Anthropology 2226A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Carl Linnaeus, Denisovan, Paleoanthropology
11 Dec 2016
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Natural selection and human adaption: body size and shape. Allen"s rule: an ecogeographic principle that states that among members of a broadly distributed taxonomic clade, populations and species from colder climates usually have shorter limbs (or appendages) than the equivalent animals from warmer climates. Human skin pigmentation is determined by the colour, size, and density of melanin granules produced by a specific type of epidermal cells known as melanocytes. A species that is composed of two, or more, subspecies is said to be polytypic: composed of many types. Statements that characterize modern humans (homo sapiens)as a polytypic species are inaccurate from a taxonomic perspective. This is because, in effect, it would mean that homo sapiens is a species composed of biological races which it is not. It would be more biologically accurate to describe humans as polymorphic species: composed of many forms. Linnaeus" classification of humans: class: mammalia. Diurnal; varying by education and situation: class: mammalia.
