Human Variation and Race

     Homeostasis is the body's natural ability to maintain an equilibrium. In cold climates, homeostasis is disturbed as the body's core body temperature can drop significantly and cause hypothermia without a sufficent way of maintaing body heat. Hypothermia begins once the body's core temperature drops below 94 degrees fahrenheit. Once this happens the blood flow begins restricted to vital organs in effort to maintain body heat and as temperature continues to drop, organs begin to shut down. Therefore, in an effort to adapt and survive in such cold climates, humans have developed a variety of both biological and cultural techniques to help maintain their core body temperature.
     As a short-term adaptation, humans developed what is known as the Lewis hunting phenomenon. This is when the blood vessels constrict, preserving body heat by reducing peripheral blood flow. However, to much vasoconstriction can lead to frost bite, so as a result vasodialation occurs, increasing the flow blood flow back to the skin. This process cycles in effort to maintain body heat. As a facultative adaptation, human populations found in colder climates have developed and increased basal metabolic rate allowing to consume and digest larger quantities of fatty and higher calorie foods. This increased basal metabolic rate in turn produces increased body heat as well as helps develop a thicker lining of fat around vital organs to help maintain body heat. As a developmental adaptation, populations in colder climates are typically bulky and large

. Overtime natural selection began favoring people with such a physique as they had less surface area. A decreased surface area allowed for less heat to escape and more heat to be contained which allowed for better survival in these colder climate. This trend is known as Bergmann's Rule and can be seen not just throughout humans, but animals as well. Cold climates favor less surface area. A cultural adaptation that is most obvious for populations found in colder climates is the use of thicker, woolier clothing that covers them from head to toe. In colder climates we see the use of parkas which are essentially long thickly insulated coats that do a tremendous job at keeping the body insulated. In such clothing we see as clothes are typically lined with a dense fur or wool as these are the best at insulating. Here we also see the development of gloves. We also see and increased presence of facial hair in men that helps insulate their face.

     From studying human variation across different evironmental clines, we can best understand the origins of different races and why even though we are the same species, as a whole look very differnt. This helps us better understand the origin of our families. However, this information can most productively show that although our physical features are very different, we are all the same. It just so happens that the only reason we look different is that our ancestors were limited to a singular environment before we had the capability to migrate. There simply has not been enough time since wide spread migration among races began for the majority of the human population to begin to look alike. Humans as a species are simply too wide spread and adaptable accross too many different climates for us to all look the same.
     A similar idea can be shared when using race to understand human variation. While most of the biological variations developed in response to climate, many people from different climates share the same biological responses. For the most part the only real difference amongst races is skin color and the amount of vitamin D they can absorb or the effect of UV rays on their skin. However, as time goes on, and people continue to migrate and mate, these few differences become more widespread and common; in a sense neutral. Even cultural adaptations are shared amongst races as they travel to differnet climates and environments. Using races to understand variations really just helps us understand how different populations adapted to their environment, thus creating this idea of race. IN regards to the cold climate, it makes sense why historically people in northern europe such as russians can be compared to bears as they traditionally appear more bulky and stocky. Cultures that develop in cold weather typically all share similar traits accross their entire culture, especially in regards to tools, clothes, mirgation, etc.

The Importance of Language

Part 1: Communicating Without Language
     Communicating without any spoken language was thoroughly difficult. This was largely due to the fact that my partner could not really understand any of my answers, especially when it came to more complex responses. What ended up happening was them essentially guessing multiple times what I was trying to say until I gave them a sign of approval like a nod or a thumbs up. While I ended up getting frustrated, my partner was thoroughly ammused. As time went on, the conversation ultimately started turning into more yes or no questions. Some of the more complex answers took upwards of five minutes for my partner to interpret.
     Throughout the conversation my partner was primarily in control as it was even more difficult to ask questions than to answer them. Most of the questions I would be able to ask were along the lines of, "and you?" after they asked me how my day was and I responded. So during the time my partner was the only one really able to ask questions and change topics. The power was definitely tipped in their favor as they dictated the conversation as I was really only able to respond. Not being able to change topics or ask questions definitely made me feel more submisive. It was very hard to supress the urge to speak as I got thoroughly frustrated.
     If this conversation represented two different cultures, my partners culture is far more advanced and is far more better suited to communicate more complex language. From this we could infer that their culture and society is far more advanced than mine as they can communicate more complex ideas that help them advance. They would most likely view my culture as very primitive and undevloped. To them it would essentially be like talking to a dog; a lot of what they understand would come from reading my body language and ultimately determine if I am happy or frustrated as a substitute for yes or no. A modern situation that best fits this example can be seen if we were to interact with amazon tribes that have stayed very secluded from the modern world and still live very primitive lives. These tribes have often developed their own dialect, but not understanding even the local language would make communicating even more difficult. Another example would be seen if two monolingual people from two differnt cultures were to interact. They would both view the other person as essentially underdeveloped and the power of the conversation would probably be more balanced as they both can use spoken language.

