INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Based on thorough reading and careful consideration of the Introduction, students should be able to:
● I.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology in them.
● I.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
● I.3: Summarize the origins of modern biological anthropology.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE SUMMARY
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ANTHROPOLOGY AND ITS SUBFIELDS
I.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology in them.
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• Cultural Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Biological Anthropology
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THE SCOPE OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
I.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
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• Paleoanthropology
• Forensic Anthropology
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• Skeletal Biology/Osteology
• Primatology
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• Paleopathology
• Human Biology
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THE ROOTS OF MODERN BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
I.3: Summarize the origins of modern biological anthropology.
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• Biological Anthropology’s roots are in Physical Anthropology—the study of skeletons by amateur anatomists.
• The rise of modern evolutionary genetics and also of primatology
• The incorporation of genetics and primatology into modern biological anthropology
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LECTURE OUTLINE
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I. Introduction
A. Links between biologists in different subfields
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B. Biological anthropologists try to understand details of evolution
1. 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 inefficient.
II. Anthropology and Its Subfields
A. Anthropology is the study of humankind in all its forms.
1. Distinguished by its cross-cultural, holistic nature
2. Culture: the sum total of learned traditions of a group of people (e.g. language)
3. Debate over interplay of biology and culture
B. Other subfields of anthropology
1. Cultural anthropology: the study of human societies in a cross-cultural perspective
a. Ethnology: a subfield of cultural anthropology, the study of behavior within
human societies
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, 2. Linguistic anthropology: the study of the form, function, and social context of language
3. Archaeology: the study of how people used to live, based on artifacts they left behind
a. Historical archaeologists study past civilizations that left a written record.
III. The Scope of Biological Anthropology
A. Paleoanthropology: the study of the fossil record for humankind
1. Includes fossilized remains with the most direct physical evidence of human ancestry
2. Famous examples include Lucy or the Peking Man
3. Discovery of new human fossils every decade or so
4. Research takes place in the field as well as in museums and laboratories
5. Comparisons between extinct and living forms (e.g. presence of canine teeth)
6. Tree with many branches has replaced linear view of human evolution
B. Skeletal biology and human osteology
1. Osteology: study of the skeleton
2. Identify what sort of animal the fossil/fragment was in life
3. Keen spatial sense of how jigsaw puzzle-like array fits together
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4. Among the first generation of biological anthropologists
5. Relationship between genetics, human growth and stature, and geographic variation
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6. Skeletal anthropology: includes patterns and processes of human growth, physiology, and
development
C. Paleopathology and bioarchaeology: the study of disease in ancient human populations
1. Goes hand-in-hand with the study of human remains in archaeological context
2. Study effects of trauma, epidemics, nutritional deficiencies, and infectious diseases
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D. Forensic anthropology: study of the identification of skeletal remains
1. Includes means by which an individual died
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2. Applications in historical study and criminal investigations
E. Primatology: study of the anatomy, physiology, behavior, and genetics of both living and extinct
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monkeys, apes, and prosimians
1. Best known through the work of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey
2. Desire to learn more about patterns of behavior
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3. Learn about how evolution molded the human species
F. Human biology: study of human growth and development, adaptations to environmental extremes,
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and human genetics
1. Nutritional anthropologists study diet, culture, and evolution
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2. Biological and cultural forces
3. Human variation gives clues to migrations of earlier peoples
4. Biocultural anthropology and biomedical anthropology: expressions of human diseases
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5. Molecular anthropology: genetic approach to human evolutionary science
IV. The Roots of Modern Biological Anthropology
A. Evolutionary perspective made many old debates about human origins irrelevant
1. Result of interrelations of genetics and environment
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B. Physical anthropology appeared as discipline in second half of the nineteenth century
C. Not simply shot and dissected: synthesis of genetics, anatomy, ecology, and behavior
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D. New dating techniques spurred paleoanthropology
E. Today, a wide variety of approaches
LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICS
Each of these topics is intended to generate ideas for a lecture/recitation format or discussion in the classroom. For
most topics, students should be able to respond and participate in discussions based solely on reading the text. For
others, you may need to provide further reading or other forms of information so that students can develop some
personal perspective and become equipped to make independent decisions about the topics.
