In Biological Anthropology the principles of evolutionary theory and scientific method

were applied daily, whether it was in our reading or in the activities that we used to gain a better
understanding of the material recently learned. There are many different examples of biological
evolution, many of which we can see the difference in with our own eyes.
When looking at the fossil it is easy to observe the difference between bipedal apes and
Homo sapiens. Early hominins had more pronounced features that held large canines. As bipedal
apes began to evolve it is easy to see that as they evolve and grow larger brains and flatter
features they also start to lose their pronounced canines.
Biological evolution can be seen in the wide array of skin colors that are found across the
modern world. In Skin Deep: Nina Jablonski's Theory of Race, she introduces the theory of why
our skin changed from dark to light and proposed why it even began to darken at all. Melanin is
the key since it is the reason for the pigment variety in everyone. Her theory is that those humans
who no longer were covered in body hair were susceptible to UV radiation. Nina Jablonksi
proposed that the reason for the darkening of the skin was to protect infants still in the womb.
The dark pigment of the skin helped to block out radiation that would destroy a chemical called
foliate, which is essential for the growth and proper development of a baby. When people moved
out of Africa and began to travel north they had more of a need for vitamin D and those with
lighter skin were able to absorb it easier than those with darkly pigmented skin.
Humans have a foramen magnum that is at the very bottom of their skull, this means that
our head is fully supported on our spine. When apes are born their foramen magnum is under
their skull, very similar to a humans but as they grow and develop the foramen magnum is
moved toward the back of the skull where it is mostly supported by large muscle attachments. As
you look at the evolution of humans you will notice that the foramen magnum becomes centered
under the skull and in the case of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis the foramen magnum is oval
shaped rather than the circular pattern that you see with other hominids.
The evidence for understanding the biological evolution of humans is tricky. Its not
something that we can see happening on a day to day basis so it is difficult to track the changes
and progress that occurs. What has been discovered of the fossil record is limited, there are some
species that only consist of 2 skulls, making it hard to know how much of the differences in
skulls are variation or of they are different species. Many of the theories proposed by scientists
seem plausible but all we have available to study and learn from is bone and tools left behind by
early hominins. The three examples chosen are easy to believe because you can see the results of
them either on skulls or for the difference of skin color you simply have to look at people today.
When it comes to skin color we know that humans originated from Africa and yet there are so
many different colors of skin across the world and the information that Nina Jablonsiki provided
seems to be a realistic reason for why there are so many colors of skin spanning the globe. She
seems to understand that the adaptations have to be due to the ability to reproduce rather than to
protect from skin cancer later in life, as many believe. Its easy to see the evolution of teeth from
ape to human because many teeth have been found for different species and with modern
technology the teeth of a hominid can tell us a lot of information.
 Before this course human evolution was something that I believed but didnt have a full
understanding of. In public school teachers would breeze through the subject so that no one
would be offended, resulting in little to no new knowledge on the subject. My belief of human
evolution was that man evolved from something primitive. This anthropology course helped me
dive into the past so I could take a look at current information about something we as humans are
still trying to figure out. My assumptions about evolutions havent changed but have instead
been enlightened and broadened. One activity that the class participated in was when we
compared skulls of pre autrilopiths, austrilopths, Homo erectus up to Homo sapiens sapiens, the
activity had us compare features and then try to group the skulls into their respective species. It
gave me a greater insight into how difficult it was to look at a skull and correctly tell if it belongs
to a certain group or exactly how old it is. The facts are constantly fluctuating in the scientific
community as new information is uncovered and new technology helps scientists to properly
date discovered objects.
This course is the first course that I have taken that is directly related to my major. One of
the main ideas that this course taught me is things are always changing, science wouldnt be
science if people didnt continue to test and retest each others theories in an attempt to learn
more. This class pushed me not to be content with the facts that are simply given to you and to
push yourself in other areas to help become a better person. This anthropology course gave me
greater insight to the struggle that humans went through to become who we are today. It also
gave me a greater appreciation for the differences that I see in people on a daily basis, it makes
me think of the millions of years that it took for us to become who we are today.
Some questions that I would like to know more about is why people of Asia have an olive
skin tone compared to the people of Europe because if they all traveled out of Africa around the
same time and began to settle in cooler environments then what is the genetic code that made the
difference in skin color. With that, what is the environmental pressure that made their skin
different from those that settled in Europe and those that stayed in Africa? I curious to learn
more about the interactions between Homo sapiens neanderthalesis and Homo sapien sapien
whose existence crossed over each other. There is little that remains of the fossil record to
indicate a lot about the cultural aspects of the Neanderthals and modern humans so it is difficult
to tell but it is something that I am still curious about.