Chapter 1
Introduction to
Physical Anthropology
Chapter Outline
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What is Anthropology?
Cultural Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Chapter Outline
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Physical Anthropology
Physical Anthropology and the Scientific
Method
The Anthropological Perspective
Issue: Evaluation in Science: Lessons in
Critical Thinking
Hominids
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Humans are hominids, belonging to the
taxonomic family Hominidae.
Bipedalism, walking on two legs, is a
critical feature of the hominids.
Humans are members of the Order
Primates, the group of mammals that
includes prosimians, monkeys and apes.
Early Hominid Footprints Laetoli, Tanzania
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The tracks to the left were made by one individual, while
those to the right appear to have been formed by two
individuals, the second stepping in the tracks of the first.
Human Footprints - Lunar
Surface
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Human footprints left on the lunar surface
during the Apollo mission.
Question
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The mammalian group that humans
belong to is the Order
a) Carnivora.
b) Rodentia.
c) Primates.
d) Chiroptera.
Answer: c
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The mammalian group that humans
belong to is the Order Primates.
Species
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A group of organisms that can interbreed
to produce fertile offspring.
Members of one species are
reproductively isolated from members
of all other species.
They cannot mate with them to produce
fertile offspring.
Evolution
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A change in the genetic structure of a
population.
The term is also frequently used to refer
to the appearance of a new species.
Adaptation
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An anatomical, physiological, or
behavioral response of organisms or
populations to the environment.
Adaptations result from evolutionary
change.
Early Stone Tools
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(a) An early stone tool from East Africa. One of the
oldest types of stone tools found anywhere. (b)
Assortment of a few implements available in a modern
hardware store.
Evolution
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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).
Culture
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Culture is the strategy by which humans adapt
to the natural environment.
Culture is learned, and the process of learning
one’s culture begins at birth.
Even though culture isn’t genetically
determined, the human predisposition to
assimilate culture is influenced by genetics.
Over time, culture and biology interacted so that
humans are said to be the result of biocultural
evolution.
Biocultural Evolution
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The concept that biology makes culture
possible and that developing culture
further influences the direction of
biological evolution.
This is a basic concept in understanding
the unique components of human
evolution.
Culture
Strategies humans use to adapt to their
environment:
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technologies
religion
subsistence
marriage
patterns
housing types
clothing
family
values
gender roles
and
Worldview
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General cultural orientation or perspective
shared by members of a society.
Behavior
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Anything organisms do that involves action in
response to internal or external stimuli.
The response of an individual, group, or
species to its environment.
Such responses may or may not be deliberate
and they aren’t necessarily the results of
conscious decision making, as in one-celled
organisms, insects, and many other species.
What Is Anthropology?
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The study of humankind.
Integrates sociology, economics, history,
psychology, and biology.
Comprises three subfields:
Cultural anthropology
Archaeology
Physical (or biological) anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
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The study of all aspects of human behavior.
An interest in traditional societies led early
anthropologists to study lifeways that are now
all but extinct.
These studies produced ethnographies that
emphasized religion, ritual, myth, use of
symbols, subsistence strategies, technology,
gender roles and child-rearing practices.
Archaeology
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Study and interpretation of material
remains recovered from earlier cultures.
Information about culture comes from
artifacts and material culture left by early
hominids.
Linguistic Anthropology
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Study of the origin of language and speech.
The use of language is a unique human
characteristic.
Relationship between culture and language:
How do members of a society perceive
phenomena?
How does the use of language shape
perceptions?
Physical Anthropology
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Study of human biology in the framework of
evolution.
Subfields:
Paleoanthropology - human evolution
Anthropometry - measurement of body parts
Primatology: study of nonhuman primates
Osteology: study of skeletons
Paleoanthropology
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Paleoanthropologists excavating at the Drimolen site,
South Africa.
Primate paleontology
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The study of the primate fossil record that
extends back to the beginning of primate
evolution some 60 million years ago (mya).
Virtually every year, fossil-bearing beds in North
America, Africa, Asia, and Europe yield new
discoveries.
By studying fossil primates and comparing them
with anatomically similar living species, primate
paleontologists are learning a great deal about
factors such as diet or locomotion in earlier
forms.
Anthropometry
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Anthropology student using spreading to measure
cranial length.
Modern Population Studies
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This researcher is using a treadmill test to
assess a subject’s heart rate, blood pressure,
and oxygen consumption.
Modern Population Studies
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Dr. Kathleen Galvin
measures upper arm
circumference in a young
Maasai boy in Tanzania.
