1.    High altitude negatively impacts the survival of humans because for starters, not everyone can survive being in a high altitude. Once a person reaches a high altitude, they start breathing more, taking in more breaths, as their body tries to increase oxygen intake. However, no matter how fast you breathe, your body will continue to get less oxygen in your circulatory system, which means you’ll have less oxygen in your muscles which effects your daily performance. Being at a high altitude also increases water loss, which can lead to dehydration. It can also speed up your metabolism, yet also suppresses your appetite, this will cause a person to eat more then they need to. Being exposed to high altitudes also increases glucose and insulin in the body, which can lead to acute altitude hypoxia. A person may also experience headaches, nausea, lethargy, dizziness and not be able to sleep very well. People can adapt to living in a high altitude over time. Those that are native to high altitudes usually have a larger lung capacity. But high altitudes can create a lot of problems if a person hasn’t or is unable to adapt to that environment.

      2.  Cold temperatures place a lot of stresses on the body. The mortality rate grows rapidly in the cold.      There are more deaths as a result of cold temperatures then there are hot temperatures. 

The short-term adaptation, is how we heat up the body in cold temperatures. This is done by shivering. Shivering occurs when a person is in air temperature under 77 degrees Fahrenheit.  Shivering is a body function that is a response in humans and other animals, when their core body temperature drops. Shivering helps maintain homeostasis. Skeletal muscles shake in small movements, creating warmth as they expand energy.

                        

         

 The Facultative adaption on your body happens when you are exposed to cold weather, and your body temperature drops, the low temperatures cause your blood vessels and arteries to narrow, which restricts blood flow and reduces the oxygen going to your heart. Your heart must pump harder to circulate blood through the constricted blood vessels. This results in your blood pressure and heart rate increasing.  

 

Development adaptation for cold is: Human bodies adapted to the cold, by a change in their body shapes. The human body evolved in ways to help stay warm. Some of the changes are short, wide bodies which help conserve heat. Also living in cold climates, their main source of food is through hunting, causing humans to eat a lot of meat, having a shorter body would have a shorter digestive tract, helping efficiently process the food.

                                                           

      

Cultural adaptation to the cold is: Layers, we are able to put on multiple layers to help us stay warm, so we aren’t exposed to the cold. Dressing in layers creates an air space between the skin and cold, this space helps insulate your body. Layers are also looser, which allows for better blood circulation which helps maintain your body temperature.

                   

       

                              

3.   The benefits of studying human variation from the perspective across environmental lines is beneficial because it helps us understand how people have adapted, and how they are able to survive in these environments. It’s amazing how adaptable the human body is, it’s constantly evolving to adapt to whatever comes its way. It’s also very interesting to see how our ancestors may have adapted, in the environments they lived in.  I am really into studying my own ancestry and I find it very interesting to see how things have changed over the years for my own ancestors. Looking back to my family tree from the 1400’s is truly amazing to see how the human race just evolves and adapts, when life around us is constantly changing-from the weather, to catastrophic events, to pandemics like we are experiencing now. We adapt. I feel this information is very useful to help us, we are a culture that travels a lot, and due to this knowledge we know how to prepare- for instance if we are going to Iceland, we will bring warm clothes, as we know it’s cold there. If we are going to Hawaii, we’ll bring summer clothes, as we know its very hot- through this knowledge we are able to plan our lives, and live our lives with some understanding of what to expect.

   4. I wouldn’t say race but the environment helps us understand the adaptations I listed in #2. For instance I mentioned that our bodies changed and adapted to the cold climate, people in cold climates  became shorter and rounder. Eskimos are known to live in cold climates, such as Russia, Alaska, and other cold climates, and the average height of an Eskimo Man is 5 feet 4 inches.  When you compare that to the rest of the world where the average height is taller then that, you see that it’s not a race thing at all, as Eskimos are not a race,  its just how you adapt to that environment. Studying environmental influences helps us to understand the people better, and how the adapted to each situation.  

Language

Part 1:

A) This was a very interesting assignment, and I went into it not really knowing what to expect. The partners I had the conversation with were my kids, my son Dylan is 25 and my daughter Amber is 15. I think my kids thoroughly enjoyed this assignment as they could say whatever they wanted to, and verbally I couldn't say anything in return. I found myself using a lot of hand gestures to try and get my point across, and as I did this, they would actually slow down their speech, almost as if they thought I couldn't understand what they were saying to me. I found it very difficult to communicate with them. They tried to ask me what I was going to make for dinner, and it's really hard to describe what you are cooking with just hand gestures. The whole thing created a lot of laughter, but also a bit of frustration. 

