Chapter 2- The People of Physical Anthropology Flashcards
who was the first person to explan the basic mechanics of the evolutionary process?
Charles Darwin
principle that believes that species can never change
fixity of species
Copernicous
challenged that the earth was the center of the universe
Galileo
confirms Copernicous’ ideas
What years did the naturalists arise?
1700 and 1800’s
Archbishop Ussher
Irish prelate and scholar, dates earth to 4004BC, “near earth origins” contemporary of Decartes and Newton, problem- falsifiability
John Ray
invents concept of species and genus, English botanist wrote “The Wisdom of God in the works of creation.” Concept of isolated reproduction
this pertains to groups of organisms that mainly because of genetic differences, are prevented from mating and producing offspring with members of other such groups
reproductively isolated
Linnaeus (Carol) 1707-1778
Formulated binominal nomenclature, naturalist, wrote systems of nature, believed in fixity of species, names related to morphological similarities, created 4 Tier system (built off of John Ray’s ideas)
George Lecelere de Buffon
Keeper of the King’s Gardens, recgonized the dynamic relationship between the external environment and living forms, nature is dynamic and not static, 1st person to challenge Ussher,
How did Buffon explain change? (what was his error)
Explained change through de-evolution
What was Buffon’s major contribution?
Nature’s great workman is time
Erasmus Darwin
“Zoonomia,” compared and contrasted Buffon and Linnaeus concerning fixity and change in species, theorized humans were from Africa and genetically similar to apes, died in 1802
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
1744-1829, theorized that thre was a dynamic relationship between species and their environment, animals would change their activity to accommodate new circumstances, over time unused body parts disappear, “use disuse theory” (bad giraffe example), a trait acquired during and animal’s lifetime can be passed onto its descendants, the ultimate life form is human beings
George Cuvier
doctrine of catastrophism, fixity of species, discovered over 700 species in the sediment
after every major diasster the incoming species have more modern appearance because they were the result of more recent creation events
catastrophism
Thomas Malthus
1766-1834, British, animal populations crease in numbers when resources are plentiful and there aren’t as many predators, a lack of resources would always cause problems for mankind, social problems a result of population increase,
1) resources increase in a linear fashion, 2) populations grow in a different way than resources increase, they increase in a ultiplicative fashion, example drawn from new world, eventually humanity will have a problem with sustaining itself
Maltheus’ ideas
needs and desires of an organism or the creatrue’s abundant use of certain organs and bodily structures cause said organs to change to better meet those needs, these changes are then passed on
Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics (Lamark)
Charles Lyell (1797-1875)
Principles of Geology, earth’s features are the result of long term processes and they continue to this day, the earth is really old
the earth’s features are the result of long term processes still operating into the present day
uniformitarianism
Mary Anning
found a complete fossil of an Ichthyosaurus
the world is so old it is infinite from the human vantage point
Deep Time (concept)
Young Darwin
1809-1882, English naturalist, was wealthy, studied in Edinburgh at the Christ college divinity school, was not an exceptional student, dropped out of divinity school, published Origin of Species in 1859
