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677 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Define Primate.
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Member of the mammalian order Primates, including prosimians, monkeys, apes and humans, defined by a suite of anatomical and behavioral traits.
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Define Evolution.
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A change in the frequency of a gene or a trait in a population over multiple generations.
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What is Biological Anthropology?
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The study of humans as biological organisms, considered in an evolutionary framework.
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What is Biological Anthropology also known as?
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Physical Anthropology.
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Define Hominid.
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A member of the primate family Hominidae, distinguished by bipedal posture and, in more recently evolved species, large brain.
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Define Adaptation.
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A trait that increases the reproductive success of an organism, produced by natural selection in the context of a particular environment.
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Define Anthropology.
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The study of humankind in a cross-cultural context.
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What are the 4 subfields of Anthropology?
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CLAP: Cultural, Linguistic, Archaeology & Physical/Biological.
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Define culture.
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The sum total of learned traditions, values, and beliefs that groups of people (and a few species of highly intelligent animals) possess.
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What does LTVB represent?
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Learned Traditions, Values and Beliefs that is defined as culture.
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Define Biocultural Anthropology.
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The study of the interaction between biology and culture, which plays a role in most human traits.
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Define Paleoanthropology.
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The study of the fossil record of ancestral humans and their primate kin.
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Define Osteology.
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The study of the skeleton.
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Define Paleopathology.
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The study of the diseases in ancestral human populations.
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What is the study of the skeleton.called?
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Osteology.
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What is the study of the diseases in ancestral human populations called?
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Paleopathology.
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Define Forensic Anthrolopology.
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The study of human remains applied to a legal context. - Identifying victims of genocide, murder or disasters.
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Where were the ancient human-like footprints found in fossilized ash?
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Laetoli in Northern Tanzania.
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What is Primatology?
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The study of the nonhuman primates; their anatomy, genetics, behavior, and ecology.
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Who is the famous primatologist that studied chimps in the 60's and 70's?
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Jane Goodall.
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Define Physical Anthropology.
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The study of humans as biological organisms, considered in an evolutionary framework.
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What is the importance of falsifiability?
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When an hypothesis is falsifiable it can never be proven 100%. This allows for reworkings of the hypothesis to fit future data and discovery.
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What must a theory or hypotheis have to be scientifically studied?
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Falsifiability.
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Define paradigm.
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A conceptual framework useful for understanding a body of evidence.
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What is the name of the classification system used in the biological sciences today? And who invented it?
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The Linnaean system. Carolus Linnaeus built on John Ray's work to create his comprehensive classification system.
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Define taxonomy.
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The science of biological classification.
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Define Binomial Nomenclature.
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Linnaean naming system for all organisms, consisting of a genus and species label.
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What is the two word Linnaean naming system called?
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Binomial Nomenclature.
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Who set the year of creation at 4004 BC?
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James Ussher.(Anglican Archbishop). *4004 BC God Usshered his creatures onto the earth*
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What is the opposite of evolutionary changes in species?
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The fixity or immutability of species.
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What is so revolutionary about the idea of evolution - especially in the 1700's?
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Evolution is counter to the idea of the immutability of species which follows from a single creation event.
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Was Darwin the first naturalist to propose the evolution of species?
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No, other naturalists put forth various theories that were counter to the widely held beliefs of the immutability of species.
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Who drew on his observations of the New World to posit the idea of species changing in response to their environments?
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Comte de Buffon - said New World animals inferior to old. *Jefferson made him out to be a buffoon for saying Europe's evolved to be better than J's
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Who was a staunch creationist that explained away dinosaur bones with the concept of Catastrophism?
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George Cuvier *God created all the species but sometimes a Curve-ball would get past him (like a meteorite) and He'd have to start all over again.
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Define Catastrophism.
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Theory that there have been multiple creations interspersed by great natural disasters such as Noah's flood.
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Who was the brilliant anatomist that made Cuvier look foolish over a fossil?
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Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire correctly identified what Cuvier thought was a crocodile as a fossil. *Hilaire thought Cuvier's catastrophism was hilarious.
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What was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's theory to explain the evolution of species?
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The theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics. *Lamarck's theory says that permanent marker on the mother will show up in the same place on her baby.
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What is the Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics?
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Discredited theory of evolutionary change proposing that changes that occur during the lifetime of an individual, through use or disuse, can be passed on to the next generation.
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Define Uniformitarianism.
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Theory that the same gradual geological processess we observe today were operating in the past.
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Who were the uniformitarians?
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James Hutton and Charles Lyell. *It's not Rock Hudson! it's James Hutton who's the father of geology *Lyell showed that it took geological processes a Lllllong time to form the earth we see now.
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Who were James Hutton and Charles Lyell.
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James Hutton and Charles Lyell. *It's not Rock Hudson! it's James Hutton who's the father of geology *Lyell showed that it took geological processes a Lllllong time to form the earth we see now.
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Who are the important influences of Darwin's from geology?
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James Hutton and Charles Lyell. *It's not Rock Hudson! it's James Hutton who's the father of geology *Lyell showed that it took geological processes a Lllllong time to form the earth we see now.
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Why are Hutton and Lyell's work so important as precursors to Darwin's theory?
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Because their uniformitarianism presumed a much older earth than the biblical reckoning of 6000 years.
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Besides the finches, what other interestingly variable species did Darwin discover on the Galapagos?
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Giant tortoises with different shells - depending on the islands they were confined to.
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How many different finches did Darwin identify on the Galapagos?
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It was actually John Gould back in London who sorted the finches and discovered their were 11 species.
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Define adaptive radiation.
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The diversification of one founding species into multiple species and niches.
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Define Natural Selection.
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Differential reproductive success over multiple generations.
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Who was Alfred Russel Wallace?
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A naturalist who's theory of evolution was very close to Darwin's.
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Who was the naturalist who's theory of evolution was very close to Darwin's?
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Alfred Russel Wallace
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What are the three main principles of Darwin's natural selection?
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1 - Variations in a trait exist or individuals of a species vary.
2 - Variations are heritable 3 - Different traits yield differential reproductive success. |
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Define Fitness.
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Reproductive success.
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Define population.
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An interbreeding group of organisms.
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Define mutation.
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An alteration in the DNA that may or may not alter the function of a cell. If it occurs in a gamete, it may be passed from one generation to the next.
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What is creation science?
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A creationist attempt to refute the evidence of evolution. (Creation science is an oxymoron, i.e. creationism is not science).
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Why is creationism not science?
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Because the hypothesis that something beyond observation created or helped to create the natural world is not falsifiable.
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What is the idea of intelligent design?
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A creationist school of thought that proposes that natural selection cannot account for the diversity and complexity of form and function seen in nature.
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Define pedigree.
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A diagram used in the study of human genetics that shows the transmission of a genetic trait over generations of a family.
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What are the structures called that may be responsible for the shortened lifespan of clones.
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Telomeres - are pieces of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes. As an individual ages, the telomeres shorten. A cloned adult passes the already shortened telomeres to the 'offspring'.
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Which type of cells have a nucleus and which do not?
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Prokaryotes do not have a nucleus and EUkaryotes have a neclEUs.
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Define Prokaryotes.
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Single-celled organisms, such as bacteria, in which the genetic material is not separated from the rest of the cell by a nucleus.
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What is Cytoplasm?
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In a eukaryotic cell, the region within the cell membrane that surrounds the nucleus; it contains organelles, which carry out the essential functions of the cell, such as energy production, metabolism, and protein synthesis.
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Name two Prokaryotes.
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Bacteria and blue-green algae.
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What are Somatic Cells?
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The cells of the body that are not sex cells or gametes.
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What are Gametes?
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The sex cells; sperm in males and eggs (or ova) in females.
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What are Stem Cells?
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Undifferentiated cells found in the developing embryo that can be induced to differentiate into a wide variety of cell types or tissues.
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What are Organelles?
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Various structures found iin the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell that help maintain the cell and carry out its functions.
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What does it mean to say that a cell is Totipotent?
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A totipotent stem cell can differentiate into any of the somatic cell types.
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From what part of the (adult) human body have scientists recovered stem cells?
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From the olfactory mucosa lining of the nasal passages.
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What is Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)?
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A double-stranded molecule that is the carrier of genetic information. Each strand is composed of a linear sequence of nucleotides; the two strands are held together by hydrogen bonds that form between complementary bases.
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What are the structural molecules that transport molecules, antibodies, enzymes and hormones?
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Proteins.
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What are proteins?
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Complex molecules formed from chains of amino acids (polypeptide) or from a complex of polypeptides. They function as structural molecules and transport molecules, antibodies, enzymes and hormones.
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What is Protein Synthesis?
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The assembly of proteins from amino acids that occurs at ribosomes in the cytoplasm and is based on information carried by mRNA.
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What is Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)?
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Single-straded nucleic acid that performs critical functions during protein synthesis and comes in three forms: messenger RNA, transfer RNA, and ribosomal RNA.
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What are the the three forms of RNA?
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Messenger RNA, transfer RNA, and ribosomal RNA.
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What is Mitochondria?
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Organelles in the cytoplasm of the cell where energy production for the cell takes place. Contains its own DNA.
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Where in the cell does energy production take place?
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In the Mitochondria.
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What is an Endoplasmic Reticulum?
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An organelle in the cytoplsam consisting of a folded membrane.
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What are Ribosomes?
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Structures composed primarily of RNA that are found on the endoplasmic reticulum. They are the site of protein synthesis.
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What is a nucleotide?
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Molecular building block of nucleic acids DNA and RNA; consists of a phospate, sugar, and base.
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What are the three parts of a nucleotide?
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A phosphate, sugar and base. (The bases can be either adenine, guanine, thymine or cytosine in DNA or uracil - that replaces thymine - in RNA.)
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What is a base?
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Variable component of the nucleotides that form the nucleic acids DNA and RNA.
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What are the bases in DNA?
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Adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine. *All Tots Can Grow
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What are the bases in RNA?
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Adenine, guanine, uracil and cytosine
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What is an Enzyme?
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A complex protein that is a catalyst for chemical processes in the body.
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What are the base pairs in DNA?
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A & T G & C
(A & T made of straight lines; G & C out of curved) |
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What are the base pairs in RNA?
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A & U G & C
U comes after T |
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What is Hemoglobin?
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Protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen.
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What is a Hormone?
