Exam 1 Study Guide

1. Archaeology anthropology (Archaeologists focus on material remains—tools, pottery, rock art, shelters, seeds, bones, and other objects—to better understand people and societies.) 

2. Cultural anthropology (focuses on similarities and differences among living persons and institutions. They suspend their sense of what is expected in their own culture to understand.) 

3. Linguistic Anthropology (The study of people is incomplete without attending to language, a defining trait of human beings.)

4. Biological Anthropology (is the study of human evolution and biological variation. Some biological anthropologists study our closest living relatives—monkeys and apes—to learn how nonhuman and human primates are alike and how they differ both biologically and behaviorally)

Ethnocentrism: Tendency to evaluate other’s culture through the lens of one’s culture often steaming in the belief that one’s culture is superior 

1. Primatology: the study of nonhuman primates, including their behavior, biology, and evolution.

2.  Paleoanthropology: the study of ancient human species and their ancestors through fossil records are two key areas that provide insights into human evolutionary history. 

3. Bioarchaeology: the study of human remains in an archaeological context, which helps to understand past populations' health, diet, and social structures. 

4. Molecular: the study of the molecular basis of genetic variation and evolutionary processes, focusing on DNA, genes, and their functions to understand the genetic relationships between species and populations.

5. Human Biology:  the study of the biological aspects of humans, including physiology, genetics, and adaptation to environmental factors, which provides critical insights into how humans interact with their surroundings and how various factors influence health and development. 

6. Forensic:  the application of biological anthropology techniques to legal contexts, often involving the analysis of human skeletal remains to assist in criminal investigations and determine identity, cause of death, and other factors relevant to legal cases. 

What is the difference between a genus and a species? A genus is a group of closely related species that share a common ancestor. The species is a specific type of organism within a group of closely related organisms

what does biocultural evolution refer to? Biology and both cultures impact the evolution of a species 

Scientific Method: Question, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Data Analysis, Conclusion, and Communication

How is a hypothesis different from a theory? a hypothesis is constructed before any applicable research has been done. A theory, on the other hand, is supported by evidence: it's a principle formed as an attempt to explain things that have already been substantiated by data.

Knowledge system A unified way of knowing that is shared by a group of people and is used to explain and predict phenomena. Scientific Understanding: is a type of knowledge formed by science using evidence and testing. Religious Understanding: is a type of knowledge formed by belief and faith gained from religious beliefs, 

How is creation different than evolution? Creationism is the belief by Christians that God created everything in a number of days that are unchanged and are the same as today. While evolution refers to the change of a species overtimes.

Catastrophism: Earth’s geology has been largely shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope 

fixity of species: the idea that a species once created remained unchanged overtime 

Fitness: an organism's ability to survive and reproduce successfully offspring 

reproductive success: Those that can survive and reproduce

Paradigm shift- a transition from one conceptual framework to another.

What was John Ray’s contribution to biology? John Ray helped develop the concept of a species concept of a genus

Linnaeus? expanded on these concepts and added class and order in 1735.Introduced binomial nomenclature - genus + species (Homo sapiens) Taxonomy. 

Inheritance of acquired characteristics: Body parts that were used for different purposes could be modified.  Modifications were passed on to offspring. 

Thomas Malthus – resources were limited and there would be a struggle for existence if population size remained unchecked.

Georges Curvier- The father of paleontology Species extinction stratification

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck- theory of the Inheritance of acquired characteristics; is the first Western scientist to propose a mechanism explaining how traits change in species over time and to recognize the importance of the physical environment in acting on species and their survival.

Georges Cuvier- Paleontologist: proved species went extinct; proposed the Theory of Catastrophism.

Charles Darwin- Publishes On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859).

Charles Lyell- Establishes geology as a science. Uniformitarianism- the present is the key

to the past.

James Hutton- Gradualism- Geological change results from slow continuous processes not sudden events

Alfred Russel Wallace- published an article suggesting that current species were descended from other species. The environment influences the appearance of a species.

 Descent with modification: offspring from two parents look different from each of their parents, and from each other, meaning they descend with slight differences (“modifications”).

What are some things that we can specifically learn from studying bones? We can learn the age, sex, and height of an organism. Plus we can learn the cause of death and if the organism had any diseases. We also learn diet and ancestry,  

What can’t we learn? Things we can’t learn are the race of an individual or their sexual orientation. 

What is DNA and where is it located? It is a molecule that contains the genetic instructions for building and maintaining an organism passed down from one generation to the next. It is located in the nucleus of a cell. 

What are the four bases? Adenine,  Thymine,  Cytosine, Guanine

RNA bases? Adenine, Cytosine, Uracil, and Guanine.

How is mtDNA different from DNA? MtDNA comes from the mitochondrial directs

mitochondrial activities have the same molecular structure and function as nuclear DNA

maternal side. 

