Anthro Unit 2 Questions

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Anthropology

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Dec 6, 2023

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1. Discuss the importance of the two methods of dating used by archaeologists to understand the past. Provide an example for each of the methods. The importance of relative and absolute dating is that it tells us where fossils are from so we can date them back in time to know what was happening. Relative dating is used in stratigraphy which is ordering the layers of the earth's sediments(oldest on the bottom, newest at the top). An example of absolute dating would be radiometric techniques which measure the loss of unstable isotopes. 2. Think about how we put fossil primates and hominins into evolutionary order. What is the difference between homologies and analogies and what are the dating methods used? The difference between homologies and analogies is that analogies do not indicate that there is a recent common ancestor between organisms while a homology says that there is a common ancestor. This can be determined through radioactive dating techniques as well as mtDNA dating which shows mutations. 3. Why do biological anthropologists study non-human primates from the past? Who are the living primates who are most closely related to us and how do they inform us about human evolution? Biological anthropologists study non-human primates from the past to see how we are related to our past ancestors and what characteristics and traits we share. The living primates who are most closely related to us are terrestrial monkeys such as hominins. They inform us that their social organization was very complex and that they share traits with anatomically modern humans. 4. Discuss and describe two of the six primate biological tendencies/traits that were considered in the lecture and your textbook. For each, be sure to detail the evolutionary advantages of each of the tendencies. One trait is grasping or opposability. The advantages of this trait include the ability to climb more easily in arboreal niches and the ability to grasp or hold items. After adapting to bipedal locomotion, humans eliminated most of the foot's grasping ability. Another trait is the shift from the importance of smell to the importance of sight. Primates' increased and improved ability to see depth and color helped them see their environment and even adapt to nocturnal tendencies. 5. Discuss two BIOLOGICAL traits that are shared by humans and other apes and that are distinct from monkeys and other primates (do NOT discuss behavioral traits). Body sizes tend to be larger and lifespans are longer. We can see that humans and other apes have larger bodies than monkeys and other primates. Humans and apes also tend to live longer. 6. Given the significance of bipedalism in terms of hominin evolution and human attributes, think about what you learned in class as well as the textbook. Give and

explain 3 biological/skeletal changes and/or markers of bipedalism and 2 possible behavioral/environmental explanations for the evolutionary advantage of bipedalism. One behavioral explanation for bipedalism is the ability to stand and see over tall grass to be able to detect predators and threats. Another explanation is the reduction of the body’s exposure to solar radiation which can be harmful. Biological changes include a wider pelvis for better balance, increased cranial capacity for tool making, and gracil body types. 7. What are the four trends of hominin evolution? Discuss which trends happen and when (not necessarily specific dates, but relative to each other in chronological order). Use species names as examples. Bipedalism-ardipithecus, dental changes-australopithecines, cranial capacity-homo genus, and material culture-homo sapiens are the four trends of hominin evolution. 8. Briefly discuss the three different paths of hominin evolution. Describe each path separately by discussing where it was happening, how the evolving species are marked by the four hominin evolutionary trends, as well as naming as many species as you can. The first path started in East Africa and the three evolving species are anamensis, afarensis, and boisei. The species were marked by the evolutionary trends in that all showed increasing cranial capacity and increasing bipedalism. They were also omnivores and herbivores, so differences and changes in facial structure could be observed based on a changing diet. The second path was in Southern Africa. The species that evolved include afarensis, africanus, and robustus. The gracile body types and larger skeletal builds continued to be selected, showing evidence of the evolutionary trends. The third path was in Eastern Africa. The species that evolved include afarensis, homo habilis, and homo erectus. Both species showed an increase in cranial capacity and material culture like tool making. They had smaller teeth and increased bipedalism. 9. What is the eco-niche that Homo erectus first adapted to? Discuss at least 4 environmental, adaptive traits it had for that econiche. The traits can be anatomical or behavioral factors that are relevant to explain why H. erectus was successful in this eco-niche. Hunter-gatherer econiche. The species was able to create more advanced tools. These tools were used for different jobs. With these tools they were able to acquire more meat and dig up tubers, roots, nuts, and seeds more efficiently. Dietary changes eased the burden on the chewing muscles and they in turn developed less. Jaws and cranial crests were also reduced. They also developed smaller teeth because of their smaller jaws. 10. Describe each of the three Out-of-Africa Models discussed in class and tell me which one is the most widely accepted model in anthropology today. The first model is the multiregional model which says that all hiiminin species are connected through gene flow which led to the spread of new species everywhere. The second model is the

