Etextbook 978 0134042435 Human Biology Concepts and Current Issues

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Contents vii
The degree of nerve activation influences force 131 7.3 Human blood types 150
Slow-twitch versus fast-twitch fibers: endurance versus ABO blood typing is based on A and B antigens 150
strength 132
Rh blood typing is based on Rh factor 151
Exercise training improves muscle mass, strength, and
Blood typing and cross-matching ensure blood
endurance 133
compatibility 152
MJ’s BlogInFocus 134
New tests make transfused blood safer 153
6.4 Cardiac and smooth muscles have special 7.4 Blood substitutes 153
features 134
Health & Wellness Donating Blood 154
How cardiac and smooth muscles are activated 134
Arrangement of myosin and actin filaments 135
Speed and sustainability of contraction 135
7.5 Blood disorders 154
Mononucleosis: contagious viral infection
of lymphocytes 154
6.5 Diseases and disorders of the muscular Blood poisoning: bacterial infection of blood 155
system 136
Anemia: reduction in blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity 155
Muscular dystrophy 136
Leukemia: uncontrolled production of white
Tetanus 136 blood cells 155
Muscle cramps 136 Multiple myeloma: uncontrolled production
Pulled muscles 136 of plasma cells 156
Fasciitis 136 Thrombocytopenia: reduction in platelet number 156
MJ’s BlogInFocus 138 MJ’s BlogInFocus 158
7 Blood 139 8 Heart and Blood Vessels 159

Current Issue Should You Bank Your Baby’s Current Issue How Should Comparative Effec-
Cord Blood? 140 tiveness Research Be Used? 160
7.1 The composition and functions of blood 142 8.1 Blood vessels transport blood 161
Arteries transport blood away from the heart 162
Plasma consists of water and dissolved solutes 142
Arterioles and precapillary sphincters regulate
Red blood cells transport oxygen and carbon
blood flow 163
dioxide 143
Capillaries: where blood exchanges substances
Hematocrit and hemoglobin reflect oxygen-carrying
with tissues 164
capacity 144
The lymphatic system helps maintain blood volume 165
All blood cells and platelets originate
from stem cells 145 Veins return blood to the heart 165
RBCs have a short life span 145
RBC production is regulated by a hormone 146 8.2 The heart pumps blood through the vessels 166
White blood cells defend the body 146 The heart is mostly muscle 166
Platelets are essential for blood clotting 148 The heart has four chambers and four valves 167
The pattern of blood flow through the cardiovascular
system 168
7.2 Hemostasis: stopping blood loss 148
Arteries and veins of the human body 169
Vascular spasms constrict blood vessels to reduce blood
flow 148 MJ’s BlogInFocus 170
Platelets stick together to seal a ruptured vessel 149 The cardiac cycle: the heart contracts and relaxes 170
MJ’s BlogInFocus 149 Heart sounds reflect closing heart valves 172
A blood clot forms around the platelet plug 149 The cardiac conduction system coordinates contraction 172
MJ’s BlogInFocus 149 Electrocardiogram records the heart’s electrical activity 173
viii Contents
8.3 Blood exerts pressure against vessel walls 174 9.3 Keeping pathogens out: the first line
Measuring blood pressure 174 of defense 195
Hypertension: high blood pressure can be Skin: an effective deterrent 195
dangerous 175 Impeding pathogen entry in areas not covered by skin 195
Health & Wellness Cholesterol and Atherosclerosis 176
Hypotension: when blood pressure is too low 177 9.4 Nonspecific defenses: the second line
of defense 196
8.4 How the cardiovascular system is regulated 177 The complement system assists other defense
Baroreceptors maintain arterial blood pressure 178 mechanisms 196
Local requirements dictate local blood flows 178 Phagocytes engulf foreign cells 197
Exercise: increased blood flow and cardiac Inflammation: redness, warmth, swelling, and pain 198
output 179 Natural killer cells target tumors and virus-infected
cells 199
Interferons interfere with viral reproduction 199
8.5 Cardiovascular disorders: a major health issue 179
Fever raises body temperature 199
Angina: chest pain warns of impaired blood flow 180
Heart attack: permanent damage to heart tissue 180
Heart failure: the heart becomes less efficient 181 9.5 Specific defense mechanisms: the third line
of defense 199
Embolism: blockage of a blood vessel 181
The immune system targets antigens 200
Stroke: damage to blood vessels in the brain 181
Lymphocytes are central to specific defenses 200
B cells: antibody-mediated immunity 200
8.6 Replacing a failing heart 182
The five classes of antibodies 202
An antibody’s structure enables it to bind to a specific
antigen 202
8.7 Reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease 183 T cells: cell-mediated immunity 202
9.6 Immune memory creates immunity 205
Health & Wellness The Case for Breast Milk 206
9 The Immune System and Mechanisms MJ’s BlogInFocus 206
of Defense 187
Current Issue An Outbreak of Ebola 188 9.7 Medical assistance in the war against
pathogens 207
Active immunization: an effective weapon against
pathogens 207
Passive immunization can help against existing or
anticipated infections 207
9.1 Pathogens cause disease 190
Monoclonal antibodies: laboratory-created
Bacteria: single-celled living organisms 190 for commercial use 207
Viruses: tiny infectious agents 191 Antibiotics combat bacteria 209
Prions: infectious proteins 191 MJ’s BlogInFocus 209
Transmissibility, mode of transmission, and virulence
determine health risk 192
9.8 Tissue rejection: a medical challenge 209
9.2 The lymphatic system defends the body 192

9.9 Inappropriate immune system activity causes
Lymphatic vessels transport lymph 192 health problems 209
Lymph nodes cleanse the lymph 192 Allergies: a hypersensitive immune system 210
The spleen cleanses blood 194 Autoimmune disorders: defective recognition of self 211
Thymus gland hormones cause T lymphocytes
to mature 194
Tonsils protect the throat 194
Contents ix
9.10 Immune deficiency: the special case of AIDS 212 10.6 Disorders of the respiratory system 235
HIV targets helper T cells of the immune system 212 Reduced air flow or gas exchange impedes respiratory
HIV is transmitted in body fluids 213 function 235
AIDS develops slowly 213 Microorganisms can cause respiratory disorders 236
The AIDS epidemic: a global health issue 214 Health & Wellness Carbon Monoxide: An Invisible,
Risky behaviors increase your chances of getting AIDS 214 Odorless Killer 237
Lung cancer is caused by proliferation of abnormal
Making sex safer 214
cells 238
New treatments offer hope 215
Exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma 238
Pneumothorax and atelectasis: a failure of gas
exchange 238
Congestive heart failure impairs lung function 238
10 The Respiratory System: Exchange MJ’s BlogInFocus 242
of Gases 219
Current Issue The Fight over Regulation of
E-Cigarettes 220 11 The Nervous System: Integration and
Control 243
Current Issue Head Trauma in Young
Athletes 244
10.1 Respiration takes place throughout the body 221
10.2 The respiratory system consists of upper and lower

11.1 The nervous system has two principal parts 245
respiratory tracts 222
The upper respiratory tract filters, warms,
and humidifies air 223
The lower respiratory tract exchanges gases 223 11.2 Neurons are the communication cells of the
MJ’s BlogInFocus 226 nervous system 246
10.3 The process of breathing involves a pressure 11.3 Neurons initiate action potentials 247
gradient 228 Sodium-potassium pump maintains resting potential 248
Inspiration brings in air, expiration expels it 228 Graded potentials can initiate an action potential 248
Lung volumes and vital capacity measure lung Action potentials are all-or-none and
function 229 self-propagating 250
10.4 Gas exchange and transport occur passively 230 11.4 Neuroglial cells support and protect neurons 251
Gases diffuse according to their partial pressures 230
11.5 Information is transferred from a neuron to its
External respiration: the exchange of gases between air
target 252
and blood 230
Neurotransmitter is released 252
Internal respiration: the exchange of gases with tissue
fluids 232 Neurotransmitters exert excitatory or inhibitory effects 253
Hemoglobin transports most oxygen molecules 232 Postsynaptic neurons integrate and process
information 254
Most CO2 is transported in plasma as bicarbonate 233
10.5 The nervous system regulates breathing 233 11.6 The PNS relays information between tissues
and the CNS 254
A respiratory center establishes rhythm
of breathing 234 Nerves carry signals to and from the CNS 254
Chemical receptors monitor CO2, H+, and O2 levels 235 Sensory neurons provide information to the CNS 255
We can exert some conscious control 235 The somatic division controls skeletal muscles 255
x Contents
The autonomic division controls automatic body Mechanoreceptors indicate limb position, muscle length,
functions 256 and tension 279
The sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions oppose Thermoreceptors detect temperature 280
each other 256 Pain receptors signal discomfort 280
11.7 The brain and spinal cord constitute the CNS 259 12.3 Taste and smell depend on chemoreceptors 281
Bone, meninges, and the blood-brain barrier protect the Taste: chemoreceptors bind with dissolved
CNS 259 substances 281
The spinal cord relays information 260 MJ’s BlogInFocus 282
Smell: chemoreceptors bind with odorants 282
11.8 The brain processes and acts on information 261
The hindbrain: movement and automatic functions 261 12.4 Hearing: mechanoreceptors detect sound waves 283
The midbrain: vision, hearing, and sleep/ The outer ear channels sound waves 284
wakefulness 262
The middle ear amplifies sound 284
The forebrain: emotions and conscious thought 262
The inner ear sorts and converts sounds 285
11.9 Memory involves storing and retrieving