Part 2: Communicating Without Physical Embellishments
     This conversation was much easier and a lot more productive. My partner had no problem understanding me and I was better able to answer and ask questions. This time the power was better distributed evenly. However, after a while the conversation seemed more dull and topics changed more frequently. So while they had no difficulty understanding me, I believe they had more difficulty wanting to continue talking to me.
     What this conversation showed me is that physical language helps portray emotion which is just as important as spoken language when communicating effectively. Body language helps people determine our emotions when communicating such as whether or not we are happy, angry, sad, or uncomfortable. It also helps us determine if people actually want to talk to you. Therefore it is very hard to communicate effectively without using any physical language. Without emotion it's as if the words carry no meaning. It also wears out the conversation and makes it boring. It's like talking to a monotone person which makes it really confusing whether or not they want to talk to you.
     Being able to read body language is very important when it comes to survial. When interacting with a potentially hostile person you can judge when they are going to attack or when it is best to leave before they attack. You can tell when someone is mad at you or if they want to hurt you. You can tell when people are nervous as they sweat and seem uneasy. When obtaining resources epecially from other people you can tell whether or not they want to give you resources or take your resources or whether or not they feel uneasy about sharing resources. When hunting animals you can tell when the prey is relxed or caught of guard or when they are skittish, helping decide the right moment to act. When trying to reproduce it helps males determine if their advances are working and if females want to reproduce or tell them when to make the right move. Birds often obtain mates through using body language and by doing what can be interpretted as mating dances.
     Often times people who have difficulty reading body language are people who have trouble communicating in general, which can be seen in people with autism. People with autism can have trouble communicating verbally or even just have problems socially by not being able to read body language and essentially understanding the "mood" of the conversation. However, this is not just a problem people with autism face, sometimes people really just don't know how to read body language or misinterpret it. In my experience some people don't see when peoples body language indicate that they are uncomfortable or don't want to talk. The only time that I could see where reading body language is unbeneficial is when someone is trying to decieve you for what ever reason by essentially using false body language. However, often times it's difficult to know when someone is trying to decieve you.

The Piltdown Hoax

The Piltdown Man was initially dicovered in 1912 after amateur archaeologist, Charles Dawson, discovered a piece of its skull in a gravel pit located in Piltdown, England. The fossil remains of the Piltdown Man were, at the time, believed to be one of the oldest fossilized evidence of early humans. Upon his initial discovery of the skull fragment, Dawson invited Englands leading geologist, Aurthur Smith Woodward from Englands Natural History Museum to join him in excavating the fossils. It had been believed that they had discovered the missing link between apes and humans. Woodwards credibility helped validate the discovery as the scientific community cheered and applauded the discovery. This also helped validate Aurthur Keith's, England's leading anatomist, theory that big brains developed long before bipedal walking. However, during the 1920's scientist began finding ancient remains elsewhere throughout the world. The ressults sparked speculation about the authenticity of the piltdown man as the skulls of these more recent ancestors appeared to be less human rather than more human. It wouldnt be until 1949 that scientists could uncover the truth. In 1949 scientist conducted a fluorine test to determine the age of the fossils and found that they were rather recent. In 1953, a full scale investigation into the remains found at Piltdown took place. Scientist had found that the fossils and tools had been stained and tampered with to make them appear human. One of the most shocking finds was that the mandible had belonged to a female orangutan, was only about a hundred years old, and the teeth had been filed down to look more human. While no one is certain who tampered with the fossils, many skeptics believe that Dawson had done it to feed his own ambition and elevate himself in the scientific community and join the Royal Society.
     In this case, ambition seem to be at fault. Ambition is what most likely drove Dawson to create the hoax as such a monumental find would elevate his carrer to heights he had dreamed of. Ambition is what drove Arthur Keith to blindly accept Dawson's findings as he only wanted to validate his own theory. Ambition is what drives many scientists. However, while Dawson's ambition helped him for the time being, it only hurt the scientific community as the Piltdown man would become the basis for research on human evolution for the next few decades. Errors like these hinder the scientific process as it essentially bring singnificant research to a hault until someone figures out that it's wrong.
     It took time for scientist to figure out the hoax, but when the time came they used fluoride dating to figure out that the skull was a lot younger than they had initially thought. In 1953, when a full investigation was launched, a more accurate form of dating was used to determine that the mandible was only a mere hundred years old. Microscopic analysis showed that the teeth hand been mechanically filed down to appear human. Further analysis showed that not only had the fossils been stained, and the mandible had been broken apart to fit the skull and hide the fact that it belonged to an ape.
     With advancements in science and technology, an error of this magnitude is unlikely, however while it is most likely not possible to remove the "human" from science as we are the ones who's ambition and curiosity drives scinetific research. Without a human touch there would be no one to speculate and research the validity of scientific discoveries in order to give us the most accurate information. Therefore, the human touch shouldnt be removed because whitout it, great discoveries and inventions wouldn't exist.
     The Piltdown Hoax taught me to essentially to take certain information with a grain of sault. By that I mean that you shouldn't always believe information without questioning it's validity yourself. As scientist, it's important that you understand the information given to you as well as the information that surrounds it. In certain cases, it's best that you investigate such information to determine it's validity. As human's we must remember that everyone is capable of mistakes whether they are intentional or accidental. When it come to science I believe it's important to be able to take and consider criticism and well as give it. Otherwise, we may never discover the errors that could possibly shape our way of thinking.

