ATS 2022

Anthropology Test #4- Solution

 Section – A

Q.1) Theory of Demographic Transition

 Developed by Frank Notestein in 1945

 Stage 1
 high death rate – agrarian economy – poor diet, poor sanitation, absence of medical aid
 high birth rate – illiteracy, absence of knowledge about family planning, early marriage due
to social beliefs
 Stage 2
 Lowering death rate – Increase in income level – improving diet and all round development
and improvement
 As birth rate high and death rate low – population growth accelerated rapidly and growth
in average size of family
 Stage 3
 Economic development – changing the character of economy from an agrarian to partially
industrialised one
 Urbanisation – increase in standard of living – tend to reduce size of family
 Thus, death rate is low and birth rate is also low
 Stage 4
 Birth rate and death rate stabilised at low level
 Growth rate – stationary at high level
 Some fluctuations in birth rate – due to market economy
 Thus, when economy shifts from 1st to 2nd stage – it leads to creating imbalance in economy
 Death rate can be controlled easily
 But, birth rate is hard to control – thus, requires longer time
 Malthusian Theory (1766-1834) –
o Given by Thomas Robert Malthus in an “Essay on principle of population as it affects the
future happiness of mankind”
o Geometric progression (GP) of populations – because of passionate behaviour of male and
female sexes, human population shall double in one generation time of 25 to 30 years. Thus,
population shall increase by GP.
o Arithmetic progression (AP) of food production – because of law of diminished returns,
increase in food production in generation time may not double. It may increase by AP.
o Positive checks by nature – before people die of hunger, nature will keep a check on
population by miseries like bad food, famine etc.
b) Senescence
 Stretchler in 1962 defined senescence as “the changes which occur during the post-reproductive
period and it results in decreased survival capacity on the part of individual organism”
 Senescence is all those manifestations in structure and function of various organs of the body
which are of declining or deteriorating nature which take place during the later period of life.
 Senescence is the process and causes increased force of mortality in the form of increased liability
to loss of vigour, with increasing chronological age, with the passage of time
 Changes which appear at different chronological ages are –
o Greying of hair
o Loss of strength
o Reduction in sensory capabilities
o Poor homeostatic mechanisms
o Reduced resistance of body against diseases
o Cardiovascular irregularity
 Characteristics
o Changes are always deleterious
o These deleterious changes are cumulative and death is the ultimate result
o Processes involved in senescence are common to all members of a species and are
inseparable consequences of getting older

c) Down’s Syndrome
 [46 + 1] or trisomy 21
 Also known as Mangolian Idiocacy
 Due to presence of extra chromosome 21 – total 47
 Frequency
o 1/800 – one of the commonest
o 1/350 – for woman conceiving beyond 35 years of age
o 1/25 – for woman conceiving beyond 45 years of age
 Common phenotypic manifestations –
o Flat face, round head and typical epicanthic fold of the eye
o Short, broad hand
o Mental retardation
o Hypotonia – poor muscle tone
o Short stature
o Protruding furrowed tongue
o Mild to moderate developmental disabilities
o Typical dermatoglyphic pattern
 Non – disjunctional down syndrome –
 Failure of chromosomal separation occur at the stage of maternal gamete formation which leads to
egg with extra 21 chromosome
 It is also caused by non-disjunction of chromosome 21 at the time of early cleavage division of
zygote
Normal ovum × Normal sperm
Normal zygote

Cleavage division

Cell with one chromosome 21 cell with three chromosome 21

Dies multiplies
 But, non-disjunction is more frequent during female gametic stage than the cleavage stage
 Translocational down’s syndrome – part or whole of chromosome is attached with some non-
homologous chromosome
o Involves chromosome 21 + either 14 or 15
o Thus, 46 chromosomes with two normal 21 and 1 normal 14/15 + large chromosome due to
fusion of 14/15 and 21

d) Acclimatization
 Acclimatization refers to an impermanent (temporary) physiological changes that people make
when they encounter a new environment
 There is an absence of any genetic change
 Individuals develop them during their lifetime rather than being born with it
 It involves whole genetic system and not a single or few genes
 For example –long term acclimatization - longer exposure to cold leads to increase in metabolic
rate of body which generates more internal heat.
 Short term acclimatization – when we are chilled out we tend to shiver which leads to creation of
heat by making muscles work
 Thus, this gradual adjustment to conditions is acclimatization.

