Midterm Exam Flashcards
What is anthropology?
the study of humans (what differentiates us from other animals; similarities and differences with out primate relatives)
Subfields of anthropology
archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology
Specialties of biological anthropology
study of unique biology of humans, prehuman ancestors, and nonhuman primates (based on evolutionary theory)
Early trends in biological anthropology
tracing the evolution of our lineage through time in the fossil record (focus on human variation)
scientific method
theories of evolution
darwinism (evolutionary fitness/natural selection), lamarckism (species are descended from previous, different species), mendel (particulate inheritance dominant/recessive)
linnean classification
classified animals based on their similarities and differences from other animals
forces of evolution
natural selection, genetic drift (founder effect and bottlenecks), gene flow
mendelian genetics
particulate inheritance (each person recieves allele from parent, the trait is decided by which one is dominant/recessive)
modern synthesis
combines evolutionary theory (darwin) with genetic mechanisms (mendel)
biological species concept
a species consists of a group of organisms who are behaviorally and biologically capable to producing fertile offspring
hardy-weinberg equilibrium
used to identify allele and genotype frequencies in a population
speciation
divergence of one species into two or more
primate traits
primate evolution theories
angiosperm, visual predation, arboreal
plesiadpiformes
archaic primates
adapoids
diurnal/herbivores
omomyoids
nocturnal/insectivores and frugivores
origins of modern primate group
adapoid hypothesis, omomyoid hypothesis, taiser hypothesis
climate trends of the miocene
warming and subtropical forests turn to cooling/drying and woodlands/grasslands
climate trends of Pleistocene
cycles between interglacial (warm/wet) and glacial (cool/dry)
climate trends of piocene
generally cooler and drier (still warmer), weather becoming seasonal
hominin traits
encephalization (larger brain), bipedalism, flat faces, small teeth
theories of bipedality
savannah hypothesis, forest hypothesis, turnover pulse hypothesis, simple benefits
skeletal markers of bipedality
foramen magnum, shorter forelimbs, s-shaped spine, round pelvis, bicondylar angle (45-90), non-oppposable big toe
traits of austrolopithecus
less robust mastication system, less reliance on bipedality, smaller brain, extant earlier
traits of paranthropus
very robust mastication system, more reliance on bipedality, bigger brain, extant later
traits of homo
larger brain size, smaller flatter face, increased use of culture, larger overall body size, longer legs shorter arms, decline in sexual dimorphism
how tool use is indentified
hand morphology
techno-complexes
lomekwian and oldowan
meat eating in hominins
archaic hominin admixture
genetics show that AMH and neanderthals interbred occasionally (europeans and asian ancestors usually have between 1-4 percent neanderthal dna)
theories of human dispersal
out of africa, multiregional continuity, assimilation
rise of agriculture
neolithic transition: instead of foraging we see farming because of population growth and cities
benefits of agriculture
population growth, specialization of labor, urbanization, institutions, sedentarism,
drawbacks of agriculture
disease
