Human Evol
Human Evol
Contents
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Definition
1.3 Aim
1.4 Scope
1.5 History
1.6 Branches and its Development
1.7 Summary
Suggested Reading
Sample Questions
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Physical anthropology is an important field of anthropology. Aren’t we inquisitive
to know about ourselves? How we were in the past to why we are like today? In
this course on Physical Anthropology, let us first define what physical
anthropology is and what does one achieve knowing this discipline. The historical
background will take you back to the days when physical anthropology meant
human variation and measurement to the current status, when we have advanced
our knowledge through technical progression. The progress in this discipline
has paved the way for several branches in physical anthropology.
1.2 DEFINITION
It very much interests us to know more about our past, present and future. What
were the stages that took us to our present day form? All the answers lead us to
the in-depth knowledge of Anthropology. The word Anthropology consists of
Greek word “Anthropos” which means man and “logos” stands for study. It is a
very vast subject comprising man as a physical being, man in his prehistoric
setting and man in his cultural context who is ruled by a multifaceted system of
customs, attitudes and behaviour. Anthropology is holistic in approach as it is
concerned with all human beings, at all times, around the world through the
examination of historical and present geographical distribution of human both
biological as well as social. In a broader perspective, it is comparative science of
man, his variation and their causes.
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History and Development of Amongst the various branches in Anthropology, Physical Anthropology holds a
Physical Anthropology
very coveted position. What is Physical Anthropology? It is not a simple task to
provide a specific definition of physical anthropology for the simple reason that
it involves interdisciplinary approach. Paul Broca, father of Physical Anthropology
defines it as natural history of the genus Homo and more concretely as the science
whose objective is to study humanity as a whole and in relationship to rest of the
nature. Herskovits identifies that physical anthropologists study such matters as
the nature of racial differences; the inheritance of bodily traits; the growth,
development and decay of human organism; the influence of natural environment
on man. According to Juan Comas, it is defined as science which studies variation,
comparative study of the human body and its inseparable functions, exposition
of the causes and courses of human evolution, transmission and classification,
effects and tendencies in the functional and organic differences, etc.
The branch of anthropology that concerns the human and nonhuman primate
evolution, the biological basis of human behaviour, and human biological
variability and its significance (giving it a proximity to biological science) is
referred to as biological anthropology while physical anthropology is largely an
American and British concept. In most European and many other countries,
physical anthropologists are the only ones who are considered as anthropologists,
while others are referred to as archaeologists, ethnologists, linguists, or
prehistorians depending upon their field of specialisation.
1.3 AIM
The broad based understanding of human organism is the strength of physical
anthropology. Not only this, physical anthropology integrates bio-cultural studies
of human diversity, the ancestors of human species, comparative anatomy,
ecology, behaviour and history of primates. Physical anthropologists are interested
in studying human genetics, growth and development and evolutionary history.
They attempt to accurately describe human physical structure both past and present
and also investigate how function and behaviour are integrated into the
environment in which human beings live.
Human biology has many times been erroneously used as a synonym for physical
anthropology although, there is clear cut area for both the fields. Human biology
comprises structure and function of contemporary man, whereas physical
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anthropology refers to all that is chronological, racial, social and even pathological Definition and Scope
groupings of human. They are very close knit, yet they maintain individual identity
in working methods, techniques and objectives.
1.4 SCOPE
With so much information getting unveiled, do you think physical anthropology
is merely an academic subject? On the contrary, the recent years reflect an ever
increasing recognition of what anthropology has discovered and can discover
about humans.
The essence of physical anthropology right from its inception remains focused
on man’s physical characters, their origin, how they evolved and their development
to present state that is, whatever we are today is the result of past and present
conditions. Physical anthropology is widely accepted as the comparative science
of man as a physical organism in context to his total surrounding be it social or
cultural or physical; because development of his physical and cultural factors is
reliant on the environment prevailing at that time.
The stages of evolution particularly the ‘prehuman’ history of man to his present
form is the basis of Primatology. It also includes the study of human biology
including anatomy, physiology and ethology. Undeniable is the contribution of
Primate Palaeontology on extinct primates. This entire phenomenon tracing the
origin of man and his evolution comes under Palaeoanthropology. Appropriate
evaluation of the remains of fossil men in evolutionary outlook requires the
contribution of comparative anatomy as well as embryology or developmental
anatomy and physiology of growth.
