Anthropology Unit 2 Test Review

• Charles Darwin 

  • Studied on the Galapagos islands, found that within each group of plant or animal there was variation 
• James Ussher 

  •  James Ussher was the Church of Ireland’s Archbishop. He stated that on the night preceding Sunday, October 23, 4004 B.C was the first day of creation
• “Ardi” 

  • 4.4 Mya. found by Tim White between 1992-1994. Showed signs of Bipedalism 3.5 feet tall and 110 pounds. More ape than human (heavily enamelled tooth) ate fruits, nuts, found in Ethiopia
• “Lucy”

  • 3.8 Mya. Found by Donald Johanson in 1974 very intact (40%). Only Bipedal. Softball brain, reached adulthood earlier than modern humans. Ancestor of Homoline because ape and human features. Found in Eastern Africa
• Homo Naledi 

  •  Proof that Homo line thing is not Linear. No idea where it goes. Buried their dead? Climbed and swung from trees, used tools, Bipedal/long distance travel
• Natural selection - Darwin, animals best suited to the environment live and pass those traits to their offspring, those who aren’t die and take their genes with them

  The principles of natural selection: 

  • Variation 
  • Heritability - individuals pass on traits to their offspring 
  • Environmental fitness - every species has a lot of variety within it
• Bipedalism 

  • Advantages:
  • Energy-efficient (only have to move two limbs) 
  • Raising the head (can see further) 
  • Freeing of the hands 
  • Less exposure to sun 
  • Hypothesized Causes:
  • Environmental changes 
  • Hunting and gathering 
  • Reduced body hair 
• Origins of Species 

  1. Organisms can change over time
  2. 2. All organisms have descended from common ancestors 
  3. 3. Evolution is gradual, taking place over a long time 
  4. 4. Mechanisms of evolution (survival of the fittest)
• Shanidar 

  • The cave that the Neanderthals were found buried in. Told us that they are more evolved than we think
• Striding Gait 

  • Fluid flow of series of actions alternating legs. Swing and stance phase
• Culture 

  •  Culture is the set of meanings, beliefs, values, and rules for living shared by groups and societies as the source of their identity
• Rites of passage 

  •  A ceremony, ritual, or event from one stage to another 
• Jacques Boucher de Crevecouer 

  •  Found stones shaped into tools and weapons 
• Ethnology 

  • Ethnology is the study of the origins and cultures of different races and people
• Linguistic Anthropology 

  •  Linguistic anthropologists study the history and structure of language and the ways humans use languages
• Archaeology 

  •  Archaeologists study the physical remains of a past culture through excavation and reconstruction 
• Ethnocentrism 

  •  The attitude that one’s own group, ethnicity, or nationality is superior to others
• Jane Goodall 

  •  Interested in animals at an early age. Discovered that chimps eat meat, use and make tools, and are capable of cooperation, altruism, sorrow, joy and cruelty 
• Dian Fossey 

  •  Alienated by her parents, turned to animals for love and acceptance as a child, she began fending to livestock when she lived on a farm 
• Birute Galdikas 

  •  Observed animals as a child, he studied orangutans longer than any other person in human history and has worked constantly to save orangutans and forests
• Eras of the Earth

  • Precambrian
  • Paleozoic
  • Mesozoic
  • Cenozoic
• Precambrian era


  First era at 4 billion years where there is mountain building and erosion, first multi-celled and single-celled organisms are created
• Paleozoic era


  Second longest era at 325 million years, sediments were moved by rivers and deposited in shallow seas around the Canadian Shield, animals and plants first appear, Pangea is formed
• Mesozoic era


  Third era at 180 million years, Pangea starts to break up, shallow seas and swamps covered in Prairies, Rocky Mountain Ranges are formed, dinosaurs and other reptiles roamed
• Cenozoic era


  Last era where continents take on the present state, Ice Age ended 6000 years ago, age of mammals are created, humans start to develop and modern life forms evolve
• The universe is 13.7 billion years old
• The earth is 4.5 billion years old
• Humans first appeared around 6 million years ago
• Human evolution: timeline 

  • 6 million years ago - beginning to be bipedal 
  • 4 million years ago - definitely bipedal 
  • 2.5 million years ago - tools are being used 
  • 800, 000 years ago - fire was being created 
  • 800, 000-200, 000 years ago - brain size increased 
  • 12,000 years ago - agriculture was being produced 
• 1. Ramidus/anamensis and Australopithecus Afarensis

  • Ardipthethcus Ramidus is Ardi. 4.4 Mya. found by Tim White between 1992-1994. Showed signs of Bipedalism 3.5 feet tall and 110 pounds. More ape than human (heavily enamelled tooth) ate fruits, nuts, found in Ethiopia. 
  • Australopithecus anamensis is a mixture of chimp and afarensis (seeing a combination of traits from both apes and humans) 
  • Australopithecus afarensis is Lucy, the southern ape of East Africa.
• • Homo Habilis (“Handy Man”) still had ape-like features like long arms. 

  Homo Erectus (“Upright Man”) are the oldest known early humans to have possessed modern human-like body proportions. 

  Homo Neanderthalensis (“Neanderthal Man”) are our closest extinct human relative. Homo Sapiens (“Wise Man”) is the more modern version of humans, the beginning of civilization is created.
• Origins of species  

  1. Organisms can change over time 2. All organisms have descended from common ancestors 3. Evolution is gradual, taking place over a long time 4. Mechanisms of evolution (survival of the fittest) 

  Principles of natural selection 

  • Variation 
  • Heritability - individuals pass on traits to their offspring 
  • Environmental fitness - every species has a lot of variety within it
• • Similarities between humans and chimpanzees include the ability to develop culture, affection, omnivorous (eats plants and meats), have vocal cords, groom others etc. 
• Advantages:

  • Energy-efficient (only have to move two limbs) 
  • Raising the head (can see further) 
  • Freeing of the hands 
  • Less exposure to sun 

  Hypothesized Causes:

  • Environmental changes 
  • Hunting and gathering 
  • Reduced body hair
• • There are many different opinions as to which factor is the most important in human society. 
  • Bipedalism: the ability to walk upright over long distances and perform tasks while standing 
  • Our ability to share/cooperate with others 
  • Developed symbols and art 
  • Ability to communicate abstract thoughts and ideas through languages using tools, hunting in a group and communicating with language 
• Rite of passage: a ceremony, ritual, or event from one stage to another
• Functions of marriage


  • Marriage defines social relationships to provide for the survival of and socialization of others
  • Marriage defines the rights and obligations of the two people to each other in terms of sex, reproduction, work, and social life
  • Marriage creates new relationships between families and kin groups
• Forms of marriage


  • Monogamy: the relationship or form of marriage where an individual has one partner
  • Polygamy: a form of marriage that involves multiple partners
  • Polygny: the form of marriage between one husband and multiple wives
  • Polyandry: a form of marriage with one wife and multiple husbands
  • Arranged marriage: they are marriages set up by someone other than the people getting married
• Paleoanthropology


  The scientific study of human evolution
• Anthropology


  The study of human biology, society, and culture