Anthropology
Project description
This assignment requires that you read and understand information from a major website on primates to
develop comparative description. Comparisons are on multiple levels of description – taxonomic, genetic,
anatomical, behavioral, etc. regarding primates. Use your textbook and powerpoints to develop your
“understanding” of what primates share and also, how they are classified – basically the system of
taxonomy.
1
Assignment #2
–
Primate Exercises
DUE by
12 noon
Wednesday, June
2
5
th
, 2014
Submit your
Ass
ignment (Parts I and I
I
) in ONE file on the Assignment Link.
Do Part I and Part II
.
Do not wait
–
work
on assignment
over a pe
riod of time for maximum benefit.
Doing
careful and thoughtful work will have “rewards”. Strive to learn!
Primate Assignment
Part I
.
Your task for part of the assignment is to
learn about the variety of species that make up the Primate Order
.
The livin
g Primates number over 200 different species,
Homo sapiens
being only one of them.
Primates
are the closest living relatives of humans in the animal kingdom. In studying the Primate Order, we gain
insight into
processes of macroevolution
. Understanding li
ving non
–
human primates can provide clues
regarding processes of
“descent with modification”
as evident in the variety of primate species.
An
“i
nventory
”
of primates that have appeared over the last 60 million years provides appreciation of the
process of
“speciation”
–
genetic isolation and genetic divergence
described in your text.
(See
“Macroevolution Handout”.)
Adaptations to a variety of environments through biological plasticity, genet
ic
and behavior modification are
exemplified in the study of the Or
der Primates. Besides, studying them is fun!
This assignment requires that you read and understand information from a major website on primates to
develop comparative description. Comparisons are on multiple levels of description
–
taxonomic, genetic,
a
natomical, behavioral, etc. regarding primates. Use your textbook and powerpoints to develop your
“understanding” of what primates share and also, how they are classified
–
basically the system of
taxonomy
.
Steps to follow
1.
Learn about general characteri
stics of primates from the textbook and
video links. What are the
vari
ous
adaptations
and
modifications
within the Order Primate
–
species that share
a common
origin
? Identify
common
and divergent
“primate traits”
:
physical and behavioral characteristic
s
including diet, social organizati
on and geographic distribution.
Notice the
timeline of appearance of
different
early and later primates.
Can you identify
any
“
patterns
”?
2.
Complete the following table
based on information from
your textbook and
the
Pa
lomar Website
and the
Primate Factsheet
presented by the
Wisconsin Primate Center:
http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/
a.
Copy the table onto a word document
. Go to the “
primate factsheet
” websit
e.
Select one species for each category
and
co
mplete the table
with
information
from the website
and textbook.
The
table will expand as needed.
Be concise but specific.
If you prefer
, you may describe each species using “bullet format: example
–
Pr
osimian
–
all information
Species name
–
Binomial nomenclature
–
Genus species
Common name
Geographic range
–
where do they live
Type of
L
ocomotion
–
quadrupedal, leapers and clingers, brachiators, etc.
And so on…
2
Comparing Primates
Prosimian
New World M.
O
ld World M.
Small Ape
Large Ape
Species Name
Common Name
Geographic Range
Type of
Locomotion
Special
Anatomical
Characteristics
Diet (in Wild)
Sexual
Dimor
p
hism
present?
Social
Group Organization
Special
Behavior
(
life history/
parenting/ eating/
etc.)
Life span
Endangered Status
Other information
Write out answers to these
questions in complete s
entences
–
indicate your source
–
page number/
website, etc.
2.
A
fter learning about each “
primate t
axon”
–
describe
2 or 3 important contrasts
between:
a.
Haplorhini and Strepsirrhini
(
Which of these are sometimes called “prosimians”
?
What about
“
tarsiers
”
?
)
b.
New Worl
d Monkeys and Old World Monkeys
c.
Monkeys and Apes
d.
Humans and other
primates
3.
List what you would consider
4 major “Primate Characteristics”?
Check Chapter 6 & 7 of textbook.
3
Part II
. Thought question informed by scientific study.
What does it mean to be human
and “primate”
?
Read each of the articles listed
below
and
answer the question
for each.
(Minimum of
4 to 5
sentences demonstrating understanding of the main argument of the author about humans
compared to other primates.
)
Article links are on the website Assignment link.
1.
The 2% D
ifference
–
what is the DNA dif
ference
compared to another primate
?
2.
A Telling Difference
–
what is unique about human communication
compared to
other primate
s
?
3.
Meet the Alloparents
–
why is cooperative “childcare” significant for humans
and how is it unique among hominoids
?
4.
How are humans
primates
,
and yet, unique primates
?
What makes humans
primate yet
different?
W
hat
do you
c
onclu
de
?
2
–
3
paragraphs.
[
Indicate any
information that caused you to consider this question in new ways
.]
S
ummarize your conclusions with supporting information identified from chapters 6 & 7
of the textbook, the video, l
ecture, and website links available on this physical
anthropology course.
Let me know if you have questions.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 