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Monday, 18 March 2024, 21:43 (09:43 PM) CDT, day 078 of 2024

Prehistoric Cultures

Fall 2012 Calendar -- DAY  [archive]

Fall 2012 Calendar  -- EVENING [archive]

Dates and Times to Remember 

class slides on-line 

Tuesday, 19 March 2024, 02:43 (02:43 AM) GMT, day 079 of 2024
. . . in History 
  . . . in Headlines
 

      Babel Fish Translation 
~ translate this page
 

OWL logo, Online Writing Lab, Purdue University.

 

to top of page / A/Z index   to top of page / A-Z index

History of Thought:

"The Search for Human Origins"

. . . or how to make sense out of Ch. 2 and Ch. 3 of the text . . .

Understanding Humans: Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, 11th ed.

 

Note: The little numbers in the lefthand column
refer to pages of the text that have additional information


slides: 04 begin here


pp. 20-36

  1. Major Periods in The History of Physical Anthropology
 
    1. Pre-Scientific Period (to 1859)

pp. 34-36
    1. Period of Evolutionism and Concern Over Races (1860--ca. 1940)
 
    1. The Period Since WWII

      (See"Major Characteristics of Modern Physical Anthropology, Primatology, and Paleontology.")
 

 


pp. 20-21

  1. Major Problems in The Pre-scientific Period

    1. Humans were thought to have had ancient origins

    corresponding to the time of the creation of the earth

    1. Earth was thought of as a young place

    • Related Terms:

    • creationism

    • catastrophism (George Cuvier)

    • evolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

Georges Cuvier.
George Cuvier
Understanding Humans, 10th Ed., p. 25

 

  1. Older Evolutionary Ideas

    1. Example: Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. 99-55 B.C.)

    2. Example: Genesis Account of Creation from the Old Testament
 

 


p. 21

  1. Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh, Ireland (1581-1656)

    • In 1650 determined that the Earth was created in 4004 B.C.

Archbishop James Ussher

 

 


p. 21

 

  1. Widespread Idea of the 17th and 18th Centuries

The Renaissance Web Reference site has this to say . . .

This Great Chain, first described by St. Thomas Aquina
, is what holds the world together. The Great Chain is as follows:

St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Thomas Aquinas
(1225 - 1274)

 

God
Angels
[Pope -- for Catholics]
Kings/Queens
Archbishops
Camilla Parker Bowles
(Princess Consort,
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall)

Dukes/Duchesses
Bishops
Marquises/Marchionesses
Earls/Countesses
Viscounts/Viscountesses
Barons/Baronesses
Abbots/Deacons
Knights/Local Officials
Ladies-in-Waiting
Priests/Monks
Squires
Pages
Messengers
Merchants/Shopkeepers
Tradesmen
Yeomen Farmers
Soldiers/Town Watch
Household Servants
Tennant Farmers
Shephards/Herders
Beggars
Actors
Thieves/Pirates
Gypsies
Animals
Birds
Worms
Plants
Rock
s

Notes:

  • For Catholics, the Pope is at the same level or above the King.

  • Speaking of clergy, the Church hierarchy is actually separate from the secular hierarchy. I have inserted churchmen into the Chain at the best approximation of their ranks.

  • In terms of deference, personal threat matters. In other words, you might bow to a pirate even if you technically out-rank him, because he is armed and you are not!

  • Office also makes a difference. The King's most trusted advisor gains deference greater than that to which his rank entitles him.

  • The term "Yeoman" is used here to distinguish a farmer who owns his own fields from one who is merely a tennant on someone else's fields. The term does have several other meanings in other contexts. Be thou not confused!

  • Children have, in general, a rank one or two beneath their parents while they remain minors.

  • There are as many gradations among the non-human orders as among people. A complete list would simply be too long to reproduce!

For more on how the links of the Great Chain interact, including some good practical advice, check out this article.

