ANTH EXAM 1

features

a type of artifact that cannot be easily removed from an archaeological site

Hominins

Humans and their immediate ancestors

prosimians

Lemurs, Lorises, Pottos, Tarsiers of Asia, Africa, and Madagascar (Old World)

Which term can be used to refer to the entire culture of Homo erectus?

Lower Paleolithic

Midden

Middens are prehistoric rubbish or garbage heaps

When did the hominoids first appear?

Miocene

Ideology

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Latoli Footprints

fossilized footprints of A. afarensis that shows they were fully bipedal and comparable to that of modern humans

dominate gene

gene whose trait always shows itself

founder affect

genetic drift resulting from the colozination of a new location by a small number of individuals

Genotype

genetic makeup of an organism

lesser apes

gibbons and siamangs

H. sapiens

human species

Anthropology is literally the study of __________.

humans

lactose intolerance

impaired ability to digest lactose due to reduced amounts of the enzyme lactase; asian populations don't eat as much so they are typically lactose intolerant

Allen's Rule

mammals living in the cold have shorter faces and limbs than mammals living in warmer areas

high altitude variation

may have difficulty breathing at high altitudes until the body acclimatizes; individuals adapt to thinner air and produce more red blood cells; gain fat in cooler climates

natural selection

the main process that increases the frequency of adaptive traits through time; Variation, Heritability, Differential reproductive success

reproductive success

the number of offspring an individual produces and rears to reproductive age; an individual's genetic contribution to the next generation

Kinds of primates

- Prosimians - Old World Monkeys - New World Monkeys - Lesser Apes - Greater Apes -chimpanzees -gorillas -orangutan

Charles Darwin

-Evolution by "natural selection" (the weaker die out) wrote On the Origin of Species; voyaged on the Beagle to conduct research, wrote On the Origin of Species (1856), Descent of Man (1871)

Homo erectus dates from around __________ million years ago

1.8

H. habilis

2.4-1.5 mya first stone tool users (Oldowan), 500-800cc brain size, some indication of Broca's area development, small incisors and canines and small molars

Mousterian tools

200,000-40,000 years ago. Made by Neanderthals. Includes many specialized stone tools like scrapers, lance points, and knives with other materials incorporated such an antler, horn, sticks, and cordage. Tool manufacture now includes multiple components and is highly specialized; lots of tools associated with neanderthals (200,000 to 35,000 years ago). Tools examples: convergent scraper, double scarper, mousterian point (flakes carefully retouched on both sides)

sickle cell anemia

;hereditary disorder of abnormal hemoglobin producing sickle-shaped erythrocytes and hemolysis

Denisovans

A recent find in Siberia has unearthed a potentially new species- one living contemporaneously with the neandertals and modern humans.

Which species is the earliest known australopithecine?

A. anamensis

The tool tradition identified with Homo erectus is the __________.

Acheulian

What is the relationship between the terms hominoid and hominin?

All hominins are hominoids, but not all hominoids are hominins.

new world monkeys

All species are arboreal. Nostrils open to the side. Many have prehensile tails; anthropoids.

adaptive radiation

An evolutionary pattern in which many species evolve from a single ancestral species; ex: polar bears

Heterozygous

An organism that has two different alleles for a trait

Homozygous

An organism that has two identical alleles for a trait

Phenotype

An organism's physical appearance, or visible traits.

Gregor Mendel

Augustinian monk and botanist whose experiments in breeding garden peas led to his eventual recognition as founder of the science of genetics (1822-1884)

Culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Who classified plants and animals into a systema naturae, which led to the taxonomic system we use today?

Carolus Linnaeus

continuous traits

Continuous traits are those that can exist in a range (height, age, skin color, etc.)

sexual dimorphism

Differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species; ex: birds

Allele

Different forms of a gene

Undisputed bipedal early hominins lived in __________ about 4 million years ago.

East Africa

__________ is the study of descriptive materials about a single society at more than one point in time.

Ethnohistory

A. africanus

First Australopithecus discovered, in South Africa; dating to 3.0-2.5 m.y.a.

recessive gene

Gene that is hidden when the dominant gene is present

The earliest members of our genus, which appeared around 2.8 million years ago, are generally classified into what two species?

H. habilis and H. rudolfensis

How were early stone tools made?

One stone was struck with another to create a sharp flake.

characteristics of hominins

Physical traits: completely bipedal, large complex brain, teeth aren't specialized; Behavioral abilities: toolmaking, language, division of labor in food-getting and food-sharing

In 1859, Charles Darwin published __________.

The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

Polymorphism

The coexistence of two or more distinct forms in the same population.

H. neanderthalensis

The middle paleolithic in europes and the near east is the period of cultural history associated with the neandertals; lots of tool use: convergent scraper, double scarper, mousterian point (flakes carefully retouched on both sides)

Oldowan Tools

The oldest known tools, made by chipping stones to produce a sharper edge. Made by Homo Habilis. earliest stone tool making tradition; from 1.6 million years ago; stone artifacts include core tools and sharp-edged flakes; flake tools and choppers.

Bergmann's Rule

The principle that an animal's size is heat-related; smaller bodies are adapted to hot environments, and larger bodies are adapted to cold environments.

inheritance

The process in which genetic material is passed from parents to their offspring.

