Section 201; 2020:

Spring 2012 Anthropology 1:  Introduction to Physical Anthropology Office: ArtB 330 D Dr. Blair Gibson           Phone No: (310) 532-3670 x3580  email: dbgibson@elcamino.edu

Office hrs: M T 8:30-9:00 AM; M W 2:30-3:30 PM; TTH 2:00-3:00 PM         

Website: www.elcamino.edu/faculty/dbgibson

Texts:  Required: The Human Species, 8th ed., John Relethford                

                          : A Photographic Atlas for Physical Anthropology, Whitehead et al.

Strongly recommended: The Human Evolution Coloring Book, 2nd ed., Adrienne Zihlman

3 units; 3 hours lecture

Recommended Preparation: Eligibility for English 1A

Credit, degree applicable Transfer CSU, UC

This course explores and emphasizes the evolution and physical diversity of the human species. Topics include genetics, mechanisms of evolutionary change, human variation, and the reconstruction of human evolutionary history through examination of the fossil record and comparative studies of the living non-human primates.

Course Objectives

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of the scientific method and its significance to science. 2. Describe and evaluate the major ideas that preceded and led to the development of evolutionary theory and analyze modern theories of Darwinian evolution through natural selection. 3. Identify and describe the processes by which genetic information is transmitted from one generation to the next. 4. Identify and discuss the various components of the DNA molecule and the process of protein synthesis. 5. Explain and assess the mechanisms of evolutionary change and explain how each one contributes to the evolutionary process. 6. Contrast point and chromosomal mutations and discuss the significance of point mutations to evolution. 7. List the major anatomical characteristics of primates associated with movement and the senses, and explain how they evolved as adaptations to an arboreal environment. 8. Contrast the major forms of primate social structure and describe their relationship to the primate species’ ecology. 9. Explain the differences between relative and chronometric dating and provide an example of chronometric dating using a radiometric technique. 10. Evaluate the benefits of bipedalism in reference to the particular environment in which most hominid evolution occurred. 11. Compare and contrast the skull characteristics of Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus (or Paranthropus) boisei, and Homo habilis in relation to the particular diet of each. 12. Contrast the anatomical characteristics of Homo habilis and Homo erectus, and analyze those contrasts in reference to their respective environments and subsistence strategies. 13. Analyze the characteristics of Homo neanderthalensis in reference to the environment in which this hominid lived. 14. Evaluate the models that account for the origin of Homo sapiens, outlining the major criteria and evidence supporting each. 15. Outline the cultural stages in the evolution of the genus Homo, making reference to the particular Homo species, tool industry, and environmental context associated with each stage. 16. Explain the difference between physiological adjustments and adaptations and explain skin color and body build as adaptations to particular environments.

Student Learning Outcomes: In a written assignment, students will explain how natural selection is related to environmental factors by using an example that identifies key processes of natural selection and illustrates how selective pressures can change.

ADA Statement: El Camino College is committed to providing educational accommodations for students with disabilities upon the timely request by the student to the instructor. A student with a disability, who would like to request an academic accommodation, is responsible for identifying herself/himself to the instructor and to the Special Resources Center. To make arrangements for academic accommodations, contact the Special Resources Center.    

   Course resources: Syllabi, handouts, and Powerpoint lectures can be viewed and downloaded on the class web page, accessed through my faculty index page. Copies of the textbooks are on reserve in the library in the reserve reading area.

Course requirements

A quiz on the syllabus, 4 tests, a worksheet, a population genetics problem set, an anatomy quiz, and a report on non-human primates found at a zoo. All exams will be multiple choice and are non-cumulative, and will include questions on any films that are shown. Bring Scantron form 882 ES to all exams.

Grading      worksheet, quizzes, and problem set   25% (100 pts.)

              midterms                                            50% (200 pts.)

              Non-Human Primate Report              25%  (100 pts.)

Point breakdown: Syllabus quiz 13 pts., natural selection worksheet 25 pts., Hardy-Weinberg worksheet 25 pts., primate anatomy quiz 27 pts., exams 50 pts.

The grading scale for the exams hinges on the highest grade achieved on the exam. It then descends in 10% increments from that score.

Extra Credit: students are encouraged to go to relevant public lectures and do oral presentations of newsworthy items before the class for extra credit. See the extra credit guidelines for details.

