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Anthropology > Exam 2 > Flashcards

Exam 2 Flashcards

1
Q

How are hominins identified?

A

Bipedalism

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2
Q

What is the main advantage of bipedalism?

A

It is energy efficient; The movement is economical, and it allows for safe movement during midday

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3
Q

Who was Selam?

A

Australopithecus afarensis, dated 3.3 MYA
3 year old female child; brain was still developing at time of death

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4
Q

What 2 unique human traits are connected?

A

Bipedalism and prolonged childhood (slower brain development)

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5
Q

Punctuated Equilibruim

A

Stability in the fossil record followed by periods of rapid change; Fits the human fossil record best

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6
Q

What are some features of Archaic H. Sapiens?

A

Pronounced brow ridges
Lower forehead
Occipital bun
No chin
Shorter
More robust
Shorter limbs
Cold-adapted

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7
Q

What are some features of Anatomically Modern H. Sapiens?

A

Little or no brow ridge
High rounded brain case
Flatter occipital region
Distinctive chin
Taller
More gracile
Longer limbs
Tropical-adapted

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8
Q

Symbolic Consciousness

A

Information able to be stored outside of the human brain

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9
Q

What are the benefits of symbolic consciousness?

A

Access to a greater volume of information allows for more complex problem solving

Transmission of social information allows for more complex forms of social organization

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10
Q

Mitochondrial DNA

A

Maps the geographic dispersal of modern humans; Everyone shares L haplotypes

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11
Q

How can race best be described?

A

Race is a social construct, not a meaningful way of understanding human variability. Race incorrectly views human biological variability as having fixed categories with clearly defined categories

Race can more correctly be understood as being clinal, fluid and continuous

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12
Q

Racism

A

A complex system of power relationships that draws upon culturally constructed categories of race

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13
Q

Individual Racism

A

Personal prejudiced beliefs and discriminatory actions

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14
Q

Institutional Racism

A

Impersonal patterns of racial inequality structured by cultural institutions, policies, and systems

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15
Q

What is the Paleolithic Period also known as?

A

The Old Stone Age

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16
Q

Oldowan

A

Stone cobbles with minimally worked edges; Made by H. habilis

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17
Q

Acheulian

A

Teardrop shaped “hand axes;” Made by H. erectus

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18
Q

Flake

A

A fragment of stone removed from a core

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19
Q

Core

A

A nucleus or mass of rock that shows signs of flake removal

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20
Q

Percussion Flaking

A

Removal of hard flakes by striking the core with an object

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21
Q

Hard Hammer

A

Stone

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22
Q

Soft Hammer

A

Bone or antler

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23
Q

Pressure Flaking

A

Removal of flakes by applying pressure to the edge

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24
Q

Foragers

A

Societies that subsist on wild plant and animal resources

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25
Q

Through what means do forager economies respond to seasonal and geographic fluctuations in resource availability?

A

Scheduling, storage, and mobility

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26
Q

What types of storage do hunter-gatherers use?

A

Physical storage
Ecological storage
Social storage
Biological storage

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27
Q

Upon what do mobility strategies depend on?

A

Environment

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28
Q

What storage strategies do foragers use?

A

Move people to resources
Daily foraging
Residential mobility

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29
Q

What storage strategies do collectors use?

A

Move resources to people
Storage of surpluses
Logistical mobility

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30
Q

Generalized Reciprocity

A

How people share things with no regard for their value or interest in compensation; The primary mechanism of exchange among foragers

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31
Q

What are some features of general reciprocity?

A

Gift giving (value & time of repayment aren’t specified)
Social connections hold priority over the gift itself
Balanced resource variability (social storage)

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32
Q

How does band level political organization work within hunter-gatherer groups?

A

Groups are small scale with no absolute authority
Egalitarian social relationships
Control is maintained through informal mechanisms (shame, accusations of witchcraft, etc)

33
Q

The First Hominins

A

Species:
Ardipithecus
Australopithecus

Age:
5-2.5 MYA

Physical Trait:
Bipedalism

Behavioral Trait:
Prolonged childhood

34
Q

The First Humans

A

Species:
Homo habilis
Homo erectus

Age:
2.5 MYA-500 KYA

Physical Trait:
Big brains

Behavioral Trait:
Adaptation to environmental change

35
Q

Archaic Humans

A

Species:
Neanderthals

Age:
500-40 KYA

Physical Trait:
Occipital bun
Brow ridges

Behavioral Trait:

36
Q

Behaviorally Modern Humans

A

Species:
Behaviorally modern humans

Age:
90 KYA-present

Physical Trait:

Behavioral Trait:
Symbolic consciousness

37
Q

Anatomically Modern Humans

A

Species:
Anatomically modern humans

Age:
200-90 KYA

Physical Trait:
Rounded frontal cortex

Behavioral Trait:

38
Q

Lower Paleolithic

A

Core tool industries
Scavenging, possible hunting
Controlled use of fire

39
Q

Middle Paleolithic

A

Flake tool industries and levallois cores
Efficient use of stone
Hand-held spears

40
Q

Upper Paleolithic

A

Blade cores, pressure flaking, tools as symbols
Rapid stylistic and technological change
Atlatls and bone harpoons
Long distance acquisition of materials
Cave paintings

41
Q

What features are different in bipedals when compared with quadropedals?