Bipedalism freed the hands, which allowed tools to be carried. Why was this an advantage?

The tools could be used as weapons against predators, if necessary.

How do primates differ from other mammals?

There is a combination of physical traits that are unique to the Order Primates.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

This man developed the first cohesive theory of evolution after his studies of biology

Acheulian Tools

Tools used by Homo erectus that included tear drop shaped hand axes that were chipped or flaked on all sides to create a biface. stone tool making traditions from 1.5 million years ago; larger tools than oldowan; hand axes were popular and possibly cleavers and picks.

Why are we so unsure about the adaptations of the earliest primates?

We still have very little fossil evidence of these animals.

Participant ovservation

a qualitative research method that seeks to uncover the meanings people give their social actions by observing their behavior in practice

Mutation

a random error in gene replication that leads to a change; source of new variation

The relative diversity of early hominins may reflect a(n) __________ of these animals to a rapidly changing environment.

adaptive radiation

Anything made or modified by a human is called a(n)__________.

artifact

A. afarensis

based on a famous chimpanzee-like fossil nicknamed Lucy; Based on the skeletal remains of Lucy and the Laetoli footprints, which is perhaps the most well-represented australopithecine species

Which of the following hominin characteristics came first?

bipedalism

Which of these is an example of tool use among primates?

chimpanzees termite fishing

great apes

chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans

Which of these fields focuses on the relationship between a society and its environment?

cultural ecology

Relative Dating Methods

dating methods that arrange material evidence in a linear sequence, each object in the sequence being identified as older or younger than another object

Variation

differences in physical traits of an individual from the group to which it belongs; caused by mutation and genetic recombination (mixing up the genes from parents)

Neanderathals

different than homo sapiens; middle paleolithic in europe and the near East; They disappered due to inbreeding, genocide, extinction (integrated into humans essentially)

From what group of animals do scientists believe primates developed?

insectivores

gene flow

movement of alleles from one population to another; more variations or genetic information within a population; shuffles variation

old world monkeys

no prehensile tail, rough rump; evolved more recently than NWM; Include arboreal and terrestrial species. Lack prehensile tails and their nostrils open downward; anthropoids

cultural relativism

not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms

Artifacts

object made by human beings, either hand-made or mass-produced

cold environments

people have different feathers and traits

Participant-observation refers to the __________.

practice of immersing oneself in the language and customs of a society

Race vs. Ethnicity

race related to a person's appearance and ethnicity refers to nationality, culture, and ancestry.

gene drift

random change in allele frequencies that occur in small populations; populations become separated from original population, reproductively isolated; shuffles variation

In __________, anthropologists compare ethnographic information obtained from societies found in a particular region.

regional-controlled comparisons

Primates have a stronger sense of __________ and a weaker sense of __________ than other mammals.

sight; smell

H. erectus

species of early human likely migrated out of Africa approximately 1.8 million years ago

linguistics

study of language; Deals with development of languages (historical linguistics), descriptive or structural linguistics, sociolinguistics (looks at social use of language)

Which of the following is absent among hominoids?

tail

Traits of Chimpanzees

termite-fishing, leaf sponges, cracking nuts w/ rocks

stereoscopic vision

the ability to determine an object's depth based on that object's projections to each eye

Applied Anthropology

the application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems; kinda dividing up the different ways we can view different anthropology subfields. Half of anthropologists are applied/practicing anthropologists. Applied anthropologist may be trained in one or more of the subfields of anthropology

Ethocentrism

the belief that one's own group or culture is superior to all other groups or cultures

A distinguishing feature of anthropology is the goal of understanding how aspects of human experience such as local history, physical environment, family life, language, settlement patterns, and religion are interrelated. This approach to culture is referred to as __________.

the holistic approach

Ethanography

the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.

Biological Anthropology

the study of human biological variation in time and space; two categories: human paleontology (ex: looking at monkeys and comparing them to humans) and human variation (ex. Looking at phenotypes). we all have different features which can change the way we act and the people who we might hang out with

Archeology

the study of material evidence of past human life; look at cultures of the past. (look at artifacts) archaeologists try to reconstruct history from the remains of human cultures. most archaeology deal with prehistory (some specialize in historical archaeology (deal with populations that have written records))

Cultural Anthropology

the study of people's communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, and play together; three categories: archaeology, linguistics, and ethnology. looking at modern living populations and how they emerge and change/ adapt over time. Ethnology is concerned with patterns of thought and behavior

Launguage

the system or way people in a society create and use a shared system of communication and self-expression

environmental factors

things outside the system that can impact the operation of the system; the water, topography, and vegetation of an area or region

culture in pre-human hominins

tool use, some level of societal hierarchy, burial rituals, etc

The traditional explanation for the emergence of primates relates to an adaptation for __________.

tree living

Which of the following traits do most primates share?

two bones in the lower portion of the forelimbs

The anthropological curiosity is primarily interested in __________.

typical characteristics of populations

Bipedalism

walking on two feet

Richard Leaky

was responsible for extensive fossil finds related to human evolution and who campaigned publicly for responsible management of the environment in East Africa