*** If you have any special problems or pressures, please discuss them with me as soon as you can, not at the end of the term!***

Student responsibilities: Full participation is expected from the participants in this course. This responsibility entails attending class meetings, turning in work punctually, and reading the assigned materials. There are, sadly, consequences for not living up to these responsibilities:

  Late assignments – I accept late work, but the grade on an assignment is dropped by the point equivalent of one grade level (10%) for every class meeting it is late. Unexcused absences or mechanical difficulties with a computer, storage device, or printer are not valid excuses. Assignments handed in late are graded at my convenience.

 “Lost” assignments - My Operative Assumption: I don't lose assignments. If it is claimed that I have lost a student’s work the following procedure is followed: 1) I will request that the student immediately produce a back-up photocopy of the assignment in question. The backup must be furnished to me within 24 hours of the request. 2) A search is made of my office, car, and home for the student’s original work. If the original is not found, 3) I retain the backup until the very end of the semester. At the end of the semester I look over the student’s record of attendance and assignment completion. If the student has missed 3 classes or fewer, and has turned in all other work punctually then I grade the backup and enter the points without deduction. If the student’s class attendance and work submission record is irregular, or the so-called back-up looks fishy then I conclude that I have been lied to and not only throw the backup into the trash can, but also erase all of the student’s extra credit points from my records. I will not assume responsibility for any work or other submissions purportedly shoved under my door or placed in my box.

  Attendance - I take attendance at the beginning of the period. I don't adjust attendance retroactively, so if a student misses roll it is the student's responsibility to seek a correction on the day of the tardy. A student who is absent on a given day is still responsible for what transpired in class on that day.

An unexcused absence is one not justified by reference to an academic or school activity, or a note or paperwork from a doctor, hospital, or govt. office. An unexcused absence total exceeding two weeks of class time will result in a student being barred from accumulating further extra credit, an absence total of any kind equaling three weeks of classes will also bar a student from earning extra credit. The student is to come to the instructor's office to obtain any handout or unclaimed work a student has missed due to an absence. Attendance will figure into my grading at the end of term if the grade is borderline. In line with college guidelines, I consider absences exceeding a week to be excessive.

Tardies: a tardy counts as ½ of an unexcused absence.   

  Make-ups: No make-ups are allowed on the syllabus quiz, museum quiz or the final exam. Exams may only be made up under the following conditions: 1) the reason for missing the exam is a serious documentable crisis –  a family vacation is not an allowable excuse 2) the instructor has been contacted on the day of the crisis or before. 3) Documentation of the problem is furnished to me prior to taking the make-up. Make-ups may only be taken in my office during my office hours. I will only delay handing back an exam one class meeting to accommodate make-ups. Under no circumstance will I administer an exam prior to its scheduled date.

Cell phones and laptop computers – The use of these devices is not allowed during the class period.

  Unrighteous behavior: I don't fool around with those who cheat. Cheating includes copying off another's test, copying another student's assignment, or lifting material from a source, including the texts, without proper acknowledgement (plagiarism). Learn the consequences at your peril!

If you wish for me to waiting for you at grade time with vengeance in my heart, then do any of the following 1) leave the classroom while lecture is in progress, and for added effect, cross directly in front of me to make sure I lose my train of thought. Doing this will result in 20 points being deducted from the students point total at the end of the semester for every infraction. It is never OK to leave a lecture early! 2) read a newspaper, talk to your neighbor or sleep while lecture is in progress. 3) bring an active cell phone to class, and if you really want to see an enraged instructor, take a cell phone call while class is in progress. Text or play with your phone during class. If I see you doing this, you will be asked to leave the class. These are all effective ways of communicating to me your interest level in the class, and the extent of your respect for me as a teacher.            

  Drops - Generally speaking, I will automatically drop anyone with two consecutive weeks of absences, and I may if the student drops more than 30 points below the boundary to pass the course (after discussing the situation with the affected student). However, oversights occur, so ultimately it is the responsibility of the student to withdraw from the class if the student wishes to do so.

  Incompletes - an incomplete will only be given to a student caught in the throes of a crisis not related to class performance.

  Grade Reporting – Scores are uploaded to Gradebook during the semester, except for extra credit, which is uploaded at the end of the semester. Your scores and the final grade may be viewed online.