A

Spine is ‘S’ shaped
Foramen magnum is at bottom of head
Pelvis is wide
Compact, arched foot without an opposable big toe

42
Q

What are the features of Australopithecus?

A

Short, bipedal hominins
Small, chimp-like brains

43
Q

What was likely the diet of Australopithecines?

A

A vegetarian diet

44
Q

What was likely the diet of Homo habilis?

A

A diet full of fats and meat, found through scavenging

45
Q

Hypo-descent

A

One-drop rule (Common in the U.S. and Japan)

46
Q

Who colonized greater Australia?

A

Modern humans colonized greater Australia 70,000 years ago by crossing 70 km of open ocean over and over again

47
Q

What important features did Homo habilis possess?

A

Larger cranial capacity
Decreased prognathism (bulging out (protrusion) of the lower jaw)
Big brain relative to body size
Increase in brain folds (surface area)
Enlargement of Broca’s area (linked to speech)

48
Q

Why did the genus Hom show up 2.5 MYA?

A

Territory detached from environmental boundaries
Ability to learn new environments
Adapted to environmental instability

49
Q

Universalism

A

The belief that social systems have operated roughly the same way all over the world at all times past and present

50
Q

Mode of Subsistence

A

A way in which people interact with the environment to meet their needs. Each mode of subsistence involves its own forms of knowledge, techniques, technologies, and social organization

51
Q

Gathering-Hunting

A

The mode of subsistence in which people rely on resources readily available in their environment. Gathering-hunting peoples collect fruits, nuts, berries, and roots and harvest honey. They also hunt and trap wild animals

52
Q

Seminomadic

A

The practice of settling in one place for a period of time, usually a few weeks, then moving to a new site to find fresh resources

53
Q

Bands

A

A form of social organization associated with gatherer-hunter societies. Bands are relatively small, often around 50 people, ideal for a nomadic or seminomadic lifestyle

54
Q

Egalitarian

A

Emphasizing equality and sharing

55
Q

Analogous Structures

A

Anatomical similarities between two species that suggest not a common ancestor but rather similar environmental adaptations

56
Q

Angiosperm Theory

A

A hypothesis that suggests that primate origins and typical primate characteristics developed in response to the emergence of flowering plants

57
Q

Arboreal Theory

A

A hypothesis that proposes that primates evolved the traits they did as an adaptation to life in the trees

58
Q

Artificial Selection

A

The process of deliberately breeding certain specimens of plants or animals to encourage desired traits

59
Q

Biological Species Definition

A

A definition of species as members of populations that actually or potentially interbreed in nature

60
Q

Catastrophism

A

The theory that changes in Earth’s fauna and flora were caused by supernatural catastrophic forces rather than evolution

61
Q

Binomial Nomenclature

A

The scientific naming system developed by Carolus Linnaeus that represents two parts of a taxonomic name. The name is italicized, the genus is always capitalized, and the species is always lowercased. For example: Homo sapiens

62
Q

Derived Characteristics

A

Physical traits that are present in related organisms but absent from their last common ancestor. They are often associated with a speciation event

63
Q

Foramen Magnum

A

The opening at the base of the skull where the spinal column and nerves enter to reach the brain. The position of the foramen magnum can be used to determine if a species was bipedal

64
Q

Genetic Anthropology

A

A branch of biological anthropology that uses molecular science to explore questions concerning human origins, early human migrations, and the appearance of disease across time

65
Q

Genetic Drift

A

Random changes in the frequencies of alleles in a gene pool

66
Q

Interspecific Variation

A

The genetic variation seen between two species

67
Q

Intraspecific Variation

A

The genetic variation seen within a species

68
Q

Prognathism

A

Projection of the face, as seen in many nonhuman primates and early hominins

69
Q

Taxonomy

A

The science or technique of naming and classifying life

70
Q

Sexual Dimorphism

A

Differences in physical characteristics other than reproductive organs that appear between males and females of the same species

71
Q

Out of Africa Theory

A

Theory that proposes that Homo sapiens developed first in Africa and then spread around the world between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago

72
Q

Occipital Bun

A

An anatomical feature seen in the Neanderthal skull that appears in the rear of the skull

73
Q

Mitochondrial Eve

A

Genes traced through mitochondrial DNA that represent the female genetic originator of all humans who lived 200,000 years ago in Africa

74
Q

Encephalization Quotient

A

A measurement defined as the ratio between brain and body size

75
Q

Coevolution

A

An interaction between different species that influences each species’ evolution; the simplest case of this is predator-prey relationships

76
Q

Handedness

A

The use of a dominant hand, suggests lateralization of the brain and cognitive development

77
Q

Hafting

A

The process of attaching stone points to a handle, which increases a tool’s effectiveness for hunting

78
Q

Evolutionary Mismatch

A

A hypothesis that disease and nutritional deficiencies result when people’s bodies are unable to adapt to an environment that they have not spent most of their evolutionary history in

Anthropology (4 decks)

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