e) Menarche & Menopause

Menarche –
 1st menstrual cycle or 1st menstrual bleeding in female humans
 From both social and medical perspectives, it is often considered the central event of female
puberty as it signals the possibility of fertility
 Its timing is influenced by female biology as well as genetic and environmental factors especially
nutrition
 Average age varies significantly by geographical region, race, ethnicity and other characteristics
 Early menarche results into longer window of fertility and late menarche results into shorter
window of fertility
 Menopause –
 North American Menopause Society defines Menopause as having occurred when a woman has not
had any vaginal bleeding for a year
 It occurs when menstruation stops and female reproductive hormones slows thus, pregnancy is
not possible naturally
 Marks the end of a woman’s reproductive cycle
 Happens between 49 to 52 years of age but range may vary from 40 to 60 years of age
 It is also impacted by nutritional, climatic and racial factors

Q.2) a) The rise in genetic diseases points to probable mutations in the present population. Discuss
in detail the types of mutations & their consequences.
 Mutation can be defined as the abrupt change in the genotype of an organism that is not a result of
recombination and includes all types of heritable genetic change of an organism
 The process by which mutation is introduced in a gene is termed as mutagenesis whereas a resulted
phenotype with mutation is called a mutant.
 Mutation is the ultimate source of all genetic variation and provides the raw material for evolution
 Types of Mutation: Mutation can be classified on the method of its detection, the main types are
o Morphological Mutation - It affects the outward appearance of an individual including
colour, shape size etc.
o Lethal Mutation - It involves genotypic changes leading to death of an individual and can
be easily studied for mutation frequencies
o Biochemical Mutation - These types of mutations are identified by a deficiency so that a
defect can be rectified by supply of that deficient nutrient in the mutant
o Resistant Mutation - This type of mutation is identified by their ability to grow in the
presence of a pathogen or antibiotic
o Conditional Mutation - This type of mutation allows the mutant phenotype to express
under permissive conditions.
o Spontaneous Mutation - The type of mutation that occurs without treatment of organism
with an exogenous mutagen and it is the ultimate source of natural genetic variation in
populations. Spontaneous mutation arises from a variety of sources including errors in
DNA replication, transposition of transposable genetic elements and spontaneous lesions
o Point Mutation - point mutation causes replace ment of single base nucleotide with
another base nucleotide in a genetic material.
o Induced Mutation - These type of mutation arise due to presence of an exogenous mutagen
and its reaction with the parent DNA, resulting in structural change that affects the base
pairing capability of the altered nucleotide.

Consequences –
 Neutral effect –
o Effectively alter physical characteristics of genetic material which accumulates in the gene
pool
o Natural selection is not operative on such mutations hence it brings about large scale
changes in genetic material over long period of time
 o It is considered as major force of evolution
 Beneficial effect –
o Confer positive advantage and are immediately included in the gene pool
o It is such mutations that cause changes in the gene frequency without selection having
acted upon it
 Harmful effect –
o Sickle cell anaemia has resistance against malaria but is harmful in malaria free
environment

b) What do you understand by genetic polymorphism? Discuss the applications of genetic

polymorphism in Forensics.
Genetic polymorphism is the presence of several distinct forms of a gene within a population with
appreciable frequency.
Sources of genetic polymorphism
 Mutation is the ultimate source for variation in gene
 Natural selection operates on mutant gene
 Product of mutation and flow of genetic information from the neighbouring population i.e.
migration

Application in forensics –
o Individual Identification and Crime Detection - the primary responsibility of a forensic
anthropologist is to provide law enforcement with a biological profile of the deceased to
help narrow down the possible identity of the decedent. Forensic anthropologists apply
standard scientific techniques developed in physical anthropology to identify human
remains, and to assist in the detection of crime.
o Identification of Sex - The pelvis, thigh-bones and skull are particularly noted for their
sexual characteristics. The female pelvis, constructed to meet the needs of childbearing,
has several features which distinguish it from the male.
o Identification of Age - Age is determined by studying a number of skeletal features in
humans, principally the skull, teeth and centres of ossification.
o Reconstruction of Height - Using the Regression Formula for Estimating Living Stature
with standard errors obtained from the average of the Long Bone Length of both right and
left humeri, ulnae and radii, femurs, tibiae and fibulae, an estimate of the decedent height
could be assessed.
o Identification of Decedents - Forensic anthropologists frequently work in conjunction with
forensic pathologists, odontologists, and homicide investigators to identify a decedent,
discover evidence of trauma, and determine the post-mortem interval.
o DNA Profiling - all of the DNA sections are contained in every cell, any piece of a person’s
body, from a strand of hair to a skin follicle to a drop of blood, may be used to identify them
using DNA profiling. This is useful in the case of identifying a criminal, because even a drop
of blood or skin left at the crime scene may be enough to establish innocence or guilt, and
it is virtually impossible to remove all physical trace of one’s presence.