Letters of Recommendation: I will not agree to write a letter of recommendation for a student who has not completed a course with me. Better letters generally result from the student having had several courses with me, especially my Museum Studies course. If a student would have gotten a C or D grade in a course, but received an A or B due to completing extra credit work, the letter will reflect these facts.

Lectures

Week    Lecture topic and readings                       Relethford                   [Zihlman]

(1)  The field of biological anthropology               Chpt. 1 

    Receive natural selection worksheet

(2)  Science, evolution, and natural selection          Chpt. 1: 9-27   [Section 1 Intro., 1-1, 1-2]

      Chpt. 4: 91-102                                                                              

(3)  Monday Feb. 27^th  Syllabus Quiz

Inheritance and population genetics                 Chpt. 2: 40-57        [1-10, 1-11, 1-12, 6-13]

                                                                        Chpt 3; Chpt 14

      Receive genetics worksheet.                         

(4)  NS worksheet due Mon. March 5^th              

Cell biology, DNA and protein synthesis       Chpt. 2: 31-end  [Section 2 Intro., 2-1 – 2-5]

(5)  Test #1 on the material covered weeks 1-3  Monday March 12th

Behavioral genetics                                     Chpt. 14: 376                  [3-14]                            

Genetics Worksheet due Wed.  March 14^th

(6)  Genetic evidence for evolution in humans:       Chpt. 15                   [6-11, 6-14, 6-15]

     human polymorphisms.                                         

(7)  The living primates: ecological concepts,        Chpts. 4 & 5  [Section 3 & 4 Intro., 1-6 , 1-7,  3-1 – 3-3, 3-5, 3-6, 4-1, 4-4 – 4-9, 4-13, 4-15, 4-16, 4-18, 4-20, 4-22, 4-33 - 4-35]

        cladistics, and core characteristics                Whitehead Chpt. 1  [Appendix, 3-21, 3-24]

(8)  Primate comparative anatomy                      Whitehead  Chpt. 1; Chpt 2 

[3-8 – 3-17, 5-14 – 5-17]

       Receive museum quiz                                        

       Museum quiz taken Wednesday April 4^th                                               

(9) Primate social structure and behavior                    Chpt. 6                        [3-4, 3-23, 3-29, 4-33]

  …. capacity for learning, and communication.                      Chpt. 7            [3-32 – 3-35]

Non-human Primate Report due Monday April 16th

Test #2  Wednesday April 18^th

(10)  Dating techniques.                                              Chpt. 8                        [1-21, 1-22, 5-4]

(11)  The origins of the primates                     Chpt. 9  [4-2, 4-3, 4-10, 4-11, 4-27, 4-28, 4-29]

(12)  The origins of the Hominidae                             Chpt. 10        [5-5 – 5-13, 5-16 – 5-22]

Test  #3  Wednesday May 9^th

(13)  Early Homo                                                          Chpt. 11    [5-23 – 5-25]                         

(14)  Homo sapiens.                                                      Chpt. 12; Chpt. 16: 410-11    [5-26]

(15)  Homo sapiens sapiens                                                         Chpt. 13                   [5-27 – 5-29]

(16)  Final on Wednesday of the last week of class: June 6^th

Extra Credit Guidelines     Dr. Gibson

As I value a strong work ethic, students are encouraged to improve their scores through
extra-credit work. I keep a running tally of extra credit points at the far
column of my grade book. These are added to a student's point total after I
have calculated the semester grade scale. I don't log extra credit submissions
individually due to the large and varied forms that they may take, so students
should retain items that have been handed back to them in case there is a
dispute concerning what the student has done. The effect that extra credit
points have on a student's grade depends upon where they stand with respect to
grade boundaries, and how much extra credit work has been done.

No presentations or any other submissions will be allowed during the final two weeks of class.

