ANTH 226 Exam 1

Anthropology definition

the study of humans from the perspective of all people & all times

4 subfields

• cultural

• linguistical (language)

• archeology

• biological

cultural anthropology definition

study human populations across the planet

cultural sub-subfields

• sociocultural

• biocultural

• ethnobotany

• nutritional

linguistic anthropology definition

studies ways in which humans communicate

• verbal & written

linguistic sub-subfields

• ethnolinguistic

• historical

• descriptive

• sociolinguistic

archeology definition

study material remains & tools

• pottery

• middens

• settlements

archeology sub-subfields

• historical anthropology

• zoo-anthropology

• bioanthropology

• archeobotany

• nautical

Bioanthropology definition

study of human/primate biology within an evolutionary framework

human evolution definition

every person is the product of evolutionary history

human biological variation

every person is the product of their own individual life history

bioanthropology sub-subfields

• paleoanthropology

• primatology

• molecular anthropology

• forensic anthropology

• human biology

old view of human evolution

human evolution has relatively few species & is fairly linear

new view of human evolution

human evolution is extremely complicated & species rich

what can we know about human evolution?

• stuff that _________ be observed directly but is ___________ based on observable evidence

• stuff that _________ be observed directly but is ___________ based on observable evidence

• stuff that _________ be observed directly but is ___________ based on observable evidence

• cant, likely

• can’t, possible

• can’t, unlikely

4 conditions of a valid hypothesis

• is falsifiable

• has predictions logically derived from hypothesis

• is not proven but “supported” or “unsupported”

• doesn’t generate “truth”

  • finding things more likely to be true based on evidence

11 common misconceptions of evolutionary biology

1. evolution is a “theory in crisis”

2. evolution explains origins of life

3. species are discrete units

4. natural selection always “works”

5. evolution means progress

6. “survival of the fittest”

7. humans evolved from chimpanzees

8. there are no transitional fossils

9. there aren’t very many fossils

10. humans are no longer evolving

11. darwin is the ultimate authority on evolution

Reality of evolution is a “theory in crisis”

supported by thousands of observations, analyses, tests, fossils, genetics, etc

reality of evolution explains origins of life

explains how living things changed from a common ancestor

Reality of species are discrete units

nature is messy & human created categories don’t always neatly apply

reality of natural selection always “works”

majority of species that ever lived now are extinct

reality of evolution means progress

non-linear, not everything is adaptive

reality of “survival of the fittest”

evolutionary fitness doesn’t equal physical fitness

reality of humans evolved from chimpanzees

humans & chimps are both great apes, humans & modern apes share a common ancestor, living apes have evolved a ton since that split

reality of there are no transitional fossils

all fossils are “transitional”, the fossil record NOT unbiased record of everything that has ever lived

reality of there aren’t very many fossils

for every “lucy” we have hundreds of thousands of: teeth, jaws, partial skulls, partial skeletons, footprints

reality of humans are no longer evolving

we are, a whole sub-subfield of human biology studies ways in which we are still evolving

reality of darwin is the ultimate authority on evolution

for every person mentioned there are dozens if not hundreds who studied “evolution” who are not as well remembered

ancient world view of evolution

• different environments = different animals

• humans part of nature

• simple —> complex

• humans resemble apes

middle ages view of evolution (muslim scholars)

• describe species responding to environmental change

• relationships between humans & other primates

greek approach to natural world

• earth at center of the universe

• based on writings of Ptolemy & Aristotle (among others)

• fits with casual observations of sky & earth with naked eye

young approach to natural world

• difficulty with deep time

• archbishop James Ussher

  • gave extremely specific day/time of universe creation

static approach to natural world

• plato’s “types”

  • everything stayed the same since creation

  • “kinds” of evolution

• fixity of species

fixity of species

variation in “types” imperfections

• species don’t change or disappear

great chain of being approach to natural world

• based on Aristotle

• life organized from simple —> most complex

  • plants —> humans

• no “room” for more species

scientific revolution: nicolaus copernicus

challenges geocentrism

scientific revolution: galileo

universe = place of motion

scientific revolution: andreus vesalius

corrected ancient anatomical texts

scientific revolution: stemo

stratigraphy (using locations & changes to see order of species)

scientific revolution: carolus linnaeus

binomial nomenclature (genus species)

taxonomy

biological classification (naming system)

