chapter 1 Flashcards
1
Q
define anthropology
A
the study of humans and the evolution of humans
2
Q
does anthropology study culture?
A
yes, human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology
3
Q
what 3 things is anthropology?
A
- Holistic = whole/big picture
- Comparative/reflective
- Field based + evolutionary
4
Q
what are the four kinds of anthropology?
A
cultural
linguistic
biological
archaeology
5
Q
what is culture? is it biologically determined?
A
- Culture is the strategy by which humans adapt to the natural environment
- Culture is learned, not biologically determined (outside forces)
6
Q
what is ethnology?
A
comparative study of patterns in contemporary culture
7
Q
what is ethnography?
A
collecting info about a specific culture through field work
8
Q
what is linguistic anthropology?
A
• The study of human languages
9
Q
what is biological anthropology?
A
• Study of human biology the framework of evolution
10
Q
what is paleoanthropology?
A
study of emergence of humans
11
Q
what is primatology ?
A
study of primates, especially behavior
12
Q
what is osteology? forensic anthropology?
A
Paleopathology (bones)
age, sex
13
Q
what is archaeology?
A
• The study of material remains from past societies (material culture )
14
Q
what does historica; archeology use?
A
waste can reveal lots on human culture
note: underwater archeology
15
Q
what is precontact archeology?
A
before europeans came to north america
16
Q
what are four research goals of archeology?
A
○ Establish chronology
○ Reconstruct + describe ancient lifeways
○ Attempt to explain cultural change
○ Evidence of the past surrounds us
17
Q
what is the biocultural model?
A
• Biological influences as well as cultural influences have impacted our evolutionary history
18
Q
what is entomophagy? types of anthropology?
A
eating insects
• Extremely common, yet is often a cultural shock to western people
• Biological: insects were and easy food source (collect)
• Cultural: participant observation- work with the community to collect insects in order to learn
• Archaeology: stone tools (Can also be cultural bc adapted)
• colonialism separated the colonists from indigenous bc of stigma
19
Q
what five things is culture?
A
learned, shared, patterned, adaptive, and symbolic.
20
Q
define socalization in culture
A
arning the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate for the group
21
Q
what is enculturation?
A
is the process by which humans living with others learn ways of thinking and feeling that are culturally appropriate.
22
Q
how is culture patterned?
A
• Culture is patterned in that related cultural beliefs and practices repeatedly appear in different areas of social life.
23
Q
how is culture adaptive?
A
• Culture is adaptive in that human biological survival depends on it as it allows us to adapt to our surroundings
24
Q
how is culture symbolic?
A
- Culture is symbolic in that we use symbols to communicate cultural meaning.
- Complex symbolic representation was an adaptive advantage for our ancestors
25
how is culture historical?
* Culture is historical because it is shaped by events and reconstructed every generation
* Culture allows us to overcome
26
what is ethnocentrism?
• Ethnocentrism is the view that one's way of life is natural and right, and that other ways are unnatural or wrong
27
what is cultural relativism?
refers to understanding a culture on its own terms, as a coherent and meaningful design for living
28
when do anthropologists use cultural realtivism?
* Anthropologists use cultural relativism to study, but not judge other cultures
* Becomes difficult when you see something that you disagree with or that makes you uncomfortable
* Anthropologists use cultural relativism to study, but not judge other cultures
* Becomes difficult when you see something that you disagree with or that makes you uncomfortable
29
what is human agency?
* Human agency refers to the exercise of at least some control of one's life
* Anthropology can shed light on the reasons behind the practice and context in which its carried out
30
how does anthropology broaden our world view?
• Anthro forces us to question our comfortable, common-sense assumptions and explanations
• Results in a broader understanding of human nature, society, culture, and history across the world
Opens the door to constructive and realistic approaches to answering questions about the world, addressing issues, and solving problems
31
what did darwin propose?
• Darwin proposed evolutionary theory to explain variation and change
32
terms to keep in mind for darwin
survival of the fittest, tree of life, finches, natural selection, adaptations, common ancestry, On the Origin of Species"- mid 1800s
33
terms to keep in mind for medel
* Mendel- father of genetics, mutations, crossing plants, around same time as Darwin, but unknown until 1920s
* Variation of thought, provides grounding for the understanding of human biological variation
34
what is evoultionary theory? what does it suggest?
* Evolutionary theory is testable, unified, and fruitful
* Independent hypotheses support one another
* Explains a wide array of material evidence
* Suggests new possibilities for research
* Claims living species change over time and give rise to new species
* All organisms ultimately share a common ancestry
35
what does material evidence is there?
