lec4 human diversity-2

docx

School

University of Toronto, Mississauga *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

203

Subject

Anthropology

Date

Oct 30, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by Shumaylfatima

DV2074 ANT101Human Diversity History of the study of human variation Direct relationship between Darwin and human variation Linneaus 1758 Binomial nomenclature (taxonomic type of categorization) Classificatory Separated humans into 5 categories (subspecies).  Americanus (described as red, paints himself with red lines, black hair, contented and free)  Europaeus (white skin, serious, flowing blond hair, wears tight clothing)  Asiaticus (yellow skinned, greedy, beady eyes, wears loose clothing)  Afer (impassive, curly black hair)  Monstrosus (accommodating large Catagonians, cone heads or china and flat heads of Canada)  Had cultural bias or taxonomic subspecies (problem of categorizations. Tries to put cultural and biological features together) Count de Buffon “Varieties of the Human Species” (1749)  Descriptive ( unlike Linneas)  Rejected classifications  Emphasized unity of species  Behavioral & cultural biases ( same as Linneas)  Tried to stay away from categories  How is he similar (in his combination of cultural and behavioral bias)  Differs (moving away from categorization and description. Unity of species) Problems in classifying humans Humans are both the investigators & subjects Inequalities & injustices Hard to separate self and cultural views Eugenics Goal was for the betterment of the human species by the selective breeding for favorable traits Established scientific movement from 1910-1930 Legitimize social bias with objectivity of cultural bias If Darwin is right some people have better genes than others, that means that will improve that population at that time. If we encourage reproduction with favorable traits the favorable traits will become more common Reach a utopian society. If we try to get rid of criminals by not allowing them to procreate (with the acceptance of the premise that its genetic) then there wouldn’t be any left. Important figures in Eugenics Francis Galton  1869 “Heredity Genius”  Prominence is inborn o Statistics How ruuuuude D:

DV2074 o Used biology to reinforce social prejudices  If we encourage prominent individuals to procreate then there would be a more prominent and affluent society (opposite with lowest economic society)  Use science to legitimize cultural bias Charles Davenport  1911 “Heredity in relation to eugenics”  Established eugenics in US scientific program  Tried to get individuals with favorable traits to procreate (opposite with undesirable) How was eugenics to be carried out?  Restriction of immigration  Restriction of the propagation of undesirable heritable traits  Encouragement of breeding between individuals with desirable genetic traits Eugenics took hold in National Socialist Germany (yes, I did Nazi that coming lel lel lel) Hitler didn’t come up with this but he used it Ernest Hooton  Broke from eugenics movement (in U.S.A)  Suggested there was more human variation in the population than between populations and emphasized polymorphism Polymorphism -a species with alternative forms (alleles) of particular genes Polytypism - The study of differences between groups (emphasize the way population differs) Polymorphic species is divided into geographically dispersed populations The expression on genetic variants in different frequencies in different populations of a species Distinction between racial & racist studies Racial  Examinations of biological differences among human groups (without making any social or cultural commentary) Racist  Biological differences among human groups to reinforce social divisions (hard to differentiate between the two) Carleton Coon (famous from Harvard…oooh)  “The Origins of Races” 1963  Divided modern humans into 5 subspecies  Suggested that they existed since middle Pleistocene (homo-erectus)  These species evolved at different race. Believed that Caucasians evolved first and are the best

DV2074 Criticisms  Inferring race from fossils  Using cultural criteria to rank races  Inferring different times for becoming human Synthetic Theory of Evolution Bringing together of Darwinian natural selection & Mendelian genetics (micro evolutionary forces) Population genetics Human diversity a result of microevolutionary forces acting on human gene pool 3 forces  Natural selection (not this one but its still there)  Genetic drift  Gene flow  Mutation Human Polymorphisms Traits that differ in expression between populations & individuals. Genetic Pathologies (genetic diseases and the way they are inherited) Human Biochemical Polymorphisms (genetic inheritance in different populations. E.g. blood type)  Blood cell antigens (ABO)  Cellular recognition processes (HLA)  Miscellaneous variant forms of enzymes  Mitochondrial DNA  RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphisms) Genetics of the Individual (e.g. human genome)  Human Genome Project  Human Genome Diversity Project Basic Environmental Variables 1. Thermal environment (ambient temperature)  Sweating  Vasodilation vs vasoconstriction Body proportions  Larger surface area dissipates the most heat (high thermal environment adheres to Allen’s Rule will have longer arms and legs/appendages in order to reduce/dissipate the heat)  Larger body mass retains heat (conserve as much body heat as we could in low thermal temperatures and reduce surface area which is Bergmann’s Rule) 2 . Oxygen  High altitude - reduced barometric pressure (decrease in barometric pressure as altitude increases and have a higher oxygen carrying capacity and can have a slower growth and development period with larger chest. There is also an increase in red blood cell count BUT not seen in high altitudes just going from small to medium altitude not low to high)  Hypoxia

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

DV2074  Transport & utilize O2 more efficiently  Increased RBC production (in moderate altitude) 3 . U ltraviolet light  Increased melanin production with greater sunlight exposure (go darker and protect them)  E.g. Rickets picture seen due to vitamin D deficiency.  4. Infectious Disease  Diseases caused by microorganisms/pathogens (viruses, bacteria, fungi)  Cultural practices can affect incidence and spread  Zoonotic Vectors – transmit disease from nonhuman animals to humans  E.g. HIV (primate), H1N1 (chickens), SARS, H1N1  E.g. Bubonic plague (black death) came from ticks off rats so spread of disease (sad times count: 7)  We are not prepared and weak -_- Uniqueness of Human Adaptation Cultural selection may contradict biological success  Economics  Ideological  Sexuality (separation of sex and reproduction has decreased the number of people being born) What lies ahead in human evolution?