Class Notes for Exploring Biological Anthropology: The Essentials, 4th Edition

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Instructor’s Manualto accompanyEXPLORINGBIOLOGICALANTHROPOLOGYTheEssentialsFourthEditionCRAIG STANFORDUniversity of Southern CaliforniaJOHN S. ALLENUniversity of Southern CaliforniaSUSAN C. ANTÓNNew York University

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iiiCONTENTSChapter 1.Introduction: WhatIs Biological Anthropology?1Chapter2.Origins of Evolutionary Thought5Chapter3.Genetics: Cells and Molecules11Chapter4.Genetics: From Genotype to Phenotype18Chapter5.The Forces of Evolution and the Formation of Species25Chapter6.Human Variation: Evolution, Adaptation, and Adaptability32Chapter7.The Primates40Chapter8.Primate Behavior47Chapter9.Geology and Primate Origins53Chapter10.Early HomininsandAustralopithecus64Chapter11.Riseof the GenusHomo72Chapter12.ArchaicHomo Sapiensand Neandertals80Chapter13.The Emergence,Dispersal, and Bioarchaeologyof89Homo SapiensChapter14.Evolution of the Brain andBehavior98Chapter15.Biomedicaland ForensicAnthropology107

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1.CHAPTER ONEWHAT IS BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY?LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfterreading and carefully consideringChapter One, students should be able to:●1.1:Identify the subfields ofAnthropology and explain their applications to the study of the human species.●1.2:Explain the subfields within biological anthropology and discuss how they try to answer key questionsabout the human species.●1.3:Review the development of biological anthropology in the United States, including change in focusover time.LEARNING OBJECTIVESUMMARYANTHROPOLOGY AND ITS SUBFIELDS1.1Identify the subfields ofAnthropology and explain their applications to the study of the human species.• Anthropology is the study of humankind in a cross-cultural perspective.• Anthropologists study cultures in far-flung places, and they also study subcultures in our own society.• Anthropology has four subfields.THE SCOPE OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY1.2Explain the subfields within biological anthropology and discuss how they try to answer key questionsabout the human species.• Biological anthropology is one ofAnthropology’s four subfields, along with archaeology, cultural anthropology,and linguistic anthropology.• It is the study of humans as biological creatures: where we came from, our evolution, and how our biologyinteracts with our culture today.THE ROOTS OF MODERN BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY1.3Review the developmentof biologicalanthropology in the United States, includingitschange in focus overtime.• Evolution by natural selection is the principle by which biological anthropologists understand the place of humansin the natural world.• Biological anthropology seeks to answer a few basic questions: What does it mean to be human? How did webecome who we are today? How does our biological past influence our lives in the environments of the present?What is the place of human beings in nature?LECTURE OUTLINEI.IntroductionA.Links between biologists in different subfieldsB.Biological anthropologists try to understand details of evolution1.How do they shape who we are today?2.Debzhansky:“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”C.The evolutionary process is slow and inefficientII.Anthropology and its subfieldsA.Anthropology is the study of humankind in all its forms

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2.1.Distinguished by its cross-cultural, holistic nature2.Culture: the sum total of learned traditions of a group of people (e.g.,language)3.Debate over interplay of biology and cultureB.Other subfields of anthropology1.Cultural anthropology: the study of human societies in a cross-cultural perspectivea.Ethnology: a subfield of cultural anthropology, the study of behavior withinhuman societies2.Linguistic anthropology: the study of the form, function, and social context of language3.Archaeology: the study of how people used to live, based on artifacts they left behinda.Historical archaeologists study past civilizations that left a written recordIII.The Scope of Biological AnthropologyA.Paleoanthropology: the study of the fossil record for humankind1.Includes fossilized remains with the most direct physical evidence of human ancestry2.Famous examples include Lucy or the Peking Man3.Discovery of new human fossils every decade or so4.Research takes place in the field as well as in museums and laboratories5.Comparisons between extinct and living forms (e.g., presence of canine teeth)6.Tree with many branches has replaced linear view of human evolutionB.Skeletal Biology and Human Osteology1.Osteology: study of the skeleton2.Identify what sort of animal the fossil/fragment was in life3.Keen spatial sense of how jigsaw-puzzle-like array fits together4.Among the first generation of biological anthropologists5.Relationship between genetics, human growth and stature, and geographic variation6.Skeletal anthropology: includes patterns and processes of human growth, physiology, anddevelopmentC.Paleopathology and Bioarchaeology: the study of disease in ancient human populations1.Goes hand-in-hand with the study of human remains in archaeological context2.Study effects of trauma, epidemics, nutritional deficiencies, and infectious diseasesD.Forensic anthropology: study of the identification of skeletal remains1.Includes means by which an individual died2.Applications in historical study and criminal investigationsE.Primatology: study of the anatomy, physiology, behavior, and genetics of both living and extinctmonkeys, apes, and prosimians1.Best known through the work of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey2.Desire to learn more about patterns of behavior3.Learn about how evolution molded the human speciesF.Human Biology: study of human growth and development, adaptations to environmental extremes,and human genetics1.Nutritional anthropologists study diet, culture, and evolution2.Biological and cultural forces3.Human variation gives clues to migrations of earlier peoples4.Biocultural anthropology and biomedical anthropology: expressions of human diseases5.Molecular anthropology: genetic approach to human evolutionary scienceIV.The Roots of Modern Biological AnthropologyA.Evolutionary perspective made many old debates about human origins irrelevant1.Result of interrelations of genetics and environmentB.Physical anthropology appeared as discipline in second half of the nineteenth centuryC.Not simply shot and dissected: synthesis of genetics, anatomy, ecology, and behaviorD.New dating techniques spurred paleoanthropologyE.Today, a wide variety of approaches

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3.LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICSEach of these topics is intended to generate ideas either for lectures or for discussion in the classroom. For mosttopics, students should be able to respond and participate in discussions based solely on reading the text.For others,students mayneed further reading or other forms of informationtodevelop some personal perspective and becomeequipped to make independent decisions about the topics.1.Discuss the connection between biology and evolution and how that connection helps tie the subfields ofanthropology together.It might be helpful to examine all the subfields from an evolutionary perspectiveand tie them to biological anthropology.2.Include a brief lecture examining the scientific climate in whichanthropology was born.There were recentdiscoveries both of fossil hominids and in a framework for the natural selection of inherited traits.FranzBoas would have been examining these new finds and theories to help shape his understanding of thecomplexity of humanity and how it might be understood.3.Include a lecture on how the subfields evolved.There were not always four; classically,Anthropologyas afieldconsistedonlyof cultural and biological.Why the additions? Examine the question from theperspective of the history ofanthropology.4.Include a lecture on applied science.Certain subfields, likeforensicanthropology, are focused on moretime-sensitive products than is typical of academia but still possess strong research components.CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES1.Have students break into groups and assign them a specific sub-field. They should then be able to discussthe aspect of humanity that their sub-field focuses on and how it also ties back to the goals ofanthropologyas a whole.2.Have students discuss their thoughts on the sub-fields in terms of how the media and popular writing hasdepicted them.Sometimes we are affected by the fictional depiction of anthropologists (archaeologists inparticular) and that can color our understanding of the field. Examining the sub-fields from that perspectivemay help untangle fact from fiction.3.Invite a practitioner of one of the subfields into class and have them talk about the work they do.Then askstudents to explain how that work ties back into the larger description and definition ofanthropology as ithas been discussed in class.4.Invite a nonanthropologist to class who has a research focus in a related field, such as biology, and havethem discuss their work.Then ask the students to comment on how this work can contribute to researchgoals inanthropology.RESEARCHAND WRITING TOPICS1.Have students choose an early founder ofanthropology and write a short biographical sketch of the person.Then have them discuss how their background facilitated or led them to their area ofanthropologicalresearch.2.Have students discuss different ways that anthropological data is used today.Are there any industries thatuse it?Are there any practical applications of this data?3.Have students choose an important discovery from one of the subfields and write about its impact on thatsubfield and for the discipline ofanthropology.