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A natural substance (often a protein) produced by specialized cells in one location of the body that influences the activity or physiology of cells in a different location.
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What are amino acids?
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Molecules that form the basic building blocks of protein.
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How many amino acids are there?
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20.
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How many amino acids are essential - they cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained from diet?
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9 (3x3)
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What makes an amino acid 'essential'?
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They cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained from diet.
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What do mitochondria produce?
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Adenosine Triphospate (ATP) an energy rich molecule to power the activities of the cell.
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What is Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
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An energy rich molecule produced by the mitochondria to power the activities of the cell.
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What is the importance of the folded-sheet structure of the endoplasmic reticulum?
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It provides increased surface area within the cell for metabolic reactions to take place.
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What is the most basic building block of DNA?
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A Nucleotide consiting of a sugar, a phospate group and a nitrogenous base.
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Who formulated the model of DNA as a double helix?
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Watson and Crick
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What holds the A-T and C-G pairings together in DNA?
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Hydrogen bonds.
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What are the two functions of DNA?
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Self-replication and protein synthesis.
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Is Hemoglobin a protein?
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Yes
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Are Hormones a protein?
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Yes
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What are the largest class of protiens in the body?
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Enzymes.
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What are proteins made up of?
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A chain of amino acids. Such a chain is also called a polypeptide.
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Why are protein structures more complex than a simple linear chain?
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The sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide governs how the chain may be folded and/or how it links up with other polypeptide chains.
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What is the Genetic Code?
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The system whereby the nucleotide triplets in DNA and RNA contain the information for synthesizing proteins from the twenty amino acids.
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If DNA only has 4 different bases for coding how does it code for 20 different amino acids?
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A sequence of 3 bases codes for each amino acid. The three base sequences are called codons.
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What is a Codon?
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A triplet of nucleotide bases in mRNA that specifies an amino acid or the intiation or termination of a polypeptide sequence.
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What is a Gene?
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The fundamental unit of heredity. Consists of a sequence of DNA bases that carries the information for synthesizing a protein (or polypeptide), and occupies a specific chromosomal locus.
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Besides coding for amino acids what else do codons code?
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Three codons signal that the protein chain is ending. One codon (TAC) codes for the amino acid methionine and also servies as an initiation codon.
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What is the two step process for synthesizing a protein?
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Transcription then translation.
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Where in the cell is a protein made?
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Transcription of the protein is done in the nucleus of the cell and translation is done in the cytoplasm.
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What is messenger RNA (mRNA)?
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Strand of RNA synthesized in the nucleus as a complement to a specific gene (transcription). It carries the information for the sequence of amino acids to make a specific protein into the cytoplasm, where at a ribosome it is read and a protein molecule synthesized (translation).
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What carries the transcription of a protein out of the nucleus of a cell to the cytoplasm for translation?
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The messenger RNA (mRNA).
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What is transfer RNA (tRNA)?
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RNA molecules that bind to specific amino acids and transport them to ribosomes to be used during protein synthesis.
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Where in the cytoplasm does protein synthesis occur?
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At Ribosomes.
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What is an Exon and an Intron?
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An exon is the part of messenger RNA that is actually translated into a protein while the Intron may be cut out of the mRNA during posttranscriptional processing.
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Does all DNA code for something?
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No.
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Define Chromatin.
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The diffuse form of DNA as it exists during the interphase of the cell cycle.
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Where and how does DNA exist most of the time?
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DNA always is contained in the nucleus of each somatic cell. Most the time DNA is dispersed, in uncoiled strands, supported by proteins.
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When does DNA go from a dispersed state (chromatin) to forming chromosomes?
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During mitosis and meiosis.
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What is Mitosis?
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Somatic cell division in which a single cell divides to produce two identical daughter cells.
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What is Meiosis?
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Cell division that occurs in the testes and ovaries that leads to the formation of sperm and ova (gametes).
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What is a chromosome?
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Discrete structures composed of condensed DNA and supporting proteins.
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Who many chromosomes are present in every cell?
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For humans there are 23 different chromosomes in every cell except the gametes. 46 since we're a Dipolid organism.
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Since most organisms have two copies of each chromosome: where does each copy come from?
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One from the mother and one from the father.
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What is a Centromere?
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Condensed and constricted region of a chromosome. During mitosis and meiosis, location where sister chromatids attach to one another.
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What is a Diploid number?
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Full complement of paired chromosomes in a somatic cell. In humans, the diploid number is 46 (23 pairs of different chromosomes).
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What is a Haploid number?
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the number of chromosomes found in a gamete, representing one from each pair found in a diploid somatic cell. In humans the haploid number is 23.
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What are Homologous Chromosomes?
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Members of the same pair of chromosomes (or autosomes). Homologous chromosomes undergo crossing over during meiosis.
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What is a locus?
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The location of a gene on a chromosome. The locus for a gene is identified by the number of the chromosome on which it is found and its position on the chromosome.
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What are alleles?
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Alternative versions of a gene. Different alleles are distinguished from one another by their different effects on the phenotypic expression of the same gene.
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Define Homozygous.
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Having the same allele at the loci for a gene on both members of a pair of homologous chromosomes (or autosomes).
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Define Heterozygous.
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Having two different alleles at the loci for a gene on a pair of homologous chromosomes (or autosomes).
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What is the cell phase called between times of mitosis?
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Interphase.
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What are the 4 phases of mitosis?
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Prophase - pre-phase
Metaphase - orderly line up in center (*military lineup) Anaphase - split up and go to opposite sides (*shows animosity) Telophase - split into two cells with own cytoplasm (they can still telephone) |
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What is a Zygote?
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A fertilized egg.
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What is Crossing Over?
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Exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes during the first prophase of meiosis; mechanism for genetic recombination.
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What is Recombination?
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The rearrangement of genes on homologous chromosomes that occurs during crossing over in meiosis. Source of variation arising out of sexual reproduction; important for increasing rates of natural selection.
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Where does Meiosis happen?
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Only in the testes of males and ovaries of women.
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What is a Karyotype?
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The complete chromosomal complement of an individual: usually based on a photograph of the chromosomes visualized under the microscope.
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What are Autosomes?
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Any of the chromosomes other than the sex chromosomes.
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What are Sex Chromosomes?
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In mammals chromosomes X and Y, with XX producing Females and XY producing males.
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What is a Nondisjunction Error?
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The failure of homologous chromosomes (chromatids) to separate properly during cell division. When it occurs during meiosis, it may lead to the formation of gametes that are missing a chromosome or have an extra copy of a chromosome.
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What is the Haploid number of chromosomes in human's closest living relative; the chimpanzee?
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24 chromosomes.
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What are the two common kinds of nondisjunction errors?
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Monosomy - missing a chromosome as in Turner Syndrome
Trisomy - an extra chromosome is present as in Down Syndrome. |
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Turner syndrome is an example of what nondisjunction error?
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Turner syndrome results from a missing chromosome (or monosomy) in the gamete - an X or Y is missing and the female is XO exhibiting delayed maturation, small stature.
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Down syndrome is an example of what nondisjunction error?
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Also known as trisomy 21 occurs when indvidual has three copes of chromosome 21 rather than 2.
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What is a Genome?
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The sum total of all the genes carried by an individual.
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What is a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)?
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Method for amplifying DNA sequences using the Taz polymerase enzyme. Can potentially produce millions or billions of copies of a DNA segment starting from a very small number of target DNA.
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What is Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).
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Small loop of DNA found in the mitochondria. It is clonally and maternally inherited.
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Why is mitochondrial DNA used by bioanthropologists.
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Because the regions of the mtDNA genome (such as the D loop) that do not code for anything are highly variable and can point to evolutionary patterns between populations or even members of populations. (and there is no crossing over)
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Why is mitochondrial DNA only passed on through the mother?
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Because it is found in the cytoplasm of the egg and in the tail of a sperm - which is lost (the tail) upon fertilization of the egg.
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What are Structural Genes?
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Genes that contain the information to make a protein.
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What are Regulatory genes?
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Guide the expression of structural genes, without coding for a protein themselves.
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Define Genotype.
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The genetic makeup of an individual. Genotype can refer to the entire genetic complement or more narrowly to the alleles present at a specific locus on two homologous chromosomes.
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Define Phenotype.
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An observable or measurable feature of an organism. Phenotypes can be anatomical, biochemical, or behavioral.
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What is the ABO blood type system.
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Refers to the genetic systme for one of the proteins found on the surface of red blood cells. Consists of one gene with three alleles: A, B, and O.
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Define Recessive.
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In a diploid organism, refers to an allele that must be present in two copes (homozygous) in order to be expressed.
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Define Dominant.
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In a diploid organism, an allele that is expressed when present on only one of a pair of homologous chromosomes.
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Define Codominant.
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In a diploid organism, two different alleles of a gene that are both expressed in a heterozygous individual.
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Define Particulate Inheritance.
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The concept of heredity based on the transmission of genes (alleles) according to Mendelian principles.
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What are Mendel's four postulates or laws?
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1 - Heritable characteristics are controlled by particulate unit factors that exist in pairs.
2 - There are dominant and recessive particulate units. 3 - Mendel's law of Segregation 4 - Mendel's law of Independent Assortment |
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What is Mendel's law of Segregation?
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The two alleles of a gene found on each of a pair of chromosomes segregate independently of one another into sex cells.
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What is Mendel's law of independent assortment?
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Genes found on different chromosomes are sorted into sex cells independently of one another.
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What is Linkage?
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Genes that are found on the same chromosome are said to be linked. The closer together two genes are on a chromosome, the greater the linkage and the less likely they are to be separated during crossing over.
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What is Point Mutation?
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A change in the base sequence of a gene that results from the change of a single base to a different base.
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What is Sickle Cell Disease?
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An autosomal recessive disease caused by a point mutation in an allele that codes for one of the polypeptide chains of the hemoglobin protein.
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What is an Autosomal recessive disease?
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A disease caused by a recessive allele; one copy of the allele must be inherited from each parent for the disease to develop.
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What is an Insertion Mutation?
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A change in the base sequesnce of a gene that results from the addition of one or more base pairs in the DNA.
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What is a Deletion Mutation?
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A change in the base sequence of a gene that results from the loss of one or more base pairs in the DNA.
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What are Trinucleotide Repeat Diseases?
