ANTA01

Lecture 1: Introduction:

  • Final exam is cumulative 

  • Anthropology:

    • anthropos + logos (Greek) • Study of humankind 

    • Anthropologists study: 

      • Cultural and biological evolution of modern humans, our ancestors, and non-human primates 

      • Patterns of variation in living and fossil humans, as well as other kinds of primates 

    • Subdisciplines: 

      • Cultural Anthropology 

      • Linguistic Anthropology 

      • Biological Anthropology 

      • Archaeology

  • Terminology:

    • Evolution: Change over time

      • Biological evolution is the change over time resulting in new species (genetic change over time)

      • Significance:

        • Evolution in anthropology explains the origins and diversity of humans and their cultures, providing a framework for understanding how traits, behaviours, and societies have changed over time. It helps anthropologists study the connections between biology, culture, and the environment to better comprehend the human experience throughout history.

    • Species: group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring e.g. Homo Sapiens 

      • Significance;

        • help us understand the different types of ancient human relatives and how they are related to us. By studying these species, anthropologists can figure out how humans evolved and how they adapted to different environments over time.

    • Adaptation: Biological/behavioural response of an organism to its environment

      • Significance:

        • it helps us understand how humans and other organisms change and adjust to their environments over time. By studying adaptation, anthropologists can figure out how different groups of people developed unique traits and behaviors to survive in various conditions, like extreme climates or different food sources. This understanding helps us appreciate the incredible ways humans have thrived in diverse environments throughout history.

  • Subfields of biological anthropology:

    • Osteology/Skeletal Biology: study of skeletal structure and function 

      • Bioarchaeology: study of skeletal material from archaeological sites 

      • Paleopathology: study of disease and trauma in past populations

        • Significance:

          • it helps us learn about the health and diseases of people who lived in the past. By studying ancient bones and other remains, paleopathologists can figure out what kinds of diseases and injuries affected these individuals, which gives us insights into their lives, diets, living conditions, and the overall health of past populations. This helps us understand how diseases have changed over time and how human health has evolved.

    • Human biology and variations: study of how humans vary in response to their environment 

    • Molecular anthropology: Study of genetics of modern humans, non-human primates and fossil relatives

    • Primatology: study of biology and behaviour of non-human primates 

      • Diet, locomotion, communication, social and reproductive behaviors 

      • Conservation 

    • Paleoanthropology: Study of the evolution of humans, their ancestors and fossil relatives, including the primate fossil record, to understand the circumstances that led to living humans and non- human primates


Lecture 2: Development of Evolutionary Thought

Early Views of the World 

  •  Early attempts at evolutionary theory in the non-Western world: ancient Greece, Arabia, India, China, Indigenous teachings • 

    • Geographic variation between organisms 

    •  Adaptation to local environments

    •  Struggle for existence •

    • e.g., Al-Jahiz: evolution; al-Haytham: scientific method 


  •  Colonial dominance of Western Europe in science and exploration



  • Religion: The Divine Creator 

  • Fixity of Species: species perfectly adapted to their surroundings; no need to change

  • Scala Naturae (Aristotle, 4th century) 

    • Hierarchical system of classification 

1) Structure

2) Physiology 

3) Reproductive characteristics 

4) Behavior

  •  Great Chain of Being (Western Europe)


  • James Ussher (1561-1656)

    • The night proceeding to the twenty third day of october” 4004 BC

  • Fossil

    • Were considered to be dead organisms

  • Extinction


What changed?

  • 15th century travel: circumnavigation of the globe

  • Biodiversity 

  • The earth is not flat


  • Copernicus (1514): heliocentrism

    • Proposed that the planets revolved around the sun instead of it being in the centre of the 

  • Galileo (1600s): universe of motion

  • 17th century discoveries and inventions:

    • Laws of physics: motion and gravity; anatomical sciences, scientific instruments


Organising Biodiversity: John Ray (1627–1705) 


  • Father of Natural History 

  • Species: group of organisms that are similar in form (morphology) and are derived from a common ancestor 

  • Genus: groupings of different species based on shared similarities 


The Seashell on the Mountaintop: Nicholas Steno (1638-1686) 