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4.4.Have students choose a film or TV show that focuses on a subfield ofanthropology. They should write apaper that examines whether or not the characters are depicted accurately and if any true aspects of the fieldare used in the storytelling.REVEL RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIESActivity:Subfields ofBiologicalAnthropologyVideo:Primatology

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5.CHAPTERTWOORIGINS OF EVOLUTIONARY THOUGHTLEARNINGOBJECTIVESAfterreading and carefully consideringChapterTwo, students should be able to:2.1:Explain how science differs from other ways of understanding the world.2.2:Explainthe contributions of earliest scholars before Darwin to the development of evolutionary theory.2.3:Identify the contributions of the thinkers just before Darwin’s time and how they helped him formulatehis ideas.2.4:Summarizethe ideas of Charles Darwin and how he developed them.2.5:Explainthe difference between science and faith-based explanations of life.LEARNING OBJECTIVESSUMMARYWHAT IS SCIENCE?2.1Explain how science differs from other ways of understanding the world.• Science is a progressive, self-correcting, evidence-based way of understanding the world.• Faith’s evidence is the Bible, and it is impervious to evidence and hypothesis testing.THE EARLY THINKERS2.2Explain the contributions of earliest scholars before Darwin to thedevelopment of evolutionary theory.• Carol von Linnaeus revolutionized the study of living things by classifying them according to similarities in form.THE ROAD TO THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION2.3Identify the contributions of the thinkers just before Darwin’s time and howthey helped him formulatehis ideas.• Many pre-Darwinian thinkers accepted evolution and put forward theories for the mechanism.• Darwin was influenced by three eminent French natural historians: Comte de Buffon, Georges Cuvier, andGeoffroy Saint-Hilaire.• Lamarck proposed that the use of a trait could influence an offspring’s phenotype in the next generation. Darwinshowed that change could occur across generations based only on the selective retention of some traits and thefiltering out of others.THE DARWINIAN REVOLUTION2.4Summarize the ideas of Charles Darwin and how he developed them.• Charles Darwin spent his life thinking and writing about evolutionary change, and he developed the theory ofevolution by natural selection to account for it.• Alfred Russel Wallace was a contemporary of Darwin and codiscoverer of the theory of evolution by naturalselection.• Natural selection can occur only if a trait can be inherited, if there is variation within a population, and if there ispressure from the environment.SCIENCE AND CREATIONISM2.5Explain the difference between science and faith-based explanations for life.

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6.• Intelligent design creationism is a recent attempt to repackage old creationist ideas in a way that argues for a divineforce without calling it God.LECTURE OUTLINEI.IntroductionA.Battles between teaching evolution and creationism1.The Dover Case &the Scopes TrialB.Life on Earth as unchanging1.The scale of evolution2.Uses of the termtheoryII.What is Science?A.The scientific method1.Developing a hypothesis: a preliminary explanation of a phenomenon2.Moving from observation to data to experiment3.Experiments: the testing of a hypothesis, before the researcher can truly stake hisor herclaimB.Science is an empirical process1.Theories are self-correctinga.Contradicting claims can be examined and resolved by examining datab.Earlier mistakes can always be corrected2.Theories are falsifiablea.Science uses paradigms, conceptual frameworks for understanding a body of evidenceb.Changing paradigms is a long, slow processIII.The Early ThinkersA.TheRoots ofModernScience1.The concept of immutability of speciesa.For centuries, life was thought of as an orderly, hierarchical ladder2.The church set the doctrine during the Middles Agesa.Fixity of species was the spiritual, legal, and political normb.Aristotle’s hierarchical Great Chain of Being3.Changes came about during the Renaissancea.Scholar’s rediscovered ancient Greek and Roman knowledge and their approach toscience became more“modern”b.Advances in human anatomy changed the way scholars looked at the human body4.TheChurch’s powera.Abiding belief in single creation: James Ussher’s biblical calculations of the age ofthe EarthB.Linnaeus and the Natural Scheme of Life1.John Ray first used the termsgenusandspecies2.Carolus Linnaeus built on Ray’s writings to develop his taxonomya.Sorting organisms into categories helped to establish their relationshipsb.Taxabased on organisms’similaritiesc.Linnaean system of taxonomy uses binomial nomenclature, or a two-level genus-species labelIV.The Road to the Darwinian RevolutionA.In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, European natural historians focused on explainingthediversity of lifeB.Three prominent French philosophers1. Comte de Buffona.Accepted general notion of biological changeb.Observed that animals in new climates often change in response to environmentsc.Claimed that New World animals were weaker and smaller than Old Worldcounterparts2. Georges Cuviera.Steadfast opponent of theory of evolution

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7.b.Advocated catastrophism to explain presence of dinosaur bones and changingorganismsc.Catastrophism: the theory that there have been multiple creations interspersed bygreat natural disastersi.Noah’s flood3. Geoffroy Saint-Hilairea.An anatomist and a strong advocate of evolutionary changeb.Debated creationist Cuvierc.Supported Lamarck’s explanation for the mechanism of evolutionC.Jean-Baptiste Lamarck1. His 1809 theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics (Lamarckianism)a.That organisms make adjustments to their environment during their lifetimeb.Relies on the concept ofneedandusec.Animals who swim frequently would theoretically have offspring who could swimwelld.In his theory, adjusted traits would be passed down to offspring2. His major breakthrough was the relationship between organism and environmenta.Theory’s central error is that evolution would take place in lifetime of individualorganismb.Had no knowledge of genesc.Natural antecedent to Darwin’s theoryD.The Uniformitarians: Hutton and Lyell1.James Huttona.Father of modern geologyb.Saw clear evidence of past worlds in rock formationsc.Uniformitarianism: same gradual geological process we observe today was operatingin the past2. Charles Lyella.Proponent of uniformitarianismb.Friendship with Darwin influenced evolutionary theoryc.Earth’s history understood in context of its ancient changesV.The Darwinian RevolutionA.Darwin’s early years1.Born into life of affluence2.Left medical studies at University of Edinburgh3.Studied for the ministry at Cambridge Universitya.Deeply influenced by his professor, botanist John HenslowB.The Galapagos1.Five year voyage asthe“gentleman”amateur naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle (1831–1836)2.Explored South America, Australia, and Africa3.Significant observations in the Galapagos Islandsa.Each island had own species of finch with different physical traitsb.Darwin did not immediately formulate theoryc.These thirteen species of finch studied by John Gould in London4.Gould’s study gave Darwin first insight into:a.Biogeography: the distribution of animals and plants onEarthb.Adaptive radiation: the diversification of one founding species into multiple speciesand nichesc.Darwin referred to these biological changes as natural selection: differentialreproductive success over multiple generationsC.Refining the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection1.Spent years in study at home in England2.Drew parallels to local breeders’artificial selection in breeding livestocka.Same essential process, the selection of genes, as in natural selectionb.Key difference is that natural selection does not have conscious goals3.Galvanized to publish after receiving Alfred Wallace’s manuscript

