene Flow

Genetic Drift

Natural Selection and Phenotype

natural selection only operates on phenotype rather than genotype because it can only act upon physical characteristics that can be either advantageous, disadvantageous, or neutral

Variability of Blood Types

roughly 15 blood type systems are known to exist across populations

blood types likely vary due to natural selection, migration, and gene flow

proportion of blood types is different depending on the region

Human Leukocyte Antigen System (HLA)

human immune system can adapt flexibility to disease environments and help human bodies resist disease

Flexibility: HLA

Resistance: sickle cell and malaria resistance

Sickle Cell

sickle cell trait is where the red blood cells have a sickled shape. Carriers of sickle cell have a resistance to malaria but those with sickle cell disease have a chronic illness

Balanced Polymorphism

stabilizing selection between the strong selective pressures for and against a trait, like sickle cell, results in a selection for heterozygous genotype

Skin Color Variation

variation in skin color is connected to the latitude where one’s ancestors spent the most time where melanocytes produce melanin which is black or brown

Race as Biology

race as biology is a myth because markers of race are arbitrary and culturally dependent. Skin color is a continuous spectrum and the exact distinction between races is not known

race is a hierarchy and thought to reflect genetic differences, but the science shows that there is no genetic or morphological evidence of divisions

Sick Role

the culturally defined agreement between patients and family members to acknowledge that the patient is legitimately sick

Explanatory Models of Illness

healers and patients often have different explanatory models of illness: patients perspective vs biomedical perspective

an explanation of what is happening to a patient’s body, by the patient, family, health care practitioners, all of which may be different

The “Original Affluent Society”

hunter-gatherers

they spent time in leisure, socializing, or sleeping

viewed their environment as affluent and always providing for their needs

“zen affluence” - cultural system to describe a cultural system with minimal desires and relatively high levels of production

Cultural Features Common to Foragers

egalitarianism

low population density

lack of territoriality

a minimum of food storage

flux in band composition

Neolithic

cultural period in a region in which the first signs of food production are present

1st neolithic occurred in the Middle East approximately 10,000 years ago

Broad Spectrum Revolution

occurred from the Glacial Retreat in Western Europe

a wider range of plant/animal life hunted/gathered

focused on animals with quick, prolific reproduction

formed the groundwork of food production/domestication

The Emergence of Food Production in the Middle East

the Natufian foragers had a growing range of wheat and barley growth but a second climate change cause the range to decrease and led to a turn to domestication of plants (wheat and barley) in the Middle East

Pressure for Plant and Animal Domestication in the Middle East

Where Was Maize Originally Cultivated

domesticated in the tropical lowlands of southwestern Mexico from wild teosinte cultigen

Transhumance

a transformation of the nomadic lifestyle of hunter-gatherers

moving herds to different fields with changing seasons; only part of the group migrates

led to societies that practice pastoralism

Pastoralism

pastoralism tends to lead to larger populations and more complex patterns of social interaction

pastoralists are relatively few in number worldwide because most people in the world are settled, living from agriculture, either directly or indirectly

opposes transhumance in that the whole community moves

Consequences of Sedentism and Food Production

populations grew with greater intensification of food production

more labor for food production resulted in periodic shortages of food, which in turn led to true agriculture

pop growth and sedentism cultivated epidemics/disease transmission

growing pop pressures together with surpluses led to radical new interactions

the rise of cities and states

the introduction of social hierarchies

Food Production, Social Inequality, and Property

food production created the ideas of territory and property

the labor requirement of food production led to social hierarchy where someone was in charge and others were laborers

disparity between territory and food between people emerges