ANA 316

ANTHROPOLOGY
Introduction
• Anthropology is the study of the origin and development of human
societies and cultures.
• Anthropology is the systematic study of humanity, with the goal of
understanding our evolutionary origins, our distinctiveness as a
species, and the great diversity in our forms of social existence across
the world and through time. The focus of Anthropology is on
understanding both our shared humanity and diversity, and engaging
with diverse ways of being in the world.
• Anthropology is divided into three subfields: sociocultural, biological,
and archaeology.
• Sociocultural anthropology is the study of the learned behavior of
groups of people in specific environments. Cultural anthropologists
base their work in ethnography, a research method that uses field
work and participant-observation to study individual cultures and
customs.
• They interpret the content of particular cultures, explain variation
among cultures, and study processes of cultural change and social
transformation. focuses on topics that include: human ecology; gender
relations; culture and ideology; demography and family systems; race,
class and gender inequality; resistance movements; colonialism,
neocolonialism, and development.
• Archaeology is the study of the human past using material remains.
These remains can be any objects that people created, modified, or
used. Archaeologists carefully uncover and examine these objects in
order to interpret the experiences and activities of peoples
and civilizations throughout history.
• Archaeologists study the material remains of present and past cultural
systems to understand the technical, social and political organization
of those systems and the larger culture cultural evolutionary process
that stand behind them.
• Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is the study of
the evolution of human beings and their living
and fossil relatives. Biological anthropology places human evolution within the
context of human culture and behavior. This means biological anthropologists look
at how physical developments, such as changes in our skeletal or genetic makeup,
are interconnected with social and cultural behaviors throughout history.
• Biological anthropologists study a variety of aspects of human evolutionary
biology. Some examine fossils and apply their observations to understanding
human evolution; others compare morphological, biochemical genetic, and
physiological adaptations of living humans to their environments; still others
observe behavior of human and nonhuman primates (monkeys and apes) to
understand the roots of human behavior.
• To understand how humans evolved from earlier life forms, some
biological anthropologists study primates, such as monkeys and
apes. Primates are considered our closest living relatives. Analyzing the
similarities and differences between human beings and the “great apes”
helps biological anthropologists understand human evolution.
• Biological Anthropology is the study of humans of biological organisms
(evolution)- Primatology(study of our closest living relatives:primates),
Paleoanthropology(fossilized bone study), bioarchaeology (study of
skeletal biology of human remains: non fossilized human remains),
molecular anthro (genetic data study), forensic anthro (law enforcement,
criminal investigations by analyzing skeletalremains), human biology
• Four Subfields of Anthropology: 1. Applied 2. Medical 3. Urban 4.
Integration.
• Applied Anthropology:- Use of anthro knowledge to propose solutions
to practical problems
• Medical Anthropology:- Biocultural approach- Understanding of
health and disease- Empathic voice to patients
• Urban Anthropology:- Social relationships- Cultural systems- Symbols-
Political economies- Study life and how systems are functioning-
Urbanization of primates affecting being in a city
EVOLUTION
1.What is Organic evolution?
2.State the types of evolution.
3.Enumerate the evidences of evolution.
4.Explain the theories of evolution.

Evolution is a process that results in heritable changes in population

spread over many generations leading to diversity of organisms on
earth.
• The world is believed to have been occupied by millions of different plants
and animals. These plants and animals are adapted to different kind of
habitats. There are two theories that support the history of life.

