Biological Anthropology Unit 1

anthropology

the study of human societies and cultures and their development.

Cultural anthropology

a major branch of anthropology focused on the study of human culture, which includes a group's learned beliefs, behaviors, symbols, social structures, and way of life

Archaeology

Study of past cultures through their material culture, physical remains and the spaces they inhabited

Linguistic Anthropology

Study of languages, how it's structured, how languages evolve and change, and social and culture context for language

Biological anthropology

Study of evolution of humans and their living and possil relatives

Ethnography

the qualitative research method of participant-observation and the resulting written account of a cultural group or society

Participant Observation

a research method where an anthropologist immerses themselves in a community to understand its culture from an insider's perspective

Material culture

refers to the human-created physical objects and spaces that provide insights into the beliefs, customs, and social structures of a particular culture

Artifacts

physical objects created, modified, or used by humans that provide valuable insights into a society's culture, behavior, technology, and daily life

Features

holistic approach, studying all facets of human existence—biological, cultural, historical, and social—to understand the complete human experience

genetics

an interdisciplinary field that uses genetic data and genomic tools to study human biological diversity, origins, and migration patterns

primatology

Study of nonhuman primate behavior and biology

osteology

Study of skeletal biology

forensics anthropology

applies the science of physical anthropology to legal investigations, focusing on the analysis of human skeletal remains to determine identity, age, sex, stature, and ancestry, as well as to investigate trauma and estimate time of death.

human biology

biological anthropology sub-discipline that studies the biological and evolutionary aspects of humans and their ancestors

paleoanthropology

Study of human evolution and out fossil ancestors

foodways

cultural, social, economic practices surrounding the production, distribution, preparation and consumption of food within a society

ancient DNA

applies DNA analysis from ancient biological remains, like bones and teeth, to understand human history, migration, population interactions, and evolution

DNA that is extracted from organic remains and that often dates from hundreds to thousands of years ago. Also, aDNA is typically degraded (i.e., damaged) due to exposure to the elements such as heat, acidity, and humidity.

Franz Boas

established principles of cultural relativism and historical particularism

Earnest Hooton

Trained a generation in physical anthropology

Sherwood Washburn

a pioneer in the field of primatology, opening it to the study of primates in their natural habitats

helped argue for biological anthropology instead of physical anthropology; got rid of the racist, hierarchal ideas of the field

Eukaryote

Single celled or multi celled organisms with nucleus and membrane enclosed organelles

Prokaryote

single celled organism without nucleus and membrane enclosed organelles

Nucleus

Where DNA is located

Cytoplasm

Jelly-like substance inside membrane that holds organelles

Nuclear DNA

the primary genetic material found in the nucleus of a cell, organized into linear chromosomes and containing the genes that determine an organism's traits

Mitochrondrial DNA

mtDNA; circular DNA segment found in mitochrondria

Ribosome

Located in the cytoplasm and also the membrane of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Messenger RNA (mRNA) binds to ribosomes and proteins are synthesized.

Endoplasmic reticulum

Continuous membrane with the nucleus that helps transport, synthesize, modify, and fold proteins. Rough ER has embedded ribosomes, whereas smooth ER lacks ribosomes.

adenine

Pairs with thymine

guanine

Pairs with cytosine

thymine

Pairs with adenine

cytosine

pairs with guanine

uracil

only in RNA

replaces thymine

pairs with adenine

nucleotide

The basic structural component of nucleic acids, which includes DNA (A, T, C, and G) and RNA (A, U, C, and G).

DNA replication

Cellular process in which DNA is copied and doubled.

Mutation

Nucleotide sequence variation from template DNA

protein

Made up of amino acids

result of multiple polypeptides

codons

3 base in sequence

anticodons

a sequence of three nucleotides on a transfer RNA (tRNA) molecule that is complementary to a specific messenger RNA (mRNA) codon

transcription

DNA unzips and segments is copied by RNA

mRNA

mRNA (messenger RNA) is a molecule that acts as a temporary copy of a gene's DNA sequence, carrying genetic instructions from the cell's nucleus to the cytoplasm to direct the synthesis of specific proteins

tRNA

carries amino acid to ribosome to assemble into polypeptides

amino acids

the building blocks of proteins, which are essential for various bodily functions

polypeptide

Chains of amino acids

built using nRNA as blueprint in ribosome

chromosomes

DNA molecule that is wrapped around protein complexes, including histones.