* Evolutionary theory is testable, unified, and fruitful
* Independent hypotheses support one another
* Explains a wide array of material evidence
* Suggests new possibilities for research
* Claims living species change over time and give rise to new species
* All organisms ultimately share a common ancestry
36
what is essentialism? (Pre darwin)
• Essentialism: Living creatures exhibit an unchanging nature (essence)
37
what is the great chain of being? (pre darwin)
| taxonomy?
* The great chain of being: living creatures are divinely created and ordered by degree of sacredness
* Carolus Linnaeus (1700s) developed modern biological taxonomy (classification of living things) based on essentialist ideas
38
what is catastrophism?
Georges Cuvier (late 1700s) developed catastrophism, which means "natural kinds" become extinct due to natural disasters and are rapidly replaced by new on
39
what is Uniformitarianism?
• Uniformitarianism argued that natural processes that affect the world today were also at work in the past, which allowed earths history to be reconstructed.
40
what is transformational evolution?
developed by Jean Lamarck (mid 1700s to 1800s) individual transformations (acquired characteristics) then passed down to offspring
41
who developed natural selection?
What is natural selection?
• Developed by Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace
• Both observed that species varied over time and space
Similarities between distinct species can be explained by common ancestry
42
why did darwin propose natural selection?
* Darwin proposed natural selection, or descent with modification, as a mechanism for evolution
* Variation, not a unitary essence, is the central condition of life
43
what is population thinking?
* population size is limited by the availability of resources.
* variants within a species respond differently to environmental challenges, and only some will be successful, survive, and reproduce.
44
what 3 principles is darwins theory of evolution based on?
1. Variation: No two individuals of a species are identical. 2. Heredity: Offspring resemble their parents.
3. Natural Selection: Different variants leave different numbers of offspring
45
what is pangenesis?
• Pangenesis was a theory of heredity favored by Darwin and others heritable info is in gametes
46
what were mendel's experiments?
: bred pea plants. Showed that traits passed down can be dominant or recessive
47
what is mendelian inheritance?
Mendelian inheritance views heredity as based on non-blending, single particle inheritance.
48
emergence of genetics
• The emergence of genetics: the scientific study of biological hereditary
Emerged in early 1900s, 35 years after Mendel's work
49
what are genes?
• Genes are the biological unit of heredity
• Genes are portions of DNA molecules that code for proteins responsible for phenotypic traits
• Several forms of a given gene are called alleles
Chromosomes are in the nucleus of cells that contain DNA and genes
50
what can happen with mutations?
* New alleles can only be formed through mutation
* Caused by the alteration of the portion of DNA where the gene is found
* Results in variation and is necessary for natural selection to occur
51
what is norm of reaction?
• Norm of reaction predicts the possible phenotypic outcomes of genotypes in different environments
52
what is niche construction?
• Organisms can also affect their environments through niche construction, which in turn creates selective pressures.
53
what is microevolution?
• Microevolution: Short term evolutionary changes that occur within a species over a few generations of ecological time (time involved in adapting to ecological settings)
54
what is macroevolution?
long term evolutionary changes, including the origin of new species and diversification over space and millions of years of geological time.
55
what does population genetics involve?
Population genetics: involves the statistical analysis of short term evolutionary change in large populations
56
how is gene frequency measured?
measured by calculating the occurrence of particular alleles in a populations gene pool, the totality of the genes of a given population or species
57
what is cline?
• Cline refers to the gradual shift in the distribution of phenotypes between populations over space, as alleles increase or decrease in frequency.
58
why is the concept of race biologically meaningless?
* More genetic variation found within so called races than between them
* Distribution of some traits does not match the distribution of others (skin color and hair type)
* Uv + folate aren't the only reasons skin color varies
59
what four processes cause shifts in gene frequency?
Ø Natural selection
Ø mutation
Ø Gene flow
Ø Genetic drift
60
when does gene flow occur?
• Gene flow can occur with the in-migration of another population of the species and involves the exchange of genes between overlapping gene pools.
61
what does genetic drift involve?
• Genetic drift involves random changes in the frequency of certain alleles.
Has relatively small effect on large, stable populations
62
bottleneck vs founder effect
The bottleneck effect is populations that are suddenly reduced in size due to disease and disaster
Founder effect is a small group breaking off from the group
63
what does acclimation involve?
* Acclimation involves a change in body function due to environmental stress
* They can be short term, such as shivering to maintain body temp
64
what assumption were IQ tests based off?
* IQ tests were developed on the assumption that they could provide a reliable measure of intelligence
* Variations in IQ scores reflect differences in social class, culture, and education
* Students of different racial backgrounds
65
what is the genome wide association study?
• Genome wide association study- studies that aim to identify low side throughout the genome associate with an observed trait or disorder
66
what is anthropomorphism?
