biological anthropology exam 1

Anthropology

The study of humankind, integrates sociology, economics, political science, history, and biology.

What are the 4 subfields anthropology?

Biological

Archeology

Cultural

Lingustics

Cultural Anthropology

studies how human societies adapt to local conditions using learned, socially-transmitted behaviors. (The study of human culture and society)

What does Cultural anthropology focus on?

Focused on "exotic", non western societies

Urban Anthropology

deals with issues of inner cities

Medical Anthropology

explores relationship between culture and health.

Archaeology

Study and interpretation of material remains recovered from earlier cultures in order to understand past human behaviors.

What does Archaeology focus on?

largely deals with the past

Linguistic

study of the origin, variation, and relationships if language and language groups among human societies

What doe linguistics focus on?

The use of language is a unique human characteristic

Biological

The study of the human biology and behavior within an evolutionary context

What are 3 major criteria of anthropology?

Evolutionary, Comparative, and Holistic

Evolutionary

The descent with modifications of different lineages from common ancestors, and ultimately, one common ancestor. All forms of life are related by unbroken chains of descent.

Comparative

Gaining knowledge about a topic by looking at the similarities and difference among two or more groups, cultures, species, etc. who possesses the topic we're interested in.

Holistic

Understanding phenomena by looking at it in its entirety. Emphasizes interrelationships.

Primate

a group of mammals comprising prosimians (e.g. lemurs) monkey, apes, and humans

Species

A group of similarly looking organisms capable of interbreeding

Evolutionary tree

a diagram showing evolutionary relationships among species or groups of species

Hominid

A bipedal member of the evolutionary lineage leading to modern human. There is one living (us) and many extinct ones.

What is the scope of biological anthropology?

The study of the human biology and behavior within an evolutionary context. The evolutionary and comparative analysis of humans as members of the primate lineage.

What are the specializations within biological anthropology?

Anthropological genetics, human biology, paleoanthropology, primate paleontology, primatology, forensic anthropology.

Genetics

The study of inherited traits

What are the primary data we gather from studying genetics?

genes and chromosomes

Transmission Genetics

The study of how traits are passed on from parent to offspring

Population Genetics

The study of how genes are distributed within an interbreeding group

Human Biology

The study of human variation with respect to evolution and physiology

What are the primary data we gather from studying human biology

Modern human traits and features (nutrition, anatomical variation, human growth, human fertility, human endocrinology, human genetics)

Paleoanthropology

The interdisciplinary study of human origins. "

What are the primary data we gather from studying paleoanthropology?

Fossil human ancestors (fossil hominids)

Primate Paleontology

The interdisciplinary study of primates in a paleontological framework. (non-human)

What are the primary data we gather from studying primate paleontology?

Fossil non-human primates, studies our fossil primates that are not directly ancestral to modern humans (geology, anatomy, evolutionary biology)

Primatology

The study of non-human primates, usually in the wild. Also called "primate behavioral ecology"

What are the primary data we gather from studying primatology?

Living non-human primates, primatology studies non-human primates form an ecological and evolutionary perspective (animal behavior, anatomy, psychology, evolutionary biology.

Forensic Anthropology

The application of anthropological techniques to solve unexplained deaths

What are the primary data we gather from studying forensic anthropology?

Genetic and anatomical evidence. Applied science and case-specific, particular applications are: identification of unknown individuals, crime scenes, understanding patterns of injury and illness in the part (paleopathology)

What are the 3 major ways to understand our world

Religion, philosophy, and science

Religion

beliefs, teachings, and practices concerned with supernatural beings, power, and forces.

Philosophy

search for understanding by mostly speculative and/or logical reasoning, but generally not observational means

Science

systematic search for understanding using empirical observation and testing

Rigorous

relies on standards and standardized methodology

empirical

using observation and/or experiments

material

phenomena that can be measured, rigorously perceived and grasped with the sense. includes things we can't see, but can measure electrons.

Testability

must make testable statements about phenomena

fallible

has a means to deem hypotheses and predictions "wrong"

logical

use inductive/deductive framework to form hypotheses

repeatable

must allow others to verify findings

established method

must operate under agreed upon guidelines

cumulative

builds on previous hypotheses and ideas

universal

any scientist from any country can do it

probabilistic/quantitative

uses number to develop/support/reject a hypothesis

predictive

drawing from a theory, we can state and test what might occur

hypothesis

a statement about a phenomena with testable predictions

theory

a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the world

what are the goals of the experimental method

simplify, isolate, compare

extrapolate

to form an opinion to make an estimate about something from known facts

What is a Bell Curve?

measures traits such as; height weight, test scores, etc.