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8.a.Lower-class Wallace was a field biologistb.Had developed own theory of evolution by natural selection4.Darwin’s publication,On the Origin of Species, enjoyed widespread success and sales5.Observations and DeductionsinOn the Origin of Speciesa.Observation 1: Malthus’s concept that all organisms have the potential for explosivegrowthb.Observation 2: In nature, populations are roughly stablec.Deduction 1: There must be a struggle for existencei.Bullfrog’s offspring survival rated.Observation 3: Nature is full of variation, every individual uniquee.Deduction 2: Some variations must be favored, and some disfavored, in naturalselection6.Natural selection centers on reproductive successa.Social theorist Herbert Spencer’s phrase“survival of the fittest”misleadingb.Darwinian fitness: reproductive success7.In order for natural selection to be at work:a.Trait in question must be inheritedb.Trait in question must show variation between individualsc.The environment must exert some pressure on organisms8.Evolution occurs in populations,not individualsa.Natural selection acts on mutations in a populationVI.Science and CreationismA.Basis of Creationism1.Book of Genesis as an alternative to science2.Argumentthat Earth is very young3.Sedimentary evidence of extinct animalsasthe product of Noah’s floodB.Reliance on faith1.Old Testament not testable evidence2.Must be accepted without scientific methodC.Political aspects ofcreationism1.Legal battles to teachcreationism in schoolsa.Louisiana’s unconstitutional disclaimer on evolutionb.Atlanta’s“alternatives to evolution”D.Creation science1.Arguments against evolutiona.Emphasize gaps in the fossil recordb.Denial of science rather than science itselfc.Includes Intelligent Design: proposes that natural selection cannot account for thediversity and complexity of form and function in natureE.Mandated division between church and state in U.S. Constitution1.Rights of religious faiths or lack of faith equally respected2.Science classrooms intended to train scientific thinkingLECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICSEach of these topics is intended to generate ideas either for lectures or for discussion in the classroom. For mosttopics, students should be able to respond and participate in discussions based solely on reading the text.For others,students mayneed further reading or other forms of informationtodevelop some personal perspective and becomeequipped to make independent decisions about the topics.1.Lecture on evolution—Consider a lecture using some of the fossil evidence that Darwin had available whenhe was forming his theory.Discuss how fossils can show change through time.This would also be a way ofintroducing recent finds such asHomo naledifossils from South Africa.

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9.2.Perhapsincorporate a discussion of some of the recent findings about cloning and what this contributes toour understanding of evolutionary processes.Students will likely be interested in the ethical issues involvedin manipulating evolutionary processes.3.Consider also a discussion of the scientific method in this chapter, including its procedures and limitations.It can only deal with questions that are potentially or actually repeatable.Its steps are: (1) observation; (2)question or problem; (3) hypothesis/null hypothesis; (4)datacollection/experimentation; and (5) formationof a conclusion.Stress the equal importance of honest,effective methodology and conclusion formation.Also explain that the scientific method is a continuous process, and these five steps repeat withmajor/minor modifications to the hypothesis.Describe the process of theory formation, a hypothesissupported by a large body of observations confirmed by many independent investigators.4.As part of this lecture, describe how good theory formation (1) explains or shows relationships amongfacts; (2) simplifies; (3) clarifies; (4) grows to relate additional facts,which means it is always tentative inscope; (5) predicts new facts and relationships; and (6) does not explain too much.Theory becomes ascientific law if it possesses a high degree of certainty and is widely accepted within the scientificcommunity.Stress to students thatascientific“fact”is an accurate description of an object or event basedon what we know and what we know how to do.It is not an absolute finality.5.Perhapstake the opportunity to discuss patterns of deductive and inductive logic.Talk about proof andrigor of proof in science.Be sure to emphasize that when we extrapolate fromascientific theory, it is onlysupposition, not scientific fact.6.A lecture about the history of biology as a field of study might be useful,especially as it relates to the paththat Darwin took to introduce his ideatothe larger community of scientists.One way to examinethis pathis tolook at the historicalinfluences that helped shape biological theoryimmediatelybefore Darwin andWallace published their works.7.Natural selection provides direction to evolutionary change, yet students often have trouble grasping theconcept.Discuss examples of natural selection in detail and explore what“fitness”means in evolutionaryterms.8.Examine the influence of the Church on all science in Darwin’s time. Discuss examples of how theChurchatthat timeregarded change in species and how that position haschangedover time.CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES1.Have students share their cosmologies and origin myths.Talk about similarities and differences in the onesexpressed.As always with such discussions, it is necessary to establish a neutral atmosphere, withacceptance and patience for hearing others’ideas.2.Have your students read the 1858 paper titled,“Onthe Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely fromthe Original Type”by Alfred Wallace. Students should then compare Wallace’s conclusions to Darwin’sideas about natural selection. Have them report their findings.3.Discuss the students’various religious and nonreligious beliefs about the origins of life.Emphasize againthe importance for tolerance in listening to other students’points of view. Further discuss the concept ofIntelligent Design and how it is an intellectual,butnot scientific, approach toexplainevolutionary change.4.Darwin used geology to help him make the case for descent with modification. Have students discuss howthoughts on the age of theEarth in Darwin’stime periodkept many from believing thatsuch changes tospecies could even occur.

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10.5.Ask students to describe what kinds of species they see around them, at school or around their homes.Canthey use any to talk about evolution? Have them list characteristics that might have been influenced bynatural selection.RESEARCHAND WRITING TOPICS1.Have students research an origin myth that is not their own using library sources and/or interviewing.Havethem compare and contrast this myth with their own and explain how they reconcile competing claimsoftruth.This may be presented in written or oral form.2.Have students complete written or oral biographical reports on one of the following men and how theirscientific ideas contributed to Western thought: Georges Cuvier,Comte deBuffon, James Hutton, CharlesLyell, Charles Darwin, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, or AlfredRusselWallace.3.Have students outline the steps Darwin used to describe how descent with modification worked.Theyshould try to describe how he argued for the veracity of his findings and the evidence he used.4.Have your students research scientific creation, evolutionism, theistic evolutionism, and creationism.Inwritten or oral reports, or in a debate, have students defend a position they do not hold.Monitor,usingabrief essay or opinion poll, how the students’opinions may have changed based on what they have learnedin the chapter.5.Invite proponents of biological evolutionism, scientific creationism, and theistic evolutionism/creationisminto your class.After each gives a short presentation of his or her views, they could engage in a debate inwhich students could participate.Discuss the Scopes trial and the controversy that marks the publication ofbiology textbooks in certain states.6.Have students research the origins ofSystema Natura,writtenby Linnaeus,andexplainhow it contributedto the development of modern biology.Students should understand how the nomenclature helps withinformation organization, which is critical to science.REVEL RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIESActivity:The Scientific MethodReading:Happy Birthday LinnaeusActivity:Lamarckian and Darwinian Views of EvolutionActivity:Explore Darwin’s voyage on the HMS BeagleReading:Testing Natural Selection