c) Discuss in brief the role played by “cytogenetics” in genetic studies & its applications.
The branch of human genetics under which we study chromosomes. It is developed in late 1950s and
thereafter tremendous development and research has been done in this field.
Role and application in human genetics
 Determining relation between chromosomal abnormalities and diseases – various disorders
associated with both autosomal and sex chromosomes, such as Down’s syndrome, klinefelter’s
syndrome and Turner’s syndrome, have been studied by cytogenetic method. Cytogenetics has
enabled us to find out the approximate incidence and clinical features associated with these
 syndromes. Thus, the diagnosis treatment and cure of these abnormalities have been made
possible.
 Mapping genes to particular chromosomes – this has enabled us to map blood groups, banding
patterns etc. to specific chromosomes. For instance. Cytogenetic methods have been used to map
the Duffy blood group locus to chromosome 1 in humans.
 The Philadephia chromosome was found in 1960 as a small chromosome in the white blood cells of
patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia. After 13 years, it was shown to be the result of a
translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22. Identification of the Philadelphia chromosome by
cytogenetics is diagnostic for chronic myeloid leukaemia.
 Molecular cytogenetics is a useful tool for the diagnosis and treatment of various malignancies such
as brain tumours, haematological malignancies, etc.
 The entire genome can be assessed for copy number changes using virtual karyotyping generated
from arrays made of thousands to millions of probes.
 Cancer cytogenetics is molecular genetics dedicated to the study of the chromosomal behaviour –
number, an aberration for the oncogenic effect and the effect of treatments.

Q.3) a) How is “Recombinant DNA Technology” relevant in our day to day lives? Substantiate with
suitable examples.
Recombinant DNA technology involves introduction of desired gene into the DNA of another species.
It is based upon structural and functional similarities of DNA among all biological beings from viruses
to human being.

Advantages –
 It does not require large scale investment
 Formulatory phase for the establishment of this technology is also not time consuming thus it has
more access to masses
Relevance and examples –
 This technique has been used for analysing gene structure and the diagnosis of genetic disorder of
both adults and foetus.
 To understand molecular events in biological processes by DNA sequencing such as the sequence
of the proteinaceous product; isolation and analysis of gene promoters; sequences of gene control
and identification of mutations
 To commercially manufacture pharmaceutically important compounds like vaccines against
hepatitis B, foot and mouth disease etc., vitamins, drugs against microbial pathogens and interferon
 To manufacture products of industrial importance such as proteases for detergents and enzymes
used for making cheese.
 To degrade pollutants through recombinant microorganisms. This is termed as bioremediation.
 To identify, cut and remove genes responsible for genetic disorders and replace them with normal
genes. This is called gene therapy.
 To clone specific genes of a genome with the help of rDNA technology

b) Gregor Mendel is called as the “father of genetics”. What are the Mendel’s laws of inheritance &
their relevance?
Gregor Johann Mendel is considered as the father of genetics. With the help of his two experiments
such as monohybrid cross and dihybrid cross using pea plant, he came out with certain law of
inheritance.
 Law of dominance –
o Characters are controlled by discrete units called factors
o Factors occur in pairs
o In a dissimilar pair of factors one member of the pair dominates (dominant) the other
(recessive)
o It is used to explain the expression of only one of the parental characters in a monohybrid
cross in the F1 and expression of both in F2
 Law of segregation –
o Whenever two factors are brought together in a hybrid and when the hybrid forms germ
cells, the two factors segregate into two separate gametes and each cell is pure with
respect to that character
 Law of independent assortment –
o Whenever two or more pairs of contrasting characters are brought together in a hybrid,
the factors of different pairs segregate independently of one another

Relevance –
 Pedigree analysis – pattern is dominant or recessive can be found out by pattern of its distribution
in the family
 Medico-legal relevance – Mendelism can serve the judgement in the case of paternity dispute with
the help of law of dominance and law of segregation – with the help of ABO blood group system
 Genetic counselling – hundreds of genetic diseases have been discovered that are inherited as
autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive or are sex linked – thus, can be predicted by finding out
whether parents are carrier
 Hybrid varieties – large number of disease resistant, early maturing, high growth varieties of
cereals, fruits and vegetables have been produced using mendelian principles of inheritance

c) Certain communities in South India & the Muslim communities have a concept of “inbreeding”
when it comes to marriage. In this context, elaborate on the genetic effects of inbreeding.
 It usually refers to mating of two closely related parents
 Brother and sister mating and mating with the first cousin is very close to inbreeding which is
observed among certain south Indian and Muslim communities in India
 It tends to eliminate hybrids from the population and replace them by pure breeds of homozygous
type
 By process of segregation according to Mendel’s first law of segregation, proportion of homozygous
in population increases
 If recessive gene is comparatively rare in the general population, inbreeding allows two such of
genes to come together and express themselves
 Inbree-ding increases homozygosity but it does not alter the gene frequency
 Inbreeding is hazardous only to the extent when undesirable recessive genes are present in the
original stock
 If lethal gene in heterogeneous state, inbreeding leads to gene in one individual may lead to death
of individual
 Gene frequency will change only when recessive homozygotes are eliminated from the population
prior to attempting reproductive age
 It may result in a far higher phenotypic expression of deleterious recessive genes within a
population than would normally be expected
 As a result, first-generation inbred individuals are more likely to show physical and health defects