information 265 12.5 The inner ear plays an essential role in balance 286
Sensing rotational movement 286
Sensing head position and acceleration 287
11.10 Psychoactive drugs affect higher brain
functions 265
12.6 Vision: detecting and interpreting visual stimuli 288
11.11 Disorders of the nervous system 266 Structure of the eye 288
Trauma 266 Regulating the amount of light and focusing the

image 289
Infections 267
Eyeball shape affects focus 290
Brain tumors: abnormal growths 267
Light is converted into action potentials 291
Rods and cones respond to light 291
Health & Wellness Repairing Spinal Cord Injuries 268
Health & Wellness LASIK to Correct Vision Problems 292
Disorders of neural and synaptic transmission 268
Rods provide vision in dim light 292
Cones provide color vision and accurate images 292
Visual receptors adapt 293
12 Sensory Mechanisms 274 MJ’s BlogInFocus 293
Current Issue DWD: Driving While

Distracted 275 12.7 Disorders of sensory mechanisms 293
12.1 Receptors receive and convert stimuli 276 13 The Endocrine System 298
Receptors are classified according to stimulus 276 Current Issue Endocrine Disruptors in the
The CNS interprets nerve impulses based on origin and Environment 299
frequency 277
Some receptors adapt to continuing stimuli 277
Somatic sensations and special senses provide sensory
information 278 13.1 The endocrine system produces hormones 300
12.2 Somatic sensations arise from receptors through-

out the body 278 13.2 Hormones are classified as steroid or
The skin contains a variety of sensory receptors 278 nonsteroid 302
Steroid hormones enter target cells 303
Contents xi
Nonsteroid hormones bind to receptors on target cell Health & Wellness Dealing with Diabetes: Prevention or
membranes 303 Treatment? 318
Some hormones participate in negative feedback Addison’s disease: too little cortisol and
loops 304 aldosterone 318
Cushing’s syndrome: too much cortisol 318
13.3 The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland 304 Hypogonadism: too little testosterone 319
The posterior pituitary stores ADH and oxytocin 305 MJ’s BlogInFocus 321
The anterior pituitary produces six key hormones 307
Pituitary disorders: hypersecretion or hyposecretion 308
14 The Digestive System
13.4 The pancreas secretes glucagon, insulin, and Nutrition 322
and somatostatin 309
Current Issue Choosing Organic Versus
Conventional Foods 323
13.5 The adrenal glands comprise the cortex MJ’s BlogInFocus 324
and medulla 310
The adrenal cortex: glucocorticoids and
mineralocorticoids 310 14.1 The digestive system brings nutrients
The adrenal medulla: epinephrine and into the body 325
norepinephrine 310
The walls of the GI tract are composed of four layers 326
Five basic processes accomplish digestive system
13.6 Thyroid and parathyroid glands 311 function 326
The thyroid gland: thyroxine speeds cellular Two types of motility aid digestive processes 327
metabolism 311
Parathyroid hormone (PTH) controls blood calcium
levels 313
14.2 The mouth processes food for swallowing 327
Teeth bite and chew food 328
The tongue positions and tastes food 328
13.7 Testes and ovaries produce sex hormones 314
Saliva begins the process of digestion 328
Testes produce testosterone 314
Ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone 314
14.3 The pharynx and esophagus deliver food
to the stomach 329
13.8 Other glands and organs also secrete

hormones 314 14.4 The stomach stores food, digests protein,
and regulates delivery 330
Thymus gland hormones aid the immune system 314
Gastric juice breaks down proteins 330
The pineal gland secretes melatonin 314
Stomach contractions mix food and push it
Endocrine functions of the heart, the digestive system, forward 331
and the kidneys 315
14.5 The small intestine digests food and absorbs

13.9 Other chemical messengers 316
nutrients and water 332
Histamine is important in inflammation 316
Prostaglandins: local control of blood flow 316
14.6 Accessory organs aid digestion and
Nitric oxide has multiple functions 316
absorption 333
Growth factors regulate tissue growth 316
The pancreas secretes enzymes and NaHCO3 333
The liver produces bile and performs many other
13.10 Disorders of the endocrine system 317 functions 333
Diabetes mellitus: inadequate control of blood sugar 317 The gallbladder stores bile until needed 334
Hypothyroidism: underactive thyroid gland 317
Hyperthyroidism: overactive thyroid gland 317
xii Contents
14.7 The large intestine absorbs nutrients 15.2 Organs of the urinary system 354
and eliminates wastes 335 Ureters transport urine to the bladder 355
MJ’s BlogInFocus 335 Urinary bladder stores urine 355
14.8 How nutrients are absorbed 335 The urethra carries urine from the body 356
Proteins and carbohydrates are digested, then
absorbed 335
15.3 The internal structure of a kidney 356
Lipids are broken down, then reassembled 336
Special blood vessels supply the tubule 357
Water is absorbed by osmosis 336
Health & Wellness Should You Drink Raw Milk? 337
Vitamins and minerals follow a variety of paths 337
15.4 Formation of urine: filtration, reabsorption, and
secretion 358
Glomerular filtration filters fluid from capillaries 359
14.9 Nerves and hormones regulate digestion 338 Tubular reabsorption returns filtered water and solutes to
blood 360
14.10 Nutrition: you are what you eat 338 Tubular secretion removes other substances from
blood 361
ChooseMyPlate.gov offers a personalized approach 338
Carbohydrates: a major energy source 339
Lipids: essential cell components and energy sources 339
Complete proteins contain every amino acid 340 15.5 Producing diluted or concentrated urine 362
Vitamins are essential for normal function 341 Producing dilute urine: excreting excess water 362
Minerals: elements essential for body processes 342 Producing concentrated urine: conserving water 363
Fiber benefits the colon 343

MJ’s BlogInFocus 343 15.6 Urination depends on a reflex 363
14.11 Food labels 343 15.7 The kidneys contribute to homeostasis in many
ways 363
ADH regulates water balance 364
14.12 Energy balance 344
Aldosterone regulates salt balance 364
Energy balance, body weight, and physical activity 344
The renin-angiotensin system controls blood volume
Healthy weight improves overall health 344 and blood pressure 365
Obesity 345 Atrial natriuretic hormone protects against blood volume
excess 366
14.13 Eating disorders 345 Kidneys help maintain acid-base balance and blood
pH 366
Erythropoietin stimulates production of red blood
14.14 Disorders of the digestive system 346 cells 367
Disorders of the GI tract 346 Kidneys activate vitamin D 367
Disorders of the accessory organs 347
MJ’s BlogInFocus 350 15.8 Disorders of the urinary system 367
Kidney stones can block urine flow 367
Health & Wellness Water Intoxication 368
15 The Urinary System 351 Urinary tract infections are often caused by bacteria 368
Current Issue A Shortage of Kidneys 352 Acute and chronic renal failure impair kidney function 368
Dialysis cleanses the blood artificially 369
Kidney transplants are a permanent solution to renal
failure 369
15.1 The urinary system regulates body fluids 353 MJ’s BlogInFocus 370
The kidneys regulate water levels 354 Urinary incontinence is a loss of bladder control 370
The kidneys regulate nitrogenous wastes and other MJ’s BlogInFocus 372
solutes 354
Contents xiii
16.6 Infertility: inability to conceive 389

16 Reproductive Systems 373 Infertility can have many causes 389
Current Issue Would You Like a Boy Enhancing fertility 390
or a Girl? 374
16.7 Sexually transmitted diseases 391

