Cultural Anthropology Test One
Terms
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- Cultural Anthropology
- Study of the way people live
- Order of primates
- Insectivores, prosimions, old world monkeys, apes, everything else (humans, chimps, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons) Tip to remember this: I PROgram OLD Automobiles
- Prosimions
- From Madagascar, not deep thinkers. Not as evolved, nocturnal, or cryptic (they weren't good at hiding). A lemur is a prosimion
- New World Monkeys
- From the Americas. They have preprencial tails(they could cling onto trees with tails) and were smallish.
- Old World Monkeys
- From Africa, Asia, and S. Europe. They were larger, walked on tops of branches/ground, and include baboons & mandrills
- Characteristics of Primates
- Binocular vision(which equals good depth perception), arborial(lived in trees), poor noses, good vision
- Apes
- Evolved from old world monkeys. Includes gorillas, chimps, orangutans, gibbons. Could use brachiation(swinging from tree to tree)b/c of their hook-like hands. Don't have tails, are very short, walk on knuckles as opposed to hands flat(like monkeys).
- Gibbons
- a type of ape. Asian. Arms too long to walk on knuckles.
- Orangutan
- type of ape. Asian. Quadramanos(can support weight creatively with all four limbs) Larger, solitary
- Chimpanzees
- V. similar genetically to humans and gorillas.
- Many primates live in groups. Why?
- Primates don't have as specialized evolutions; there is an increased chance of survival; smaller primates gain size; allows for much learning
- Defense of Primates
- Living in trees allows for protection from many predators; males can and do defend women and children
- Female primates
- are protected b/c they have the babies. They use reproductive asymmetry(# of babies equivalent to # of females, one baby per year).
- Dominance hierarchy
- Before they even become adults, they already know who is stronger than who based on fighting ability, charisma, attractiveness & intelligence. Dominant male has priority of access to food, resting spots, females. Dominance hierarchies don't shift/change. Young males who want to become dominant often move to other groups & fight their way to the top.
- Dominance hierarchy setup order (inner to outer circle)
- Dominant males, sexually receptive females, non sexually receptive females, subordinate males, ring of adult males around group- even when "hanging out".
- Female hierarchy of primates
- Estrius(sexually receptive). get food & resting spot b/c they surround the dominant male. Estrius can displace other females. Non estrius- mothers and babies. Mother is dominant over infant.
- Primate siblings
- When two siblings fight, mother protects younger. As males get older, they become dominant over siblings. If two mothers are arguing, the younger female wins because the original mother is dominant.
- Primate Matrilines
- form stability of groups
- Primate territory
- Generally, primates aren't territorial. They have ranges, where the group collects food & where they can mostly be found. When core areas are shared, members of groups are most likely to shift groups-mostly males. Core areas are peace areas(no fighting). A sick or injured monkey might as well be dead(group doesn't wait or bring food to hurt comrades.)
- Mating
- estrus-seasonal basis. sex actually rare b/c males only perform on a seasonal basis. No marriage.
- Tool use among primates
- Developed in the apes(especially chimp females). Used sticks and stones to fend off predators, capture termites, knock down fruit, and crack nuts. Also used nests and leaves(as sponges to collect water and clean themselves)
- Primates and sharing
- Mother primate will not feed infant, infant learns through observation. There is sometimes passive sharing- primates may allow others to eat their scraps
- Primates are Omnivores. Why?
- Primates eat fruit with bugs, b/c they are a large source of protein. Rarely will they hunt.
- Primates and language
- chimps, gorillas, orangutans have been able to learn sign language. Most of their communications are nonverbal.
- Human evolution order
- Austrolopithecus, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals, Homo Sapien Spaniens (Cro-Magnon)
- How did Austrolopithecus come to be?
- Apes were forced to leave their forests to access resources across grass land. African/Asian apes developed/mutated in isolation. Eventually, 4 mya, a group became bipedal(2 arches).
- Austrolopithecus
- 500 cc's(Cranial Capacity). 2.5 million years ago. bipedal(two arches).Infants can no longer cling to mother's fur so fur becomes useless. Pelvis of bipedals is narrower, which means it is harder for mothers to give birth & limits the size of infants that are able to be born. Used more refined stone tools. Hands capable of power, can use all fingers simultaneously, opposable thumb. Slept in trees.
- Austrolopithecus diet
- Veggies, leaves, stems, bushes, seeds, etc. Also, small game-ducks, geese, lizards, hares, turtles, young antelopes
- Homo Erectus
- Evolved from Austro. 1 mya. 1000 CC's. Developed hunting. The first caveman who could challenged carnivores. Created shelters(under cliffs, they used stones and sticks to make windtight shelters.) Used skins to sleep on. Beginning of the family & need for sex outside of reproduction.
- Homo Erectus and technology
- 3000 years ago, they learned to make fire. They began using swamps/cliffs to trap animals through the use of fire. They also created the wooden bowl.
- Homo Sapiens(archaic)
- 250,000 years ago. Had reached a higher cranial capacity. The coming of the glacier came around this time.
- Neanderthals
- 100,000 years ago. Full CC of modern humans (1500). Made Mousterian tools, hafted, compound tools(spearchucker.) Neanderthal bones strong. They learned how to cure skins for clothing, and dried meat for winter. They also buried their dead. Nobody knows what happened to Neanderthals
- Homo Sapien- Sapiens
- Also called Cro-Magnon. Hybrid HSS and Neanderthals have been found. HSS spread everywhere. By 20,000 y.a., fully modern humans had spread over the whole world. People were now inhabiting N&S America/Australia. "Era of expansion."
- Homo Sapien- Sapiens technology
- They invented cooking pot boilers, art as personal adornment, spear thrower(atlatl). They then had bone needles to make tailored clothing and bow and arrows.
- Hunting and gathering bands
- Bands usually around 25. Territories about 500-1500 square miles.
- Tribes
- About 500 people; they share similar language and customs.
- Hunting-gathering bands: tools for hunting
- Men carried bow and arrows with poisonous tips, and darts and blowguns in heavily forested areas. They also used nets, spears, boomerangs, and atlatl. Women used pointed sticks(dibbles) and bags.
- Hunting and gathering bands- how did they get food?
- They don't plant crops or domesticate animals. Food was taken directly from the environment without a reliance on domesticated food sources. High level of mobility- they exhaust food source in areas. About eighty percent of their diety is veggies. Women always successful in gathering, men not always in hunting. Food cooked over fire on a flat rock.
- Hunting and gathering bands- health
- Very good health due to active lifestyle, good diet. Rate of disease very low except for chicken pox, herpes, and shingles. ALso, risk of disease of contamination due to no running water/flushed toilet/garbage.
- Hunting and gathering requires little work
- Requires little work- about ten hours per week. 2-4 hours a day, 3 days a week. Boys take on responsibilities at age 11, girls at age 7.