  • Deep time, fossils, and environmental change 

  • Glossopetrae (tongue stones) 

    • Tongue stones were shark teeth 

  • Father of Stratigraphy 

  • Strata: layers of rock (stratum: singular) 

  • Stratigraphy: study of how rock/rock layers form


Classifying Biodiversity: Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) 

  • Father of Taxonomy 

    • Field of study that names and classifieds organism 

  • Taxonomy: science of naming and classifying organisms 

  • Binomial nomenclature 

    • Rosa sylvestris inodora seu canina 

    • Rosa canina (binomen) → genus species 

    • Significance:

      • it provides a standardized way to name and classify all living organisms.

  • Class (Mammalia)  

  • Order (Primates) 

  • Homo sapiens Linnaeus 1758 *included in classification of animal kingdom

    • We are homo sapiens → Humans


Environment Creates Variation: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788)


  • Common ancestry of humans and apes  

  • Environment acts directly on organisms through organic particles 

  • Deep time! 

  • Revision of species definition to include fertile offspring 

  • Physical and cultural differences between populations result from accommodations to different environmental conditions 

  • Adaptation


Adaptations to the Environment: Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829) 

  • Biology 

  • Invertebrate • 

  • First to attempt process of evolution: Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics 

    • Animals adapt to their environment through the use/disuse of characteristics → adaptations heritable to offspring 

    • Correct: 

      • Adaptive change over long periods of time; source of variation among organisms 

      • Influence of environment  

    • Incorrect:

      • Mechanism of change 

      • Evolution geared towards ↑ complexity 

      • Extinction 

      • Heritability of variability acquired during lifetime


Catastrophes, Extinction, and Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) 

  • Father of Vertebrate Paleontology 

  • Extinction is real! 

  • Catastrophism: explanation for extinction; Earth’s landscape is the result of sudden, catastrophic events 

  • Subsequent repopulation by more modern organisms = ↑ increased complexity over time due to natural causes 

  • “Why has not anyone seen that fossils alone gave birth to a theory about the formation of the earth, that without them, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the globe.“ 

    • In: Discourse on the Revolutions of the Surface of the Globe, and the Changes Thereby Produced in the Animal Kingdom (1831).


Change Over (Deep) Time: Charles Lyell (1797-1875) 

  • Father of Geology 

  • Uniformitarianism: Geological processes that occurred in the past also occur in the present and have shaped the Earth’s landscapes. → history repeats itself  

    • e.g., wind and water erosion, earthquakes and volcanism, floods, glacial movement and frost 

1. Created landscapes 

2. Are ongoing and consistent (uniform) over time 

3. Take a very long time to occur 


Struggle for Survival: Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) 

  • Competition for resources 

  • Population size increases exponentially while resources (food supply) increases arithmetically 

  • Resource availability keeps population growth in check


Lecture 3: Micro and Macro evolution


Cells:

  • Smallest living biological structures

  • Basic unit of life

  • Prokaryotes

    • Single-celled

    • E.g., bacteria, blue green algae

    • Originated 3.7 billion – 4+ billion years ago

  • Eukaryotes

    • Single- or multi celled

    • E.g., plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, etc.

    • Originated 1.2 billion years ago; more complex forms 600 - 800 million years ago


Structure of Eukaryotic cells

  • Eukaryotic cells:

    • Carbohydrates

    • Lipids (fats)

    • *Nucleic acids

    • Proteins

  • Organelles

    • Nucleus: control centre of cells; contains DNA and RNA

    • Mitochondria:  power plant of cells; contains mtDNA; inherited from mother

    • Ribosomes: Creates protein within a cell


DNA: The Universal Code:

  • Deoxyribonucleic acid 

  • Contains genetic material that directs development and function 

  • Organisms differ in arrangement and regulation of their DNA 

  • Main function is to direct protein production (protein synthesis) 

  • 4 chemical bases (A, T, C, G): 

    • organization dictates development and function; bond in complimentary ways (A-T, C-G) 

  • Nucleotide chain = base + sugar + phosphate 

  • Double helix: spiral of nucleotide chains


DNA Replication:

