HUMAN VARIATION POST

1. I chose to discuss how the heat effects on homeostasis in humans. A few things can happen to the human body due to the heat such as, heat exhaustion, which causes dizziness, headaches and fainting. A more dangerous affect is heat stroke which causes dry skin, confusion, and unconsciousness, and a body temp. above 103 degrees fahrenheit and usually requires medical attention.
2.  The short term adaptation to the heat is evaporative cooling, or sweating. Sweating releases excess heat and as a result gives off a cooling effect.

The facultative adaptation to the heat is a person's skin tone. Darker skin absorbs heat while lighter skins simply reflect the heat. 

A cultural adaptions to beating the heat would be the clothes or lack of clothes we wear. Certain fabrics have proven to be lighter and therefore less hot. Additionally, the use of air conditioners and swimming pools have also helped with reducing how hot we get. 

3.  Studying human variation can be very useful. Studying how the heat effects us helps us learn how to beat it. Knowing that there are ways for the heat to be more tolerable allows us to look to others to see how they are keeping with the heat or why they are unable to. 

4. I would use race in accordance to the location where those particular races are found and how they adapt to the heat. For instance, I would look for the cultural adaptations that Egyptians who live in Egypt use to beat the heat. However, it would be easier to study environmental influences because people of all different races live all over the place so it makes it difficult to base adaptations purely on their race. Environment however is a lot more clear. 

LANGUAGE BLOG

1.

• I  found this assignment relatively easy on account that I already communicate mostly through facial expressions and hand movements. 
• My partner did have to alter the way they talked to me a few times during our conversation, mostly when it looked like I was confused. Then they would slow down and try to use different language until it seemed as though I understood. Overall, it was kind of easy to carry on a conversation. However, there was minor confusion here and there, sometimes I would make a face when they were telling me something I disagreed with and it was hard for me to really explain why I was making the face, or getting worked up. Gradually, after they would run down the list of possible reasons I could be mad at one of their comments we worked everything out, but it took time and in those times it was pretty difficult. 
• I think that as long as both parties know the language then the person who speaks will have the advantage when explaining complex ideas. The speaker may have the attitude that the non speaker may be slow or just stupid because it is hard to explain what or why you don't understand something just through facial expressions or hand movements. Sometimes it looks like you're just having a tantrum when in reality you're trying to convey your ideas. When talking to children for instance or even the mentally handicapped most individuals tend to talk down to them and use simple language, "no," being the most common word used I think. 

2.

• I lasted around 6 1/2 minutes. This part was very difficult for me. I cannot not make facial expressions and I talk with my hands during almost every conversation. 
• My partner said that for the most part (during the times when I did keep a straight face and talked in monotone) I was creepy. They said it was hard to read my reactions to their stories or to their opinions. 
• I think this shows that non-verbal language is almost as important as verbal language. It conveys our emotions which allows others to read how we feel about them and the subject of discussion. 
• I think there are people who do have trouble reading body language, for instance when someone is telling a story that is making everyone uncomfortable but they continue talking because they're not picking up on the vibes of everyone else. Being able to read body language is helpful, it allows you to be able to tell how others are feeling which can help you sense when you may be in trouble. Such as on a dark night when someone is acting suspiciously and you can sense something bad is going to happen. I personally cannot think of a situation where not being able to read body language would be helpful. 

THE PILTDOWN HOAX

In early 1912, Charles Dawson told Arthur Woodward, keeper of geology at the natural history museum, that he had discovered a piece of thick human skull at Piltdown in Sussex. Together they pursued this discovery by "unearthing" more skull fragments and a jawbone with 2 teeth. Both believed that these parts belonged to the same person and they created a reconstruction that suggested it had belonged to an individual with a large brain, an ape like jaw with human teeth. They suggested this individual lived longer than 500,000 years ago. As years went by and different remains began to be discovered by different scientists it was discovered that none of them matched the piltdown mans. Scientists, Kenneth Oakley, Joseph Weiner and Wilfred Le Gros Clark worked together to test the Piltdown fossils and discovered that the fragments were from two different species, a human and an ape. It was learned that the teeth that were found were in fact ape teeth which were filed down to look human, thus exposing the hoax. 

The human faults that came into play were pride and simple arrogance. There is no doubt that Dawson and Woodward believed that humans did evolve from apes and when Dawson first discovered the fragments he probably thought they were all from a human. But when he and woodward realized this wasn't the case they chose to falsify evidence, (filing down the teeth, among other things) in order to maintain that they were right. 

Oakley ran fluorine tests that made use of how fluorine accumulates in calcium-containing organic matter such as bones and teeth. Doing this Oakley discovered the bones were less than 50,000 years, not old enough to have derived from an ape like species. Weiner and Clark discovered under their microscope the file marks on the teeth leading them to discover the teeth were not human. 

Humans will always be needed to test hypothesis and to prove what technology claims. The whole reason for the scientific process is for humans to gain knowledge. I wouldn't want to remove the human factor because even though there is a chance that a person will lie or falsify evidence I believe that over all humans are striving for truth and so I choose to believe in them. 

