Physical Anthropology
Anthropology 1
Summer 2013
Katherine Schaefers, Instructor
Office: 3102
Office Hours: After class Tuesday and Thursday
“To make the strange familiar, and the
familiar strange”
• Strangeness, the unfamiliar is scary and can
lead to misguided feelings of anger and hate,
which may eventually lead to warfare and
death.
– Most interpersonal or inter-group conflicts are
caused by a lack of understanding.
– Discovering similarities between one’s own
culture and that of others leads to more
harmonious relationships.
Anthropology
• The study of humanity
– Greek: Anthropos (“Man”) logy (“study of”)
• Also, an integrated study of humanity
– Holism: Integrating as many different aspects of
human society (like psychology, politics, religion,
customs, institutions like marriage, funerary rituals,
gender, subsistence economy, etc.) to create the most
complete picture possible.
• Goal of Anthropology?
– Why do we study other people? What can be gained?
Anthropology’s
Traditional Fields
• Physical (Biological)
– This class!
– Human Biology and Evolution
• Genetics, DNA studies, evolutionary theory, primate behavior, paleontology,
fossil record.
• Archaeology
– Physical and Cultural remains
• Linguistics
– Origins and distribution of language
• Cultural
– Social organization, economics, technology, political organization,
marriage, family life.
• These 4 fields are rarely mutually exclusive & today’s anthropology
scene is very fluid, often incorporating techniques from outside
disciplines like psychology (study of the human psyche/mind) and
sociology (study of human society).
Main goal of Physical Anthropology?
• Why is physical anthropology a scientific
discipline, and what is its importance to the
general public?
To understand why we are the way we are, we need to
know…
How evolution works
How evolution works in other primates
The history of the human lineage
How natural selection shapes
human minds, bodies, and
behavior
Physical Anthropology Challenges
• Evolution
– A change in the genetic structure of a population
from one generation to the next.
• Adaptation
– An anatomical, physiological, or behavioral
response of organisms or populations to the
environment.
– Adaptations result from evolutionary change.
Evolution
• Microevolution
– Small genetic changes that occur within a species.
• Macroevolution
– Changes that occur only after many generations,
such as the appearance of a new species
(speciation).
Species
• A group of organisms that can interbreed to
produce fertile offspring.
• Members of one species are reproductively
isolated from members of all other species
(that is, they can’t mate with them to produce
fertile offspring).
Hominins
A grouping of similar human-ish species that includes we Humans!…and
extinct bipedal relatives
• Hominins are members of the evolutionary
lineage that includes ourselves, modern Homo
sapiens. (used to be called Hominids)
– Reduced canine teeth
– Non-prehensile big toes
– Pelvis and legs reflect habitual bipedalism
– Extreme brain enlargement and elaboration
• Habitually walking bipedally (on two feet) is a
critical feature of the hominins.
Primates
The only living Primate that is also a Hominin is…we Humans!
• Humans are members of the Order Primates,
the group of mammals that includes apes,
monkeys, tarsiers, lemurs and lorises.
*Note:
Physical
Anthropologists
who study the
living nonhuman
Primates are
called
Primatologists
Apes…
Gorilla
Chimapnzees
Orangutan
Monkeys…
Capuchin Monkey
Japanese Macaques
Lemurs and Lorises
Slow Loris
Ring Tail Lemur
Galago (Bush baby)
Tarsiers…
Culture
•
•
Culture is learned, and the process of
learning one’s culture begins at birth.
Some aspects of Culture:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
•
technologies
subsistence patterns
housing types
clothing
religion
marriage and family
values
gender roles
The human predisposition to assimilate
culture and function within it is
profoundly influenced by biological
factors.
Over time, culture and biology
interacted in such a way that humans
are said to be the result of biocultural
evolution.
Biocultural Evolution
• The mutual, interactive evolution of human
biology and culture.
• The concept that biology makes culture
possible and that developing culture further
influences the direction of biological
evolution.
Macroevolution
example
Australopithecine
skull
Human skull
Behavior
• Anything organisms do that
involves action in response to
internal or external stimuli.
• The response of an
individual, group, or species
to its environment.
• Responses may or may not
be deliberate,
and aren’t necessarily the
result of conscious decision
making.
Predisposition
• The capacity or inclination to do something.
• An organism’s capacity for behavioral or
anatomical modification is related to the
presence of preexisting traits.
The Story…
Anthropometry
• Measurement of human body
– Identifying human variation due to possible
adaptive significance
– Identify genetic and other evolutionary factors
that produced variation
Osteology
• The study of the human skeleton
• Bioarchaeology – the study of skeletal
remains from archaeological sites
Forensic Anthropology
• Application of anthropological techniques to
legal issues
• Forensic anthropologists worked with
identifying remains of victims of the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the
United States.
Paleopathology
• The study of disease and trauma in
archaeologically-derived skeletons
• Investigates the prevalence of trauma, certain
infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies,
and conditions that may leave evidence in
bone