What makes us humans so special? Our language, our genes, our culture, our cognitive skills? At the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, psychologists, linguists and biologists tackle this old question in a truly multidisciplinary way. Their results have implications not just for our understanding of human evolution--they also touch directly on many social and environmental issues. Florian Maderspacher reports. (+info)
Looking at physiological anthropology from a historical standpoint.
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As one way of thinking about physiological anthropology, let us survey it from a historical viewpoint. At the beginning of the 19th century, Blumenbach, considered the father of Physical Anthropology, wrote his "Handbook of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology." The subsequent research conducted and papers written by researchers such as Broca and Martin pointed in the direction of physiological anthropology; furthermore, the research carried out by the American researchers Demon and Baker had a physiological anthropology "feel." The courses in Physiological Anthropology taught by Tokizane exerted a major influence on physiological anthropology in Japan. The precursor of the Japan Society of Physiological Anthropology, organized by Sato in 1978, was extremely significant in the effect that it had on the subsequent development of physiological anthropology. The holding of the biennial International Congress of Physiological Anthropology, along with the allocation of the Research sub-field of Physiological Anthropology in the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, would seem to suggest that the field of physiological anthropology is set to increasingly grow and evolve. (+info)
The biological aspects of physiological anthropology with reference to its five keywords.
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The methodology of physiological anthropology has been defined in the capacity of an independent academic field by five keywords: environmental adaptability, technological adaptability, physiological polymorphism, whole-body coordination and functional potentiality, clearly suggesting the direction of approach to human beings in the field of physiological anthropology. Recently, these keywords have attracted a great deal of attention from physiological anthropologists in Japan. Physiological anthropology is based on a biological framework. From the viewpoint of biology, it is essential to discuss the biological function of human behavior. In this brief conceptual manuscript, the biological aspects of physiological anthropology are discussed in relation to the five keywords. (+info)
Perspectives on environmental adaptability and physiological polymorphism in thermoregulation.
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The environmental adaptability of human beings has progressed according to various environments experienced in the course of evolution. Therefore, various phenotypes for environmental adaptability exist and are considered to be physiological polymorphism. Physiological polymorphism in thermoregulation is influenced by genotype, individual characteristics, environmental factors, cultural factors, etc. Moreover, it is thought that physiological polymorphism is evidenced more clearly in physiological responses to extreme situations and/or changing conditions than in environments where homeostasis is easily maintained. In the field of physiological anthropology, I think that it is important not only to discover the physiological responses that demonstrate polymorphism, but also to hypothesize about the mechanisms and the processes by which such polymorphisms were formed, and their meaning for human beings. Such discussions may be supposed to lead to an evaluation of the environmental adaptability of humans from the viewpoint of physiological anthropology. (+info)
Interrelationships among whole-body coordination, functional potentiality, and environmental adaptability.
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The term "adaptability" or "capacity of adaptation" is the central concept in the general advancement and promotion of research in physiological anthropology. Throughout the history of Homo sapiens, mankind has adapted itself to environmental stress. As a result, numerous physiological polymorphisms in humans are present in our planet-wide distribution. Totally regulated physiological function by integration and coordination is referred to as whole-body coordination and is associated with a high degree of adaptability in humans. Functional potentiality also affects environmental adaptability. Thus, whole-body coordination and functional potentiality are necessary for adaptation to environmental changes. There is an interrelationship among functional potentiality, whole-body coordination, physiological polymorphisms, and environmental adaptability. (+info)
A perspective on the diversity of human adaptability.
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Certain perspectives of morphological and functional diversities molded to adapt to highly technological environments remain to be evaluated, which leads us to consider what a truly healthy and comfortable environment is by focusing on the diversity of human adaptability based on the keywords of physiological anthropology, or physiological polymorphism, functional potentiality and whole body coordination. Each of the three keywords is outlined here, as well as the mutual relationship between them. A re-evaluation of the significance of polymorphism in the current living environment is also discussed here. (+info)
Ecosystem collapse in Pleistocene Australia and a human role in megafaunal extinction.
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Most of Australia's largest mammals became extinct 50,000 to 45,000 years ago, shortly after humans colonized the continent. Without exceptional climate change at that time, a human cause is inferred, but a mechanism remains elusive. A 140,000-year record of dietary delta(13)C documents a permanent reduction in food sources available to the Australian emu, beginning about the time of human colonization; a change replicated at three widely separated sites and in the marsupial wombat. We speculate that human firing of landscapes rapidly converted a drought-adapted mosaic of trees, shrubs, and nutritious grasslands to the modern fire-adapted desert scrub. Animals that could adapt survived; those that could not, became extinct. (+info)
Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals.
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The 1998/1999 direct dating of two Neandertal specimens from level G(1) of Vindija Cave in Croatia to approximately 28,000 and approximately 29,000 radiocarbon ((14)C) years ago has led to interpretations concerning the late survival of Neandertals in south-central Europe, patterns of interaction between Neandertals and in-dispersing early modern humans in Europe, and complex biocultural scenarios for the earlier phases of the Upper Paleolithic. Given improvements, particularly in sample pretreatment techniques for bone radiocarbon samples, especially ultrafiltration of collagen samples, these Vindija G(1) Neandertal fossils are redated to approximately 32,000-33,000 (14)C years ago and possibly earlier. These results and the recent redating of a number of purportedly old modern human skeletal remains in Europe to younger time periods highlight the importance of fine chronological control when studying this biocultural time period and the tenuous nature of monolithic scenarios for the establishment of modern humans and earlier phases of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. (+info)