Biological anthropology: Difference between revisions

'''Biological anthropology''', also known as '''physical anthropology''', is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct [[Hominini|hominin]] ancestors, and related non-human [[primate]]s, particularly from an evolutionary perspective.<ref>Jurmain, R, ''et al'' (2015), ''Introduction to Physical Anthropology'', Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.</ref> This subfield of [[anthropology]] systematically studies [[Homo sapiens|human beings]] from a biological perspective.

* [[Paleoanthropology]] is the study of fossil evidence for [[human evolution]], mainly using remains from extinct hominin and other primate species to determine the morphological and behavioral changes in the human lineage, as well as the environment in which human evolution occurred.

[[File:Johann Friedrich Blumenbach.jpg|thumb|right|125pxupright=.7|[[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach]]]]

[[File:FranzBoas.jpg|thumb|125pxupright=.7|[[Franz Boas]]]]

Biological Anthropology looks different today thanfrom the way it did even twenty years ago. TheEven the name is even relatively new, having been 'physical anthropology' for over a century, with some practitioners still applying that term.<ref>Ellison, Peter T. (2018). "The evolution of physical anthropology". ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology''. '''165.4''': 615-625615–625. 2018.</ref> Biological anthropologists look back to the work of [[Charles Darwin]] as a major foundation for what they do today. However, if one traces the intellectual genealogy back to physical anthropology's beginnings—before the discovery of much of what we now know as the hominin fossil record—then the focus shifts to human biological variation. Some editors, see below, have rooted the field even deeper than formal science.

Attempts to study and classify human beings as living organisms date back to ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher [[Plato]] ({{circa}} 428–{{circa}} 347 BC) placed humans on the ''[[scala naturae]]'', which included all things, from inanimate objects at the bottom to deities at the top.<ref name="Spencer1997">{{cite book|last=Spencer|first=Frank|date=1997|chapter=Aristotle (384–322 BC)|title=History of Physical Anthropology|editor-last=Spencer|editor-first=Frank|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QP8u1RHKQAUC&q=Plato%2C+Aristotle+physical+anthropology&pg=PA107|volume=1|location=New York City, New York and London, England|publisher=Garland Publishing|isbn=978-0-8153-0490-6|pages=107–108}}</ref> This became the main system through which scholars thought about nature for the next roughly 2,000 years.<ref name="Spencer1997"/> Plato's student [[Aristotle]] ({{circa}} 384–322 BC) observed in his ''[[History of Animals]]'' that human beings are the only animals to walk upright<ref name="Spencer1997"/> and argued, in line with his [[teleology|teleological]] view of nature, that humans have [[buttocks]] and no tails in order to give them a cushysoft place to sit when they are tired of standing.<ref name="Spencer1997"/> He explained regional variations in human features as the result of different climates.<ref name="Spencer1997"/> He also wrote about [[physiognomy]], an idea derived from writings in the [[Hippocratic Corpus]].<ref name="Spencer1997"/> [[Scientific method|Scientific]] physical anthropology began in the 17th to 18th centuries with the study of [[Race (human classification)|racial classification]] ([[Georgius Hornius]], [[François Bernier]], [[Carl Linnaeus]], [[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach]]).<ref>Marks, J. (1995) ''Human Biodiversity: Genes, Race, and History''. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.</ref>

The first prominent physical anthropologist, the German physician [[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach]] (1752–1840) of [[University of Göttingen|Göttingen]], amassed a large collection of human skulls (''Decas craniorum'', published during 1790–1828), from which he argued for the division of humankind into five major races (termed [[Caucasoid|Caucasian]], [[Mongoloid|Mongolian]], [[Negroid|Aethiopian]], [[Malayan race|Malayan]] and [[Native peoples of the Americas|American]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anatomie.uni-goettingen.de/en/blumenbach.html |title=The Blumenbach Skull Collection at the Centre of Anatomy, University Medical Centre Göttingen |publisher=University of Goettingen |access-date= February 12, 2017}}</ref> In the 19th century, French physical anthropologists, led by [[Paul Broca]] (1824-18801824–1880), focused on [[craniometry]]<ref>"Memoir of Paul Broca". ''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland''. '''10''': 242–261. 1881. [[JSTOR]] [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2841526 2841526].</ref> while the German tradition, led by [[Rudolf Virchow]] (1821–1902), emphasized the influence of environment and disease upon the human body.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/medicine/medicine-biographies/rudolf-carl-virchow |title=Rudolf Carl Virchow facts, information, pictures |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com |access-date= February 12, 2017}}</ref>

