Scribd Logo
Загрузить

Добро пожаловать в Scribd!

  • Jurmain Et Al. 2011 Introduction To Physical Anthropology Compressed

    Загружено:

    Manuela Sánchez G
    111 просмотров23 страницы
    introduccion a la antropologia fisica

    Оригинальное название

    Jurmain Et Al. 2011 Introduction to Physical Anthropology Compressed

    Авторское право

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Доступные форматы

    PDF или читайте онлайн в Scribd

    Этот документ был вам полезен?

    Это неприемлемый материал?

    Пожаловаться на этот документ
    introduccion a la antropologia fisica

    Авторское право:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Скачайте в формате PDF или читайте онлайн в Scribd
    Отметить как неприемлемый контент
    111 просмотров23 страницы

    Jurmain Et Al. 2011 Introduction To Physical Anthropology Compressed

    Загружено:

    Manuela Sánchez G
    introduccion a la antropologia fisica

    Авторское право:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Скачайте в формате PDF или читайте онлайн в Scribd
    Отметить как неприемлемый контент
    из 23
    Physical Anthropology Introduction to Physical Anthropology ‘One day, perhaps during the rainy season some 3.7 million years ago, two or three animals walked across a grassland savanna (see next page for definitions) in what is now northern Tanzania, in East Africa. These individuals were early homia that includes ourselves, modern Homo sapiens. Fortunately for us, a ins, members of the evolutionary lineage record of their passage on that long-forgotten day remains in the form of foot- prints, preserved in hardened volcanic deposits. As chance would have it, shortly after heels and toes were pressed into damp soil, a nearby volcano erupted. The ensuing ashfall blanketed everything on the ground, including the hominin foot- prints. In time, the ash layer hardened into a deposit that preserved the tracks for nearly 4 million years (Fig. 11). ‘These now famous prints indicate that two individuals, one smaller than the other, may have walked side by side, leaving parallel sets of tracks. But because the larger individual's prints are obscured, possibly by those ofa third, it’s unclear how many actually made that journey so long ago. But what is clear is that the prints were made by an animal that habitually walked bipedally (on two feet), and that fact tells us that those ancient travelers were hominins. In addition to the footprints, scientists working at this site (called Laetoli) and at other locations have discovered many fossilized parts of skeletons of an animal we call Australopithecus afarensis. After analyzing these remains, we know that these hominins were anatomically similar to ourselves, although their brains. were only about one-third the size of ours. And even though they may have used stones and sticks as simple tools, there's no evidence to suggest that they actually ‘made stone tools. In fact, they were very much at the mercy of nature's whims. ‘They certainly couldn' outrun most predators, and since their canine teeth were fairly small, they were pretty much defenseless. ‘We've asked hundreds of questions about the Laetoli hominins, but we'll never be able to answer them all. They walked down a path into what became their future, and their immediate journey has long since ended. So it remains for us to learn as much as we can about them and their species; and as we continue to do so, their greater journey continues. savanna (alsospelled savannah) A large flat grassland with scattered tees and shrubs, Savannas ae found in many regions of the word with dry and warm torhot climates hhominins Colloguial term for members ofthe evolutionary group that includes ‘modern humans and extinct bipedal celatives. bipedally On wo fet; habitually walking on two legs. species A group of organisms that can Interbteed to produce fertile offspring, Members of one species ae reproduc tively isolated from members of al other species (that is, they cannot mate with them to produce fertile offspring), yates. Members of the order of ‘mammals Primates (pronounced “pry- ‘may’-tes"), which includes lemurs, lorses,tarsiets, monkeys, apes, and humans. > FIGURE 1-1 Eauly hominin footprints at Laetoli, Tanzania. The tracks tothe left were ‘made by one individual, while those tothe right appear to have been formed by two individuals, the second stepping inthe track ofthe ist. On July 20, 1969, a television audience numbering in the hundreds of millions. ‘watched as two human beings stepped out ofa spacecraft onto the surface of the moon. To anyone born after that date, this event may be more or less taken for granted. But the significance of that first moonwalk can't be overstated, because it represents humankind’s presumed mastery over the natural forces that govern cour presence on earth, For the first time ever, people had actually walked upon the surface ofa celestial body that, a far as we know, has never given bieth to bio- logical life. Asthe astronauts gathered geological specimens and frolicked in near ‘weightlessness, they left traces oftheir fleeting presence in the form of footprints in the lunar dust (Fig. 1-2), On the surface of the moon, where no rain falls and no wind blows, the footprints remain undisturbed to this day. They survive as mute testimony to a brief visit by a medium-sized, big-brained creature who presumed to challenge the very forces that created it. ‘You may be wondering why anyone would care about early hominin foot- prints and how they can possibly be relevant to yout life, You may also wonder why a physical anthropology textbook would begin by discussing two such seem- ingly unrelated events as hominins walking across a savanna anda moonwalk, But the fact is, these two events are closely related. Physical, or biological, anthropology is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral characteristics of human beings; our closest rela- tives, the nonhuman primates (apes, monkeys, tarsiers, lemurs and lorises); and their ancestors. This kind of research helps us explain what it means to be human. This isan ambitious goal, and it probably isnt fully attainable, but it's certainly worth pursuing. Afterall, we're the only species to ponder our own exis- tence and question how we fit into the spectrum of life on earth. Most people ‘view humanity as separate from the rest ofthe animal kingdom. But at the same time, some are curious about the similarities we share with other species, Maybe, as, child, you looked at your dog and tried to figure out how her front legs might} correspond to your arms. Perhaps, during a visit to the zoo, you noticed the similarities between a chimpanzee’s hands or facial expressions and ‘your own. Maybe you wondered ifthey also shared your thoughts and feelings. If you've ever had thoughts and questions like these, then you've indeed been curious about humankind’s “= place in nature. ‘We humans, who can barely comprehend a cen- tury, cant begin to grasp the enormity of nearly 4-million years, But we till want to know more about those creatures who walked across the savanna that day. We want to know how an insignificant but clever bipedal pri- mate such as Australopithecus afa- rensis, oF peraps a close relative, gave rise toa species that would eventually walk on the surface of the moon, some 230,000 miles from earth.

    Вам также может понравиться