karyotype

the visual, organized profile of all an individual's chromosomes, showing their number, size, and shape

diploid

Refers to an organism or cell with two sets of chromosomes.

haploid

Cell or organism with one set of chromosomes (n = 23).

gamete

Haploid cells referred to as an egg and sperm that will fuse together during sexual reproduction to form a diploid organism.

gene

Part of DNA molecule that has enough info to make 1 protein

allele

differing versions of a gene

homologous

Same gene

non homologous

different gene

homozygous

Same allele (AA)

heterozygous

Different allele (Aa)

sex chromosomes

XY chromosomes

genome

full map of species genetic info

mitosis

Cell duplicates all of its content and splits into 2 daughter cells

heavily regulated

meiosis

The process that gametes undergo to divide. The end of meiosis results in four haploid daughter cells.

crossing over

the biological process where homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material during meiosis, creating recombinant chromatids with new gene combinations that increase genetic diversity

nondisjunction error

a type of cell division error where chromosomes fail to separate correctly during meiosis (gamete formation) or mitosis, resulting in an incorrect number of chromosomes

trisomy

a genetic condition where an individual has three copies of a particular chromosome instead of the usual two

monosomy

a genetic condition where an individual is missing one copy of a chromosome pair

translocation error

translocation error

structural gene

a segment of DNA that codes for a functional protein or RNA molecule

regulatory gene

a gene that produces a protein or RNA molecule that controls the expression of other genes, acting as a molecular switch to turn them on or off, or up and down

gregor mendel

his groundbreaking work on pea plants, where he discovered the fundamental laws of inheritance and proposed the theory of particulate inheritance

dichotomous variation

a situation or variable that can be divided into two mutually exclusive categories or options, often described as a binary state

genotype

the complete genetic makeup of an organism or the specific combination of alleles (versions of a gene) an individual possesses

phenotype

he set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.

mendel's law of segregation

during gamete formation, the two alleles for a particular trait separate, or segregate, so that each gamete receives only one allele

mendel's law of independent assortment

alleles of two or more different genes segregate independently of one another during gamete formation

dominant

a version of a gene that expresses its corresponding trait over a recessive allele when both are present in an organism's genetic makeup (genotype)

recessive

a gene variant whose trait is only expressed in an organism when two copies of that allele are inherited, one from each parent

codominant

a variant of a gene where both alleles are fully and separately expressed in a heterozygote, meaning neither allele is dominant or recessive, and both traits are displayed simultaneously without blending

assortment

the Mendelian principle that during meiosis (gamete formation), alleles for different genes (traits) segregate and are distributed into gametes independently of one another

recombination

the process where genetic material (DNA) is broken and exchanged between homologous chromosomes or different DNA molecules, resulting in new combinations of alleles

qualitative variation

differences in traits that fall into discrete, separate categories, rather than a continuous spectrum, often controlled by a single gene or a small number of genes

heritability

the proportion of observed variation in a specific trait or characteristic within a population that can be attributed to inherited genetic factors, rather than environmental factors

polygenic traits

a characteristic that is influenced by the combined effects of multiple genes, rather than a single gene

epigeneics

the study of heritable changes in gene activity and expression that occur without altering the underlying DNA sequence

Frederick Douglass

Demonstrated better understanding of bicultural processes that lead to adaptations

Fixity of Species

Forms of life and their relationships do not change

Aristotle

foundational figure in western zoology

fixity of species

The great chain of being

Scala Naturae

monogenism

One point of human origin, diversification of humans following Biblical Great Flood

Al-Jahiz

the Scientific Revolution

Age of Exploration

polygenism

multiple points of human orgin

Scientific method

species

John Ray

english nationalist and gov minister

developed idea of species and genus

no concept of extinction or major change

Carlus Linneaus

Swedish physician, botanist, "father of taxonomy"

Place humans in animalia

believed in fixity of species

Systemae Naturae

popularized Ray's terms

developed binomial nomenclature for describing species

Binomial nomenclature

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

French botanist, natural historian

stressed importance of change in universe and species

did not believe in fixity of species

believed one species doesn't give rise to another

Comparative anatomy