Physical Anthropology: An Introduction to Human Evolution and Bio-Cultural Variation - Pro, Study notes of Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Download Physical Anthropology: An Introduction to Human Evolution and Bio-Cultural Variation - Pro and more Study notes Introduction to Cultural Anthropology in PDF only on Docsity! 8.27.2010 Anthropology Professor Listi Anthropology (study of ppl)  Biocultural Approach o interrelation btw biology and culture o relationship btw what ppl have inherited biologically/genetically, and what we learn behaviorally  Holistic o looking at the whole/complete system o look @ all aspects of being human  Comparative o compares different cultures- not judgmentally, but to understand what it means to be human  Ethnocentric o centered on a specific ethnic group; usually own ethnic group o Seeing your culture as the best/better than others o Bad to be that way if you are an Anthropologist o Yana Mami (?) (Australia)  Name means ‘human’  If you aren’t part of their culture, you’re not human  Cultural “Relativism” (perspective) o Studying culture based on its own standards/terms o Efik: fat= beauty in their culture o Polyandry- one woman married to mult men; Polygamy- one man married to mult women.  Polygamy- most common type of marriage in the world  Fieldwork o Collecting data/research o Doesn’t have to be immersing yourself in culture, excavation, lab work, etc.  Four Subfields: 1. Linguistic Anthropology o focus on language and how ppl communicate w/ each other o includes cultural and behavioral aspects- body language, tone of voice, how men and women use language differently (men- impart info; women- bond) o Ex. 3 fingers up w/ index finger & thumb touching- America= ok; Europe= insult o Origins of language- crossover w/ physical anthropology 2. Cultural (Sociocultural) Anthropology o Culture- Learned behavior that is distinct among diff groups of ppl; passed down through generations; evolutionary- it ‘evolves’ o Culture is transmitted from parents/guardians to children; learned behavior o May involve studying in foreign places or in your own country o Ex. Culture surrounding athletes- treated differently than average person o Ex. Businesses r now hiring cultural anthropologists to work w/in that business o Abt 5,000 distinct ppl groups on the planet o Can specialize in different aspects: political, medical (how ppl respond to health/disease), economic (how goods r exchanged w/in society) 3. Archaeology o Archaeo- old; Ology- to study o Studying the past based on the material remains of a culture  Architecture  Pottery  ceramics/ tools  skeleton (more of a bio archaeologist, zoarchaeologist) o labor intensive o Old World Archaeologist- Asia & Middle East; New World Archaeologist- Americas; ‘Contract’ Archaeology- cultural resource management (building/ excavating crews discover cultural remains, must call in team to study it); Academic Archaeologist. 4. Physical Anthropology o Studying ppl from the biological perspective o Osteology- studying the skeleton o Evolutionary theory; Natural selection o Human Variation- what it means and where it comes from; is there a basis for it? o Primatology- non-human primates o Paleoanthropology- fossil record  ‘Lucy’- 3.2 million yrs old Physical Anthropology: Chapter 1 Definition of physical anthropology: study of human biological evolution and of human bio-cultural variation -simpler definition: study of humans as biological creatures, past and present, and of other primates American Anthropology:  Franz Boas : (1858-1942) o Considered Father of American Anthropology o 4 fields of anthropology approach dates back to him o Trained first generation of well-known and influential anthropologists  Ales Hrdlicka : (1869-1943) o Started The American Journal of Physical Anthropology (1918) o Founded the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (1929) History of Evolutionary Thought: (Ch.2)  Charles Darwin : o Very influential in all biological sciences o 4 Ideas credited to him: (for amassing data to support these ideas)  1) Idea that species can change/ evolve  2) Adaptive Radiation  out of 1 species will branch many related species  Was variation in giraffe neck length  Something happens in env- kills leaves on lower parts of trees  Short-necked giraffes die, and long-necked giraffes reproduce  Over time- more individuals w/ longer necks than shorter necks  Lamarck  No leaves on trees, necks lengthen  Offspring inherit the new trait o Examples of Natural Selection o Peppered Moths  Gray moths blended in w/ trees- more common, black moths were less common  Industrial Revolution darkened trees- black moths were more common, gray moths were less common  1960’s- ‘Clean Air Laws’; tree bark lightened- gray moths became more common, black moths became less common o Medium Ground Finches  Found in Galapagos Islands  Prior to mid-1970s the shorter, smaller beak was favored; mid-1970s the beak lengthened and had more depth because a draught killed off their favored food source; late 1970s, after draught, beak size went back to what it was prior to the draught o Antibiotic Resistance  Ex. Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB)  A lrg percentage of TB is resistant to multiple medicines  Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)  MRSA infections r responsible for more deaths in the US than AIDs  Penicillin was mass-produced and ppl misused it and 4 yrs later some bacteria already became resistant to it  Fast turnover rates in bacteria allows natural selection to work quickly Inheritance  Heredity (old notions) o Homonculus (latin- “little man”)  Notion that a little person was in the sperm cell and it was transferred during fertilization  Little person grew and was birthed o Blending Inheritance (“gemmules”)  W/in reproductive organs were gemmules (tiny particles) rep diff body parts/organs  During fertilization, gemmules from parents would blend and offspring was result  Heredity o Cells (basic unit of life)  Prokaryotic- simple life forms w/out nucleus (ex. Bacteria)  Eukaryotic- contains nucleus & organelles  Nucleus- contains the genetic code (DNA) and RNA  Organelles- membrane-bound sub-cellular component o Cell Types:  Somatic cells  Cells that make up body tissues  Gametes (“sex cells”)  Cells involved w/ reproduction  DNA o 2 chains of nucleotides (sugar + phosphate + base) o Bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine) o Base-pair specific/Replication (bases will bind to each other in a very specific pattern)  Important: b/c of replication (DNA’s ability to copy itself)  Growth and development  Injury- tissue repair  Normal body maintenance  Heredity o Gene  Sequence of DNA that’s responsible 4 some function  Length of sequence varies o Chromosomes (46)  Sequence of genes  # of chromosomes is species specific  Arranged in 23 homologous pairs  Types of Chromosomes  Autosomes (44) o Carry genetic info on physical characteristics  Sex Chromosomes (2) o Determine sex and primary sexual characteristics  **Cell Division**: o *Mitosis : Somatic cell division  2 daughter cells  Identical (to each other & original)  Diploid (full complement of DNA)  Occurs for growth & dev., tissue repair, body maintenance o *Meiosis : Leads to Sex Cells (‘gametes’)  Recombination  Exchange of genetic material between homologous pairs of chromosomes   4 daughter cells  Not identical  Haploid (half # of chromosomes)  Gamete dev.  Cell Division Mistakes o *Nondisjunctions  Chromosome pair fails to separate (during 1st phase of meiosis)  Results: too many/too few chromosomes in sex chromosomes or autosomes  *Monosomy : (Person is missing 1 chromosome)  Ex.) XO- Turner Syndrome  *Trisomies : (Person has 1 extra chromosome)  Autosomal trisomy o T21 (Down Syndrome) o T18 (Edward’s Syndrome) o T13 (Patau Syndrome)  Sex Chromosome trisomy o XXY (Kleinfelter Syndrome) o XXX o XYY 9.8.10 **Genetic Principles 1. Law of Segregation a. Def- 2 alleles for any given trait r inherited 1 from each parent b. During gamete production only 1 of 2 alleles will be present in egg/sperm 2. Gene/ Allele a. Allele - alternate form of a gene b. Gene - sequence of DNA that codes 4 some function c. Dominant/ Recessive i. Dominant - allele that’s expressed in the presence of another different allele 1. Doesn’t mean it’s the better condition/ trait or that it’s more frequent a. Ex. Dwarfism 2. Not an ‘all or nothing’ event ii. Recessive - allele not expressed in the presence of another different allele d. Locus - location of a gene/allele on a chromosome e. Homozygous (‘hmz’)/ Heterozygous (‘htz’) i. Homozygous - 2 copies of same allele 1. Homo- same 2. Ex. TT- same alleles ii. Heterozygous - different copies of same allele 1. Hetero- different 2. Ex. Tt- diff alleles f. Genotype/ Phenotype i. Genotype - genetic makeup 1. Pair of alleles- TT, Tt, tt ii. Phenotype - physical description of the trait  Melanin production  Multiple loci contribute  Co-dominant alleles (both contribute to expression of the trait) o Environmental Influences  Sun causes skin to darken 9.13.10 