There are three ways to earn extra credit:

1) I believe that rather than being a purely solitary exercise - the
knowledge that the student gains should be shared with the class. Extra credit
can therefore take the form of a short (c. 5 min.) oral presentation on
something the student has come across in the media that is relevant to the
course material. This exercise benefits both the student (gaining confidence in
public speaking), and the class. Yes, this also means that written reports are not
acceptable. Any of the following may be turned to as a source: a recent
newspaper or magazine article, a book, a film or TV program, a relevant museum
exhibit, or a public lecture on a topic relevant to the class. Things culled
from internet media outlets are ok, too, except as noted below

Exclusions:

It is not a term paper or research project. This means that reports on old books,
chapters from textbooks, or on a topic that you have researched will not be
allowed. Please don't go to the library and dig up something arcane or
obscure from a scientific journal. It should be something that the class can
easily relate to, and relevant to some aspect of the course material;
e.g. in the case of physical anthropology, no dinosaurs, please. The article must
be from a publication that appeared this year, preferably within the
last few months. Promotional internet press releases, internet summaries of
full length articles, informational texts from institutional web sites, and
Wikipedia or other online encyclopedia entries are not ok. Anything from the web should be about four pages long minimum.
Finally, extra credit means doing extra work, so reports drawn from your life
experiences, however interesting, are not allowed.

Please clear whatever it is you are considering with me prior to class, and give me an idea
what you are going to say or do. Please, no DVD's. The presentation should
ideally be 5 minutes or under. Please retain a copy of the article you
presented, initialed by myself, in case there is a question about your
extra-credit points at the end of term

Points and limitations:  I will give 10 points per presentation.
Students are limited to 1 presentation per class meeting, and no more than
three presentations total will be allowed. Students may not duplicate the
presentation of another student.

2) An officially sanctioned visit or excursion to a relevant museum exhibit, conference, symposium, ritual gathering, public lecture, collection
of primates, or archaeological site. Trips made by the anthropology club often
do fall into this category, and can earn the participant points.

The visit must be sanctioned by myself before points will be allocated. Do not go to
something and expect it to be retroactively sanctioned. Sanctioning depends
upon its relevance to the class. The number of points awarded is variable,
depending upon the distance the student traveled in order to participate, and
the cost of the event to the student.

Submit a one-page, typed description of the museum exhibit with the ticket attached. 

3) Attending a free department-sponsored lecture. As these are free and
occur on campus. 5 pts. are awarded per lecture. In order to gain credit, the
student must submit a 1 page typed summary of the lecture. This summary
must reach me within a week of the event.    

A word of advice: Don't wait until the last minute to do extra credit. The reasons are:
1) the instructor may be absent on the last day when presentations are allowed.
2) Many other people do this, and they may have the same article to read, and
only one person can present any one article. Finally, 3) articles don't always
conveniently present themselves in moments of desperation.

Finally, extra credit is meant to be an assist to students who are otherwise making an effort to do well in the class, it is not
meant to be a means of compensating for poor attendance. Therefore, students
with an excess of two week's worth of unexcused absences will be barred
from acquiring additional extra credit points. Students will also be barred
from earning extra credit if they disrupt class with tardies - arriving at
class after role taking has ended. Each tardy will count as ½ unexcused
absence.

Relevant Institutions (by discipline). You may only visit an institution for credit that corresponds to the class that you are
enrolled in.  

Physical Anthropology (Anthropology 1): San Diego Museum of Man

Southern California Primate Research Forum (scprf.ucsc.edu)

Gibbon Conservation Center (gibboncenter.org). Note: You cannot visit this
institution for credit after the third exam on non-human primates.

Cultural Anthropology (Anthropology 2):

 Fowler Museum of Cultural History/ Fowler Museum at UCLA

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art (www.bowers.org). Address: 2002 N. Main St.

Santa Ana

San Diego Museum of Man

Autry National Center/Southwest Museum of the American Indian (This building

may not be finished yet, call for an update-don't go to the cowboy part!).

Pacific Asia Museum

Japanese American Museum, Chinese American Museum - both in downtown LA.

California African American Museum (focus on cultural exhibits, especially those concerning Africa).

Archaeology (Anthropology 3): UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology  (www.ioa.ucla.edu).

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (archaeology exhibits only).

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art (call ahead to enquire about archaeology-themed exhibits).

Getty Center in Malibu (not the one in the Sepulveda pass, unless there is an archaeology

exhibit).

Pacific Asia Museum, Los Robles Ave, Pasadena.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (archaeological exhibits only.

Chen Art Gallery (in the Sunrider Corporate headquarters on Carson, you must call ahead for an appointment to see it (310) 781-3808)

Ancient Civilizations of the World/ of the Americas (Anthropology 12 & 8)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA, archaeological exhibits only - e.g the new

Latin American hall). See their website for relevant lectures as well.