Q.4) a) What do you understand by the “Human Genome Project”? Discuss its inception &
applications.
 Human Genome refers to the total number of genes in a human cell or genes present in haploid set
of chromosomes

 Human Genome Project is an international research effort with the aim of sequencing the entire
human DNA and also determine the location of all identified genes
 It is co-ordinated by Us department of Energy and the National Institute of Health
 It is initiated with the hope to develop new ways to diagnose, treat and someday prevent the
thousands of disorders that affect us
 It led to generation of enormous amount of genetic information

Achievement –
 The human genome project was one of the greatest accomplishments with far-reaching effects in
the endeavour for understanding human biology.
 The project aimed at mapping of the human genome and annotating the function of individual
genes’ functions. The project revealed that there are 20,500 human genes along with their location.
 The technology developed in the project has been used to sequence other organisms’ genomes.
 The underrepresentation of human diversity in HGP led to the Human Genome Diversity Project
which recruited 52 populations from all over the world now a part of HGDP-CEPH panel.
 HGDP data and samples have been used to delineate the influence of climatic, ecological factors
and cultural practices at the population level, for studying population structure and to reconstruct
population history.
 The Geographic Project aimed at elucidating migratory history of modern humans after their origin
from and dispersal out of Africa by studying genetic patterns in mitochondrial DNA and Y
chromosomal DNA diversity.
 The 1000Genomes Project undertook, for the first time, the sequencing of 95% of the complete
human genomes samples collected from populations with European, East Asian, South Asian, West
African and American ancestry

Application and importance –

 Helps in determining genes involved in complex diseases
 Improve diagnostic testing for disease susceptible genes
 Tailor made drug can be prepared to accommodate variations in enzymes
 Areas of clinical research are likely to get benefitted from genome project
 It may lead to new insights into causation and positive treatment of psychological disorders
 Gene therapy
 Help in bringing into light new avenues in the theory of evolution

b) Discuss the concept of “serogenetics”.

Serogenetics is branch of genetics that is concerned with study of serological proteins. Serogenetics of
male and female reproductive physiology means the study of serum hormones which regulate the
formation of germ cells (gonadotropins-FSH, LH, HCG and sex hormones - Testosterone, estrogen and
progesterone)
Importance –
 The genetic marker of blood are useful to know their distribution in human population – help to
understand migrational movements, micro evolution and their susceptibility to various diseases
 Genetic marker in the blood of non-human primates help in understanding human origin
 Genetically determined markers on the surface of cellular blood elements have medical, legal and
anthropological importance.
 ABO and Rh groups are useful in blood transfusion
 HLA present on WBC has paramount importance in organ transplantation
 Plays vital role in forensic investigations such as crime scene blood stain identification and
paternity confirmation
 Anthropologically, some blood groups are unique to specific populations and can be a reflection of
tribal origin or migration patterns
 Blood groups are also valuable marker in gene linkage analysis, and their study has enormously
contributed to human gene mapping.

c) What do you understand by the “ABO” blood group system? Discuss the types of blood groups.
 Discovered by Landsteiner in 1900
 Three alleles IA, IB and IO determines the four types of blood group in this system
 Presence of any of these two on the homologous chromosomes determines the type of blood group

Genotype Antigen Blood group Antibody in plasma

IA IA or IA IO A A Anti B

IB IB or IB IO B B Anti A

IA IB Both AB No antibody

IO IO None O Both anti A and Anti

B

 It is important in blood transfusion. For example person with blood group ‘A’ cannot receive blood
from person having antigen ‘B’ i.e. ‘B’ and ‘AB’ as they have antibody ‘B’ in their plasma
 Inheritance of ABO blood group system depends upon homozygosity and heterozygosity of parent
 a. Homozygous parents b. Heterozygous parents

IA IA × IB IB IA IO × IB IO - parents

IA IB IA IO IB IO - gametes

IA IB IA IB IA IO I B IO IO IO – F1

All AB children AB A B O

Distribution –
o O – 62% - America
o A – 22% - Europe and Eurasia, Australian tribe
o B – 16% - North India and central Asia
o This shows that ABO blood group system is affected by environment

Use of ABO blood group system

o Racial classification
o Paternity diagnosis
o ABO incompatibility and haemolytic diseases