Analogy vs. Homology

    The giraffe is an even toed ungelate known for it's extremely long neck and inhabiting the savanas of Africa. It is an herbivore that evolved to have a long neck in order to forage from the leaves of trees decreasing the need to compete for food in an environment that it typically scarce of green folliage. The okapi is commonly known as the forest giraffe that resembles that of a horse and a giraffe. It to is an herbivore and is known for its odd appearance as it has a cobination of brown hair and black and white stripes.
     The homologous structure that we will be analyzing in both these species is the necks of these maamals. The giraffe's neck has evoloved to have extremely large neck vertebrae that are adapted to support the weight of these towering heads. It has also adapted to use its head and neck as a means of fighting and defending itself. Okapis however have much smaller necks and exhibit a structure and diet much similar to that of  horses. Therefore they have no need for enlarged vertebrae. However both the giraffe and okapi still have just seven vertebrae in their neck.
      Since these mamals are both apart of the family giraffidae their common ancestor was mostt likely a eventoed ungelate with some type of ossicone on it's head.The neck was mostlikely closer to the length of the okapi as it would seem that the girraffe was most likey the one to branch off.

     The dolpin is an aquatic mammal that feed primarily off of small fish. There are about forty differnt types of dolphins that currently exist. However due to overfishing there numbers are in decline. Sharks are commonly known as viscious man eaters, which happens to be a false statement. There are approximately 440 different species of shark and while there diet varies from fish, to seals, to whale carcasses, they are don't exactly have a taste for humans.
     The analogous structures that we are analyzing is the pectoral fins of sharks and dolphins. Given there environment such strucures were developed in order to better glide and propel there bodies through the water. However while they may share a similar shape and size, structurally they are not the same as a dolphins pectoral fin is made of bones and sharks are made up of cartilage.
     If we were to track down a common ancestor for these two animals we would have to go back closer to the start of evolution as the common ancestor was mostlikely one of the first nonvertebrates. However, we know that this trait is analagous as these animals are a part of two different classes and dolphins mostlikely evolved from an ancient land mammal that returned back to see.

Historical Influences: Alfred Russel Wallace & Charles Darwin

     Alfred Russel Wallace, 1823-1913, was a British naturalist, geographer, and social critic who was known in the public eye for his bold views scientific, social, and spiritual subjects. During his travels, Wallace noted that the geographical divides came to imply species boundaries; a concept that would later be termed the Wallace Line. However what may perhaps be his greatest contribution to science arose from his observations in the Malay Archipelago. Here he collected and observed thousands of specimens. He went onto developed his own theory of evolution through natural selection.

     Wallace asserted “every species has come into existence coincident both in space and time with a pre-existing closely allied species.” Expanding on this idea he went on to assert that these species evolved as a result of the continued progression and divergence of traits that outlived the parent species in the struggle to survive. In 1858, Wallace went on to send a copy of his paper to Darwin, who noticed striking similarities that supported Darwin's own ideas on evolution. Together they published a paper entitled “On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection.” Darwin went on to use Wallaces research to build upon and expand his ideas before publishing "The Origin of Species."

     While both men developed their own independent theories on evolution roughly around the same time Darwin still needed Wallace. While Darwin most likely could have developed his theory on his own Wallace’s research was crucial in expanding his concept of evolution through natural selection as well as providing evidence to support this idea. This is why the paper was submitted with both their names on it. Therefore Darwin may not have been able to get this far without the help of Wallace.

Like any scientist or philosopher during and before Darwin’s time, there was always a fear of their ideas being termed blasphemous having severe repercussions from the Church. This was a big reason as to why it took Darwin so many years to publish his work. The idea of evolution would go against one of the core beliefs of Christianity and ultimately act as a means of questioning the idea of a God. The theory of evolution through natural selection would contradict the religious beliefs held by the Church and those around him. It took him many years to build up the courage to finally publish his work.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Russel-Wallace