Biological Anthropology 196 Part 1
Uniformitarianism
"present is key to the past" -Earth is very old, erosion happened in the past, so natural processes must exist today -James Hutton;Charles Lyell->Principles of Geology[influence on Darwin]
Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck
(1774-1829) -first proposal of mechanism for evolutionary change -meaning animal would have a change in its own lifetime and then pass it on -correctly recognized heritability and relationship between environment and organism -ex. Giraffe's neck
Charles Darwin
(1809- 1882) -"born a naturalist"->passionate throughout -background in medicine and theology -Voyage of the Beagle (Capt. Robert Fitzroy) -South America, Galapagos Island -implied species go extinct, extant forms resemble extinct forms
Ales Hrdlicka
(1869-1943) began by studying skulls; helped professionalize physical anthropology and found Am. Assoc. of Phys. Anthro.
Ernest Hooton
(1887-1954) taught many people about classification of people
Sherwood Washburn
(1911-2000) wanted a "new" physical anthro., such as studying a living primate; a more biological anthropology was created; trained many people in this new vein of thinking
Artificial Selection
(Domestication) descent from wolves, bred to create dogs quickly, mutation causes different breeds
Natural Experiments
(often used in bio anthro.) -observational problem->hypothesis->prediction
Thomas Hurley
-"Darwin's Bulldog" -Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature[1863] ->all evolutionary ideas apply to humans 1.summary of natural history of apes/living primates 2.comparative anatomy of apes/humans 3.survey of human/primate fossils
Catastrophism
->Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) -comparative paleontology -established standard for fossil analyzation -comparative anatomy and vertebrae paleontology [God creates catastrophic events which can then cause extinction of species] -modern species are *not* linked. But they can still go extinct through God's will.
Linguistics
->helps understand history with the study of language over time -hallmark of being human -anatomy of language=biological perspective -language is impt. b/c it transmits culture
Paleoanthropology
->study of humans through fossils and artifacts; try to reconstruct history -primary data=fossil human ancestors -compare them to animals, infer when things occurred (must have geological processes, dating methods, classification, functional anatomy, social organization) subsets=paleopathology[how things died], paeloprimatology
Great Chain of Being
-Aristotle->hierarchy idea -Divine Creator on top
Scientific Revolution
-Copernicus=heliocentric theory -Kepler, Galileo, Newton -Promoted standardized way
Georges du Buffon
-Natural History, general and particular -frightened of Linnaeus' idea of descent(one common ancestor) -argued for a much older earth -species could change through time, but are not descended from other species
*Facts* of Evolution
-all organisms, living and dead, are the end products of long natural process of change through which each species is descended from different ones. -similarities and differences can be explained through evolution.
religion vs. science?
-both ways to understand the world, but religion can answer questions science can't.
Darwin's ideas after studying the beaks of birds:
-individuals in a species vary. -selection doesn't create variation, it acts on the variation already present. -most of this variation can be inherited. -struggle for existence->success depends on your traits. -differential reproductive success->some will survive and reproduce more than others. -adaptations=favorable traits. -selection PRODUCES adaptation.
Molecular Anthropology
-looks at genes, biology, adaptation, of *human and non-human primate evolution* -primary data=evolution of diseases
Darwin's Dilemna
-some individuals seemed to have maladaptive traits. -ex. Peacock feathers
Franz Boas
-studied ethnography's in Northern Canada; "Father" of American Anthropology who created the *Four Field Approach* ->cultural anthropology ->linguistics ->archaeology ->biological anthropology -helped form American Anthropological Assoc.
Peter and Rosemary Grant
-studied finches on Galapagos Island for many years -figured out what was reproductively successful with birds beak size -populations evolve, individuals do not -showed evolution could take a very short time
Primatology
-studies diversity, behavior, ecology, & psychology of *living* primates -primary data=behavior and ecology of *non-human primates*
Science
-systematic search for understanding through empirical observation and testing -"rigorous", "systematic"->standards -"material"->grasped with the senses
Biological Anthropology
-work with past and present, with evolutionary perspective; place humans within context of nature and as humans -draw many fields such as: 1.paleoanthropology 2.forensic anthropology 3.human biology 4.primatology 5.Molecular anthropology
Major Criteria of Science
1.Testability 2. Falsifiable 3. Established method 4. Empirical 5. Cumulative 6. Repeatable 7. Quantifiable 8. Predictive
Descent of Man
Darwin's other book that focused on human application to evolutionary theory; selection in relation to sex
Who said Earth is young?
John Lightfoot, James Usher, used Bible to determine 6000 years old
Linnaeus
Systema Naturae (1735) -generic term and specific term, no more Great Chain of Being
Alfred Russel Wallace
[1823-1913] -started writing about natural selection outside of Darwin, so Darwin hurriedly published his work Origin of Species
Origin of Species [by means of Natural Selection]
[1829] -fact that evolution exists -theory of natural selection -phylogeny->organisms are related genealogically -ideas of domestication -not about humans, except for one sentence at the end.
Erasmus Darwin
[Darwin's Grandfather] -first proposed origin of species through evolution -"Zoonomia"
intrasexual selection
acquire mates by preventing your rivals from mating (male-male choice)
intersexual selection
attempts to acquire mates between sexes. (female choices.)
How does anthropology create a mediating role?
between the exotic and mundane, past and present, science and religious views
Modern Human Variation
borrow from geology, osteology, paleontology, chemistry, botany, biomechanics, genetics
5. Cumulative
builds on previous hypotheses and ideas
Anthropology is holistic because..
connects many different aspects, such as cultural aspects, biological language, etc.
sexual dimorphism
difference between males and females of the same species due to sexual selection -large body size -large canine teeth
Fixity of Species
doesn't change over time
Sexual Selection
evolutionary change that occurs because of variation in (often males) ability to acquire mates. 2 types=intrasexual and intersexual
John Ray
first to term "species" & "genus"
Thomas Malthus
food production will eventually not be enough for population growth
microevolution
gradual changes in the genetic material of a population over time ex.Darwin's finches, beak size
3. Established Method
guidelines agreed upon
2. Falsifiable
has a means to deem hypothesis "wrong"
Cultural Anthropology
helps to make sense of the different aspects of people around the world
Archaeology
look at artifacts from history to see what has changed
6. Repeatable
must allow others to verify
1. Testability
must make testable statements
macroevolution
origin and extinction of species
Scientific Method
problem is identified, hypothesis is stated, then hypothesis is tested.
Natural Selection
process by which species adapt; leads to adaptation, anatomical, behavioral. [*Nature* or the *environment* determines what traits are descended. ]
Sexual Selection can lead to...
sexual dimorphism.
Darwin's 1st sketch of evolutionary tree..
showed common ancestor descent.
Geocentric Theory
solar system revolves around the Earth, Ptolemy
hypothesis
statement with testable predictions
Forensic Anthropology
try to solve deaths using bones/remains
4. Empirical
uses data we can see and verify
7. Quantitative
uses numbers
8. Predictive
we can try to predict what might occur
theory
well-substantiated explanation of some world aspect
Anthropology
what it means to be human culturally, socially, throughout history, living and dead