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.11CHAPTERTHREEGENETICS: CELLS AND MOLECULESLEARNINGOBJECTIVESAfterreading and carefully consideringChapterThree, students should be able to:3.1: Recognize how genetics can be studied at different biological levels and describe each of thoselevels.3.2: Understand how the cell is the basic unit of life on Earth, and be able to label the components of ageneric cell.3.3: Compare and contrast: DNA/RNA, translation/transcription, base/codon, genes/chromosomes, andmitosis/meiosis.3.4: Define ancient DNA, mitochondrial DNA, and the polymerase chain reaction.LEARNING OBJECTIVESUMMARYGENETICS3.1:Recognize how genetics can be studied at different biological levels and describe each of those levels.• There are several kinds of genetic study: cellular and molecular genetics, classical or Mendelian genetics,population genetics, phylogenetics,andbehavioral genetics.THE CELL3.2:Understand how the cell is the basic unit of life on earth, and be able to label the components of ageneric cell.• The cell is the basic building block of all life—prokaryotes versus eukaryotes.• All complex life forms are eukaryotes.• Within the body, somatic cells are the cells of the body that are not gametes (sex cells).• Stem cells are totipotent cells that can develop into different cell types.Cell Anatomy• Although cells vary tremendously according to function, they have a basic shared anatomy.• The nucleus sits within cytoplasm and houses the genetic material, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).• Another nucleic acid, ribonucleic acid (RNA), is also essential for cell function.• The organelles of the cell work to maintain the cell and are analogous to the organs of the body.DNA STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION3.3:Compare and contrast: DNA/RNA, translation/transcription, base/codon, genes/chromosomes, andmitosis/meiosis.DNA Structure I: The Molecular Level• The basic unit of DNA and RNA is the nucleotide, which consists of a phosphate, base, and sugar.• There are four bases in DNA, and bonds formed between guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine give themolecule its distinctive double-stranded structure.• RNA is single-stranded and has the same bases as DNA, except thymine is replaced by uracil (which also bindsto adenine).DNA Function I: Replication• A major function of DNA is to make copies of itself, which allows hereditary information to be carried fromgeneration to generation.

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.12• The mechanism of DNA replication was determined by Watson and Crick at the time of their discovery of DNAstructure.• The double-helix structure of DNA provides a template for the synthesis of identical copies of the molecule.DNA Function II: Protein Synthesis• Genes are defined by the sequence of bases in a stretch of DNA—they carry the information necessary tosynthesize proteins.• Proteins are essential molecules in the body that perform a wide range of functions.• The genetic code converts the information of the sequence of bases in a gene into the sequence of amino acids ina protein.• There are two steps in protein synthesis: Transcription occurs in the cytoplasm and involves the synthesis of astrand of messenger RNA (mRNA); translation occurs in the cytoplasm, where the mRNA message is read atribosomes and a protein is assembled.DNA Structure II: Chromosomes and Cell Division• The DNA inthe nucleusis packaged into (relatively) large structures called chromosomes.• In somatic cells, there are two copies of each of the 22 homologous chromosomes, plus the sex chromosomes(females are XX, and males are XY); in gametes, there is only one copy of each chromosome.• Mitosis is the process of normal somatic cell division, in which the diploid chromosome number is maintained ineach daughter cell.• Meiosis is the process of cell division; in sex cells are created with only one copy of each chromosome (haploid).• During meiosis, crossing over leads to novel rearrangements of genetic material.• Nondisjunction errors during meiosis can lead to a variety of chromosomal abnormalitiesthat cause clinicalproblems (such as Down syndrome).MOLECULAR TOOLS FOR BIOANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH3.4:Define ancient DNA, mitochondrial DNA, and the polymerase chain reaction.Indirect and Direct Research Methods• In the past, researchers used various methods to measure variability at the molecular level, but today newtechnologies make it possible to study DNA sequence differences at the individual or species level.• The entire genomes of many species are being sequenced, following the advent of the Human Genome Project.PCR, Mitochondrial DNA, and Ancient DNA• The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method for the amplification of minute quantities of DNA.• PCR makes possible the recovery of ancient DNA from bone or fossil material, up to about 100,000 years old,provided that preservation conditions were adequate.LECTURE OUTLINEI.IntroductionA.Collecting organic materialB.Field work followed by lab analysisC.Most striking example of power of modern genetics: ancient DNAD.Ideas about heredity found in all human culturesE.Need to understand genetics to understand how evolution happensII.The Study of GeneticsA.Cellular and molecular genetics: genetics at the level of the basic building blocks of the body(cells)1.Used to devise genetic therapies and determine precise makeup of DNAB.Classical or Mendelian genetics: looks at the pedigree of related individuals1.Examines how traits are passed down2.Traits must be identified as genetic featuresC.Population genetics:examines genetic variation within or between populations to gain insightinto evolutionary history

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.13D.Phylogenetics: determining evolutionary relationships using tree-like diagrams, to analyze howclosely or distantly species are relatedE.Behavioral genetics: examines how the behavior of organisms is influenced by geneticsIII.The CellA.The basic building block of life1.One-cell versus many-celled, complex organisms2.Basic division is between prokaryotes and eukaryotesa.Prokaryotes: single-cells with no compartments within the cell to separategenetic materialb.Eukaryotes: Genetic material is separated in the nucleus surrounded by thecytoplasmthat contains organellesB.Complex organisms have a variety of different somatic cell types1.Somatic cellsare simply cells that are not gametes, or sex cells2.Adult stem cells can differentiate into a more limited variety of cell typesC.Stem cell research is important and controversial in recent years1.Embryonic stem cells and Parkinson’s disease2.Stem cells found in adultscan also be used for researchD.Cell Anatomy1.Almost all cells have some fundamental characteristicsa.The most prominent eukaryotic featureinthe cytoplasmisthe nucleusb.Nucleus houses DNA, which primarily makes proteinsc.RNA is also found in nucleusand is important for protein synthesisd.Mitochondria floats in the cytoplasm and produces the energy-rich molecule,ATPe.Mitochondrial DNA has been vital to evolutionary and anthropologicalresearchf.The endoplasmic reticulum aids the synthesis of proteins and ribosomesIV.DNA Structure and FunctionA.DNA Structure I: The Molecular Level1.The double-helix structure of DNAa.Assembled from four different nucleotide units or basesb.Erwin Chargaff’s discovery: coordinating distribution patterns of bases2.RNA follows similar structure, but single-strandeda.Ribose replaces deoxyribose as the sugarb.Uracil replaces thymineB.DNA Function I: Replication1.Structure of DNA suites its replicationa.Two strands can easily separate and be copied2.Each stage of DNA replication is managed by an enzymea.An enzyme is a complex protein which mediates a chemical reactionC.DNA Function II: Protein Synthesis1.Enzymes lower the activation level of biochemical reactions2.Proteins are composed of twenty unique amino acidsa.The scope of polypeptidesb.Function of proteins is determined by their amino acid sequencesc.It is mathematically necessary for codons (set of three bases) to code for anamino acid3.The part of the DNA molecule that codes for a protein is called a genea.Can consist of hundreds of thousands of bases4.DNA becomes proteins via transcription and translation5.Transcription occurs when pertinent region of DNA molecule splitsa.mRNA forms as a complementary set of bases to the DNA geneb.tRNA carries a single, specific amino acid to attach to the growing proteinchaini.tRNA’s anti-codons

