Download general scope and uses of physical/biological anthropology

 GENERAL SCOPE AND USES OF
PHYSICAL/BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Course name:
Introduction to General Anthropology
Paper No. & Title: B.A./B.Sc. Honours Paper –I
Fundamentals in Physical/Biological
Anthropology
Topic No. & Title: 1/6 General scope and uses of
Physical/Biological Anthropology
Objective:
This e-Content aims to make the common people and young
enthusiasts understand about the origin and variation of our
own kind; about various biological phenomena, viz. growth
and developments, reproduction and ageing that we all pass
through during our lifetime, especially with a message of
oneness of humankind. Secondly, it outlines the importance
of physical anthropological knowledge in various fields of
welfare activities.
Content & Script of the Programme
Introduction:
Physical Anthropology studies human as an organism in
time and space. Time refers to different stages of human
evolution; space refers to variation among the human
beings living in different parts of the globe. As we all know,
nothing is static in this dynamic universe. The earth itself is
rotating while revolving on its orbit. All the things, living and
non living things are changing in different manners, cyclical
and non-cyclical, and at different rates, some very slow and
imperceptible, and some at faster rates. Evolution, which is
defined as gradual transformation of one form or structure
to another, is a natural phenomenon and is a never ending
process. Humankind did not appear on this earth in the
present form all of a sudden. It is a product of gradual
transformation through generations that have passed
through different stages of geological time period. Physical
Anthropology probes into different stages of human
evolution and unveils how mankind achieved the present
form. It also studies the ongoing microevolutionary changes
in human populations.
Secondly, there is a great deal of variation among
human populations or groups living at present in different
habitats of the globe. Some are tall and dark in skin color
with curly hair while some are short, fair skin and black
hair. Just pick up only the eye, one will find a number of
variations in terms of color of iris, eye opening, size,
eyelids, etc. It is a huge task to find out every detail of such
morphologically observable variations. There are also
variations in biochemical properties which are not visible
morphologically. That’s not all; there is variation even
among the people of similar appearance and of the same
habitat, in terms of language, belief and cultural practices.
Such cultural and linguistic differences, in turn, constitute
biological boundary among human populations. This is the
law of nature that no two things should be exactly alike and
therefore, variation is a natural phenomenon, which is again
the threshold of evolution. Despite these variations mankind
belongs to the single species, Homo sapiens (Latin, Homo
meaning man; sapiens meaning wise) by virtue of which
mating among the physically and culturally different groups
all over the world is fertile. Physical Anthropology deals
with the study on human variation from biological
perspective with a view to understand and explain the
reasons of variations. The dictum of Physical Anthropology
is ‘know about your origin and difference from your fellow
beings to become a better human being for a better world’.
Scope:
Scope of Physical Anthropology, with its aim and objective
of understanding about origin and variation of human kind,
can be broadly divided into the following main streams,
which are further divisible into different specialized areas.
1)
2)
3)
Palaeoanthropology 2. Primatology 3. Ecology and
Adaptation, 4. Auxology and
Demography 5. Human Genetics.
Paleoanthropology: Paleoanthropology (Gr. paleo meaning
old) means anthropology of the past. It is the study of fossil
remains
remains.
of
human
Physical
archaeologists,
and
ancestors
and
associated
anthropologists,
geologists,
have
cultural
together
with
unearthed
fossil
remains in many parts of the world. With their knowledge of
osteology, palaeoanthropologists examine, measure, and
reconstruct these remains, often from mere fragments. This
has enabled physical anthropologists to propose lines of
descent from our ancient ancestors to the present form of
Homo sapiens.