  • Growth, development and repair requires cells to replicate

  • Enzymes sever bonds between base pairs → bases attract unattached DNA nucleotides within cell nucleus 

  • Result is two double-stranded DNA molecules 

  • Mutation: change in DNA; variation from original DNA sequence


Proteins:

  • Main function of DNA is to produce protein (protein synthesis) 

    • Give structure (e.g., collagen) 

    • Bind to molecules (e.g., hemoglobin)

    • Enzymes (e.g., lactase) 

    • Hormones (e.g., insulin) 

    • Regulatory proteins: bind to DNA, can switch genes on/off 

  • Amino acids: building blocks of protein 

    • DNA specifies amino acid type by arranging chemical bases (A, T, C and G) into groups of 3 (triplet/codon)


Protein Synthesis: Transcription

  • DNA vs RNA 

    • RNA is smaller in size 

    • DNA is double stranded; RNA is single stranded 

    • DNA contains the base thymine; RNA contains the base uracil 

  • Genetic information transcribed/copied onto mRNA in nucleus 

    • RNA polymerase binds to DNA 

    • Separates strands to expose bases, reads bases to make mRNA strand

    • Bases on mRNA strand (template) organised into groups of 3 (triplet/codon) that code for a specific amino acid 

    • mRNA template leaves nucleus → ribosomes

Protein Synthesis: Translation 

  • mRNA with DNA instructions binds with tRNA with amino acids in the ribosomes

  • tRNA bases (anticodon) is complimentary with mRNA codon

  • Opposite end of tRNA has amino acid 

  • Different combinations of bases = 20 different amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins 

  • Amino acids bind together → protein


Genes:

  • Unit of heredity 

    • Sequences of DNA bases that specify or identify the order of amino acids for a protein, part of a protein or another functional product 

    • Contain information to build and maintain cells 

    • Control expression, inheritance, evolution of biological traits 

    • Genome: genetic makeup of an organism 

  • Chromosomes 

    • Strands of DNA found within nucleus 

    • Carry information on cell function and heredity 

    • Number depends on species (humans have 46 chromosomes, arranged in 23 pairs) 

    • Autosomes: carry genetic information for physical characteristics 

    • Sex chromosomes 

    • Humans have 22 pairs of autosomes + 1 pair sex chromosomes – inherit one of each pair from each parent 

  • Locus: place/position of gene on chromosome 

  • Allele: alternative form of gene


Cell Division:

  • Mitosis 

    • Occurs during growth, aging, injury in somatic cells 

    • Produces new cells 

  • Meiosis • 

    • Produces new individuals


Evolutionary process

  • Mutation 

    • Change, variation in DNA from original sequence 

    • Can occur in response to environmental conditions or replication error 

    • **source of new variation in a population

    • **Must occur in a gamete to be evolutionarily significan

  • Selection: 

    • Natural selection: Organisms that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and contribute genetic material to subsequent generations 

    • Artificial selection: Humans selectively breed for desirable traits; some are beneficial, others are not 

    • Sexual selection: Selection for features/behaviors associated with mating

  •  Gene flow 

  • Interchange of genes between populations 

  • Individuals mate in new population, but don’t necessarily stay there 

  • Genetic drift 

    • Random, occurs in small populations 

    • Alleles become more/less prevalent 

    • Founder Effect 

      • Occurs when a small group separates from a diverse population

      • Restricted representation of alleles in founding group due to genetic bottleneck 

      • If breeding is restricted, subsequent generations have low genetic variability – susceptible to extinction 

      • Rare alleles can become more common 

      • Occurs after colonization of new areas 

      • e.g., French Canadians in Quebec


Modern Evolutionary Theory, Micro- and Macroevolution

  • Evolution: 

    • A change in allele frequency from one generation to the next 

    • A two-step process: 1. production and distribution of variation 2. natural selection acting on this variation 

    • Microevolution: change at the microscopic level 

    • Macroevolution: results in formation of new species 

    • Classification: a means to organize biodiversity



Lecture 4: Living Primates

  • Live capture for export or trade

  • Unprecedented population growth 



Primates vs mammals:

  • Extinct vs extant

  • Characteristics:

    • Hair

    • Sweat glands, mammary glands

    • Viviparous (live young)

    • Long Ontogenetics period

    • Heterodant

    • Endothermic

    • Larger brain size - capacity for learning and flexible behaviour 

  • Limbs and locomotion

  • Tendency towards erect posture

  •  Flexible, generalised limb structure 

  • Engage in diverse locomotor behaviours  

  • Prehensile (grasping) hands and feet, sometimes tails 

    • Pentadactyly 

    • Opposable thumb/big toe 

    • Nails 

    • Tactile pads at ends of digits


Brains and senses:

  • Large, complex brains 

  • Bony protection of the eye 

  • Colour vision in diurnal primates (not in nocturnal primates) 

  • Stereoscopic vision: 3D depth perception 

  • Binocular vision: forward facing eyes with overlapping visual fields 

  • Decreased reliance on sense of smell (olfaction)


Dentition and Diet:

  • Unspecialized teeth/generalised dentition – omnivorous diet 

  • Fruit, leaves, gums, seeds, insects, honey, meat 

  • Dental formula: 

    • # incisors: # canines: # premolars: # molars in each quadrant of the mouth 

  • Dental morphology (form) 

    • Size, shape 

    • Cusps: bumps on chewing surface of tooth


Limbs and locomotion

  • Arboreal, terrestrial 

  • Leaping 

  • Quadrupedalism: moving on four limbs 

  • Brachiation and suspension: swinging and hanging body weight from forelimbs

  • Bipedalism: moving on two limbs


Development, learning and behaviour:

  • Slower life history (reproductive / development events that occur throughout life)

  • Longer ontogeny, gestation, fewer offspring, fewer pregnancies, longer lifespan

  • Enriched development: nutrition, maternal attention, learning = longer lifespan)

  • K-selection: few offspring, UP parental care

  • R-selection: many offspring, DOWN parental care

  • Complex social groups


Strepsirrhines: Lemurs, Lorises, Galasgos and Pottos:

  • Lemurs (Madagascar)

  • Lorises (South and SOutheast Asia)

  • Galagos and Pottos (Africa)


Strepsirrhine Characteristics:

  • Usually Nocturnal 

    • Tapetum lucidum (eye shine)

  • More Olfactory 

    • Rhinarium (Chemosensory)

  • Usually Insectivorous

  • Usually Arboreal

    • Quadrupedal

    • Vertical clinging and leaping

  • Tooth combs

  • Grooming claws

  • Often Solitary


Lorises, Galagos and Pottos

  • Nocturnal

  • Different modes of locomotion

  • Insects, fruit, gums, leaves


Haplorrhines: Tarsiers

  • Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Philippines) 

  • Small! 

  • Enormous eyes: nocturnal, can rotate head 180° 

  • No rhinarium, no tooth comb, no tapetum lucidum 

  • Very long hind limbs and feet: excellent leapers 

  • Faunivorous 

  • Small group size


Haplorrhines: Platyrrhines (New World Monkeys) 

  • Central and South America, Mexico 

  • ~70 species 

  • 2:1:3:3 dental formula 

  • 12 oz – 20 lbs 

  • Arboreal 

    • Quadrupedal 

    • Some with prehensile tails, some semi brachiators 

  • Diurnal (except owl monkey) 

  • Omnivorous 

  • Most live in social groups including both sexes and all age categories (Etting, 2019; Wikimedia Commons)


Catarrhines: Cercopithecoids (Old World Monkeys):

  • Africa, Asia

  • Wide Range Of Habitats

  • Most  are arboreal 

    • Ischial Callosities

  • Larger Body Size

  • Diurnal

  • Omnivorous

  • Sexual Dimorphism: difference in size/form between males and females of a single species

  • Variably sized social groups

    • Increased complexity

Hominoids

  • Apes and humans

  • Large!


Lecture 5: 


Hominoids

  • Apes and humans ​​

  • Large!