SECTION - B

Q.5) a) Genetic Load

 Genetic load is the presence of harmful alleles in a population, source of which is always mutation
 Effect of Genetic load may be positive or negative depending on the environment condition
 Thus, Genetic load is defined as an extent to which a population departs from a perfect genetic
constitution or deviation from a perfect genetic constitution
 Deleterious mutation is the major factor influencing Genetic load
 It increases by high rate of mutation and decreases by low rate of mutation
 Population with little or no Genetic load may become extinct within short period because of rapid
environment change and thus absence of Genetic load may be more detrimental than its presence
 It is measured in terms of departure from the optimum genotype
 Causes –
o Deleterious mutation
o Beneficial mutation
o Inbreeding
 Effects –
 They may be expressed through death or genetic diseases or through sterility or inability to find a
mate or by any means that reduce reproductive ability of optimum genotype
 Depends upon environment

b) Beri-beri & Xeropthalmia

Beri-beri –
 Deficiency of thiamine
 Both the type of beri-beri i.e. wet and dry, show muscle degeneration, loss of motor function and
loss of sensation.
 Aetiology of water soluble vitamin deficiencies includes inadequacy due to poverty, faulty cooking
habits, losses due to storage, impaired absorption due to chronic diarrhoea, metabolic functions
such as genetic abnormalities, metabolic stress.
 Adequate food source of thiamine are sufficient to prevent any of the deficiency. Parboiled rice and
un-milled rice are excellent source of thiamine and hence should be encouraged.
 The most appropriate approach to meet the nutritional needs is to encourage consumption of
inexpensive and locally available foods and to educate the public to improve the dietary and cooking
habits.
 Xerophthalmia -
 Deficiency of vitamin A
 It has become a major public health problem in developing countries including India.
 The term xerophthalmia comprehensively includes all ocular manifestations of vitamin A
deficiency.
 The most contributing factor is due to inadequacy of vitamin A or its precursor i.e. β carotene.
 The most vulnerable groups are the pregnant women and infants born particularly in low income
groups.
 Micronutrient Initiative (MI) estimates that around 3,30,000 children in India die due to VAD. More
than 4 million children worldwide exhibit sings of severe deficiency.

c) Mosaics/Inter-sex
 Person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definition of male
or female
 Due to presence of two or more population of cells with different genotype in one individual who
has developed from single fertilized egg
 Cause
 Due to non-disjunction of chromosomes usually X and Y during early embryogenesis
 Anaphase lag and endoreplication are other causes
 Gynandromorph/ Hermaphrodite
o mosaic of male cells and female cells
o both masculine and feminine characteristics
o if more male cells – testes will be dominant
o if more female cells – ovary will be dominant
o if equal – ovo-testes
o both male and female hormones are secreted in them
 Pseudohermaphrodite
o Individuals who are partly male and partly female in genitalia and secondary sex
characteristics
o May be male pseudohermaphrodite – undescended testes, small penis, rudimentary vagina,
no scrotal sacs, presence of breasts and is sterile- they may be converted to female by
surgical method
o May be female pseudohermaphrodite – underdeveloped ovaries, infantile uterus and
vagina, rudimentary penis, little breast – some are converted to male by suitable surgery
and hormone therapy in early childhood

d) Genetic Counselling
Communication process that informs prospective parents about the nature of genetic disorders, about
the risk of their having genetically defective child and about the options available to them in dealing
with that risk.
 It is an important aspect of applied human genetics
 The duty of counsellors is to offer the necessary genetic information and also the information about
social, economic and psychological aspects related to the case

Importance –
 Help the family in comprehending the medical facts including the diagnosis, probable course of
disorder and the available management
 Appreciating the way heredity contributes to the disorder and the risk of recurrence in specified
relatives
 Understand the alternatives for dealing with the risk of recurrence
 Choosing a course of action which seems to them appropriate
 To make the best possible adjustment
 Process
 Screening informing parents calculation of likelihood of disease suggesting ways to
control

e) Natality & Mortality

Natality
 Natality is an expression of the production of new individuals in the population.
 In human population it is equivalent to birth rate, and is usually expressed as the number of births
per year per thousand persons in the population.
 As such, it is quite distinct from population growth rate as it may be zero or positive but never
negative.
 The maximum number of individuals that can be theoretically produced per individual under ideal
environmental conditions is called potential or physiological natality. It is constant for a given
population.
 The natality may be expressed as specific natality that refers to population increase under specific
conditions. It is not constant for a given population.

 Mortality
 According to United Nations (1953), mortality or death is defined as follows: "Death is the
permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after birth has taken place i.e. post-
natal cessation of vital functions without capacity of resuscitation".
 In a population, members die due to various causes, such as malnutrition, disease and old age.
 From demographic point of view, child mortality infant mortality and maternal mortality are very
crucial.

Q.6) a) Discuss in brief the “theories of population/demographics”.