In the 1830s and 1840s40s, physical anthropology was prominent in the debate about [[slavery]], with the scientific, [[Monogenism|monogenist]] works of the British abolitionist [[James Cowles Prichard]] (1786–1848) opposing<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kpkTHFJ739IC&q=Prichard+The+Natural+History+of+Man+the+same+inward+and+mental+nature+can+be+recognized+in+all+the+races&pg=PA100 |title=Something Coming: Apocalyptic Expectation and Mid-nineteenth-century American painting -– by Gail E. Husch -– ...the same inward and mental nature is to be recognized in all the races of men. |author=Gail E. Husch |access-date= February 12, 2017|isbn=9781584650065 |year=2000 }}</ref> those of the American [[polygenist]] [[Samuel George Morton]] (1799–1851).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://chnm.gmu.edu/exploring/19thcentury/debateoverslavery/pop_morton.html |title=Exploring U.S. History The Debate Over Slavery, Excerpts from Samuel George Morton, Crania Americana |publisher=RRCHNM |access-date=February 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211064604/http://chnm.gmu.edu/exploring/19thcentury/debateoverslavery/pop_morton.html |archive-date=December 11, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the late 19th century, German-American anthropologist [[Franz Boas]] (1858-19421858–1942) strongly impacted biological anthropology by emphasizing the influence of culture and experience on the human form. His research showed that head shape was malleable to environmental and nutritional factors rather than a stable "racial" trait.<ref>Moore, Jerry D. (2009). "Franz Boas: Culture in Context". ''Visions of Culture: an Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists''. Walnut Creek, California: Altamira. pp. 33–46.</ref> However, [[scientific racism]] still persisted in biological anthropology, with prominent figures such as [[Earnest Hooton]] and [[Aleš Hrdlička]] promoting theories of racial superiority<ref>American Anthropological Association. "Eugenics and Physical Anthropology." 2007. August 7, 2007.</ref> and a European origin of modern humans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewin |first=Roger |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36181117 |title=Bones of contention, : controversies in the search for human origins |date=1997 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=0-226-47651-0 |edition=2nd ed., Rogerwith Lewina new afterword |location=Chicago, p.Illinois |pages=89 |oclc=36181117}}</ref>

=== "New Physicalphysical Anthropologyanthropology" ===

In 1951 [[Sherwood Washburn]], a former student of Hooton, introduced a "new physical anthropology."<ref>Washburn, S. L. (1951) “The"The New Physical Anthropology”Anthropology", ''Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences'', Series II, 13:298–304.</ref> He changed the focus from racial typology to concentrate upon the study of human evolution, moving away from classification towards evolutionary process. Anthropology expanded to include [[paleoanthropology]] and [[primatology]].<ref>[[Donna Haraway|Haraway, D.]] (1988) “Remodelling"Remodelling the Human Way of Life: Sherwood Washburn and the New Physical Anthropology, 1950–1980”1950–1980", in ''Bones, Bodies, Behavior: Essays on Biological Anthropology'', of the ''History of Anthropology'', v.5, G. Stocking, ed., Madison, Wisc., University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 205–259.</ref> The 20th century also saw the [[Modern synthesis (20th century)|modern synthesis]] in biology: the reconciling of [[Charles Darwin]]’s's theory of [[evolution]] and [[Gregor Mendel]]’s's research on heredity. Advances in the understanding of the [[Nucleic acid double helix|molecular structure of DNA]] and the development of [[chronological dating]] methods opened doors to understanding human variation, both past and present, more accurately and in much greater detail.

* [[George J. Armelagos]]

* [[Jane E. Buikstra]]

* [[A. Roberto Frisancho]]

* [[Ralph Holloway]]

* [[Richard Leakey]]

* [[Frank B. Livingstone]]

* [[Douglas W. Owsley]]

* [[Kathy Reichs]]

* [[Robert Sapolsky]]

* [[Eugenie C. Scott]]

* [[PhillipChris V. TobiasStringer]]

* [[DouglasPhillip HV. UbelakerTobias]]

* [[SherwoodDouglas WashburnH. Ubelaker]]

* [[Tim White (anthropologist)|Tim White]]

* [[Milford H. Wolpoff]]

{{wiktionaryWiktionary|phylogeny}}

* [[American Association of PhysicalBiological Anthropologists]] [http://www.physanthbioanth.org/]

* [http://www.humbiol.com/ Human Biology, The International Journal of Population Genetics and Anthropology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204020213/http://www.humbiol.com/ |date=2011-02-04 }}