Data derived from
various body
measurements, including
height and weight, were
used in a health and
nutrition study of groups
of Maasai cattle herders.
Genetics and DNA
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Genetics is the study of gene structure and
action and the patterns of inheritance of traits
from parent to offspring.
Genetic mechanisms are the foundation for
evolutionary change.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the doublestranded molecule that contains the genetic
code.
DNA is a main component of chromosomes.
Cloning
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Cloning and
sequencing methods
are frequently used to
identify genes in
humans and
nonhuman primates.
This graduate student
identifies a
genetically modified
bacterial clone.
Primatology
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Yahaya Alamasi, a
member of the senior
field staff at Gombe
National Park,
Tanzania.
Alamasi is recording
behaviors in freeranging
chimpanzees.
Primatology
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The study of nonhuman primates.
Because nonhuman primates are our
closest living relatives, identifying the
factors related to social behavior,
communication, infant care and
reproductive behavior helps us develop a
better understanding of the natural forces
that shaped modern human behavior.
Osteology
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The study of the skeleton.
A thorough knowledge of skeletal structure and
function is critical to the interpretation of fossil
material.
Bone biology and physiology are of major
importance to many other aspects of physical
anthropology besides paleontology.
Paleopathology, a subdiscipline of osteology, is
the study of disease and trauma in
archaeologically derived skeletal populations.
Forensic Anthropology
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An applied anthropological approach
dealing with legal matters.
Forensic anthropologists work with
coroners and others in identifying and
analyzing human remains.
Forensic Anthropology
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Physical anthropologists Lorna Pierce (left) and Judy
Suchey (center) working as forensic consultants.
The dog has just located a concealed human cranium
during a training session.
Forensic Anthropology
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Forensic anthropologists at the location on Staten
Island where all materials from the World Trade Center
were taken for investigation after September 11, 2001.
The scientists are wearing HAZMAT (hazardous
materials) suits for protection.
Question
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Anthropologists who conduct
excavations in order to recover artifacts
are
a) archaeologists
b) ethnologists
c) linguists
d) medical anthropologists
Answer: a
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Anthropologists who conduct excavations
in order to recover artifacts are
archaeologists.
Human Anatomy
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Dr. Linda Levitch teaching a human anatomy
class at the University of North Carolina School
of Medicine.
Continuum
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A set of relationships in which all
components fall along a single integrated
spectrum.
All life reflects a single biological
continuum.
Science
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A body of knowledge gained through
observation and experimentation; from the Latin
scientia, meaning “knowledge.”
A hypotheses is a provisional explanation of
a phenomenon.
Hypotheses require verification or falsification
through testing.
Empirical means to rely on experiment or
observation.
Scientific Method
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An approach to research whereby a
problem is identified, a hypothesis (or
provisional explanation) is stated, and that
hypothesis is tested by collecting and
analyzing data.
Data
• Facts from which conclusions can be
drawn; scientific information.
Quantitatively
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Pertaining to measurements of quantity
and including such properties as size,
number, and capacity.
When data are quantified, they’re
expressed numerically and can be tested
statistically.
Theory
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A broad statement of scientific
relationships or underlying principles that
has been substantially verified through
the testing of hypotheses.
Scientific Testing
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The precise repetition of an experiment or
expansion of observed data to provide
verification.
The procedure by which hypotheses and
theories are verified, modified, or
discarded.
Question
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Physical anthropologists developed
techniques for measuring the human
body. These type of measurements are
called:
a) calibration
b) dermatoglyphics
c) genetics
d) anthropometrics
Answer: d
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Physical anthropologists developed
techniques for measuring the human
body. These type of measurements are
called anthropometrics.
Physical Anthropology
and the Scientific Method
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State the research problem.
Develop a hypothesis.
Test the hypothesis through data
collection and analysis.
If the hypothesis is verified, it becomes a
theory.
Anthropological Perspective
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A broad perspective that helps us understand
the diversity of the human experience within the
context of biological and behavioral continuity
with other species.
By learning about cultures other than our own,
we can avoid an ethnocentric view of other
cultures.
By recognizing that we have similarities with
other animals, we may recognize that they have
a place in nature just as we do.
Ethnocentric
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Viewing other cultures from the inherently
biased perspective of one’s own culture.
Ethnocentrism often results in other
cultures being seen as inferior to one’s
own.
Metabolism
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The chemical processes within cells that
break down nutrients and release energy
for the body to use.
When nutrients are broken down into their
component parts, such as amino acids,
energy is released and made available for
the cell to use.