1.1. Anthropology is the study of humankind, viewed from the perspective of all people and all times. As it is practiced in the US, it includes four branches or sub-disciplines: cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and physical anthropology.
1.2. An interesting quote I found on page 7. "When I tell people outside the field what I do for a living, they often think physical anthropology is quite off, bizarre even. Frequently they ask "Why would anyone want to study dead people and old bones and teeth?""
1.3. An introduction to the discipline of Anthropology
2. Chapter 2: Evolution: Construction A Fundamental Scientific Theory
2.1. In developing this theory of evolution by means of natural selection, Darwin drew on geology, paleontology, taxonomy and systematics, demography, and what is now called evolutionary biology.
2.2. Scientists working in these disciplines had shown that: Earth is quite old and has changed considerably over time, life evolves over time, group of related species help clarify evolutionary history.
2.3. The Theory of Evolution (by Natural Selection) | Cornerstones Education
2.4. "Who survives to reproductive age? Those who can successfully compete for food. Whose children thrive? Those of survivors who manage to feed their offspring" Page 33
3. Chapter 3: Genetics: Reproducing Life and Producing Variation
3.1. The genetic code is DNA, packaged in chromosomes. Nuclear DNA provides most of the genetic code. The genetic code (DNA) serves as the chemical template for its own replication and for the creation of proteins.
3.2. DNA replication is the first step in producing new cells. Mitosis produces two identical somatic cells. In humans, each has 46 chromosomes in 23 homologous pairs. Meiosis produces four gametes. In humans each has 23 chromosomes.
3.3. "When I studied introductory biology in college in the early 1970s, knowledge of DNA was just a tiny fraction of what it is now. Evolution provides us with the information whereby we can see how organisms are put together and what is actually evolving.
4. Chapter 4: Genes and Their Evolution: Population Genetics
4.1. Physical anthropologists carry out population genetics studies to measure the changes in genetic makeup (allele frequencies) from one generation to the next and to explain the evolutionary processes behind these changes. Researchers use the Hardy–Weinberg law to mathematically demonstrate whether or not a population is undergoing evolutionary change with respect to a particular trait. When there is no change in allele frequencies for a trait (and therefore no evolutionary change), the population is said to be in genetic equilibrium for that trait. Deviations from genetic equilibrium are brought about by the four forces of evolution: muta- tion, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow. Each of these four forces affects the level of genetic variation within a population and between populations in different ways, and any one or a com- bination of these forces may be acting on a population at any given time. Throughout our evolutionary history, humans have been and continue to be subject to the operation of these four forces. Physi- cal anthropologists explain much of the variation observed among modern humans today within the specific context of one or more of these forces.
4.2. Interesting quote:"Although the genetic record initially showed some gradients of genetic trait fre- quencies from the Middle East into Europe, close inspection of the 95 genetic markers that Cavalli-Sforza and Ammerman analyzed revealed numerous contradictions that suggested weaknesses in their hypothesis. The record showed evidence of gene flow but not of uniform westward expansion." Pg. 120
4.3. https://youtu.be/WhFKPaRnTdQ
5. Chapter 5: Biology in the Present: Living People
5.1. The biocultural approach of physical anthropology emphasizes that human evolution and variation are shaped by both biology and culture; that is, by both genetic factors and environ- mental factors. Physical anthropologists apply this concept in various ways. For instance, the relationship between the unique life history stages of humans and our sociocultural behaviors is an area of interest. Additionally, human populations across the globe vary in the ways that homeostasis (physiological equilibrium) is main- tained, and such adaptations are a product of evolutionary pro- cesses operating over a wide range of environmental settings. The broad range of human adaptability—to life in hot and cold climates, among extremes of latitude and altitude, and with variable access to key nutrients—is a major contributor to the success of our species: humans survive and reproduce across a diverse array of environ- ments worldwide.
5.2. Interesting quote: "Studying the larger picture of human variation, anthropologists have learned that highly physically active human populations—those that do lots of walking, lifting, car- rying, or anything else that “stresses” the skeleton—have bones with optimum density."Pg 161
5.3. Differentiation and development of all the body organs occur during the prenatal stage of life. The postnatal stage involves growth acceleration and deceleration. Childhood and adolescence are long events, in which individuals become physically and emotionally mature.
6. Chapter 13: The Past 10,000 Years
6.1. One of the most fundamental transitions in recent human evolution is the shit from hunting and gathering to agriculture. For 99.8% of the 7 million years of our evolutionary past, humans and our hominin ancestors were foragers. Only within the past 10,000 years or so have humans undertaken the process of plant and animal domestication and become farmers the world over. n fact, many of the issues we face and will encounter in the future—such as environmental degradation, population growth, nutritional stress, and infectious disease—can be traced, in part, to agriculture and its influence on human biocultural evolution. The story of what it means to be human is one of adaptation, both biological and cultural. The ongoing evolution of our spe- cies will be shaped by newly emerging environmental and ecolog- ical pressures that will continue to test human adaptability and resilience.