B) The person that was in control of the conversation was my 25 year old son. He is the one that initiated the topic and kind of controlled the entire conversation.  It got to the point where he would ask questions and I would nod yes or no. It almost became a guessing game for him, he'd ask like are you making spaghetti, Tacos, and would expect me to nod yes or no. By the way, he never was able to guess correctly.  It  got very difficult trying to express myself and I did feel excluded at times, my kids would start talking to each other, and there wasn't really a way for me to jump in and get my thoughts across, so yes, I did feel left out at times. 

C) I think the person that verbally speaks has a better advantage in communicating. They can use language, hand gestures, and many other techniques to get their point across, while the person that can't verbally communicate can only use gestures and such, which not everyone is able to fully understand. An example of this, is I have an Aunt that is fully deaf and mute, I've known her my entire life, but I've never been able to fully communicate with her, nor have a conversation. I babysat her kids, I have always known her, but our communication always went through my uncle or my cousins. So I think those that can't communicate verbally do have a disadvantage, they have limits on who they can fully communicate with on a daily basis. Even in today's culture,  there is a huge deaf community and a lot of people are still unable to communicate with them. So I think it does make it harder. I also have seen people treat the deaf culture very rudely. My aunt and I were once at a common relatives house, and she & I were outside when a delivery person walked up to the house and started talking to my aunt, not knowing she couldn't hear-  and he got very rude with her.  I was just a young kid so I wasn't sure how to intervene, but I remember the delivery person treating her very rudely, because she was unable to hear him. The thought she was deaf never crossed his mind. He just had an attitude and took for granted that everyone communicated as he did.

Part 2: 

A) Again, the partners I used were my kids. I found this to be really interesting. I tried to keep my voice flat, not using any alteration in my tone, and not using hand gestures or anything. Not using hand gestures was hard for me, as I am always told I speak with my hands a lot. I found this part of the assignment to be more difficult, as I wasn't able to use any facial expressions, voice my expressions or anything. My kids didn't have any difficulty communicating with me, but they both felt I was angry or upset, as I just talked in a very flat tone. I showed no expression which is rare for me and they both left the conversation feeling I was upset. 

B) I think this showed my kids and I  that body language is very important. It's part of who we are and how we communicate. It's important to be able to smile when talking, as well as using hand gestures, as they can help to describe things. Using a flat tone is like receiving a text and you don't know if the person is angry or just being themselves. You have to be able to use expression, excitement in your voice, as well as other ways of communicating. I think it helps get your point across and also helps people know where you are coming from, your mood and how you are feeling. You can tell a lot about how a person is feeling by their body language, we yell when we are mad, if we spoke in a flat monotone when mad, who would know we were mad? Same as with being happy, if we weren't allowed to smile and laugh, but only talk in a flat tone, who would know we were happy? Language is connected through verbal words, actions, and so much more. 

C) I think body language is important because you are able to tell a lot about a person. People even become body language experts, which shows just how important body language is. I think one advantage to being able to read body language is you can kind of tell what a person is thinking subconsciously. People use body language when being protective of people, and may not even realize that how they are standing next to someone, may be in a protective manner. People can often say they are fine, but their body language may say differently like if they have their arms folded, or are shaking, etc. If you see someone exhibiting this type of body language you can reach out to them, and try to help them. They may not want to talk about it and verbalize what's going on, but you can be there and support them, knowing they need something. Body language truly shows a lot about how a person is doing. I think by the use of body language it helps a person communicate love as well, they say actions speak much louder then words, and body language proves that. Anyone can say "I love you" but when you see it in a persons actions, such as affection, hand holding, kissing, hugging, you know these are all connected to how a person feels about you. If there's someone you can't stand, you most likely won't go up and hug them or hold their hand. Most only show affection to those they truly care about. 

D) I think there are people that have difficulty reading body language, my daughter for one! When ever she talks to me, she thinks i'm smiling, and I'm NOT! If I say i'm not smiling, she argues with me that I am. So I found myself trying to have a different expression when I talk to her, as she always thinks i'm laughing when we talk. She'll be totally serious or can be crying and she thinks i'm smiling and laughing at her, so I think she has a very  hard time understanding body language. So the look on my face (body language) is not giving her reliable information. 

