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Anthropology

<OpenstaxParagraph>
	<OpenstaxTerm>Human variability</OpenstaxTerm> is attributed to a combination of environmental and genetic factors, including social status, ethnicity, age, nutrition, quality of life, access to healthcare, work and occupation, etc. As mentioned in Chapter 1, anthropology contributes many insights into both the social construct of race and the impacts racial categories have on people’s lives. The focus in this chapter is the role of natural selection in human variation.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	A number of changes are associated with the Neolithic era and the rise of agriculture around 10,000 to 8,000 years ago. Many have noted that changes during this time period did not have positive effects on human and environmental health. The <OpenstaxTerm>evolutionary mismatch</OpenstaxTerm> hypothesis proposes that our bodies are best suited to the environments we have spent much of our evolutionary history in, which are very different from the environments we inhabit today (Li, van Vugt, and Colarelli 2018).
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Humans evolved for one million years as hunter-gatherers. Today, human bodies are still trying to adapt to the largely grain-based diet brought about by agriculture, a diet characterized by less diversity and lower levels of nutrition than that of a typical hunter-gatherer. Incomplete adaptation to this change has made people susceptible to a number of diseases and nutritional deficiencies. Lactose intolerance is a prime example. The domestication of cattle and the drinking of cow’s milk began during the agricultural age, not very long ago in evolutionary history. Currently 65 percent of humans are unable to digest cow’s milk. Dental caries (cavities) are another problem linked to the change in diet associated with agriculture. The grain-based and high-sugar diets associated with agriculture are very different from the diet of hunter-gatherers. Neither our bodies nor the bacteria in our mouths have had time to fully adapt to this change.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Another adaptation that took place during the Neolithic era is related to variation in skin pigmentation. Humans who left Africa and settled in Europe about 40,000 years most likely had dark skin with high levels of <OpenstaxTerm>melanin</OpenstaxTerm>, which provides protection against ultraviolet radiation New data confirms that about 8,500 years ago, early hunter-gatherers in Spain, Luxembourg, and Hungary also had darker skin. <OpenstaxTerm>Skin pigmentation</OpenstaxTerm> is an adaptation to ultraviolet radiation, with different tones offering different advantages, depending on one’s distance from the equator. As humans migrated to the Northern Hemisphere, they were exposed to less ultraviolet radiation, which also meant less absorption of the Vitamin D needed for strong bones and other important immune functions. In order to compensate for this loss and to allow for greater exposure to ultraviolet radiation, skin pigmentation became lighter.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	Another example of human variation as a result of adaptation to the environment can be seen in Indigenous populations in the Andes, Tibet, and the Ethiopian highlands. Each of these three groups faces the same environmental challenge, living in a low-oxygen environment, and they have responded with unique adaptations. Tibetans compensate for low oxygen levels by taking more breaths per minute than people who live at sea level. Those living at high altitudes in the Andes have been found to have higher concentrations of hemoglobin in their blood than other people. Ethiopians living at altitudes of 9,800 to 11,580 feet have neither of these adaptations. The explanation as to how the Ethiopian highlanders thrive in their environment is still a mystery.
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxFigure id="fig-00004" src="https://openstax.org/apps/archive/20240226.174525/resources/8c5e9526b3270549a113b5cd89ae0137d16b48f7" alt="A valley between two very steep mountains. A third mountain is visible in the background, this one covered with snow." mediaType="image/jpeg" width="800" height="600" />
<OpenstaxFigureText width="800">
	<strong>Figure 5.34</strong> A valley in the Andes near Ollantaytambo, Peru. Indigenous peoples living at high altitudes in the Andes have been found to have higher concentrations of hemoglobin in their blood than other people. (credit: “Snows of the Andes” by David Stanley/flickr, CC BY 2.0)
</OpenstaxFigureText>
<OpenstaxParagraph>
	This chapter has explored just some of the immense biological and cultural diversity of the genus <OpenstaxEm>Homo</OpenstaxEm>. This diversity has emerged in response to highly complex and variable environments connected to factors such as exposure to UV radiation, low oxygen levels at high altitude, changes in diet as a result of hunting or agricultural practices, geographic isolation in island populations, and climate variability and temperature. The genus <OpenstaxEm>Homo</OpenstaxEm> has proven to be resilient and adaptive in response to whatever environment or challenge it has faced. Variation is the key to survival. While scientists recognize that biological and cultural variation has greatly contributed to our human evolution, the human species is now facing a moment in which we must contemplate a difficult question: To what extent has our success as a species jeopardized the survival of other species and the health of the planet we all call home?
</OpenstaxParagraph>
<OpenstaxNote>
	<OpenstaxNoteTitle> Mini-Fieldwork Activity </OpenstaxNoteTitle> <OpenstaxH3> Identify the Fossil </OpenstaxH3>
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		 
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
	<OpenstaxParagraph>
		Imagine that you have just discovered a hominin fossil with some of the characteristics listed below. Write each of the characteristics on a card and shuffle them together. Then, working in a group, decide which characteristics belong in the <OpenstaxEm>Homo</OpenstaxEm> group and which belong in the <OpenstaxEm>Australopithecus</OpenstaxEm> group. What scientific name (genus/species) would you give it, and what criteria did you use? (Note: This is an actual hominin fossil!)
	</OpenstaxParagraph>
	<OpenstaxUl>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Brain similar in shape and structure to modern human brains
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Hands suited for tool use
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Small jaws and teeth
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Third molar larger than other molars (found in australopithecines and some early <OpenstaxEm>Homo</OpenstaxEm> species)
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Skull shaped more like <OpenstaxEm>H. erectus</OpenstaxEm> or <OpenstaxEm>H. habilis</OpenstaxEm>
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			A sagittal keel (as seen in <OpenstaxEm>H. erectus</OpenstaxEm>)—a small raised ridge on top of the skull
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Bipedal and walked with a human gait
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Humanlike feet with arches and ankles
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Flaring blades of the pelvis (primitive)
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Broad rib cage
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Lower part of pelvis like modern humans’
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Small braincase (EQ 4.5)
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Skull shows prognathism (protruding face)
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Primitive shoulder position suggests suitability for climbing and swinging
		</OpenstaxLi>
		<OpenstaxLi>
			Curved fingers (What would that suggest?)
		</OpenstaxLi>
	</OpenstaxUl>
</OpenstaxNote>

