The Study of Human Nature

“try to understand what it is to be human”
Biocultural approach: the relationship between what humans have inherited genetically and what they learn culturally
Holistic: understanding people with all aspects of human nature
Comparative: cross cultural
Ethnocentric: a view that is centered on a specific ethnic group (usually ones own) belief in the superiority in ones ethnic group
Cultural Relativism: a view that considers human interaction and behavior within their own culture. Sex vs. gender
Ex: “Na” no form of marriage
Ex: “effic” fattening room
Fieldwork: going out and studying culture, going to a museum, excavation, library, and archives

4 subfields of anthropology: 1. Linguistic Anthropology: someone who focuses on language Ex) body language 2. Cultural Anthropology: culture: learned behavior (distinct among groups, passed down, evolutionary) 5,000 different cultures 3. Archaeology: studying past human behavior based on what they left behind ex) arrowheads, pottery, clothing 4. Biological Anthropology: (this class) biological aspects of being human ex) race, modern human variation, primates, fossil record

American Anthropology * Fraz Boas: set the standard “Father of American Anthropology”
4-field approach: biocultural approach trained 1st generation * Ales Hrdlicka: created “American Association of Physical Anthropology” also started the AAPA * Charles Darwin: “Origin of Speices” 1859
5 year round the world trip species change (evolution) adaptive radiation (common ancestor, multiple different descendents) gradualism: gradual change
Natural Change
History of Evolutionary thought
Middle ages: influenced by religious beliefs, “great chain of being”
Order: everything can be arranged in a hierarchal order
Stasis: idea of not changing
Fixity of species (things were created in a fixed way)
14th-18th Centuries: Renaissance and enlightment, technological advances(microscope, telescope), increase in exploration(demonstrated diversity)

Darwins Influences 1. Carlos Linnaeus: binomial nomenclature (categorization) 2. Buffon: environment has an influence on life “things don’t change” 3. Lamark: tried to explain how change happen “inheritance of acquired characteristics” = characteristics that are acquired in an individuals lifetime, can be inherited by their offspring. 4. Cuvier: catastrophism. Periodic revolutions involving the earth (cause mass extinctions, but other lifeforms would move in and repopulate 5. Lyell: Uniformitarianism= geological processes that operated in the past, are the same as those happening today. The landscape is constantly changing. *calculated that earth is very old 6. Malthus: Demographer (population studies) population is limited by resources 7. Wallace: naturalist. Independently came up with a basic idea of natural selection.

History of DNA:
1944- DNA method of transmission
1953- Structural/Functional Model Published

DNA structure: 2 chains of nucleotides Sugar + phosphate + base (bases = A, G, C, T) base-pair specificity (bases bind in specific patterns) replication (growth, development, maintenance, repair) Nuclear DNA: nucleus, 20000 genes, “blueprint” template, homoplasmic Mitochondrial DNA: mitochondria, 37 genes, mito functions, heteroplasmic
Heredity:
Gene- a sequence of DNA that is responsible for some function.
Structural: specific function. Coding for a protein. Responsible for body structures.
Regulatory: sequence od DNA whose function is to regulate the expression of other genes. (turns other genes on and off)
Homeotic(Hox) genes: regulatory genes that regulate how and when the body forms tissues and organs
Chromosomes: sequence of genes (46 total) *species specific
23 homologous pairs homologous chromosones carry the same genetic information, they are organized in the same way, same size, but NOT identical to each other.
Karyotype
Autosomes (22 pairs) carry information on the body (physical characteristics, but doesn’t include sexual characteristics)
Sex Chromosomes (1 pair) determine the sex of the individual

Cell Division: * Mitosis: division of somatic(body) cells
2 daughter cells identical to each other and original diploid: full compliment of DNA (each cell has all 46 chromosomes) occurs for growth & development, tissue repair, and maintenance * Meiosis: division that produces gametes(sex cells)
Recombination: exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes during meiosis. *
4 daughter cells not identical haploid: half compliment of DNA gamete development

Cell Divison Mistakes

* nondisjunction: failure of chromosomes to separate during meiosis. Result in daughter cells with incorrect number of chromosomes monosomy: when there is 1 less chromosome at a particular “pair”
XO- Turner syndrome: only have an X chromosome. So only 45 total chromosomes.
Trisomies: when there is 1 extra chromosome in a particular “pair”
T21 (down syndrome), T18 (Edward syndrome) , T13 (patau syndrome)
XXY, XXX, XYY (sex chromosomes)

Mendelian Genetics:

Genetic Principles: 1. Law of Segregation: genes of any trait occur in pairs. They separate during gamete production and are reunited during fertilization 2. Gene: 3. Allele: alternate form of a gene
Dominant: allele that is expressed in the presence of another different allele
Recessive: allele that is not expressed in the presence of another different allele
Locus: the location of an allele on a chromosome
Homozygous: when you have a pair of alleles at a single locus that are the same (2 alleles are the same) *hmz
Heterozygous: when you have a pair of alleles at a single locus that are different *htz
Genotype: the pair of alleles coding for the trait
Phenotype: physical expression of the genes
Punnett Square:

1st generation example of height
TT x tt * | * T | * T | * t | * Tt | * Tt | * t | * Tt | * Tt |

2nd generation
Tt x Tt * | * T | * t | * T | * TT | * Tt | * t | * Tt | * tt |
Genotypes: TT, Tt, Tt, tt
Phenotypes: tall, short 3:1

1st generation height and color
TTYY x ttyy * | * TY | * TY | * ty | * TtYy | * TtYy | * ty | * TtYy | * TtYy |

2nd generation
TtYy x TtYy

* | * TY | * Ty | * tY | * ty | * TY | * TTYY | * TTYy | * TtYY | * TtYy | * Ty | * TTYy | * TTyy | * TtYy | * Ttyy | * tY | * TtYY | * TtYy | * ttYY | * ttYy | * ty | * TtYy | * Ttyy | * ttYy | * ttyy |
Tall Yellow = 9 Short Yellow = 3
Tall Green = 3 Short Grean = 1 * 4. Law of Independent Assortment: alleles that code for different traits, sort independently of each other *
Inheritance in Humans * 1. Mendelian Inheritance
“Mendelian traits”: trait that is controlled by alleles at one locus examples: PTC paper tester, widows peak, hitch hikers thumb, earlobes(separated vs. attached), ear wax (wet, sticky vs. dry, flaky), hairy knuckles
Blood Type:
Alleles (A,B,O) code for antigens
Blood types A,B, AB, O
Type A= AA or AO (B same)
AB= codominant
Mendelian Disorders:
Dominant (only need one allele)
Achondroplasia (dwarfism)
Brachydactyly (shortened fingers and toes)
Recessive (need 2 alleles)
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Tay- Sachs, cystic fibrosis
“carriers” : if you have one copy of the allele, you do not have the full out disorder, but you can pass on the allele
Heterozygote expression: if you carry the allele, there will be some expression in your body somehow
2. Polygenic Inheritance
“Polygenic traits” : coded for by genes at more than one locus. Tend to be continuous, range of expression examples: skin color (melanin production, multiple loci contribute, codominant alleles) eye color, height, face shape * environmental influence: no influence to mendelian traits, but can impact the expression of genes in polygenic traits (ex: height)