ANTH 2301: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
EXAM 2 REVIEW
Be aware that this is only a general review meant to guide your study for the exam.
You are responsible for understanding all of the material covered in the text, any
additional readings, and the lectures.
What is a polymorphism? What are the following: red blood cell polymorphisms, the HLA
system, restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), microsatellite DNA, Alu
insertions, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)? How are they useful for measuring
human variation?
What does the term anthropometrics refer to, and what are some forms of it? How can
anthropometrics help anthropologists determine population origins?
How are mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and y-chromosome analyses used to track ancestry.
Which comes from the father and which from the mother? How were genetic analyses useful
in addressing individual identification and ancestry as discussed in the Ghenghis Khan
reading? How is this an example of social selection? Was the analysis based on mtDNA or
y-chromosomes?
What are the differences between the idea of race as a biological reality (as believed by
many) and the idea of race as a cultural construct (as determined by anthropologists)? In
biological terms, what does “race” really mean? In cultural terms, what are some factors that
effect how race is constructed?
Are there scientifically demonstrated relationships between “race” and intelligence?
Be able to differentiate between variation within a population and variation between
populations. In general, how much genetic variation exists within and between populations
(this includes “races”)?
What is the role of geographic distance in explaining genetic distance? What is “isolation by
distance”? What other factors can cause genetic distance between populations?
Understand that physical anthropologists, often with the collaboration of archaeologists,
work:
-To track the spread of anatomically modern humans
-To understand the origins and movements of prehistoric populations (immigration, invasion,
etc)- the realm of archaeologists
-To understand the origins and movements of modern populations- the realm of
archaeologists and cultural anthropologists
When trying to determine a population’s ancestry, why is it usually best to look at only those
traits that are not strongly affected by natural selection?
According to the most recent archaeological, genetic, and palaeoenvironmental research,
from where did Native Americans originate? In simple terms, what are haplotypes and
haplogroups? How do they relate to the origins of Native Americans?
What do recent genetic studies of Irish populations tell us about gene flow in different parts
of Ireland? You will need to know which parts of Ireland were affected by non-Irish groups.
How much European gene flow has been found among African Americans and what kind of
genetic evidence was used to determine this? (See Fig. 15.6)
Based on recent genetic research, how related are modern Jewish populations to each other
and to neighboring non-Jewish groups? Specifically, how related are Ashkenazi Jews to
other Jewish populations and non-Jewish populations?
What factors are often involved in the formation and maintenance of ethnic and racial
identities based on assumed direct biological and cultural ancestry and reconstructions of the
past? Is gene flow with other groups commonly acknowledged when dealing with ancestry?
What are hemoglobin variants, and the sickle cell allele (s) in particular. You will need to
understand the main difference in terms of survival of the genotypes AA, As, and ss. What is
the difference between carrying the s allele and being homozygous for it (ss) ? In general,
how frequent is the sickle cell allele in areas with high frequencies of malaria? How was the
sickle cell allele selected for? How does balancing selection work on the sickle cell allele?
I.e., why does it not rise past 20%? What does the text (and lecture) say about how
horticulture could have eventually led to increased rates of the sickle cell allele in some parts
of the Old World?
In the U.S., which group is most likely to have or carry the sickle cell allele? Why?
What is the CCR5-32 gene and where is it predominantly found today? What does it
currently protect against? What factor probably originally selected for it? When do
scientists think it was first selected for?
Generally, where is darker skin found on the globe? Lighter skin? What do UV light and the
destruction of folate levels have to do with where it was selected for? What are the main
hypotheses presented for why dark skin evolved in Africa? What are the main problems with
those hypotheses that have now been found to be weak? What is the strongest hypothesis for
why darker skin evolved in certain areas?
Where is lighter skin usually found in the Old World? What is rickets and how does it relate
to why and where light skin evolved? What are other factors that may have helped select for
lighter skin?
What are lactase persistence and lactose intolerance? How are they examples of how culture
can affect biology? Which groups are more likely to be persistent? Which are more likely to
be intolerant? Why?
What are stress, homeostasis, and plasticity in terms of environment and adaptation?
What are acclimation, acclimatization (short-term physiological changes), and developmental
acclimatization (long-term physiological changes)? What are examples of each from the
lecture and text, including immediate and delayed tanning?
Understand that, while natural selection led to our abilities to have short-term and long-term
adaptations, these are not inherited adaptations in themselves- i.e., the ability to sweat or
grow a barrel chest is inherited, but not the sweating or barrel chest itself.
What is the Bergmann rule? What is the Allen rule? Don’t worry about the specific
mathematical examples, but you need to understand the basic principle of each rule.
How does cranial shape relate to temperature? Nasal shape? What are examples from the
text and lecture?
What are some examples in the text and class of how humans can adapt to extreme heat and
cold through culture? Why is this ability to adapt culturally so important for our survival in
general around the planet?
How can high altitude affect biological adaptation? What is hypoxia? What other stresses
are in high altitudes? What are some short-term and long-term (developmental) adaptations
that occur in high altitudes? I.e., heart, lungs, chest, red blood cell count.
In general, how much of these adaptations, especially the barrel chest, result from natural
selection, and how much from developmental adaptation (i.e., during an individual’s
development)?
How does diet relate to cultural adaptations? What kind of diet have humans had for most of
their history? When and where was agriculture first developed in the Old World? On
average, what percentage of hunter-gatherer total food gathered? I.e., about how much of
their food is plant material, and how much meat?
What is malnutrition? What are some of the most drastic costs of modernization in terms of
diet and health?