Primatology:
Primatology
is
the
study
of
nonhuman
primates. The Order Primate in the Animal Kingdom is the
group to which humans, apes, monkeys and prosimians
belong. The anatomy of nonhuman primates, especially
monkeys and apes, has been studied to ascertain the
similarities and differences between these primates and
humans. Study of comparative anatomy helps to trace the
evolutionary
relationships
of
human
and
nonhuman
primates. The best example of ancestral commonness of
human
and
nonhuman
primates
is
provided
by
sole
dermatoglyphics. Delicately structured ridge configurations
on the palms and soles, in association with opposable
thumb and big toe, are functionally meant for effective
grasping
on
the
branches
for
brachiating
locomotion.
Human’s big toe has been modified for terrestrial bipedal
locomotion; it is no longer opposable like that of nonhuman
primates. But unlike other terrestrial animals, humans have
delicately structured ridges on the soles, which is nothing
but the evidence of common brachiating ancestor with non
human primates. Because of the remarkable similarities
among monkeys, apes and humans, researchers have been
able, through laboratory experiments, to learn similarities at
protein and physiochemical responses too. It is now
established from DNA hybridization that chimpanzee stands
closest to human. Because of the similarity in blood types
and physiochemical responses of chimpanzee and humans,
the space program, in 1961, selected a chimpanzee ,named
HAM, to be the passenger in a space capsule launched into
suborbital flight with a view to learn physiological responses
likely to face by human under the similar condition.
Ecology and adaptation: An important aspect of Physical
Anthropology is the study of human variation by taking
measurements
(anthropometry),
visual
observation
(somatoscopy), genetic traits and biochemical examinations
for
systematic
classification
and
scientific
explanation.
Study on ecology (environment and its factors) and
adaptation plays major role in finding out the causes of
human variation. Various agents of echo niches together
with cultural factors shape physical or biological characters
of human during the course of adaptation. What is unusual
in the adaptation of human being is the accumulation of
information
about
the
environment
and
accordingly
development of technology, ways and means, to cope with
the ecological conditions. The knowledge thus accumulated,
and the technologies developed thereon, have been passed
from generation to generation as culture. It is by virtue of
his creativity, so to say, culture, human being could face the
challenges of a new environment at least temporarily.
Temporal adaptation through cultural means gradually led
to long term adaptation which resulted into modifications of
biological characteristics. Dark skin colour due to heavy
melanin pigmentation is related to adaptation in hot
environment. Heavy pigmentation protects the body from
excessive
absorption
of
U.V.
ray
that
may
lead
to
calcification of soft tissues and development of skin cancer.
Narrow nostril of the cold environment facilitates the
compression of air while breathing so that the air warms up
before reaching the lungs. People living in cold environment
are fat and stocky while those living in hot environment are
generally lean and thin. Because, thickset body has less
surface area in relation to body mass and therefore,
effective in preservation of heat. On the other hand, lean
body structure has larger surface area in relation to body
mass which is better for quick dissipation of heat. Sickle cell
haemoglobin,
despite
heterozygous
condition
its
in
harmful
the
effect,
is
populations
of
found
in
malarial
endemic environment as the heterozygous genotype has
adaptive advantage than the homozygotes of either normal
haemoglobin or sickle allele. Physical Anthropology, thus,
explains the reasons of variation among human beings with
a view to thwart the concept of racial prejudice.
Auxology and Demography: Holistic understanding about
human as an organism can never be complete without the
knowledge of biological process of growth and development,
reproduction, life span, etc. One of the main pillars of
Physical Anthropology is represented by auxology and
demography. Auxology (also auxanology, Gr. auxo meaning
growth) is the study on growth and changes throughout
different stages of human life. It begins from the moment of
fertilization and prenatal periods (ovum, embryo, and fetus)
to postnatal growth and changes through different stages
such
as
infant,
childhood,
adolescent,
onset
of
menarche(among the girls), and adulthood maturity up to
senescence (including menopause among the women).
Assessment of rates of growth, skeletal age compared with
chronological
age,
and
the
genetic,
endocrinology,
nutritional, topography, epidemiology, and socio-economic
factors, etc. that affect growth are foci of research by
physical anthropologists. Physical anthropologists are also
involved in studies of aging, particularly with regard to
skeletal changes such as osteoporosis. Side by side,
demography studies on human populations about the size,
age and sex ratio, age at marriage, fertility performance,
birth rate, death rate, longevity, migration and economic
activities, etc. which are determinants of stability or
instability of populations.