Sexual Behaviour Related Theories
 Malthusian Theory (1766-1834) –
o Given by Thomas Robert Malthus in an “Essay on principle of population as it affects the
future happiness of mankind”
o Geometric progression (GP) of populations – because of passionate behaviour of male and
female sexes, human population shall double in one generation time of 25 to 30 years. Thus,
population shall increase by GP.
o Arithmetic progression (AP) of food production – because of law of diminished returns,
increase in food production in generation time may not double. It may increase by AP.
o Positive checks by nature – before people die of hunger, nature will keep a check on
population by miseries like bad food, famine etc.
o Preventive check – mankind can be spared from miseries by voluntary controls over the
growth of population. He advocated controls like marriage of women and chastity before
marriage.
 Robert Ardrey’s Theory – It postulates that animal species and primitive societies have since long
practiced population control measures, aimed at controlling sexual behaviour. E.g. Cholainaikens
of Kerala were aware of herbal prescriptions useful in family planning.
Food Fertility Nexus Related Theories
o Theory of De Castro – It says that less consumption of proteins by females leads to fatty
degeneration of liver, causing it to become weak. A weak liver is unable to neutralise excess
oestrogen, which causes fertility to rise.
o Theory of Thomas Doubleday – It says that vegetarian diet increases fertility and non-
vegetarian diet decreases it. Further, leanness is favourable to fertility. Also, consumption
of animal fat, and leading a sedentary life add to the fat levels, thereby interfering with the
fertilisation process.
o Theory of Herbert Spencer – Spencer argued that fertility decreases when the complexity
of life increases. Lower forms of life have high genesis (reproductive energy) because there
is lower individualisation (energy for self- development), whereas higher forms have low
genesis due to higher individualisation.

Population density theories

o Theory of pearl and reed – with certain contradictions, the theory proposes that as density
grows, there is a fall in fertility and population finally reaches a plateau. The population
experiences transition from lower density to high density.
o Sadler’s theory – it says that hard work and privation increase fertility. But with the coming
of industrialisation, a population becomes denser. There is now less manual work and less
time for privation because new intellectual pursuits open up for the newly literate
population. All this leads to lower fertility.

b) Discuss “Epidemiological Anthropology” and its relevance.

o Epidemiological Anthropology is the study, distribution and determinants of disease and
injuries in human population.
o It elucidates etiological factors involved in a disease incidence and emphasised on
population variation in incidence and occurrence.
o Human growth happens along genetically destined trajectory but is also influenced by
environmental factors affecting longevity and health status.
o Thus, diseases caused due to whole spectrum of causation ranging from hereditary factor,
which play predominant role to the social, cultural and physiological environment
o Relevance
o Epidemiological anthropology is able to enhance the identification of diseases causes,
giving support to the decision-making process in planning and programming the actions
for health protection like vaccine and gene therapy
o Understand the distribution and causal factors of the disease with regard to human
populations
o It helps in establishing relations of disease with cultural and ecological settings
o Accurate pattern of disease can be found out using methods like participants observation

c) Elaborate on the “stages of growth in human beings”.

Pre natal –
 Begins at the formation of zygote and completes at the birth of the child
 Involves both growth and development but mainly increase in number of cells
 Natal -
 Period of development and enlargement (increase in size) of existing cells rather than formation of
new one except adipose tissues
 After that body cell remains in dynamic equilibrium
 Infancy and childhood –
 Characterised by physical and behavioural development
 Changes in weight, height, circumference of chest to exceed circumference of head
 The new born infants has disorganised behaviour but with the advancement of age, they interact
to their environment in a wilful manner
 Gross motor development like crawling, walking, climbing stairs etc in gradual manner
 Fine motor development like hand to mouth coordination, hand skills etc.
 Cultural and social development
 Language development

Adolescence –
 It extends from the onset of puberty till the time sexual maturation is completed
 Age of both puberty and sexual maturation vary in different individual depending upon
environment and genetic factors
 Bodily changes occur during adolescence which is different for boys and girls
 Changes in reproductive system like appearance of sperm, growth in penis for boys and menarche,
appearance of breast bud etc. for girls
 Physiological changes are much more marked in boys than girls and they become much more
stronger by virtue of having larger muscles

Post-adolescent growth (maturity) -

 Height increases by a small amount during these years
 Chronological age does not indicate maturity hence biological criteria is being used for it
 Biological criteria –
o Skeletal maturity – appearance of main ossification centres and calculation of bone age
using it
o Dental maturity – calculated on the basis of stages of calcification
o Shape age – combination of body measurements are taken into account which change with
age

Senescence –
 Senescence is all those manifestations in structure and function of various organs of the body
which are of declining or deteriorating nature which take place during the later period of life
 Changes are deleterious
 Death is the ultimate result