16.1 The male reproductive system delivers Bacterial STDs: syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia 391
sperm 375 Viral STDs: HIV, hepatitis B, HPV, and genital
Testes produce sperm 375 herpes 393
Accessory glands help sperm survive 376 Health & Wellness Have You Had Your Gardasil? 394
Sperm production requires several cell divisions 377 MJ’s BlogInFocus 395
Testosterone affects male reproductive capacity 378 Other STDs: yeast infections, trichomoniasis, and pubic
lice 395
Protecting yourself against STDs 396
16.2 The female reproductive system produces eggs MJ’s BlogInFocus 398
and supports pregnancy 379
Ovaries release oocytes and secrete hormones 379
The uterus nurtures the developing embryo
The vagina: organ of sexual intercourse and birth
379
17 Cell Reproduction and
canal 380 Differentiation 399
Mammary glands nourish the infant 380 Current Issue Therapeutic Cloning 400
16.3 The menstrual cycle consists of ovarian

and uterine cycles 381
The ovarian cycle: oocytes mature and are released 381
The uterine cycle prepares the uterus for pregnancy 382 17.1 The cell cycle creates new cells 401
Cyclic changes in hormone levels produce the menstrual
cycle 382
17.2 DNA structure and function: an overview 402
Replication: copying DNA before cell division 403
16.4 Human sexual response, intercourse, and
fertilization 384 Mutations are alterations in DNA 403
The male sexual response 384 Mechanisms of DNA repair 404
The female sexual response 384 Transcription: converting a gene’s code into mRNA 404
Fertilization: one sperm penetrates the egg 384 Translation: making a protein from RNA 405
16.5 Birth control methods: controlling fertility 385 17.3 Cell reproduction: one cell becomes two 407
Abstinence: not having intercourse 385 Mitosis: daughter cells are identical to the parent cell 407
Surgical sterilization: vasectomy and tubal Cytokinesis divides one cell into two identical cells 408
ligation 385 Mitosis produces cells identical to the parent cell 408
Hormonal methods: pills, injections, patches, and Meiosis prepares cells for sexual reproduction 409
rings 386 Sex differences in meiosis: four sperm versus one egg 410
IUDs are inserted into the uterus 386
Diaphragms and cervical caps block the cervix 387
17.4 How cell reproduction is regulated 411
Chemical spermicides kill sperm 387
Condoms trap ejaculated sperm 387
Withdrawal and periodic abstinence 388
17.5 Environmental factors influence cell
Pills that can be used after intercourse 388
differentiation 412
Differentiation during early development 412
Elective abortion 388
Differentiation later in development 413
The future in birth control 388
xiv Contents
17.6 Reproductive cloning requires an undifferentiated 18.6 The ten deadliest cancers 432
cell 413 Lung cancer: smoking is leading risk factor 432
Embryo splitting produces identical offspring 414 Cancers of colon and rectum: tests can detect them
Somatic cell nuclear transfer produces a clone of an early 433
adult 414 Breast cancer: early detection pays off 433
MJ’s BlogInFocus 415 Pancreatic cancer: rarely detected early
enough 433
17.7 Therapeutic cloning: creating tissues and Prostate cancer: most common after age 50 434
organs 415 Health & Wellness What If You Could Save Someone’s
MJ’s BlogInFocus 418 Life? 434
Leukemia: chemotherapy is often effective 435
Lymphoma: cancers of lymphoid tissues 435
18 Cancer: Uncontrolled Cell Division Urinary bladder cancer: surgery is often successful if
done early 435
and Differentiation 419 Esophageal cancer: a high ratio of deaths to cases 435
Current Issue Preventive Double Mastectomy Cancer of the uterus: unusual uterine bleeding is major
to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk 420 symptom 436
18.7 Some other notable cancers 436

18.1 Tumors can be benign or cancerous 421 Kidney cancers 436
Skin cancer 436
18.2 Cancer cells undergo structural and functional Ovarian cancer 437
changes 422 Testicular cancer 437
A pattern of changes leading to a lack of control 423
Cancer stages 423 18.8 Most cancers could be prevented 437
18.3 Factors contributing to cancer development 424

Mutant forms of proto-oncogenes, tumor suppressor
genes, and mutator genes contribute to cancer 424 19 Genetics and Inheritance 441
A variety of factors can lead to cancer 425 Current Issue Should You Have Genetic Tests
MJ’s BlogInFocus 427 for Disease Risks? 442
The immune system plays an important role in cancer
prevention 427
18.4 Advances in diagnosis enable early 19.1 Your genotype is the genetic basis of your
detection 428 phenotype 443
Tumor imaging: X-rays, PET, and MRI 429 MJ’s BlogInFocus 444
Genetic testing can identify mutated genes 430
Enzyme tests may detect cancer markers 430 19.2 Genetic inheritance follows certain
patterns 445
Punnett square analysis predicts patterns of
18.5 Cancer treatments 430 inheritance 445
Conventional cancer treatments: surgery, radiation, and
chemotherapy 430 Mendel established the basic principles of
genetics 445
Dominant alleles are expressed over recessive
Magnetism and photodynamic therapy target malignant alleles 446
cells 431
Two-trait crosses: independent assortment of genes for
Immunotherapy promotes immune response 431 different traits 448
“Starving” cancer by inhibiting angiogenesis 431
Molecular treatments target defective genes 432
Contents xv
19.3 Incomplete dominance and codominance 450 20.2 DNA can be cloned in the laboratory 467
Incomplete dominance: heterozygotes have an interme- Recombinant DNA technology: isolating and cloning
diate phenotype 450 genes 467
Codominance: both gene products are equally Cloning DNA fragments: the polymerase chain
expressed 450 reaction 469
Health & Wellness Cystic Fibrosis 452 Health & Wellness DNA-Based Vaccines Against
MJ’s BlogInFocus 452 Viruses 469
Identifying the source of DNA: DNA fingerprinting 470
19.4 Other factors influencing inheritance patterns
and phenotype 452 20.3 Genetic engineering creates transgenic
Polygenic inheritance: phenotype is influenced by many organisms 471
genes 452 Transgenic bacteria have many uses 471
Both genotype and the environment affect phenotype 453 Transgenic plants: more vitamins and better pest
Linked alleles may or may not be inherited together 454 resistance 472
19.5 Sex-linked inheritance 454 Transgenic animals: a bigger challenge 473
Sex-linked inheritance depends on genes located on sex MJ’s BlogInFocus 473
chromosomes 454
Sex-influenced traits are affected by actions of sex 20.4 Gene therapy: the hope of the future? 474
genes 455
Gene therapy must overcome many obstacles 475
Vectors transfer genes into human cells 475
19.6 Alterations in chromosome number or Success with SCID gives hope 476
structure 456
Research targets cystic fibrosis and cancer 476
Down syndrome: three copies of chromosome 21 456
Alterations of the number of sex chromosomes 457
Deletions and translocations alter chromosome
structure 458 21 Development, Maturation, Aging,
and Death 479
19.7 Inherited disorders involving recessive alleles 458 Current Issue Death with Dignity (Brittany
Phenylketonuria is caused by a missing enzyme 458 Maynard’s Journey) 480
Tay-sachs disease leads to brain dysfunction 458
Huntington disease is caused by a dominant-lethal
allele 459
21.1 Fertilization begins when sperm and egg unite 481
19.8 Genes code for proteins, not for specific The journeys of egg and sperm 481
behaviors 459 One sperm fertilizes the egg 482
MJ’s BlogInFocus 462 Twins may be fraternal or identical 483
21.2 Developmental processes: cleavage, growth,

20 DNA Technology and Genetic differentiation, and morphogenesis 484
Engineering 463
Current Issue Genetically Modified 21.3 Pre-embryonic development: the first two
Plants 464 weeks 484
21.4 Embryonic development: weeks three to eight 485

Tissues and organs derive from three germ layers 485
20.1 NA sequencing reveals the structure of
D Extra-embryonic membranes 486
DNA 466
The placenta and umbilical cord 486
The embryo develops rapidly 488
xvi Contents
21.5 Gender development 489 22.2 Natural selection contributes to evolution 510
Random mutations underlie evolution 510
21.6 Fetal development: nine weeks to birth 490 Natural selection encourages changes in the gene
pool 510
Months three and four 490
Genetic drift and gene flow alter populations 510
Mass extinctions eliminated many species 511
Months five and six 490
Months seven through nine 490
Evolutionary trees trace relationships between
species 511
21.7 Birth and the early postnatal period 490
Labor ends in delivery 491 22.3 In the beginning, Earth was too hot for life 512
Cesarean delivery: surgical delivery of a baby 492
22.4 The first cells lived without oxygen 512
The transition from fetus to newborn 492
Organic molecules formed from atmospheric
Lactation produces milk to nourish the newborn 494 gases 512
Self-replicating RNA and DNA formed 512
21.8 Maturation: from birth to adulthood 494 The first living cells were anaerobic 512
The neonatal period: a helpless time 494
Infancy: rapid development and maturation of organ 22.5 Photosynthesis altered the course
systems 494 of evolution 513
Childhood: continued development and growth 495 Aerobic organisms evolved 513
Adolescence: the transition to adulthood 495 The rise of animals and our human ancestors 513
Health & Wellness Prenatal Diagnostic
Techniques 496
22.6 Humans share a common ancestor
with primates 514
21.9 Aging 496 Humans are primates 514
What causes aging? 497
Evolution of Homo Sapiens 516
Body systems age at different rates 498
Differences within the human species 518
Aging well 499
21.10 Death 500