1.5 HISTORY
Early physical anthropologists pondered about the nature and geneses of human
races. Variation in human phenotypes mesmerized them. Way back in the
seventeenth century, it was widely accepted by the western scholars that humans
belonged to a single species, all descendants of Noah and his family. When they
came across so many different looking human beings, it struck upon them the
diversity among mankind. This was obviously something they had not imagined.
With the advent of 18th century, physical anthropology answered this curiosity
with its emergence as the scientific study of race, a response to the presence of
so many human types.
The founder of physical anthropology was the German physician Johann Friedrich
Blumenbach (1752–1840) of Göttingen; he was also regarded as the inventor of
craniology, build up enormous collection of human skulls, and thus had right to
be an empirical power on the question of human diversity. According to him,
mankind could be divided into five races: American, Caucasian, Ethiopian,
Malayan and Mongolian.
The very first impression everyone had, was that all contemporary human races
were monogenic, which meant that man’s origin was from a single gene. James
Cowles Prichard (1786-1848), was of the opinion that, as the descendants of
Adam became lighter-skinned they attained higher intellects and civilization.
With passage of time, all races would become similar to Western Europeans, the
race that in his view had progressed farther or more rapidly. It was in late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the proposal that races were polygenic,
that is more than one gene, picked up momentum in the scientific circles of
Europe especially France and America. The advocates of polygenism were of
the view that the extent of human diversity found could not be attributed to the
opponents of polygenism as the variation between the races was too much to be
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just a resultant of environmental differences and too great for humanity to be Definition and Scope
attributed to a single species. Therefore, there must have been many species
right from the beginning. This human variation which came into limelight was
studied using anthropometric measurements (anthropometry) by a Philadelphia
physician and advocate of polygenism, Samuel George Morton (1799-1844), in
later nineteenth century.
Paul Broca along with other French physical anthropologists intensified their
work on cranial anatomy and other small variations. While the German tradition,
led by Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) stressed on the fact that the variation
observed in the human form is a result of environment and disease upon the
human body, and the lack of fit among race, nation, and culture. The American
tradition focused upon the “pacified” aboriginal (Indian) inhabitants of the North
American continent, unearthing and gathering skeletons as scientific objects along
with artifacts, languages, and culture.
It was Edward Tyson (1650-1708), a London physician and member of the Royal
Society, who started the European primate studies and differentiated between
the animal, humans, and monkeys by dissecting a chimpanzee. In fact lot of
curiosity was generated among people in primate behaviour despite it most of
the early scientific investigations were basically anatomical. Thomas Henry
Huxley’s in Man’s Place in Nature (1863) endeavored to apply Darwinism to
appreciate the origins of human. Thus Primatology focused on anatomy and look
for primate evolution from paleontological record. It was Ernst Haeckel (1834-
1919) in Germany who published an encyclopedia of primate anatomy and came
up with first scientific phylogenetic trees. It was because of these efforts that
made us understand what we are today, with anatomy remaining the focal point
until after 1900.
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History and Development of It was prevalent in the United States after the Civil War (1861–65) that physical
Physical Anthropology
anthropology was a mystique medical speciality. But it was Franz Boas (1858–
1942) in 1897, an architect of today’s face of physical anthropology who used
his expertise in measuring schoolchildren, and collecting Inuit skeletons. Boas
also propagated changeability of the human form and minimize race in favor of
studying culture.
Human Evolution: This branch, as the name suggests, revolves around the origin
and evolution of Homo sapiens as a distinct species. The word “human” in the
framework of human evolution speak of the genus Homo. But then how did
humans evolve. In order to understand human evolution we study hominids also
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History and Development of as the study of hominids holds importance. It is important to know other
Physical Anthropology
disciplines like primatology, archaeology, linguistics and genetics so as to have
a better understanding of human evolution.
Human Ecology: Ecology is a biological discipline that deals with the interactions
between organisms and their environment. This environment is a sum total of
the physical environment including temperature, water availability, wind, soil
acidity and biological environment which holds influences on an organism.
