Core Concepts in Biological Anthropology

by Fuentes, Agustin

• ISBN13: 9780767424264
• ISBN10: 0767424263
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Summary

Written by a professor who has spent eleven years teaching and practicing biological anthropology and who takes care to relate its significance to everyday life, this new text focuses on central contemporary issues: genetics and genomics, "natural" behavior, evolution, and human variation. The book tells the story of biological anthropology and evolutionary theory, our bio-history, in a way that encourages students to use it in their own lives and to think critically about the issues explored."This textbook seeks to meld the traditional and the new, to create a textbook/web hybrid from the ground up, facilitating access to biological anthropological knowledge. The field is growing at a fantastic rate; multiple disciplines (genomics, epidemiology, physiology, anatomy, paleoanthropology, and primatology, for example) currently contribute to its knowledge base. My goal is to create a book that has the core information, access to more in-depth details, and is engaging for students and faculty alike." -- Agustin Fuentes

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
About the Author	xx
Virtual Tour	xxi
Introduction FAQs About Biological Anthropology	1	(1)
How Old Is the Planet and What Organisms Have Lived on It Over That Time?	1	(2)
If Life on Our Planet Has Changed So Much Over Time, What About the Planet Itself?	3	(1)
Have Humans Changed?	3	(1)
Where Did Modern Science Come From?	4	(2)
Where Is Uzbekistan?	6	(4)
Introduction to Evolutionary Fact and Theory	10	(34)
Anthropology Is the Study of Human and Nonhuman Primates	13	(1)
Anthropology Is a Scientific Discipline	14	(6)
Critical Thinking Is the Systematic Assessment of Information	15	(1)
The Scientific Method Is a Way of Testing Ideas About the World Around Us	16	(3)
Scientific Investigation Is a Collaborative Process	19	(1)
Evolutionary Theory Is the Cornerstone of Anthropology	20	(19)
Evolution Is Both Fact and Theory	20	(1)
Early Explanations of Life Were Both Philosophical and Religious	21	(2)
The Scientific Revolution Opened the Door to Systematic Study of the World	23	(1)
Evolutionary Thought Emerged From Scientific Collaboration	24	(6)
Charles Darwin Proposed Natural Selection as the Mechanism of Evolution	30	(9)
Summary	39	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	40	(1)
Critical Thinking	41	(1)
Resources	42	(2)
Introduction to Genetics and Genomics	44	(28)
Heredity Is the Passing of Genetic Information From Generation to Generation	47	(1)
DNA Is the Molecule of Heredity	48	(10)
DNA Has a Specific Structure	48	(2)
DNA Has Three Main Functions	50	(8)
Mendel's Basic Model of Inheritance	58	(3)
Traits Are Passed From Generation to Generation	58	(2)
Mendel's Work Continues to Inform Current Knowledge	60	(1)
The Relationship Between Genes and Traits Is Complex	61	(3)
Four Ways Genes Produce Traits	62	(1)
Are There Specific Genes for Certain Diseases?	63	(1)
Most DNA Doesn't Appear to Do Anything!	63	(1)
Does DNA Cause Certain Behaviors?	64	(2)
Population Genetics Helps Us Understand Evolution	66	(1)
Summary	67	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	68	(1)
Critical Thinking	69	(1)
Resources	69	(3)
Basics of Human Biology	72	(26)
The Place of Human Beings in Nature	75	(2)
Where Do Humans Fit In?	75	(1)
How Are Relationships Among Organisms Determined?	75	(2)
Human Morphology: The Body's Form and Structure	77	(7)
Cells Are the Basic Building Blocks of Organisms	77	(1)
Tissues Bind Us Together	77	(2)
The Skeleton: Our Basic Form	79	(4)
The Musculature Interacts With the Skeleton	83	(1)
All Mammals Share Common Skeletal Structures	84	(1)
Human Physiology: The Systems of the Body	84	(10)
The Circulatory and Respiratory Systems Transport Nutrients and More	85	(2)
The Nervous System and Brain Control the Actions of the Body and Assess the Organism's Surroundings	87	(1)
The Endocrine System Regulates and Communicates Hormonal Information Throughout the Body	88	(2)
The Digestive System Processes Nutrients	90	(1)
The Reproductive System Enables Us to Produce Offspring	91	(2)
All of These Systems (and More) Are Interconnected	93	(1)
Summary	94	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	94	(1)
Critical Thinking	95	(1)
Resources	96	(2)
Modern Evolutionary Theory	98	(24)
Evolutionary Change Occurs In Populations In Four Ways	100	(10)
Mutations Are Changes in the DNA	102	(1)
Gene Flow Is the Movement of Alleles Within and Between Populations	102	(2)