What is the mean of a graph

the "middle value", when the distribution is symmetrical (the average)

What is the variance of a graph?

the "spread-out-ness" of the distribution

correlation

a measure of association

Spurious Correlation

a correlation based on an unmeasured third variable

how long ago was the origin of the universe?

13.7 billion years ago

How long ago was the formation of our solar system

5 billion years ago

how long ago was the origin of life on earth?

3.8 billion years ago

What is the "Great Chain of Being"?

every existing thing in the universe had its place in a divinely planned hierarchical order, which was pictured as a chain vertically extend. (traces back to Aristotle)

Fixity of Species

species remained unchanged throughout the history of the earth

heliocentric

the sun as the center of our solar system

John Ray

first proposed that interbreeding organisms be called "species", and similar groups of species called "genera", fixity species.

Carolus Linneaus

first systematic classification of organisms, also added "class and order". Species were static and created by divine creator,implicitly challenged "great chain of being"

George du Buffon

first suggested that species were not completely fixed (they degrade) a dynamic relationship between organisms and environment. Believed wold was old, not young

Erasmus Darwin

first proposed the origin of species through evolution in "zoonomia" common ancestry and life in the sea. However did not have mechanism for evolution

Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck

Theory of evolution by inheritance of acquired characteristics (first mechanistic theory of change) Drew attention to "heritability" implies that evolution is directed or goal oriented

George Cuvier

recognized that fossils could be grouped with modern organisms. Older fossils were less like modern organisms than younger fossils. Rejected the concept of evolution and argued for the "fixity of species" Catastrophism

Charles Lyell

Challenged catastrophism, many fossils showed gradual change over long periods of time "deep time" introduced uniformitarianism-- part and current geological processes are one and the same

Thomas Malthus

Populations have the potential to increase at a faster rate than resources. As a result there is intense competition amount individuals, eugenicist.

who suggested a dynamic relationship between organisms and their environment

George de Buffon

who accepted that populations of organisms evolve and emphasized that traits may be hereditary

Lamarck and Erasmus Darwin

Who recognized the connection between existing life forms and fossils

Cuvier

Who stressed gradualism and "Deep time"

lyell

who suggested that competition between individuals may be intense

Malthus

why are the galapagos islands so important to the study of evolution

lots of biological diversity and variation though islands broadly similar in environment. Finches: once mainland form, many island forms

What were the 7 main things that influenced Darwin?

"struggle for existence" "uniformitarianism" past geological processes also operated today. The earth is old; populations vary; nature is diver, a natural "struggle for existence" might operate, a letter from Alfred russel Wallace. Artifically breeding could select for strains that differed notably from the original form. Geopgraphic variation: hinted at "local modification of a single species" Observed anomalies or imperfections (e.g. vestigial organs—like your appendix) and suggested they reflect a history of change.

What can Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection explain?

why species and populations changed (evolve) Why organisms seemed well-adapted to their environment

fitness

ability to contribute genetic material to subsequent generations (the relative ability to survive and reproduce)

adaptive evolution

difference in fitness among organisms will result in a compatibility between an organism and its environment through time

Adaption

A feature or trait that evolved via natural selection to perform a specific task that directly or ultimately leads to reproduction or survivorship.

Heritability

The extent to which offspring resembles their parents

What are the 4 main principles of Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection?

Individuals within a population vary. This variation can be inherited. Struggle for existence (intense competition) Differential reproductive success. example (bird beaks)

What are the 3 main issues with Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection?

Could not explain why variation existed or was maintained in the population. There was considerable debate about the rate at which evolution of a species and speciation occurs. Some individual shave traits that appear maladaptive yet these traits persists in populations

sexual selection

the evolutionary change that occur because of variation in (often male) ability to acquire mates

Intrasexual selection

male--male competition

intersexual

female choice

sexual dimorphism

difference among the sexes due to sexual selection

eukaryotic cells

contain a nucleus (contains chromosomes) and other organelles

somatic cells

cells are the competes of body tissue, example, liver cell, skin cell…

gametes

are cells used for reproduction: ovum and sperm

zygote

is the union between a sperm and an ovum. Only changed in the DNA within gametes are transmitted to offspring

where is DNA carried

chromosomes