Physical Anthropology Anthropology 1

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Physical Anthropology Anthropology 1

• Summer 2013
• Katherine Schaefers, Instructor
• Office 3102
• Office Hours After class Tuesday and Thursday

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To make the strange familiar, and the familiar
strange

• Strangeness, the unfamiliar is scary and can lead
  to misguided feelings of anger and hate, which
  may eventually lead to warfare and death.
• Most interpersonal or inter-group conflicts are
  caused by a lack of understanding.
• Discovering similarities between ones own
  culture and that of others leads to more
  harmonious relationships.

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Anthropology

• The study of humanity
• Greek Anthropos (Man) logy (study of)
• Also, an integrated study of humanity
• Holism Integrating as many different aspects of
  human society (like psychology, politics,
  religion, customs, institutions like marriage,
  funerary rituals, gender, subsistence economy,
  etc.) to create the most complete picture
  possible.
• Goal of Anthropology?
• Why do we study other people? What can be
  gained?

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Anthropologys Traditional Fields

• Physical (Biological)
• This class!
• Human Biology and Evolution
• Genetics, DNA studies, evolutionary theory,
  primate behavior, paleontology, fossil record.
• Archaeology
• Physical and Cultural remains
• Linguistics
• Origins and distribution of language
• Cultural
• Social organization, economics, technology,
  political organization, marriage, family life.
• These 4 fields are rarely mutually exclusive
  todays anthropology scene is very fluid, often
  incorporating techniques from outside disciplines
  like psychology (study of the human psyche/mind)
  and sociology (study of human society).

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Main goal of Physical Anthropology?

• Why is physical anthropology a scientific
  discipline, and what is its importance to the
  general public?

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To understand why we are the way we are, we need
to know
How evolution works
How evolution works in other primates
The history of the human lineage
How natural selection shapes human minds, bodies,
and behavior
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Physical Anthropology Challenges

• Evolution
• A change in the genetic structure of a population
  from one generation to the next.
• Adaptation
• An anatomical, physiological, or behavioral
  response of organisms or populations to the
  environment.
• Adaptations result from evolutionary change.

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Evolution

• Microevolution
• Small genetic changes that occur within a
  species.
• Macroevolution
• Changes that occur only after many generations,
  such as the appearance of a new species
  (speciation).

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Species

• A group of organisms that can interbreed to
  produce fertile offspring.
• Members of one species are reproductively
  isolated from members of all other species (that
  is, they cant mate with them to produce fertile
  offspring).

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HomininsA grouping of similar human-ish species
that includes we Humans!and extinct bipedal
relatives

• Hominins are members of the evolutionary lineage
  that includes ourselves, modern Homo sapiens.
  (used to be called Hominids)
• Reduced canine teeth
• Non-prehensile big toes
• Pelvis and legs reflect habitual bipedalism
• Extreme brain enlargement and elaboration
• Habitually walking bipedally (on two feet) is a
  critical feature of the hominins.

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PrimatesThe only living Primate that is also a
Hominin iswe Humans!

• Humans are members of the Order Primates, the
  group of mammals that includes apes, monkeys,
  tarsiers, lemurs and lorises.

Note Physical Anthropologists who study the
living non-human Primates are called
Primatologists
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Apes
Gorilla
Chimapnzees
Orangutan
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Monkeys
Capuchin Monkey
Japanese Macaques
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Lemurs and Lorises
Slow Loris
Ring Tail Lemur
Galago (Bush baby)
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Tarsiers
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Culture

• Culture is learned, and the process of learning
  ones culture begins at birth.
• Some aspects of Culture
• technologies
• subsistence patterns
• housing types
• clothing
• religion
• marriage and family
• values
• gender roles
• The human predisposition to assimilate culture
  and function within it is profoundly influenced
  by biological factors.
• Over time, culture and biology interacted in such
  a way that humans are said to be the result of
  biocultural evolution.

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Biocultural Evolution

• The mutual, interactive evolution of human
  biology and culture.
• The concept that biology makes culture possible
  and that developing culture further influences
  the direction of biological evolution.

Macroevolution example
Australopithecine skull
Human skull
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Behavior

• Anything organisms do that involves action in
  response to internal or external stimuli.
• The response of an individual, group, or species
  to its environment.
• Responses may or may not be deliberate,
• and arent necessarily the result of conscious
  decision making.

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Predisposition

• The capacity or inclination to do something.
• An organisms capacity for behavioral or
  anatomical modification is related to the
  presence of preexisting traits.

The Story
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Anthropometry

• Measurement of human body
• Identifying human variation due to possible
  adaptive significance
• Identify genetic and other evolutionary factors
  that produced variation

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Osteology

• The study of the human skeleton
• Bioarchaeology the study of skeletal remains
  from archaeological sites

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Forensic Anthropology

• Application of anthropological techniques to
  legal issues
• Forensic anthropologists worked with identifying
  remains of victims of the September 11, 2001
  terrorist attacks in the United States.

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Paleopathology

• The study of disease and trauma in
  archaeologically-derived skeletons
• Investigates the prevalence of trauma, certain
  infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies,
  and conditions that may leave evidence in bone