MJ’s BlogInFocus 502 23 Ecosystems and Populations 521
Current Issue Overharvesting is Depleting the
Oceans’ Wildlife Populations 522
22 Evolution and the Origins
of Life 503
Current Issue Who Were the Flores
People? 504 23.1 Ecosystems: living organisms and their
environment 524
23.2 The dynamic nature of populations 524

22.1 The evidence for evolution 506 Where a species lives: habitat and range 524
The fossil record: incomplete but valuable 506 Population growth rate tends toward biotic
Comparative anatomy and embryology provide more potential 525
evidence 507 Environmental resistance limits biotic potential 525
Comparative biochemistry examines similarities between Invasive species alter the ecological balance 526
molecules 508
Biogeography: the impact of geographic barriers and
continental drift on evolutionary processes 509
Contents xvii
23.3 Communities: different species living Pollutants produce acid rain 545
together 526 MJ’s BlogInFocus 546
Overlapping niches foster competition 526 Smog blankets industrial areas 546
Succession leads toward a mature community 526
Ecosystems: communities and their physical 24.2 Pollution jeopardizes scarce water supplies 546
environment 527
Water is scarce and unequally distributed 546
23.4 Energy flows through living organisms 528 Urbanization increases storm water runoff 547
Producers capture and convert energy, consumers rely on Human activities pollute freshwater 547
stored energy 528
Groundwater pollution may impair human health 548
Oil pollution and garbage are damaging oceans and
A food web: interactions among producers and shorelines 549
consumers 529
The lower levels of an ecological pyramid support
consumer populations 531 24.3 Pollution and overuse damage the land 549
Human activities disrupt ecological pyramids 531
24.4 Energy: many options, many choices 550
23.5 The matter (material) comprising living organisms MJ’s BlogInFocus 552
is recycled 532
The water cycle is essential to other biogeochemical 24.5 Environmental change and loss
cycles 532
of biodiversity 552
The carbon cycle: organisms exchange CO2 with the
atmosphere 533 Humans alter and destroy habitats 552
Nitrogen: an essential component of nucleic acids Urbanization is a major force for environmental
and proteins 534 change 553
Phosphorus: a sedimentary cycle 534 Biodiversity is healthy for humans, too 553
24.6 Toward sustainable development 553
23.6 Human population growth 536 Measuring sustainability and quality of life 553
Zero population growth has not yet been achieved 536 Strategies to support sustainable development 554
Population age structure is linked to economic MJ’s BlogInFocus 557
development 537
MJ’s BlogInFocus 538 Glossary G-1
Answers A-1
Credits C-1
24 Human Impacts, Biodiversity, Index I-1
and Environmental Issues 541
Current Issue Global Warming and Global
Climate Change 542
24.1 Pollutants impair air quality 544

Excessive greenhouse gases are causing global
warming 544
CFCs deplete the ozone layer 545
Preface
Should childhood vaccinations be mandatory for school and so forth, are included both in the text and in the
attendance? Are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) accompanying figure. These correlating step icons will
a good or a bad thing? How will our future be affected by help students follow the logical sequence of events as
global warming and global climate change, and what, if those events unfold within a complex process.
anything, should we be doing about these phenomena? Are ●● Updated Features, Graphs, Tables, and Text. Key
organic foods better for you than conventional foods? features of this text are currency and accuracy. Time-
Questions such as these seem to come up almost daily. dependent data has been updated with the latest infor-
Those of us who find these questions and the news stories mation available. The updated text includes eleven new
about them fascinating—and yes, even exciting!—have an or extensively updated Current Issue features, three new
obligation to help others understand science and the impact Health & Wellness features, and more than 60 new MJ’s
it has on their lives. Science is too much fun and far too BlogInFocus entries.
important to be left to scientists.
New to This Edition The Focus Is On the Student

This book is written for students who do not yet have a
Changes to this edition are designed to encourage students
strong background in science so that they, too, might share
who do not have a strong background in science to become
in the joy and wonder of science. Every effort is made to
actively engaged in the course. Improved pedagogy helps
make the book accurate and up to date while keeping it
students focus their learning, directs their attention to key
inviting, accessible, and easy to read. The look and feel
concepts and current issues in biology, and encourages
of the text is intentionally like that of a news magazine,
thoughtful analysis and critical thinking.
peppered with short features likely to be of interest to the
●● New organization to the chapter opening material. student and designed with a strong visual appeal.
To help the student develop an organized approach to Each chapter begins with an outline of the main topic
a chapter’s content, each chapter opener now includes headings and a list of key concepts to be covered. Next, a
an outline of the main headings and a list of the key Current Issue feature highlights a recent controversy or ethi-
concepts to be covered. cal/social/political issue related to topics to be covered in
●● Addition of a “connections” passage. The initial the chapter. In the introductory section of each chapter, a
section of text in each chapter includes a “connections” new “connections” passage helps the student understand
passage, delineated by a chain-link icon , that provides just how the topic of the chapter fits into the bigger picture
the student with a sense of how a chapter’s specific topic of human biology and the larger world.
interrelates to the overall subject of human biology, Students are naturally curious about how their own
biology in general, and the larger world. bodies work and human diseases and disorders. We capital-
●● New ways to access MJ’s BlogInFocus entries. To ize on this curiosity with Health & Wellness features that
rouse students’ interest in the science they encounter highlight timely health topics. In addition, organ system
in their everyday lives, once again incorporated into chapters generally conclude with a section covering the
each chapter are references to the author’s blog. With more common human diseases and disorders.
this edition, the MJ’s BlogInFocus is more accessible, as Once again, a key feature of the book is MJ’s BlogInFocus,
students can now view the blog entries via three different brief references to a blog Web site written by Dr. Johnson in
ways: directly with their smartphones by scanning a QR support of this text. The URL is www.humanbiologyblog.
code, online by typing a URL into a search engine, or blogspot.com. Two to four MJ’s BlogInFocus entries per
by visiting the MasteringBiology Web site. Each chapter chapter highlight recent discoveries or news items relevant
includes two to four MJ’s BlogInFocus references. It is to the subject of each chapter. Most of the blog entries have
hoped that these references to the author’s Web site will an additional embedded URL that takes the student
encourage students to further explore science related directly to a news source or research paper. We hope that
topics that are of particular interest to them. MJ’s BlogInFocus entries and the author’s blog will encourage
●● Refreshed Visual Content. To revitalize the visual curious students to dig a little deeper into topics that interest
content, 120 new photos replace images from the previous them. New to this edition are the means by which students
edition, and 16 figures are new. More than 30 other can access the blog entries. Students can now get to the blog
figures have been improved from the previous edition. in any one of three ways: They can scan a QR code, type a
●● The use of numbered steps. Where complex processes URL into a search engine, or visit Pearson’s MasteringBiology
are described, numbered step icons, 1 , 2 , 3 , Web site.
xviii
Preface xix
To help students assess whether or not they understand The Organization Fits the Course
the material, check questions throughout the text allow the
students to test their understanding as they go along. This book was designed to accommodate the fairly standard
Finally, at the end of each chapter is a range of question format for college courses in human biology. There are
types, from concept review to recall to application, each chapters that introduce science and chemistry, chapters
designed to test the student’s knowledge of facts as well as that cover basic human biology from cells through the
stimulate their critical thinking skills. human organ systems, and finally, chapters on evolution,
ecosystems and populations, and human impacts on the
environment.
Unifying Themes Tie the Subjects With such broad coverage, however, there is never
enough time to teach all that is interesting, exciting, and
Together relevant about human biology in one semester. Fortunately,
Several unifying themes in biology hold the chapters because each chapter was written to stand on its own, this
together. Homeostasis, the state of dynamic equilibrium book allows for a certain degree of flexibility. Instructors
in which the internal environment of an organism is wishing to emphasize the basics of human anatomy and
maintained fairly constant, is one of those recurrent physiology or focus on the medical aspects of human bi-
themes. The concept of homeostasis ties in with another ology could omit or de-emphasize the last two chapters.
recurrent theme: Structure and function are related. Instructors should also feel free to present the organ system
Structure/function relationships are the very core of the chapters in a different order if they feel more comfort-
study of anatomy and physiology, and both of these fields able doing so. Within chapters, sections on diseases and
in turn rely on the most unifying concept in all of biology: disorders could be omitted or considered optional. Those
evolution. Only in the context of evolution can anatomy interested in a more molecular or cellular approach might
and physiology be fully understood; without the concept of want to give greater emphasis to Chapters 2–4 and 17–21
evolution, very little in biology makes sense. and move more quickly through the organ systems chap-
A predominant theme of this book is that each of us ters. Those more interested in the broader picture of where
has choices to make—choices that will affect ourselves, humans came from and how humans fit into the world
other humans, and the entire planet. Should all children order may want to allow sufficient time for the last three
be vaccinated against childhood diseases? Should we spend chapters, even if it means that they must move quickly or
time and money preparing for a pandemic that may never selectively through the organ system chapters. All of these
occur? Will we be willing and able to slow the rate of global approaches are equally valid.
warming? Is it important that we save other species from However much you cover, dig in and enjoy your course!
extinction, and if so, how should we go about it? Students
are encouraged to formulate their own views on these and Michael D. Johnson
other topics so that they will feel comfortable with related
choices they make.
keep current in biology
Through his teaching, his textbook, and in his online blog, award-winning
teacher Michael D. Johnson sparks your interest by connecting basic
biology to real-world issues relevant to your life.
“I hope the blog will stimulate students to go beyond the required reading, leading
them to discover and explore subjects of personal interest. When this happens,
students will ultimately be learning because they want to, not because they have to,
and they’ll be more comfortable with science and with biology.”
—Michael Johnson, Author of Human Biology: Concepts and Current Issues
BlogInFocus in-text references appear at applicable