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A family of autosomal dominant diseases that is caused by the insertion of multiple copies of a three-base pair sequence (CAG) that codes for the amino acid glutamine. Typically, the more copies inserted into the gene, the more serious the disease.
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What is an Autosomal Dominant Disease?
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A disease that is caused by a dominant allele. Only one copy needs to be inherited from either parent for the disease to develop.
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What are X-linked Disorders?
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Genetic conditions that result from mutations to genes on the X chromosome. they are almost always expressing in males, who have only one copy of the X chromosome; in females, the second X chromosome containing the normally functioning allele protects them from developing X-linked disorders.
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Name 4 Autosomal Recessive Disorders.
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Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Disease, Tay-Sachs Disease and Phenylketonuria (PKU)
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Name 4 Autosomal Dominant Disorders.
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Huntington Disease, Neurofibromatosis type I
Myotonic dystrophy (form of musculor distrophy) Achondroplasia (form of dwarfism) |
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Name 3 X-Linked Disorders.
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Fragile X syndrome (severe mental retardation)
Hemophilia (bleeding disease) Lesch-Hyhan syndrome (overproduction of uric acid) |
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From what Greek root meaning did the term Eugenics derive?
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Good in Birth or Noble in Heredity
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Define Qualitative Variation.
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Phenotypic variation that can be characterized as belonging to discrete, observalbe categories.
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Define Quantitative Variation.
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Phenotypic variation that is characterized by the distribution of continuous variation (expressed using a numerical measure) within a population (for example, in a bell curve).
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What are Polygenic Traits?
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Phenotypic traits that result from the combined action of more than one gene; most complex traits are polygenic.
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What does a continuous variation for a trait often indicate?
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That the trait is caused by polygenic inheritance rather than a single gene effect.
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When phenotypes are different and nonoverlapping - either/or; what type of variation is this?
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Qualitative variation.
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When phenotypes are overlapping or continuous - appear on a continuum; what type of variation is this?
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Quantitative variation.
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Define pleiotropy.
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The phenomenon of a single gene having multiple phenotypic effects.
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Define heritability.
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The proportion of total phenotypic variability observed for a given trait that can be ascribed to genetic factors.
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What is Phenylketonuria (PKU).
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Autosomal recessive condition that leads to the accumulation of large quantities of the amino acidi phenylalanine, causing mental retardation and other phenotypic abnormalties.
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Define natural selection.
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Differential reproductive success over multiple generations.
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Define Directional selection.
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Natural selection that drives evolutionary change by selecting for greater or lesser frequency of a given trait in a population.
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Define Stabilizing Selection.
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Selection that maintains a certain phenotype by selecting against deviations from it.
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Define Gene Flow.
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Movement of genes between populations.
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Define Inbreeding.
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Mating between close relatives.
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Define Genetic Drift
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Random changes in gene frequency in a population.
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What is the Founder Effect?
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A component of genetic drift theory, stating that new populations that become isolated from the parent population carry only the genetic variation of the founders.
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What is a Genetic Bottleneck?
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Temporary dramatic reduction in size of a population or species. (Gene pool reduction)
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What is Sexual Selection?
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Differential reproductive success within one sex of any species.
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What is Sexual Dimorphism?
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Difference in size, shape, or color, between the sexes.
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What is Reproductive Potential?
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The possible offsptring output by one sex.
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Define Reproductive Variance.
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A measure of variation from the mean of a population in the reproductive potential of one sex compared with the other.
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What are systematics?
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Branch of biology that describes patterns of oranismal variation. (Taxonomy)
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Define Homology.
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Similarity of traits resulting from shared ancestry.
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Define Analogous.
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Having similar traits due to similar use, not due to shared ancestry.
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Define Convergent (or Parallel) Evolution
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Similar form or function brought about by natural selection undder similar environments rather than shared ancestry.
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What is a Cladogram?
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Branching diagram shwoing evolved relationshps among members of a lineage.
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What is a Species?
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An interbreeding group of animals or plants that are reproductively isolated through anatomy, ecology, behavior, or geographic distribution from all other such groups.
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What is Speciation?
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Formation of one or more new speices via reproductive isolation.
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What is the Biological species concept?
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Defines species as interbreeding populations reproductively isolated from other such populations.
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What is the Recognition species concept?
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Defines species based on unique traits or behaviors that allow members of one species to identify each other for mating.
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What are 4 Premating Isolating mechanisms?
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Habitat isolation, Temporal isolation, Behavioral isolation, Mechanical incompatibility.
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As a premating isolating mechanism, what is temporal isolation?
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When the different species breed in different seasons, different months or different times of day.
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As a premating isolating mechanism, what is habitat isolation?
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When the different species occupy different habitats such as the canopy vs the forest floor.
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As a premating isolating mechanism, what is behavioral isolation?
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Courtship rituals or other mating behavior that differs from species to species.
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As a premating isolating mechanism, what is mechanical incompatibility?
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When the different species cannot mate successfully because of anatomical differences.
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What are Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms (RIMs)
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Any factor - behavioral, ecological, or anatomical - that prevents a male and female of two different species from hybridizing.
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Name 4 Postmating Isolating Mechanisms
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Sperm-egg incompatibility,
Zygote inviability Enbryonic or fetal inviability Offspring inviability (dies after birth) Offspring sterility |
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Define Anagenesis.
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Evolution of a trait or a speices into another over a period of time.
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Define Cladogenesis.
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Evolution through the branching of a species or a lineage.
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What is Allopatric Speciation?
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Speciation occuring via geographic isolation. (gALLaPOgos isolated islands)
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What is Parapatric Speciation?
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Speciation occurring when two populations have continuous distributions and some phenotypes in that distribution are more favorable than others.
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What is Gradualism?
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Darwinian view of slow, incremental evolutionary change.
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Define Macroevolution.
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Large-scale evolutionary change over a long time period.
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Define Punctuated equilibrium.
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Model of evolution characterized by rapid bursts of change, followied by long periods of stasis.
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Define Adaptationism.
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A premise that all aspects of an organism have been molded by natural selection to a form optimal for enhancing reproductive success.
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What is the premise called that states that all aspects of an organism have been molded by natural selection to a form optimal for enhancing reproductive success.
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Adaptationism.
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What is the paradigm associated with adaptationism?
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Reductionism.
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Define reductionism.
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Paradigm that an organism is the sum of many evolved parts and that organisms can best be understood through an adaptationist approach.
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What is a Null Hypothesis?
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the starting assumption for scientific inquiry that one's research results occur by random chance. One's hypothesis must challenge this initial assumption.
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What is the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
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The theoretical distribution of alleles in a given population in the absence of evoultion, expressed as a mathematical equation.
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Hardy Weinberg ratio:
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for A and B alleles
p for frequency of A and q for frequency of B AA = p squared AB = 2pq BB = q squared |
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What is group selection?
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Notion (largely discredited by the rise of of Darwinian theory) that proposes that animals act for the good of their social group or their species.
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Is group selection valid - what type of 'selection' explains altruism?
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Group selection is not valid but kin selection or inclusive fitness explains altruistic acts by members of a species.
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What is kin selection?
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Principle that animals behave preferentially toward their genetic kin; formulated by William Hamilton.
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Who is William Hamilton?
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Introduced idea of kin selection or inclusive fitness.
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What field of study incorporates the concepts of kin selection and inclusive fitness?
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Sociobiology.
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What is inclusive fitness?
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Reproductive success of an organism plus the fitness of its close kin.
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Which kin share 50% of their genes?
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Parent/child; sibling/sibling.
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What percentage of genes does a parent share with it's child?
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50%
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What percentage of genes do siblings share?
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50%
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What percentage of genes does an Aunt or Uncle share with it's Niece or Nephew?
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25%
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What percentage of genes does a grandparent share with it's grandchild?
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25%
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What percentage of genes do first cousins share?
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12.5% or 1/8th
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What is a deme?
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A local, interbreeding population that is defined in terms of its genetic compostion (for example, allele frequencies).
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Define Subspecies.
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A group of local populations that share part of the geographic range of a species, and can be differentiated from other subspecies based on one or more phenotypic traits.
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What is Race?
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In biological taxonomy, same thing as a subspecies; when applied to humans, sometimes incorporates both cultural and biological factors.
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What is a Polytypic Species?
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Species that consist of a number of separate breeding populations, each varying in some genetic trait.
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What is Ethnobiology?
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The study of how traditional cultures classify objects and organisms in the natural world.
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What is Environmentalism in the context of the monogenist views of the 1800's?
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The view that the environment has great powers to directly shape the anatomy of individual organisms. (During their lifetimes)
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What is racism?
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A prejudicial belief that members of one ethnic groupo are superior in some way to those of another.
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What is Anthropometry?
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The measurement of different aspects of the body, such as stature or skin color.
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Define Ethnic Group?
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A human group defined in terms of sociological, cultural, and linguistic traits.
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What are population genetics?
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The study of genetic variation within and between groups of organisms.
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Define Microevolution.
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The study of evolutionary phenomena that occur within a species.
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Define Polymorphic.
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Two or more distinct phenotypes (at the genetic or anatomical levels) that exist within a population.
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What is a cline?
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The distribution of an allele or phenotypic trait across geographical space.
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What is Maternal-fetal incompatibility?
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Occurs when the mother produces antibodies gainst an antigen (for example, a red blood cell surface protein) expressed in the fetus that she does not possess.
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What is the Rhesus (Rh) system?
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Blood type system that can cause hemolytic anemia of the newborn through maternal-fetal incompatibility if the mother is Rh-negative and the child is Rh-postitive.
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What is recessive Rh- or Rh+.
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Rh-
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What is the Human Leukocyte antigen (HLA) system?
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Class of blood group markers formed by protiens expressed on the surface of white blood cells (leukocytes).
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What are haplotypes?
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Combinations of alleles (or, at the sequence level, mutations) that are found together in an individual.
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What is the Duffy blood group?
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Red blood cell system useful for studying admixture between African- and Europeon- derived populations.
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What is a phylogeny?
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An evolutionary tree indicating relatedness and divergence of taxonomic groups.
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What is Lactose intolerance?
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The inability to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk; most adult mammals (including humans) are lactose intolerant as adults.
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What is balanced polymorphism?
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A stable polymorphism in a population in that natural selection prevents any of the alternative phenotypes (or underlying alleles) from being fixed or lost.