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.14c.Most DNA codes for exonsD.DNA Structure II: Chromosomes and Cell Division1.Though mitosis and meiosis, chromatin condenses and replicates2.Each somatic cell has the same number of chromosomes (diploid number)3.Specific genes can be mapped to specific chromosomesa.E.g.,ABO blood type system4.Mitosis: the process whereby a somatic cell replicatesa.Produces two identical daughter cellsb.The cell cycle’s stagesi.Interphase: stage of life not involved in mitosisii.Prophase: nuclear envelope disappears and chromosomes formiii.Metaphase: chromosomes migrate to center of celliv.Anaphase: chromatids split apart to opposite ends of cellv.Telophase: cytoplasm splits, resulting in two separate daughter cells5.Meiosis: the formation of two gametesa.Occurs only in the testes of males and the ovaries of femalesb.Differences from mitosis:i.Formation of tetradsii.Crossing over and recombinationiii.Second meiotic cell division6.Different kinds and numbers of chromosomesa.Karyotype: an image of an individual’s chromosomesb.Autosomes and sex chromosomesc.Even closely related species can have different numbers of chromosomes (e.g.chimpanzees)7.Chromosomal abnormalitiesa.Nondisjunction errors occur during meiosisi.E.g. monosomy (Turner syndrome) or trisomy (Down syndrome)b.For the most part, monosomy or trisomy is compatible with lifeV.Molecular Tools for Bioanthropological ResearchA.Indirect versusdirect research methodsB.Indirect: look at the physiology and anatomy of an organism1.However, molecular structures provide a more straightforward approach2.Most commonly used indirect method is protein electrophoresisC.DNA sequencing: the actual base sequence of a gene1.Most widely used tool in molecular anthropology2.“Molecular revolution”of the end of the twentieth century3.Sequencing of the entire human genome4.Scientific payoff of sequencing is enormousD.PCR, mitochondrial DNA, and ancientDNA1.PCR is used to make millions or even billions of copies of a specific DNA segmenta.Uses fluctuating temperatures to catchenzyme reactionsb.Taq polymerase enzyme flag the segment of interestc.Allows the recovery of DNA from miniscule samples2.Mitochondrial DNA resides in the mitochondriaa.mtDNA regions that do not code for anything tend to evolve quicklyb.Passed down clonally from generation to generationc.All mitochondrial DNA comes from the mother3.Ancient DNAa.PCR essential for recovering ancient DNA fragmentsb.Easier to amplify mtDNA than nuclear DNAc.Recent advances make it possible to recover nuclear DNA sequences as welld.Contamination is a major worry

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.15LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICSEach of these topics is intended to generate ideas either for lectures or for discussion in the classroom. For mosttopics, students should be able to respond and participate in discussions based solely on reading the text.Forothers, students mayneed further reading or other forms of informationtodevelop some personal perspective andbecome equipped to make independent decisions about the topics.1.Reviewdifferent types of genetic study, including population genetics, phylogenetics, and behavioralgenetics, further explaining how they are specialized and how they have advanced the overall study ofgenetics.2.Referto the Insights and Advances Box: Cloning Controversies. Review the methodology of cloning, theadvantages of cloning in agriculture,and some of the drawbacks to animal cloning.Perhaps alsoconsiderthe reasoning for and against human cloning.3.Introducethe concept of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and direct sequencing and their uses in modernforensic sciences. It would be interesting to share several murder cases with students that were solvedwith these techniques or to show how these techniques have cleared many convicted felons of theirsupposed crimes.4.Discussthe statement made by Roger Williams that“everyone deviated from the norm in some way.”Even though this statement was made in the 1950s, it is interesting that further developments in DNAstudies support this reasoning.5.Add a lecture about stem cell research and the controversy surrounding it. Discuss why this might be thecase and outline the various arguments for and against this area of research.6.Discuss ancient DNA and the implications such research has had on archaeological and anthropologicalresearch.CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES1.Arrange for students to visita campusbiotechnology programora course in microbiology(if either isavailable) tosee how an electrophoresis gel is created and how it is run to create DNA sequences.2.Invitea biologist into class to lecture about a biological understanding of evolution.Checka campuslibrary or rental catalogs for films on evolution and natural selection, DNA, molecular genetics, forensics,and DNA fingerprinting.Such films can often provide visual explanations that are clearer and morecomplete than simple lecture or text information.3.Invitea historian to class to discussthe historyof science, with emphasis on the discussion of thescientific revolution brought about by Darwin and Mendel.Historical perspectives on the development ofscientific fields can offer students new insights they might not otherwise gain.4.Havestudents describe any genetic anomalies they know of or have been told of in their families--extraorgans, eyes that are different colors, etc., and have them describe them from the perspective of geneticsas it has been discussed in the text and course.5.Arrangea trip toabiology lab to have students view stained slides of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.Have them identify and draw the individual structures of the cell.

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.166.Invitea forensic scientist from a government or private lab to speak about modern techniques such asPCR or DNA fingerprinting.7.Have students assume the role of competing theorists for the structure of DNA, double helix versusothers, and examine who thought what and why.8.Divide students into mitosis and meiosis teams and have each team describe the steps of the otherprocess.RESEARCHAND WRITING TOPICS1.Havethe students research the various possible uses of cloning in both plants and animals. This couldlead to a vibrant discussion or a term paper assignment.2.Havestudents complete written or oral biographical reports on one of the following people and how theirscientific ideas contributed to our modern understanding of biology: James Watson, Francis Crick,Rosalind Franklin, and Linus Pauling.3.Havethe students research how popular views about DNA (from movies or TV) has actually affectedcourt room juries and verdicts.4.Dividethe class into two. Have each team research human cloning and then have half of the studentsargue in favor of reproductive human cloning while the other half argues against it.5.Havethe students research stem cell research and have them take a stance on the issue (pro or con). Theyshould construct their position based on the genetic benefits they have examined in class.6.Havethe students research Rosalind Franklin and discuss her contributions to the development of DNAtheory.7.Researchexamples of archaeological or physical anthropological research that has made use of advancesin ancient DNA research.8.Have students draw (in color) cell structures while labeling all of the organelles.Ask them to write out adescription of the function of each organelle.9.Ask students to prepare a short essay on the similarities and differences between sex cells, somatic cells,and stem cells.REVEL RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIESActivity:Review: A Typical Eukaryotic CellReading:Evolution EncodedActivity:The Nucleotyde Structure of DNAReading:Regulating EvolutionActivity:Review: Schematic Representation of Protein Structure

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.17Activity:Review: Mitosis and MeiosisReading:Did Life Begin in Ice?

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.18CHAPTERFOURGENETICS: FROM GENOTYPE TO PHENOTYPELEARNINGOBJECTIVESAfterreading and carefully consideringChapterFour, students should be able to:4.1:Explain the genetic connection between phenotype and genotype discovered by Gregor Mendel inthe nineteenth century.4.2:Apply Mendelian genetics to modern concepts of inheritance and show how genes contribute to theexpression of specific phenotypes.4.3:Review the various types of possible mutations and discuss both their possible benefits and negativeconsequences.4.4:Describe new discoveries in genetics and how polygenic traits interact with the environment toproduce complex phenotypes.4.5:Discuss phenylketonuria (PKU) as an example of both Mendelian genetics and post-Mendeliangenetics.LEARNING OBJECTIVESUMMARYFROM GENOTYPE TO PHENOTYPE4.1Explain the genetic connection between phenotype and genotype discoveredby Gregor Mendel in thenineteenth century.• The phenotype of an organism is the product of its genotype and, to a greater orlesser extent, the environment inwhich it developed and grew.• Differences in both regulatory and structural genes contribute to the developmentof unique speciescharacteristics.MENDELIAN GENETICS4.2Apply Mendelian genetics to modern concepts of inheritance and show howgenes contribute to theexpression of specific phenotypes.• Between 1856 and 1868, Gregor Mendel conducted groundbreaking genetic researchon the common garden pea.• Mendel’s laws of segregation and independent assortment help describe the particulatenature of inheritance.MUTATION4.3Review the various types of possible mutations and discuss both theirpossible benefits and negativeconsequences.• There are several kinds of mutations, including pointmutations, deletion mutations,and insertion mutations.• Mutations can be detrimental to the fitness of an organism or they can enhance it,but many mutations are neutralbecause they do not lead to a change in proteinstructure or function.• Many clinical diseases are classified as Mendelian,meaning that their transmissionfollows a classical Mendelianpattern.GENETICS BEYOND MENDEL4.4Describe new discoveries in genetics and howpolygenic traits interact withthe environment to producecomplex phenotypes.Polygenic Traits, the Phenotype, and the Environment• Most biological traits we are interested incannot be studied using simple Mendeliangenetics.