What I learned is that if you are going to trust someone than they better have real proof. And even then at the end of the day is you can't always believe what you hear. Some things can only be trusted when test by ourselves. 

COMPARATIVE BLOG

SOCIALITY AND MATING PATTERNS

LEMURS

1.    Lemurs are found in Madagascar, in the treetops of the rainforest, in the desert and on the Comoros Islands.
2.   Ringtail lemurs live in groups of male and females of about 11-17. When a group gets too large, usually 15-25, with too many females, the lemurs will break apart and form two smaller groups. In the lemur family females are usually dominant. Usually, a group of lemurs will have one female who is the leader and controls their movement, and who has first choice in food and mates. They do not begin reproducing until about 2.5-4 years old. Females are usually sexually active for one or two days a year and tend to give birth to one child. However, lemurs in captivity tend to break these trends an
3. Ringtail lemurs’ reproductive success is very dependent on environmental conditions, as is their sociality. For instance, in years of drought infant mortality rates are around 80% but normally the rates are around 37%.

*http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/ring-tailed_lemur/behav

Spider monkeys

1.             Spider monkeys can often be found in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America and additionally further north in Mexico.
2.       Spider monkeys are social and gather in large groups, however they usually break apart into small sub groups, led by females, in order to gather food and to sleep. A female spider monkey’s period of sexual receptivity lasts for about 8 to 10 days with periods between peaks of sexual receptivity lasting 15-17 days.
3.        The reason that spider monkeys break into smaller sub groups is because of seasonal fruit shortages. Thus, to avoid competition and in order to gain more food per member, the spider monkeys break into smaller groups. When food opportunities are at their scarcest the sub groups are at their smallest and when opportunities are at their peak, groups are largest. One of the reasons that the spider monkeys continue to socialize in larger groups is for increased mating opportunities and for protection. If there are no males in a female’s subgroup then she will lead her group to the calls of neighboring males. Therefore, sociality and mating patterns depend heavily on the spider monkey’s food opportunities in their environment. 

*         *http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/spider-monkey/#

           *http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/black_spider_monkey/behav

Baboon

1.     Baboons almost exclusively live in Africa or Arabia. They generally prefer savanna and other semi-arid habitats, though some live in tropical forests.

2.     Baboons live in groups known as “troops.” These troops usually consist of 15-150 baboons. While females tend to stay in the same group almost their entire lives, males often venture out and change groups several times, starting when they reach puberty between the ages of six and nine. Females in a group tend to all be related and are close to each other but males, since they venture out, are usually competitive for access to females. Male and female baboons often form close friendships with each other that consist of frequent, relaxed grooming sessions, traveling and foraging together, sleeping never each other, defense from aggressive predators, and support in caring for infants. Male and female baboons reach sexual maturity between 4 and 6 years of age. They are sexually promiscuous, often having several mates. Baboons often form mating consorts, in which males and sexually receptive females stay close to one another during the duration that the female is receptive. The male will stay close to the female and will fend off any other males who try to mate with her, resulting is severe fights. Females are involved in consorts with an average of three to four males and ranging up to nine different males during the period of her fertility.

3.     Because the females stay with the same groups their entire lives they form a hierarchal relationship but are still very close. But because the males are constantly moving groups in order to prevent mating with their own offspring, they are constantly at competition with each other for new mates and other resources.

*http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/baboon/

*http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/olive_baboon/behav

Gibbon

1. Gibbons are found in the dense forests of southern Asia, and rarely descend down from the trees.
2. Gibbons usually live in serious monogamous pairs with up to four offspring. However, some gibbons are known to live in all male groups or all female groups. Though there is no definite leader, females usually take the lead in group progressions. Despite most gibbons being monogamous, when it comes to reproduction some of them are polygamous. However, frequency of copulation remains highest with their pair mates. Mating occurs ever month but most conceptions occur during the dry season.
3.  Because they live almost exclusively in the trees Gibbons are endangered and are having a hard time adapting to the loss of their forest. 

*http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/gibbon/

*http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/lar_gibbon/behav

Chimpanzee

1. Chimpanzees habitat African rain forests, woodlands and grasslands.
2. Chimpanzees live in social communities of several dozen animals. Males are dominant over females and tend to remain in their communities while adolescent females tend to emigrate. Males tend to be more closely related which results in them having closer bonds than the female chimpanzees. The communities usually break off into small groups for hunting. Mating occurs throughout the year and both males and females are promiscuous. The number of estrous females is directly related to food abundance, because of the energy required for ovulation and mating.
3. Being in a group allows them to hunt more and gain more food. This allows the females to be ready to mate more frequently and produce more offspring.   

 *http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chimpanzee/

*http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/chimpanzee/behav

It seems that environment does play a key role in the sociality and mating patterns of these primates. It's interesting that the female tends to be the leader in all the groups except for the chimpanzees. As long as these primate stick to their social norms  and continue to hunt and gather their food it will allow them to have more reproductive opportunities and adapt to future environments.