ANTH 1006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Thumb, Hominidae, Chordate
Document Summary
Humans among other animals - the place of humankind in nature. Human and monkeys have had separate evolutions, but somewhere way back they came from the same. Physical & behavioral response to an arboreal (tree-dwelling) environment. Prehensile hands and feet, opposable thumbs, nails instead of claws. Mainly omnivorous, generalized dentition (front teeth are sharp for cutting, back are flat for grinding) Reflect a certain combination of traits which adapt a group or organisms in a particular way to a particular environment. Large , complex brain - cerebral cortex, speech. Behavior is essential to understanding primate complex. Involves action in response to internal or external stimuli. Careful not to anthropomorphize behavior of primates. Learned, shared behavior, but not cultural - protoculture (1st culture) A group of monkeys they were studying, one put sand and seed in water so the sand would sink and seed would float. Usually males are not greatly invest in care of offspring.
