Anth 125 Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Dr. Darlene Applegate
Spring 2008
Review Material for Final Exam

Study Guide      Practice Questions

DISCLAIMER:  This study guide does not necessarily contain all the information that may appear on the test.

MATERIAL COVERED

• Unit 4 lectures
• Relethford Chapters 13, 15, 16, 17 plus Epilogue
  
• "Viral Superhighway" article
  
• "The Talking Skull" video
  

SUMMARY OF TOPICS COVERED

• Overview of Modern Human Biological Variation
• Classification: Races vs. Populations
• Human Adaptation:  Definitions and Types of Stresses
• Human Adaptation to Environmental Stresses:  Disease, Skin Pigmentation
  
• Forensic Anthropology
  

TERMS

• modern human biological variation
• applied anthropology
• polymorphic variation
• polytypic variation
  
• anthropometry
• dermatoglyphics
• osteology
  
• craniometry
• metric trait
• non-metric trait
• anthropological genetics
• microevolution
  

• race
• phenotypic race
• genotypic race
  
• soft tissue / hard tissue
• continuous (polygenic/complex) trait
  
• discrete (monogenic/simple) trait
  
• Mongoloid
• Negroid
• Caucasoid
• population
• endogamy
  

• adaptation (as a noun and as a verb)
• opportunistic
• environmental stress
• physiological adaptation
• developmental adaptation
• genetic adaptation
• behavioral adaptation
• cultural adaptation

• melanin
• carotenoids
• ultraviolet radiation
• infrared radiation
• phytolysis
• hypervitaminosis D
• hypovitaminosis D
  

• epidemiology
• epidemiological transition
• endemic
• epidemic
• pandemic
• acute
• chronic
• infectious disease
• communicable disease
• parasitic disease
• host
• vector
• zoonoses
• non-infectious disease
• genetic disease
  
• degenerative disease
• nutritional disease
  
• sickle cell trait
• hemoglobin
  
• sickle cell disease
• anemia
• malaria

• forensic anthropology
• medicolegal
• stature
• biological profile
• cause of death
• manner of death
• taphonomy

LISTS / CONCEPTS

• three key questions in the study of modern human biological variation
• topics of interest in modern human biological variation
• significance of the study of modern human biological variation (relative to other fields of biological anthropology)
  

• two ways to classify humans
• soft tissue traits used to classify phenotypic races
• hard tissue traits used to classify phenotypic races
• advantages and disadvantages of biological racial classifications
• advantages and disadvantages of population classification

• five components/types/levels of adaptation
• types of environmental stresses on humans

• variation in disease patterns among food collecting, rural food producing, preindustrial urban, and industrial urban populations
• major health problems with sickle cell disease
• polytypic variation in fitness for the sicke cell trait
  
• evolutionary explanations for sickle cell allele

• how humans vary in terms of skin pigmentation (polytypic and polymorphic)
  
• explanations for differences in skin pigmentation (just know the most widely accepted ones)
  
• pigments that determine skin pigmentation

• main goal of forensic anthropology
• duties of a forensic anthropologist
• ten key questions investigated by forensic anthropologists (in order)
  
• four major components of a biological profile
• skeletal elements used to determine four major components of a biological profile
  

OTHER

These are topics you need to know from the Relethford text. Many of these topics were covered in lecture.

• Chapter 13:  complex traits; race and human variation; special topic: genetics, race and IQ;
  

• Chapter 15:  all sections except Duffy blood group and CCR5 gene

• Chapter 16:  all sections, especially the following
  

• physiological responses to cold stess and heat stress (vasodilation, vasoconstriction)
• Allen and Bergmann rules and relation to heat/cold stress (variation in human body form)
  
• what is considered high altitude and how many people live in such environments
  
• hypoxia
• physiological responses to hypoxia
• developmental responses to hypoxia
• nutritional adaptations
  

• Chapter 17: all sections
  

• Epilogue
  

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
 

1.   Which of the following statements about human races is false?

a.     The traditional approach to racial classification is based on phenotype.
b.     Skin pigmentation, nose shape, lip shape, hair type, and intelligence are soft tissue traits used to define phenotypic races.
c.     Blood proteins and blood groups are hard tissue traits used to define phenotypic races.
d.     Phenotypic races are problematic biological constructs because there is considerable overlap among the races in the expression of many phenotypic traits.
e.     Phenotypic races are problematic biological constructs because some individuals have traits that are diagnostic of two or more races.

2.    Any response to environmental stresses that improves an organism's chance of survival is a/an

a.     adaptation.
b.     acclimatization.
c.     hypoxia.
d.     endemic.
e.     pandemic.

3.    Irreversible, hereditary biological responses to environmental stresses that operate on the population level are

a.     physiological adaptations.
b.     developmental adaptations.
c.     genetic adaptations.
d.     behavioral adaptations.
e.     cultural adaptations.

4.    All of the following are both physiological and developmental adaptations to hypoxia except

a.     enlarged chest cavity.
b.     increased pulse rate.
c.     increased red blood cell size and number.
d.     increased hemoglobin.
e.     increased number of capillaries.

5.    True or False:    The three races most commonly identified by physical anthropologists are Caucasoid, Negroid, and Haploid.
 

6.    True or False:    The traditional approach to classifying humans is based on populations.
 

7.    True or False:    There are no documented human developmental adaptations to heat stress and cold stress.
 

8.    True or False:    Physiological and developmental adaptations are nonhereditary biological responses to environmental stresses that operate on the individual level, but developmental responses may be reversible or irreversible while physiological adaptations are reversible.
 

9.     ______  variation is differences among or between populations, while  _______  variation is differences within populations.
 

10.    ______  is the pigment with the greatest influence on an individual's skin color.
 

11.    High altitude stress develops in humans at elevations in excess of  ________  meters above sea level.
 

12.    In terms of its causes, malaria is an example of a/an   _________  disease.
 

Click here for answers to the practice questions.