Intro to Physical Anthropology Week 1 1
Intro to Physical Anthropology
Week 1
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Summary
-introduce: course website, me, key terms
-exercise
-class overview (syllabus redtape)
-overview of anthropology and physical anthropology
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Course website
https://creason.co/CANVAS also updated
Very important for this class-Syllabus-Assignment instructions-Sample essays, tests, and questions-Study guides
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Course website and personal
Prof Creason
Transferred from LBCCBA in anthropology from UCLAMA in anthropology from CSUN
Focus: paleoanthropologyInterests: paleopathology and archaeology of war
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Evolution: change in the genetic structure of a population over time
Adaptation: response of an organism or a population to the environment.
-the result of evolutionary change
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Important terms to learn anthropology
Hominins: taxonomic group that includes Homo sapiens and their extinct bipedal relatives.
Anthropology: the study of hominins
Obviously much more...
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Important terms to learn anthropology
Question: what makes humans unique?
Adaptation: evolutionary responses to the environment.
Answer: Humans use culture as an adaptive strategy.-highly social-flexible, learned-non-genetically transmitted
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First day exercise
Physical anthropologists: study human biology and behavior in an evolutionary context.
Culture: complex set of behaviors
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Syllabus redtapeRequired Text: Jurmain R, Kilgore L, & W Trevathan. 2016. Essentials of Physical Anthropology. (10th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
First chapter is available on Google Books.
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Anthropology: the field of inquiry that studies human culture and the evolutionary aspects of human biology.
Anthropology in the US has four main subfields:
cultural anthropology
linguistic anthropology
archaeology
physical anthropology
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Cultural anthropologyCultural anthropologists study patterns of belief and behavior found in modern and historic societies
Ethnographies: descriptive studies of human societies
Culture: learned behaviors transmitted over generations non-genetically
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Linguistic anthropologyLinguistic anthropologists: study the interactions between speech, language, and culture (e.g., role of symbols in society).
-compare/contrast modern languages to trace their historical ties
-language is uniquely human
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ArchaeologyArchaeologists: study the material remains of past societies
-analyze artifacts: objects made or modified for use by hominins
-excavate in order to gain info about human behavior
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Physical anthropologyPhysical anthropologists: study human biology and behavior in an evolutionary context
-explain variation in human adaptations
AKA biological anthropology-'biological' reflects modern shift towards using genetics, evolutionary biology, etc.
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Subfields of physical anthropologyPrimatologists: study nonhuman primate biology and behavior
-use the comparative approach
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Subfields of physical anthropologyPaleoanthropologists: study hominin anatomical and behavioral evolution in the fossil record.
-reconstruct our ancestors' adaptations and behaviors
Osteology: the study of skeleton structure and function
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Subfields of physical anthropology
Paleopathology: studies incidence of trauma, disease, nutritional deficiency, and other traces of pathology evident on human remains in the fossil record.
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Subfields of physical anthropology
Forensic anthropologists: apply archaeological and osteological techniques to legal matters
-identify and analyze skeletal remains that have legal significance
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Applied anthropology: practical application of anthropological and archaeological theories and techniques
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Physical anthropologyBiocultural evolution: mutual, interactive evolution of human biology and culture
-behavioral aspects of human adaptationE.g., technology, traditions, language, marriage patterns, social roles, etc.
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