What are the two main classes of cells? Somatic cells – all the cells in the body except those involved in reproduction

Gametes – reproductive cells (eggs and sperms in animals) Unite with another gamete to form a

zygote

What is a gene? a segment of DNA that specifies the sequence of amino acids, in a particular protein

Chromosomes? discrete structures composed of DNA and proteins found only in the nuclei of cells. Humans have 46. 

Mitosis: The process that somatic cells undergo to divide to make identical cells. The end of mitosis results in two diploid daughter cells. Aid in growth and repair.

Meiosis: The process that gametes (sperm and egg cells) undergo to divide. The end of meiosis results in four haploid daughter cells. 

What are alleles? gene copy, which codes for the same trait but produces a different phenotype. Or a variant of a trait.

Understand Mendelian inheritance. And which traits are Mendelian traits in humans

Heterozygous: Genotype that consists of two different alleles (Bb) 

Homozygous: it means their genotype consists of two copies of the same allele (BB or bb)

Recessive: genetic trait that can be masked by a dominant trait. (Need to have two recessive to see a recessive trait or phenotype.) (rr)  

Dominant: Produces the same phenotype whether its paired allele is identical or not–Rr, or RR (in this case, purple)

Genotype: the genetic makeup of a particular individual (BB, Bb, bb).

Phenotypes; how the traits are represented in the organism (purple or white).

what is a polygenic trait? What are examples of humans?  The term polygenic means “many genes.” Therefore, a polygenic trait is influenced by many genes that work together to produce the phenotype. Human phenotypes such as hair color, eye color, height, and weight are examples of polygenic trait

Autosomes – govern all physical characteristics except primary sex determination (#s 1-22)

Sex chromosomes – X and Y. Y = maleness (23rd pair determines the sex) 

Where do the majority of sex-linked traits occur? Which chromosome?   Yes, sex-linked traits are determined by genes located on the sex chromosomes (X and Y), and the karyotype, which is a visual representation of an individual's chromosomes

What are regulatory genes? genes that influence the activity of other genes

Lamarkian evolution: mechanism explaining why and how traits changed in species over time, as well as recognizing the importance of the physical environment in acting on and shaping physical characteristics. Lamarck’s view of how and why species changed through time, known as the “Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics”

Darwinian evolution: defined evolution as descent with modification, by which he meant that species share a common ancestor yet change over time, giving rise to new species. Descent with modification refers to the fact that offspring from two parents look different from each of their parents, and from each other, meaning they descend with slight differences (“modifications”).

Why was Weismann’s experiment important? amputated the tails of 68 mice and then successively bred five generations of them, removing the tails of all offspring in each generation, eventually producing 901 mice, all of whom had perfectly healthy long tails despite having parents whose tails were missing. Proving that it wasn’t a mechanism of removing a limb but rather a genetic trait from the parent’s genes 

Speciation:  the process by which a new species evolves from an earlier species

Taxonomy: in which a species of animal or plant receives a name consisting of two terms: the first term identifies the genus to which it belongs and the second term identifies the species.

Subspecies: A distinct subtype of a species. Most often, this is a geographically isolated population with unique phenotypes; however, it remains biologically and behaviorally capable of interbreeding with other populations of the same species

Point mutation: A point mutation is a single-letter (single-nucleotide) change in the genetic code resulting in the substitution of one nucleic acid base for a different one.

Genetic drift: Random changes in allele frequencies within a population from one generation to the next. Any small change can cause a genetic drift. 

Gene flow: The introduction of new genetic material into a population through interbreeding between two distinct populations.

Homology: similarities are based on shared evolutionary relationships

Analogy: similarities based on a common function

Sexual dimorphism: differences in physical characteristics between males and females of a

species

Interspecific variation: differences between reproductively isolated populations (Ex. differences in the physical and behavioral traits of cats and dogs)

intraspecific variation: variation within a population. (Ex. variations in size, color, behavior, or even resistance to diseases)

Convergent evolution: When two species that aren’t closely related respond to a similar environmental pressure and develop similar adaptations

Macroevolution: Large and often complex changes in biological populations, such as species formation.

Microevolution: Changes in the frequency of a gene or allele in an interbreeding population

Why is race not a biological reality for humans? Race does not provide an accurate representation of human biological variation

Human variation: the study of how humans vary biologically and why. It includes the study of genetic variation, adaptation, and how populations have evolved over time.

Debunking races: the idea of “race” has always carried more meanings than mere physical differences; indeed, physical variations in the human species have no meaning except the social ones that humans put on them

how is skin color related to evolution and adaptation: Human skin color variation is an evolutionary adaptation to differing levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in various regions, with darker skin providing protection against UV damage in high-sunlight areas, and lighter skin aiding vitamin D synthesis in areas with less sunlight