Childhood around the World Final ExamInformation on Exam 1Anthropology - Anthropology: the study of humanso Anthropos= humano Logos= “word” (study of)o Holistic study - The place of humans in the “genealogy chart” we call the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy o Kingom: Animalia - Class: Mammalia – Order: Primates – Superfamily: Hominoidea- Humans share traits with mammals, primates and hominoidso These shared traits are used by taxonomists to position humans within the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy and show our position in the diversity of living organisms - Life history: compare the life history profiles of different species in order to better understand each specieso Species vary in patterns of: Total lifespan (short vs. long) Age of first reproduction (early vs. late) Rate of maturation of offspring (fast vs. low) Number of stages during immaturity, length of each stage- What is a human? o Traits unique to our species Habitual striding bipedalism- this frees the hands from locomotor duties- African apes (gorilla, chimpanzee bonobo) have hands which are adapted for knuckle-walking and suspension Humans have a long opposable thumb and movement versatility that exceeds that of any other primate- Homo faber= the tooluser and toolmaker Compared to chimpanzees, humans have a large braincase and a small, flat face with small front teeth- Human brain is 6-7 times bigger than most mammals and 3-4 times bigger than most primates Speech and language- speech is learned and cerebral cortex dependent- Way through which humans transfer information Culture: behavior that is learned and shared by a group- Passed from one gerneration to the next- Cumulative and evolutionary- The power of group living and cultural sharing amplifies the abilities of the individual o The human lifespan includes 7 stages: o Passing through the sequence of stages in an inevitable part of being human Embryonic- in mammals the fertilized eggs is embedded in the uterus; ends in the birth ofthe infant; also exists in other vertebrates such as birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish Infancy- found only in mammals, begins with nursing, ends when nursing ceases- “Child” 3-7 years old- Milestones include food dependence, steady body growth, brain growth, locomotion gains efficiency, eruption of first permanent molar (6 or 7), mid-growth spurt (mark ups of childhood)- Uniquely human Juvenile- feeding independence but lacks sexual maturityo Growth: proportionate changes in size  Distance curve: pattern of size change during maturation for general body mass, brain mass and reproductive tissue Velocity curve: height for age  Infants grow very fast, slow growth between child and juvenile, growth spurt in adolescent, growth ceases at adulthoodo Development: increasing complexity and progress toward maturity- What is a mammal?o Homeothermy/furo Reproduction Internal gestation Lactation  Extended parental care- emotional bond and play behavioro Mastication (chew food)- have four different kinds of teeth- What is a primate?o Emphasize vision not smello Touch and manipulation with eye-hand coordination  Way of life = hand + eyeso Large brainso Slow maturation and long lifeo Primates have grasping hands and feet- nails, tactile pads with touch receptors, friction ridges o Apes: mature slowly, live long Ape mothers invest heavily in a few offspring who take a long time to grow upo Lemur and monkeys are both primates but lemur is more “primitive”, eyes face forward but widedistance between orbits. The money has eyes very close together and set in a complete bony socketo Tooth eruption is used to define life periods and to compare primates - What is a hominoid?o Forearms are adapted for suspension and have a versatile range of motion Long muscular arms Rotator shoulder joint allows 360 rotation of the arm Fully extendable elbow 180 rotation of forearm Extended motion in wrist- Evolution: an explanation for the origin of organismso Comparative anatomyo Fossil recordo Comparative molecules- A child is a version of a human o Children are appropriate objects of study by anthropologistso Versions of human can be sorted into stageso Childhood is one stage over the lifespan of all humanso Stages: Gestation, Infancy, Childhood, Subadult, adult- Species is an important concept in biology that has helped us to organize and understand the variety of life on eartho Millions of species have been identified, each marked by unique traits, reproductive isolation andecological niche o Species traits: Traits shared with other organisms Traits that are unique to each specieso Humans share basic properties with other species (groupings of species such as genera, families, orders, etc.) Recognizing these shared traits helps us to understand ourselves - Many species experience changes in structure and behavior ie. stages Species vary in the number and duration of life stages Sometime the change is very dramatic - Ex: infant panda is 1/900th the size of its mother; pink, hairless, blind- Childhood: a stage in the life cycle of the human species, only humans- How are children different from adults?o Appearance o Motor ability – early reflexive behavior - Trends in motor ability o Increase in strengtho Increase in control, precision, coordination Locomotion- balance, pivot, stop quickly, hop, skip, gallop- Skipping is an age specific behavior, maturation also changes behavior Upper body- throwing and catching- Throwing is a use of suspensory adaptation for a new abilitiy that is impossible for non-hominoids  Hands- individual finger control- A lot of the motor cortex is devoted to controlling hand and finger movements especially the thumb- Allow for holding a writing/marking instrument - What is play?o Hard to define but easy to recognize; is a familiar category of behavior whose existence is hard to explaino Characteristics of play:  Short sequences; fragments of motor patterns Repetitious Reordering Exaggeration Rapid alterations of behavior No obvious immediate benefit  Matacommunication “this is play”o The costs of play Time and energy expenditure Accidental injury or death Increased risk of predation Delay of maturationo Fagen found that all reported examples of play were found in birds and mammalso Immatures play more, adults lesso Some categories of play identified in mammals Locomotor play- is universal