ch 1 (SG) Flashcards
What is anthropology
scientific study of the origin, development, and varieties of human beings and their societies.
four subdisciplines of anthropology
-archaeology
-cultural anthropology
-biological anthropology
-linguistic anthropology
archaeology
focus on material culture (tools, seeds, shelter
-through excavation
cultural anthropology
-living societies, cultural relativism
linguistic relativity
language in context, history of languages
biological anthropology
what is means to be biologically human
human diversity and adaption
-primates and nonhuman primates
evolution
applied anthropology
Practical application of anthropology theories, methods, & findings to solve real-world problems
six subdicliplines of biological anthropology
primatology: anatomy, behavior, ecology, genetics of living and extinct non-human primates
paleoanthropology: fossils, anatomical and behavioral evolution
bioarcheology: human remains from archaeological context
molecular anthropology: molecular techniques to compare populations
forensic anthropology: apply anthropology and osteology to legal and criminal investigations
human biology: how the body is impacted by environment , nutrition, and culture.
primate
mamallian order that includes lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans
Why is primatology so important to the study of biological anthropology
Because nonhuman primates are our closest living relatives, identifying the factors related to social behavior, communication, infant care and reproductive behavior helps us develop a better understanding of the natural forces that shaped modern human behavior
hominin, defining feature of a hominin
mordern humans and now extinct BIPEDAL relatives
culture
learned behavioral aspects of human adaption, or the strategy by which humans adapt
microevolution
small genetic changes that occur within a species
macroevolution
changed that occur after many generations (speciation)
ADAPTION
the response of organisms or populations to the environment as a result of natural selection
biocultural evolution
as culture develops, biology evolves
paleontology
study of the primate fossil record
human biological variation
how the body is impacted by environemnt nutrition, and culture
molecular anthropology
molecular techniques to compare populations
primatology
anatomy, behavior, ecology, genetics of living and nonhuman primates
qualitative vs quanitative
qual: categorical data
quan: numerical data
why is anthropology considered a science
it uses the scientific method to study behavior, and various aspects of. human life
anthropological perspective
understanding the diversity of the human experience with the contxet of biological and behavioral continuity with other species. Avoiding ethnocentric views
How did aristotles work influence the western cultural view of evolution prior to darwin
he beleived in fixity of species: life forms did not change.
He organized things into groups based on shared features
-he cerated a hierarchy of life with humans at the top, these views were incoorportaed into teh hcurch
ehat is the great chain of bieng
an organized chain of life forms as well as higher life forms
Lamarks theory of aquired characteristics
organisms acquire change throughout their lifetime and pass them ti theur progeny through use and diuse
the environment influences what the organism’s aquire/ lose
george cuvier
founder of paleontology
-recognized that fossils did not match current life forms
Theory of catastrophism and who came up with it
-the belief that earths geological features are the result of sudden, worldwide cataclysmic events
-George Cuvier
uniformitarianism
the idea that the er=arths surfaces result from slow continuous actions that are still in effect today and at the same rate
-merged with darwins idea that se=peciaition slowly occurs over many years and is constantly occuring
how did darwins expediition on the HMS beagle influence theory
he obsereved various species and helped determine differences and similiaritues wuthin these species
Who is alfred russel
He recognized the importance of naturl selection and thought that life forms were descendants of previosu life forms
Darwin;s idea of “the sruggle for survival”
Natural selection, teh population is limited by available resources
-favorable variations tend to be reserved
-Thomas Malthus published a book that lef darwin to the idea of natural selection
population variation correlation with darwins theory
as populations vary over time, new species may arise
how is natural selection affected by environmental factors
-the environment can determine whether a trait is favorable or not
fitness
relative measure of survival that changes as the environment changes
reproductive success due to adaptations
What did darwin not incoorporate into his theories
genetics
who is gregor mendel
father of modern genetics
-did pea plant experiments to discover independent assortment and segregation
structure of DNA
sugar ohosphate backbone
four nucleotides
what are the four nucleotides in DNA
adenine
cytosine
guanine
thymine
histones
proteins that wrap around DNA to tightly coil it in oredr to fit into the nucleus
how many pair of chromosomes do humans have
23 pair (46 total)
autosome
all physical characteristics minus sex
sex chromosomea
code for reproductive genes
DNA replication
originally single-stranded chromosomes duplicate (creating two identical sister chromatids joined at centromere)
DNA polymerase carries out replication
-end with 2 DNA molecules each with original parent strand and newly synthesized daughter strand.
