Cultural Anthropology

ethnography, urban, medical, economic, applied.

Archeology Anthropology

prehistoric, historical, cultural resource management.

Linguistic Anthro.

language influences social life

Physical Anthro.

Physical: paleoanthropology, paleoprimatology, genetics, primatology, forensics, paleopathology.

Evolution

a change in gene frequency over time

Essential Components of Natural Selection

Mechanism Process 

(natural selection)

Transmutation

of Species Process

Fixity of Species

Young Earth

Heliocentric Universe

Earth-centered Universe

Scala Naturae

humans are the pinnacle of creation (the great chain of being)

Catastrophism

Uniformitarianism

Aristotle

Aristotelian view of the universe common in late middle ages – earth is center of all.

Ptolemy

Formulated astronomical model based on earth-centered universe – used for centuries to predict location of planets, moon, sun, stars.

Copernicus

heliocentric view challenged Aristotelian view

Galileo

pushed Copernican ideas – got the attention of the church.

John Ray

concept that species are defined by reproductive isolation (not approximation to a theoretical ideal), nomenclature of genus and species

Carolus Linnaeus

formalized binomial system (genus and species), invented hierarchical classification, taxonomy, first to classify Homo sapiens with other animals.

Compte de Buffon

changing nature of species (but not evolution), concept of changing adaptations, concept of interaction between species and environment.

Erasmus Darwin

Darwin's grandfather, held to belief in transmutation of species – possibly influenced Darwin.

Jean-Baptiste Lamark

invented evolutionary theory (transmutation of species through interaction with environment). Mechanism of acquired characteristics was wrong, though.

Georges Cuvier

opponent of Lamarck. One of the fathers of paleontology, he believed in creation, and invented catastrophism (repeated floods and creations) to explain fossil record.

Charles Lyell

father of modern geology, invented idea of uniformitarianism – same processes visible today generated geological formations (implies very old earth).

Thomas Malthus

wrote an essay on population expansion. Concept that limited resources control population growth provided Darwin and Wallace with key insight into mechanism of natural selection

Charles Darwin

Invented theory of natural selection (not evolution!). Meticulous observer – most of his ideas have survived intense scrutiny and testing.

Alfred Wallace

Independently came up with concept of natural selection. Given co-credit for idea, but Darwin's publications and work were much more thorough.

Thomas Huxley

called “Darwin’s Bulldog” aggressively promoted evolutionary theory to the scientific community.

Prokaryotes

primitive cells – no nucleus.

Eukaryotes

cells like you and I have

Nucleus

here DNA is stored, replicated, and translated

Mitochondria

where chemical reactions occur that provide cell energy. Mitochondria have their own set of DNA, which proves handy for human evolution studies.

Cell Membrane

the cell wall that actually is an important functional feature of the cell

Ribosomes

little things that help make proteins

Cytoplasm

the glop of chemicals and organs in the cell

DNA

DNA: the genetic code

RNA

RNA: the translation of the genetic code that is used to synthesize proteins.

Proteins

molecules that do lots of things in the cell. DNA codes for proteins, so in a sense a gene is the blueprint for a specific protein.

Chromosomes

Duplicate strands of DNA located in the nucleus, congealed into visible structures during cell replacation.

Chromatin

unwound DNA in the nucleus.

Autosomes

 all of the chromosomes except…

sex chromosomes: the famous X and Y chromosomes.

2 Types of Cells

somatic: garden variety cells that make up your body, and

gametes: sex cells, the merger of which makes a new organism.

Mitosis

          cell division, includes prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase

Meiosis

production of gametes: divides up the chromosomes so that each gamete has half the normal compliment (you need to definitions of diploid and haploid).

DNA/RNA Structure

& How Proteins are made

-genes are basically the code for proteins.

-Proteins determine what you look like and how you function.

-Changes in genes are the basis for variation, which is the basis for evolution. 

DNA

Most is found in the nucleus (a small bit is found in the mitochondria too)

Nucleotide

(a sugar, a phosphate, and one of four bases)

Bases: adenine (A)

guanine(G)

thymine (T)

cytosine (C)

Base pairs: A-T, G-C

Codon

group of three adjacent bases that codes for a specific amino acid

Amino Acid

one of 20 little molecules that, when strung together, make up a protein

Replication

the process of creating two identical copies of a DNA molecule from a single DNA molecule.

DNA Polymerase

a protein that helps stitch together nucleotides during the process of replication

-changes in a codon result in a change in the amino acid coded for, which results in a change in the protein, which results in variation, which is the stuff of evolution.

RNA

 -found in the nucleus and the cytoplasm

single-stranded molecule used to translate DNA code.

Uses 4 base-pairs, but does uracile (U) for thymine

3 types of RNA

mRNA  

tRNA  

rRNA 

mRNA

directly transcribes the DNA code, then moves to the cytoplasm and serves as the template for protein synthesis

tRNA

transfers amino acids to the mRNA template and links them together

rRNA

makes up ribosomes, which are like little zipper-thingies that bring together the tRNA and mRNA to make the protein.

Transcription

copying the DNA code to make an mRNA.

