Be An Anthropologist

The concept of descent with modification, or evolution, has a great deal of evidence in its support. Indicate the major types of evidence? The concept or idea that species change and evolve into new and different species was described and was an established concept in Darwin’s day this was described as descent with modification. The Concept of descent with modification has major evidence in support, in fact, we no longer refer to this adaption as descent with modification, rather it is now called biological evolution. According to our text species of living things are related in some fashion similar to a branching tree.

However, the process is not quite that simple adaption relies on several processes and to prove this or the evidence used to confirm this is ecology. Science uses the habitats of living organisms to explain the relationships between the organisms. Secondly, scientists use the concept of niche which is the adaptive response to an environment. In addition to this information, science uses geological and fossil records to explain the changes and diversity that have happened between species over time, through the concepts of natural selection. Scientists believe each fossil is a piece of evidence about the way species adapted and the changes that took place over a period of time.

Humans are Old World primates

Humans however have striking similarities as well as differences from that of the chimp or gorilla. For instance vision human vision is the same as any other diurnal primate meaning we clearly see the same as monkeys and apes. Our sense of smell is the same as that of the anthropoid primate or ape. Similarly, our behavior patterns closely resemble of most old world apes, humans live in societies that -are based on collective conscious responses of a group of individuals.

However as I mentioned before humans also have significant differences from of other primates, for instance, human growth, maturity, and reproduction is clearly different humans birth twins one out of every two-hundred and fifty births, human babies are born far more helpless than any other primate species. Also, nonhuman primates mature much more rapid than that of a human. The human brain is far larger than that of any other primate human brain are three-times the size predicted against human body weight thus a larger brain indicates human primates are more intelligent than that of other primates like monkeys, or apes.

1. Distinguish between members of genus Australopithecus and Paranthropus in terms of time, location, and physical features

The earliest known and accepted fossils are categorized as Australopithecus or the southern ape. A well known and famous fossil known as Lucy belongs to this fossil group, fossils of Australopithecus’s have been found in areas such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Chad, and South Africa and are dated as far back as 4.2 – 2.3 MYA.

These primates are known as bipedal apes meaning they walked upright, members of this primate group also had facial features that were apelike, had brains half the size of chimpanzees and weighed on average of one-hundred and five pounds. It is thought these primates adapted to arboreal and terrestrial environments because dental exams of their teeth indicate a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and leaves. On the contrary members of the Paranthropus primates have fossils that have also been recognized these fossils have been found in places like Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa which are dated as far back as 2.8 – 1MYA.

This species was thought to have been robust in terms of features relating to eating/chewing. It was discovered this species has skull features that indicate important chewing muscles, broad dished out faces, and large cheekbones. All traits point to diets that consist largely of vegetables, fruits, and any other foods thought to be found in open areas.

2. Explain why variation in skin color is of no use in defining human races.

In trying to use information that I have learned over the course of the last few days, it would be no use in trying to define the human race based on skin color because all humans have essentially come from the same place meaning we have all developed through evolution. Basically, my understanding was that people/ humans ultimately developed stronger or weaker pigment depending on where there lived after the evolved for instance darker people may have come from hotter places where a deeper or darker pigment was needed to protect a person from the sun. Or on the other hand, a lighter person assumed lighter pigment because they did not live in a place so hot so their skin or pigment adapted to the area in which they lived.