Q.7) a) With the advent of supplements & anti-oxidants, ageing & reverse-ageing has been a lot in
news lately. What are the different theories of ageing?
Biological theories of ageing –
 Wear and tear theory – tissue of the body become worn out due to spontaneous and constant usage
and are not replenished fast
 Death gene theory – ageing is predetermined property of genetic material and it occurs due to
activation of harmful genes at particular time in later life or due to altered state of functional gene
 Free radical theory – free radicals attack multiple double bond system like lipids and also damages
lysosomes leading to killing of cells. These free radicals are accumulated in the cell during oxidation
metabolism and also by radiation
 Error theories – error in protein synthesis due to certain functional catalytically. Error at DNA level
which results in decreased efficiency of DNA repair mechanism.
 Collagen cross-linkage theory – cross linkage of collagen increases with age which leads to
reduction in diffusion of nutrients and waste products across basement membrane
Social theories of ageing–
 Disengagement theory – By cumming and Henry and says that ageing is an inevitable, mutual
withdrawal or disengagement which leads to decreased interaction between the ageing person and
others in the social system he belongs to
 Activity theory – as a response to disengagement theory and says that successful ageing occurs
when elderly stay active and maintain social interactions
 Continuity theory – it says that elder adults will try to maintain the continuity of their lifestyle by
adapting strategies connected to their past experiences
 No single theory is sufficient to explain ageing and thus it has become highly debatable topic in
anthropology.

b) Discuss applications of Anthropology in Nutrition.

Nutritional anthropology is the study of food and nutrition from evolutionary, behavioural, social and
cultural perspectives, and how these interact in the production of nutritional health at the individual,
community and population levels.
Application of anthropology in nutrition
 Studying ecology of malnutrition which ranges from extreme of deficiency to excess of nutrition.
It includes study and distribution of excessive amount of nutrients, obesity, protein deficiency,
mineral and vitamin deficiency.
 Helps in understanding effect of nutritional stress on infant mortality, decreased resistance to
infection, learning abilities etc. among human population
 Under Sociocultural processes and nutrition, it often focuses on large-scale processes of change,
such as globalization, modernization, urbanization, changing women's roles, and technological
change in order to understand how these processes affect food and nutrition.
 Nutritional anthropologists have studied the consequences for nutrition of a shift from foraging-
hunting to agriculture. Studies of the effects on nutrition of a shift from subsistence farming to
cash cropping are another example.
 Studies of behavioural adaptations that permit people to create and sustain diets that, over the long
run, would be untenable biologically without such adaptations.
 Relationship between genetic variability in populations and food consumption patterns.
Anthropologists have sought to understand how it is possible for adults in some populations to
consume milk when the common pattern is for humans to lose their capacity to digest lactose after
childhood.
 Applied anthropological studies in nutrition and health have been facilitated by the development of
manuals for Rapid Assessment Procedures (RAP) or Focused Ethnographic Studies (FES). For
example, with the aid of manuals, short-term qualitative studies have been conducted in planning
interventions to improve vitamin A status in deficient populations and for interventions intended
to improve the feeding of infants and young children.

c) What are the factors which affect the Infant Mortality Rate in India?
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants under one year
of age per 1000 live births in a given year.
Endogenous/Biological factors:
 Among the biological factors affecting foetal and neo-natal infant mortality rates, the important
ones are the age of the mother, the birth order, the period of spacing between births, prematurity
birth, weight at birth and the fact of multiple births.
 Based on in-depth studies done on the age of the mother, the parity of the mother or the order of
pregnancy and or of birth it has been generally observed that foetal and neo-natal mortality rates
are higher at the younger ages of the mother (that is, below the age of 19), at first parity and for the
first birth order.
 It is now an established fact the causes of foetal and neo-natal deaths arise mainly out of genetic
factors, and may be traced back to the intrauterine life of the foetus and to the damage occurring
during the process of birth.
 Exogenous Causes:
 Social, cultural, economic and environmental factors are also found to affect infant mortality,
especially during the post-neonatal period.
 However, post-neo-natal deaths are mainly due to various epidemics caused by communicable
diseases, both of the digestive system such as diarrhoea and enteritis, and of the respiratory system
such as bronchitis and pneumonia as well as by faulty feeding patterns and poor hygiene.
 The important environmental factors include crowding and congestion, insanitary surroundings,
lack of proper sunshine and fresh air, etc.
 Changing patterns of lifestyle impacting on culture producing illegitimate births and consequent
effects leading to infant mortality is also contributing to a high infant mortality rate.

Q.8) a) Differentiate between the terms adaptation, adaptability & acclimatization in human beings
with examples
Individuals in human population show variations which is largely the product of variations in genes.
But, physical and cultural environment also produce varying frequencies of physical traits. Thus,
ecological anthropology deals with these factors which are referred to as adaptation and
acclimatization.

