1 - What is Biological Anthropology Flashcards
Levels of biological organisation evolution occurs at
Species –> Individuals –> Molecules (DNA, proteins)
MIcroevolution
Small genetic changes that occur within a species
Macroevolution
Changes after many generations (e.g. speciation)
Evolution
A change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations
Pre Darwinian western world view
- Fixity of species (Christianity) - life made by god
- Great chain of being (Aristotle) - hierarchy
Father of taxonomy
Carolus Linnaeus
Systema Naturae
Binomial nomenclature
Georges Cuvier
- First paleontologist
- Establishes vertebrate paleontology
- Ended extinction debate
- Began study of fossil record
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Early advocate of evolution of species
Evolution
- As environment changes, animals change through
use/disuse of structures - Acquired changes are passed onto offspring
- Inheritance of acquired characteristics (wrong)
Thomas Malthus
- Political economist / Demographer
- Populations grow exponentially in times of plenty, but eventually are checked by famines, disease
Charles Lyell
- Developed principle of Uniformitarianism
- Indicated earth was very old
Uniformitarianism
Same geologic processes that influence the Earth today (e.g. erosion), influenced it in the past
Alfred Russel Wallace
Independently developed idea of natural selection
Darwin’s Influences
- Lyell: Earth old enough for significant changes to have taken place
- Lamarck: biological change over time
- Malthus: organisms compete over limited resources