Anthropology Lectures

Biological Anthropology - Physical Anthropology; the study of humans as biological organisms, dealing with the emergence and evolution of humans and with contemporary biological variations among human populations; also known as Physical Anthropology.

Topics under Biological Anthropology

Paleoanthropology - study of early humans

Human Genetics - genetic study of humans

Anthropometry - study of human variation

Primatology - study of primate order

Human Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia (Cannot produce their own food)

Subkingdom: Metazoa (multicellular)

Phylum: Chordata (they have notochord)

Subphylum: Vertebrata (having backbone)

Super Class: Tetrapoda (Four-limbed)

Class: Mammalia (have mammary glands; endothermic (warm-blooded); live birth; having body hair)

Subclass: Eutheria (placenta-bearing mammals)

Cohort: Unguiculata (Eutherians with claws or nails)

Order: Primata (5 digits (hands & toes); prehensile; lower limbs different from upper limbs)

Suborder: Anthropoidea (human like)

Infraorder: Catarrhini: (dental formula 2-1-2-3)

Superfamily: Hominoidea (more human like than anthropods; includes apes, monkeys, us)

Family: Hominidae (apes and humans only)

Subfamily: Homininae (orangutan. chimpanzee and humans)

Tribe: Hominini (chimpanzee and humans only)

Subtribe: Hominina (humans only; called hominids)

Genus: Homo

Species: Sapiens

Subspecies: Sapiens

NOTES TO REMEMBER ON Biological Anthropology

-Primates have no hair on palms and fingertips

- Primates have clavicles

- Only female primates have two mammary glands

- Male primates have pendulous penis

- Dental formula of Prosimeans - 2-1-2-2

- Platyhines have flat noses; called New World Monkeys, and having prehensile tails as oppose to Catarrhini

- Only humans have a chin

- Only humans have an S-shaped spinal cord

- Foramen magnum - hole in skull

Humans (center)

Non-humans (backs)

- Only humans have culture

- Only humans have sagittal...