Chapter 5

Question 1

what is population—

Answer 1

a group of community of animals that is identifiable within a species

Question 2

what is deme—

Answer 2

local, interbreeding population defined in terms of its genetic composition (for example, alley frequency)

Question 3

what is subspecies—

Answer 3

group of local populations that share part of the geographic range of a species and can be differentiated from other subspecies based on one or more phenotype traits

Question 4

what is race—

Answer 4

a biological taxonomy, same thing as subspecies; when applied to humans, sometimes incorporates both cultural and biological factors

Question 5

what is polytypic species—

Answer 5

species that consists of a number of different breeding population, each varying in some genetic trait

Question 6

what are the short comings of all of the mentioned words above

Answer 6

no objective way to determine how much variation (anatomical or genetic) is enough to consider 2 groups worth of separate identification
cannot declare that all individuals in a geographical area are by definition members of a single population
problem in the past; some were considered inferior than others based off of “racial science”

Question 7

what is racism—

Answer 7

a prejudice belief that members of one ethnic group are superior in some way to those of another

Question 8

what is Stereotyping—

Answer 8

in which the qualities of an individual are projected onto a larger group or vice versa

Question 9

what did Franz Boas do

Answer 9

anthropologist Franz Boas and his followers instigated a reappraisal of the taco concept early in the 20th century
was not very specialized, studied many forms of anthropology— which is rare
did not reject the race concept, but went to great lengths to emphasize that biology, culture, psychology sonf language needed to be carefully studied in any group do the they may be understood in local terms
argued that there was little evidence between racial biology and cultural achievement
his biological work focused on anthropometry

Question 10

what is anthropometry—

Answer 10

the measurement of different aspects of the body, such as stature or skin colour

Question 11

who was Ashley Montagu

Answer 11

writer that was an opponent of the term race
didn’t invent the word, but was a proponent of ethnic group— a human group defined in terms of sociological, cultural and linguistic traits
“race” can be switched with “ethnic group” and typically is, but it still is used… “racial profiling” for example
race the concept itself is not considered valid in biological anthropology

Question 12

even though race isn’t really a thing in biological anthropology… there are still some identifying traits! What are their relevance or irrelevance?

Answer 12

skin colour
one of the most morphological features, but has no biological significance
skin colour is in correlation to the environment (dark skin in very hot and sunny places)

eye form
the mongoloid that asians have is thought to be in response to the cold

hair colour and form
thought to be in correspondence to the weather (thicker and longer for colder climates and rise versa)

head shape
there is a correspondence between head shape and climate

Question 13

what are population genetics—

Answer 13

the study of genetic variation within and between groups of organisms

Question 14

what are population genetics primarily concerned with

Answer 14

microevolution

Question 15

what is microevolution—

Answer 15

the study of evolutionary phenomena that occur within a species

Question 16

whats polymorphic—

Answer 16

2+ distinct phenotypes (at the genetic or anatomical levels) that exist within a population

Question 17

what is cline—

Answer 17

the distribution of a trait or allele across geographical space

Question 18

whats adaptability—

Answer 18

the ability of an individual organism to make positive anatomical or physiological changes after a short— to long— term exposure to stressful environmental conditions

may have phenotypic adaptions without have genotypic adoptions

Question 19

what is acclimatization—

Answer 19

short-term changes in physiology that occur in an organism in response to changes in environmental conditions

things like breathing more quickly to adapt to the change in amount of oxygen available is an example of this

Question 20

give examples of acclaimatzaton

Answer 20

Heat and Cold
heat makes people sweat to cool down
heatstroke can actually kill people
cold makes people’s blood flow decrease to maintain core temperature
frostbite can result in serous injury
shivering generates heat
it is shown that people of colour have more of a chance at getting frostbite because their bodies aren’t used to the cold? (if they aren’t raised in the cold environment)

Body Size and Shape
Bergmann’s rule— stipulates that body size is larger in colder climates to conserve body temperature
Allen’s rule— stipulates that in warmer climates, the limbs of the body are longer relative to body size to dissipate body heat

Living at High altitude
humans originally evolved in a warm, humid climate and low altitude
a person who goes from low to high climates is at risk of oxygen starvation (hypoxia)
Tibetans, Ethiopians and Andean populations live in high altitudes
Ethiopians have a blood oxygen populations profile that resembles most other populations at sea level
tibetans are pretty resistant to developing chronic mountain disease
this is a trait that appears to have gone through strong natural selection

Skin Colour
one of the largest and most complex organs
malanocytes— cells in the epidermis that produce melanin
skin has many functions;
a fluid barrier, keeping the body protected from most chemicals in the environment
regulates blood temperature
critical to metabolism of various vitamins
melanin— a dark pigment produced by the melanocytes of the epidermis, which is the most important component of skin colour
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LIGHT AND DARK SKIN COLOUR
Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR)
some effects of this are sunburn and skin cancer
melanin blocks out most of the harmful UVR
melanin blocks out vitamin D, which is needed, so supplements must be taken
darker skin takes 6X longer to produce Vitamin D
EVOLUTIONARY SYNTHESIS
the predicted distribution of the past human variation (skin colour) around the world is possible and has been done