Genetic Drift Is a Change in Allele Frequency Across Generations Due to Random Factors	104	(2)
Current Concepts of Natural Selection Involve an Understanding of Genetics	106	(3)
The Four Processes Do Not Explain All Change	109	(1)
Speciation Is the Process by Which New Species Arise	110	(6)
Species Can Be Defined in Many Ways	110	(2)
Subspecies Are Divisions Within a Species	112	(1)
Allopatric Speciation Results From Separation and Isolation	112	(1)
Phyletic Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium: Different Paces of Change	112	(1)
Similarities Can Result From Either Parallel or Convergent Evolution	113	(3)
Biodiversity in Evolution: Why We Should Care About Biological Variation	116	(1)
Summary	117	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	118	(1)
Critical Thinking	119	(1)
Resources	120	(2)
Primate Behavioral Ecology	122	(46)
Comparative Primatology Provides Insights Into Modern Human Behavior	124	(12)
The Living Primates Are Widespread and Diverse	124	(9)
Comparing the Primates Helps Us Understand Behavior	133	(1)
To Study Behavior, We Have to Measure It	133	(1)
Specific Methodologies Are Used to Measure Primate Behavior	133	(1)
A Behavior Can Be Viewed From Five Perspectives	134	(1)
Behavior and Genetics Are Interconnected	135	(1)
Behavioral Ecology Provides the Basis for Evolutionary Investigations of Behavior	136	(5)
Socioecological Pressures Affect Organisms in Five Areas	137	(1)
Success of a Behavioral Adaptation Is Measured in Terms of Energy Costs and Benefits	138	(1)
Reality Is More Complex Than Suggested by Cost-Benefit Analyses	139	(2)
General Behavior Patterns in the Living Primates	141	(5)
Mother-Infant Bonds Are the Core of Primate Societies	141	(1)
There Are a Few Primary Grouping Patterns in Primates	142	(1)
Affiliation and Grooming Are Important in Primate Societies	143	(1)
Hierarchies and Dominance Help Structure Primate Societies	144	(1)
Dispersal and Life History Patterns Are Important to Social Behavior	145	(1)
Cooperation and Conflict Are Integral to Primate Societies	145	(1)
Social Organization in Two Nonhuman Primate Societies: Macaques and Chimpanzees	146	(11)
Macaques: A Widespread Primate Genus	146	(5)
Chimpanzees: Our Closest Relatives	151	(6)
Humans Are Also Primates, and Human Behavior Has an Evolutionary History	157	(5)
Social Organization and Behavior in Humans	157	(1)
Comparisons With Macaques	158	(1)
Comparisons With Chimpanzees	159	(1)
What Is Uniquely Human?	160	(1)
Conserving the Nonhuman Primates Is a Critical Challenge	161	(1)
Summary	162	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	162	(2)
Critical Thinking	164	(1)
Resources	165	(3)
Early Primate Evolution	168	(26)
Fossils Provide Direct Evidence of an Organism's Existence	170	(2)
Humans Are Members of the Order of Mammals Called Primates	172	(2)
A Very Brief History of the Mammals	172	(1)
Primates Are Mammals With Specific Characteristics	173	(1)
The Fossil Primates	174	(15)
The Earliest Possible Primates Are Found in the Paleocene	174	(3)
Why Did Primates Evolve Out of Early Mammalian Groups?	177	(1)
True Primates Appear in the Eocene	178	(2)
Anthropoids (Simiiformes) Radiate in the Oligocene	180	(3)
Hominoid Primates Radiate During the Miocene	183	(5)
Nonhominoid Anthropoid Primates Radiate During the Pliocene and Pleistocene	188	(1)
Evolutionary Relationships Among These Fossil Primates Are a Matter of Debate	189	(1)
Summary	189	(2)
Critical Thinking	191	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	192	(1)
Resources	192	(2)
Early Hominin Evolution	194	(30)
Classification of Hominids/Hominins Is a Subject of Debate	197	(3)
Early Hominins Evolved Primarily in East Africa	200	(13)
Early Possible Hominins Are Found in Kenya	201	(6)
Hominins of the Middle and Late Pliocene Were Bipedal and Sexually Dimorphic	207	(5)
Were There Early Hominins in Southern Africa?	212	(1)
Evolutionary Relationships Are Unclear	212	(1)
Fossils Give Us Clues About Early Hominin Behavior	213	(3)
Habitat: Where They Lived	214	(1)
Diet: What Did They Eat, and How Did They Get It?	214	(1)
Tools: Did They Use Bone, Wood, or Stone Tools?	215	(1)
Social Life: How Did They Live Together?	215	(1)
The Evolution of Bipedality Has Several Possible Explanations	216	(2)
Summary	218	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	218	(2)
Critical Thinking	220	(1)
Resources	221	(3)
Plio-Pleistocene Hominins and the Genus Homo	224	(42)
Changes at the Late Pliocene-Pleistocene Boundary	227	(1)
The Robust Hominins Had Unique Cranial and Dental Anatomy	228	(7)