6.2. During the Holocene epoch (the most recent 10,000 years, Homo sapiens included domesticated plants and animals in their diets for the first time. The earliest agriculture occurred in the eastern Mediterranean (the Levant). It arose in 11 other centers independently around the world. Plant and animal domestication may have arisen to feed the ever-increasing human population.
6.3. Quote: n many regions where farming was adopted, adult heights declined appreciably. That people simply stopped growing as tall has been documented in western Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, Nubia, southern Asia, the Ohio River valley, and central Illinois. Pg 474
7. The evolution of the australopithecine lineages resulted in generally increased robusticity of the chewing complex, no change in brain size, and eventual extinction. The change in the chewing complex reflected an increasing focus on eating hard or tough foods, especially plants. M y 2.5 mya, at least one australopithecine lineage gave rise to the genus Homo. At least two other distinct australopithecine lineages, one in East Africa and one in South Africa, went extinct around 1 mya.
8. Chapter 6: Biology in the Present: The Other Living Primates
8.1. As a group, the members of the order Primates differ from other mammals in three key respects related to the evolution- ary history that shaped their morphology and behavior. Primates are characterized by arboreal adaptations (associated with life in the trees), dietary flexibility (associated with the wide variety of foods that they eat), and parental investment (associated with offspring that require a large amount of care). Despite these key similarities among its members, perhaps the most remarkable feature of the order Primates is its immense diversity. Some primates are noc- turnal, whereas others are diurnal. Some primates spend most of their time in the trees, whereas others spend a great deal of time on the ground. Some primates have specialized diets, whereas others might eat just about anything. The immense diversity among living primates was shaped by evolutionary forces over tens of millions of years, and this diversity reflects the interactions between species and their environmental settings.
8.2. Interesting quote: "Humans’ general body plan resembles that of the large-bodied apes of Africa, a fact that has been recognized since at least the middle of the nineteenth century, when Thomas Huxley wrote his famous treatise on primate anatomy and human evolution, Man’s Place in Nature. Humans have several unique anatomical attributes, however, many of which are related to the fact that humans are the only obligate, or restrictedly, bipedal primate" Pg 201-202
8.3. https://youtu.be/UPggkvB9_dc
9. Chapter 7: Primate Sociality, Social Behavior, and Culture
9.1. In addition to the wide variation of morphological characteristics present within the order Primates (see chapter 6), nonhuman primate species exhibit considerable diversity in social organization and behavior. Different primate species engage in var- ious primary patterns of residence (social groupings), which influ- ence the number of males, females, and juveniles present within the group at any one time. Within a species, males and females might have vastly different reproductive strategies, which can be associated with morphological and behavioral disparities between the two sexes. Primates also engage in cooperation, communica- tion, and cultural behaviors, all of which vary drastically across this taxonomic order. As with their morphological characteristics, the immense diversity of behaviors among living primates has been shaped by the evolutionary histories of different species and con- tinues to be shaped by environmental and social pressures.
9.2. Quote: Not all communication is vocal. Like humans, apes gesture with their hands, limbs, and bodies, and many of these behaviors are learned. Some 20 different gestures have been cataloged in siamangs, for example. Page. 227
9.3. Generally, primates that cooperate in social groups are better able to protect themselves from predators. The larger the group, the better the protection. Living in social groups provides access to mates and enhances reproductive success.
10. Chapter 8: Fossils and Their Place in Time and Nature
10.1. The evolution of life on Earth has occurred on a geologic timescale that is almost unfathomable, with the first single-celled organisms appearing around 3.5 billion years ago and the first multicellular organisms appearing around 1.2 billion years ago. The evolution of the order Primates is more recent, occurring over the past 50 million years, and the evolution of our own branch (that is, hominins) more recent still, from approximately 7 mya to the present. The physical evidence, primarily bones and teeth, of these evolutionary processes constitutes the fossil record. Advances in scientific dating techniques and the ability to reconstruct ancient environments have greatly expanded paleontologists’ and physical anthropologists’ understanding of the timing of major evolutionary events, the tempo at which evolution occurs, and the environmen- tal pressures operating on species in deep time. This knowledge sets the stage for the “big questions” regarding primate and hominin evolution that will be addressed in the subsequent chapters.