Genetics: Physical Anthropology also deals with the study on
inherited traits at individual level as well as in the
population. The science of heredity, genetics, explains the
causes of human variation. In fact, source of variation is
genetics and the environment selects the favorable type. A
gene is a sentence, composed of words of twenty types of
amino acids and the latter in turn by the four alphabets of
nucleotides of DNA. The term allele refers to different forms
of a gene. Dominant allele expresses in both heterozygous
(combination of dissimilar alleles) and homozygous (similar
alleles) genotypes while recessive allele is expressed only in
homozygous genotype. Modification in the spellings of
genetic words, by replacement of nucleotides, is called
‘point mutation.’ Mutated gene, i.e. new allele, may be
harmful
or
environment.
harmless,
Harmful
or
may
be
dominant
beneficial
alleles
are
in
an
usually
eliminated from the population as the individuals carrying
such
alleles
cannot
survive,
while
the
harmless
and
beneficial alleles are retained. Mutations at micro level
introducing harmless or beneficial or even deleterious
recessive alleles in the population gradually modify the
genetic characters of the gene pool. Population genetics
deals with the study on changes in the gene frequencies of
a population’s gene pool, which is known as microevolution
or genetic basis of evolution.
Initially blood groups constituted the bulk of data, but
now
many
other
molecular
traits,
particularly
DNA
sequences, have been analyzed. At the turn of the 21st
century, geographic populations were described in terms of
Mendelian populations and gene frequencies, which were in
turn used to model the history of population movements.
This
information,
combined
with
linguistic
and
archaeological evidence, helps to resolve puzzles on the
people of continents and archipelagoes. Traits that were
once used for racial classifications, e.g. racial criteria, do not
group neatly in patterns that would allow boundaries to be
drawn among geographic populations. And there is no
human population that has never mixed up with any other,
so all humans are mongrels. The concept of biological races
(subspecies)
of
Homo
sapiens
is,
therefore,
biologically meaningful racial types are nonexistent.
invalid;
USES
(Applications of Physical Anthropology)
The message of Physical Anthropology is “we are one
beneath the skin”. Once the skin is removed everything is
same. Because, we are of the same origin and we belong to
the same species, Homo sapiens. Variation among human
different people is not even 1 % of the total genome.
Classification of human into races is arbitrary and racism is
a myth, no race is inferior to any other. The Knowledge of
Physical Anthropology, the techniques and methods
employed by anthropologists are of immense applied value.
Anthropometry in Ergonomics and essential articles:
Ergonomics (Gr. ergon, meaning “work,” and nomos,
meaning “law.”) or human engineering, deals with designing
of machines, work methods, and environments to take into
account the safety, comfort, and productiveness of human
users and operators. Anthropometry is the science of
measurement of the human body, which is divisible into
static measurements and dynamic measurements.
Static
measurements are useful to determine the space to fit
persons and necessary clearance around the body. While
working different parts of the body move and accordingly
the objects to be used are designed for which dynamic
measurements are important.
The body size and limb
proportions vary from population to population. Age and sex
are two other factors that should be taken into account.
Physical Anthropology provides necessary information on
these different aspects, which are useful in designing
machines, weapons, furniture, garments and footwear, etc.
Health and Medicine: Health is the most precious wealth.
Physical Anthropologists have roles to play for healthy
existence mankind. Examination of clinical symptoms and
anthropometry are important methods for assessment of
health and nutritional status. Indices like BMI (Body Mass
Index), Weight for age, Height for age, etc. are some of the
common
methods
used
by
anthropologists
in
the
assessment of growth and nutritional status, especially
among the children of different populations. Anthropometric
characters of individuals are also indicative of certain
diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular problem, tuberculosis
and malarial infection, etc.