points within the chapter and direct you to the
blog that provides up-to-date insights on important
issues in the news. The blog is updated 3–4 times
per month.
NEW! Three options for accessing

Michael Johnson’s BlogInFocus entries: You
may scan a QR code using a smartphone,
type the URL (www.humanbiologyblog.
blogspot.com) into a search engine, or log
into your MasteringBiology subscription.
BlogInFocus MasteringBiology™ activities encourage

students to read the blog and allow instructors to assess
their understanding of the applied material.
engage with high interest essays
Each chapter opens with Michael Johnson’s popular “Current Issue” essays, and
BlogInFocus references within the chapter direct you to his frequently updated
online blog for breaking human biology-related news.
Located at the start of each chapter, Ch apter
Current Issue essays draw you into

The Immune System and
Mechanisms of Defense
9
the subject with interesting science CUrreNt ISSUe Questions to Consider
1 What should the United States
An Outbreak of Ebola
and health news items, connecting
do when an infectious disease breaks
9.1 Pathogens cause disease 190 out elsewhere in the world? In such a
9.2 The lymphatic system defends scenario, what is our responsibility
One-year-old Emile Ouamouno of the West
the body 192 African nation of Guinea developed a cough and/or what is in our best interests?
2 how afraid are you of ebola? Would
human biology to real-world issues.
9.3 Keeping pathogens out: the first and mild fever. emile’s parents thought
line of defense 195 nothing of his sickness at first, but then you be willing to travel to Guinea if your
9.4 Nonspecific defenses: the second he developed widespread uncontrollable boss asked you to? Why or why not?
line of defense 196 bleeding. Within days, he was dead.
Shortly thereafter, his mother, sister, and Several features of the virus make it
Each essay provides contrasting

9.5 Specific defense mechanisms: grandmother all came down with the same particularly dangerous. First, the earliest
the third line of defense 199 symptoms, and all three died. a village symptoms of the disease are similar to
9.6 Immune memory creates nurse and the local midwife also died of the the common cold or the flu, so it may go
immunity 205 mysterious and apparently contagious disease, undiagnosed until it is too late. Second, the
views on the featured hot topic.

9.7 Medical assistance in the war but not before the midwife had passed it on Freshly dug graves for ebola victims in disease has a long incubation time (days
to people in the surrounding area. Freetown, Sierra Leone.
against pathogens 207 to even several weeks) before symptoms
Young emile, whose death occurred emile Ouamouno was probably bitten by an first appear. therefore, the disease can be
9.8 Tissue rejection: a medical on December 6, 2013, was posthumously infected fruit bat living in the trees nearby. transmitted to another person before anyone
challenge 209 diagnosed with a disease called ebola Once the first person is infected, the is aware that the patient actually has ebola.
9.9 Inappropriate immune hemorrhagic fever (ehV), or simply ebola. ebola virus is transmitted from human to third, the virus kills approximately 50% of all
system activity causes health emile is thought to be patient zero in an human by direct contact with bodily fluids persons infected, generally within days of the
Many NEW Current Issue essays

problems 209 ongoing outbreak of ebola that has spread in such as saliva, nasal mucous, or feces. appearance of symptoms. and fourth, there is
Guinea and two neighboring countries, Liberia It’s no surprise, then, that the next victims no known cure for the disease. the only way
9.10 Immune deficiency: the special
and Sierra Leone. as of 2015, the death toll in the most recent outbreak were emile’s to end an outbreak is to prevent the disease
case of AIDS 212
from ebola in those countries is over 8,000. relatives and caretakers. an infection from spreading from person to person.
begins with symptoms that may include
replace those from the previous

What Is Ebola? fever, weakness, muscle pain, sore throat, Ebola in the United States
New hIV particles (pink) budding from the surface of a t lymphocyte
ebola(blue).
is an infectious disease caused by and headache. these early symptoms are By early 2014, U.S. health officials were
a virus called Zaire ebolavirus. the virus’s followed by vomiting, damage to liver and well aware of the ebola outbreak in africa
normal hosts are certain animals such as kidneys, and, in some patients, internal and and were on the lookout for its appearance
Key Concepts elsewhere. Despite their preparations for
edition, including:
monkeys and bats, but it can also infect external bleeding. In the most severe cases,
humans if there is direct contact with an blood begins to leak from every opening and international spread of the disease, the
●● The health risk of a pathogen (disease-causing organism) is determined by its arrival of ebola in the United States caused
infected animal’s bodily fluids. Young every organ, leading to rapid death.
transmissibility (how easily it can be passed from person to person), mode of widespread concern and action. travel
transmission (how it is transmitted; through air, food, blood, etc.), and virulence restrictions and health screening procedures
(how damaging the disease is when one catches it). were put in place for all persons traveling
from Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea. U.S.
• The 2013 Ebola outbreak

●● The immune system has nonspecific (against many pathogens) and specific (against
one pathogen) defense mechanisms. hospitals made plans to isolate and treat what
could’ve possibly become a large number
●● Nonspecific defense mechanisms include immune system cells that engulf and of ebola-infected patients. health officials
digest foreign cells, chemicals that are toxic to foreign cells, proteins that interfere tracked down and quarantined persons who
(Chapter 9)
with viral reproduction, and the development of a fever. had been exposed to the virus. ebola was
among the top news stories every day.
●● Specific defense mechanisms involve the production of antibodies and T cells that ebola was first diagnosed within the
recognize and inactivate one particular pathogen. Specific defense mechanisms have United States during September of 2014,
a memory component that is the basis of immunity. when a Liberian man with the disease
Inappropriate immune system activity can lead to allergies and autoimmune diseases. traveled to Dallas, texas, to visit relatives.
• Regulation of e-cigarettes
●●
(he later died, despite the best medical care
●● AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is caused by a virus that targets available.) two U.S. health care workers
certain cells of the immune system. who had been in contact with the Liberian
patient were infected with the disease and
187
(Chapter 10)
began to show symptoms a month later.
Both of the care workers recovered fully. ➔
Medical personnel in Monrovia, Liberia,

disinfect people who brought a patient
suspected of having ebola to the hospital.
• Choosing between organic or con-

M09_JOHN2435_08_SE_C09.indd 187 9/28/15 6:39 PM
188
ventional foods (Chapter 14) M09_JOHN2435_08_SE_C09.indd 188 9/28/15 6:39 PM
Questions to Consider at the end of

each essay ask you to form your own
opinions on the featured issue.
NEW! Key Concepts are now listed at the

beginning of each chapter for a handy “big picture”
overview of topics that will be discussed in greater
detail in the pages that follow.
connect concepts and applications
to everyday life
UPDATED! Health & Wellness boxes NEW! Health & Wellness boxes include:
provide insights and practical advice on health • Donating Blood (Chapter 7)
topics, such as the causes and risks of carbon • Water Intoxication (Chapter 15)
monoxide poisoning and the prevalence and • What If You Could Save Someone’s Life?
consequences of Viagra abuse. (Chapter 18)
Michael Johnson’s blog also

features posts on recent health
and wellness related news items.
NEW! “Connections” passage at the
start of each chapter provides the student
with a sense of how a chapter’s specific
topic interrelates with the overall subject
of human biology, biology in general, and
to the larger world.
NEW! The use of numbered steps.

