Chapter 1

Introduction to Physical Anthropology

Chapter Outline

• What is Anthropology?• Cultural Anthropology• Archaeology• Linguistic Anthropology

Chapter Outline

• Physical Anthropology• Physical Anthropology and the Scientific

Method• The Anthropological Perspective• Issue: Evaluation in Science: Lessons in

Critical Thinking

Hominids

• Humans are hominids, belonging to the taxonomic family Hominidae.

• Bipedalism, walking on two legs, is a critical feature of the hominids.

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

Early Hominid Footprints - Laetoli, Tanzania

• The tracks to the left were made by one individual, while those to the right appear to have been formed by two individuals, the second stepping in the tracks of the first.

Human Footprints - Lunar Surface

• Human footprints left on the lunar surface during the Apollo mission.

Question

• The mammalian group that humans belong to is the Order

a) Carnivora.

b) Rodentia.

c) Primates.

d) Chiroptera.

Answer: c

• The mammalian group that humans belong to is the Order Primates.

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. They cannot mate with them to produce

fertile offspring.

Evolution

• A change in the genetic structure of a population.

• The term is also frequently used to refer to the appearance of a new species.

Adaptation

• An anatomical, physiological, or behavioral response of organisms or populations to the environment.

• Adaptations result from evolutionary change.

Early Stone Tools

• (a) An early stone tool from East Africa. One of the oldest types of stone tools found anywhere. (b) Assortment of a few implements available in a modern hardware store.

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).

Culture• Culture is the strategy by which humans adapt

to the natural environment. • Culture is learned, and the process of learning

one’s culture begins at birth.• Even though culture isn’t genetically

determined, the human predisposition to assimilate culture is influenced by genetics.

• Over time, culture and biology interacted so that humans are said to be the result of biocultural evolution.

Biocultural Evolution

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

• This is a basic concept in understanding the unique components of human evolution.

Culture

technologies subsistence

patterns housing types clothing

religion marriage and

family values gender roles

• Strategies humans use to adapt to their environment:

Worldview

• General cultural orientation or perspective shared by members of a society.

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.

• Such responses may or may not be deliberate and they aren’t necessarily the results of conscious decision making, as in one-celled organisms, insects, and many other species.

What Is Anthropology?

• The study of humankind.• Integrates sociology, economics, history,

psychology, and biology.• Comprises three subfields:

Cultural anthropology Archaeology Physical (or biological) anthropology

Cultural Anthropology

• The study of all aspects of human behavior.• An interest in traditional societies led early

anthropologists to study lifeways that are now all but extinct.

• These studies produced ethnographies that emphasized religion, ritual, myth, use of symbols, subsistence strategies, technology, gender roles and child-rearing practices.

Archaeology• Study and interpretation of material

remains recovered from earlier cultures.• Information about culture comes from

artifacts and material culture left by early hominids.

Linguistic Anthropology• Study of the origin of language and speech.• The use of language is a unique human

characteristic. • Relationship between culture and language:

How do members of a society perceive phenomena?

How does the use of language shape perceptions?

Physical Anthropology

• Study of human biology in the framework of evolution.

• Subfields: Paleoanthropology - human evolution Anthropometry - measurement of body parts Primatology: study of nonhuman primates Osteology: study of skeletons

Paleoanthropology

• Paleoanthropologists excavating at the Drimolen site, South Africa.

Primate paleontology• The study of the primate fossil record that

extends back to the beginning of primate evolution some 60 million years ago (mya).

• Virtually every year, fossil-bearing beds in North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe yield new discoveries.

• By studying fossil primates and comparing them with anatomically similar living species, primate paleontologists are learning a great deal about factors such as diet or locomotion in earlier forms.

Anthropometry

• Anthropology student using spreading to measure cranial length.

Modern Population Studies

• This researcher is using a treadmill test to assess a subject’s heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen consumption.

Modern Population Studies• Dr. Kathleen Galvin

measures upper arm circumference in a young Maasai boy in Tanzania.

• Data derived from various body measurements, including height and weight, were used in a health and nutrition study of groups of Maasai cattle herders.

