Anthropology Exam 1
Terms
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- What is anthropology?
- the study of humanity - our physical characteristics as animals, and our unique non-biological characteristics we call culture. The subject is generally broken down into three subdisciplines: biological (physical) anthropology, cultural (social) anthropology, and archaeology.
- The scientific method?
-
Observation
Question
Hypothesis
Prediction
Experiment
Analysis
Decision - What is a hypothesis?
- Proposed explanation for natural phenomenon.
-
If agree hypothesis is _______.
If disagree hypothesis is _______. -
1. supportive
2. disproved - Don't say prove a hypothesis, only support because...
- There may be new info in the future.
- What is a theory?
-
The explanation of related observations based upon supported hypothesis and verrified multiple times.
example: Heliocentric Theory - A theory explains ______.
- How nature works.
- Science vs. Religion
-
the study of the natural world
vs.
a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power - ______ are the end point of science. They are supported by such abundant observational and experimental evidence they are no longer questioned.
- Theories
- Genetics
- the study of the hereditary material in living things.
- _______ helps us under stand evolution and variation within species, vatiation among human groups, variation within human groups.
- Genetics
- Biochemical Genetics
- studies the structure, function and changes in DNA
- DNA
- (deoxyribonucleic acid) provides the information for building, operating and repairing organisms.
- gene
- A segment of DNA with the instructions to make proteins.
- Genome
- A map of all the genes that make up a species.
- Human Genome Project
- begun in 1990 to sequence all base pairs and identify all genes, results published in 2001.
- We have a ___ % difference between chimp and human in coding segments and ____ % difference in noncoding segments.
- 1, 3 = 4%
- Mendelian (chromosomal) genetics
- Studies the ways in which chromosomes transmit genes across the generations.
- Chromosome
- a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power
- Mendek's pea plant experiments.
- He relized that traits are passed to offspings as discrete units and there are alternative versions of genes.
- phenotype
- The observable traits or characteristics of an organism, for example hair color, weight, or the presence or absence of a disease. the class to which that organism belongs as determined by the description of the physical and behavioral characteristics of the organism, for example its size and shape, its metabolic activities and its pattern of movement.
- genotype
- the class to which that organism belongs as determined by the description of the actual physical material made up of DNA that was passed to the organism by its parents at the organism's conception.
- allele
- An alternative form of a gene. Usually 2 for every gene. Sometimes 3
- Mendel's Law of Segregation
- Sex cells contain one of each pair of allels
- Homozygous
- if two allels of same kind
- heterozygous
- if two allels of different kind
- dominant allele
- the one that is expressed
- recessive allele
- that is not expressed, but is still there
- Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment
- Chromosomes from seperate pairs are inherited independently
- Population
- a group of organisms from the same species that often, but not always, chose mates from within the group.
- Gene pool
- all the genes in a population expressed as allele frequency
- evolution (fact)
- All present forms of life arose from other ancestral forms that were different
- Mutation
- a change on the DNA sequence, producing an altered gene.
- Genetic drift
- the various random processes that affect gene frequencies in small, relatively isolated populations.
- Gene flow
- the process by which genes pass from the gene pool of one population to that of another through interbreeding
- Natural selection
- The process whereby some organisms in a species have certain inherited variations that give them an advantage over others
- Natural selection proceeds through the mechanism of _______.
- differential reproduction
- Evolutionary fitness is not biggest or strongest, but...
- individuals success in possing genes to next generation.
- Example of Darwin's finches
- Medium ground finch. large beak for seeds. drought caused decrease in 1977. 11mm can crack seeds. 10.5 will not try. overall beak grew after drought.
- 3 points of Darwin's finches:
-
1. evolution is not uni-directional
2. variation must be present for natural selection to work.
3. praticular trait selected for dependent on enivironment slected trait can change according to environment - population genetics
- investigates natural selection and causes of genetic cariation, stability and change in breeding populations, including the formation of new species
- species
- a population that consists of organisms able to interbreed and produce viable and fertile offspring.
- Founder effect
- when a new population is formed by a few individuals whose genetic diversity is not representative of the parent population.
- geographic isolation
- when a physical barrier between parts of a species prevents any breeding between the 2 groups.
- Adaptive radiation
- the formation of many new species following the availibility of new environments
- anagenesis
- gradual evolution of one species into another
- cladogenesis
- one ancestral species becomes 2 or more descendent species
- 4 modes of locomotion
-
1. quadrupedialism
2. vertical clinging and leaping
3. brachiation (arm swing)
4. bipedalism - taxonomy
- classification using nested sets of categories
- Primates is what classification system?
- Order
- biomonial nomenclature
- assignment of a unique name, in 2 parts, to every species
- Phylogeny
- Classification system is based on _______ - genetic relatedness based on common ancestry.
- Derived trait
- sometime recent
- Ancestral trait
- same as it was in ancestor
- Whenm reconstructing phylogeny, need to use ______ features.
- derived
- fossil
- organic remains of once living organisms
- How are fossils made?
- if remains are quickly buried in sediment
- Fossils are exposed to surface through...
- natural erosion or uplifting or human agency
- fossil species (hominid)
- The species here are listed roughly in order of appearance in the fossil record
- Biases of the fossil record
- need to know how to understand what fossil records can say
- Our closest living relative is the ________.
- chimp
- _______ is one of the most salient features that set us apart from the chimp.
- Bipedalism
- When did we become bipedal?
- land became cool and dry and not as much forest.
- First species to make stone tools.
- Oldowan
- anthros meaning ______.
- human
- logos meaning _______.
- study
- 4 sub-fields of anthropology
-
1. biological
2. cultural
3. linguistic
4. archaeology