Physical Anthropology

Question 1

What is Bipedalism?

Answer 1

The trait of habitually walking on two legs

Question 2

What is Natural Selection?

Answer 2

The process by which random evolutionary changes are selected for by nature in a consistent, orderly, non - random way

Question 3

Descent with Modification

Answer 3

When parents have children, those children often look and behave slightly different from their parents and siblings. They descend from their parents with modifications. This happens because of random genetic mutations.

Question 4

Common descent

Answer 4

Is the idea that all life on Earth is related. Common descent is the belief that we are all descended from a common ancestor.

Question 5

Hominin

Answer 5

A human or a human ancestor

Question 6

Fossil

Answer 6

Preserved remains of biological matter

Question 7

Primatology

Answer 7

Study of Primates

Question 8

Different indicators of bipedalism

Answer 8

S-shaped spine, a wide, flat pelvis; slanting thigh bone; a double arched foot; and a big toe in line with the heel.

Question 9

Branches of physical anthropology

Answer 9

Paleoanthropology, Primatology, Human Variation

Question 10

Paleoanthropology

Answer 10

It is the study of human ancestors based on evidence from the distant evolutionary past.

Question 11

What does DNA evidence reveals about the Neanderthals

Answer 11

They interbreed with humans and that all populations except Africans have some Neanderthal genes.

Question 12

Radiometric Dating

Answer 12

A process that is used to determine the age of an object, based on measuring the amount of radioactive material it has

Question 13

Adaptation

Answer 13

A change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment:

Question 14

forensic anthropology

Answer 14

Application of physical anthropology to legal cases, usually with a focus on the human skeleton

Question 15

Charles Darwin

Answer 15

Theory of Evolution
- common decent
- natural selection
- heritability
- decent with modification

Question 16

American Anthropological Association opinion on race

Answer 16

Race does not exist as a scientific category (it’s a social construct).

Question 17

Human variation

Answer 17

The study of the physical differences and similarities of existing human populations.

Question 18

Bullet points How are humans similar from other primates

Answer 18

• The bond between mothers and infants is important for survival in all primate species. Infants must learn much of what it takes to survive.
• Primates have the longest infant dependency period of all mammals. This is usually measured as the time until an individual can successfully reproduce.
• All primate societies have dominance hierarchies and aggression among the males for access to food and females.
• All primates groom one another. They spend a lot of time picking fleas and lice out of one another’s fur. Grooming helps primates reduce stress, and it is also related to dominance hierarchies. The higher the primate in the hierarchy, the more likely he is to be groomed than to groom others.
• All primates communicate through facial expressions, touch, vocalizations, and body language. They play and laugh, show grief, become angry, and become violent.
• All primates have rotating forearms, grasping hands and feet, forward-facing eyes, and relatively larger brains.

Question 19

Bullet points how are humans different from other primates

Answer 19

• Humans are the only primates adapted to bipedalism.
• Humans have the longest infant dependency period of any primate. On average, we reproduce at about 20 years old, whereas chimpanzees reproduce at 10 years old.
• Humans are the only primates with a symbolic, spoken language and the physical ability of speech.
• Humans are the only primates who live in groups and mate in pairs. Some primates, such as chimpanzees, mate and live in groups, and others, such as orangutans, mate and live in pairs. Humans are the only primates who do both at the same time.
• Humans also develop ideas and beliefs about the world that guide their actions. Humans also have the ability to think and reflect on their own behaviour. They develop complex systems of morality and spirituality that influence and motivate behaviour.

Question 20

Archaeology

Answer 20

Cultural Anthropology of the Past

Question 21

This skin colour absorbs more Vitamin D

Answer 21

Lighter skin tones

Question 22

This skin colour provides protection from ultraviolent rays

Answer 22

Darker skin tones

Question 23

Pre history

Answer 23

The history of people before writing was invented

Question 24

Raymond Dart

Answer 24

Taung’s Child, In 1924

Question 25

Richard Leakey

Answer 25

Turkana Boy, In 1984

Question 26

Tim White

Answer 26

Ardi, In 1994

Question 27

Zeresenay Alemseged

Answer 27

Salem, In 2000

Question 28

Louis and Mary Leakey

Answer 28

Dear Boy, in 1959

Question 29

Donald Johanson

Answer 29

Lucy, 1974

Question 30

Mary Leakey

Answer 30

Laetoli footprints, 1976

Question 31

Race

Answer 31

A social construct

Question 32

(YES) Do Different Skin Colours Have Specific Evolutionary Advantages?

Answer 32

YES
* All mammal populations in warmer climates have
more melanin (dark pigment).
* Darker skin provides protection from ultraviolet
rays, which can cause skin cancer.
* Lighter skin absorbs more vitamin D, which
allows the body to absorb calcium, a nutrient
necessary for bone growth .
* Humans with lighter skin were more likely to
survive in climates farther from the equator, with
less available sunlight (Ember and Ember, 1 999).

Question 33

(NO) Do Different Skin Colours Have Specific Evolutionary Advantages?

Answer 33

NO
* There are many fair-skinned Amazonian Indians
and Southeast Asians living at the same latitudes
as dark-skinned Africans.
* Because skin cancer usually affects people
after they have had children, skin cancer likely
had little effect on the evolution of skin colour
(Ja blonski, 2007).
* Many dark-skinned people have lived longer in
Tasmania, at latitudes very far from the equator,
than light-skinned populations have lived in
Scandinavia (Diamond, 1 994).

Question 34

Heritability

Answer 34

(Individuals pass on traits to their offspring.

Question 35

variation

Answer 35

(Every species has a lot of variety within it.)

Question 36

environmental fitness

Answer 36

(Individuals who are better adapted to their
environment will produce more offspring and pass on their traits to the
next generation.)

Question 37

Selective breeding

Answer 37

breeding organisms with particular characteristics to produce more desirable characteristics

Question 38

Neanderthal Bullet Points

Answer 38

• Neanderthals were living all over Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia from 150 000 to 30 000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age.
• Their bodies were well adapted to the icy environment; they were shorter, heavier, and more muscular than modern humans and used their bodies in a more rigorous way.
• Their brains are larger than modern humans, measuring about 1450 cm3, about 100 cm3 larger than modern humans.
• Their skulls are shaped differently than those of modern humans, with a protruding nose, heavy brow ridges, large teeth, and a little chin.
• They made and used complex stone and bone tools, and they lived in caves.

Question 39

How are Neanderthals similar to humans

Answer 39

Similarties:
Both species of humans
Both have neanderthal genes.
Both use make and use tools.
Both are bipedal.
Both have dominance hierarchies and aggression among males.

Question 40

How are Neanderthals different to humans

Answer 40

Differences:
Neanderthals were well adapted to an icy environment (shorter, heavier, more muscular, etc.).
Neanderthal skulls were shaped differently.
Neanderthal brains were larger.
Neanderthals lived in caves.
Neanderthals went extinct.