 


pp. 22-233
97-103

  1. Karl von Linné (Linnaeus), 1707-1778
  • Provided a system of biological classification in Systema Naturae, 1758

Systema Naturae, 1758

    • Related Terms:

      • binomial nomenclature
Karl von Linné (Linnaeus), 1707-1778

p. 97

Kingdom . . . Genus Species Variety Common Name
Animalia . . . Homo sapiens sapiens "modern" humans
Animalia . . . Gorilla gorilla gorilla "gorilla"
Animalia . . . Homo erectus pekinensis "Peking Man" / "Peking People"

Classification chart, modified from Linnaeus.
Classification chart, modified from Linnaeus.
Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 97

  • Related Terms:

    • taxon

    • taxonomy
 
 
  1. Early Discoverers of Prehistoric Evidence

. . .The first published illustration of a hand ax. . . . (Hearne's [1715] edition of Leland's Collectanea 1:1xiv). This implement is described in the Sloane Catalogue: 'No. 246. A British weapon [sic.] found, with elephant's tooth, opposite to Black Mary's, near Grayes Inn Lane' (as quoted in J. Evans 1897: 581.) (right) The same hand ax reproduced [but not included here] as a woodcut in J. Evans, Ancient Stone Implements 1897: Fig. 451. . . ." (Frank Hole and Robert F. Heizer, An Introduction to Prehistoric Archeology, 3rd ed., New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1973, p. 59.)

Hand Ax, 1715

". . .The first published illustration of a hand ax. . . . (Hearne's [1715] edition of Leland's Collectanea 1:1xiv). This implement is described in the Sloane Catalogue: 'No. 246. A British weapon [sic.] found, with elephant's tooth, opposite to Black Mary's, near Grayes Inn Lane' (as quoted in J. Evans 1897: 581.) (right) The same hand ax reproduced [but not included here] as a woodcut in J. Evans, Ancient Stone Implements 1897: Fig. 451. . . ." (Frank Hole and Robert F. Heizer, An Introduction to Prehistoric Archeology, 3rd ed., New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1973, p. 59.)
 
 
  1. Monsters . . .
Kingdom . . . Genus Species Variety Common Name
Animalia . . . Homo monstrosus . . . "monsters"
Animalia . . . Gorilla gorilla gorilla "gorilla"
Animalia . . . Homo erectus pekinensis "Peking Man"
/ "Peking People"

Homo monstrosus: Goat-footed person ("satyrs")
Goat-footed person ("satyrs")
Homo monstrosus: One-eyed people
One-eyed people
Homo monstrosus III
Homo monstrosus
Source: De Waal Malefijt, Annemarie. (1968). "Homo monstrosus," Scientific American, 219:4:112-118.


Gulliver's Travels, 1726, Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels, 1726, Jonathan Swift

 

pp. 25, 185
  1. James Hutton (1726-1797)

     

    Theory of the Earth, 1775

    • first demonstrated the immense antiquity of the earth

      • Related Terms:

        • deep time
    James Hutton (1726 - 1797)
    James Hutton
    Understanding Humans, 10th Ed., p. 26
 



pp. 25, 26, 71, 185

 

  1. Charles Lyell (1797-1875)

    • Principles of Geology, 1830

      • Related Terms:

        • uniformitarianism

 

Charles Lyell (1797-1875    Georges Cuvier.
Charles Lyell
Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 25

Principles of Geology, 1830
 

 

  1. Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes (1788-1868)

    • "Chipped stone tools are human artifacts" (1838-1839)

    • “And the tools may be as old as a million years.”

Jacques Boucher de Perthes (1788-1868)
Perthes


 
 

. . . how to make sense out of Ch. 2 of the text . . . (part 2)

Understanding Humans: Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, 11th ed.

Slides: 05 begin here



pp.5- 6, 20-21, 23-, 25, 31, 34-35, 71,101, 159, 349

  1. Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

 

    The Voyage of the Beagle, 1831-1836

     

    The route of HMS Beagle.
    The route of HMS Beagle.
    Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 27

    • On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 1859

    (See 13. below)

     

    On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, 1859


    Charles Darwin.
    Charles Darwin
    Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 26
    • Descent of Man, 1871
 


pp. 30-34

  1. Darwin's Theory of Evolution Through Natural Selection
    Thomas Malthus
    Thomas Malthus
    Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 24
    • Observation 1:
    • Without environmental pressures, every species tends to multiply in geometric progression ("superfecundity").

