ANTHRCUL 101 - Exam 2

What are the basic primate tendencies?

• Grasping hands/feet

• Shift from smell to sight-based information 

• Shift from nose to hande-based information 

• Increased brain complexity 

  • Brain size to body size ratio is larger

• High parental investment in offspring

• Social complexity  

What do human non-human primate homologies indicate? 

• Homologies: Traits inherited from a common ancestor (the basis for biological taxonomies)

• that humans share common ancestors with non-human primates

What do analogies (convergent evolution) indicate?

• Analogies: similarities arising as a result of similar selective forces, not inherited from a common ancestor 

• That different species experienced common selective forces 

What is an anthropoid?

• Human-like primates

Basic distinction between strepsirrhini and haplorrhini primates

• Strepsirrhini: Lemurs and Lorises 

  • Small body size 

  • Longer snouts 

  • Tend to be arboral 

  • Large ears

  • Solitary 

• Haplorrhini: Tarsiers, Monkeys, Apes

  • Increased brain size

  • Tend to be diurnal 

  • Larger body size 

  • Increasing complex social systems 

What basic characteristics distinguish monkeys of the Americas and Old world monkeys?

• New World Monkeys (Platyrrhines): 

  • Arboreal 

  • Prehensile tails 

• Old world monkeys (Catarrhines): 

  • Arboreal species

    • Smaller size

  • Terrestrial species

    • Increased sexual dimorphism 

    • Rough patches of skin to sit on

  • Short stubby tails 

What is a distinguishing characteristic of old world monkeys and apes? Which primates have no tails at all? What are some other ape characteristics? What is brachiation?

• Apes have no tails at all 

• Brachiation: the ability to swing arm over arm

Of the non-human primates, with which do we share the most recent common ancestor?

• Chimpanzees:

  • Omnivores 

  • Less sexual dimorphism 

  • Larger social groups 

  • Organized hunting 

  • Territory/land/violence-focused

• Bonobos: 

  • Live in the forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo

  • Same size as chimpanzees

  • Female-center

  • More peaceful 

  • Complex sex lives

Diurnal/ Nocturnal

• Diurnal: active during the day 

• Nocturnal: active during the night

Arboreal/ Terrestrial

• Arboreal: living in trees

• Terrestrial: living on the ground

Sexual Dimorphism

• the observable differences between males and females of the same species

Most basic Primate Taxonomy

1. Strepsirrhini (lemurs and lorises)

2. Haplorrhini  

   1. .Tarsiiformes (Tarsiers)               

   2. .Simiiformes

      1. Monkeys of the Americas

      2. Old World Monkeys

      3. Apes (including humans)

Absolute Dating vs. Relative Dating

• Absolute dating: gives you some sense of time of when something happened 

  • Ex: 7 million years ago

• Relative dating: the ability to say one thing happened before or after another event 

What is the definition of hominin, and roughly when does the first appear?

• Hominin: members of human lineage after its split from ancestral chimps 

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

• 7 million years ago

What is the approximate date for the appearance of Ardipithecus?

• 6-7 million years ago 

What is the date for the emergence of the genus Homo?  

• 2 million years ago

 In other words, what are the defining features of the hominin line?

• Bipedalism

• Brain size

  • Larger brains

• Tool use

• Teeth patterns 

  • Smaller canines 

  • Parabola-shaped teeth structure

Skeletal changes that take place as a result of bipedalism

• The pelvis shifts upright 

• Relocation of the foramen magnum to the middle of the skull from the back 

How are brain size, pelvic shape, and bipedalism related when it comes to childbirth?

• Bipedalism comes first then brain size increases

• Pelvic bones must shift to accommodate bipedalism but cannot get bigger to accommodate larger brain size to keep the body stable 

  • Means human children are born not fully developed

Which hominins lived only in Africa? 

• Genus Ardipithecus

• Genus Australopithecus

• Homo habilis

Which was the first hominin to migrate out of Africa, and what continents did it inhabit?

• Homo erectus  

• Asia, Europe

Which hominin first used fire regularly (why is that significant?)

