Evolution

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Biological Anthropology:
Evolution

2. Anthropology
• Anthropology: the holistic study of
humanity.
• In the US, Anthropology is broken up
into four main sub-fields.
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Cultural Anthropology
Biological
Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic
Anthropology

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Biological Anthropology
• Biological Anthropology is the study of
the human species from a biological
perspective.
• Biological anthropologists rely on a
scientific framework to make their
claims about humans.

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Scientific Framework
• If something cannot be observed with
the senses it can not be studied
scientifically.
• Similarly, things that cannot be
observed cannot be used for scientific
explanations.

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Evolution
Evolution: Fact or Theory?

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What is a fact?
A fact is something that has been
repeatedly observed and verified.

8. Hypothesis
• A hypothesis is an educated guess as
to why something observed happens.
• Hypotheses are tested to determine
their accuracy.
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What is a theory?
A theory is an well-supported
explanation for why something
observed (facts) occurs.
Theories are derived from hypotheses
that have continually provided accurate
explanations.

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Evolution
Evolution is defined as change (in gene
frequencies) within populations over time.

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Evolution is Fact
• Changes in gene frequencies within
populations have been observed many
times.

12. MRSA: Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
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13. Archaeopteryx Fossil
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Theories of Evolution
Numerous scientists have attempted to
explain the fact of evolution. This is
what is meant by evolutionary theory.

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Theory of Natural Selection
Charles Darwin published The Origin of
Species, in 1859. This book outlined his
theory (or explanation) of evolution.

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Darwin’s First Point
• Within any population there is variation.

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Darwin’s Second Point
• Darwin suggested some of these
characteristics were transmitted from
parents to offspring.

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Darwin’s Third Point
• More organisms are born than can be
supported by the environment. Limited
resources result in some level of
competition between organisms.

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Darwin’s Observations
• Darwin suggested that some traits
provided an advantage to organisms
within a given environment.

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Darwin’s conclusion
Natural Selection: Organisms
possessing traits that make them well-
adapted to their environment have a
greater chance of surviving and passing
on their traits to their offspring than
those less well-adapted,

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The Peppered Moth

22. Moths on Birch Tree
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23. Evolution is NOT…
• Evolution is not necessarily about
becoming more “advanced” or
“complex.”
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24. Evolution
• Evolution relies on random
mutations…just because a trait would
be desirable in a given situation does
NOT mean it will necessarily emerge.
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25. Jean-Baptiste Lamark (1744-
1829)
• Jean-Baptiste Lamark
was a naturalist that
provided an
interpretation of
evolutionary change
that has since been
disproven.
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26. Lamark’s View
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