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BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY PRACTICE TEST Q&A
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BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY PRACTICE TEST Q&A
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BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGYPRACTICE TEST Q&A
Anthropology - Answer-The study of human populations and cultures in evolutionary,
historical, and comparative frameworks
General characteristics of anthropology - Answer-1. Holistic (draws from many other
fields)
2. Want to understand the range of human variation
3. Involves field work
4. Wants to be EXPLORATORY, not DESCRIPTIVE
4 subfields of anthropology - Answer-1. Cultural anthropology (ethnography)
2. Archaeology
3. Linguistic anthropology
4. Physical (biological anthropology)
Subfields of biological anthropology - Answer-1. Paleoanthropology
2. Human osteology
3. Forensic anthropology
4. Primatology
5. Anthropological genetics
6. Human biology/human adaptation
Paleoanthropology - Answer-Study the fossil remains of hominid evolution, not studying
dinosaurs
Human Osteology - Answer-Study of bones in recent & prehistoric humans
Forensic Anthropology - Answer-Specialized human osteologists, they study bones in
recent & prehistoric times in a legal context, learn the human skeleton and then learn
what trauma does to the human skeleton
Primatology - Answer-The study of primates - comparative anatomy, behavior,
evolution, & ecology
Anthropological genetics - Answer-Genetic change is the underlying foundation for
evolutionary change:
1. Genetic structure & action
2. Inheritance patterns
3. Species relationships
Human biology/human adaptation - Answer-The study of biological variation in modern
population & how it is adapted to and influenced by ecological and social factors. Ex:
, people's response to high altitudes - some can't stop throwing up, others black out,
others are fine
The Big 3 Unifying Themes in Biological Anthropology (not mutually exclusive) -
Answer-1. Evolutionary Model
2. Biocultural Model
3. Comparative Model
Evolutionary Model - Answer-Origins of variation, ultimate level of explanation, Ex: study
bone density, level of body fat, avg body temperature, metabolism - tends to burn a lot
more calories than the avg person, body makeup
Biocultural Model - Answer-Interaction of biology and culture - not either biology or
culture, but both biology and culture. Ex: breast feeding on schedule vs. on demand - on
demand breast milk is much fattier and has more nutrients; impacts of your diet, fat
takes more energy to process which can keep you warmer
Comparative Model - Answer-Across primates, throughout time, among contemporary
human populations. Ex: how primates adapted into humans - amount of hair,
Neanderthals were built for cold environments & died when it got warm
Scientific Theory - Answer-Only means that it has not been proven wrong
Scientific Method - Answer-*Designed to disprove things (NOT prove them)
*Assumes there is an objective, natural (non-supernatural) reality that can be
understood through observation
*Relies on principle of parsimony (simplest way)
Scientific Method Steps - Answer-1. Observe - Amy saw the sky was blue
2. Question - she wants to know why it is blue
3. Hypothesis - someone has encased the earth in blue cellophane
4. Test - she will fly a rocket into the sky and try to rip the cellophane
5. Results - she never hits the cellophane and orbits the earth and then comes up with a
new hypothesis
A way of knowing based on... - Answer-Observation (empirical evidence),
generalization, verification (testing), building on previous developments/cumulative
Pre-Darwinian theories (Biblical & classical interpretations) - Answer-*Plato - Forms
*Great Chain of Being: Aristotle, later adopted by church, linear, hierarchy, divine
creation of nature, static/non-evolutionary
*Young Earth - James Ussher
Scientific Revolution - Answer-*Heliocentric Universe
*Copernicus & Galileo
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