IT’s Intro to Physical Anthropology
Short Answer Essay Questions
Answer the following 20 questions. Your answers should be approximately a paragraph in length.
(5 points each)
1. List and briefly describe the subfields of anthropology. Give an example of a research problem or the type of research that a specialist in each of these subfields would study.
2. If a physical anthropologist was employed in a job which investigated crime scene situations involving skeletal remains, which of the subfields of physical anthropology should he/she be familiar with? How would a background in each of these subfields be beneficial?
3. What is your favorite subfield of physical anthropology? Why?
4. According to the video What About God?, how did the creationists explain buried fossils? How do you feel about the biology professors they showcased who have to profess their belief in creationism and sign a “statement of faith”?
5. Explain the theory of natural selection. How did the theories of early evolutionary scholars lead to the culminating theory of natural selection?
6. Explain and discuss the differences between Lamarck’s views of evolution and Darwin/Wallace’s views.
7. Briefly define uniformitarianism and catastrophism, and the scholars who proposed each of them as evolutionary theories.
8. Describe an example of natural selection “in action.”
9. What is the biological definition of race? How have unfortunate social constructs such as biological determinism and eugenics had an effect on issues of race?
10. What physiological adjustments do humans show in coping with environmental stresses of cold and hot climates? What do body size and shape have to do with adaptations to climate?
11. Briefly discuss why the study of infectious disease is important with regard to microevolution.
12. Describe the progression of primate evolution throughout the Cenozoic era. Make sure that your answer includes examples of primate morphology as seen in the fossil record.
13. Describe everything you can tell from the following dental formula: 2:1:3:3
14. Describe 3 of the traits in which New World monkeys and Old World monkeys differ.
15. Discuss what is meant by primitive versus derived characteristics in non-human primates. Be sure to include examples of primitive and derived characteristics as seen in videos, your textbook, and/or observations at the zoo.
16. Briefly define the following types of primate behavior and give an example of each as discussed in class, in your textbook, and/or as seen in observations at the zoo: dominance, aggression, affiliative, tool use, and communication.
17. In the video A Conversation with Koko, who/what is Koko and what is so special about Koko?
18. How might the social units of primates affect sexual dimorphism?
19. Do apes learn their behaviors…or are they innate abilities? Be sure that your answer includes examples to illustrate your point.
20. What was your favorite non-human primate species that you observed at the zoo? Why did you enjoy watching them?