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What is Frequency-Dependent balanced polymorphism?
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Balanced polymorphism that is maintained because one (or more) of the alternative phenotypes has a selective advantage over the other phenotypes only when it is present in the population below a certain frequency. (if too high a frequency the 'predator' (bacteria) will evolve to be better too)
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What is one mechanism for maintaining a balanced polymorphism?
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The heterozygous advantage.
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What is the Heterozygous advantage?
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With reference to a particular genetic system, the situation in which heterozygotes have a selective advantage over homozygotes (for example, sickle cell disease).
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Define Adaptability.
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The ability of an individual organism to make positive anatomical or physiological changes after short- or long-term exposure to stressful environmental conditions.
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Define Acclimatization.
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Short-term changes in physiology that occur in an organism in respomse to changes in environmental conditions.
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What is Bergmann's rule?
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Stipulates that body size is larger in colder climates to conserve body temperature.
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What are Melanocytes?
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Cells in the epidermis that produce melanin.
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What is Melanin.
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A dark pigment produced by the melanocytes of the epidermis; it is the most import component of skin color.
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Besides melanocytes and melanin what else effects skin color?
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Oxidized hemoglobin.
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What are the two main components of skin?
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The dermis and epidermis.
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Where are melanocytes located?
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In the epidermis - top layer of skin.
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What are the advantages of light skin?
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More Vitamin D production in less sunny locales.
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What is needed for vitamin D production?
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Ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
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What is the disadvantage of paler skin/advantage of darker skin?
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Less exposure to Ultraviolet radiation which causes sunburn, skin cancer and folic acid or folate degradation.
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What does a vitamin D deficiency cause?
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Rickets.
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What does too much exposure to the UVR rays of the sun cause besides sunburn and skin cancer?
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Folate or Folic acid degradation.
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What are the 3 reasons biological anthopologists are interested in studying non-human primates?
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Behaviors similar to our own present and in past. Conservation of the various species and diseases or natural selection forces that worked on ancestors.
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Of the 5-10 million species on earth today how many are mammals?
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About 4000.
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What are the three groups of mammals according to taxonomists?
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Metatheria - nonplacentals
Prototheria - egg laying mammals Eutheria - placentals |
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What are the Metatheria?
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Mammals that reproduce without a placenta, including the marsupials.
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Waht are the Prototheria?
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Mammals that reproduce by egg laying and then nurse young from nipples.
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What are the Euthria?
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Mammals that reproduce with a placenta and uterus.
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What are the two suborders of the Primate order?
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Strepsirhini/Strepsirhine primates and the Haplorhini/Haplorhine primates.
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What are the strepsirhines?
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Infraorder of the order Primates that includes the prosimians, excluding the tarsier. (lemurs, lorises and galagoes)
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What are the Haplorhines?
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Infraorder of the order Primates that includes the anthropoids(monkeys, apes and humans) and the tarsier.
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What is a Prosimian?
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Member of the primate suborder Prosimii that includes the lemurs, lorises, galagoes, and tarsiers.
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What is an Anthopoid?
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Members of the primate suborder Anthropoidea that includes the monkeys, apes and hominids.
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How do many strepsirhines move through the trees?
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By vertical clinging and leaping. Upright leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk or bamboo stalk to stalk.
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What is the arboreal hypothesis?
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Hypothesis for the origin of primate adaptation that focuses on the value of grasping hands and stereoscopic vision for life in the trees.
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Name 7 anatomical traits that distinguish primates from other mammals.
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1 - Generalized body plan.
2 - Grasping Hands with opposable thumbs or big toes 3 - Flattened Nails 4 - Forward-facing eyes weith stereoscopic vision. 5 - Generalized teeth 6 - Petrosal Bulla 7 - Enclosed bony eye orbits in the skull. |
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What is the visual predation hypothesis?
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Hypotesis for the orgin of primate adaptation that focues on the value of grasping hands and stereoscopic vision for catiching small prey.
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What is a dental arcade?
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The parabolic arc that forms the upper or lower row of teeth.
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What is the Neocortex?
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The part of the brain that controls higher cognitive function; the cerebrum.
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How does a primates life history differ from other mammals?
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1 - Single offspring
2 - Large brains 3 - Extended Ontogeny |
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Define Ontogeny.
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The life cycle of an organism from conception to death.
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Define Diurnal.
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Active during daylight hours.
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Define Nocturnal.
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Active at night.
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Define Sociality.
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Group living; a fundamental trait of haplorhine primates.
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To which suborder of primates do apes and monkeys belong to?
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Haplorhines.
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What is the behavioral trait of most primates that set them apart from other mammals?
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High degrees of Sociality.
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Name the three members of the Primate suborder Strepsirhines.
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Lemurs, Lorises and Galagoes
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Name 5 groups or types of haplorhines.
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Tarsiers, New World Monkeys, Old World Monkeys, Apes and Humans.
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What is the infraorder name for the New World monkeys?
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Platyrrhini (flat faced) or Superfamily Ceboidea
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All New World Monkeys share what 3 features?
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Small body size
Three premolars Arboreality |
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What is a prehensile tail?
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Grasping tail possessed by some species of the primate families Cebidae and Atelidae.
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What is a Polyandrous mating system?
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Mating system in which one female mates with multiple males.
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That is the infraorder that contains the Old World Monkeys, Apes and Humans
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Catarrhini (primates with downward-facing nostrils).
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What is the superfamily name for the Old World Monkeys?
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Cercopithecoidea.
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Name two traits that Old World Monkeys share.
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Ischial callosities - or rump calluses for sitting on rough surfaces.
Bilophodont molars - double ridged molars. |
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What is Estrus?
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Hormonally influenced period of sexual receptivity in some female mammals that corresponds to the timing of ovulation.
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What is the superfamily name for apes and humans, past and present?
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Hominoidea - the Hominoids.
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What families belong to the superfamily of Hominoidea?
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Hylobatid (Hylobatidae), Pongid (Pongidae), and Hominid (Hominidae).
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What is a hylobatid (Hylobatidae)?
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Member of the gibbon, or lesser ape, family.
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What is a pongid (Pongidae)?
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One of the four great apes species: gorilla, chimpanzes, bonobo, or orangutan.
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What is a hominid (Hominidae)?
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Member of our own human family, past or present.
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What is brachiation?
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Mode of arm-hanging and arm-swinging that uses a rotating shoulder to suspend the body of an ape or hominid beneath a branch or to travel between branches.
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Define Ecology.
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The study of the interrelationships of plants, animals, and the physical environment in which they live.
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What are the 3 divisions of the Hominoid (Hominoidea) superfamily?
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Hylobatid (Hylobatidae) - gibbons or lesser apes
Pongid (Pongidae) - Orangutans, Gorillas, Chimps and Bonobos Hominids (Hominidae) - humans past and present |
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What are folivores?
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Animals that eat a diet composed mainly of leaves, or foliage.
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What is an Activity Budget?
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The pattern of waking, eating, moving, socializing and sleeping that all nonhuman primates engage in each day.
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What is a home range?
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The spatial area used by a primate group.
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What is a Crepuscular primate?
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Primates that forage at dawn and dusk.
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What is a Cathemeral primate
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Primates that have irrecgular active periods during both the day and night.
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What does Katharin Milton's field study of folivores vs. frugivores find?
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That the more rambuctious spider monkeys (frugivores) have a higher brain to body size ratio than the more sedentary howler folivores. Milton hypothesized that larger brain size is selected for because of the necessity to find and remember the changing locations of ripe fruit trees.
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What is a Frugivore?
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A fruit-eating animal.
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What is a Core Area?
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The part of a home range that is most intensively used.
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What is a Territory?
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The part of a home range that is defended against other members of the same species.
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What is the fundamental primate behavioral adaptation?
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Sociability.
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What is a captive study?
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Primate behavior study conducted in a zoo, laboratory, or other enclosed setting.
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What is a semi-free-ranging environment?
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Primate behavior study conducted in a large area that is enclosed or isolated in some way so the population is captive.
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What is a field study?
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Primate behavior study conducted in the habitat in which the primate naturally occurs.
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What is a social system?
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The grouping pattern in which a primate species lives, including its size and composition evolved in response to natural and sexual selection pressures.
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What is positional behavior?
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The relationship between locomotor morphology and the physical environment.
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What is female philopatry?
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Primate social system in which females remain and breed in the group of their birth, whereas males emigrate.
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What is male philopatry?
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Primate social system in which males remain and breed in the group of their birth, whereas females emigrate.
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Why might female baboons spend so much more time grooming one another (or in any social contact) than do female chimps?
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Because baboons are in female philopatric groups whereas chimps are in male philopatric groups.
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What is a dominance hierarchy?
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Ranking of individual primates in a group that reflects their ability to displace, intimidate, or defeat group mates in contests.
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What is (female) sexual receptivity?
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Willingness and ability of a female to mate, also defined as fertility.
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Size Dimorphism predicts what type of mating practices?
|
Large size dimorphism indicates that males compete aggressively for females and that the species live in polygynous groups.
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What are the 5 different non-human primate social systems?
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Solitary, Monogamy, Polyandry, Polygyny (one-male), Polygyny (multi-male).
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Define Monogamy.
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A mating bond; primates can be socially monogamous but still mate occasionally outside the pair bond.
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Define Polygyny.
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Mating system consisting of at least one male and more than one female.
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What are the two types of ploygyny?
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One-male or multi-male (with multiple females).
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What type of social system is found in the majority of haplorhine nonhuman primate species?
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Polygyny.
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Why is the term harem obsolete as an equivalent to the term One-Male polygyny?
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Because females have much more control over who they mate with than the term harem implies. Females leave their groups for other gorillas, for instance. Or in the case of gelada baboons; the females are a tight knit group that seem to only just tolerate their 'alpha' male.
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In what species has infanticide been best documented and by whom?
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Hanuman langurs studied by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy. Backed up by Volker Sommer
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What other species (besides langur monkeys) has been documented to use infanticide as a reproductive strategy?
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The mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes as reported by David Watss
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In multi-male polygynous groups, do all males have equal access to the females?
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No, in multi-male groups males compete for priority of access.
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What is infanticide?
|
The killing of infants, either by members of the infant's group or by a member of a rival group.
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What is fission-fusion polygyny?
|
Type of primate polygyny in which animals travel in foraging parties of varying sizes instead of cohesive groups.
