ANTHR209 Study Guide - Final Guide: Avian Influenza, Incisor, Australopithecus

122 views6 pages

Document Summary

Be familiar with the issues involved in deciding whether a given set of fossils represents one species or more than one species, and be able to give an example of such a debate in the hominid fossil record. Differences between fossils can be due to either different species or simply high variations within the species. These variations can include sexual dimorphism; in many cases, this can result in characteristically more robust craniums and bodies, as well as slight changes in dentition. We are unable to determine whether or not two individuals were able to mate with each other. According to the biological species concept, this would make them one species. The scarcity of fossils as well an degradation of dna means its not currently possible to determine relatedness of fossils. Because of this, anthropologists use physical features to see if two individuals show considerable differences between each other.