• Homo erectus  

• Increases range of habits (spread out of Africa) 

Basic Hominin Chart for This Semester In Order From Oldest to Most Recent

• Genus Ardipithecus (7mya) (First date to remember)

• Genus Australopithecus

  • Australopithecus afaransis and Australopithecus anamensis

  • Boisei and Robustus 

    • Boisei and Robustus are distinct for their strong presence of a sagittal crest on the top of their skulls, and flaring zygomatic arches (cheek bones), which demonstrate natural selection in action as they adapt to particular environments that select for strong jaw muscles

• Genus Homo (2 mya) (Second date to remember)

• Homo habilis 

  • Oldowan tool set

  • as with all of the earlier hominins, is only found on the African continent

• Homo erectus  

  • Acheulian tool set big shift,

  • use of fire

  • is found in Africa but also migrates out to parts of the globe, namely Asia, India, Indonesia and Europe 

• Homo sapiens

  • Sapiens for us can include all of the Archaic/ Denisoven/ Neanderthals as well as Anatomically Modern Humans 

  • the Neanderthal Mousterian Tool set

  •   The archaic groups seem to largely be gone by about 30k years ago.

Basic understanding of the Neanderthal debate

• Out of Africa hypothesis  

  • Based on mtDNA

  • Single species from Africa

  • Replaced other living hominids

• Multi-regional hypothesis 

  • Gradual evolution linked by complex gene flow 

How is the debate linked to the social context of those who have taken it up?

• Colonial interactions and trying to understand how people are different from one another 

• The fossil record as an inaccurate proxy to understand modern human differences 

What relationship might the debate have to the idea of racial classification?

• Attempt to see different “races” as separate species 

• Posited degrees of “humanness”

Basic understanding of Svante Paabo's work.  What did he win a Nobel prize for?  What is the basic gist of his findings in terms of how Neanderthals and Modern Humans interacted with each other?

• How to extract DNA from ancient bones 

• Found that neanderthals and modern humans have mixed and interbred

Basic understanding of the video’s description of why race is a product of culture, not biology

• There are no genetic markers that define race, meaning there are no markers that are in everybody of a single race and in nobody of another race. This means that race cannot be thought of as a biological product. Instead, race is defined by how people perceive race, making it a cultural product.

What role did the biological sciences have in supporting racist policies and practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? 

• Biological sciences were used to justify racism and discrimination. The scientists were a part of the social context of their time and thus this affected their science. They wanted to show that races besides theirs were fundamentally different and thus social hierarchy was natural. Scientists used flawed data and data analysis to “prove” their argument. Some of these flawed data collection techniques included measuring face angle to relate people back to the “primitive,” correlating skull size with intelligence, and analyzing eye shape, brain color, and organs.  These techniques were used to uphold racist assumptions and beliefs through inaccurate science. 

 How, in the end, does human genetic variation stack up to that of other animals? 

• 1/1000 nucleotides that make up a human genetic code is different between one individual to another

• This is different compared to animals such as penguins who have twice the amount of genetic difference and fruit flies that have ten times the amount of genetic difference

How have biologists changed their view on race over the last 100 or so years? 

• Biologists have changed their view on race over the last 100 years or so in several ways. Primarily, biologists initially thought that race was inherent in people’s genetic code and that there were strict biological lines that could be drawn between races. Now, biologists know that race is a product of culture rather than genetics. Secondly, biologists believed that race justified social hierarchies; however, biologists understand that skills and traits come from many different genes and thus race is not a justification for social hierarchy.

What happens when students in the video compare their mtDNA to one another?

•  When the students compared their mtDNA, they found that most of it was identical. They also found that although they may physically look different from someone, they may actually be closest in mtDNA to them. They discovered that racial variation did not map around racial lines. 

Mutation, Natural Selection, Gene Flow and Genetic Drift

• Mutation: variation aries with changes at the DNA level

• Natural Selection: over time, more successful genetic variation will become more common in the population

• Gene Flow: movement of DNA though migration and mate selection

• Genetic Drift: change in genetic variation across generations due to random factors

Why is phenotype, in contrast to genotype, particularly crucial for natural selection to operate?

