Anthrophony notes 1/18/18
Studying the Past
-Studies human biological diversity through time and exists in the world today
-Paleoanthropology
Methods: fossil records.
Paleontology- study of ancient life through fossil records
-survey and excavation
Systematic survey- Patterns of settlement over a large area; provides regional
perspective
Excavation is destructive
Collection units are marked off so researchers can record the exact location
Palynology- study of ancient plants through pollen samples
Kinds of archaeology:
Historical-use written records as supplements to study societies with written
records
(fact check)
Classical: study literative civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean
Underwater: investigate submerged sites like ships
Contract (CRN) negotiate contracts for their work-usually through govt.
Experimental: try to replicate ancient techniques and processes under controlled
conditions
Kinds of Biological Anthro
Bone Bio- study of bone as biological tissue
-anthropometry: the measurement of human body parts and dimensions
-paleopathology: the study of disease and injury in skeletons from sites
Molecular Anthro- use of genetic analysis to assess evolutionary links
Paleoecology: reconstruction
Primatology: study of nonhuman primates
Who Owns the past?
Kennewick man-specimen discovered
“the bones that launched a thousand articles”
1996 in Columbia river (Washington) –found a skull
(oldest skull found in US)
NAGPRA- for museums and federal agencies to return native American itemshuman remains, sacred objects for cultural reasons
Significance- who were the first Americans? How did they arrive? What were their
relationships to other cultures?
Controversy- Umatilla Tribe claimed ancestry
-skeletal morphology unlike modern native Americans
-most similar to a group from northern Japan
1/23/18
Darwin- different beak finches
Observations:
- Individuals in population differ from each other
- These differences are heritable- passed from parent to offspring
- Population growth outstrips resources
Alfred Wallace-On the Origin of Species by Means of natural selection
1. There will always be competition over resources: Most offspring will not
survive to reproduce
2. Individuals with features will allow them to outcompete others for limited
resources and will have more successful offspring
3. Offspring will look like their parents, and the population will change
through time to resemble the individuals best equipped
4. Given enough time, new species will evolve
Adaptation- anatomical, physiological, or behavioral response of
organisms/populations to the environment
Mutation- any error that occurs in the process of copying DNA that can be
transmitted to daughter cells
The only mutation that are heritable- occurs in meiosis
What is the original source of variation- Mutation
Natural selection- Changes in frequencies of certain traits in populations
between generations due to differences in reproductive success between
individuals
Human Biological Variation- Natural selection
Melanosomes produced in melanocytes
Biologically: race isn’t real
Culturally: real
Lactase-enzyme that breaks down lactose(glucose/galactose)
Lactase persistence is caused by a mutation on Chromosome 2
Much of the variation within and between human populations could be
considered adaptive
-environmental context
1/30/18
Clever Monkeys