      (Source: Thomas Malthus, Essay on the Principle of Population, 1789, and others)

       

    • Observation 2:

      But under field conditions, although fluctuations occur frequently, the size of a population remains remarkably constant over long periods of time.

      (Source: Universal observations)

    • Observation 3:

      Limits are placed on population expansion by limited environmental resources.

      (Source: Observation reinforced by Malthus)

    • Conclusion 1:

      Therefore not all organisms will survive to adulthood and reproduce, and therefore there must be a "struggle for existence."

      (Author of inference: Malthus)

    • Observation 4:
    • Not all members of a species are alike; that is, there exists considerable individual uniqueness and variation.

      (Source: Animal breeders, taxonomists)
    • Observation 5:
    • Parents often pass their individual variations on to their offspring.

      (Source: Animal breeders)

    • Conclusion 2:
    • Hence in the struggle for existence individuals featuring favorable variations will enjoy a competitive advantage over others . . . and . . . they will produce offspring in proportionately greater numbers.

      There is "differential reproduction" and "differential survival," i.e., "natural selection."

      (Author of inference: Darwin)

    • Conclusion 3:
    • Through the action of natural selection over many generations a species could evolve.

      (Author of inference: Darwin)

      Beak variations in Darwin's Galapagos finches.
      Beak variations in Darwin's Galápagos finches.
      Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 28

                   
      Domestic dog breeds.
      Domestic dog breeds.
      Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 29

    • Related Terms:

pp. 103-105

    • biospecies


pp. 104-106

    • paleospecies
 
    • chronospecies

pp. 50, 51, 54, 57, 71

      • genotype
 
Eye color.
Punnett square
Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 51
pp. 51-52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 71
      • phenotype
Eye color.
Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 56

 

pp. 20, 21, 24, 29-30

  1. Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)

    • Working separately from Darwin, arrived at the same generalizations at the same time
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
Alfred Russel Wallace
Understanding Humans, 10th Ed., p. 29
On Natural Selection, Alfred Russel Wallace
 
 
  1. Both Darwin and Wallace Knew: Principle cause of natural selection is the environment




Ch. 3
  1. Problem: Neither Darwin nor Wallace Knew The Source of individuals variation
    • Answer eventually was in the modern study of genetics

      • inherited characteristics

pp. 42, 60, 61, 62
  1. Problem: If natural selection only weeds out what already exists, how can it produce anything new?
    • Answer eventually was in the modern study of genetics

      • mutation
      • sexual recombination
 
 

. . . how to make sense out of Ch. 3 of the text . . .

Understanding Humans: Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archaeology, 11th ed.

Slides: 06A begin here


pp.34, 48-57, 62

  1. Gregor Johann Mendel (1822 - 1884)
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822 - 1884)
Gregor Mendel
Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 48

 
  • Related Terms:

pp. 48-55
    • inherited characteristics

pp. 23-24
  • acquired characteristics
p. 34
  • blending inheritance

pp. 48-54
  • particulate inheritance

pp. 42-45
      • chromosomes

     

Scanning electron micrograph of human chromosomes. . . .  
Scanning electron micrograph of human chromosomes. . . .
Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 43

   

 

A model of a human chromosome. . . .
A model of a human chromosome. . . .
Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 44


pp. 48-54
  • dominant genes

pp. 48-54
  • recessive genes
 
    • sex-linked traits
 
 
  1. Hugo de Vries (1848-1935)
Hugo DeVries (1848-1935)
Hugo de Vries in the 1890s
Wikipedia
Rediscovered Mendel's work on plant hybrids in the spring of 1900
 
 
  1. Misconceptions of Darwin's Work

    • Some thought his work was anti-religious

    • Some thought he took the position that humans descended from an ape

      • “In the distant future . . . light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history.” -- Origin of Species, 1859
 

  1. Thomas H. Huxley (1825-1895)

Thomas H. Huxley (1825-1895)

Frontispiece from T. H. Huxley's Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature,  (London: Williams and Norgate, 1863)

Frontispiece from T. H. Huxley's Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature
(London: Williams and Norgate, 1863)

 

Conceptual Changes between the Eighteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Major Characteristics of Modern Physical Anthropology


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