Knowledge of prevalence of certain defective genes in the
populations, such as G-6-PD deficiency will be of great help
to the physicians while treating malarial patients. Because
such persons cannot be given malarial drugs, it is fatal to
them. Anthropological knowledge about the merits and
demerits of inbreeding, blood group compatibility of the
couples, and genetic diseases will be of immense value for
the common people in making decision about choosing life
partners. Recent trend of molecular anthropology probes
into human origin and dispersion at DNA level which entails
identification of genetic codes that determine susceptibility
and resistivity to diseases and subsequently determinants of
adaptation, which are likely to discover in different human
populations of different echo niches. This kind of knowledge
will be of invaluable help in the advancement of genetic
medicine.
Kinanthropology: Kinanthropology (Gr. kineein meaning to
move) is the anthropology of sports. It is, in fact, the
application of anthropological knowledge in the selection of
suitable sportspersons for different events to achieve
maximum performance. Individuals are of different body
structures and temperament. Some are stocky and sluggish
while some are lean and agile; some have proportionately
longer limbs and shorter trunk while some have just the
reverse.
They
somatotypes,
can
such
be
as
categorized
ectomorphic,
into
different
mesomorphic
and
endomorphic. Some are taste sensitive to PTC (phenyl-thiocarbamide) and some are taste blind, so on.
People from
different continents and countries are of different body
structures, such as height, weight, muscular structure and
limb proportions, etc. Kinanthropologists deal with sorting of
jargon of such data on human variation, so that exploitation
of sports talents by mistaken selection and unnecessary
training
can
be
avoided.
Kinanthropologists
take
anthropometric measurements of the sports talents and the
latter are also subjected to physiological and biochemical
tests along with various motor performance tests. By doing
so, young and grooming sports talents can be sorted in
accordance with their suitable events so as to achieve
maximum human performance in different fields of sports.
Forensic Anthropology: Physical anthropological knowledge
about mechanism of inheritance of various genetically
determined traits and about their frequencies in different
populations is useful in the settlements of medico-legal
cases, such as disputed paternity or maternity, identification
of biological relatives, etc.
Forensic anthropology is that
branch of physical anthropology which deals, for forensic
purposes with the identification of persons with the help of
these biological remains. Via expert knowledge of the
human
skeleton,
(dermatoglyphics),
sequencing,
and
anthropologists
dentition,
saliva
and
hairs,
blood
archaeological
provide
invaluable
fingerprints
genetics,
DNA
methods,
physical
assistance
in
the
identification of victims and perpetrators of crimes and
casualties of accidents and wars. Because of the wide
spectrum of problems, methods, and practical applications,
physical anthropologists specialize in one or a few subareas.
Conclusion:
To end up, it may be recapitulated that mankind was not
created all of a sudden; we are a product of biological
evolution. Variation is a natural phenomenon; no things are
exactly alike. Even the children of the same parents are not
similar. Mankind living in different parts of the globe, in
Africa, Europe, Asia, America, Australia or any where else,
may speak different languages, and have different tradition
and culture. But cutting across all these variations we
belong to the same species, Homo sapiens. Our
mitochondrial DNA points out that we originated from the
same mother. No one is superior, so no one is inferior.
Underneath the skin we are one. This is the message of
Physical Anthropology.
FAQ’s
Q.1. What is Physical anthropology?
Anthropology is the holistic science of man and his
activities. It is broadly divisible into Social/Cultural
anthropology
and
Physical
anthropology.
Physical
anthropology studies the biological aspect of human science.
Physical anthropologists study the physical features of
modern humans, including their shape, size, and anatomy.
They find similarities and differences among people in
geographic regions. They also study the remains of
prehistoric humans to learn about human origins and human
evolution.
Q.2. What is anthropometry?
