Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CHAPTER 1
1. Anthropology is the study of humankind, viewed from the perspective of all people and
all times. [5]
2. Major Fields of study for Anthropology include:
i. Cultural Anthropology: Typically study present day societies in nonWestern settings such as Africa, South America, Australia. Culture learned
behavior passed from person to person, is the uniting theme.
ii. Archaeology: Typically study past human societies, with a focus on material
remains. Such as plants and animals or past inhabitances. Mostly known for
studying weapons/ceramics, and studying the processes behind past
societies. Why people lived where they did, the complexities or lack of them
in a society. Why there was a shift from hunting to agriculture, etc.
Archaeologists hope to reassemble the past as if it were alive today.
iii. Linguistic Anthropology: Study the construction of language used by
human societies. Language, a set of written or spoken symbols that refer to
things other than themselves, making the transfer of knowledge possible
from one person to the next. Sociolinguistics is popular among linguistic
anthropologists.
iv. Physical (Biological) Anthropology: Study all aspects of present and past
human biology. Deals with the evolution of and variation among human
beings and their living and past relatives.
3. Physical Anthropology is the study of human biological evolution and human bio
cultural variation.
a. Every person is a product of evolutionary history, or all the biological changes that
have brought humans to its present form.
b. Each of us is the product of our own individual life history. Our biological makeup is
determined by our genes. The human genome includes some 20,000-25,000 genes.
Also influenced by your environment (physical activity, diet, residence, society).
4. Physical Anthropologists routinely travel throughout the US and around the world to
investigate populations. Some anthropologists study people, while others study extinct
and living species of our closest relatives, Primates.
5. Macroevolution is large-scale evolution, such as a speciation event, that occurs after
hundreds or thousands of generations.
6. Microevolution small scale evolution, such as changes in the allele frequency that occurs
from one generation to the next.
7. Culture - Learned behavior that is transmitted from person to person
a. Cultural Development is influenced by the people; Behaviors that provide more
adaptability to new environments become more habitual.
8. Physical Anthropology developed as a discipline by:
a. Franz Boas: Started by studying the Inuit and seeking to understand their present
and past cultures, languages, and biology.
b. Ales Hrdlicka: Started the professional scientific journal and society devoted to the
field.
c. Earnest Hooton: Trained most of the first generation of physical anthropologists.
i. The scientific method:
1. Identify problem or issue based upon early observations
2. State the hypothesis
3. Collect the data (observations)
4. Test the hypothesis: rejection, acceptance, or modification
9. Specializations in Physical Anthropology include:
a. Paleoanthropology is the study of ancient humans (their anatomy, behavior,
ecology and chronology), particularly as evidenced in the fossil record over the last
45 million years.
CHAPTER 2
1. Before Darwin, the understanding of Earth and its organisms that inhabit it is strongly
influenced by religious doctrine. People thought that nature had always existed as it does
presently, and humans were made in the image of God, a perfect being. (No evolutionary
history)
2. Major Philosophers and Scientists that influenced Natural Selection:
1. James Hutton: Calculated Earths age as millions of years. (Provided Geologic evidence
necessary for calculating evolution timespan)
2. Charles Lyell: Rediscovered and reinforced Huttons ideas (Provided more geological
evidence)
3. Robert Hooke: Proved that fossils are organisms remains (Revealed that fossils would
provide the history of past life)
4. Georges Cuvier: Extensively studied fossils (Revealed much variation in fossil record)
5. John Ray: Pioneered taxonomy based upon physical appearance (Created 1 st classification
of plants and animals)
6. Carolus Linnaeus: Wrote Systems of Nature (presented the binomial nomenclature
taxonomy of plants/animals)
7. Thomas Malthus: Founded demography: only some will find enough food to survive.
(Provided concept of advantageous characteristics.)
8. Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck: Posited characteristics acquired via inheritance. (Provided
first serious model of physical traits passing from parents to offspring)
9. Erasmus Darwin: Also posited characteristics (determined by wants/needs) acquired via
inheritance. (Advanced the notion that physical changes occurred in the past)
3. Linnean Classification A taxonomy of three kingdoms divided into classes, which turn into
orders, families, genus, and species.