10.2. Quote: Temperature is perhaps the single most important feature of climate. Therefore, if sci- entists can reconstruct the temperature for a particular geologic stratum, they come very close to characterizing a past climate. Page 267
11.1. The origin of our own taxonomic order, the order Pri- mates, extends more than 50 million years into the past. Various hypotheses—based on characteristics seen in both living and extinct primates, such as arboreal adaptations and visual acuity— have been proposed to explain why the first true primates arose deep in the past. The evolutionary history of the order Primates can be described as somewhat tumultuous. Fluctuations in climate and other environmental pressures during the Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene epochs affected the survival and adaptive radiations of various fossil primate taxa to differing degrees. Fossils of primate ancestors are found across Africa, Asia, and Europe in the Old World as well as North and South America in the New World. The locations and characteristics of these fossils clarify the timeline of major evolutionary events that shaped the order Primates and illus- trate that the geographic extent of primates in the past was much larger than the distribution of nonhuman primate species living today.
11.2. Quote: The rise in monkey species and the decline in ape species were not due to competi- tion between the two groups. Rather, the origin and diversification of monkeys reflect habitat changes. The climates and environments of the early Miocene seem to have favored the adaptive radiation of apes, with most taxa then going extinct as climates and environments changed. The climates and environments of the late Miocene, and into the Pliocene and Pleistocene, seem to have favored the adaptive radiation of monkeys. Page 304
11.3. According to the predominant theory, primate origins represent the radiation of a primitive mammalian ancestor that adapted to life in the trees. Other theories suggest that the origins may be more closely linked to preying on insects or eating fruit.
12. Chapter 10: Early Hominin Origins and Evolution
12.1. The earliest hominins arose during the transition from an arboreal lifestyle to a terrestrial lifestyle. For this reason, the fossils of these first hominin species (for example, Ardipithecus ramidus) have some anatomical features that reflect bipedalism and some features that reflect arborealism. Over the course of several million years, the arboreal traits, such as a grasping foot, disappear from the fossil record. Key anatomical changes that take place in later hominins include the remarkable increase in robusticity and size of the masticatory (chewing) apparatus. These changes disap- pear with the extinction of the hyper-robust australopithecines. Throughout the fossil record, especially after 2.6 mya, evidence of tool use is present. The use of tools may or may not have been fundamental to the success of the first hominins. Most authorities regard tool use and technology in general to be especially important for the appearance and evolution of the earliest members of our own genus, Homo.
12.2. Quote: Evidence of earlier tool use pre-dating 3.3 mya might not have been found because tools may have been made—and probably were made—out of more ephemeral materials, such as wood and grass. Pg. 341
13. Chapter 11: The Origins and Evolution of Early Homo
13.1. The earliest members of our genus, Homo, arose nearly 2.5 mya and were characterized by an increase in brain size and a stronger reliance on material culture for survival. Key anatomi- cal changes in Homo habilis—such as a larger brain, a less robust jaw, and smaller teeth—highlight the growing importance of tool use and dietary diversity as adaptations in the genus Homo. Homo erectus became the first hominin species to spread out of Africa to Europe and Asia, a global dispersal made possible by anatomi- cal and cultural adaptations, including increased brain size, larger body size, more complex tool technology, use of fire for cooking, and emergence of hunting behaviors. The first members of Homo exhibited a series of evolutionary trends that set the stage for the ongoing evolution of the genus and the eventual emergence of our own species, Homo sapiens.
13.2. The genus Homo is defined by physical and behavioral attributes, including a relatively large brain, small face and jaws, and dependence on material culture for survival.
13.3. Quote: Another potential means of improving dietary quality and energy intake is food sharing. In this case, males would have hunted for meat and subsequently shared it with females and dependent children. Pg 383
14. Chapter 12: The Origins, Evolution, and Dispersal of Modern People
14.1. ince some of the earliest discoveries of hominin fossils, such as that of the Neandertal skull found in Germany in 1856, physical anthropologists have uncovered an amazing amount of information about our evolutionary past. Fossil discoveries, as well as the application of new technologies in genetic research, have helped clarify the relationship between anatomically mod- ern humans and our evolutionary cousins, the Neandertals. These results have also helped determine the most likely scenario for the origin and subsequent global dispersal of our own species, Homo sapiens, from approximately 200,000 yBP to the present. The remarkable discoveries made and rigorous scientific study per- formed by paleoanthropologists continue to inform our under- standing of what it means to be human.
14.2. Distinguishing characteristics of modern humans include small faces, jaws, and teeth; a vertical and high forehead; narrow nasal apertures and body trunks; and long legs.
14.3. Quote: In contrast to the migrations to Australia and the Pacific, where the founders trav- eled across open seas, migrations to the Americas occurred via a land route or along the deglaciated Pacific coastline. Pg. 440