Where complex processes are described,
numbered step icons are included both
in the text and in the accompanying
figure. These correlating step icons help
students follow the logical sequence of
events as those events unfold within a
complex process.
SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
Before Class
is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment NEW! eText 2.0 Allow your students to access their
program that helps you quickly master biology text anytime, anywhere.
concepts and skills. Self-paced tutorials provide • Now available on smartphones and tablets
immediate wrong-answer feedback and hints • Seamlessly integrated digital and media resources
to help keep you on track to succeed in the • Fully accessible (screen-reader ready)
course. • Configurable reading settings, including resizable

type and night reading mode
• Instructor and student note-taking, highlighting,
Before bookmarking and search
Class
NEW! Dynamic Study Modules help students ac-
quire, retain, and recall information faster and more
efficiently than ever before. These convenient practice
questions and detailed review explanations can be ac-
cessed using a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
During
Class
after
Class
eText 2.0 Dynamic Study Modules

DURING Class
NEW! Learning Catalytics is an assessment and classroom

activity system that works with any web-enabled device and facili-
tates collaboration with your classmates. Your MasteringBiology
subscription with eText includes access to Learning Catalytics.
NEW! Everyday Biology Videos

briefly explore interesting and rel-
evant biology topics that relate to
concepts in the course. These 20
videos, produced by the BBC, can
be shown in class or assigned as
homework in MasteringBiology.
AFTER Class
A wide range of question types and activities are available for homework assignments,
including the following assignment options for the Eighth Edition:
• NEW! Interactive Physiology 2.0 tutorials help students advance beyond memo-
rization to a genuine understanding of complex physiological processes. Full-color
animations and videos demonstrate difficult concepts to reinforce the material.
IP 2.0 features brand new graphics, quicker navigation, and more robust mobile-
ready interactivities where students can explore, experiment, and predict.
• Blog In Focus activities ask students to read Michael Johnson’s blog and
answer questions.
• NEW! Evaluating Science in the

Media activities challenge you to
evaluate various types of information
from web sites, articles, and videos.
Chapter-Specific Changes
Chapter 1 Human Biology, Science, and Society ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● Updated Current Issue, “Mandated Childhood ●● A new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs
Vaccinations” ●● A next-generation artificial heart
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:

●● The human hand makes a good fist Chapter 9 The Immune System and Mechanisms
●● Science and the popular press of Defense
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus question: ●● New Current Issue, “An Outbreak of Ebola”
●● Who should pay for very expensive drugs? ●● New Figure 9.24, persons living with HIV by sex and
exposure categories
Chapter 2 The Chemistry of Living Things ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● Updated Figure 2.1, the Periodic Table of the Elements ●● Purchasing human breast milk
●● New material added on free radicals ●● A home test for HIV
●● New Figure 2.7, a polar molecule ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus question:
●● Redrawn Figure 2.13, dehydration synthesis and ●● Why is a pill to prevent HIV infection not popular?
hydrolysis
New MJ’s BlogInFocus topic:
●●
Chapter 10 The Respiratory System: Exchange
●● The purity of herbal supplements
of Gases
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus question:
●● New Current Issue, “The Fight over Regulation of
●● Should the government approve a powdered alcohol
E-Cigarettes”
product?
●● Smoking and shortened life expectancy
Chapter 3 Structure and Function of Cells
●● Who should be screened for lung cancer?
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topic:
●●An inexpensive microscope ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus question:
●● Why are rates of smoking continuing to decline?
Chapter 4 From Cells to Organ Systems

●● Updated Current Issue, “Reshaping Your Body” Chapter 11 The Nervous System: Integration
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics: and Control
●● Wearable skin patches ●● Replaced Figures 11.15, parts of the brain, and 11.17,
●● Severe sunburns and risk of melanoma the limbic system, with new art
●● Streamlined the discussions of sleep and wakefulness
Chapter 5 The Skeletal System ●● Revised the section on the limbic system
●● New Figure 5.14, the fontanels in a baby’s head ●● Added a passage on changing societal views on
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics: marijuana
●● Bone density scans to measure bone mass ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● Why are knee and hip surgeries on the rise? ●● New ways to diagnose a concussion
●● Smoking and bone deposition in young women ●● An outbreak of meningitis
Chapter 6 The Muscular System Chapter 12 Sensory Mechanisms

●● Updated Current Issue, “Drug Abuse Among Athletes”
●● Added a new figure to the Health & Wellness on Lasik
eye surgery
●● Growth hormone to athletic performance
●● Updated MJ’s BlogInFocus topic:
●● Xenon gas and athletic performance
●● State laws on texting while driving
Chapter 7 Blood
●● New text discussion, “New Tests Make Transfused Chapter 13 The Endocrine System
Blood Safer” ●● Added text discussion on hypogonadism to endocrine
●● Updated text discussion of “Human Blood Types” disorders section
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topic: ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● Blood clotting factor VII and mortality after surgery ●● Endocrine disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA) in food cans
●● Low testosterone; how common is it?
Chapter 8 Heart and Blood Vessels ●● Updated MJ’s BlogInFocus question:

●● New Figure 8.17 on negative feedback control of blood ●● Why hasn’t inhalable insulin been a blockbuster
pressure drug?
xxvi
Chapter-specific Changes xxvii
Chapter 14 The Digestive System and Nutrition ●● Added the current recommendations regarding
●● New Current Issue, “Choosing Organic Versus mammograms and self-examination for detecting
Conventional Foods” breast cancer
●● New Health & Wellness, “Should You Drink Raw Milk?” ●● New discussion of pancreatic cancer
●● Added new Figure 14.8, peptic ulcers ●● New discussion and Figure 18.12, esophageal cancer
●● Added new Figure 14.17 on saturated and unsaturated ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
fats ●● Radiation therapy for cancer can sometimes cause
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics: cancer

●● Antioxidants in organic foods ●● Double mastectomies to prevent breast cancer
●● A human feces bank ●● An alternative to the Pap test for cervical cancer
●● Drinking bone broth for good health?
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus question: Chapter 19 Genetics and Inheritance

●● What do food “sell by” and “best if used by” dates mean? ●● Revised the Current Issue for greater emphasis on the
risks and benefits of genetic testing.
Chapter 15 The Urinary System ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● Revised Current Issue, “A Shortage of Kidneys” to ●● Marketing genetic tests and predicting risk of genetic
include recent changes in the allocation procedure disease
●● New Health & Wellness, “Water Intoxication” ●● State laws on screening newborns for genetic
●● Revised Figure 15.10, urinary dilution and diseases.
concentration ●● Accuracy of commercially available genome tests
●● Revised several pieces of nephron art for consistency
and clarity Chapter 20 DNA Technology and Genetic Engineering
●● Expanded the discussion of acute and chronic renal ●● Revised Current Issue, “Genetically Modified Plants” to
failure include concerns about labeling GM foods
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics: ●● Expanded the Health & Wellness feature on DNA-based
●● Economic theory and kidney donations
vaccines
●● The connection between a kidney disease and African
●● Updated the text discussion of DNA fingerprinting
sleeping sickness ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● Patenting human genes
Chapter 16 Reproductive Systems ●● The long-term effects of herbicide resistance
●● Combined old Figures 16.7 and 16.8, both on the
in weeds
menstrual cycle, into new Figure 16.7
●● A genetically modified potato
●● Re-rendered Figure 16.11, pelvic inflammatory disease
●● Are alcoholic beverages made from non-GMO grains
●● A state restricts the use of Mifeprex
any safer to drink?
●● What is an embryoscope?
●● Does vaccination against HPV change sexual

Chapter 21 Development, Maturation, Aging,
behavior?
and Death
Chapter 17 Cell Reproduction and Differentiation ●● New chapter title includes “Maturation” and “Death”
●● New Current Issue, “Therapeutic Cloning” ●● New Current Issue, “Death with Dignity (Britanny
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics: Maynard’s Journey)”
●● An anti-aging protein in blood
●● Taking acetaminophen during pregnancy
●● Cloning goes commercial
●● When should the umbilical cord be cut?
●● Could stem cells be used to produce edible meat?
●● Why do older fathers pass on more genetic mutations
Chapter 18 Cancer: Uncontrolled Cell Division to their offspring than mothers?

and Differentiation
●● Updated Current Issue, “Preventive Double Mastectomy Chapter 22 Evolution and the Origins of Life
to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk” ●● New Figure 22.8 to illustrate genetic drift and gene flow
●● Added a discussion of cancer stages ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● New Health & Wellness, “What If You Could Save ●● Pinpointing the time of Earth’s largest mass
Someone’s Life” extinction

