ANTH 1100
Study Guide
ESSAY
Discuss how physical anthropologists use the scientific method.
What is physical anthropology? Discuss the various branches of physical (or
biological) anthropology.
What is anthropology?
Discuss how Franz Boas contributed to the development of ideas about race.
Detail Darwin’s major contribution to the theory of evolution.
What evolutionary ideas existed before darwin?
Why was Darwin’s 1859 published theory of natural selection not widely
accepted by his peers? What later scientific advance was critical to the
subsequent broad acceptance of natural selection as a major force in evolutionary change?
What are some of the important scientific discoveries that laid the
groundwork for Darwin’s theory of evolution?
Why is Linnaeus’s taxonomic system called a “nested hierarchy”?
Considering that Linnaeus was not an evolutionist, why is his system still
used today by evolutionary biologists?
Use what you know about meiosis to explain Mendel’s principle of
segregation and Law of Independent Assortment.
Describe and draw the steps involved in protein synthesis.
What is the evolutionary significance of meiosis?
Is race a valid, biologically meaningful concept? Why or why not?
Distinguish between ethnicity, race, and human biological variation.
Discuss how adaptations to local environments have likely influenced the
evolution of skin color in different geographic regions of the world.
Discuss the significance of workload adaptation for skeletal function and
maintenance of bone strength.
Discuss anatomical characteristics that relate to primates’ arboreal
adaptation.
Describe distinctive features of primate parenting relative to that of other
mammals.
How might living organisms’ evolution have been affected by landmasses’
movements over time (plate tectonics)?
How are fossilis dated.