  • Asia, Africa

  • Slower life history

  • Larger brain size, more complex behaviour 

  • Dental characteristics: Y-5 pattern on molars 

  • Suspensory adaptations - Refers to hanging by their limbs

    • Mobile shoulder, elbow, wrist joints 

      • Can rotate fully on their shoulder joint

      • Can help rotate 

    • Long, powerful arms, strong hands, curved fingers 

      • Have short legs and very long arms

      • Hands support body weight while they are hanging on things like trees etc… 

    • Stiff lower back 

    • Absence of a tail (!)

      • We don't have an external tale

      • A defining feature 

Humanoids: Gibbons and siamangs:

  • Southeast asia 

  • HIghly suspensory - brachiation     

    • Actions they do (just like kids on a monkey bar)

    • It is how these species move

  • Omnivorous diet

    • Largely based on fruit items

  • Monogamous pair + offspring

    • Dont have large social groups 

    • They are very territorial 


Homanoids: Orangutans (pongo) → The genus name     

  • Borneo and Sumatra

  • Suspensory, quadrumanous climbers

    • Means 4 handed climbers

    • They use their feet also to climb

  • Frugivorous

    • Eat a lot of fruits

    • Teeth are usually meant for eating fruit 

  • Extremly secually dimorphic

  • Solitary

  • They don't come down to the ground very much


Hominines: Gorillas (Gorilla) → The Genus name

  • Equatorial Africa

  • Largest of the living primates

  • Very Secually dimpohric

    • They are kind of silver (the men)

    • Men are more bigger

  • Primarily terrestrial, knuckle-walking

    • They support their body weight on their knuckle 

    • They also walk on their knuckle 

  • More folivorous/frugivorous

  • Groups consists of one large silverback male, a few adults females, offspring


Hominines: Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) → Genus name 

  • Equatorial and Western Africa

  • Smaller than gorillas, less sexually dimorphic

    • Men are a little bit bigger

  • Arboreal; terrestrial: knuckle walk, bipedal

    • They usually hang on trees

    • When they are on the ground they usually knuckle walk 

  • Broad diet: geographic and seasonal variability; hunting!

    • They usually eat what they can find

    • They eat fruit, insects etc… 

    • They also eat other primates 

      • Monkeys, antelope and smaller 

  • Variable group size; complex social behaviour

    • Social interactions in their group are more complex 

    • More dominant males 

    • A lot of violence and warfares within groups 

  • More compel, tool use: termite and ant sticks, hammerstones


Hominines: Bonobos (Pan paniscus) → Genus name 

  • Democratic Republic of Congo

    • Mostly found here

  • Chimp-like… sort of

    • They act like them

  • Sex(!!)

    • To sort out any problems within the groups

    • Some do this to reproduce

    • They have it with everybody no matter who they are 💀

  • Social groups - male/female bonded pairs


Primate Conservation:

  • Challenges to primate conservation

    • Habitat destrUction

    • Hunting







Things that Fossilize:

  • Fossils: Preserved remains, impression, trace of an organism that once lived

  • e.g., animals, plants, insects, shells, etc. • Organic parts of organism are replaced by inorganic minerals 

  • Organic parts of organism are replaced by inorganic minerals

  •  Some parts preserve better than others (e.g., teeth)


Things That Fossilize:

  • Trace fossil: Impression of an organism

  • Footprints

  • Endocranial casts/endocasts: approximate brain size, shape, complexity

  • Coprolites


Things that Fossilize:

  • Insects

  • Paleobotanicals: morphology (size, shape, margin) corresponds to growing environment (e.g., temperature, relative humidity)

  • Comparison with living species to infer past conditions 


Things that Preserve: 

  • Artefacts: tools, art (e.g., parietal, figurative), shell, beads, ivory

  • Features: hearths, burials, structures, middenszx


Determining Age: Dating Methods 

  • Relative dating 

    • Older than/younger than 

    • Stratigraphy: study of rock layers; strata: individual layers of rock 

    • Nicholas Steno (1638-1686) 

      • Law of Superposition: rock layers arranged in a time sequence with older rocks lower down and younger rocks higher up


Determining Age: Dating Methods 

  • Chronometric/absolute dating 

    • Used to determine actual age/age range in years 

    • Isotopes: Variations of a chemical element 

    • Radiometric decay: measure of rate of decay of isotopes; occurs at predictable and measurable rates