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, 1. You may want to discuss the connection between biology and evolution and how that connection helps tie
the sub-fields of Anthropology together. It might be helpful to examine all the sub-fields from an
evolutionary perspective and tie them to biological anthropology.
Include a brief lecture examining the scientific climate in which Anthropology was born. There were recent
discoveries both of fossil hominids and in a framework for the natural selection of inherited traits. Franz
Boas would have been examining these new finds and theories to help shape his understanding of the
complexity of humanity and how it might be understood.
Include a lecture on how the sub-fields evolved. There were not always four; classically, anthropology only
consisted of cultural and biological. Why the additions? Examine the question from the perspective of the
history of Anthropology.
Include a lecture on applied science. Certain sub-fields, like Forensic Anthropology, are focused on more
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time-sensitive products than is typical of academia but still possess strong research components.
2. A lecture on problem solving would follow naturally from one on the scientific method. Present it as a
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methodology we can use when the scientific method is not appropriate. One problem-solving strategy is to:
(1) identify the problem; (2) state the goal; (3) list the constraints and assumptions; (4) suggest possible
solutions; (5) judge suggested solutions and decide which one to test; and (6) test and implement your best
solution. Use this model to analyze some current local, state, or national problem.
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3. Natural selection provides direction to evolutionary change, yet students often have trouble grasping the
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concept. Discuss examples of natural selection in detail and explore what “fitness” means in evolutionary
terms.
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4. Most anthropologists use the terms scientific creationism and creationism interchangeably. However, in the
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Religious Studies discipline, those two terms mean different things. Creation science can refer to the school
of thought known as theistic evolutionism. Scientists in this school believe in both God and evolution. God
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is accepted as the ultimate origin of all life, and evolution is seen as the “footprints” of the creative process.
Theistic evolutionists would say that God provides the “why” and evolution the “how” of life. The author
provides a thorough explanation of the shortcomings of creation science. The American Scientific
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Affiliation has material on this topic. Some books that show a variety of viewpoints are listed in the
resources for this chapter. The debate is not between scientific facts and the Bible but between certain
biblical interpretations and certain scientific extrapolations.
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
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1. Have students break into groups and assign them a specific sub-field. They should then be able to discuss
the aspect of humanity that their sub-field focuses on and how it also ties back to the goals of Anthropology
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as a whole.
2. Have students discuss their thoughts on the sub-fields in terms of how the media and popular writing has
depicted them. Sometimes we are affected by the fictional depiction of anthropologists (archaeologists in
particular) and that can color our understanding of the field. Examining the sub-fields from that perspective
may help untangle fact from fiction.
3. Invite a practitioner of one of the sub-fields into class and have them talk about the work they do. Then ask
students to explain how that work ties back into the larger description and definition of Anthropology as it
has been discussed in class.
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, 4. Invite a non-anthropologist to class who has a research focus in a related field, such as biology, and have
them discuss their work. Then ask the students to comment on how this work can contribute to research
goals in Anthropology.
RESEARCH AND WRITING TOPICS
1. Have students choose an early founder of Anthropology and write a short biographical sketch of the person.
Then have them discuss how their background facilitated or led them to their area of Anthropological
research.
2. Have students discuss different ways that anthropological data is used today. Are there any industries that
use it? Are there any practical applications of this data?
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3. Have students choose an important discovery from one of the sub-fields and write about its impact on that
sub-field and for the discipline of Anthropology.
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4. Have students choose a film or TV show that focuses on a sub-field of Anthropology. They should write a
paper that examines whether or not the characters are depicted accurately and if any true aspects of the field
are used in the storytelling.
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REVEL RESOURCES AND ACTIVITIES
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Reading: So You Want to Be An Archaeologist
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Video: Types of Archaeological Evidence
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Activity: Subfields of Biological Anthropology
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Video: Primatology
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