Adaptation –
 genetic changes that allow an organism to survive and reproduce in a specific environment
 environment favours the reproductive success of some traits rather than others
 for example variation in skin colour, body build can explain the role of natural selection in different
environment
 it results in permanent changes in the structure and physiology of an organism
 For example – eskimos have small limbs to prevent loss of heat and have normal trunk length so
that maximum metabolic energy is generated. Also have cold genes to keep their limbs warm and
save them from frost bites.

Acclimatization –
 It refers to an impermanent (temporary) physiological changes that people make when they
encounter a new environment
 There is an absence of any genetic change
 Individuals develop them during their lifetime rather than being born with it
 It involves whole genetic system and not a single or few genes
 For example –long term acclimatization - longer exposure to cold leads to increase in metabolic
rate of body which generates more internal heat.

Adaptability –
 It refers to the human ability to mould and modify the ecological habitat to make it more suitable
for survival in difficult conditions
 Ecological habitat is more difficult to change and thus human adaptability also includes the human
ability to mould and modify its own behaviour for better survival in different conditions
 It includes both biological and cultural component

b) Discuss various factors which affect growth & development in human beings
Genetic
 Genes control or affect growth and development right from the stage of eggs
 Some genes control growth and development in association with environment – for ex. Height, age
of menarche
 Tall parents have tall children also size of head is more closely related to parents than shape of
hand and feet
 Twin studies of skeletal maturity shows a close correspondence at all ages in identical twins
 Growth potential of different racial group differ for ex- Japanese children reach their growth peak
and mature earlier than negroes and white and is least affected by environment factor

Environmental
 Environment provides opportunities for development of some innate potentialities of heredity
 Twin studies show the effect of environment on growth
 When section of homogeneous population migrates to another land and continue to maintain their
group identity, difference between this section and their counterparts in the original homeland can
be seen
 Due to emotional stress -> growth hormone secretion is inhibited and thus children do not grow
and develop at an optimal rate

Biochemical
 Human growth and development is an interplay of hormones secreted by various endocrine glands
 Any fluctuation in their normal level in blood reflects serious imbalance in growth and development
 Maximum growth is attained when both thyroxin and growth hormone have their optimum level
 Growth hormone is capable of causing both bone and muscle growth
 During pre-natal stage – chorionic gonadotropin and testosterone play an important role
 During post-natal stage – growth hormone plays an important role
 During adolescence stage – growth promoting cortical hormones, testosterone, growth hormone
and sexual maturity through gonadal hormones etc. play an important role

c) Discuss in detail the “genetic markers” in human beings which help in the genetic analysis in men.
It is a gene or DNA sequence with known location on chromosome that can be used to identify an
individual or species. Human blood is an important source of genetic markers and it has advantage as
it is easily obtained and can be easily transported.

Genetic markers in human blood –

 ABO blood group system –
o Discovered by Landsteiner in 1900
o Three alleles IA, IB and IO determines the four types of blood group in this system
o Presence of any of these two on the homologous chromosomes determines the type of
blood group
 Rh blood group system –
o Discovered in rhesus monkey
o Rh+ - antigen Rh dominant – 85% of Europe and America
o Rh- - no antigen
o Medical significance – If Rh- woman marries Rh+ man, child becomes Rh+ - Rh+ antigen of
foetus enters into woman’s body through placenta – formation of Rh antibody in woman’s
blood. In next pregnancy, if child is Rh+ and mother’s blood is already loaded with Rh
antibody – large scale destruction of foetal RBC which leads to jaundice, also known as
Haemolytic disease of new born (HDN)
 Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) –
o HLA is present on the surface of most organs and is responsible for graft rejection
o Determined by five closely linked loci A, B, C, D and Dr on short arm of chromosome 6
 o it is highly unlikely that any two unrelated individuals will be completely identical at this
locus
o greater the similarity at this locus, more likely the transplanted organ will not be rejected
 Haptoglobin –
o Serum protein concerned with transport of free haemoglobin to liver for breakdown of
haem and ultimate production of bile saly. Biliverdin
o Population variation – West Europe – 40%, Tropical Africa – Higher 60%, African
population – 30% show no haptoglobins, Asia – lower 20%
 Transferrin –
o Transports iron from sites of red cell destruction and from the intestine to the bone
marrow
o Each molecule can bind two atoms of iron
o About 20 variants – slow variant [TfDi] – Africa, Australia, New guinea and adjacent islands
 Gm factor –
o Five major type of humoral antibodies i.e. IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD, IgE which are secreted by B-
lymphocytes in response to the presence of foreign substance in body
o Gm factor is the variant of IgG antibody which is the only antibody which crosses the
placenta and it is secreted sometimes in milk
o If the mother has a Gm factor not possessed by her baby, the mother’s IgG antibody will be
attacked upon when the baby grows and forms its own antibody