The Piltdown Hoax

In 1912 in the small village of Piltdown, in Sussex, England one of the greatest hoaxes of all time took place.   Amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson was digging for fossils at the Pleistocene gravel beds when he discovered what appeared to be remains of a human like skull. Dawson was very excited about his find and called upon a colleague, Arthur Smith Woodward, who was an employee at the Natural history museum. Smith-Woodward started working alongside Dawson, and they soon discovered a set of teeth, a jawbone, more skull pieces as well as tools that were from long ago. These tools made them believe they belonged to the species they had found. They eventually pieced the skull fragments together, and it seemed very human like, but wasn't quite human. Scientists believed this could be a human ancestor from thousands of years before. The common ancestor we share with other primates. This discovery was huge news and shared with everyone, people in France, Germany, and other countries were trying to find fossils of our common ancestor so the news was some of the biggest. Some however, doubted this find from the beginning, Several prominent scientists questioned the authenticity of this find. Most scientists truly believed this was the find, everyone was hoping to find. This would have proved Darwin's theory one hundred percent, about natural selection. For many years, people believed this to be the true remains of one of the earliest human ancestors. In the 1920's and 1930's people were starting to have doubts. Scientists started to discover the remains of other human ancestors, and none of them showed the large brain or ape-like jaw of the Piltdown man.  They also had new technology that could date bones, by using fluorine to test the bones. These tests were used a lot starting around 1939. They would later have carbon dating technology which would support their findings even more.  The Piltdown gravels were found to be much newer then the fossils would have been, this made people start calling the Piltdown man into question. In 1953 a group of paleontologists got together and for the first time ever, called the Piltdown man a fraud. They had done an intensive study of the remains, which proved they were a modern human skull, less then 600 years old. The jaw and teeth were from an orangutan, and the tooth was from a chimpanzee. Some of the bones had been filed down, to be convincing. The bones had also been covered in a chemical, to make them appear older then they actually were.  A lot of scientists were very angry and upset about the deception, as it  cost the field of science a great deal. It delayed acceptance of another ancient  early human found in South African in the 1920's. Also many respected scientists were deceived. 

The human faults that came into play here, were greed, and dishonesty. Scientists all want to have that one big moment they will be remembered for. So many were anxiously trying to find this one common ancestor that they let greed get the best of them. This actually slowed down the study of human evolution. In 1925 Raymond Dart found a fossil in South Africa, which he actually believed to be the earliest human ancestor, but due to Piltdown man, very few wanted to accept his find, they accepted Piltdown man as the earliest. Dart would eventually be found to be honest with his findings.  Sadly this kind of stuff still takes place in the scientific world, in 2000 Japanese archaeologist Shinichi Fujumura buried stone tools he had collected from previous digs, only to unearth them later and claim they were fresh finds. 

Around 1939, paleontologist Kenneth Oakley discovered a chemical analysis called fluorine testing. Fossils absorb the fluorine from soil and water, so fossils that have been in the soil for many years together would have roughly the same amount of fluorine. They used this to test the Piltdown man, and this is how it was discovered he was maybe 50,000 years old, not 500,000 years old. They had also used a file to ground down the teeth. 

I don't think it is possible to remove the human factor from science, who else is going to do the archaeological digs, date the fossils and chart the remains they find. Humans have done more for the scientific world then they have hurt it. Greed will most likely always get in the way of people, but in the end science will tell the truth. The truth always comes out in science. The scientific method will always expose the truth. I would not want to remove the human factor from science, I think we need it to be able to challenge each other, share discoveries. 

I don't think you can take anything at face value, each person should do their own research and come to their own conclusion. If we take things at face value, we will fall for anything. Eventually the truth always comes out, especially in science. One should do their own research, there's enough information available now a days, to make research easy and accessible. A hundred  years ago, most of us would have probably believed Dawson, as we wouldn't have been able to do our own research or knowledge, which is why I believe so many trusted his findings. But in today's day and age, we have a ton of knowledge at our fingertips. We all need to research and draw our own conclusions, not just trust what we are told.  

