ANTH 224 Midterm Test Guide
With Complete Solution
Evolution - ANSWER change over time in populations; as a theory, it is a
framework for understanding and interpreting variation (causes of change
over time in a population); changes in patterns of heritable variation in a
population over time
theory - ANSWER explanatory framework
natural selection - ANSWER a process in which individuals who have certain
inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other
individuals because of those traits; heritable variation is adaptive (unlikely for
new mutations); outcome of variation
genetic drift - ANSWER evolutionary change due to chance; trait/gene
doesn't affect fitness ("neutral"); (neutral theory: most new mutations should
be neutral); outcome of variation
mutation - ANSWER random changes in the genome, replication error in
production and duplication of DNA; source of variation
gene flow - ANSWER (or migration) populations flowing between each other;
source of variation
variation - ANSWER populations are composed of individuals that vary; at
least some of this variation is heritable
variance vs. variant vs. vary - ANSWER variance: statistical; variant: version of
a thing that varies; vary: be different
,genotype - ANSWER genetic makeup of an organism
allele - ANSWER version of a gene (genotype)
phenotype - ANSWER physical characteristics of an organism (physical rep. of
genotype)
single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) - ANSWER one base-pair variation in
the genome sequence
microevolution - ANSWER change below the level of the species
macroevolution - ANSWER change above the level of the species (lack of
gene flow b/w populations, barrier to gene flow -> ancestral pop. decent into
2 species)
race - ANSWER a political category that is disguised as a biological one
(conceptual qualities: essentialism, biological determinism, taxonomy, shared
essence)
ethnic group - ANSWER often assumed to have a biological basis (shared
"blood" or genes) and is called race
essence/essentialist - ANSWER members share common essence (e.g. blood)
biological determinism - ANSWER shared essence imbues fixed properties
(appearance, behavior, etc.)
taxonomy - ANSWER discrete, immutable groups with separate histories and
hierarchical relationships
Caucasian - ANSWER term coined by Johann Blumenbach to white people
(from the Caucasus) inaccurate?
Dmanisi - ANSWER Georgia, 1.75 mya, Homo erectus, many skulls, lots of
, variation
evolutionary tree - ANSWER a diagram that reflects evolutionary
relationships among groups of organisms
Bacon's Rebellion - ANSWER for social and political reasons, folks in charge
wanted to break up racial solidarity to stop uprisings (divide based on
background); legal codification starts, people with different backgrounds
having different rights
Al-Jahiz - ANSWER (776-868) wide clinal and gradual variation of skin color
in; coordination with a north/south axis (latitude)
Ibn Khaldun - ANSWER (1332-1406) wide clinal and gradual variation of skin
color in; coordination with a north/south axis (latitude)
François Bernier - ANSWER (1620-1688)"...four or five species"; Europeans,
Africans, Asians, and Lapps (Scandinavia/Northern Europe)
Carl von Linne - ANSWER (17071778) taxonomy; some types of organisms
are going to be more similar to another → clustered/hierarchical groups of
organisms; four "varieties" of humans: contributes inherent traits to these
groups, American (red, choleric, upright), European (white, sanguine,
muscular), Asian (pale yellow, melancholy, stiff), African (black, phlegmatic,
relaxed)
With Complete Solution
Evolution - ANSWER change over time in populations; as a theory, it is a
framework for understanding and interpreting variation (causes of change
over time in a population); changes in patterns of heritable variation in a
population over time
theory - ANSWER explanatory framework
natural selection - ANSWER a process in which individuals who have certain
inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other
individuals because of those traits; heritable variation is adaptive (unlikely for
new mutations); outcome of variation
genetic drift - ANSWER evolutionary change due to chance; trait/gene
doesn't affect fitness ("neutral"); (neutral theory: most new mutations should
be neutral); outcome of variation
mutation - ANSWER random changes in the genome, replication error in
production and duplication of DNA; source of variation
gene flow - ANSWER (or migration) populations flowing between each other;
source of variation
variation - ANSWER populations are composed of individuals that vary; at
least some of this variation is heritable
variance vs. variant vs. vary - ANSWER variance: statistical; variant: version of
a thing that varies; vary: be different
,genotype - ANSWER genetic makeup of an organism
allele - ANSWER version of a gene (genotype)
phenotype - ANSWER physical characteristics of an organism (physical rep. of
genotype)
single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) - ANSWER one base-pair variation in
the genome sequence
microevolution - ANSWER change below the level of the species
macroevolution - ANSWER change above the level of the species (lack of
gene flow b/w populations, barrier to gene flow -> ancestral pop. decent into
2 species)
race - ANSWER a political category that is disguised as a biological one
(conceptual qualities: essentialism, biological determinism, taxonomy, shared
essence)
ethnic group - ANSWER often assumed to have a biological basis (shared
"blood" or genes) and is called race
essence/essentialist - ANSWER members share common essence (e.g. blood)
biological determinism - ANSWER shared essence imbues fixed properties
(appearance, behavior, etc.)
taxonomy - ANSWER discrete, immutable groups with separate histories and
hierarchical relationships
Caucasian - ANSWER term coined by Johann Blumenbach to white people
(from the Caucasus) inaccurate?
Dmanisi - ANSWER Georgia, 1.75 mya, Homo erectus, many skulls, lots of
, variation
evolutionary tree - ANSWER a diagram that reflects evolutionary
relationships among groups of organisms
Bacon's Rebellion - ANSWER for social and political reasons, folks in charge
wanted to break up racial solidarity to stop uprisings (divide based on
background); legal codification starts, people with different backgrounds
having different rights
Al-Jahiz - ANSWER (776-868) wide clinal and gradual variation of skin color
in; coordination with a north/south axis (latitude)
Ibn Khaldun - ANSWER (1332-1406) wide clinal and gradual variation of skin
color in; coordination with a north/south axis (latitude)
François Bernier - ANSWER (1620-1688)"...four or five species"; Europeans,
Africans, Asians, and Lapps (Scandinavia/Northern Europe)
Carl von Linne - ANSWER (17071778) taxonomy; some types of organisms
are going to be more similar to another → clustered/hierarchical groups of
organisms; four "varieties" of humans: contributes inherent traits to these
groups, American (red, choleric, upright), European (white, sanguine,
muscular), Asian (pale yellow, melancholy, stiff), African (black, phlegmatic,
relaxed)