• must reflect phylogeny

phylogeny

a hypothesis of evolutionary relationships

scientific revolution: Georges-Louis Leclerc

biogeography

histoire naturelle

scientific revolution: james hutton

gradualism - everything happens slowly

scientific revolution: Georges cuvier

catastrophism - catastrophes lead to sudden environmental changes

Industrial revolution: mary anning

paleontologist & fossil collector

Industrial revolution: geoffrey sant-hilaire

homology & mutations

Industrial revolution: erasmus darwin

ocean origins & common ancestry

Industrial revolution: jean baptiste lamark

inheritance of acquired characteristics

Industrial revolution: william smith

biostratigraphy - using rock layers to determine age

Industrial revolution: charles lyell

uniformitarianism - everything we see environmentally has changed over time (not static)

adaptation definition

a series of beneficial adjustments to an environment

evolution definition

changes in allele frequencies in a population over time

Darwin voyage of the beagle

discovered & examined fossil mammals in south america

Darwi observations

• biogeography

• islands often hold endemic species

• Galapagos forms resembled forms on mainland

  • lack large mammals

darwin excavations

co-concurrence of human fossils, extinct animals & stone tools

the origin of species

• on the origin of species by means of natural selection or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life

• described a mechanism by which evolution works

7 conditions of natural selection

1. more individuals are produced than can survive

2. there is competition among individuals

3. variation exists within all species

4. individuals with favorable traits or variations more likely to survive to reproduce

5. environment “determines” whether a trait is beneficial

6. traits inherited & passed on the next generation

7. over time variations accumulate so later generations beome distinct from ancestral ones

   1. speciation

lamark view

variation is acquired by individual during life, no differential reproduction; individuals “evolve”

darwin view

variation is inherited; differential survival & reproduction; populations evolve

blending theory

proposed offspring inherited traits from both parents

allele definition

different versions of a gene/trait

genotype

genetic makeup of an organism

phenotype

physical makeup of an organism

gregor mendel

laid down basic principle of heredity

principles of mendelian inheritance

1. segregation

2. dominant & recessive alleles

3. independent assortment

mendelian inheritance: segregation

1 allele inherited from each parent

mendelian inheritance: dominant & recessive (homozygous)

2 of same allele for a trait (HH or hh)

mendelian inheritance: dominant & recessive (heterozygous)

different alleles for a trait (Hh)

mendelian inheritance: independent assortment

traits not necessarily inherited together

prokaryotic cells

single celled organisms lacking a nucleus

eukaryotic cells

structurally complex cells with a nucleus

eukaryotic cells structure

• mitochondria

• nucleus

• ribosomes

• cytoplasm

mitochondria

organelles that produce energy

nucleus

contains DNA

ribosomes

organelles that manufacture proteins

cytoplasm

area between nucleus & cell wall where organelles located

somatic cells

components of body tissues

gametes

ova & sperm

zygote

ovum & sperm

meiosis

• cell division in gametes

• 2 divisions

• increases genetic variation at fast fate

• crossing over

crossing over

exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes during 1st step of meiosis (genetic recombination)

nindisjunction

• monosomy (too few)

  • Turner Syndrome

• Trisomy (too many)

  • trisomy 21 & Klinefelter syndrome

amino acids

the building blocks of proteins

RNA

ribonucleic acid is single-stranded molecule

uracil

RNA nucleotide complementary to adenine

codons

triplets of mRNA bases “coding” for specific amino acids

mRNA

carries genetic “message” from nucleus to ribosome

tRNA

carry specific amino acids to ribosome

transcription

• mRNA matches complimentary DNA nucleotides

• takes to ribosome

translation

• tRNA carrying amino acids “read” mRNA codons 1 at a time

• amino acids form peptide bonds until get to stop codon

DNA code is:

continuous, redundant, universal

non-mendelian inheritance

• polygenetic traits

• pleiotropic traits

types of natural selection

• reproductive fitness

• sexual selection

• directional selection

• stabilizing selection

• disruptive selection

reproductive fitness

having more offspring live to produce their own offspring

sexual selection

• male-male competition

• indicative of overall health

• presence of traits that would seem maladaptive but are used to reproduce successfully

directional selection

extreme phenotype is favored so over time the allele moves towards that phenotype

• hominin brain size

stabilizing selection

favors intermediate phenotypes

• birth weight of humans

disruptive selection

2 extremes are favored

• decreasing snowfall leads to rockier environment where white, grey & black rabbits fit in better

mutation

• most are neutral, providing genetic variability for natural selection

• not heritable in somatic cells

• some are deleterious (rarely advantageous)