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Is the type of social system set in stone for a given primate species?
|
No - different groups of langurs, for instance, will have either a multi-male or single-male polygynous social system.
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Is there more or less aggressive behavior in single-male vs. multi-male polygynous groups?
|
There is a higher incidence of intergroup aggression and infanticide in single-male polygynous species/group.
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What species exhibit fission-fusion polygyny?
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Chimps, bonobos and spider monkeys.
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What is polyandry?
|
Mating system in which one female mates with multiple males.
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What nonhuman primates exhibit polyandry?
|
A few marmoset and tamarin species in New World tropical forests.
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What are the three paradoxal aspects of sociality (living in groups)?
|
1 - Access to mates - more access but also competition for mates
2 - Food - more food-finders but also have to share 3 - Avoiding predators - more lookouts and alarms callers and no downside |
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Define Paleontology.
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The study of extinct organisms, based on their fossilized remains.
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What are fossils?
|
The preserved remnants of once-living things, often buried in the ground.
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Define Geology.
|
The study of the Earth.
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What is Taphonomy?
|
The study of what happens to the remains of an animal from the time of death to the time of discovery.
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What must happen for remains to become a fossil?
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Part of the organism must be preserved by burial.
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How does a bone become a fossil?
|
Through petrifaction.
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What is Petrifaction?
|
The process whereby an organism's original inorganic tissues are replaced by minerals. The process of being turned into stone.
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What are trace fossils?
|
Other evidence of ancient animals such as tracks.
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What are coprolites?
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Fossilized feces.
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What are Strata?
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Layers of rock.
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What is Stratigraphy?
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The study of the order of rock layers and the sequence of events they reflect.
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What are the four geological principles of stratigraphy that are critical to an understanding of a fossil?
|
Principle of original horizontality - strata are originally laid down horizontally
Principle of superposition - younger layers are on top Principle of cross-cuting relationships - what cuts through strata is younger than whats cut Principle of faunal succession - there is an order of animals found through time and thus in each layer |
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What is an index fossil?
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Animal fossils that typify a geological layer or strata.
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What is the GTS or Geologic Time Scale?
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The categories of time into which Earth's history is usually divided by geologists and paleontologists: eras, periods and epochs.
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What are the Geologic Time Scale divisions/subdivisions?
|
Eras, Periods and Epochs. Eras are divided into periods that in turn are divided into epochs.
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When did Mammals arise?
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In the Mesozoic Era or "middle age of animals".
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What are the three Eras?
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Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic
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What came before the Paleozoic era?
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The Precambrian or the two Eon's of Archean and Proterozoic.
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What is the cut off between the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic Eras?
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The big wipe out of 65.5 mya.
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When did mammals first appear?
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In the Triassic period of the Mesozoic Era. (The first TRy, however, looked like rats! Someone made a MES O that!)
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Define Provenience.
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The origin or original source (as of a fossil).
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What are relative dating techniques?
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Dating techniques that establish the age of a fossil only in comparison to other materials found above and below it.
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What is Lithostratigraphy?
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The study of geologic deposits and their formation, stratigraphic relationships, and relative time relationships based on their lithologic (rock) properties.
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What is Tephrostratigraphy?
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A form of lithostratigraphy in which the chemical fingerprint of a volcanic ash is used to correlate across regions.
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What is Biostratigraphy?
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Relative dating technique using comparison of fossils from different stratigraphic sequences to estimate whcih layers are older and which are younger.
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What is the usefulness of measuring the chemicals in a site or in fossils from the same site?
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Since bones and teeth will take up fluorine and other elements from the soil at the same rate; fossils from the same site can be analyized to confirm that they belong together.
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What are Calibrated relative dating techniques?
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Techniques that can be correlated to an absolute chronology.
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What is the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale (GPTS)?
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Time scale composed of the sequence of paleomagnetic orientations of sediments through time.
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When was the last time the magnetic poles reversed?
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780,000 years ago
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Who were the likely co-conspiritors of the Piltdown Hoax?
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Charles Dawson and Martin Hinton.
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What are chronometic dating techniques?
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Techniques that estimate the age of an object in absolute terms through the use of a natural clock such as radioactive decay or tree ring growth.
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What is radiometric dating?
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Chronometric techniques that use radioactive decay of isotopes to estimate age.
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What are isotopes?
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Variant forms of an element that differ based on their atomic weights and numbers of neutrons in the nucleus. Both stable and unstable (radioactive) isotopes exist in nature.
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What do unstable isotopes do?
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They decay or become stable isotopes at a predictable and steady rate.
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What are the 3 isotopes of Carbon?
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C12, C13 and C14 - Carbon 14 is the unstable one
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What is a half-life?
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The time it takes for half of the original amount of an unstable isotope of an element to decay into more stable forms.
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What is a parent isotope?
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The original radioactive isotope in a sample.
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What is a daughter isotope?
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The isotope that is porduced as teh result of radioactive decay of the parent isotope.
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What is Potassium-Argon dating?
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Radiometric technique using the decay of K40 to Ar40 in potassium-bearing rocks; estimates the age of sediments in which fossils are found.
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What are the symbols for Potassium and Argon?
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K for Potassium and Ar for Argon
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What is Argon-Argon dating?
|
Radiometric technique modified from K-Ar that measures K40 by proxy using Ar39. Allows measurement of smaller samples with less errors.
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What is the half-life of Carbon-14?
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5730 Years
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What is the half-life of Potassium-40 (that decays to Argon-40)?
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1.3 billion years
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Which radiometric dating technique is especially effective on volcanic deposits and why?
|
Potassium-Argon (40) dating because when rock is melted it loses all its Argon (gas) and sets the clock at zero.
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What is fission track dating?
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Radiometric technique for dating noncrystalline materials (such as volcanic glass) using the decay of Uranium 238 (Ur238) and counting the tracks that are porduced by this fission. Estimates the age of sediments in which fossils are found.
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What are Uranium series (U-series) techniques?
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Radiometric techniques using the decay of uranium to estimate an age for calcium carbonates including flowstones, shells, and teeth.
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What is radiocarbon dating?
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Radiometric technique that uses the decay of Carbon-14 in organic remains such as wood and bone to estimate the time since the death of the organism.
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What are the electron trap techniques?
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Radiometric techniques that measure the accumulation of electrons in traps in the crystal lattice of a specimen.
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What are the 3 electron trap techniques?
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Thermoluminescence (TL), Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and Electron spin resonance (ESR)
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What is Thermoluminescence (TL)?
|
Electron trap technique that uses heat to measure the amount of radioactivity accumulated by a specimen, such as a stone tool, since its last heating.
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What is Optically stimulated luminescence?
|
Electron trap technique that uses light to measure the amount of radioactivity accumulated by crystals in sediments (such as sand grains) since burial.
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What is Electron spin resonance?
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Electron trap technique that measures the total amount of radioactivity accumulated by a specimen (such as tooth or bone) since burial.
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When did Pangea exist?
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200 million years ago (late Triassic)- it was actually two different land masses called Laurasia and Gondwanaland.
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By the early Cenozoic where were the continents?
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by 50 million years ago North America and Eurasia were separated and Africa and South America were separated.
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What measures past temperatures and ocean levels?
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The Oxygen-16 to Oxygen-18 ratio. The Ocean and sea creatures during cold periods contain/ed more O18.
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What 4 ways are used to determine environments of the past?
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Oxygen Isotopes help pinpoint Temperatures and Sea Levels
Vegetation - fossils or pollens Stable Carbon Isotope Ratios - also indicate the type of vegetation in a given region Animal Communities - can also infer local environment. |
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During Glaciatians what changes?
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Sea levels and temperatures both lower significantly.
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What are Stable Carbon Isotope Ratios and what are they used for?
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Indicates the type of vegetation in a given region by examining the carbon isotope ratios in a paleosol (ancient soil). Different plants use different photosynthetic pathways which leave different ratios of carbon isotopes.
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What are the two periods of the Cenozoic?
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Tertiary and Quaternary
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What are the Epochs of the Cenozoic (4.5 in the Tertiary period and 2.5 in the Quarternary)?
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PEOmmmPPl - these are the ones that interest us cause they had people's ancestors.
Paleocene Eocene Oligocene Miocene Pliocene (half in each period) - pliable since it's in half Pleistocene (more plastic still) Holocene (so plastic maybe a hologram?) |
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What is a Paleosol?
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Ancient soil.
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What was the environment like during the Paleocene?
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Much warmer than today and less difference between temperatures at the equator and the poles.
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When and during which epoch did the primate order originate (or diverge from other mammals)?
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During the Paleocene Epoch around 63 million years ago.
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What are Plesiadapiforms?
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Mammalian order or suborder of mammals that may be ancestral to later Primates, characterized by some but not all of the primate trends.
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What is a Prognathic face?
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Projection of the face well in front of the braincase.
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What is the Postorbital Bar?
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A bony ring encircling the lateral side of the eye but not forming a complete cup around the eye globe.
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Define Diastema.
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Gap between anterior teeth.
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Why is it questionable to assume plesiadapiforms are ancestral Primates?
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It is more accurate to say they are proto-primates because they do not have postorbital bars or nails; they had small braines and prognathic faces and their eyes were on the sides of their heads.
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What was the climate of the Eocene?
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Warmed significantly in the beginning but then dipped precipitously.
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When did placental mammals first appear (epoch and time)?
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Eocene about 54 million years ago.
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When did the first true primates appear?
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Eocene about 54 million years ago.
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During which epoch (and how long ago) did the strepsirhine-haplorhine split occur?
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The Eocene. By 58 million years ago.
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What is the importance of having both eye sockets positioned on the front of the face.
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It makes stereoscopic vision and depth perception possible.
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What is the name of the Eocene primate that is probably the ancester to all strepsirhines?
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Adapoids.
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What is the Eocene primate that is probably the ancester to all haplorhines?
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The omomyoids.
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What are Adapoids?
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Family of mostly Eocene primates, probably ancestral to all strepsirhines.
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What are Omomyoids?
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Super family of mostly Eocene primates, probably ancestral to all haplorhines.
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What selective pressure drove the strepsirhine-haplorhine split?
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Finding their own food niches: strepsirhines stuck to leaves and kept their long snouts, good noses while haplorhines went for the newly evolving fruits and insects. Fruits and insect hunting require better vision than smell and better hand dexterity (no claws in the way).