3.1.Biological Life Animalia > Eumetazoa > Chordata
3.1.1. Mammalia > Homo (Humans), Simia (monkeys/apes),
3.1.2. Aves
3.1.3. Amphibia
3.1.4. Pisces
3.1.5. Insecta
3.1.6. Vermes
4. Speciation The evolutionary process by which new biological species arise.
4.1.Species A group of related organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile, viable
offspring.
5. Blending Inheritance: The notion that the phenotype of an offspring was a uniform blend of
the parents phenotypes. Unlike, Natural selection, the idea of inheritance from a small sector
is not going to be enough to propagate a species.
5.1.Natural Selection refers to the biological characteristics that enhance survival
increase in frequency from generation to generation.
6. Uniformitarianism The belief that the same natural processes that are happening today
are the same natural processes that have happened in the past.
7. Reproductive Success (Fitness): defined as the passing of genes onto the
next generation in a way that they too can pass on those genes. In practice, this is often a
tally of the number of offspring produced by an individual. A more correct definition, which
incorporates inclusive fitness, is the relative production of fertile offspring by a genotype.
7.1.Selective Pressures: any phenomena which alters the behavior and fitness of living
organisms within a given environment. It is the driving force of evolution and natural
selection, and it can be divided into two types of pressure: biotic or abiotic.
8. Variation has a tendency to provide the changes within the genotype of a species. Without
mutations (random changes in the genetic code) there would be no natural selection at all,
because species would not seem to have adaptable traits.
9. Fertility -
CHAPTER 3
1. Major Cell Classes
a. Prokaryotes A single celled organism that does not have a nucleus (Bacteria)
i. Some Organelles, but not many
ii. Not as complex as Eurkaryotes
b. Eukaryotes A complex cell with a nucleus and many organelles. (Plants, Animals,
Fungi, Protists)
i. All have a nucleus where the genetic material of the cell is.
ii. Many organelles that work together to maintain cell function
iii. Can be one cell, or can make complex multi-cellular organisms
2. Organelle The body parts (parts that compose) of a cell
a. In Eukaryotes
i. Nucleus The brain of the cell, directs activities, contains genetic material.
Chromosomes MADE of DNA
ii. Mitochondria Makes energy out of food
iii. Ribosomes Makes Protein
iv. Golgi Apparatus Make/Package/Process Proteins
v. Lysosome Contains digestive enzymes to help break food down
vi. Endoplasmic Reticulum Intracellular Highway, transports items around
cell
vii. Vacuole - Used for storage (usually water/food)
b. For Plants
i. Chloroplasts Use sunlight to create food by photosynthesis
ii. Cell Wall For support
3. Polymers Molecules, Amino Acids, and Proteins.
a. Proteins: any of a class of nitrogenous organic compounds that consist of large
molecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acids and is an essential
part of all living organisms, esp. as structural components of body tissues such as
muscle, hair, collagen, etc., and as enzymes and antibodies.
b. Amino Acids: re the building blocks of all biological proteins. Amino acids link
together via peptide bonds in a particular order as defined by genes. Genes are
translated by RNA to amino acid chains; the length and order of the amino acid
chain then dictates the three-dimensional structure of a polypeptide or protein.
4. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) The chemical that makes up each chromosome, the bodys
genetic code. Its homoplasmic (same in every cell)
a. DNA is made of Nucleotides Three Parts, Making a Double-Helix Chain.
i. Sugar
ii. Phosphate
iii. Nitrogen Base
1. Adenine (A)
2. Thymine (T)
3. Guanine (G)
4. Cytosine (C)
a. Match Ups : A-T; C-G;
b. In RNA (replication DNA), Thymine is substituted for uracil.
c. Covalent Bonds/Hydrogen Bonds
b. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA): Is inherited only from the mother, due to the ovum.
Its heteroplasmic, it can differ between parts of ones body or within the same cells.
5. Different Types of DNA:
a. RNA (ribonucleic acid) A single stranded molecule involved in protein synthesis,
consisting of a phosphate, ribose sugar, and one of four nitrogen bases.
b. mRNA (messenger RNA) Molecules responsible for making a chemical copy of a
gene needed for a specific protein. (For Transcription)
c. rRNA (ribosomal RNA) A fundamental structural component of a ribosome
6.
7.
8.
9.
