Refer to class lecture notes, study guides, the Evolution, Making Sense of Life
ID: 85248 • Letter: R
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Refer to class lecture notes, study guides, the Evolution, Making Sense of Life text, (especially chapters 16, 17 and 18), Dan Leiberman's The Story of Human Body, the Your Inner Fish text and video series (video available online at HHMI), as well as legitimate internet sources like Wikipedia (watch out for Creationist sites). 1. Trace the evolutionary history and adaptive significance of each of the following human adaptive complexes or deep adaptations, (adaptatively complexes that we modern humans have inherited from out deep evolutionary past). In other words, develop an illustrated/illuminated handwritten account that traces the evolutionary history of each complex across deep time. The Human Hand (with long, strong opposable thumb, short fingers, nails backing tactile pads with dermatoglyphs, precision and power grip, etc.) The Human Locomotor Adaption (bipedial locomotion, relatively long legs adapted to long distance walking and running) Human Skin (sparse surface hairs, pigmentation, vascularization, subcutaneous fat, etc.) The "Human Spark" (modern humans with archaeological evidence of full cultural capacity, symbolic consciousness, language, music, a mythic imagination, etc.)Explanation / Answer
A)
Man's hand keep the ancient pentadactyl pattern which is found in early vertebrates. These early primates had short legs, which grew continuously longer in the mammalian stage and they able to walk flat-footed. Evidences of divergent evolutionary shift in the primate which clearly distinguishable in the primate hand, especially between limb length and trunk length.
The shoulder and upper arm in man are adapted for strength. While the other parts of hand has delicate functions and the less for strength. The right and left hand are symbol of good as opposed to evil.
From giant-god of pre-Hindu times, it is believed to have carved fingernails of his left hand. The Indian caste system has a unique castes system which are divided into two sections called the "right-hand" (Balagai) and the "left-hand" (Yedagai) castes. Left hand subgroup belong to certain socially lower artisan castes, such as workers in leather.
The most significant difference between humans and our primate is the cooling and heat-management systems. Human body traded for subcutaneous fat and cool them by evaporation at a maximum rate .Along with bipedal running, active cooling enabled humans to move ecological niche and able to hunt large prey at high temperature at midday.
When compared to a chimp hand , a significant difference of digital and pad shortening can be seen in the human hand which provides greater stability and better stress endurance.These evolution also allow the human hand to grip in two distinct ways which is necessary for making tool. The grip of human hand can performed by two ways , the precision grip and the power grip.
The power grip is specified by a clamp like formation in which the fingers and the palm are partly flexed and thump applied counter pressure which is in a position even to the palm . The main objective of this grip is to absorb impact without injuring the user and prevent the object from exiting the hand.
The precision grip is that when the object is compressed between the flexors of the fingers and the thumb which is parallel to the middle and distal phalanges .
b)
The evolution of human skin is absent from the fossil record because it decays soon after death. The range of skin colors found in humans in contrasts with closest primate relatives which have light skin covered by dark hair. Homo sapiens had dark skin pigmentation because which afford from protection against the multifarious harmful effects of UVR.Skin pigmentation is one of the best examples of evolution acting on the human body. Skin color is an ideal tool for teaching evolution.
On the other hand, similar skin tones have developed at different times in human history.
The red colour of the skin is caused by exposure to UVR which result of increases in the number and diameter of vascular capillaries through which blood is flowing .Sunburned skin feels hot to the touch because of the increased vascularization of the skin and the inflammatory response increase by the skin at the time of repairing.
Much of the dietary vitamin D3 is stored in body fat ,denoting a possible evolutionary connection between the development of generous subcutaneous fat stores and vitamin D3 storage in these populations. With selection pressure on depigmentation apparently relaxed because of diet, Eskimo-Aleuts have evolved darker skin to protect themselves from high levels of UVA as a result of direct solar irradiation and reflection from snow and ice. This scenario is supported by epidemiological studies showing that departure from traditional diets in Eskimo-Aleut populations has resulted in a high prevalence of vitamin D3–deficiency diseases, especially rickets
Dark skin evolved with the loss of body hair and lacking adequate protection from hair, human skin has undergone numerous adaptive structural changes that give it strength, resilience, and sensitivity. Numerous hairs, which grow from hair follicles located in the dermis, are associated with mechanoreceptors and sebaceous glands.
c)
Human culture has evolved through a series of major tipping points in information storage and communication. The first was the appearance of language, which enabled communication between brains and allowed humans to participate in complex mating games. The second was information storage outside the brain. On the other hand , there are direct relationship between handedness for gestures and hemispheric dominance for language. The relationship between right-handedness and left-hemispheric Characterized for language which seems to be driven by a need for laterality in gestural communication . The existence of a modality-independent communication system in the left cerebral hemisphere has been interpreted within a framework about language origins and has play a key role in the evolution of communication and hemispheric specialization
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