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What is the Grande Coupure?
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A 36 million year old cold snap at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary that killed off many species.
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What are the 6 shared anatomical characters shared by all monkeys, apes and humans.
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Greater enclosure of the orbits, smaller snouts, fewer teeth, a fused frontal bone and a fused mandible and larger body size.
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What is a strong candidate for the anthropoids ancester of the Eocene?
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The Eosimias from China that eventually populated Africa.
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How did New World Monkeys get to the new world?
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New World Monkeys appear 25-30 million years ago after Africa had split from S America (and N America from Europe) - rafting over is the accepted answer.
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Who is Elwyn Simons and what is the Fayum depression?
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The Fayum depression is in Egypt. This region yields three families of anthropoids that lived in its once lush woods during the Eocene/Oligocene boundary.
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When did monkey and ape lineages diverge?
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25 million years ago during the Oligocene.
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When did the first permanent Antarctic ice sheet appear?
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Middle of the Miocene about 15 million years ago.
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What are dental apes?
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Early apes exhibiting Y-5 molar patterns but monkey-like postcranial skeletons.
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Name some of the early apes of the Miocene.
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Proconsul, Morotopithecus bishopi, Pierolapithecus, Sivapithecus, Gigantophithecus
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Which of the early apes are candidates for being ancestral to humans?
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Proconsul or Morotopithecus bishopi (stiffer back and better shoulder girdle for brachiating).
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What is the likely selective pressure that led to the monkey-ape divergence in the Miocene?
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Dietary shift (to fruits) leading to change in Locomotive patterns - Brachiation (ape ancestors) vs. cling and leap or walk on a branch on all fours
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Define r-selected.
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Reproductive strategy in which females have many offspring, interbirth intervals are short and maternal investment per offspring is low. *aRe you kidding me!
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Define k-selected.
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Reproductive strategy in which fewer offspring are produced per female, interbirth intervals are long, and maternal investment is high.
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What is a molecular clock?
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A systematic accumulation of genetic change that can be used to estimate the time of divergence between two groups if relative rates are constant and a calibration point from the fossil record is available.
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What is a relative rate test?
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A means of determining whether molecular evolution has been occuring at a constant rate in two lineages by comparing whether these lineages are equidistant from an outgroup.
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What is the vertebral column?
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The column of bones and cartilaginous disks that houses the spinal cord and provides structural support and flexibility to the body.
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What are cervical vertebrae?
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The seven-neck vertebrae.
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What are the 5 areas of the spine?
|
The vertebral column is made up of the cervical vertebrae, the thoracic vertebrae, the lumber vertebrae, the sacrum and coccyx regions.
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What are the thoracic vertebrae?
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The twelve vertebrae of the thorax that holds the ribs.
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What are the lumbar vertebrae?
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The five vertebrae of the lower back.
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What is the sacrum?
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The fused vertebrae that form the back of the pelvis.
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What is the coccyx?
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The fused tail vertebrae that are very small in humans and apes.
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What is the shape of a quadrapeds spine?
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A gentle C.
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What is the shape of the human spine?
|
The C of the quadraped remains with compensatory curves at the neck and lower back to move the center of gravity over the pelvis/legs.
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In which skull bone does the foramen magnum appear?
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In the Occipital bone.
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Name the 9 major bones of the skull.
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Frontal
Parietals (2)- mid to back sides Occipital - back and bottom Sphenoid - between Zygomatic and Temporal Temporals (2)- on either side includes orbital bar Zygomatics (2) - Cheek bones Nasals (2) Maxilae (2) - upper jaw Mandible -lower jaw |
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What is the foramen magnum?
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The ole in the occipital bone through which the spinal cord connects to the brain.
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What are the innominate bones (os coxae)?
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The pair of bones that compose the lateral parts of the pelvis; each innominate is made up of three bones that fuse during adolescence.
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How many innominate bones does a pelvis contain?
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Two - and each consists of three bones.
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What are the three bones that make up the innominate bone?
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Ischium - bony underpinning of the rump
Ilium - the blade Pubis - forms the anterior part of the birth canal. |
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What is the Ischium?
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Portion of the innominate bone that forms the bony underpinning of the rump.
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What is the Ilium?
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The blade of the innominate to which gluteal muscles attach.
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What is the pubis?
|
Portion of the innominate bone that forms the anterior part of the birth canal.
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What are the gluteal muscles?
|
Gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus, the muscles of walking, which have undergone radical realignment in hapitual bipeds.
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Name the leg bones.
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Femur, Fibula and Tibia (hitting my shin Ticks me off!)
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Name the arm bones.
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Humerus, Ulna and Radius (the thumb can make a circle with a radius)
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Name the hand bones.
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Carpals, Metacarpals and Phalanges
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Name the foot bones
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Tarsals, Metatarsals and phalanges.
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What is the difference between a biped and a quadropeds femur?
|
Bipeds femurs are angled from the hip to the knee.
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What is the difference between a biped and a quadropeds pelvis?
|
Bipeds pelvis is shorter and broader and basin shaped.
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What is the difference between a biped and a quadropeds foot?
|
The biped's foot is stouter and has arches that accomodate the great weight put through the two feet.
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What is the difference between a biped and a quadropeds arms.
|
Bipeds arms have shortened relative to trunk length. Thumbs are opposable and phalanges shorter.
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Why go bipedal?
|
Bipedal walking is more efficient that chimpanzee knuckle walking.
And upright posture may have allowed for greater dissipation of heat. |
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When did the ecological changes occur that may have led to bipedalism?
|
5 to 8 million years ago in the late Miocene when grasslands expanded and forests decreased in size in Africa.
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Who proposed that monogamy, provisioning females, etc is the reason for bipedality?
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C Owen Lovejoy in the 80's.
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How do you tell the difference between a human fossil and an ape fossil?
|
Teeth and the dental arcade - apes are U shaped with larger anterior teeth and Humans pallets are broader. Apes also exhibit the CP3 honing complex.
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What is the CP3 honing complex?
|
Combination of canine and first premolar teeth that form a self-sharpening apparatus.
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What are the australopithecines?
|
The common name for members of the genus Australopithecus.
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When did the first hominids (early humans or proto-humans) first appear?
|
10-5.5 million years ago in the later Miocene or early Pliocene 5.5-4 mya based on molecular evidence.
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Who are the candidates for the earliest Hominid?
|
Sahelanthropus tchadensis from Chad 7-5.2 mya
Orrorin tugenensis from Kenya 6 mya Ardipithecus kadabba from Ethiopia, 5.8-5.2 mya Ardepithecus ramidus from Ethiopia 4.4 mya |
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What is megadontia?
|
Enlarged teeth.
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What is the genus called for the oldest recognized Hominids?
|
Australopithecus.
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What are the various species of Australopithecus found to date.
|
A. anamensis 4.2-3.9 mya
A. afarensis 3.9-2.9 mya A. bahrelghazali 3.5 - 3.0 mya A. garhi 2.5 mya A. africanus 3.5 - <2.0 mya A. robustus A. boisei |
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What is a type specimen?
|
According to the laws of zoological nomenclature, the anatomical reference specimen for the species definition.
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What are cranial crests?
|
Bony ridges on the skull to which muscles attach.
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What is the sagittal crest?
|
bony crest running lengthwise down the center of the cranium on the parietal bones; for the attachment of the temporalis muscles.
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What is the compound temporonuchal crest?
|
Bony crest at the back of the skull formed when an enlarged temporalis muscle approaches enlarged neck (nuchal) muscles, present in apes and A. afarensis.
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What is breccia?
|
Cement-like matrix of fossilized rock and bone. Many important South African early humans have been found in breccias.
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What is an endocast?
|
A replica (or cast) of the internal surface of the braincase that reflects the impressions made by the brain on the skull walls. natural endocasts are formed by the filling of the braincase by sediments.
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What is the problem with South African finds of early hominids?
|
The fossils are hard to date because they occur in caves that are actually sink holes. so regular stratification rules do not necessarily apply.
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What is hard-object feeding?
|
Chewing tough, hard-to-break food items such as nuts or fibrous vegetation.
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What made the robust Australopithecines seem so robust?
|
Their flaring zygomatics and other cranial features that made them extremely efficient at producing a lot of force at their molars.
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What are the muscles of mastication?
|
The chewing muscles: masseter, temporalis, medial and lateral pterygoids.
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What is a sagittal crest?
|
A bony crest at the top of the skull where the temporalis muscle of a robust Australopithcine would have attached (on either side).
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What is a postorbital constriction?
|
The pinching-in of the cranium just behind the orbits where the temporalis muscle sits. Little constriction indicates a large brain and small muscle; great constriction indicates a large muscle, as in the robust australopithecines.
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What is a zygomatic arch?
|
The bony arch formed by the zygomatic (cheek) bone and the temporal bone of the skull.
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What is an osteodontokeratic culture?
|
A bone, tooth, and horn tool kit envisioned by Raymond Dart to be made by Australopithecus.
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What does a change in genus name imply?
|
A change in a certain adaptive strategy of the creature.
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|
How does Homo differ from Australopithecus?
|
Larger more rounded braincase, smaller, less projecting face; smaller teeth, and eventually a larger body amd more efficient striding bipedalism.
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|
What is the one or two speices names for the earliest Homo?
|
H. habilis or divided to H. habilis and H.rudolfensis
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|
How old are the H. habilis fossils found in the Koobi Fora range of Lake Turkana?
|
From 1.4 to 1.9 million years old.
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Did the earliest Homo's use tools?
|
Yes
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Define Oldowan.
|
The tool industry characterized by simple, ususally unifacial core and flake tools.
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What is a tool industry?
|
A particular style or tradition of making stone tools.
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In the context of tool making; what is a core?
|
The raw material source (a river cobble or a large flake) from which flakes are removed.
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What is a flake?
|
The stone fragment struck from a core, thought to hamve been the primary tools of the Oldowan.
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What is a hammerstone?
|
A stone used for striking cores to produce flakes or bones to expose marrow.
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|
Tool-making was first and foremost...
|
an adaptation to the environment of the late Pliocene. Through th use of tools, hominids could eat animal meat and access fat resources in their bones.