* Modern primates share part of their evolutionary history with humans
* Anthropomorphism: the attribution of human characteristics to non-human animals
67
3 types of primate characteristics?
ancestral
evolutionary
unique prehensile features
68
describe ancestral characteristics
* Five digits on hands and feet
* Clavicle that allows for flexibility of the shoulder joint
* Palms of hand and feet used for walking
69
evolutionary trends that developed with the divergence of the earliest primates?
• Increase in brain size relative to body size along with increased complexity of the neocortex
• Reduced projection of the face and less reliance on smell
• Increased dependency on sight
• Stereoscopic vision (overlapping filed of vision that provide depth perception)
Reduced number of teeth
70
types of teeth humans have?
Humans: 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, 3 molars
71
unique prehensile features
* Opposable thumbs and big toes for grasping
* Nails rather than claws
* Pads on tips of digits that have a large number of nerve endings
* Dermal ridges on all grasping surfaces (digits, soles, palms, and prehensile tails)
72
what is the arboreal hypothesis?
• Arboreal hypothesis: primate features are a result of adaptation to living in trees
73
what is the visual predation hypothesis?
primates evolved to eat insects at the end of tree branches
74
what is the mixed diet hypothesis?
primates evolved because they switched from eating insects to eating plants
75
what is the locomotion of non human primates like?
• Locomotion of non human primates: brachiation, knuckle walking
76
what are organisms grouped based on?
Organisms are grouped based on morphology (physical shape and size), behavioural traits, geographical distribution, and DNA comparison.
77
what are prosimians?
(“pre-monkeys”), including lorises, lemurs, and tarsiers
78
what are anthropoids?
Anthropoids, including monkeys,
| apes, and humans
79
what do hominoids include?
```
including apes and
humans
▪ Lesser apes (gibbons)
▪ Great apes (gorillas,
chimpanzees, and orangutans)
```
80
what are cladistics?
```
cladistics (based on homology
alone):
o derived features shared by
smaller group
o clade
```
81
what are the two main groups of primates?
```
Strepsirrhines: lemurs,
lorises, …
o Haplorhines: tarsiers and
anthropoids (monkeys, apes,
and humans)
```
82
defining qualities of strepsirrhines
rhinarium (a wet, grooved nose) and upper lip
attached directly to gums
o tooth comb (teeth used for grooming)
o grooming claw
83
where are strepsirrhines found?
Lemurs live only on Madagascar
• Lorises found in Africa and Asia
• Many strepsirrhines are nocturnal (active at night)
84
defining qualities of haplorhines
Dry-looking nose separate from lips (no rhinarium)
o Upper lip not directly attached to gums
• Include tarsiers and anthropoids
85
what are new world anthropoids called?
called platyrrhines because of their broad, flat
| noses
86
are new world anthropoids the same as old world? what kind of tails do they have?
evolved separately from Old World anthropoids
| o some have prehensile (grasping) tails
87
what are old world anthropoids called? what do they include?
known as catarrhines because of their downward-pointing nostrils
o Include monkeys and hominoids (apes and humans)
88
how do apes and humans differ from monkeys? which hominoids are humans closest to?
teeth,
skeletal shape and size, and in lack of a tail
chimpanzees
Humans and immediate ancestors called hominins
89
(hominoids) four facts about lesser apes
```
o include gibbons
o live in tropical rainforests of
southeastern Asia
o are the smallest of the apes
o are not sexually dimorphic
```
90
what does sexually dimorphic mean?
males and
| females do not differ phenotypically
91
what are great apes?
orangutans
92
3 facts about orangutans
southeastern Asia
o sexually dimorphic
o are a very solitary species
93
types of great apes
bonobos
gorillas
chimpanzees
94
where do gorillas live? are they sexually dimorphic?
```
live in Africa
o are highly sexually
dimorphic
o have a dominant male
that influences group
activity and travel
```
95
is the mountain gorilla rare?
The mountain gorilla is the rarest, but best known,
| thanks to Dian Fossey’s work
96
scientific name for chimps? where are they found?
(Pan troglodytes):
| o found in Africa
97
who studied chimps? do they use tools?
```
most studied of all apes, due
to work of Jane Goodall and
associates
o regularly make and use
simple tools
```
98
proper name for bonobos?
| live? how do they differ from chimps?
```
pan paniscus
live only in one region of
central Africa
o differ morphologically from
chimpanzees, having
shorter upper and longer
lower limbs
```
99
why was bipedalism developed?
1. Ability to provide food to others
2. More effective scavenging
3. Endurance running
4. The ability to see great distances
100
what is Sahelanthropus tchadensis
Sahelanthropus tchadensis. 6 mya. Sahelanthropus tchadensis is one of the oldest known species in the human family tree
101
what is laetoli
site in tanzania with hominin footprints
102
what is v Ardipithecus ramidus
species of hominins