• A trait can only be selected for or against if it is expressed thus the phenotype is selected for or against

What is the variability of blood types in human populations likely due to?

• Differing resistance to infectious diseases is one of the most prominent evolutionary pressures influencing blood type distribution

Very basic understanding of the Human Leukocyte Antigen System (HLA).  What does the wide variation in our immune systems allow us to do?

• HLA allows for a great deal of adaptation 

• The wide variety allows for specific adaptations for certain environments

What is sickle cell trait and how does it help us understand evolutionary adaptations?  What is balanced polymorphism?

• Sickle cell trait: provides protection against malaria but sickle cell disease is very dangerous 

  • Strong selective pressures for and against traits 

• Balanced polymorphism: a genetic state where multiple alleles for a gene are maintained in a population because the heterozygote (an individual with two different alleles) has a selective advantage over both homozygotes (individuals with two identical alleles)

How have the processes through which light reflects of skin evolved across the globe over time? 

• Continuous changes in skin color variation 

• Some populations lose the ability to produce melanin depending on the UV radiation levels and vitamin D levels

  • Lower melanin provides less UV protection but greater vitamin D absorption

Basic viewing comprehension of the short film about hair variation in humans

• Tightly curled hair increases heat loss which is selected for in some environments and selected against in some populations 

How is the sick role defined?

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

What are explanatory models of illness?

• Patient’s perspective: 

  • Symptoms/sensations 

  • Disability 

  • What others will think 

  • How it will affect life

• Biomedical perspective:

  • Bodily functions 

  • Physiological processes 

  • Causations 

  • Ways to respond to causes

• Combine the patients perspective with biomedical perspectives 

What groups of humans were referred to as the "Original Affluent Society"

• hunter-gatherer societies

What cultural features were often common to foragers?

• Egalitarian

• Low population density

• Lack of territory 

• A minimum of food storage 

• Flux in band composition

Define the term Neolithic

• Neolithic: New Stone Age 

  • When humans began producing their food rather than relying excluding on foraging 

What does the Broad Spectrum Revolution refer to according to lecture?

• When a wider range of plants and animals are hunted, gathered, and collected

  • Focused on animals with quick, prolific reproduction

• Formed the groundwork for emergence of food production/domestication

Understand the basic story of the emergence of food production in the Middle East and what role did the Natufian culture play?

• Alluvial Deserts: problems with irrigation 

• Hilly Flanks: abundance of wheat and barley 

• Natufian foragers

  • Lived in the Hilly flanks 

  • Sedentary foragers 

  • Population grows 

  • Optimal foraging zone shrinks 

  • Causes the need for agriculture

What pressures may have led to plant and animal domestication in the middle east?

• Cold snap decreasing foraging ranges

• Shift to sedentary lifestyles 

• Population growth

Where was maize initially cultivated?

• Central  Mexico

What are transhumance and pastoralism?

• Nomadic transhumance: a fairly simple transformation of the nomadic hunter-gathers

  • Moving herds to different locations with changing seasons 

  • Only part of the group migrates

• Pastoralism: a form of animal husbandry where domesticated livestock are herded over large, open, grassy areas (rangelands) for grazing, often by mobile communities

In general terms, what have the consequences of food production and sedentism been according to anthropologists?

• 88% of people speak a language from a language family that traces back to the Middle East and China

• Higher work loads resulted in periodic shortages in food

• Population growth

• epidemics/disease transmission

• Social hierarchy

What is the relationship between food production and the growth of social inequality and the concept of property

• Led to the idea of ownership and property since people worked more for their food

• Those who could grow more food gained social standing

Be familiar with the Case of Percy Schmeiser

• Court case in Canada about a farmer who was sued for patent infringement

• Seeds blew off a truck and grew on his land without his knowledge, he then sold the plants he grew and was sued for patent infringement

What are some basic take-away points Chivens talks about with respect to understanding complexity in prehistory?

• Complexity looks like a lot of things (people, territory, social/economic networks, infrastructure investments, labor specialization) to manage

• Does NOT have to mean more social stratification