WVU Exam 3 Anthropology Genesis Snyder with Complete Solutions

WVU Exam 3 Anthropology Genesis Snyder with Complete Solutions What is Biological/Physical Anthropology The study of human biological variation in time and space Main areas of interest of biological/physical anthropology - Includes evolution, genetics, growth and development, and primatology -draws on biology, zoology, geology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, public health, osteology, and archaeology Paleoanthropology The human evolution as revealed by the fossil record Primatology Study of biology, evolution, behavior, and social life of primates Bone Biology The study of bone as a biological tissue, including its genetics, cell structure, growth, development, decay, and patterns of movement Molecular Anthropology Uses genetic analysis, involving comparison of DNA sequences, to determine evolutionary links and distances among species and among ancient and modern populations Evolution Creationism idea that biological similarities and differences originated at the creation Catastrophism modified version of creationism that accounts for the fossil record by positing divinely authored worldwide disasters that wiped out creatures represented in the fossil record Natural Selection process by which nature selects the forms most suited to survive and reproduce in a given environment Darwin's Theory -influenced by Lyell's Principle of Uniformitarianism -Uniformitarianism states that past geological events can be best explained by observing the ongoing events of the present and generalizing backward through time Genetics -emerged after Darwin -helped us to understand the causes of biological variation and it explains the origin of the variety upon which natural selection operates Mendelian Genetics Studies ways in which chromosomes transmit genes across generations Biochemical Genetics Examines structure, function and changes in DNA Population Genetics Investigates natural selection and other causes of genetic variation, stability, and change in breeding populations Mutation -Changes in the DNA molecules of which genes and chromosomes are built -Most important source of variety upon which natural selection acts -Can be neutral Gene Pool refers to alleles and genotypes within breeding population Genetic Evolution Change in gene frequency: a change in the frequency of alleles in a breeding population from generation to generation