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (archaeology exhibits only)

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art (call ahead to enquire about archaeology-themed exhibits,

or go on to their website).

San Diego Museum of Man - Small permanent exhibit on the Maya.

Getty Center in Malibu (Anthro. 12 only, except for temporary exhibits).

Chen Art Gallery (Anthro. 12 only).


Mesoamerican Network - Now based at CSULA, visit their website for details on the

biannual conference.

Skirball Museum: mostly does exhibits on Jewish history,
but has a small archaeology exhibit. Thursday is their free day.

Mesoamerican Society - Also based at CSULA.
Mesoamericansocietycsula.blogspot.com

New World Archaeology Council - sponsors occasional symposia.

Archaeological Institute of America - sponsors talks primarily on Old World Archaeology

around the southland, but occasionally on the New World as well. Check their website for

information.

Zoo Visit Extra Credit - 20 pts.


You can visit a single Zoo for 20 pts. extra credit, but I have to have some assurance that you have gained some knowledge
about primates, so to that end you have to create a fact sheet concerning your
visit. In order to do that, you have to demonstrate that you have viewed one
primate from each of the following four categories (four primates total): Strepsirrhini, Platyrhini, Cercopithecoidea, and Hominoidea. Look at the textbook or go online to the class website to find out what animals are in these categories. Then supply the
following information:

1. The facility that you visited.

2. Species Name: Genus, species, subspecies (if applicable).

3. Country of origin.

4. Aspects of its' niche: Activity time, diet, location in the ecosystem of origin.

5. Primary mode of locomotion.

It is mandatory that you staple your ticket to your report. Photographs are not necessary but
welcome.  This fact sheet must be typed and double-spaced. Only one facility can be visited.

Assignments:  

Anthropology 1  Natural Selection Worksheet   Blair Gibson

Part 1. Scenario

     Sifakas (genus: Propithecus) are a kind of lemur that lives on the island of Madagascar. One species in the arid south, Verreaux's sifaka, has fur that is almost entirely white, except for small patches of black on their faces. Verreaux's sifakas have very long hind legs. These primates have been observed leaping tremendous distances between giant thorny cactus-like plants that grow there, in which they make their homes. Their hind legs are so long, that these sifakas are unable to walk on the ground on all four limbs. As they rarely come down to the ground, this is not much of a problem.

    Verraux's sifakas also obtain all of the water they need by licking dew off leaves, and eating the leaves of the desert plants and trees. It is a social primate living in small groups of 4 - 8, and is active during the daytime (diurnal).

    Another species of sifaka, Milne-Edwards' sifaka, lives in the tropical rainforest and is somewhat different in coloration, having much more brown and black in the fur.

In the following worksheet, supply the information that would create an argument which incorporates the principles of natural selection, explaining how the Verraux's sifakas became the way they are. It would be wise to select a single trait, and to stick with it throughout this exercise. Assume that for most traits the distribution of variation is continuous.

Traits: hind leg length, leaping ability, fur color proportions, activity time, group size, mode of hydration.  

1) Target Ancestral Species: Propithecus pleisoverrauxii (lived c. 10 million years ago.

2) The physical or behavioral trait under consideration:

This trait will be subjected to natural selection. From the 6-7 traits described above, select and name one below.

_________________________________________________

3) Variation in the trait:

At one end of the range of variation in this trait were lemurs that

 _________________________________________________________

   (describe one extreme of the range of variation here)

At the other end of the range of variation were lemurs that:

___________________________________________________________

Where along this range of variation were most of the lemurs distributed? What was the average?

4) Natural selection:

Name the force of natural selection that came to affect this population, and which ultimately caused a change in the expression of the trait named on the last page. Describe the connection of this force to the trait.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

As a consequence of their exposure to this force of selection, those lemurs that(answer with respect to the range of variation in the trait)

_______________________________________survived to a

greater degree than lemurs that___________________________

 ______________. These latter lemurs tended to___________ more frequently than the former lemurs as a consequence of their maladaptation.

5) Inheritance

As a consequence of selection, those lemurs that (describe

successful variation again)______________________________

were also more likely to__________________________________.

As a consequence, genes for________________________________

tended to be passed on with greater frequency than genes

for __________________________________________to the next generation.

6) Adaptation

Describe the range of variation displayed by this trait in a subsequent generation of sifaka offspring after it has been affected by the force of natural selection that you named above, over many generations.

