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Intro to Anthro, Soc., and Psych. > Physical Anthropology > Flashcards

Physical Anthropology Flashcards

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1
Q

Physical anthropology has the roots in the theories of whom?

A

Charles Darwin

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2
Q

Name six defining traits of humans.

A
  • Opposable thumbs
  • Binocular vision
  • Highly developed brain
  • Children remain dependent for a while
  • Bipedalism
  • Social creatures
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3
Q

Define mimicry

A

A structural adaptation that enables our species to resemble another

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4
Q

Define adaptation

A

Any variation that aids in survival and occurs over many generations

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5
Q

Define camouflage.

A

An adaptation that enables a species to blend into their surroundings.

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6
Q

What are physiological adaptation?

A

Changes in an organisms metabolic processes.

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7
Q

Differentiate between homologous and analogous structures.

A

Structural features with a common evolutionary ancestor that are similar in arrangement, function, or both. Analogous structures do not have a common evolutionary organism, but are similar in function.

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8
Q

What is a vestigial structure?

A

A body structure that no longer serves its original purpose, but was probably useful to an ancestor.

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9
Q

How do we know evolution occurred? [4]

A
  • Fossil records of change in earlier species (fossil records from sedimentary rock indicate change and extinct species showed transitioning traits)
  • Chemical and anatomical similarities
  • Geographic changes of related species (isolated areas have unique species and islands evolve distinct biological communities)
  • Genetic change over time
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10
Q

State the significance of Mary Leakey.

A

A physical anthropologist who was married to Louis Leakey,

  • Found a hominid fossil in 1959 with her husband which turned out to be a species of robust australopithecus, the A. boisei (~1.75 myo).
  • Discovered first early transitional human fossils in 1960 and named them homo habilis (handy or skilled human) because they made stone tools.
  • In 1978 with Tim White, found A. afarensis (3.5-3.7 myo) and 59 footprints of bipedal hominins.
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11
Q

State the significance of Louis Leakey.

A

A physical anthropologist who was married to Mary Leakey,

  • Experimented with stone age tools to discover how our ancestors hunted for food.
  • Made studying primates and primatology a thing
  • Found a hominid fossil in 1959 with his wife which turned out to be a species of robust australopithecus, the A. boisei (~1.75 myo).
  • Discovered first early transitional human fossils in 1960 and named them homo habilis (handy or skilled human) because they made stone tools.
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12
Q

State the significance of Dian Fossey.

A

A physical anthropologist,

  • Studied the mountain gorilla tribe of Rwanda in Africa.
  • Gained acceptance into the tribe by imitating their habits and sounds.
  • Was murdered in 1985 by poachers, assumedly.
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13
Q

State the significance of Jane Goodall.

A

A physical anthropologist and primatologist,

  • Observed and recorded the behaviour of chimpanzees
  • Discovered chimps used tools for their daily routine, they weren’t vegetarians and occasionally practised cannibalism, and the tribe had a highly developed social structure.
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14
Q

What would trigger periods of rapid change?

A
  • Long, severe droughts
  • Major volcanic eruptions
  • Beginning and ending of ice ages
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15
Q

Differentiate between adaptive radiation and successive speciation.

A
  • Adaptive radiation is the progressive change of one species into multiple species.
  • Successive speciation occurs within a single evolutionary line without branching off into other species.
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16
Q

Tell me everything about the Taung Child.

A
  • Sent to Raymond Dart in 1924
  • 2 myo fossilized skull of a 3-4 year old child of the A. africanus species thought to have been killed by an eagle
  • Position of it’s foramen magnum was pointed downward and nearly at the centre of the skull, which indicated bipedalism.
  • Canine teeth were also relatively short, making it more human than ape.
17
Q

State the significance of Raymond Dart.

A

Physical anthropologist/anatomy professor,

- Was sent the fossilized skull of the Taung Child.

18
Q

State the significance of Don Johanson.

A

Physical anthropologist/archaeologist,

  • Discovered there were multiple human-like species living in Africa together around the same time, disproving the idea of evolution occurred in a straight line.
  • Discovered “Lucy” in 1974
19
Q

Explain “Lucy”.

A
  • 40% complete skeleton of the A. afarensis (3.18-3.2 myo).
20
Q

What fossil dating method is based on the principle of superposition?

A

Stratigraphy

21
Q

What is the simplest form of fossil dating?

A

Stratigraphy

22
Q

What invention allowed the evolving humans to migrate north?

A

Fire

23
Q

What is the process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient ancestors known as?

A

Evolution

24
Q

What is dendrochronology?

A

Tree ring dating

25
Q

Name 8 differences between humans and apes.

A
  • Humans are bipedal
  • Primates are stronger
  • Humans have stronger linguistic skills
  • Genomes differ about 1.23%
  • Humans have a more highly developed brain
  • Humans have a slightly different body structure due to bipedalism
  • Humans have a smaller birth canal
  • Primates are ahead in cognitive development for the first six months.
26
Q

Name 6 similarities between humans and primates.

A
  • Opposable thumbs
  • Binocular vision
  • Social structures
  • Sexually dimorphic
  • Same arrangement of internal organs and bones
  • Omnivorous
27
Q

The climate of the world is constantly changing, shifting between warm, dry eras and cold, wet ones. This is important to understanding the development of species because…

A

…It forced early humans to adapt to changing weather conditions.

28
Q

Whose work with apes has given us a better understanding of our pre-historic lives?

A

Jane Goodall

29
Q

Modern humans and other mammals appeared during which era?

A

Mesozoic

30
Q

What is the foramen magnum?

A

The unique and changing angle at which transitional hominds/autstralopithecines necks affixed to their skulls.

31
Q

Don Johanson discovered…

A

Lucy

32
Q

Raymond Dart discovered…

A

The Taung Child

33
Q

The branching evolution, where different populations of a species become reproductively isolated from each other by adapting to different ecological conditions and eventually creating a new species is called…

A

Adaptive radiation.

34
Q

The slight genetic change over a few generations in a population is referred to as…

A

Microevolution

35
Q

The slow progressive change of one species into the next in a line is referred to as…

A

Macroevolution

36
Q

What is the sagittal crest?

A

A ridge of bone across the top of the skull that anchored the jaw muscles of the australopithecines.

37
Q

Punctuated equilibrium is usually the result of…

A

Rapidly shifting environmental changes.

Intro to Anthro, Soc., and Psych. (5 decks)

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