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.19• Many traits are polygenic—the combined resultof more than one gene, each ofwhich may have more than oneallele.• Many genes are pleiotropic—they have multiple effects, on their own and in theirinteraction with other genes.• Continuous quantitative variation (for example, as seen in a normal curve distribution)for a trait is typically seenfor polygenic traits.Heritability and IQ Test Score Performance• Heritability is a statistic geneticists use to quantifythe proportion of all variationobserved for a trait that can beattributed to genetic rather than environmentalfactors.• For complex phenotypes such as IQ, it is critical to keep in mind that while heritability may indicate a geneticcomponent in itsdistribution, the heritabilityvalue itself may vary among populations according to environmentalconditions.PHENYLKETONURIA: ILLUSTRAT ING MENDELIAN AND POST-MENDELIAN CONCEPTS4.5Discuss phenylketonuria (PKU) as an example of both Mendelian genetics and post-Mendelian genetics.• PKU is a disease whose genetics, diagnosis, and treatment serve to illustrate a host of concepts relating to thecomplex interaction between genotype and phenotype.LECTURE OUTLINEI.IntroductionA.Mendel and Bateson1.Painstaking breeding experiments2.Bateson read decades after publicationB.Human genetics encompass a wide range of phenomena1.Genetics vitally important to understand evolution2.Key role in many contemporary medical and cultural issuesII.From Genotype to PhenotypeA.Connection between genes and the physical traits we can observe1.Structural genes contain information and make proteins2.Regulatory genes guide the expression of structural genesa.Initiate, promote, or terminate transcriptionB.Genetic relations between species1.Structural genes may be quite similar across related species2.Regulatory genes critical in determining the form of an organisma.e.g.,Chimpanzee and human 95%–96% identical; species differentiation dueto regulatory genes’insertions, deletions, etc.3.Wilhelm Johannsen introduced the terms genotype and phenotypea.Genotype is the set of specific genes an organism carriesb.Phenotype is the observable physical feature of an organism under somegenetic control or influenceC.The ABO blood type system1.Straightforward relationship between genotype and phenotype in the ABO system2.Gene has three alleles: A, B, and Oa.A and B stand for versions of the protein modified by enzymes from acommon precursorb.O has only the precursor version of the proteinc.We have two copies of each gene on each chromosome3.An allele that must be present on both chromosomes to be expressed is recessive4.An allele that must be present only once is dominant5.ABO allows for six genotypes and four phenotypesa.The phenotype is a direct product of the genotypeb.Not subject to environmental intervention

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.20D.Obesity: A Complex Interaction1.Obesity is a more complex example of the interaction between genes, environment, andphenotypes2.Research indicates that there are specific genes that are critical to regulating appetitea.Some individuals have alleles for these genes that make it difficult to regulatei.These individuals tend to become morbidly obeseii.Despite progress, molecular studies have yet to uncover genetic causes ofobesityiii.Genetic causes likely exist, based on pedigree studies of relatedindividuals3.Obesity also depends on the amount of food in the environmenta.Even if someone is predisposed, they will not become obese if there isn’tenough foodb.“Epidemic of Obesity”c.Obesity phenotype is the product of genes and environmenti.True even for people without an“obesity gene”III.Mendelian GeneticsA.Gregor Mendel’s careful experimental demonstrated particulate inheritance1.Conducted experiments between 1856 and 18682.Ideal sample because peas showed dichotomous variation3.Monitored different varieties of common garden peasa.Included a series of hybridizationsb.Mendel carefully recorded transmission of characteristicsi.seed coatii.seed coloriii.pod shapeiv.pod colorv.flower colorvi.stem formvii.stem size4.Observed similar results for each feature he examineda.Even true-breeding crosses only showed one parental trait expressedb.Traits that had disappeared in earlier generations reappeared in ¼ of offspringB.Mendel’s Postulates1.Hereditary characteristics are controlled by particulate unit factorsa.Factors exist in pairs in individual organismsb.Different versions of a unit factor may existc.An individual may have two factors that are the same or two that are different2.When an individual has two different unit factors responsible for a characteristic, only oneis expresseda.The expressed factor is said to be dominant to the otherb.The other is said to be recessive3.During the formation of gametes, the paired unit factors separate, or segregate, randomlya.Each sex cell receives one or the other with equal likelihoodb.Punnett square illustrates parental contributions to offspring4.During gamete formation, segregating pairs of unit factors assort independently of oneanothera.Called Mendel’s law of independent assortmentb.Mendel carried out more complicated dihybrid crossesc.Found no correlation between simultaneously transmitted traitsC.Linkage and crossing over1.Law of independent assortment only applies to genes that are on different chromosomes2.Because chromosome is the unit of transmission in meiosis, linkage occursa.Genes located on the same chromosome will travel together3.Independent assortment of linked genes is relatively common

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.21a.Occurs during crossing over, or recombinationb.Likelihood of crossing over is a function of distance between genesc.Genes located near one another are more strongly linkedIV.MutationA.Mutation is essentially an error that occurs in DNA replication1.Any change that becomes established in the daughter cell2.Changes that occur in structural or regulatory genes more critical than those in noncodingsectionsB.Point mutation and sick cell disease1.A point mutation occurs when a single base in a gene is changed2.One of the most well-known examples is sick cell diseasea.Caused by an abnormal form of hemoglobinb.Hemoglobin is normally very malleable and cohesivei.Sickled cells lose flexibility and impair circulationii.Also damages red blood cells themselvesiii.Causes and exacerbates anemiac.Management of sickle cell includes hydroxyurea therapyi.Promotes the production of fetal hemoglobind.Sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS)is only one amino acid different from healthyadult hemoglobin (HbA)e.Not directly fatal because the mutation does not render cells totally incapableof carrying oxygenf.Sickle cells appears in homozygous HbS carriersi.Latent heterozygous carriersC.Insertion and Deletion Mutations1.Results from insertion or deletions in the genetic codea.In recent years, such mutations have been linked to many congenital diseasesb.At least seventeen diseases linked to one insertion of triple-base sequences2.Huntington diseasea.Degenerative autosomal dominant diseaseb.Increased repetitions of CAG sequence on chromosome fourc.Depending on number of repetitions, onset could occur earlier or later in life3.Williams syndromea.Results from deletion of twenty-eight genes from chromosome sevenb.Observable“elfin”appearancec.Prone to cardiac issues and decreased size of brain regionsd.Generally,retain strong language, music skills, and social adeptnessi.May help advance understanding of genetic basis for social behaviorD.Mutations: Bad, Neutral, and Good1.Idea of bad mutations pervades popular culture2.Mutations that occur in noncoding sections have no impact on phenotype and are neutral3.Mutations are neutral if they do not change the amino acida.Some proteins can endure amino acid substitutionsb.No observable functional consequences4.Mutations may affect anatomy without affecting fitness, e.g.,Habsburg jaw5.Mutations as gooda.Ultimate source of genetic variation, the raw material of evolutionb.Positive mutations do not have to be plentiful; they proliferate in populationsi.Become the normal or wild type6.Many autosomal dominant disorders occur with very small probabilityE.X-linked disorders1.Directly related to chromosome structure2.Human males only have one X chromosomea.They are therefore more susceptible X-linked disordersb.Pedigrees show a typical pattern whereby disorders appear to skip a generationc.Sons will display the disorder if they receive a carrying X chromosome