The Genus Paranthropus: Hominins With Massive Chewing Adaptations	229	(4)
Robust Hominin Behavior	233	(2)
The Gracile Hominins Shared Characteristics With Both Earlier and Later Groups	235	(11)
Genus Australopithecus: Two Plio-Pleistocene Forms	235	(3)
Are These Australopithecines Ancestral to Humans?	238	(2)
Early Homo: A New Genus Emerges	240	(3)
Gracile Hominin Behavior and the Advent of Biocultural Evolution	243	(3)
Genus Homo Diversifies: The First Humans	246	(14)
A Classification Debate: One Genus but How Many Species?	247	(2)
Physical Characteristics of H. erectus	249	(1)
Geographic Distribution of H. erectus	250	(4)
When Did Hominins Expand Beyond Africa?	254	(1)
Why Did Hominins Expand Beyond Africa?	255	(1)
H. erectus Material Culture and the Expansion of the Biocultural Evolution	256	(4)
Summary	260	(1)
Critical Thinking	261	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	262	(1)
Resources	262	(4)
The Rise of Modern Humans	266	(40)
Archaic Homo Sapiens and the Changing Speed of Innovation	269	(8)
The Oldest Archaic Human Fossils Are Found in Africa	270	(1)
Archaic Human Fossils Are Found Across Eurasia	271	(1)
Archaic Humans Are Found in China but Not in Southeast Asia	272	(2)
Is Homo heidelbergensis a True Species?	274	(1)
The Neanderthals Were Not as Different as First Thought, but They Were Different	275	(2)
Material Culture of the Archaic Humans	277	(5)
Increased Complexity in Tool Use and Hunting	277	(1)
Dietary and Behavior Changes Associated With New Tool Kits	278	(2)
Social Patterns: High Levels of Communal Cooperation	280	(1)
Postmortem Modification of Bodies	281	(1)
The Appearance of ``Anatomically Modern'' Homo sapiens	282	(4)
Anatomically Modern Humans Are Defined Morphologically, Not Behaviorally	282	(1)
The Earliest Anatomically Modern Fossils Are Found in Africa	283	(1)
The Eurasian Record Demonstrates the Spread of Modern Humans	284	(2)
Material Culture Becomes Very Complex With the Appearance of Modern Humans	286	(6)
Blades and Associated Industries Revolutionized the Human Tool Kit	287	(2)
Changing Technologies and Behavioral Patterns Affected Diet	289	(1)
Modern Humans Used Art and Symbols	289	(1)
Burial of the Dead Was Ubiquitous and Postmortem Modification Common	290	(2)
Current Human Patterns Began to Emerge 20,000 Years Ago	292	(1)
The Origin of Modern Humans Is a Matter of Debate	292	(8)
The Case for a Recent African Origin	293	(3)
The Case for Multiregional Evolution	296	(2)
The Case for Multiple Dispersals	298	(1)
As Usual, Reality Is Not This Clear	299	(1)
These Models Influence the Way We Think About Human Differences	300	(1)
Summary	300	(2)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	302	(1)
Critical Thinking	302	(1)
Resources	303	(3)
Human Biological Diversity in Context	306	(38)
Humans Have Long Exhibited Biological Diversity	309	(14)
A Visible but Misunderstood Variation: Skin ``Color''	309	(4)
Another Visible Difference: Body Shape and Size	313	(2)
A Cornerstone of Variation Research: Skull Morphology	315	(1)
Sex Differences Are Seen in the Skeletal and Soft Tissue of Humans	316	(3)
The Impact of Disease Environments: Variation in the Human Immune System	319	(1)
Blood Groups Vary Within and Across Populations	320	(2)
Most Genetic Variation Is Found Within Populations	322	(1)
Human Biological Diversity Is Best Explained Using a Biocultural Approach	323	(6)
Natural Selection and Human Cultural Behavior	323	(2)
Examples of Selection and Adaptation in Human Variation	325	(4)
There Are No Races in Homo sapiens sapiens	329	(8)
What Is the Evidence Regarding Biological Races in Humans?	330	(3)
There Is a Scientific Study of Human Biological Variation	333	(1)
Why Does the Notion of Biological Race Persist?	333	(1)
A Very Brief History of Racism	334	(2)
Modern Notions Are Also Due to a Lack of Context	336	(1)
Summary	337	(3)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	340	(1)
Critical Thinking	341	(1)
Resources	341	(3)
Modernity and Human Biology	344	(22)
Humans Are Still Evolving	346	(10)
Diseases and Modern Humans	347	(4)
Cultural Patterns Influence Morphology	351	(5)
Culture, Evolution, and the Future: Where Are We Headed?	356	(6)
Human Densities and Global Population Are Dramatically Different Today	356	(4)
Genetic Manipulation Can Influence Our Evolution	360	(1)
Some of Our Behavior Reflects Adaptations	360	(2)
Understanding Biological Anthropology and Understanding Ourselves	362	(1)
Summary	363	(1)
What We Know/Questions That Remain	364	(1)
Critical Thinking	364	(1)
Resources	365	(1)
Credits	366	(2)
Glossary	368	(7)
Index	375