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How evolution works
Summary of anthropology
Explain the occurrence of evolution
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For Darwin Day, I went to see evolutionary anthropologist Briana Pobiner for her talk on human evolution and the evidence from diet, disease, and diversity. Throughout her speech, I found some things she said to be interesting; others to be quite surprising. I also analyzed what Pobiner discussed and found value in her evidence. To begin, I found the lactose intolerance part of the talk to be very interesting. I found out for the first time ever that only 35% of adults - out of the population of seven billion people - can drink milk. I didn’t realize that the number was so low or so drastic. Pobiner used lactose intolerance as an example of her four step plan for building an evolutionary explanation; this included variation, inheritance, selection, and adaption. She explained why some regions have more lactose intolerance than others and displayed the distribution of people through the form of a map. With this introduction, the evolution of lactose was explained. Pobiner pointed out that a seven thousand year old pottery sieve that was used to make cheese was founded. So, using this sample, it can be estimated that milk has been used for that long, maybe even longer. It was thought that the intolerance of lactose to have begun only about five thousand years ago. This was discovered from ancient …show more content…
I learned significantly a lot more than I would have previously. The example of lactose intolerance was very interesting; it really did give prime reasoning to human adaption. The concept of current human evolution was surprising to me; it is shown through evidence that I would not have connected to before. I found value in the talk by how well it relates to real life events and how these examples give confirmation to this theory. Pobiner left the audience with the indecisive question that left me wondering: is this adjusting or adapting? Only the future will
Humanity became fascinated with the idea of evolution with the work of Charles Darwin and the Scientific Revolution. People began hunting for fossils that would prove that man had an ape derived ancestry (Weiner, 1955). After various years of searching, a piece of physical evidence was found in England that was said to confirm the theory of evolution (Weiner, 1955).This confirmation came from Charles Dawson’s discoveries from 1908, that were announced publicly in 1912 (Thackeray, 2011). Dawson was believed to have found the fossil remains of the “missing link” between ape and human evolution, the reconstructed skull of Piltdown man (Augustine, 2006). The material was found in stratigraphical evidence and animal remains that were, at the time, adequate enough to confirm the antiquity of the remains (Weiner, 1955). In 1915, another specimen, Piltdown man II, was found further proving this theory (Augustine, 2006). However, this was merely a hoax proven by fluorine relative dating in 1953; the artifacts and bone fragments discovered turned out to be altered to fit the proposed scenario (Augustine, 2006). The skull found was actually composed of a human braincase that was younger than the complimentary orangutan lower jaw (Falk, 2011). Both sections of the skull had been stained to appear to be from the same person of the same age (Falk, 2011).The perpetrator of this act was never caught and there are many theories proposed for the motive of this hoax (Augustine, 2006). Many people have been taken into consideration for this crime, such as Chardin, Woodward, Hinton, and Dawson (Augustine, 2006). Nevertheless, the evidence that proves that Dawson is guilty of this crime against anthropology is quite substantial compared to the evidence...
Over the last few hundred years, more and more has been added to the world’s fossil collection, fossils from all over the world. New theories have been created and old theories have almost been proven about the evolution of man. For example, we have proof that different species of man existed with certain types of DNA sequences and instincts, some we may not have anymore, or some that other species did not have back then. Even though it is subjected to much debate, one of the most widely accepted theories however, is that Homo sapiens interbred with the slightly more primitive species of man, the Neanderthal.
The world of English Literature captures the minds of millions of people worldwide. The stories that are read are new and old and continue to capture the attention of people even to this day. Each piece of literature can go in-depth into settings, themes, characterizations, have great styles and the thing most people enjoy... conflict. Most people don't understand or see the messages these pieces may have in them. Hidden sometimes within complex statements or meanings that the everyday person might not recollect. These "treasures" are waiting to be found and are gold waiting to be found.
Tattersal, I. and Schwartz, J. H. (1999). Hominids and hybrids: The place of Neanderthals in human evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 96, 7117–7119.
The argument of whether or not humans evolved from monkeys is constantly tossed around in our society with the emergence of more and more scientific discoveries. Evolution across such a broad spectrum is known as macroevolution, or changes that happen at or above the species level. Both popular and academic discourses debate the religious and moral issues associated with macroevolution and its propositions. The main person behind the idea of evolution was Charles Darwin who theorized that everything comes from a common ancestor. In the magazine article “Was Darwin Wrong?” featured in a 2004 issue of National Geographic, David Quammen discusses whether or not Darwin’s findings in evolution theory were correct. This article was targeted for
Myers, provider of source material for Edie Heydt's notes from "Human Origins," fall 1997, Alfred. Much of the material in the notes is paraphrased, and the original information sources are unknown. Michael Ruse, The Darwinian Revolution, pub. 1979 by The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637. H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau, copyright 1996 by Dover Publications, Inc.,
At the age of seventeen, Kilpatrick went to Mercer University (his father’s Alma Mater) and was a top performer in ancient languages and mathematics. During his junior year, Kilpatrick came across a book titled The Origin of Species, which made a significant impact on his professional, as well as personal life. “The more I read it the more I believed it and in the end I accepted it fully. This meant a complete reorganization, a complete rejection of my previous religious training and philosophy” (Beyer, 1997, pg. 2). Kilpatrick strongly felt that his acceptance of Darwin’s theory on Origin of Species meant a rejection of his religion as a Christian and a strained relationship with his family. He noted that this turn of events, made him not believe in life after death and brought to an end the strong worship he had for God. Though, this discovery of “modern evolution” caused him to lose religious beliefs, Kilpatrick maintained his moral values (Beyer, 1997).
B.M.de Waal, Tree of Origin: What Primate Behavior Can Tell Us about Human Social Evolution. Havard University Press: Massachusets, 2001.
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
The speaker organized the presentation very well and made it easy to follow for the audience. She chose words that got the message across clearly and were not difficult to understand. Since this was targeted at a younger audience, she simplified the concepts and was very specific. The sentences of the speech were structured appropriately, and had no grammatical errors. She also included some transitions in between, especially when moving from one idea to the next which made the flow
18 February 2014 “NSTA Position Statement: The teaching of Evolution”. NSTA.org. -. nd. Web. The Web. The Web.
DeWolf, David K. "Evolution and Dissent - The Boston Globe." Boston.com. 11 June 2007. Web. 12 May 2010. .
Ungar, Peter S. Evolution of the Human Diet: The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
Over the course of this class I have pieced together many things about my own life that before went unnoticed. I am now able to see things in a bit of a different light. Now that I have been introduced to the realm of psychology I understand some of the reasons for behavior around me. I have learned that there is a reason for most everything and a lot of our behaviors and mental processes can be explained through psychology. Studies have been conducted for many years to try and pinpoint the source of our behavior and it is not something that most people think about every day. Having a better understanding of why we operate the way we do will help me to better understand myself and the others around me.
The class helped me learn how to overcome fear of public speaking which was brought about by anxiety and fear which was mainly contributed by lack of exposure. During this class I learned many ways of overcoming this menace, the class groups that served as the audience helped in practicing and getting over the anxiety and fear I also got positive critic...