ANTH 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Phyletic Gradualism, Macroevolution, Laetoli
Document Summary
Discuss how anthropology is integral to our understanding of biological and cultural evolution. Consider the evidence anthropologists use to study hominid evolution: fossils, stone tools. Macroevolution deals with geological time and both the extinction of old species and the origin of new species. Evidence for macroevolutionary process includes: close study of fossils, comparative anatomy of living organisms. Major models of macroevolution are: phyletic gradualism. Macroevolution represents a uniform process of microevolution over time. Speciation results from the slow, gradual transformation of a species over time, knkown as anagenesis. Fossil record shows no sharp breaks between old and new species. Macroevolution is not a uniform process and differs from microevolution. Speciation results from a cladogenesis, rapid development of a new species alongside the parents species. The fossil record can show sharp breaks between old and new species. Not speaking of archive that is complete. Punctuated equillibria is punctuated bc the fossil record is incomplete.