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.223.Fatal X-linked disorders before reproductive age are never seen in females4.Hemophilia is perhaps the most well-known X-linked disordera.Absence of one of the clotting proteins in bloodb.With advancing treatment, males with this disorder are able to live long,productive lives5.Red color blindness and green color blindness are X-linked disordersa.Frequency much lower in women than in menF.Mendelian Genetics in Humans1.Hundreds of human disorders can be explained in Mendelian terms2.Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)V.Genetics Beyond MendelA.Mendelian genetics provides a foundation for understanding1.Most useful for understanding traits for which there is qualitative variation (e.g.,albinism)2.Quantitative variation indicates continuous variation for some trait (e.g.,stature in humans)B.Complex, polygenic traits like skin color, timing of puberty, and stature1.Depend on the actions of multiple genes2.Single genes that produce qualitative variants do not cause the whole trait3.One gene with multiple phenotypic effects is called pleiotropyC.Polygenic Traits, the Phenotype, and the Environment1.Expression of many traits result from interaction of genes and environmenta.Heritability can range from 0 to 1b.Several strategies to estimate heritability in populations (e.g.,adoption studies)2.Heritability does not provide information about how many genes are responsible for thetraita.Does not provide an absolute measure of the genetic contribution to aphenotypeb.Environment variabilityD.IQ test score performance perhaps best known and most controversial heritability study1.Cannot use heritability to pinpoint ethnic differences on genetics2.Variation between groups results from genetics, the environment, or bothVI.Phenylketonuria: Illustrating Mendelian and Post-Mendelian ConceptsA.Before neonatal screening, PKU was among the most common causes of mental retardation1.Appears to follow classic Mendelian rules2.Caused by a recessive alleleB.PKU sufferers accumulate up to forty-times normal levels of phenylalanine1.The result of a deficiency of an enzyme2.Over the past thirty years, location and behavior of PKU mappedC.Screening for PKU in newborns assesses phenylalanine levels1.Dietary treatments and challenges2.Gene therapy a possibility in the futureD.A striking example of relationships between genotype, phenotype, and the environmentE.Genes and Environments1.Genetic environment just as important to phenotype development as any other environment2.Mendelian concepts useful in establishing genes’isolation from one another3.Twenty-first century genetics will determine how genes work together in complexenvironmentsLECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICSEach of these topics is intended to generate ideas either for lectures or for discussion in the classroom. For mosttopics, students should be able to respond and participate in discussions based solely on reading the text.Forothers, students mayneed further reading or other forms of informationtodevelop some personal perspective andbecome equipped to make independent decisions about the topics.

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.231.Supporters of Eugenics were very passionate in their beliefs. This may be a good place to discuss thepower of new ideas developed by science and how easily people take them out of context. You canprobably find even more modern examples to use as a comparison.2.X-linked diseases and disorders are always fascinating. They are directly related to chromosomestructure. As human males are heterogametic they are prone to disorders due to X chromosomemutations. A discussion of several X-linked disorders would be interesting and could include Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, hemophilia, red-color blindness, green-color blindness, etc. By going to the OnlineMendelian Inheritance in Man database at:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=Search&DB=omimyou can find descriptions ofover 1,000 X-linked disorders.3.Develop the concept of polygenesis and link this to an explanation why phenotype is not so easilypredicted.4.Discuss IQ tests and whether they provide any useful information or whether they have only been used ina discriminatory manner.5.Discuss how mutations can be both deleterious and necessary for evolution to occur.6.Discuss obesity in the world and note how an individual’s genetics and environment in which they livecan be factors in its development.7.Discuss the following quotation with your students:“There is no progress in evolution. The fact of evolutionary change through time doesn’t representprogress as we know it. Progress isn’t inevitable. Much of evolution is downward in terms ofmorphological complexity, rather than upward. We’re not marching toward some greater thing.”Stephen Jay Gould:The Pattern of Life’s HistoryfromThe Third Culture(Simon & Schuster, 1995)CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES1.Havestudents bring in lists of products that contain the artificial aspartame. Show how this sweetener canbe dangerous to those who suffer from PKU but not to those who don’t.2.Either ask students to provide their blood types or test them in class with the proper antigen kits. See howthe distribution of ABO blood types compares to the population norm.3.Ask students to identify human polygenic traits; explain what they are and the variation inside of the trait.4.Determine if any students have or canrecognize a phenotypic trait thatisdistinguishable from agenotypic trait.Do any possess traits that they can ascribe to an activity or behavior?5.Ask students if anyof themutations discussed in class occur in their family histories. Discuss theirfrequency.6.Examine Mendel’s experiment by assigning students a specific trait and then having them arrangethemselves based on Mendel’s different laws.RESEARCHAND WRITING TOPICS1.Students should be asked to research point mutations and write a paper on their effects.Many resources exist on the following website:http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/M/Mutations.html.

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.242.Have students write a paper on how complex human statureisas a polygenic or continuous trait.The following website may be of use in starting the research project:http://anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/mendel_3.htm.3.Herrstein’s and Murray’s bookThe Bell Curvesparked an immediate controversy when it delved into IQand racial classification. Have students review the following statements by 52 prominent researchers ofintelligence. It can be found at:http://www.cpsimoes.net/artigos/bell_mainstr.html.4.Divide your class into groups that can research Mendel’s various postulates. Each group should give areport on his classic discoveries.5.Have students research historical figures known to have had mutations as discussed in class.Studentsshould determine in what way, if any, these mutations affected their lives.6.Have students research obesity, examining it from both its genetic and environmental factors.Whichcontributes more to the obesity of an individual? Genetics or the environment?7.Have students research Gregor Mendel. How did a monk develop and explore such a scientific curiosity?Didhis researchlead to any conflict in his life?8.Have a student review the following medical article that summarizes new information on trinucleotiderepeat diseases. How many diseases are there? Of what type are they? How new is the information onTRD? See:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10767314&itool=iconfft.9.Ask students to prepare a short essay on phenylketonuria (PKU). What are the results of this condition?What are the causes? What environmental factors must be screened? What products containphenylalanine? How does PKU demonstrate an interrelationship between genotype, phenotype, and theenvironment? For more information see the following website:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/disease/Phenylketo.html.REVEL RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIESReading:Evolutionary GeneticsActivity:Explore: The Traits Mendel Used in His ExperimentsActivity:Explore: The Punnett SquareActivity:Contrasting Polygenic and Pleiotropic Effects

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25.CHAPTER FIVETHE FORCES OF EVOLUTION AND THE FORMATION OF SPECIESLEARNING OBJECTIVESAfterreading and carefully consideringChapterFive,students should be able to:5.1 Describe the process of how evolution works, by explaining the five forces of evolution: mutation,natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift, and nonrandom mating.5.2 Understand the science of classification of plants and animals: taxonomy.5.3 Describe what a species is and how species are formed.5.4 Understand the concept of biological adaptation and how adaptive traits evolve.5.5Contrast individual selection against group selection; explain kin selection and inclusive fitness.LEARNING OBJECTIVESUMMARYHOW EVOLUTION WORKS5.1Describe the process of how evolution works, by explaining the five forces of evolution: mutation,natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift, and nonrandom mating.• There are five primary forces of the evolutionary process:• Mutation is the only source of new variation.• Natural selection is the filter that acts on variation.• Gene flow is the biological name for migration.• Genetic drift is evolution by random chance.• Nonrandom mating is about mate selection and what drives it.• Sexual selection is differential reproductive success within one sex.CLASSIFICATION AND EVOLUTION5.2Understand the science of classification of plants and animals: taxonomy.• Taxonomy is the science of classification, begun in the eighteenth century by Carl von Linnaeus.WHAT IS A SPECIES?5.3Describe what a species is and how species are formed.• There is no single species concept: Different definitions can be applied depending on the context.• Species are formed in a variety of ways. Two of these are allopatric speciation and parapatric speciation.• Speciation can happen at widely varying speeds.ADAPTATION5.4Understand the concept of biological adaptation and how adaptive traits evolve.• Scientists argue about whether every single trait in an organism is adaptive.• Hardy–Weinberg explains how a population without evolutionary change would look.LEVELS OF SELECTION5.5Contrast individual selection against group selection; explain kin selectionand inclusive fitness.• There are proximate and ultimate explanations for evolutionary change.• Animals base their behavior toward other animals on potential genetic benefits.