dna mutations
copying mistakes when replicating the DNA
-many are corrected with proof-reading enzymes, but not all
meiosis vs mitosis
mitosis: somatic cell divison, 2 identical daughter cells, used for building new cells, mutations are porbably not passed along
meiosis: production of gametes, 2 divisions resulting in 4 haploid daighter cells, mutations may be passed on
gene
functional portion
allele
different versions of a gene at the same location
central dogma
flow of genetic info
DNA -> RNA -> protein
gene locus
location of a gene on a chromosome
three steps of protein synthesis and where does each step occur
1: transcription (nucelus, RNA polymerase)
2: mRNA processing (nucelus)
3: translation: ribosome
intron vs exon
intron: noncoding portion, not needed
exon: coding portion of RNA
phenotype
physical expression of traits
genotype
combination of 2 alleles, genetic material
homozygous
BB or bb
Heterozygous
Bb
dominant
only one copy to express phenotype
recessive
two copies to express phenotype
pedigree
family history for a specific trait depicted into a graph
epigenetics
gene regulation without changing underlying sequence (DNA methylatoin and histone modification)
regulatory genes
influence activity of other genes
-direct embryonic devlopment
phsiologocal processes
modern synthesis
it was the blending of darwins evolutionary theories w Mendel’s genetic theories.
-it stressed the importance of populations as units of evolution
-natural selection, polymorphisms, and chromosomes as carriers of genes
modern definition of evolution
change in allele frequency in population
the change in heritable characteristics of biological populations of sucessive generations
population
group of individuals in the same soecies interacting in the ssme space
gene pool
combination of all genes in a specific population
frequency
amount of times a gene appears
evolution in terms of gene pools and allele frequencies
chnage in allelic frequency over time
change in a populations gene pool
more diverse gene pool= more ways it has to adpt
significance of mutation
mutations are the only source of new genetic info
produce varition
in germline, may be passed on
types of mutatiom
point mutations
insertations and deletions
-framshift mutations
-transposable elements
how can chromosomal alterations also act as a source of variation in the genome
-crossover events
-nondisjuction events
-gene duplication
-chromosomal translocations
main causes of evolutionary change
-natural selection
-mutation
-gene flow
-genetic drift
-nonrandom mating
adaptive evolution vs nonadaptive
adaptive: change with purpose, natural selection
non-adaptive: change in allelic frequency that does not by itself lead to a population being more adapted
examples of non-adpative volution
gene flow
genetic drift
mutation
inbreeding
what is gene flow
movement of alleles from one population to another
how is gene flow important in evolutionary change
-may increase genetic diversity by introducing new alleles from neighboring populations
-levels of gene flow are high between humans, probbaly explaining why huamn speciation is rare
what is genetic drift
random vhange in gene frequency in a population over timeq
key requirement for genetic drift to occur
limited population size
how has genetic drift played a role in human evolution
-can result in a loss of allele or rare allele becoming more frequent
inbreeding
can cause recessive mutation to become more pparent/ frequent
natural selection effect on evolutionary vhange
individual sbest suited to their environment are more likely to survive, mate, and leave progeny
three types of natural selection
stabilizing selection
disruptive selection
directional selection
stabilizing selection
meeting in th emiddle
disruptive sleection
deviating toward both sides, steering away from middle
directional slection
moving towards one end/ direction
two types of genetic drift
founder effect
bottleneck
founder effect
few individuals from population leave and start anew with different allelic frequency than the original population
bottleneck
sharp reduction in population due to environental event
sexual selection
selective pressure affecting reproductive success
Hardy Weinberg equilibrium
mechanical formula that allows estimation of the number and distribution of dominant and recessive allles in a population
what can hardy weignerg tell us
non-random mating
positive assortative mating
negative assortative mating
artificial selection
species
organisms whose individuals are biologically and behaviorally compatible and able to breed viable, fertile offspring
subspecies
regionally distinct subpopulations of a species
how does reproductive isolation lead to development of a new species?
slight genetic differences can arise within a species and ultimately lead to speciation
microeveolution
small changes in allelic frequency within breeding population effect singel species
macroevolution
changes that result in new species
looks at similarities between species
allopatric speciation
population if geographically seperated by a physical barrier
sympatric speciation
speciation occurs without a physical barrier
adaptive radiation
subgroups of a single speces rapidly diversify to fill various ecologial niches
ecological niche
set of constraints and resources available in an enironment