Modern Theory of Evolution  Evolution (def- change in the genetic frequencies of a trait in a pop over time.) o Production and distribution of variation o Natural selection  Microevolution o Small-scale changes that occur in a pop, usually happen w/in a generation  Macroevolution o Large-scale changes in a pop, usually occur @ or above a species level & over many generations  Deme (population) o Local pop of organisms that have similar genes, interbreed regularly, & produce offspring  Gene Pool o All the genetic info in a deme/ breeding pop  Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium o Formula that predicts allele distribution in a pop under ideal conditions (whether change is occurring)  Model/ mathematical equation used to predict frequencies of alleles and whether or not they change- idealized model. Influences on Allele Frequencies 1) Mutation o Change in the DNA sequence 2) Gene Flow o Movement of alleles btw pops 3) Genetic Drift o Change due to random factors/ random movements o Types  Bottleneck effect (large pop suddenly & drastically reduced in size)  Founder effect (small pop breaks off from parent pop & starts new community)  Ellis-Van Creveld Syndrome (genetic disorder- causes dwarfism & polydactyly) o More common in Amish communities 4) Natural Selection o Sickle Cell Allele  Caused by mutation that causes red blood cells to deform  Can cause blocked arteries, severe anemia, and possibly death  Balanced Polymorphism (Heterozygote Advantage)  Maintenance of 2/more alleles in a pop due to the selective advantage of the heterozygote  Example o Sickle Cell Allele & Malaria  Carriers of SCA, resistant to malaria o Tay-Sachs & TB (Tuberculosis)  Carriers of Tay-Sachs, resistant to TB o Cystic Fibrosis & Cholera  Carriers of CF- resistant to cholera 9.15.10  Human Variation o “Voyages of Discovery” –(1500s-1700s) o Schools of thought  Monogenism  All humans descended from a single, original pair (Adam & Eve)  Variation was due to environmental differences  Polygenism  Humans descended from multiple original pairs around the world o Early Studies (18th-early 19th centuries)  Descriptive/classifying o Mid-19th century:  Biological determinism  Behavioral attributes, such as intelligence/morals, r governed by/associated with biological traits o Race/ethnicity affects intelligence level & morality  Race o Common definitions:  Species  Cultural/ Ethnic identity  Religious identity  Physical characteristics o “Ethnicity”, “Ancestry”  Ethnicity-> cultural identity  Ancestry-> where ancestors came from o Problems: (with categorizing ppl)  Racism (assigning meaning/value to differences)  No reliable way to distinguish groups of ppl  Entire pops that cannot be categorized  Genetic variation  More genetic variations w/in races than btw diff races o Statements on Race  AAA  http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm  AAPA  http://physanth.org/association/position-statements/biological-aspects-of-race o “Race” from the Anthropological Perspective:  One polytypic species (all 1 species)  Geographically patterned phenotypic variation  Cultural affiliation with biological effects  Ppl w/ shared history/common lang./common religion, can result in continuation of phenotypic similarities/carrying common alleles 9.17.10 Human Variation (Ch.5) -Human Response to Environmental Stress 1. Cultural a. Modifying behavior to account for some environmental stress i. Ex. Wearing coats when it’s cold; taking long breaks during the afternoon when working in heat 2. Acclimatization (“physiological”) a. Occurs, any time your body is stressed, @ the individual level & is reversible i. Ex. Sun tan, sunburn 3. Developmental a. Response to stress that happens during periods of growth & dev.- not reversible i. Ex. Increased chest size at HA (High Alt) 4. Genetic (population) a. Inherited, not reversible, result of generations of natural selection acting on a trait i. Ex. Skin color  Purpose? o Maintain Homeostasis (ability of an organism to maintain an internal equilibrium) Temperature Extremes  Heat o Body cannot sustain temp. from 104-109 degrees, causes death o Vasodilation  Capillaries near the surface of your skin dilate, which increases blood flow out from core towards the surface of skin, causes heat to evaporate from skin o Sweating  Moisture evaporating off skin is supposed to cool body temp.  Cold o Vasoconstriction  Capillaries near surface of skin constrict, reduces blood flow to the skin, keeping blood near organs o Shivering  Muscles moving to help keep body warm