___________________________________________________________

Part 2. Sexual selection. Choose either of the below scenarios, and write a response that reflects an understanding of the theory of sexual selection.

1)      You receive a telephone call from one of the reviewers of your proposal, Dr. Yue Rong. He thinks that you really don't understand Darwin's theory of natural selection at all. To put you to a test, he asks you the following question. "Answer me in one or two sentences why you think that the frequency of male pattern baldness is so high. One would think that it would confer no physical advantage to those who are afflicted by it, and women would seem to find baldness unattractive."

2)     A committee of the IOC has heard about your work in natural selection, and thinks you might be able to help them understand a current problem. Through the years there has been a dramatic rise in female exhibitionism connected with the Olympic competitions. Athletes have been appearing nude in men's magazines and videos, and are competing while wearing outfits that are rapidly shrinking (think women's volleyball). They don't understand why this is a trend among women and not men, and are concerned that if things go on the way they are, soon women will soon be competing nude as in the earliest Olympics. Write a short explanation for this behavior for the committee so they can think of some remedies.

Anthropology 1  Populations Genetics Worksheet

Directions: show all work and clearly identify the answer! For the purposes of this assignment, only a difference greater than .01 between the observed and expected genotype frequencies is significant.

1. You are a graduate student in physical anthropology, and your lazy PhD supervisor, Dr. T. Enure Abuser, has thrown a bunch of genetic data in your face. "I must leave tomorrow for the annual meeting of the Society of Population Geneticists in the Maldive Islands. I think I have evidence that the Tay-Sachs allele is in disequilibrium among New York Ashkenazi Jews. Have the results ready for me when I return. You meekly comply as you are his research assistant, and you will be facing your written exams next week.So:

A) Run this data through the Hardy-Weinberg model and determine and state whether or not the population is in equilibrium, and state how you know this to be true. 

TT        Tt        tt (at birth)

8000      250       2

B) Looking at the numbers above, what does the pattern of the distribution of the population among these genotypes tell you about the fitness of these genotypes? (read what the textbook has to say about Tay-Sachs disease)

2. You are in Australia, and your blood testing of Aborigines in a region has revealed that the population can be broken down into the following blood groups.

AA      AO      OO 

150     410     400

1. Determine whether or not this population is in equilibrium, and tell me how you know.

2. Determine the survival efficiency of each genotype by dividing the observed genotype frequencies by the expected genotype frequencies.

3. Determine the relative fitness of each genotype by dividing each of the survival efficiency values by the largest one.

4. Which genotype would be the most fit, the least fit? Explain how you know in terms of the results step 3.

5. What are possible explanations for the complete absence of the B allele? Provide one or more scenarios to illustrate your answers.

Optional Extra Credit - worth up to 10 pts.

The pea that Mendel worked with, Pisum sativum, is self-pollinating. Mendel is walking through the countryside reading a book, when, unknown to him, a pea seed of his F1 hybrid generation falls out of his pocket. It finds moist soil and germinates. Suppose that this pea is able to propagate itself over three generations (not counting the initial pea as a generation). Looking at just one pair of alleles (any pair), and assuming that each pea plant of each generation produces four successful offspring, how do the genotype ratios change over time? Is evolution occurring?  Hint: The Hardy-Weinberg model is not appropriate in this case.

Name_________________________________ Anthropology 1    Museum Primate Anatomy Quiz      Dr. Gibson

Complete this quiz by studying the differences in anatomy in the specimens in the display case in the anthropology museum (ArtB 301). Restrict your answers to skeletal anatomy, and to the specimens that are on display. The more valid answers you come up with, the more points you will be rewarded so don't feel restricted by the numbers on the lines. The quiz must be turned in to the instructor by the quiz due date in the syllabus in order to receive credit.

I. Name the species that are brachiators or semi-brachiators, and list at least 5 anatomical traits that reflect brachiation.

Species:_____________________________________________________

1.___________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________

3.___________________________________________________________

4.___________________________________________________________

5.___________________________________________________________

II. List the species whose mode of locomotion is quadrupedalism.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

III. Cite at least two traits that specifically reflect quadrupedalism.

1.___________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________

IV. Cite at least two traits of the tree shrew that indicates that it is not a primate.

1.___________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________

V. List the insectivores that are on display. After comparing them, name at least two traits that they possess in common that reflects their diet.