• Divine creation: This theory of divine creation states that every living things
are created by God within six days.
• Organic evolution: The theory of organic evolution believes that the first
living organism is formed from certain molecules such as methane, ammonia,
hydrogen and water vapour which combined under particular ultraviolet
radiation from the sun and electrical lighting of the hot atmosphere to form the
living thing about two billion years ago. It suggests that all living things arose
from pre-existing ones by a gradual process over a long period of time.
• Organic evolution is therefore defined as a series of gradual changes which living organism had undergone in
response to changes in environment since the beginning of life. Organic Evolution has two theories namely;
• 1. LAMARCK’S THEORY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION
Jean Baptist Lamarck, a French biologist was the first to put forward the theory of organic evolution in 1801.
His idea of evolution was based on;
• The Theory Of Need
• This theory states that the development of a new part or organ by an organism (plant or animal) result from
the need of part or organ to the organism. For instance, the early ancestors of snake had short bodies and legs.
As the land was charging during its formation, many narrow places and dense vegetation were formed. For
snake to walk through narrow places and dense vegetation, they started stretching their bodies to become
elongated so that they could easily crawl through the vegetation instead of walking.
• Use and Disuse:
• The theory emphasized that frequently used organs become well developed and achieve but become
functionless or disappeared with disuse. For instance, each generation of snakes continue to stretch their
bodies resulting in the strengthening of their bodies . Their limbs become useless and strength less and finally
disappeared since they would hinder crawling through narrow places and dense vegetation .
• Theory Of Acquired Characteristics Of Inheritance
• Structures or variation acquired by organism during their life time are
transmitted to the next generation by inheritance.
The modern giraffe believed to have evolved from a giraffe with short
neck and short legs. When competition for low grasses among
herbivorous animal became difficult, the short neck and short legged
giraffe started to starch their neck and four legs so as to reach the
leave of the trees. The load and duck originally had no webs between
their toes, but as they continue frequently visiting water for food, the
need to develop webs for swimming become a necessity.
• DARWIN’S THEORY OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION
Charlie’s Darwin, a British biologist in 1859 propounded a theory of organic evolution by
natural selection leading to the origin of species. His theory of natural selection is as follows:
• Overpopulation
• All living organisms should be allowed to produce more offspring than can survive.
• Struggle for existence
• Due to overpopulation of offspring, there is a constant competition for existence among
offspring
• Offspring shows variation
• No two individual are exactly the same .
• Adaptive characteristics
• Some of the offspring’s are well adapted or fitted to survive the competition than others.
• Inheritance Of Adaptive Characteristics.
• The well adapted ones or the fittest will transmit such variation to their
offspring’s.
Those with poor adaptation will die off (extinct).
• Development Of New Species.
• An accumulation of favourable variation will in a long time head a
divergence (spread) from the original stock resulting in the formation
of new species.
• TYPES OF EVOLUTION
1. Divergent Evolution: is that for which related species or their parts
become different because of the availability of niches in the
environment. For instance, the month part of insects, birds and limbs
of vertebrate.
2. Convergent Evolution: In this type of evolution, unrelated parts of
organisms are modified to look similar which arises because of a
common need in the environment. Example, the need to fly caused the
birds and bat to develop wings. Birds are aves while bat are mammals.
• MODERN THEORIES OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION.
Theory of organic evolution as stated by Darwin has been modified. The modern theories
of evolution are now based on genetics, ecology, cytology, paleontology, physiology,
anatomy and embryology.
• 1. CYTOLOGY
Biochemical similarities – The studies on the structure and function of cells have revealed
that biochemical and fine structure of the cell of different organisms are very alike with
respect to the following:
• Nucleic acids
• ATP and cytochrome
• Organelle like mitochondria
• Serological test – is the study of the test tube reactions between antigens and antibodies.
Possible evolutionary relationship can be detected by comparing the blood proteins.
• 2. Serological test has shown that human blood is much closer to that
of the great apes like chimpanzees.
3. Physiology (molecular record): The evolutionary relationship has
been established from molecular records, based on the fact that
hereditary information is stored by all organisms in nucleic acids
mainly DNA.
4. Paleontology (fossil Record).
Plants and animals that lived in the past have been studied from fossil
record, fossils are generally preserved in sedimentary rocks which
were formed by the deposition of silt, sand or calcium carbonate over
thousands or even million of years.
• Fossils Fossils are the hard remains of living organisms discovered in
rocks. They are the remains of the non-degraded parts of living beings
found within rocks. The layer from which the fossil is recovered
decides the age of the fossil. The fossils found deeper down are older
compared to the ones found in the upper layers. They give an idea of
the condition of the earth in that specific era. The study of fossils is
called palaeontology. Thus, fossils are called paleontological
evidences.
• Comparative anatomy and morphological evidences show the similarities and
differences among the organisms of today and those that existed years ago.The
evidences come from comparative study of external and internal structure. Many
groups of organisms especially vertebrates show similarities in anatomical features
such as; limb, heart and brain.
• It explains that many organisms have the same ancestor and many different organisms
evolved as a result of natural selection or genetic drift. Two types of comparative
anatomy were observed, namely homologous organs and analogous organs.
• Homologous organs: These organs have the similar structure in different organisms
but perform different functions. Thus, it clearly shows a common ancestry. One
species gave rise to many other species. This type of evolution is called divergent
evolution. For example, the limbs of human, cheetah, whale, and wings of a bat. They
all have different functions but have a similar structure indicating a common ancestor.
• Analogous organs: These organs have different anatomy but perform similar functions. This shows that different
species evolved and adapted to a particular environment. This type of evolution is as a result of convergent
evolution. For example, the wings of different birds and bats. The wings of birds have feathers for flight whereas,
bats have wings made up of streched skin and lack feathers. But, both serve the function of flight.
• Vestigial organs
• Vestigial organs are rudimentary or organs still found in animals and plant
• These are degenerate, non-functional and rudimentary organs to the possessor, while correspond to fully developed
and functional organs of related organisms.
(a) There are about 90 vestigial organs in the human body. Same of them are tail bone (coccyx), wisdom teeth,
nictitating membrane, vermiform appendix, etc.
(b) Some examples from other animals are hip girdles and bones of the hind limbs in some whales and certain
snakes and wings of flightless birds.

