Biological anthropology

About: Biological anthropology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1126 publications have been published within this topic receiving 12757 citations. The topic is also known as: biological anthropology & somatology.

Understanding physical anthropology and archeology

Abstract: The development of evolutionary theory the inheritance of biological traits microevolution in human populations human variation and adaptation an overview of the nonhuman primates primate behaviour mammalian/primate evolutionary history paleoanthropology hominid origins early hominids - organization and interpretation homo erectus homo sapiens archaeological approaches to later prehistory domestication and agriculture the rise of ancient civilizations new world civilizations.

Towards Engagement: Exploring the Prospects for an Integrated Anthropology of Disability

Abstract: Impairment and disability are fundamental human experiences across cultures, yet disability remains curiously under-studied and under-theorized within anthropology, particularly within physical anthropology and archaeology. Why is this the case and how might this change? This paper critically examines anthropology’s varying detachment from and engagement with disability studies up to the present. It is suggested that a holistic approach which integrates data and insights from archaeology, physical anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology would offer the means for an important and distinctly anthropological contribution to the study of disability in the past and present. Lessons are taken from previous anthropological work on women/gender and Indigenous peoples. It is argued that a focus on theoretically-situated bodies, increased inclusion of people with disabilities, and a demonstrated relevance to current disability issues will be essential aspects of an integrated ‘anthropology of disability’.

Franz Boas and Native American biological variability.

Abstract: The contributions to physical anthropology with which Franz Boas is usually credited are in the areas of growth, plasticity of head and body form, and biometric genetics. Such a listing of Boas's contributions overlooks the tremendous amount of research he did with biological variability of Native American populations. The rediscovery of his anthropometric data documents the tremendous investment in time, money, and effort Boas devoted to the topic and provides the opportunity to rediscover his insights into a subject that is of continuing interest. The design of his massive anthropometric survey of native North Americans reveals a concern for population analyses and a rejection of the typological framework of the time. If Boas's ideas had been adopted at the turn of the century, the development of physical anthropology in America might have been much different.