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|
What are the 3 names given by archeaologists to the Oldowan sites in East Africa?
|
Buthchering sites - where various mammal bones are found in association with the tools
Quarrying sites - where tools near available raw materials Home base |
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|
What is a butchering site?
|
A place whre there is archaeological evidence of the butchering of carcasses by hominids. The evidence ususally consists of tool cut marks on fossilized animal bones or the presence of the stone tools themselves.
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What is a quarrying site?
|
An archaeological site at which there is evidence that early hominids were obtaining the raw material to make stone tools.
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What is a home base?
|
Archaeological term for an ara to which early hominids may have brought tools and carcasses and around which their activities were centered.
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|
When is the first indisputable evidence of meat eating?
|
Tool marks by A garhi about 2.5 million years ago.
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|
Was early man a hunter or scavenger?
|
Probably a hunter of small game extensively and a scavenger of large animals.
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|
When and why did Homo erectus appear?
|
Around the Plio-Pleistocene boundary; 1.8 million years ago due to climate change.
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|
How did H. erectus differ from H habilis?
|
Larger body size, longer legs than arms, less funnel shaped thorax, uniquely shaped skull and changes for a more efficient gait.
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|
Who was the earliest Homo to migrate out of Africa? and when?
|
Homo erectus. 1.7 million years ago.
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|
What other Homo do some scientists divide the H erectus group into?
|
H erectus and H ergaster
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|
What is a supraorbital torus?
|
A brow ridge seen in H erectus; thickened ridge of bone above the eye orbits of the skull.
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|
What is an angular torus?
|
A thickened ridge of bone at the psoterior angle of the parietal bone (found in H erectus).
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What is an occipital torus?
|
A thickened horizontal ridge of bone on the occipital bone at the rear of the cranium (found in H erectus).
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What is a sagittal keel?
|
Logitudinal ridge or thickening of bone on the sagittal suture not associated with any muscle attachment (found in H erectus).
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|
Homo habilis has no keels?
|
see page 277??
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|
What is a metopic keel?
|
Longitudinal ridge or thickening of bone along the midline of the frontal bone (found in H erectus).
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|
Why might incisors be shovel shaped?
|
To prevent tooth damage when the front teeth are exposed to heavy wear.
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|
What are shovel-shaped incisors?
|
Anterior teeth that , on the lingual (tongue) surface, are concave with two raised edges tat make them look like tiny shovels (found in H erectus).
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What is platymeric?
|
A bone that is flattened from front to back (found in H erectus' femur).
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|
What is platycnemic?
|
A bone that is flattened from side to side (found in H erectus' tibia).
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|
Was H erectus sexually dimorphic?
|
Some say yes, some say no. Regional differences may be related to diet.
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|
When and who used Acheulean tools?
|
H erectus beginning around 1.4 million years ago.
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Define Acheulean.
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Stoone tool industry of the early and middle Pleistocene characterized by the prescence of bigacial hand axes and cleavers. This industry is made by a number of Homo species, including H. erectus and early H. sapiens.
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What are canine fossa?
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An indentation of the maxilla above the root of the canine, an anatomical feature usually associated with modern humans that may be present in some archaic Homo species in Europe.
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What is the Early Stone Age?
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The Late Paleolithic; the earliest stone tool industries including the Oldowan and Acheulean industries, called the ESA in Africa and the Lower Paleolithic outside Africa.
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Define biface.
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A stone tool that has been flaked on two faces or opposing sides forming a cutting edge between the two flake scars.
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What is a handaxe?
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type of Acheulean bifacial tool, ususally teardrop-shaped, with a long cutting edge. (used by H erectus)
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What is a cleaver?
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type of Acheulean bifacial tool, ususally oblong with a broad cutting edge on one end.
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What is the Movius line.
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The separation between areas of the Old World in which Acheulean technology occurs and those in which it does not; name by archaeologis Haliam Movius.
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What is an occipital bun?
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A backward-projecting bulge on the occipital part of the skull (not found on modern humans but on archaic H sapiens.
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What cranial differences are there between archaic Homo sapiens and moderns?
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Archaic have large, arching browridges (modern have little to none).
Archaic have thick-boned low cranial vault (modern has high parallel sided vault - as seen from the rear) Archaic have inlated cheeks and no canine fossa. Archaic have an occipital torus (modern don't). Archaic have large nasal aperture. Moderns have a large mastoid process. |
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What is the mastoid process?
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A protrusion from the temporal bone of the skull located behind the ear.
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How do archaic H sapiens differ from H erectus?
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Larger brains (1000-1400 cc), parallel-sided, taller, and less angular cranial vaults; robust but arching rather than straight supraorbital tori and in some instances wide nasal apertures.
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What is midfacial prognathism?
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The forward projection of the middle facial region, including the nose.
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What type of stone industry appeared in the Middle stone age or Middle Paleolithic?
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Prepared core technologies.
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What is the Levallois technique?
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A Middle Paleolithic technique that made use of prepared cores to produce uniform flakes.
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Is there evidence for the use of fire by archaic Homo's?
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Yes H sapiens and maybe even H erecturs.
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What are the two possible taxa for Neanderthals
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Homo meanderthalensis or a subspecies within H. sapiens - H.s. neanderthalensis.
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What is the difference between a Neaderthal skull as viewed from the back and a H. sapien or H. erectus?
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Neanderthal is more vaulted than H erectus, less than H sapien and it's oval shaped (parietals are not parellel)
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What is the most important derived character of the Neandertal (vs. H erectus)?
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The midfacial prognathism.
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What is a juxtamastoid eminence?
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A ridge of bone next to the mastoid process; in Neandertals, it is larger than the mastoid process itself.
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What is a retromolar space?
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A space between the third molar and the ascending ramus of the mandible - found in Neandertals.
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What differs significantly between H sapiens and Neandertals?
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Inner ear anatomy - H erectus and H sapiens all have same inner ear anatomy but not Neandertals.
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Using Genomic data when did H. sapiens and Neanderthals split into two distinct species?
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between 706K and 307K years ago.
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When did archaic Homo sapiens appear?
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During the Middle Pleistocene or 900,000 years ago.
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When was the last H erectus living?
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In China, up to 250K years ago - so overlaps with archaic Homo sapiens.
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When and where did Neanderthals live?
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Between 150K and 27K years ago in Europe, the Near and Middle East and western Asia.
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What is the Upper Paleolithic or Later Stone Age?
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Stone tool industries that are characterized by the development of blade-based technologies.
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What are the 3 stone ages and their associated tools?
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Lower Paleolithic/early stone age - oldowan & acheleon
Middle paleolithic/stone age - using a core Upper Paleolithic/later stone age - blade based technologies. |
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Did upper paleolithic/later stone age blade technologies include the use of a core?
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Yes
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What is Chatelperronian?
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An Upper Paleolithic tool industry that has been found in association with later Neanderthals.
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What are blades?
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Flakes that are twice as long as they are wide.
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Define bioarchaeology.
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The study of the biological component (usually osteology) of the archaeological record. Includes mortuary archaeology.
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What cranial features distinguish modern H. sapiens from archaic H. sapiens and Neandertals?
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Gracile skull, limited development of brow ridges, rounded cranium with a high maximum cranial breadth and parallel sides, prominent mastoid process, retracted face with a canine fossa, small teeth and jaws and an obvious chin.
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What is the average moder human cranial capacity?
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1,350 cc
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Lower, Middle and Upper paleolithic are listed how?
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Oldest to youngest.
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What are the two hallmarks of the Upper Paleolithic 'revolution'?
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The rapid pace of change in tools and the appearance of symbolic behavior.
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What are the two models of modern human origins?
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The replacement model and the multiregional model.
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What is the replacement model?
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Phylogenetic models that suggest that modern humans evolved in one location and then spread geographically, replacing other earlier hominid populations without or with little admixture.
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What is the multiregional model?
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Phylogenetic models that suggest that modern humans evolved in the context of gene flow between Mid- to Late Pleistocene hominid populations from different regions so there is no single location where modern humans first evolved.
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African fossils place fully evolved H. sapiens sapiens throughout Africa by what date?
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100,000 years ago.
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Fossils of the Near East place fully evolved H. sapiens sapiens throughout the region by what date?
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60,000 years ago
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European fossils place fully evolved H. sapiens sapiens throughout the region by what date?
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36,000 years ago
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Fossils in Asia place fully evolved H. sapiens sapiens throughout the region by what date?
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25 - 40,000 years ago
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Australian fossils place fully evolved H. sapiens sapiens throughout the region by what date?
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40,000 years ago
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Who are the Little People of Flores?
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A group of hominids that survived until 18,000 years ago that could be a dwarf, H. erectus or it's own species.
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What are microliths?
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Small, flaked stone tools probably designed to be hafted to wood or bone; common feature of Upper Paleolithic and Later Stone Age tool industries.
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When do elaborate displays of human symbolic behavior first appear?
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In the Upper Paleolithic, about 40,000 years ago - though new find at Blombos in S Africa dated to 73,000 years ago. (late Pleistocene)
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What is the MRCA?
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Most Recent common ancestor: In a hylogenetic tree, the MRCA is indicated by the deepest node from which all contemporary variants can be shown to have evolved.
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What is the tentative date for the MRCA of all humans in Africa?
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Per Rebecca Cann between 90,000 and 180,000 years ago.
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Why is the Y chromosome almost as good as mtDNA for tracing genetic lineages?
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Because large portions of it do not recombine (just as mtDNA doesn't at all).
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When did Paleo-Indians first come to North America?
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13,000 years ago.
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What is the last region of the world to be colonized by humans?
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The Pacific Islands.
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What traces the expansion of peoples into Polynesia?
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Lapita pottery thus the Lapita people.
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Define language.
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The unique system of communication used by member of the human species.
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What are the three main parts of the brain/
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Brainstem, Cerebellum and Cerebrum.
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What is the brainstem?
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The part of the brain that controls bsal metabolic rates, respiration, pulse, and other basic body functions.
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What is the cerebellum?
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The "little bain" tucked under the cerebrum and important in the control of balance, posture, and voluntary movement.
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What is the cerebrum?
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The largest part of the human brain, which is split into left and right hemispheres. Seat of all "higher" brain functions.
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What is a neuron?
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The basic cellular unit of the nervous system. A neuron consists of a cell body and specialized processes called dendrites (which receive inputs from other neurons) and axons (outgrowths through which neurons send impulses to other neurons).