●● New Figure 18.4 on proto-oncogenes and tumor ●● How many species of extinct humans are there?
suppressor genes
xxviii Chapter-specific Changes
Chapter 23 Ecosystems and Populations ●● Revised Figure 24.2 on solar radiation and the
●● New Current Issue, “Overharvesting is Depleting the greenhouse effect
Oceans’ Wildlife Populations” ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics:
●● Updated Figure 23.15 and the text discussion, human ●● Regional climate changes due to global warming
population dynamics ●● Depletion of a freshwater aquifer
●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus topics: ●● Advanced biofuels
●● Why societies collapse ●● New MJ’s BlogInFocus question:

●● What is a carbon tax?
Chapter 24 Human Impacts, Biodiversity,
and Environmental Issues
●● Updated Current Issue, “Global Warming and Global
Climate Change”
Acknowledgments
The Eighth Edition of Human Biology: Concepts and Current Thanks go to the outstanding support team at Pearson
Issues is once again the product of the continued hard work Education. It includes Project Managers Mae Lum and Brett
and dedication of the people at Pearson Education, led by Coker (Pearson) and Andrea Stefanowicz (Lumina Datamat-
VP, Editor-in-Chief Beth Wilbur, Executive Editorial ics, Inc.), Program Manager Anna Amato, Editorial Content
Manager Ginnie Simione Jutson, and Senior Acquisitions Producer Joe Mochnick, Supervising Project Manager–Instruc-
Editor Star Mackenzie Burruto. Star directs a team that tor Media Eddie Lee, and Editorial Assistant Maja Sidzinska.
functions as smoothly and professionally as any in the Once again, the textbook is supported by a wonderful set
business. of ancillary materials. Thanks go to Robert Sullivan of Marist
On a day-to-day basis, I depended on Developmen- College, Hyde Park, New York, who wrote the Instructor
tal Editor Susan Teahan. Her experience, her insight, and Resource Manual; Suzanne Long of Monroe Community
above all, her dogged determination to get it exactly right College, Rochester, New York, who developed the PowerPoint
have made this edition what it is. I am forever grateful for Lecture Slides; Janette Gomos Klein of Hunter College of the
her support and counsel. City University of New York and Kristine Williams and Angela
Changes to the art and photos in the Eighth Edition are Cordle of the University of Iowa, who revised the Test Bank,
the result of the hard work of artists at Imagineering and checked it for accuracy, and supplied the MasteringBiology
Rights and Permissions Project Managers Donna Kalal, at Reading Quizzes; Maria Cendon of Miami Dade College,
Pearson Education, and Candice Velez, at QBS Learning. Miami, who was responsible for the Instructor Quiz Shows;
Photo Researcher Pat Holl found the new photos you see in and Julie Posey of Columbus State Community College, who
this edition. revised the Mastering Study Area quizzes. Finally, thanks to
Accuracy and clarity have been checked and rechecked Bert Atsma of Union County College, whose Laboratory Man-
by the hundreds of insightful faculty members around the ual continues to complement the best human biology courses.
country over the past 10 years. Reviewers specific to this Last but not least, I’d like to thank my wife, Pamela, for
edition are listed below. her wholehearted support and understanding over the years.
Reviewers of the eighth edition

Laurel Carney-Zelko, Janette Klein, Derek Sims,
Joliet Junior College Hunter College, The City Hopkinsville Community College
Renee Ehrenstrom, University of New York Larry Taylor,
Missouri State University Jacqueline Nesbit, Arapahoe Community College
Michele Finn, University of New Orleans Diane Wickham,
Monroe Community College Joanne Oellers, Trocaire College
Sheldon Gordon, Yavapai College
Oakland University David Opon,
Sarah Hanna, Joliet Junior College
University of Wisconsin, Tara Reed,
Green Bay University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
Reviewers of the seventh edition

Andrea Abbas, Tom Kennedy, Sean Senechal,
Washtenaw Community College College of New Mexico CSU Monterey Bay
Wade Bell, Gary Lange, Derek Sims,
Virginia Military Institute Saginaw Valley State University Hopkinsville Community College
Samantha Butler, Suzanne Long, Corinne Ulbright,
University of Southern California Monroe Community College Indiana University–Purdue University,
Anne Casper, Nancy O’Keefe, Indianapolis
Eastern Michigan University Purdue University Calumet Peggy Wright,
Chris Chabot, Samiksha Raut, Columbia College
Plymouth State University Dalton State College
Jennifer Ellie, Lisa Runco,
Wichita State University New York Institute of Technology
xxix
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Chapter
Human Biology, Science,

