Chapters 1 & 2: Biological Anthropology

Science

A process of understanding natural phenomena through observation and experimentation; self-correcting, empirical, and falsifiable.

Empirical

Knowledge gained through observation.

Falsifiability

The ability for a hypothesis to be disproven.

Scientific Method

Observation, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis, Replication.

Hypothesis.

A testable explanation with falsifiable predictions.

Theory (Scientific)

A well-supported, repeatedly tested explanatory framework.

Vernacular Theory

A casual guess or speculation.

Social Construction of Science

Recognition that human biases and culture influence scientific practice.

Evolution

Biological change over time

Anaximander

Proposed life originated from water and humans descended from fish.

Plato

Believed species had unchanging essences (eidos).

Aristotle

Created the “scala naturae” hierarchy.

Scala Naturae

The “great chain of being,” ranking organisms by complexity.

Al-Jahiz

Muslim scholar; early evolutionary theory.

Ji Shih-Chen

Chinese naturalist; emphasized environment and classification.

Binomial Nomenclature

System of naming organisms with genus and species.

Classification Scheme

Organizing organisms into hierarchical categories.

Biological Anthropology

A subfield of anthropology: studies humans as biological organisms within an evolutionary framework.

Anthropology

The study of humankind in a cross-cultural context

Holistic Approach

Understanding humans by integrating biology, culture, language, and history.

Comparative Method

Studying similarities and differences across species (or human groups) to understand evolutionary patterns.

Self-Correcting Process

The idea that science revises itself as new evidence emerges.

Data

Information gathered through observation or experimentation.

Bias

The influence of personal or cultural perspectives on interpretation of evidence.

Fixity of Species

The belief that species are unchanging (a dominant idea before evolutionary theory).

Great Chain of Being

Another name for the scala naturae, the idea that life is organized in a ranked hierarchy.

Natural Theology

The view that studying nature is a way of understanding God’s design (common in medieval Europe).

Taxonomy

The science of classifying organisms

Adaptation

Traits shaped by natural processes that increase survival and reproduction.

Natural History

The descriptive study of organisms and their environments, often before modern evolutionary theory.

Sociocultural Anthropology

A subdiscipline of anthropology: The study of human societies in a cross-cultural perspective

Archaeology

A subdiscipline of anthropology: the study of the material remains of part human culture

Linguistic Anthropology

A subfield of anthropology: the study of one aspect of human culture, language, and its origins structure and use

Applied Anthropology

A subfield of anthropology: the practice of using anthropological theories and methods to address real-world issues, problems, and challenges in various fields

Epigenetics

the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.

Charles Darwin (1809–1882)

English naturalist who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection, based on his voyage on the HMS Beagle and later research.

HMS Beagle (1831–1836)

Ship on which Darwin served as a naturalist; traveled mainly around South America and the Galápagos Islands, where he studied variation among species.

Galápagos Finches

Group of species Darwin studied; showed variation in beak shape related to diet, illustrating adaptation to local environments.

Thomas Malthus (1766–1834)

Economist who wrote Essay on the Principle of Population; argued that populations grow faster than food supply, influencing Darwin’s thinking on competition and survival.

Artificial Selection

Human-directed breeding of plants and animals (e.g., dogs, pigeons) that showed Darwin how traits could be selected over generations.

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913)

Naturalist who independently developed the idea of evolution by natural selection; co-presented with Darwin in 1858.

On the Origin of Species (1859)

Darwin’s book presenting evidence for evolution and natural selection; established biological evolution as a scientific fact.

Natural Selection

Mechanism of evolution; differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to variation in traits.

Variation

A condition for natural selection: Individual differ in traits

Heritability

A condition for natural selection: traits can be passed onto offspring

Struggle for Existance

A condition of natural selection: More offspring are produced to survive

Differential Reproduction

A condition for natural selection: Individuals with advantageous traits leave more offspring

Fitness

An individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a specific environment.

Adaptation

Trait shaped by natural selection that increases an organism’s survival or reproductive success in a given environment.

Lamarckian Evolution

The idea that organisms could acquire traits during their lifetime (e.g., giraffe stretching its neck) and pass them to offspring; contradicted by Darwin’s gradual, generational view of evolution.

Blending Inheritance

Early (incorrect) idea that offspring traits are an average of parents’ traits.