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What are sulci (is a sulcus)?
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Grooves on the surface of the brain that divide the hemispheres into gyri.
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What are gyri (is a gyrus)?
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Ridges on the surface of the brain that are formed by sulci.
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In the living brain - what color does the cerebral cortex or gray matter actually appear to be?
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Brown
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What is the cerebral cortex?
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The layer of gray matter that covers the surface of the cerebral hemispheres, divided into functional regions that correspond to local patterns of neuronal organization.
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What is myelin?
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Fatty substance that sheaths neuronal axons, facilitating the transmission of electrical impulses along those axons.
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The gray matter of the brain consists mostly of _______
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the cell bodies of neurons.
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The white matter of the brain consists mostly of _______
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the axons of neurons.
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What are the two functional areas of the cerebral cortex?
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The Primary cortex - directly involved in motor control or sensory input
The Association cortex - where inputs are processed |
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What is the primary cortex?
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Regions of the cerebral cortex taht are involved directly with motor control or sensory input.
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What is the association cortex?
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Parts of the cerebral cortex where inputs from primary motor and sensory cortex are processed.
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What is an encephalization quotient?
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The ratio of the actual brain size of a species to its expected brain size based on a statistical regressio of brain to body size based on a large number of species.
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Who has the largest Enciphalization quotient?
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Female H. sapiens.
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What are the three ways functional organization of the brain can occur?
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1) an anatomical region of the brain (linked to some function) can getter bigger or smaller
2) functional regions can shift or change position 3) new behaviors (such as language) may lead to the evolution of new functional fields |
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What are the olfactory bulbs?
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Knob-like structures located on the underside of the frontal lobes, that form the termination of olfactory nerves running from the nasal region to the brain.
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How is it possible that Archaic Homo sapiens and Neandertals had larger brains than modern H sapiens but weren't smarter?
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Archaic H sapiens and Neanderthals had less encephalized brains.
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What was the EQ of archaic H sapiens and Neanderthals compared to Modern H sapiens?
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archaics: 3.52
Neanderthals: 4.04 moderns: 5.27 |
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Why is the 10% of our brain idea a myth?
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Because the expense to the organism for maintaining the brain is too great to only be using a portion of it.
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Give an example of size reorganization in the human brain.
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The reduction in size of the olfactory bulbs which control our sense of smell.
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What are the 3 features that linguists agree are most critical in defining language.
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It is spoken. It is semantic - words represent real world objects, etc. And it is phonemic - words are made of small sound elements.
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Where is the Sylvian fissure?
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On each side of the brain.
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Where is the language region of the brain?
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Typically found around the left Sylvian fissure or perisylvian language area.
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From whose perspective are right and left brain designations made.
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One's own- the left brain is on the individual's left side (not the observer's left side).
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What and where is Broca's area?
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Above the Sylvian fissure on the left frontal lobe. This is the area involved in speech production.
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What happens if the Broca's area is injured?
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Aphasia - or the inability to produce speech even though one can comprehend it.
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Where is Wernicke's area?
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Below and behind the Sylvian fissure - at the bop of the temporal lobe and bottom of the parietal.
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What happens when there are lesions to a person's Wernicke's area?
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Cannot comprehend speech - and thus babble.
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What does it mean when a function of the brain is said to be lateralized?
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The function occrus in only one of the brain's hemispheres.
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What new risk does the evolution of language ability produce?
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The risk of choking.
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What can human babies do because their supralarngeal anatomy is closer to the mammalian norm?
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They can drink, swallow and breathe at the same time!
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What are the differences between the supralaryngeal airway of a human and a chimp?
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The larynx is much lower in humans. The tongue is shorter and rounded in humans which is much more efficient for modifying the stream of air passing through the larynx.
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What is the earliest hominid suspected to have spoken?
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H. habilis based on the endocast of 1470.
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What is the term for tone deafness and how prevalent is the condition?
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Amusia: it affects about 4 percent of the population.
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What area of the brain seems to be affected by musical training?
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The anterier of the corpus callosum - the part that includes the connections between the motor regions of the frontal lobes of the two hemispheres.
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What is the hyoid bone?
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A small "floating bone" in the front part of the throat that is held in place by muscles and ligaments.
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What are the four approaches to studying the evolution of human behavior?
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1) Paleontological Reconstructions 2) Biocultural Approach 3) Human Evolutionary Ecology 4) Evolutionary Psychology
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What is Paleontological Reconstruction?
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The study of anatomy and archaeology of extinct hominids and early humans to understand the evolution of human behavior.
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What is the Biocultural approach to the study of the evolution of human behavior?
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Studying how culture shapes behavioral adaptations and adaptability.
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Define Evolutionary Psychology.
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Approach to understanding the evolution of human behavior that emphasizes the selection of specific behavioral patterns in the context of the environment of evolutionary adaptedness.
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What is Human Evolutionary Ecology?
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Approach to understanding the evolution of human behavior that attempts to explore ecological and demographic factors important in determining individual reproductive success and fitness in a cultural context.
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What is environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA)?
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According to evolutionary psychologists, the critical period for understanding the selecive forces that shpae human behavior; exemplified by hunter-gatherer lifestyles of hominids before the advent of agriculture.
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What is progesterone?
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A steroid hormone produced by the corpus luteum and the placenta that prepares the uterus for pregnancy and helps maintain pregnancy once fertilization has occurred.
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What is testosterone?
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A steroid produced primarily in the testes and ovaries, and at a much higher level in men than in women. Responsible for the development of the male primary and secondary sexual characteristics. Strongly influences dominance and reproductive behavior.
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What did Peter Gray's work show about testosterone levels and fatherhood?
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That men in committed relationships that were fathers had significantly lower testosterone levels than single men.
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What are two of the models for explaining the origins of the sexual division of labor?
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Cooperative provisioning model - division of labor evolved alongside monogamous pair-bonding so couple is not competing with one another for food. Conflict model suggests that males and females already exploited their environment differently and the males began to contribute to females family.
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What do female humans value in potential mates?
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Provisioning ability or resource-providing ability.
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What do male humans value in potential mates?
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Youth and appearance - indicating good reproductive health.
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Why do young males have the highest death rates from accidents and violence?
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15 - 29 year old males have higher death rates because they put themselves in more risky situations.
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Why do males engage in risky behaviors?
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According to Bobbi Lowe; because risky behaviors may have a high reproductive benefit.
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What is inbreeding?
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Mating between close relatives.
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What is inbreeding depression?
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Lesser fitness of offspring of closely related individuals compared with the fitness of the offspring of less closely related individuals, caused largely by the expression of lethal or debilitating recessive alleles.
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What is incest?
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A violation of cultural rules regulating mating behavior.
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What is the Westermark Hypothesis?
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That siblings or children raised together (up to age 5) develop an aversion to seeing each other as reproductive partners when they are adults.
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What is biomedical anthropology?
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The subfield of biological anthropology concerned with issues of health and illness.
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What is auxology?
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The scientific study of human growth and development.
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What are the 3 stages of all primates?
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Infancy, Juvenile Stage and Adulthood.
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What is the stage of development unique to humans?
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The Adolescence stage.
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What are the time periods for the 4 stages of human development?
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Infancy - birth to eruption of first permanent teeth (5-6 yrs old)
Juvenile - First permanent to onset of puberty Adolescence - onset of puberty Adulthood - last permanent tooth until death puberty |
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What are the significant aspects of adolescense?
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Puberty or sexual maturation and the adolescent growth spurt. Learning social mores.
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What is the secular trend in growth?
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Since 1900, each decade our children are taller by 1 to 3 cm (in developed countries). Menarche is also earlier.
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What accounts for the secular trend in growth?
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Better nutrition - more calories and protein in our diets.
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Define menarche.
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The onset of a girl's first menstrual period.
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Define menopause.
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The postreproductive period in the lives of women, after the cessation of ovulation and menses.
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Define senescence.
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Age-related decline in physiological or behavioral function in adult organisms.
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Why do we age from a physiological standpoint?
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Accumulated damage to DNA or damage of free radicals body tissues.
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What are free radicals?
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Molecules that contain at least one unpaired electron.
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What are two nonadaptive evolutionary models to explain aging?
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Disposable soma hypothesis and the pleiotropic gene hypothesis.
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What is the pleiotropic gene hypothesis.
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Hypothesis that aging is due to the pleiotropic effect (more than one phenotypic effect) of a gene. Thus good for youth but bad for older, post-reproductive individual.
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What is the disposable soma hypothesis to explain aging?
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Posits that it is more efficient for an organism to devote resources to reproduction rather than maintenance of a body.
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What is a pathogen?
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An organism and entity that can cause disease.
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How does the sedentary life style of agriculturists contribute to the spread of infectious diseases?
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Closeness to own waste products.
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What are antigens?
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Whole or part of an invading organism that prompts a response (such as production of antibodies) from the body's immune system.
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What are antibodies?
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Proteins (immunoglobulins) formed by the immune system that are specifically structured to bind to and neutralize invading antigens.
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What are immunoglobulins?
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Proteins produced by B lymphocytes that function as antibodies.
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What was the paleolithic diet?
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High protein, low fat, full of micronutrients, fiber and potassium. Carbs from fruits and veggies only - no cereals or refined sugars.
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What are two Nutritional deficiencies?
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pellagra - niacin deficiency and beriberi - thiamine deficiency (B1)
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What is the nutritional deficiency of niacin disease called?
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Pellagra
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What is the nutritional deficiency of thiamine (B1) disease called?
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beriberi
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What is a datum point?
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A permanent, fixed point relative to which the location of items of interest are recorded during archaeological mapping and excavation.
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What is the chain of custody?
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In forensic cases, the detailed otes that establish what was collected at the scene, the whereabouts of these remains, and the access to them after retrieval from the scene.
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What is a biological profile?
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The biological particulars of an infividual as estimated from his or her skeletal remains. These particulars include estimates of sex, age at death, height, ancestry, and disease status.
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What helps determine age of death for skeletal remains?
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Teeth eruption, fusion of epiphyses to the long bones, pubic symphysis and degree of obliteration of cranial sutures.
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What helps determine the sex of skeletal remains?
|
The pelvis and the skull differ between men and women. Males will have a larger brow and a narrower subpubic angle.
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What is Perimortem trauma?
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That which happened to the remains slightly before, during or slightly after the time of death.
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