Genetics and DNA• Genetics is the study of gene structure and

action and the patterns of inheritance of traits from parent to offspring.

• Genetic mechanisms are the foundation for evolutionary change.

• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the double-stranded molecule that contains the genetic code. DNA is a main component of chromosomes.

Cloning• Cloning and

sequencing methods are frequently used to identify genes in humans and nonhuman primates.

• This graduate student identifies a genetically modified bacterial clone.

Primatology

• Yahaya Alamasi, a member of the senior field staff at Gombe National Park, Tanzania.

• Alamasi is recording behaviors in free-ranging chimpanzees.

Primatology

• The study of nonhuman primates.• Because nonhuman primates are our

closest living relatives, identifying the factors related to social behavior, communication, infant care and reproductive behavior helps us develop a better understanding of the natural forces that shaped modern human behavior.

Osteology• The study of the skeleton.• A thorough knowledge of skeletal structure and

function is critical to the interpretation of fossil material.

• Bone biology and physiology are of major importance to many other aspects of physical anthropology besides paleontology.

• Paleopathology, a subdiscipline of osteology, is the study of disease and trauma in archaeologically derived skeletal populations.

Forensic Anthropology

• An applied anthropological approach dealing with legal matters.

• Forensic anthropologists work with coroners and others in identifying and analyzing human remains.

Forensic Anthropology

• Physical anthropologists Lorna Pierce (left) and Judy Suchey (center) working as forensic consultants.

• The dog has just located a concealed human cranium during a training session.

Forensic Anthropology

• Forensic anthropologists at the location on Staten Island where all materials from the World Trade Center were taken for investigation after September 11, 2001.

• The scientists are wearing HAZMAT (hazardous materials) suits for protection.

Question

• Anthropologists who conduct excavations in order to recover artifacts are

a) archaeologistsb) ethnologistsc) linguistsd) medical anthropologists

Answer: a

• Anthropologists who conduct excavations in order to recover artifacts are archaeologists.

Human Anatomy

• Dr. Linda Levitch teaching a human anatomy class at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Continuum

• A set of relationships in which all components fall along a single integrated spectrum.

• All life reflects a single biological continuum.

Science• A body of knowledge gained through

observation and experimentation; from the Latin scientia, meaning “knowledge.” A hypotheses is a provisional explanation of

a phenomenon. Hypotheses require verification or falsification

through testing. Empirical means to rely on experiment or

observation.

Scientific Method

• An approach to research whereby a problem is identified, a hypothesis (or provisional explanation) is stated, and that hypothesis is tested by collecting and analyzing data. Data

• Facts from which conclusions can be drawn; scientific information.

Quantitatively

• Pertaining to measurements of quantity and including such properties as size, number, and capacity.

• When data are quantified, they’re expressed numerically and can be tested statistically.

Theory

• A broad statement of scientific relationships or underlying principles that has been substantially verified through the testing of hypotheses.

Scientific Testing

• The precise repetition of an experiment or expansion of observed data to provide verification.

• The procedure by which hypotheses and theories are verified, modified, or discarded.

Question

• Physical anthropologists developed techniques for measuring the human body. These type of measurements are called:

a) calibrationb) dermatoglyphicsc) geneticsd) anthropometrics

Answer: d

• Physical anthropologists developed techniques for measuring the human body. These type of measurements are called anthropometrics.

Physical Anthropologyand the Scientific Method

1. State the research problem.

2. Develop a hypothesis.

3. Test the hypothesis through data collection and analysis.

4. If the hypothesis is verified, it becomes a theory.

Anthropological Perspective• A broad perspective that helps us understand

the diversity of the human experience within the context of biological and behavioral continuity with other species.

• By learning about cultures other than our own, we can avoid an ethnocentric view of other cultures.

• By recognizing that we have similarities with other animals, we may recognize that they have a place in nature just as we do.

Ethnocentric

• Viewing other cultures from the inherently biased perspective of one’s own culture.

• Ethnocentrism often results in other cultures being seen as inferior to one’s own.

Metabolism

• The chemical processes within cells that break down nutrients and release energy for the body to use.

• When nutrients are broken down into their component parts, such as amino acids, energy is released and made available for the cell to use.