Human adaptation (physiologic, developmental, and genetic) to environmental
stresses and variation is part of human ecology. Human being is the most versatile
species on earth which can adapt in any environment, be it extreme climate,
deserts, polar region, high altitude or even a marooned island. Human species
are distributed world wide well adapted in diverse environment. The human
group is an ever-increasing population which in return would involve more
consumption of resources; therefore better adoption of the Earth’s primary
production is need of the hour. However, many other human ecological
developments are probable in future. The growth of human population and how
this growth is accommodated, the way they utilise these resources yet preserve
the biodiversity is yet to be comprehended.
Forensic Anthropology: This has been one of the most sought after branches of
physical anthropology. The term “forensic” refers to the application of this subfield
of science to a court of law. Forensic anthropology is the application of the science
of physical anthropology and human osteology in a legal scenario; when in a
criminal case, victim’s remains are unidentifiable or in the advanced stages of
decomposition, forensic anthropology helps in identification of the individual.
The techniques of Forensic anthropology helps to assist in the reconstruction of
remains, assessment of age, sex, stature, ancestry, and analyse trauma and disease.
Forensic anthropology is witnessing rapid growth and recognition, laurels of
which goes to anthropologists whose expertise in criminal evidence (fingerprints,
blood types, and skeletal remains) are sought. Forensic anthropologists utilise
the proficiency of forensic pathologists, odontologists, and homicide investigators
to identify a decedent, discover evidence of trauma, and determine the postmortem
interval. Though their opinions are taken into consideration by the medical
examiner, yet they do not enjoy the legal authority to declare the official cause of
death.
Human Variation: The term human variation is gaining popularity over its
historical predecessor “race” in anthropology because of the exploitation of the
term. It is suggested to use gene frequencies and biological traits of human
populations by their geographic area. This genotypic and phenotypic detail would
be understood in terms of historical and closest selective forces in each
environment. Its main thrust is focused in an endeavor to interpret given so much
of human diversity, a consequence of evolution through a long passage of time
and all around the globe.
1.7 SUMMARY
After going through this unit, you must have understood that various definitions
of physical anthropology have been given depending upon the focus at that time.
It is rather difficult to give precise definition to physical anthropology as it
embraces interdisciplinary approach. The mechanisms of biological evolution,
genetic inheritance, human adaptability and variation, primatology and the fossil
record of human evolution constitute Physical Anthropology reflecting an
important scenario in today’s increasingly specialised world of science. It aims
for the physical anthropologists to explore human genetics, growth and
development and evolutionary history in an attempt to accurately describe human
physical structure both in the present and in the past and also investigate how
function and behaviour are integrated into the environment in which human beings
live. The scope of this discipline is manifold making it indispensable. We realised
that the understanding and assessment of the degree of human variability along
with the accounting of factors responsible for our current distribution has been
of vital concern. Genetics and anthropometry have been used in estimating the
detailed cause of individual variation and diversification of the varieties of man.
Human variation, a specialised branch of physical anthropology, currently carries
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History and Development of out studies to facilitate in the understanding of reliable history of the origin and
Physical Anthropology
evolution of mankind and its varieties; and attempts to evaluate the reasons of
human variation. There are different branches of physical anthropology, each
maintaining its thrust area and identity.
It is believed that by now you must have realised how fascinating is the field of
physical anthropology. It has witnessed a long painstaking journey in its quest to
never-ending desire to know about human. Continuously, physical anthropologists
are meticulously working to unearth the mysteries of human beings. It is not that
they are working in isolation but amazingly involves varied fields resulting in
newer concepts and better understanding which you will encounter in the next
unit.
Suggested Reading
Boaz, N.T and Almquist, A.J. 1999. Essentials of Biological Anthropology, New
Jersey, Prentice Hall.
Harrison, G.A., Weiner, J.S., Tanner, J.M. and Barnicot, N.A.1964. Human
Biology.Oxford University Press
Harrison, G.A, Weiner, J.S., Tanner, J.M., Barnicot, N.A. and Reynolds,V. 1977.
Human Biology, An Introduction to Human Evolution, Variation, Growth and
Ecology. Oxford University Press.
Stein, P. L. and Rowe, B.M. 1974. Physical Anthropology. New York, McGraw-
Hill.
Sample Questions
1) What is physical anthropology and what are its aims and scope?
2) Briefly give the history of physical anthropology.
3) What are the different branches in physical anthropology? Give a brief outline
of each branch.
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