How Anthropologists Study Change: The Study of Evolution

How Anthropologists Study Change
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How Anthropologists Study Change
Evolution
Evolution refers to individual species changes through time as organisms become modified and diverge to producing many descendants. It is a change in properties of populations of given species or group of organisms, over the course of generations (Kottak, 2004). Developmental changes in an organism, which occurs as it grows, are not considered as evolution. The changes in species or populations of organisms that are taken to be evolutionary changes are heritable changes. They can be genetically transferred from one generation to another. An evolution change can be small or extensive; it includes everything from slight changes in a given species to extensive changes in a number species. For instance, the earlier man and the Stone Age stories are evolutionary stories of humankind. They depict different characteristics and features of the past man compared to present man. Nevertheless, the traits of the modern man are genetically acquired; hence, describing evolution in humankind.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of the origin and development of human culture and civilizations (Kottak, 2004). It enables learners, researchers and anthropologists understand humanity, including the origin and evolution of man. Culture is the learned behavior of folks; it includes their beliefs, institutions, material goods, social structures and language (Bonvillain, 2006). Anthropologists study the past and present traits of humankind through a variety of techniques. Thus, they can investigate and describe how different generations lived in their time. Their findings can be used to compare lifestyles of one generation with another or to evaluate the evolutionary changes. Matched with other disciplines that study humanity, such as sociology, economics, political science, history and psychology, anthropology is broader in scope. Anthropology comprehends a wider range of topics and it covers a much greater span of time compared to other disciplines that study humanity. Anthropology sub-disciplines include cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology and archaeology. The word ‘anthropology’ comes from the Greek, which means ‘the study of the human.’
Genetic variation and human evolution
Lynn B. Jorde conducted a study with the aim of showing how the understanding of genetic variation can promote individuals understanding of their origin, evolutionary history, similarities and differences. According to the research, reducing the population size reduces genetic diversity and vice versa. Exchange in traits between one group of people and the other results in a greater genetic similarity but isolation reserves genetic uniqueness (Kottak, 2004). These demographic signatures are genetically passed from one generation to the other. Hence, one can argue that the DNA has individual’s history. Therefore, the possibility of analyzing the data will make humankind evolution history clear. The research acknowledges evolution and backs the DNA as man’s data storage device since ancient times.
Cultural Anthropology
One of the sub-disciplines of anthropology is cul...