CHAPTER 4
1. Segregation - The two factors of a character do not blend with each other but separate
out during the formation of gametes.
a. Law of Segregation Mendels 1st law; Asserts that the two alleles for any given
gene (or trait) are inherited with one from each parent. During gamete production,
only one of two alleles will be present in sperm or ovum.
2. Independent Assortment Mendels 2nd law; Asserts that the inheritance of one trait
does not affect the inheritance of other traits.
3. Dominant Trait - one which will be expressed if one of the parents has the gene for that
trait
4. Recessive Trait - one that will be expressed only if both parents carry the trait.
5. Allele One or more alternative forms of a gene
a. Dominance Refers to an allele expressed in an organisms phenotype and
simultaneously masks the effects of another allele
b. Recessive An allele expressed in an organisms phenotype if two copies are
present, but masked if the dominant allele is present.
6. Homozygous Allele Two alleles that are the same within an organisms genotype.
a. Homozygous Dominant Two Dominant Alleles (TT)
b. Homozygous Recessive Two Recessive Alleles (tt)
7. Heterozygous Allele Two alleles that are different within an organisms genotype.
a. Heterozygous (Tt)
i. This will be a dominant trait due to the T allele. However, the
offspring is a carrier of the recessive gene, and can pass the recessive gene
to offspring.
8. Genotype The genetic makeup of an organism, the combination of alleles for a given
gene.
9. Phenotype The physical expression of the genotype; it may be influenced by the
environment
10.Mendelian Traits The basic principles associated with the transmission of genetic
material, forming the basis of genetics
a. Such as the ability to taste the chemical PTC
b. The ability to roll ones tongue.
11.Polygenic Gene - one whose phenotype is influenced by more than one gene. Traits that
display a continuous distribution, such as height or skin color, are polygenic.
12.Pleiotropic Gene One gene that can affect multiple traits within a phenotype
13.Co-dominant Gene - A trait resulting from an allele that is independently and equally
expressed along with the other.
a. An example of co-dominant trait is blood type, i.e. a person of blood type AB has
one allele for blood type A and another for blood type B.
14.Mutation random changes in a gene or chromosome, resulting in a new trait that may
be advantageous, deleterious, or neutral in its effects on the organism.
a. Mutation can create paths for natural selection by providing unforeseen or
adaptive traits.
15.Gene flow Admixture, the exchange of alleles between two populations.
a. Gene flow reduces the variances between populations. If extensive enough, gene
flow can merge neighboring populations into a single population with a common
gene pool
16.Genetic Drift The random change in allele frequency from one generation to the next
with much greater affect in small populations
i. Genetic drift tends to reduce genetic variation due to the losses of alleles
from the gene pool.
ii. Bottleneck Effect When a population is reduced to a small size and is now
the representation of the species
CHAPTER 5
1. Does race have any biological meaning? No, human races have no biological
significance. If there were truly human races, there would be an account of genetic
diversity. Most variations occur across populations regardless of racial makeup
a. Clines Gradual changes in some phenotypic characteristic from one population to
the next.
2. Human Variation Growth & development are within two different sides of the same
coin. Many humans begin to age and go through processes at various times within their
life, but the impact of these changes is also dependent on the environment.
3. Life History The timing a details of growth events and development events from
conception through senescence and death.
a. The process of our life history allows our culture to evolve.
b. Makes room for new adaptations or technological advancements
4. Adaptations
a. Functional Adaptations Biological changes that occur during an
individuals lifetime, increasing the individuals fitness in the given
environment.
b. Environmental Extremes
i. Homeothermic Refers to an organisms ability to maintain a constant body
temperature despite great variations in environmental temperature.
ii. Thermoregulation The process by which the human body regulates
extreme hot or cold.
iii. Sweating is a response to heat, along with a persons red face (the
bodys attempt to move blood away from its core)
1. Bergmans Rule An animals size is heat-related; Smaller bodies are
adapted to hot environments, larger bodies are adapted to cold
environments.
2. Allens Rule Animals limb lengths are heat-related; limbs are longer
in hot environments and shorter in cold environments.
iv. People adapt to environmental and other circumstances via Culture.
1. Culturally, a parent would tell their child to wear many layers of
clothing for cold weather.
2. Take bug spray when its cold outside
3. Use sunscreen to reduce the chance of a sunburn.