Anthropology 1: Introduction to Biological Anthropology Spring 2025
This is a study guide organized by lecture covering topics from Lectures 1-12. In preparation for your midterm, you are responsible for understanding concepts at the level discussed in the textbook and lectures. The concepts listed here are not meant to cover all aspects of the course material but rather to help you focus on some specific questions. Similarly, the list of terms is not exhaustive and does not repeat the many terms defined already in your textbook. You are responsible for all material presented in lecture, section, and the lab notebook, even if it does not appear on this study guide. We look forward to seeing you at the review session and happy studying!
L1: Introduction to Biological Anthropology
THINGS TO KNOW:
What are the four fields of Anthropology?
What is biological anthropology?
SOME TERMS:
Linguistics
Archaeology
Primatology
Skeletal biology
Paleoanthropology
Anthropological Genetics
Human Biology
L2: Development and History of Evolutionary Theory
THINGS TO KNOW:
What were the first origin myths and what was the concept of fixity of species?
What is the Great Chain of Being?
What contribution did John Ray and Carolus Linnaeus make to classification of organisms and understanding our place in nature?
How did people interpret the fossil record in the early 17th and 18th centuries?
Explain the difference between the Lamarckian and Darwinian theories of evolution
How did Lyell, Malthus, and Wallace influence Darwin’s ideas of evolution?
What is selective intentional breeding and how did it help Darwin formulate his idea of natural selection?
What is the difference between intentional and inadvertent artificial selection?
What is differential reproduction?
L3: Inheritance of Biological Traits
THINGS TO KNOW:
What does “survival of the fittest” really mean?
Does evolution necessarily mean progress?
Are species trying to evolve to get somewhere else and become more complex?
Are chimpanzees trying to evolve to become humans? Why or why not?
What is the difference between stabilizing, directional and disruptive selection? Give an example of each.
What are chromosomes? How many chromosomes do humans have?
What is a gene? What is an allele? Give an example.
What is the significance of the experiments done by Gregory Mendel in the mid 1800's?
What did we learn about the patterns of inheritance from Mendel?
What is the difference between mitosis and meiosis?
When does crossing-over occur? What happens during crossing-over?
How does independent assortment and recombination (crossing-over) contribute to genetic variation?
SOME TERMS:
meiosis/mitosis
gametes
allele
gene
homozygous/heterozygous
dominant/recessive/codominant
X-linked traits (e.g. hemophilia, color blindness)
DNA, RNA
mutation
DNA-gene-chromosome-genome-mutation
epigenetics
L4: Modern Evolutionary Theory
THINGS TO KNOW:
What is meant by the term "carrier" with regard to sex-linked traits?
Why is the male more frequently affected in sex-linked traits than females?
What causes color blindness?
If a homozygous color-blind male mates with a female that is heterozygous normal woman, what percentage on average will they have a color-blind boy? What percentage on average will they have a color-blind girl?
What is the only source of new genetic variation?
How can a single change in a base alter the production of a protein? Give an example of a point mutation.
What causes genetic mutations?
How are gene flow and genetic drift potent forces in evolution?
What is founder effect and what is a bottleneck in a founder population?
SOME TERMS:
Point mutation
Gene flow
Genetic drift
Founder effect
bottleneck
SNP
L5: Forces of Evolution
THINGS TO KNOW:
What are the major types of reproductive isolating mechanisms? How do you end up with two groups being reproductively isolated?
Under what circumstances can an adaptive radiation occur?
What is punctuated equilibrium?
What is deep time? How old is the universe and the earth?
SOME TERMS:
Adaptive radiation
Punctuated equilibrium
K-Pg boundary
L6: What is a primate I: overview and prosimians
THINGS TO KNOW:
What is the relevance of tupaias in our understanding of primate evolution?
Know modern primate examples for each group. Know the geographic distribution of the group.
How did lemurs get to Madagascar?
What dictates the location of the foramen magnum across dogs and primates?
How basal metabolic rates correspond with body size, and the implications for understanding diet.
What adaptations came along with diurnal feeding?
Why do nocturnal primates typically have large eyes?
