Biological Anthropology Exam #1 Study Guide

What is anthropology?

the study of humankind in all times and spaces

What are the 4 major divisions of anthropology?

cultural anthropology

archaeology

linguistic anthropology

biological anthropology

What is ethnography?

a written description of a particular culture based on firsthand observation and participation

What is ethnology?

the study of human cultures in a comparative perspective

What is archeology?

the reconstruction of past behaviors and cultures based on the material record

What does “prehistory” mean?

before written records

What are “artifacts”?

material objects from past human activities

What is the gene that enables us to form sentences?

FoxP2

What are the 4 major areas in biological anthropology?

paleoanthropology

primatology

human variation

forensic anthropology

What is paleoanthropology?

the study of our bipedal fossil ancestors

What is primatology?

the study of physical behavior of our nearest living relatives

What is human variation?

the study of the physical and genetic variation among modern humans

What are “belief systems”?

ideas that are taken on faith and cannot be scientifically tested

What is the Copernicus and heliocentric theory?

the idea that the Earth and other planets revolve around the sun

What is a theory?

a well-supported general idea that explains a large set of factual patterns and predicts other patterns

What are the 3 characteristics of theory?

broad in scope

explanatory

based on facts

What is a fact?

something that is observable and verifiable

What is Tiktaalik? (tick-tal-ick)

the link between fish and amphibians/reptiles

Who is the father of taxonomy and classified us as homo-sapiens?

Carolus Linnaeus

Briefly describe the taxonomy system.

a branch starting at all animals that goes off into more narrowed down categories

Why is taxonomy important?

it draws attention to how similar living forms are to one another

Who pioneered the field of paleontology?

George Cuvier

What is paleontology?

the study of extinct life forms through the analysis of fossils

What is uniformitarianism?

the theory that the Earth’s surface and features were formed only by the known forces of erosion…Earth movements that we see today

How old is Earth?

4.6 billion years old

What is Lamarck’s model?

that the wants and needs plus repeated use results in change during an individual’s lifetime

What is Darwin’s model?

in order: over-reproduction, heritable variation, selection, and adaptation

True or false: Fitness does not equal survival; fitness equals survival plus reproductive success.

True

Who is the father of genetics?

Gregor Mendel

Draw a punnett square.

What are alleles? (Ah-leels)

alternate forms of a gene

True or false: alleles do not blend

true

Define homozygous.

both alleles contributing to the characteristic are the same

Define Heterozygous.

the contributing alleles are different

Define genotype.

the genetic makeup of an individual, regardless of what is physically expressed

Define phenotype.

the physical expression of the genotype

What is a monogenic trait?

a characteristic that is influenced by a single gene or gene pair (e.g., tongue rolling)

Define overspecialization.

overly adapted to a specific environment (e.g., koalas)

What is variation fed by?

sexual reproduction

allelic variation

What is a polygenic trait?

a single characteristic that is determined by multiple gene pairs

Define mutation.

a random change in a gene

Define gene.

a strand of DNA that controls the coding of a physical trait

Why are mutations so important?

without them, evolution would stop or stagnate

What is evolutionary synthesis?

Darwin’s model plus genetics plus mutations

Why do we need at least some UV radiation?

to produce vitamin D

Define artificial selection.

reproduction under human control

fast

traits may not be viable in nature

goal-oriented

Define natural selection.

nature decides

slow

traits are viable in nature

opportunistic

What is the general sentence for “over-reproduction”?

more “___” are born than the environment can support

What is the general sentence for “heritable variation”?

some “____” have “____” and others have “____”

What is the general sentence for “selection”?

those with “___” are more able to survive and reproduce

What is the general sentence for “adaptation”?

overtime, more of this species will end up with “___” and overall be better adapted