_____________________________________________________________

1.___________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________

VI. Name at least two traits of the apes on display that distinguishes them from the monkeys.

1.___________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

VII. Identify the prosimian (1), and (2) name at least one trait that distinguishes it from the monkeys.

1.__________________________________2._______________________

_____________________________________________________________

VIII. Which two quadrupedal primates are hoppers or leapers, and what are the characteristics that they have in common which is related to their mode of locomotion?

_____________________________________________________________

Name_________________________________

Anthropology 1    Museum Primate Anatomy Quiz - Key    Dr. Gibson

Complete this quiz by studying the
differences in anatomy in the specimens in the display case in the anthropology
museum. Restrict your answers to skeletal anatomy, and to the specimens that
are on display. The more valid answers you come up with, the more points
you will be rewarded.  

I. Name the species that are brachiators or semi-brachiators, and list 5 anatomical traits that reflect
brachiation.

Species:_Gibbon (Hylobates), Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

1._longer neck, long, straight forelimbs (arms), long curved phalanges on fore appendages (hands), thumb
(pollex) is small (or absent) and distant from the other digits on the palm, hands are larger than feet. Ankles and wrists are mobile.

2._long clavicle, short hind limbs, short thorax (trunk) due to possession of fewer vertebrae than quadrupeds______________

3._broad chest/ribcage, 360° rotation in shoulder joint, mobile wrists, mobile ankles. 

4.shoulder joint is at the side of the ribcage__________________

5.foramen magnum/occipital condyles underneath cranium though not as far forward as ours, relatively wide illia.

II. List the species whose mode of locomotion is quadrupedalism.

_tree shrew (Tupaia glis), golden marmoset (Leontopithecus rosalio), rhesus monkey (Maccaca
mulata), squirrel monkey, galago/bush baby

III. Cite two traits that specifically reflect quadrupedalism.

1._vertebrae uniform in size, narrow, long pelvis (illia).

2._ foramen magnum/occipital condyle located in back of skull, narrow rib cage (greatest dimension is vertical), straight or
bowed spine, limbs uniform in length, skull is low and long, shorter clavicle
than in a brachiator, knuckle-walker or biped, shoulder harness is underneath
the midline of the rib cage.

IV. Cite two traits of the tree shrew that indicates that it is not a primate.

1. _lateral vision (eyes at the sides of the head), fingers tipped with claws

2. _prehensility (independent motion)/opposability lacking in digits, specialized teeth.

V. List the Insectivores that are on display. After comparing name at least two traits that they possess in common that
reflects their diet.

Tree shrew, squirrel monkey, marmoset, galago/bush baby

1.__sharp, needle-like teeth____________________________________

2.__small body size, claws and claw-like nails (only acceptable if
justified in terms of diet, but these are really related to tree climbing)______________________

VI. Name at least two traits of the apes that distinguishes them from the monkeys.

1._lack tails, forelimbs are longer than hind limbs, longer clavicle.

2._larger brain case in proportion to body size, broader pelvi (illia, innominates), broader rib cage, vertebrae are
graduated in size due to semi-erect posture.

VII. Identify the prosimian, and name a trait that distinguishes it from the monkeys.

1._Bush Baby (Galago)________________ 2._large orbits, projecting incisors/tooth comb, grooming claws, smaller
brain case in proportion to body size.

VIII. Which two primates are hoppers, and what characteristic do they have in common which is related to their mode
of locomotion?

__Bush baby, squirrel monkey___long hind limbs, short forelimbs

__lengthened and raised hind portion of foot: tarsal or other bones of foot are elongated and sometimes fused, hind
appendages/feet are larger than hands.

Course Material:

Online Resources: (list related websites as links)

The Scientific Method                                   Homo erectus in Asia

Evolution and Natural Selection                     Homo erectus in Europe

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Model

Behavioral Genetics Lecture                          Homo heidelbergensis

Sickle Cell Anemia and Microevolution            Archaic Homo sapiens

Primate Taxonomy                                      Homo sapiens sapiens

Dating Techniques Twins

The Paleocene

The Eocene and Oligocene

The Miocene

Late Miocene Protohomins

The Pliocene

Emergence of the Genus Homo

Primate Locomotion

Primate Social Organization