Anthropology is the scientific study of humans and human behavior and societies in the past and present. Social anthropology and cultural anthropology study the norms and values of societies. Linguistic anthropology studies how language affects social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans. Archaeology, which studies past human cultures through.
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Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an evolutionary perspective.[1] It is a subfield of anthropology that provides a biological perspective to the systematic study of human beings.
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Branches[edit]
As a subfield of anthropology, biological anthropology itself is further divided into several branches. All branches are united in their common orientation and/or application of evolutionary theory to understanding human biology and behavior.
- Paleoanthropology is the study of fossil evidence for human evolution, mainly using remains from extinct hominin and other primate species to determine the morphological and behavioral changes in the human lineage, as well as the environment in which human evolution occurred.
- Human biology is an interdisciplinary field of biology, biological anthropology, nutrition and medicine, which concerns international, population-level perspectives on health, evolution, anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, neuroscience, and genetics.
- Primatology is the study of non-human primate behavior, morphology, and genetics. Primatologists use phylogenetic methods to infer which traits humans share with other primates and which are human-specific adaptations.
- Human behavioral ecology is the study of behavioral adaptations (foraging, reproduction, ontogeny) from the evolutionary and ecologic perspectives (see behavioral ecology). It focuses on human adaptive responses (physiological, developmental, genetic) to environmental stresses.
- Bioarchaeology is the study of past human cultures through examination of human remains recovered in an archaeological context. The examined human remains usually are limited to bones but may include preserved soft tissue. Researchers in bioarchaeology combine the skill sets of human osteology, paleopathology, and archaeology, and often consider the cultural and mortuary context of the remains.
- Paleopathology is the study of disease in antiquity. This study focuses not only on pathogenic conditions observable in bones or mummified soft tissue, but also on nutritional disorders, variation in stature or morphology of bones over time, evidence of physical trauma, or evidence of occupationally derived biomechanic stress.
- Evolutionary psychology is the study of psychological structures from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations – that is, the functional products of natural selection or sexual selection in human evolution.
- Evolutionary biology is the study of the evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth, starting from a single common ancestor. These processes include natural selection, common descent, and speciation.
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History[edit]
Origins[edit]
Biological Anthropology looks different today than it did even twenty years ago. The name is even relatively new, having been 'physical anthropology' for over a century, with some practitioners still applying that term. [2] Biological anthropologists look back to the work of Charles Darwin as a major foundation for what they do today. However, if one traces the intellectual genealogy and the culture back to physical anthropology's beginnings--going further back than the existence of much of what we know now as the hominin fossil record--then history focuses in on the field's interest in human biological variation. Some editors, see below, have rooted the field even deeper than formal science.
Attempts to study and classify human beings as living organisms date back to ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher Plato (c. 428–c. 347 BC) placed humans on the scala naturae, which included all things, from inanimate objects at the bottom to deities at the top.[3] This became the main system through which scholars thought about nature for the next roughly 2,000 years.[3] Plato's student Aristotle (c. 384–322 BC) observed in his History of Animals that human beings are the only animals to walk upright[3] and argued, in line with his teleological view of nature, that humans have buttocks and no tails in order to give them a cushy place to sit when they are tired of standing.[3] He explained regional variations in human features as the result of different climates.[3] He also wrote about physiognomy, an idea derived from writings in the Hippocratic Corpus.[3]Scientific physical anthropology began in the 17th to 18th centuries with the study of racial classification (Georgius Hornius, François Bernier, Carl Linnaeus, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach).[4]
The first prominent physical anthropologist, the German physician Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752–1840) of Göttingen, amassed a large collection of human skulls (Decas craniorum, published during 1790–1828), from which he argued for the division of humankind into five major races (termed Caucasian, Mongolian, Aethiopian, Malayan and American).[5] In the 19th century, French physical anthropologists, led by Paul Broca (1824-1880), focused on craniometry[6] while the German tradition, led by Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902), emphasized the influence of environment and disease upon the human body.[7]
In the 1830s and 1840s, physical anthropology was prominent in the debate about slavery, with the scientific, monogenist works of the British abolitionist James Cowles Prichard (1786–1848) opposing[8] those of the American polygenistSamuel George Morton (1799–1851).[9]
In the late 19th century, German-American anthropologist Franz Boas (1858-1942) strongly impacted biological anthropology by emphasizing the influence of culture and experience on the human form. His research showed that head shape was malleable to environmental and nutritional factors rather than a stable 'racial' trait.[10] However, scientific racism still persisted in biological anthropology, with prominent figures such as Earnest Hooton and Aleš Hrdlička promoting theories of racial superiority[11] and a European origin of modern humans.[12]
'New Physical Anthropology'[edit]
In 1951 Sherwood Washburn, a former student of Hooton, introduced a 'new physical anthropology.'[13] He changed the focus from racial typology to concentrate upon the study of human evolution, moving away from classification towards evolutionary process. Anthropology expanded to include paleoanthropology and primatology.[14] The 20th century also saw the modern synthesis in biology: the reconciling of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and Gregor Mendel’s research on heredity. Advances in the understanding of the molecular structure of DNA and the development of chronological dating methods opened doors to understanding human variation, both past and present, more accurately and in much greater detail.