Anthropometry is the science of measurement of human
body. It is divisible into cephalometry and somatometry,
and craniometry and osteometry. Cephalometry and
somatometry are measurements on head and body parts of
living body
Q.3. What is dermatoglyphics?
The study of ridged skin is called dermatoglyphics. Until
1926 there was no term to cover the study of Dermal ridges
on fingers, toes, palms and soles, excepting a few terms
such as dactyloscopy, dactylomancy, etc. which are related
to the study of finger prints only. In that year Cummins and
Midlo proposed the word dermatoglyphics (derived from
derma, skin, and glyphe, carve), and it is now in general
use among biological workers in this field. The term is also
used as a collective name for all the features of ridged skin.
The ventral surfaces of the hands and feet are etched by
distinct alternating ridges and grooves that together
constitute dermatoglyphics.
Q.4. What is microevolution?
Change in allele frequencies of a population’s gene pool
from one generation to another is, more appropriately,
defined as ‘microevolution’
Q.5. What is forensic science?
The science that deals with the application of medical
knowledge to legal questions.
Q.6. What is gene?
Gene is a unit of hereditary information that occupies a
fixed position (locus) on a chromosome.
Q. 7. What is senescense?
The deterioration of bodily functions that accompanies aging
in a living organism. In addition to the process of ageing,
the term senescence denotes the state or condition of old
age.
Q.8. What is menarche?
The first menstruation, or menarche, usually occurs
between 11 and 13 years of age, but in a few otherwise
normal children menstruation may begin sooner or may be
delayed.
Q.9. What is primate?
The Order Primate in the Animal Kingdom is the group to
which humans, apes, monkeys and prosimians belong.
Summary: Physical Anthropology basically studies man in
two main aspects of origin and variation. Methodologically,
it embodies human paleontology, primatology, human
ecology and adaptation, auxology and demography and
genetics with a view to understand the phenomenon of
evolution as well as to study the ongoing trend of
microevolution. The tools of physical anthropology, viz.
anthropometry, biochemical tests, physiological and genetic
traits, etc. are of great applied value in the field of
ergonomics and designing of articles for use, sports science
(kinanthropology), health and medicine, medio-legal and
forensic purposes.
Glossary:
Amimo acids Small molecules that are building blocks of
protein
Auxology Study on growth and associated factors
Anthropometry The science of measurement of human
body and skeleton
Dermatoglyphics The science of dermal ridge
configurations; finger, palmar and plantar prints,etc.
Epidemiology Study on nature of diseases pertaining to
environment
Forensic Pertaining to crime and courts of law
G6PD Glucose-6-Phosphate-Dehydroginase, Red cell
enzyme for oxidation-reduction reactions of carbohydrate
metabolism, recessive gene carried on X chromosome
Kinanathropology Anthropology of sports and physical
activities
Menarche First menstrual discharge of the girls
Melanin The dark biochemical pigment produced by special
cells in the basal layers of the epidermis
Osteology The study of bones
P.T.C. Phenyl-thio-carbamide, a compound bitter in taste
but tasteless to some persons
Prosimian The suborder of primate which includes lemurs,
lorises, and tarsiers.
Racism Prejudiced concept of superiority and inferiority
among the groups
Senescence Old age period, generally after 60 yrs
Quiz:
1.
A.
B.
C.
2.
A.
Which of the following is the study of man in all his
biological aspects?
Social and cultural Anthropology
Physical Anthropology
Prehistoric Archaeology
Which of the following is an example of balance
polymorphism?
Sickle cell anaemia
B.
C.
Colour Blindness
Albinism
3.
Dark skin colour in Negro is due to high concentration
of
Melanin
Chloroplast
Dead cells
A.
B.
C.
4.
Man, Chimpanzee, Gorilla, Orangutan and gibbon
belongs to the order
Primates
Mammals
Anthropoidea
A.
B.
C.
References
Nelson, H., Jurmain, R. (1985) Introduction to
Physical Anthropology (3rd edition) West Publishing
Company, New York.