Translation

translating the mRNA code into a protein.

Patterns of Inheritance

(importance)

the pattern of heritability of characters determines evolution. It also explains a lot about modern human variation.

Gregor Mendall

experiments on peas established basic Medellian laws of inheritance.

Punnett square

that annoying box-diagram that helps you figure out the combinations of genes that will result in an offspring.

Genotype

the combination of all genes that you have in your genetic code.

Phenotype

what you look like as a result of your genes, and the environment (for example, if you are malnourished, you will be short, even if you have "tall" genes).

Allele

-a variant of a gene.

-Because you have two copies of each chromosome (one from mom, one from dad), you have two copies of each gene. If the copies are not exactly the same, the different versions are called alleles.

Homozygous

an individual has copies of the same allele for a gene.

Heterozygous

individual has one copy each of two different alleles for a gene.

Dominant Allele

gene is expressed regardless of the presence of another allele.

Recessive Allele

a gene is expressed only in the absence of a dominant gene.

Co-dominant Alleles

genes that are both expressed – neither is dominant to the other.

Locus

the spot on a chromosome where a gene is located.

F1 Generation

first generation after a pair mates (your kids, for example).

F2 Generation

the next generation (your grandkids).

Independent Assortment

alleles sort independently from one generation to the next (an outcome of meiosis)

Segregation

the assortment of chromosomes, and hence genes, during meiosis

Crossing-over

swapping pieces of DNA between chromosomes during meiosis

Polygeniec Inheritance

traits that are determined by more than one gene (not just more than one allele!

Pleiotropy

one gene has multiple effects

Non-Mendellian Inheritance

traits that follow complicated patterns of inheritance do to polygenic determinance and various patterns of "penetrance" (kind of like dominance/recessiveness, but more complex).

Sex-linked Traits

only expressed in one sex.

Evolution

a change in gene frequency over time.

Modern Synthesis

combination of principles from natural selection, genetics, paleontology, comparative anatomy, and population biology to form a comprehensive evolutionary theory.

Populations, demes, subspecies, species

the hierarchical terms used to describe groups of organisms comprising a species.

Reproductive Isolation

the principle that members of a species do not interbreed with members of other species – the biological definition of a species.

Adaptation

alteration of form and physiology in response to natural selection.

Mutation

rare, but ultimately to source of change in the genetic code.

Gene Flow

movement of genes from one population to another.

Genetic Drift

random changes in allele frequency in a population: a statistical phenomenon that is important when population sizes are small.

Bottlenecks

changes in allele frequency occurring as a result of a decrease in population size.

 Founder Effect

establishment of allele frequencies in a population on the basis of the chance occurrence of the alleles in a small, isolated "founder" population.

Directional Selection

natural selection that is driving change in a character over time in a single direction (e.g. progressive increase in brain size in human evolution)

Stabilizing Selection

natural selection that keeps a character from changing over time.

Gene Pool

total compliment of genes in a population of organisms.

Gene Frequency

the actual frequency of alleles in a population.

Recombination

the shuffling of genes from the effect of segregation and crossing-over.

Population Genetics

the study of the genetics of populations of organisms rather than just a single organism – fundamental to the study of "microevolution."

Balanced Polymorphism

presence of two genotypes in a population maintained by selection.

Genetic Equilibrium

stable pattern of genotypes in a population.

Speciation

the process whereby separate populations are permanently isolated reproductively.

Sexual Selection

differential reproductive success due to variation in mating success.

Mate Competition

competition to exclude other members of the same sex from access to mates

Mate Choice

selection of mates by one sex on the basis of traits or behavior.

Positive Assortive Mating

similar individuals prefer each other as mates

(mitch & shelby :) )

Negative Assortive Mating

dissimilar individuals prefer each other as mates.

Inbreeding

mating with close relatives – increases the chances of having homozygous traits.

Race

in its biological definition, populations that show minor differences in inherited traits. Often inappropriately used to identify ethnic groups, or in the sense of a species or subspecies.

Geographic Variation

in traits that is associated with geography.

Cline

gradual changes in the frequency of traits over geographic areas.

Biological Determinism

the idea that physical traits are associated with intelligence, values, morals and so forth. Historically these were traits that were used to bolster racial or ethnic preconceptions and stereotypes.

Eugenics

-deliberate policy of breeding to "improve" the genetic structure of human populations.

-Popular in the early 20^th century

– led to some of the ugliest racial policies ever invented (c.f. apartheid) and even genocide (Nazi Germany).

Blumenbeck (1752-1840)

classified people into 5 races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, American, Ethiopian, and Malayan on the basis of various traits including skin color ("white", "black", "red", "brown", "yellow"), but also realized that the classifications were basically arbitrary, and that there was a continuum of traits across populations.

Retzius (1842)

-developed the cephalic index (head length to breadth ratio). "Dolichocephalic" skulls are long and narrow – "Brachycephalic" skulls are round. Tried to argue that skull shape was correlated with intelligence. Argued that North Europeans were the pinnacle of evolution, Africans were the most primitive. Sort of stuff that led to eugenics and "ethnic cleansing."