• Appendix in man which is functionless in man but useful in herbivore ;

Coccyx (caudal vertebrae)of man are together and reduced to small size has no specific function in man.
Pyramidal nasi muscle of forehead and posterior auricular muscles of the ears
Posterior auricular muscle is functionless in man but used by other mammals in moving the pinnae.
• Biochemical Evidences
(a) The metabolic processes in organisms are similar with same new materials and end
products. For example, energy released by oxidation is stored in ATP which then powers the
energy requiring process.
(b) Molecular homology is the similarity among animals at the molecular level.
For example, human DNA differs in only 1.8% of its base pairs from chimpanzee DNA and
there is no difference between the two in the amino acid sequence for the protein cytochrome-c.
• Embryonic Development
• The embryos of various species show similar structure till a certain period of gestation. For
example, the embryos of humans, pigs, reptiles, and birds show similar embryonic
development. They develop into the respective species as they grow. This again shows common
ancestry. Embryos of many organism reassemble the embryo of their ancestor especially during
the early stage of development the early human embryo for example has well developed tail and
a series of pouches (fold of skin) and slit making it look very much like an early embryo of
rabbit.
• Also, in humans, the embryo passes through a stage in which it has gill
structures like those of the fish from which all terrestrial animals
evolved. For a large portion of its development the human embryo
also possesses a tail, much like those of our close primate relatives.
This tail is usually reabsorbed before birth, but occasionally children
are born with the ancestral structure intact. Tails and even gills could
be considered homologous traits between humans and primates or
humans and fish, even though they are not present in the adult
organism.
MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• Medical Anthropology is the social and cultural factors of health tied
in with the biological factors. It is the comparative and holistic study
of culture's impact on health and health-seeking behavior. Health is
culturally and socially shaped.
• It involves applying anthropological theories to study human health
and wellbeing. It looks beyond biology to understand health,
examining the patterns of ethnic groups, political and social
institutions and living conditions to understand health
• Medical anthropology studies how societies construct understandings of
health and illness, including medical treatments for all types of maladies.
Culture affects how we perceive everything, including health. Culture
shapes how people think and believe and the values they hold. It shapes
everything people have and do. Many cultures approach health and illness
in completely different ways from one another, often informed by a
number of societal factors. Medical anthropology provides a framework
for common study and comparison between cultures, highlighting
systems and illustrating how culture determines how health is perceived.
• There are different modern schools for study of medical and clinical
anthropology namely University of Edinburgh, Indiana, Baylor, Kent