Chapter 1 Flashcards
primate
Member of the mammalian order Primates, including prosimians, monkeys, apes, and humans, defined by a suite of anatomical and behavioral traits.
evolution
change in the frequency of a gene or a trait in a population over multiple generations.
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biological anthropology
The study of humans as biological organisms, considered in an evo-lutionary framework; sometimes called physical anthropology
Anthropology is divided into four subfields:
biological anthropology, cultural
anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archeology
hominin
A member of the primate family Hominidae, distinguished by bipedal posture and, in more recently evolved species, a large brain.
adaptation
A trait that increases the reproductive success of an organism, produced by natural selection in the context of a particular environment.
anthropology
The study of humankind in a cross-cultural context. Anthropol-ogy includes the subfields cultural anthropology, linguistic anthro-pology, archaeology, and biological anthropology.
culture
The sum total of learned traditions, values, and beliefs that groups of people (and a few species of highly intelligent animals) possess.
biocultural anthropology
The study of the interaction between biology and culture, which plays a role in most human traits.
Sub fields of anthropology
Cultural anthropology is the study of human societies in a cross-cultural perspective. The amazing variety of ways in which people lead their daily lives is at the heart of the field. Ethnology, one of the subfields of cultural anthropology, is the study of human societies and of the behavior of people within those societies. The practice of ethnology is called ethnography (literally, “the describing of culture”). A written account of the initiation rituals of street gangs in Los Angeles is an example of ethnography; another is the study of how parents in Boston care for their children relative to parenting among the Sherpas of highland Nepal.
culture form the basis for the analysis and interpretation of ancient cultures.
Archaeologists
work at sites all over the world, studying time periods from the advent of stone tools 2.5 million years ago until the much more recent past. Prehistoric
archaeologists study cultures that did not leave any re-corded written history—from the early hominins to the preliterate antecedents of modern cultures from Hawaii to Africa. Historical archaeologists study past civilizations that left a written record of their existence, whether in the hieroglyphics of Egyptian tombs, the Viking runes scratched onto rock across northern Europe, or the diaries kept by the colonial settlers of New England. Other archae-ologists study Revolutionary War battlefields or sites of former slave plantations in an effort to understand how people lived and structured their societies.
Linguistic anthropology is the study of the form, func-tion, and social context of language. Linguistic anthropolo-gists usually are more interested in language use and the role that language plays in shaping culture than they are in the technical aspects of language structure. An anthropological linguist might study the aspects of Black English that set it apart from mainstream and be interested in the roots of Black English on slave plantations and in West Africa. Archaeology is the study of how people used to live, based on the materials, or artifacts, they left behind. These artifacts, art, implements, and other objects of material
Biological anthropology is vastly broader than the study
of primates, fossils, and brain evolution. Any scientist studying evolution as it relates to the human species, directly or indi-rectly, could be called a biological anthropologist. Biological anthropology includes paleoanthropology, skeletal biology and osteology, paleopathology, forensic anthropology, prima-tology, and human biology.
paleoanthropology
The study of the fossil record of ancestral humans and their primate kin.
osteology
The study of the skeleton.
paleopathology
The study of diseases in ancestral human populations.
bioarchaeology
The study of human remains in an archaeological context.
forensic anthropology
The study of human remains applied to a legal context.
Primatology
The study of nonhuman primates
human biology
Subfield of biological anthropology dealing with human growth and development, adaptation to environmental extremes, and human genetics.
physical anthropology
The study of humans as biological organisms, considered in an evolutionary framework.
Liberalism
value of individual human life and individual freedom . Tolerance, respect for behaviour and opinions that are different, human rights, civil rights, free enterprise.
Rationalism
knowledge gained through logic and rational thought
The original Neandertal: where and when was it found and who studied it?
Feldhofer Cave, Germany, 1856 , Johann Fuhlrott , Hermann Shaaffhausen, Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902)-
founder of modern pathology
Rudolf Virchow- refused to accept the premise of evolution and thought there was a disease that affected this skeleton- the idea conflicted too much with his beliefs, and he was a barrier to the development of biological sciences and research into evolution
Three Important Changes in Our Understanding of the World
- Extreme Age of the Earth James Hutton (1726–1797) “Ancient geological conditions were the same as or ‘uniform to’ those of today.
” Charles Lyell (1797–1875) 1835 “Extreme antiquity (age) of the earth” -based on his observations and as well as those other scientists, said that earth was at least 300 million years old- the churches argued. - Extreme Age of Human History – the idea that people have been around longer than 6000 years- people have lived in Europe for a million years and have tons of stone tools that have been found. Prior to 180’’s no one knew what those objects were
- The Mutability of Organisms ‘Evolution’ – Trans mutation (Darwin)- That other animals went through changes over time, as did humans.
Lamarckianism
Lamarck (1744–1829) “ became familiar with the fossil record- championed the idea that characteristic s are passed down- theory called : Inheritance of acquired characteristics. e.g giraffes necks becoming longer over time.