recent single origin model which says that all hominin species evolved in Africa, then they left, and replaced early hominin species. Lastly there is the assimilation model which says that most hominins evolved in Africa and partially interbred with early hominin species. The recent single origin model is most widely accepted today. 11. Given the first discussion we had in class for this unit, how does thinking about species hybridization help us better understand hominin evolution and human variation? It allows us to understand that animals from the genus can mate and produce offspring, despite not being of the same species. This is how evolution has allowed us to create new traits over time that are more efficient in the environments we live in. 12. What do we use to explain the biological variation between modern human populations today? In other words, what is the explanation for why different groups of people have certain physical traits that makes these populations biologically different from others? In addition, provide an example of one of these specific population traits with the environmental explanation for it. In order to explain the biological variation between modern human populations we have to look at the human phenotype which is the reason for why we are all physically different. Populations have adapted to different eco-niches over time which creates phenoty[pic differences. For example, people who live in the Andes mountains have adapted to high altitudes and therefore have more efficient blood, but low birth rates. 13. Using your knowledge from the textbook and lecture, discuss why race is a discredited idea in biology. Use examples to make your points. Race is a discredited idea in biology because it is a presumed biological category. It is an assumed subdivision of a species based on a common ancestory of biological traits. For example, race is just a justification for events in the past that have had a negative impact on society such as slavery, WW2, the Holocaust, segregation, and so many more. 14. How did the domestication of plants OR animals occur? What physical/morphological changes happened and how were people thinking about it? The domestication of plants happened due to neolithic adaptive changes. Plant domestication was opportunistic and intentional. Traits of wild plants such as being small, grains falling, in natural range, and normal pollen switched to being larger, grains stay on, outside normal environment, and changes in pollen. 15. What are some of the factors (consequences and the benefits) that various people around 10-12,000 years ago throughout the world could have reacted to when deciding to both create and adopt new adaptive strategies of domestication and sedentism?

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Some consequences include population change, environmental degredation, insecure food supply, and shift in diet. Some benefits include farmers needing less land for hunting and gathering as well as having a more predictable food source. 16. What are the two primary determinants that best explain the Neolithic changes leading to domestication and sedentism as a global phenomenon and how did they shape the direction of these cultural changes? The 2 primary determinants that explain the shift to domestication and sedentism are the environmental and social reasons for this. In regards to environmental, during this time there was a warming period as well as the receding ice age, and in regards to social determinants there was a population increase as well as overall social complexity increasing which encouraged people to shift their lifestyles. 17. In terms of the second discussion about Pseudo-archaeological ideas, are these ‘fantastic’ claims equally valid understandings to the more scientific archaeological explanations? Using what you learned in class and from the textbook, what is one of the cultural, social, or economic problems or issues associated with pseudo-archaeology? Explain it. One of the problems associated with pseudo archaeology is that it can enable people to believe things that are not actually true and can change the landscape of the social nature of what people tend to believe in which can be dangerous in society. For example, President Trump told people to inject themselves with bleach since it does the “same” thing as the vaccine and can help prevent covid, however, there are people that believed that and caused people to believe in false science. 18. Archaeologists have given at least four different explanations about why and how complex societies arose. Please briefly describe and name one of those explanations and provide a name of a Primary State culture or region from the lectures or your readings that fit the theory. One explanation for how societies rose is from religion. Religion helped the Mayan civilization integrate social systems as well as being able to form new markets from the sites and structures which dragged people into society. 19. Discuss one of the key attributes of the Primary State that were discussed in your textbook and class. Briefly describe why you think that the attribute is unique to states and NOT in egalitarian and ranked societies. One of the key attributes of primary states is that they had agricultural economies. This differs from an egalitarian society because in that everyone does the same thing and power is distributed equally. By having agricultural economies be part of society, it helps create social classes and have people differ from one another based on economic differences. 20. You learned about early state formation in several areas of the world from the lecture and the textbook that includes the Middle East, the Indus River Valley,

African States, and Mesoamerica. Describe briefly one of these region’s state formations, where you talk about population growth, expanding socio-political systems, and reasons for that growth. One early state formation that stuck out to me was Mesoamerica. In this society they started out by having cheifdoms and ranked societies and ended up forming full on states and empires. The economy grew rapidly as well as social complexity due to competition between people and markets. Another reason for growth was the intense agriculture being performed and having a big geographic make up for warfare.

Anthro Unit 2 Questions

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