How did the shift to frugivory lead to the loss of endogenous vitamin C synthesis? And the evolution of trichromatic vision?
What are the key morphological and behavioral features that distinguish these groups from each other?
Platyrrhines/NWM vs. Catarrhines/OWM)
Lemurs vs. Lorises vs. Tarsiers
Ceboids vs. Cercopithecocines
Gibbons vs. Siamangs vs. Orangutans
Bonobos vs. Chimpanzees vs. Great apes
Know the genus name for gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and human
SOME TERMS:
Binocular vision
Nocturnal
Diurnal
Foramen magnum
Basal metabolic rate
Folivore, frugivore, insectivore
L7: What is a primate II: Evolution of Old and New World Monkeys
THINGS TO KNOW:
How do NWM and OWM differ?
What are the locomotor adaptations of primates?
Why is “twinning” important for marmosets? What adaptations did they evolve for child rearing?
What are the dietary adaptations in different monkey groups related to frugivory, folivory, insectivory, and gumivory?
Why does infanticide occur in some primate groups?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of monkey sociality?
Why is there competition and dominance hierarchy in baboon males?
Why do baboon males have big canines, and other indicators of sexual dimorphism? Why are colobines called leaf monkeys?
How does sexual dimorphism and social structure relate to one another? And why?
Why do hamadryas, geladas, and orangutans have large tufts of hair around their neck?
SOME TERMS:
Brachiation
Multiparous vs. uniparous
Sexually dichromatic
Sexual dimorphism
Bilophodont
Estrus
Polyandry vs. polygyny
Terrestrial vs. arboreal
quadrupedalism
Infanticide
L8: The Evolution of Apes
THINGS TO KNOW:
Which apes are located in Southeast Asia vs. Africa?
What locomotor and skeletal adaptations did apes develop?
How are gibbons sexually dimorphic, if at all? What behaviors do they perform. in pairs? What aspects of their social organization influence these physical and behavioral traits?
What is the social organization in orangutans? What kind of dimorphic changes do you see in orangutan males during growth and with age?
Where in Africa are great apes located? Why do we not have a lot of fossils of early African great apes? What dietary adaptations do gorillas have?
Do gorillas exhibit the capacity for tool use?
What are the sexual dimorphic differences in gorillas? How do gorillas and chimps locomote?
What are the social organizations of gorillas? Do males and females move across groups?
SOME TERMS:
Y-5 molars
Knuckle-walking
Tool use
Abduction
L9 & 10: What is a primate IV: African Great Apes
THINGS TO KNOW:
What is the function of the ilium? How do the gorilla and human ilia differ in structure and function?
What are key characteristics of chimps?
What is the social organization of common chimps?
Which primate groups exhibit same-sex sexual behaviors (as discussed in class)?
How does tool use benefit chimps?
What are examples of kin-cooperation in chimps?
Describe male troop social behaviors in chimps and the benefit/utility of these group-based social behaviors.
What indications of violent behavior. have been observed in common chimps?
What kind of tool use has been observed in common chimps?
How do chimps learn behaviors like tool use?
How do bonobos differ socially from the common chimp?
What is the social organization of bonobos?
How is bonobos sexuality different vs. other primates?
Why is there so much extensive sexuality in bonobos?
What is sperm competition and how does this relate to sexual anatomy in apes?
SOME TERMS:
Kin-cooperation
Culture
Carnivory
Sexuality
L11: Dr. Lewis’s Guest Lecture
THINGS TO KNOW:
Do other mammalian species, aside from humans, exhibit signs of long-term social memory?
What was the “Memory of Relationship” hypothesis?
Do chimps and bonobos remember the faces of their groupmates overtime?
L12: Primate Health and Disease
THINGS TO KNOW:
Why is it important to study non-human primate health?
Do non-human primates exhibit diseases similar to those of human?
What are some natural risk factors for non-human primate health?
What are the pros and cons of non-human primate captivity?
Can primates and humans infect each other with pathogens?
What percent of emerging infectious diseases come from primates?
What is the One Health concept?
SOME TERMS:
Emerging infectious disease
Reservoir
Vector
One Health