Producers: Coast Learning Systems

Anthropology is the study of human culture and of human evolutionary biology. It is a very broad discipline and there are many different types of anthropologists. Cultural anthropology considers many aspects of human society and focuses on how it affects human behavior. Linguistic anthropologists study the interaction between culture and language, as well as the origins of human language. Archaeologists focus on the material remains of past peoples. The fourth subfield of anthropology is the topic of this course: physical anthropology. Physical anthropology itself has different areas. These include paleoanthropology, human variation, genetics, primatology, osteology, and forensic anthropology.

Evolutionary theory provides a foundation for the study of physical anthropology. In this video, experts guide students through the development of Charles Darwin?s theory of evolution by natural selection. It also brings some of the main contributors to evolutionary theory to life. The theory of evolution by natural selection is illustrated using examples from the Gal?pagos Islands, monarch butterflies, peppered moths, and a special segment on the Channel Islands fox.

The secrets of the cell are revealed to students. They will learn basic structure of the cell and the structure and function of DNA. DNA composition, genes, chromosome structure, mitosis, and meiosis are explained by experts in ways that will be easy for students to process. These principles are also illustrated in a modern context using analyses of ancient DNA from Neandertals, interviews with DNA crime lab experts, and an in-depth view of one woman?s experience living with a challenging genetic mutation.

We are all aware that we have inherited certain traits from our parents. How are these inherited characteristics expressed? How do evolutionary processes influence patterns of change in these characteristics? In this video, the mechanisms and patterns of inheritance are introduced. We begin with an overview of Mendel?s principles of inheritance. Modern plant breeders discuss how they still use these principles in the breeding of sweet peas and other plant. The video then introduces polygenic inheritance, mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow. The discovery and the distribution of the CCR5 mutation are discussed as well as gene flow and genetic drift in Chumash Indian populations.

A key question of macroevolution is, What distinguishes a species? This leads to taxonomy and discussion of the two main approaches to classification: evolutionary systematics and cladistics. Examples are given of homologies and analogies, and ancestral and derived traits, keys to classifying by these different approaches. Cladistics focuses only on derived traits. In the second segment, two different species concepts are mentioned?the biological species concept, which is the most commonly used definition, and the ecological species concept, which places emphasis on niche occupation and natural selection. The difficulty of recognizing a fossil species is explained by anthropologists Alfred Rosenberg and Jonathan Bloch. In the third segment, the immense time span involved with macroevolution is examined, continental drift and its effects are explained, and the characteristics of mammals are illustrated.

This video succinctly presents a portrait of what it is to be a primate with adaptation to an arboreal environment. The suite of traits that distinguish primates are presented along with a comparison to other types of mammals. Then the video delves into the adaptations and traits that distinguish the various type of primates from one another. Prosimians, tarsiers, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and hominoids are all adroitly described and distinguished. The types of locomotor patterns, diets, and habitats used by primates are interwoven throughout.

This lesson tackles why we study the behavior of nonhuman primates and how their behavior patterns can be related to human behavior and evolution. Experts discuss their field study experiences and what they learned about the behavior of their subjects. Social structure and social organization are related to impact on reproductive success. The central mother-infant bond is explored, along with patterns of affiliative and aggressive behaviors in social groups. Nonhuman capacities for language and culture are also addressed in interesting ways.

Experts at the cutting edge of paleoanthropological research show how it?s done. In this video, students are introduced to the ways researchers gather data in order to answer the basic human question: Who are we and where do we come from? The multidisciplinary approach to this research is shown through interviews with established paleoanthropologists and with researchers in related areas such as archaeology, geology, the reconstruction of paleoenvironments, geomorphology, paleontology, and paleobotany. There is a strong focus on Koobi Fora, one of the most important field sites in paleoanthropology. In the last segment, relative and chronometric dating methods are explained in ways that will demonstrate state-of-the-art methods for discerning how old a specimen is.

The key trait that makes a hominoid a hominin is evidence for bipedalism. In this video experts discuss the physical changes that must occur for the transition to bipedalism including the more forward positioning of the foramen magnum, the large hole through which the spinal cord passes into the skull, a pelvis that becomes more bowl-shaped rather than the long blade-like pelvis of a chimpanzee, a longer leg, and a foot with springy arches. Important discoveries are examined in the time period from four to one million years ago including East African discoveries such as Australopithecus anamensis and the famous ?Lucy? specimen. The history of discovery in South Africa is reviewed starting with the first Australopithecus, the Taung child, and the more rugged genus Paranthropus. Finally, you will learn about the first member of our genus, Homo habilis.

About 1.8 million years ago, a new species of Homo appears in East Africa, a species that will exist longer than any other hominin. This lesson focuses on that new species: Homo erectus, the first hominin to leave Africa. In this lesson, you will follow the migrations of this species. You will explore the history of what paleoanthropologists have discovered concerning this widespread hominin in Java and in China and learn how the recent discoveries in the Republic of Georgia have turned much of what we knew about Homo erectus on its head. Finally, you will learn about a new type of tool industry that lasts for more than a million years.