and Society
1
1.1 The characteristics of life 4

1.2 How humans fit into the natural
world 6
1.3 Science is both a body of
knowledge and a process 10
1.4 Sources of scientific information
vary in style and quality 14
1.5 Learning to be a critical
thinker 14
1.6 The role of science in society 17
Crew of the space shuttle Atlantis, November 20, 2007.
Key Concepts
●● Living things have certain characteristics that make them different from nonliving
things. All living things are composed of cells that harness energy to create unique
chemical compounds. Living things grow and reproduce.
●● Humans are just one of several million different life-forms on Earth. Our closest
relatives are the other primates (including monkeys and apes). Features that taken
together define humans as unique are bipedalism, opposable thumbs, a large
brain, and a capacity for complex language.
●● Science is a process for studying the natural world. It is based on observable, quan-
tifiable data obtained by repeatedly questioning, observing, and drawing conclusions.
●● Science helps us understand what is, not what should be. It does not provide us
with “right” answers or give meaning to our lives.
●● We make choices about how to use scientific knowledge every day whether we are
consciously aware of it or not. We owe it to ourselves to make informed choices.
1
Current Issue Questions to Consider
1 What should medical professionals,
Mandatory Childhood Vaccinations politicians, or even just concerned citizens
do, if anything, to help parents understand
paper was later shown to be fraudulent and the risks and benefits of vaccines?
All 50 states now require that school-age
children be properly vaccinated before they was retracted, and the author was found 2 Will you vaccinate your children? Why
can attend school. The trend is toward guilty of serious professional misconduct. or why not? What would you like to know
requiring specific vaccinations even for Unfortunately, those facts barely made in order to make an informed decision?
preschoolers. In 2009, New Jersey became the news.
the first state to require a vaccination Since that paper
against the flu for children who attend appeared, scientists
licensed day care and preschool programs. have searched for any vaccinated, even though they
Connecticut followed suit in 2010, as did connection between were old enough. The CDC
New York in 2014. vaccinations and recommends that children be
At the same time, more and more autism and have vaccinated against measles
parents are seeking exemptions from failed to find one. at 1 year old.
vaccinations for their children. (All Nevertheless some Public health officials
50 states permit an exemption for medical parents, including are watching the decline in
reasons and 48 states also allow for an actress and former vaccinations against measles
exemption for religious or personal beliefs.) Playboy model Jenny with growing concern. They
What is going on? McCarthy and actress know that the success of
Alicia Silverstone, any vaccine is based on a
Childhood Vaccinations continue to promote concept called herd immunity.
Save Lives their belief that When most people in a
vaccines may cause community, or herd, have been
The states’ rationale is clear: Childhood
autism. Jenny vaccinated, a disease has a
vaccines introduced since the 1950s have
McCarthy is on much harder time spreading
all but wiped out many communicable A child receiving a vaccination.
the board of Generation among unvaccinated people.
diseases in the United States, including
Rescue, a nonprofit So, in addition to protecting
measles, mumps, whooping cough
organization that claims to be able to the person who has been vaccinated, high
(pertussis), polio, and diphtheria. In the
treat autism effectively with a special vaccination rates protect the community
1940s and 50s, before vaccines against
diet. Alicia Silverstone has written a book as a whole from widespread disease
these diseases were available, the five
about parenting in which she dismisses the outbreaks, especially among young
diseases combined caused an estimated
scientific evidence for vaccine safety. For children. Although there are always some
900,000 cases of disease and 7,700
parents unwilling to accept the research, people who aren’t vaccinated and therefore
deaths per year. By 2004, there were
emotions (fear and anxiety) are likely to at risk of contracting vaccine-preventable
only 27 deaths from all five diseases
continue to trump science until we know for diseases, herd immunity substantially
combined—a 99.6% reduction. The
certain what does cause autism. Science undercuts that risk. People who aren’t
number of cases of measles dropped from
is just no match for an appearance by Ms. vaccinated include children under 1
more than 500,000 per year before the
McCarthy on the Oprah Winfrey Show with year old, whose immune systems are
measles vaccine was available to about 60
an emotional story about an autistic child. not yet developed enough for vaccines
cases per year between 2001 and 2010.
to be effective, and patients receiving
Vaccines Become Controversial Vaccination Rates Decline, chemotherapy or immunosuppressive
Preventable Diseases Return therapy, whose immune systems are
In 1998, the prestigious medical journal
compromised.
The Lancet published a paper in which In recent years, the number of exemptions
the author concluded that the vaccine from school immunization programs has
for measles, mumps, and rubella (or increased. These exemptions, granted for
Mandatory Vaccinations Remain
a preservative in the vaccine, called philosophical or personal beliefs, coincide Controversial
thimerosal) was a likely cause of autism. with a sharp uptick in the number of Compared to parents who vaccinate their
Autism spectrum disorder, as it is more cases of measles and whooping cough. children, parents who choose not to
properly called, is a baffling group of Because of their highly contagious nature, vaccinate their children are more likely to
neurological disorders that lead to social, the two diseases are extremely sensitive believe that the risk of their child getting
communication, and behavioral difficulties. to vaccination rates. In the first eight a contagious disease is low and that the
It generally develops at about the same months of 2014, there were nearly 600 disease itself is not severe. The latter view
time that most children are vaccinated. cases of measles in the United States, is understandable, because most parents
Since the cause of autism was not known at according to the Centers for Disease today have not lived through a major
the time (and still isn’t known), the paper Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly outbreak of any communicable disease.
caused widespread concern. However, the all of the measles victims had not been Today’s parents were born after the ➔
2
Ch apter 1 Human Biology, Science, and Society 3
scourge of polio, for example. Polio killed Ms. Peet once called anti-vaccine parents preventable diseases such as polio to
nearly 10% of its victims and crippled “parasites” for relying on other children’s return. We need to find a way to address
countless others for life before the polio immunity to protect their own. She later parents’ concerns about vaccine safety and
vaccine became available in 1955. apologized for the word and suggested that about the role of government in our lives,
Some parents oppose mandatory parents should get their advice from doctors, while at the same time protecting the public
childhood vaccinations because they are not celebrities like herself (and presumably from preventable, communicable diseases.
philosophically opposed to government Ms. McCarthy and Ms. Silverstone). How we do that is up to all of us.
intervention into what they see as a Health officials continue to stress that
personal choice. Says Barbara Loe Fisher, vaccines don’t cause autism. It would be a
1
a mother and the cofounder of the National shame if misinformation and fear allowed www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com
Vaccine Information Center, representing
parents against forced vaccinations, “. . .
If the State can tag, track down and force Summary
citizens against their will to be injected
with biologicals of unknown toxicity today, ●● Childhood vaccination programs have been effective in all but eliminating certain
there will be no limit on which individual communicable diseases.
freedoms the State can take away in the ●● All 50 states have childhood vaccination (immunization) programs as a requirement for
name of the greater good tomorrow.”1 school attendance—all states also allow for certain exemptions.
Parents in favor of mandatory
●● Exemptions from vaccination (and communicable diseases) are on the rise. Many
vaccinations are mounting lobbying
campaigns as well. Their celebrity advocate is parents object to mandatory vaccination programs out of concern that the vaccines may
actress Amanda Peet, now a spokesperson for cause autism or certain other chronic childhood diseases.
Every Child By Two, a vaccine-advocacy group ●● The available scientific evidence does not support the argument that vaccinations can
founded by former first lady Rosalynn Carter. cause childhood diseases, including autism.
You were born into exciting times, when scientific the molecules that make up our bodies are created from
discoveries are happening more rapidly than at any other molecules in the air and in our food and drink. We will learn
time in human history. Like the Industrial Revolution of how the trillions of cells that comprise our bodies grow and
the nineteenth century and the discovery of DNA in the divide. We will explore how our bodies function, why we get
twentieth, today’s scientific innovations will change the diseases, and how we manage to survive them. We will look
human condition forever. at how we develop into adults, reproduce, and influence the
In your lifetime, people may be able to select or modify destinies of other organisms on Earth.
their children’s features before they are born. People may A recurrent theme in all of biology is the theory of
even be able to have clones (copies) made of themselves. evolution: that over the billions of years of Earth’s history,
At the very least, certain diseases that threaten us now living organisms (including humans) have undergone slow
will become curable. Perhaps your grandchildren will not change over time. Based on the evidence available to us, it
even know what AIDS is because the disease will have is hard to escape the conclusions that all living organisms
disappeared. evolved from single-celled organisms and that single-
What you are witnessing is the power of science. Science celled organisms arose from nonliving chemical elements
is the study of the natural world, which includes all matter nearly 3.5 billion years ago. We’ll explore evolution more
and all energy. Because all living organisms are also made of thoroughly later in the book.
matter and energy, they are part of the natural world. With the power of science comes an awesome
Biology is one of many branches of science. More responsibility. All of us, individually and collectively, must
specifically, biology (from the Greek words bios, meaning choose how to use the knowledge that science gives us.
“life,” and logos, meaning “word or thought”) is the study of Will human cloning be acceptable? Can we prevent global
living organisms and life’s processes. It is the study of life. warming? Should you be required to vaccinate your children
Within biology, anatomy is the study of structure and against certain infectious childhood diseases? (See the
physiology is the study of function. Other branches of science Current Issue feature, Mandatory Childhood Vaccinations.)
are chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, and related fields We all have to make responsible decisions concerning
such as medicine. not only our own health and well-being but also the
This text is specifically about human biology. We long-term well-being of our species. This book considers
will explore what it means to be alive. We will see how many aspects of human connections with the natural
4 Cha p te r 1 Human Biology, Science, and Society
Photo taken from the Hubble Space Telescope

showing a tiny portion of the universe. Studies by
astronomers have shown that all matter on Earth Studying unusual species
originated inside stars or with the Big Bang. such as this deep sea
glass squid allows biologists
to understand the processes
by which a species
successfully survives. Many
different environments exist in
the world, but the same
physical and chemical laws
govern them all.
The natural world

comprises all matter and
energy. An erupting volcano
spewing liquid rock and heat
is the result of energy that
still remains from the
creation of Earth nearly 4.6
billion years ago.
Jane Goodall has dedicated her life to studying the

needs and behaviors of chimpanzees. The DNA of
humans and chimps is almost the same, yet important
physical and behavioral differences are obvious.
Evolution examines how these differences arose.
Figure 1.1 Studies of the natural world.
world (Figure 1.1). We’ll contemplate how humans function nonliving things. Remember that childhood game “animal,
within the environment, as well as the impact of humans on vegetable, or mineral”? In it, children distinguish what is
the environment. Along the way, we’ll confront a variety of alive (animals and plants) from what is not (minerals).
social and personal issues and discuss the choices we might Most biologists accept the following criteria as signs of life:
make about them. Finally, we’ll discuss our place in Earth’s
history when we explore the topic of evolution. Because ●● Living things have a different molecular composition than
biology is the study of life, we begin by defining life itself. nonliving things. Everything in the natural world, both
living and nonliving, is composed of the same set of
approximately 100 different chemical elements. However,
Recap Science is the study of the natural world, which con-
only a few elements are present in any abundance in
sists of all matter and energy. Biology is the study of living
living organisms. In addition, living organisms can
organisms.
combine elements in unique ways, creating certain
molecules (combinations of elements) that nonliving
things cannot create. These molecules of life
1.1 The characteristics of life (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids)
What is life? On the one hand, this question seems easy and are found in all living organisms and often persist in
on the other hand so abstract that it is more like a riddle. the remains of dead organisms. Variations in these
We all think we can recognize life even if we can’t define it molecules in different life-forms account for the
easily. Children learn early to distinguish between living and diversity of life.
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DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least

the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)
The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,

some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.
NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR

MAHUTA
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.
MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]
MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY
With no small pride first one householder and then a second

showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
“We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
BRAZIER
Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I

came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT
SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB
CUTTING THE EDGE

FINISHING THE BOTTOM
LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE

BURNING
FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE

LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE
TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL
NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI

Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK
DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG
REMOVING THE OUTER BARK

BEATING THE BARK
WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT

SOFT
MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA

To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN

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eTextbook 978-0134042435 Human

Biology: Concepts and Current Issues

7 Blood 139 8 Heart and Blood Vessels 159

9.2 The lymphatic system defends the body 192

10.1 Respiration takes place throughout the body 221

10.2 The respiratory system consists of upper and lower

11.9 Memory involves storing and retrieving

Trauma 266 Regulating the amount of light and focusing the

12 Sensory Mechanisms 274 MJ’s BlogInFocus 293

Current Issue DWD: Driving While

12.2 Somatic sensations arise from receptors through-

13.8 Other glands and organs also secrete

14.5 The small intestine digests food and absorbs

Fiber benefits the colon 343

16.6 Infertility: inability to conceive 389

16.7 Sexually transmitted diseases 391

16.3 The menstrual cycle consists of ovarian

18.7 Some other notable cancers 436

18.3 Factors contributing to cancer development 424

21.2 Developmental processes: cleavage, growth,

21.4 Embryonic development: weeks three to eight 485

21.10 Death 500

23.2 The dynamic nature of populations 524

24.1 Pollutants impair air quality 544

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