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26.LECTURE OUTLINEI.IntroductionA.Observing gradual change in Galapagos beak size1.Now-famous study by Peter and Rosemary GrantB.Difficulty of demonstrating natural selection in the wild1.Takes many generations to be apparentII.How Evolution WorksA.Evolution is driven by factors occurring in natural populations that cause changes in genefrequencies1.Natural selection is the most widely cited cause of evolution2.Several other causes exist as wellB.Where does variation come from?1.Variations in DNA during replication2.Point mutation is a change in a DNA molecule base3.Larger-scale errors result in chromosomal mutations4.Mutations of great significance occur rarelya.Only through the accumulation of mutations do new traits enter populationsb.Evolutionary forces filter out undesirable traitsC.How natural selection works1.Takes the package of traits from the previous generation and alters it in response toenvironmenta.Environment is the filter through which traits are selected for or removedb.Natural selection operates on the phenotype of an individuali.Cultural practices (e.g.,sunbathing) can have evolutionary effects2.Populations evolve as the frequency of genes changea.Change occurs very slowlyb.Easier to study in animals with short generationsc.Artificial selection analogous to natural selection3.Directional selection occurs in response to selection pressuresa.e.g.,Finches’beak sizes and food scarcity4.Stabilizing selection helps to keep populations uniforma.e.g.,Sparrows either killed or survived snowstorm5.Showing natural selection at work in human population is very difficulta.One easier example is birth weightb.Natural selection favors a healthy range of birth weightsD.Other ways by which evolution happens1.Power of natural selection still a topic of debatea.Critics argue that natural selection alone cannot account for rapid evolution2.Gene flow: movement of genes between populationsa.Extended periods of gene flow can create one larger gene poolb.Changes in social behavior can also end gene flowc.Gene flow can eliminate some harmful effects of inbreeding3.Genetic drift: random changes in gene frequency in a populationa.Caused entirely by random factorsb.Important mainly in small populationsc.Founder effect: a small subset of a larger population becomes isolatedi.Only contains genotypes of the“founders”ii.e.g.,Pitcairn Islandersd.Closed societies also demonstrate genetic drift (e.g.,the Amish and EVC)e.Genetic bottleneck is associated with genetic drifti.A large diverse population undergoes a rapid reduction in sizeii.Remaining organisms define the genotype (e.g.,lacking diseaseresistance)

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27.4.Sexual selection described by Darwin inThe Descent of Mana.Social animals select for their matesb.Leads to sexual dimorphismi.Females then use males’features to define direct or indirect benefitsc.R.A. Fisher’s idea of runaway sexual selectioni.Elaborate features mean costly signalingii.Handicap principle displays ability to survive5.Reproductive potential leads to competition for femalesa.Females have more limited reproductive potential than malesb.Males and females also differ in their reproductive variance6.Testing causes of male ornamentationa.Role reversal in certain speciesIII.Classification and EvolutionA.Taxonomy and speciation1.Linnaeus classified animals based on physical characteristics (e.g.,sorting wines)a.However, animals are dynamic unitsb.Changes may be too small or gradual to observec.Treating animals as separate categories does not reflect biological realities2.Linnaeus established a hierarchy of categories for all living thingsa.As one descends in each category, distinctions become smallerb.Only“natural”distinction is the species3.Today’s classification system is all systematicsa.Relies on principle of homologyb.Links species by shared evolutionary featuresc.Bat and bird wings represent analogous featuresi.Such features arise through convergent evolutionii.One puzzle is that similar adaptations emerge in similar environments4.We use anatomical characters (i.e. physical features) to categorize organisms.A newbrand of classification is call cladisticsa.In this system, some traits are considered more evolutionarily important thanothersb.Ancestral versus derived traitsc.Cladogram is a branching diagram showing evolved relationships amongmembers of a lineaged.A clade is a cluster of species linked by a set of unique traitse.One worry: what if a trait evolved twice?5.Phenetics, or numerical taxonomy, is another approach to systematicsa.Relies solely on describing degrees of similarity and difference numericallyb.Considers all traitsc.Now out of fashionIV.What Is a Species?A.Species are dynamic, ever-changing entitiesB.Not an easy question to answer1.In Linnaeus’s time, considered pigeon-holed, definite entities2.Difficult to define because of the amount of variation found in natureC.Previous generations had to be guided by outward appearance1.Today we have DNA analysis, studies of physiology, ecology, and behavior2.The problem of defining what a species is remainsD.A guide to species concepts1.Most widely used definition is the biological species concepta.First proposed by Ernst Mayrb.Defines species as interbreeding populations reproductively isolatedc.Question of defining“actually or potentially”reproductively separatedd.Definition referred to natural populations onlye.e.g.,Ligers2.No less than twenty-five other species definitions have been proposed

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Class Notes for Exploring Biological Anthropology: The Essentials, 4th Edition - Page 31 preview image

28.a.Evolutionary species concept: evolutionary lineages with unique identitiesb.Ecological species concept:: Defines species based on the uniqueness of theirecological nichec.Recognition species concept: based on unique traits or behaviors that allowmembers of one species to identify them for matingE.Reproductive isolating mechanisms1.Any factor that prevents male and female of two different species from hybridizing2.May be premating or postmating mechanismF.The origin of species: how species are formed1.Anagenesisa.In this mode of change, one species gradually becomes anotherb.The first species ceases to exist or be identifiable2.Cladogenesisa.A species may branch into two or more new speciesb.The first species may not continue to exist3.One specific process by which new species form is allopatric speciationa.Geographic separation triggers emergence of new speciesb.e.g.,A river forms and separates initially connected populationsc.If two new species meet again, reinforcement occursi.Any hybridization would be less fit4.A second mechanism is parapatric speciationa.Occurs when two populations have continuous distributions, and parts of thepopulation diverse more than othersb.Often a zone overlap remainsc.Divergences can include mating behaviord.Allows primatologists to understand the genetic influence over certain traits5.A third mode is sympatric speciationa.Occurs when ecological factors create more than one phenotype in apopulationb.No spatial separation necessaryc.Relatively few examples of sympatric speciationd.Can occur due to large-scale chromosomal mutation6.The tempo of speciationa.Gradualism is widely accepted as the most prevalent type of evolutioni.Plants and animals evolve slowly over vast periods of timeb.Macroevolution is large-scale evolutionary change occurring over a long timec.The fossil record is incomplete and fragmentaryi.If more complete, it would show these gradual changesii.An alternative explanation for fossil record gaps is macroevolutiond.Macroevolution is rapid, large-scale evolutionary changese.Punctuated equilibrium holds that most species’phenotypes remain statici.Species change very little over long periodsii.These long periods are then punctuated by bursts of evolutionary changef.Punctuated equilibrium is a severe departure from Darwinismi.Most scientists are skeptical of punctuated equilibriumii.The fossil record is fragmentaryiii.There is evidence that species change slightly over timeiv.A good example of how scientists’views differ widelyV.AdaptationA.Adaptations are evolved phenotypic traits that increase an organism’s reproductive success1.Concept central to modern biology2.Some biologists consider any well-designed trait to be an adaptation3.Others are stricter, saying the trait must still be serving its original purpose4.Theories about why traits evolved are difficult to disprove5.Some scientists hold with adaptationisma.All traits of an organismare products of adaptation

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