5.4.3 Natural Selection and Human Variation: Are Humans Still Evolving?

1 What Is Anthropology?

1.1 The Study of Humanity, or "Anthropology Is Vast"

1.1.1 The Heart of Anthropology: Central Narrative and Commitments

1.1.2 Central Commitment #1: Exploring Sociocultural Diversity

1.1.3 Central Commitment #2: Understanding How Societies Hold Together

1.1.4 Central Commitment #3: Examining the Interdependence of Humans and Nature

1.2 The Four-Field Approach: Four Approaches within the Guiding Narrative

1.2.1 Biological Anthropology

1.2.2 Archaeology

1.2.3 Cultural Anthropology

1.2.4 Linguistic Anthropology

1.2.5 How the Four Fields Work Together: The Example of Race

1.3 Overcoming Ethnocentrism

1.3.1 Enculturation and Ethnocentrism

1.3.2 Primitivism and Orientalism

1.4 Western Bias in Our Assumptions about Humanity

1.4.1 Primitivism and Orientalism in Popular Culture

1.4.2 The Bias of Backwardness

1.5 Holism, Anthropology’s Distinctive Approach

1.5.1 Society as an Integrated Whole

1.5.2 Sources of Contradiction, Conflict, and Change

1.6 Cross-Cultural Comparison and Cultural Relativism

1.6.1 Relativism Is Not “Anything Goes”

1.6.2 Morality, Activism, and Cultural Relativism

1.7 Reaching for an Insider’s Point of View

1.7.1 The Challenge of Representing Others

1.7.2 Collaborative Methods of Representation

1.7.3 Working across Cultures toward Common Goals

1.7.4 Suggested Readings

2 Methods: Cultural and Archaeological

2.1 Archaeological Research Methods

2.1.1 Archaeological Techniques

2.1.2 Archaeological Dating Methods

2.2 Conservation and Naturalism

2.2.1 Early Efforts

2.2.2 Salvage Anthropology

2.2.3 Museum Collections

2.2.4 Interpretation and Voice

2.3 Ethnography and Ethnology

2.3.1 The Development of Ethnography and Ethnology

2.3.2 Perspective and Interpretation in Ethnography

2.4 Participant Observation and Interviewing

2.4.1 Participant Observation

2.4.2 Interviewing Informants

2.4.3 Ethical Considerations

2.5 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

2.5.1 Differences between Quantitative and Qualitative Information

2.5.2 Modeling

2.5.3 The Science of Anthropology

2.6 Collections

2.6.1 Archives

2.6.2 Three-Dimensional Collections

2.6.3 Ownership

2.6.4 Suggested Readings

3 Culture Concept Theory: Theories of Cultural Change

3.1 The Homeyness of Culture

3.2 The Winkiness of Culture

3.3 The Elements of Culture

3.3.1 Culture Is What We Make

3.3.2 Culture Is What We Do

3.3.3 Culture Is What We Think

3.4 The Aggregates of Culture

3.4.1 Symbols

3.4.2 Ritual

3.4.3 Social Structure

3.5 Modes of Cultural Analysis

3.5.1 Evolution, Adaptation, and Historical Particularism

3.5.2 Functionalism

3.5.3 Structuralism

3.5.4 Ontology

3.6 The Paradoxes of Culture

3.6.1 Paradox 1: Culture Is Continuous, but It Changes

3.6.2 Paradox 2: Culture Is Bounded but Mobile

3.6.3 Paradox 3: Culture Is Consensual but Contested

3.6.4 Paradox 4: Culture Is Shared, but It Varies

3.6.5 Suggested Readings

4 Biological Evolution and Early Human Evidence

4.1 What Is Biological Anthropology?

4.1.1 Looking to the Deep Past

4.1.2 Exploring What It Means to Be Human

4.2 What’s in a Name? The Science of Taxonomy

4.2.1 Defining the Science of Taxonomy

4.2.2 Defining a Species

4.3 It’s All in the Genes! The Foundation of Evolution

4.3.1 The Units of Life

4.3.2 Gregor Mendel and the Laws of Heredity

4.3.3 Mendelian Inheritance in Humans

4.4 Evolution in Action: Past and Present

4.4.1 Early Evolutionists and the Fixity of Species

4.4.2 Charles Darwin’s Role in Changing Views of the Natural World

4.4.3 Understanding Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection

4.5 What Is a Primate?

4.5.1 What Is a Primate?

4.5.2 Primate Behavioral Variation

4.5.3 Explaining Primate Success

4.5.4 Primate Classification and Taxonomy

4.6 Origin of and Classification of Primates

4.6.1 Understanding Concepts of Time

4.6.2 Fossils and Dating Methods

Question	Answer
a hypothesis that disease and nutritional deficiencies result when people’s bodies are unable to adapt to an environment that they have not spent most of their evolutionary history in.	evolutionary mismatch
substance that determines the color of skin pigmentation and protects people from ultraviolet radiation. Skin will have higher levels of melanin the closer to the equator one lives.	melanin