Notable biological anthropologists[edit]
See also[edit]
- Anthropometry, the measurement of the human individual
References[edit]
- ^Jurmain, R, et al (2015), Introduction to Physical Anthropology, Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
- ^Ellison, Peter T. (2018). 'The evolution of physical anthropology'. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 165.4: 615-625. 2018.
- ^ abcdefSpencer, Frank (1997). 'Aristotle (384–322 BC)'. In Spencer, Frank (ed.). History of Physical Anthropology. 1. New York City, New York and London, England: Garland Publishing. pp. 107–108. ISBN978-0-8153-0490-6.
- ^Marks, J. (1995) Human Biodiversity: Genes, Race, and History. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
- ^'The Blumenbach Skull Collection at the Centre of Anatomy, University Medical Centre Göttingen'. University of Goettingen. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^'Memoir of Paul Broca'. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 10: 242–261. 1881. JSTOR2841526.
- ^'Rudolf Carl Virchow facts, information, pictures'. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^Gail E. Husch (2000). Something Coming: Apocalyptic Expectation and Mid-nineteenth-century American painting - by Gail E. Husch - ...the same inward and mental nature is to be recognized in all the races of men. ISBN9781584650065. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^'Exploring U.S. History The Debate Over Slavery, Excerpts from Samuel George Morton, Crania Americana'. RRCHNM. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
- ^Moore, Jerry D. (2009). 'Franz Boas: Culture in Context'. Visions of Culture: an Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. Walnut Creek, California: Altamira. pp. 33–46.
- ^American Anthropological Association. 'Eugenics and Physical Anthropology.' 2007. August 7, 2007.
- ^Bones of contention, controversies in the search for human origins, Roger Lewin, p. 89
- ^Washburn, S. L. (1951) “The New Physical Anthropology”, Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, Series II, 13:298–304.
- ^Haraway, D. (1988) “Remodelling the Human Way of Life: Sherwood Washburn and the New Physical Anthropology, 1950–1980”, in Bones, Bodies, Behavior: Essays on Biological Anthropology, of the History of Anthropology, v.5, G. Stocking, ed., Madison, Wisc., University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 205–259.
Further reading[edit]
- Michael A. Little and Kenneth A.R. Kennedy, eds. Histories of American Physical Anthropology in the Twentieth Century, (Lexington Books; 2010); 259 pages; essays on the field from the late 19th to the late 20th century; topics include Sherwood L. Washburn (1911–2000) and the 'new physical anthropology'
- Brown, Ryan A and Armelagos, George, 'Apportionment of Racial Diversity: A Review', Evolutionary Anthropology 10:34–40 2001
- Redman, Samuel J. Bone Rooms: From Scientific Racism to Human Prehistory in Museums. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 2016.
External links[edit]
Look up phylogeny in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis reconstructions – Electronic articles published by the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History.
- Journal of Anthropological Sciences – free full text review articles available
- Mapping Transdisciplinarity in Anthropology pdf
- Fundamental Theory of Human Sciences ppt
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biological_anthropology&oldid=893205099'
The MPhil in Applied Biological Anthropology is a full-time interdisciplinary course taken over a period of ten months with core teaching in human population biology. Topics that may be covered in a given year include human ecology (with behavioural nutritional, demographic or reproductive emphasis); evolutionary and adaptive processes; molecular genetics; epidemiology and disease in past and present populations; and quantitative methods for biological anthropology. There are strong biostatistical and laboratory elements to the course as well as a focus on field studies.
This taught MPhil recruits students who are prepared for graduate work and wish to receive interdisciplinary training, but who do not have sufficient background in Applied Biological Anthropology to be considered for the research MPhil or doctoral work. This is a demanding course that enables students to obtain specialist training and knowledge in an area of Applied Biological Anthropology over a relatively short time frame. Subject to performance in the assessment, the course prepares students to undertake an advanced degree.
One to one supervision | Supervisions are offered on theses and seminars are offered on papers. Students are able to request supervisions with their supervisors as and when required. The University of Cambridge publishes an annual Code of Practice which sets out the University’s expectations regarding supervision. |
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Seminars & classes | Students attend a series of academic and professional development seminars and are expected to give 2-3 short presentations across the year on their dissertation work. |
Lectures | Students both sit lectures on subjects of their choosing and receive training in methods for statistical inference. |
Practicals | Some modules will have practical elements, depending on student choice and modules on offer. |
Small group teaching | Students are able to attend and organise seminars. |
Journal clubs | May be arranged as small interest groups. |
Literature_reviews | As arranged on an individual basis with supervisors. |
Placements
Not normally applicable .
Feedback
Formative feedback is provided in written comments on assessed work. 2-3 individual meetings with the MPhil Director are scheduled across the year, and more can be arranged on request. All marks released to students through the course of the year are provisional until certified by the final examiners meeting in September.
Thesis
All students will write a thesis of not more than 20,000 words in length, excluding tables, appendices, and references, on a subject approved by the Faculty Degree Committee. This is worth 50 per cent of the final mark.
Essays
All students will undertake a quantitative exercise on statistical analysis and interpretation and a number of essays and other written assignments which will total 50% of the final mark.
The written assignments may take the form of an essay, article, grant application or laboratory report. Excluding the quantitative exercise, these assignments will total no more than 8000 words.
Written examination
Not normally required