                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Analogy/Homology 

1. For the homologous trait provide the following information. 

a. Two different species that possess the homologous trait are human beings and monkeys. The tailbone in human beings is a homologous trait, it gets its name "tailbone" due to the fact it is a homologous structure to the beginning of tails. Such as the tails that monkey's have. Human Beings have lost the original function  of their tailbone through evolution. Human Beings now have a coccyx, which is very similar to a tail, however the coccyx serves no purpose. Part of this is the fact that Human beings are bipedal, and have no need for a tail. Monkey's on the other hand, are bipedal, yet still use their tails for things such as grasping objects such as branches and food, so their tail still serves a purpose. 

b. Monkey's have what is called a prehensile tail. A prehensile tail has adapted to grasp or hold objects, full use of a prehensile tail includes being able to manipulate objects, and aid the monkey in finding and eating food. The human being tail bone is now a vestigial trait that humans no longer have a use for. There are several theories as to why humans only have a tail bone such as, we are bipedal, we don't need a tail to brush away bugs, help our balance or to grab things, so over time there was no need for humans to have a tail. The tailbone is formed of three to five vertebrae, the last piece is  a tiny nodule of bone. A monkey's tail is made of vertebrae that are more flexible. 

c. Human beings and Monkey's are both primates that descended from a common ape ancestor over six million years ago, we share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees and chimpanzees are the closest primate relative to humans. Like Human beings, chimpanzees do not have tails. However, the ape species includes humans, monkey's and chimpanzees, so the Ape is our common ancestor. 

d. 
. 

2. For your analogous traits provide the following information. 

a.The penguin and the fish are examples of species with analogous traits. Penguins and fish both have fin like structures, yet one of these are a bird and one is a fish. Therefore they are not related through ancestors or anything. The main function of a fish is to swim, and they have fins located in different places to help them move through the water, stop, as well as shift left or right, so the fin serves a lot of purpose for a fish. A penguin also uses their fins, for gliding through water. Unlike the fish, the penguin can rotate their fins in different directions, which help their fins act like a paddle. Penguins have fins instead of wings, because a wing would hinder their swimming. 

b. Penguins are part of the bird family, they even have feathers like birds do, however the feathers are highly dense and very short. Penguins also lay eggs, and are warm blooded. Over time penguins wings adapted to become fins (flippers), which they use for swimming. Penguins rely on swimming for food, so developing these fins was more important then growing wings to fly. Fish on the other hand are cold blooded and cannot survive on land like penguins do. The fish fin serves many functions, their dorsal fin prevents them from rolling over, their pectoral fin are used for steering. So the fins in both penguins and fish serve entirely different purposes. The one similarity is both use their fins for guidance through the water. 

c. Fish were here on earth long before birds were. Amphibians evolved from fish, over 360 million years ago, and then mammals and birds evolved from reptile like ancestors so the common ancestor would be a fish from over 360 million years ago. Fish had fins, so this would be the analogous trait that penguins now have. The fish and the penguin are not related as one is a fish, cold blooded and one is a bird, warm blooded. They are from entirely different species. Penguins and fish are analogous to each other, based upon the structure of their fins. The penguins fin is used to help navigate through the water, ice and snow, and the fish's fin is used to navigate only through water. 

d. 

.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck VS. Charles Darwin

I believe Jean-Baptiste Lamarck contributed to the theory of evolution, by disagreeing with what Darwin had believed. In the end it helped prove Darwin's theory.  Lamarck believed that species adapted to their environment, and due to the species adapting, they would pass these "traits" on to their offspring. For instance he stated that "If a giraffe stretched its neck for leaves, a "nervous fluid" would flow into its neck and make it longer. Its offspring would inherit the longer neck, and it would continue to stretch more over generations"  Early Concepts of Evolution: Jean Baptiste Lamarck, evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_09.    Darwin believed this wasn't true, we are basically products of our environment, and adapt to the changes taking place in our environment. These traits were then passed on to our offspring and only the strongest survived. Birds and mammals all have differences, some with short beaks, some with long, the ones that adapted to their environment would live on and pass these traits on, while those that didn't adapt would die off. 

• All organisms have the potential of reproducing exponentially.  If a Giraffes neck grew and grew longer over generations, a giraffes neck would never stop growing and the exponentially growth of a giraffes neck would make the giraffe all neck and nothing else. One would think a giraffe would lose the ability to walk over the years. Luckily Lamarck's theory wasn't true.

• What is preventing organisms from reproducing at their potential? Giraffes necks only have seven vertebrae, they have stretched these vertebrae to their potential, which allows for no more stretching, so the theory that Lamarck has that they would keep growing, generation after generation, is physically impossible.
  
• Resources are limited: If a giraffes neck continued to grow, they would become so top heavy, they wouldn't be able to stand, sure they could eat from high trees, but would they be able to stand under all that weight?
  
• Organisms with better access to resources will be more successful in their reproductive efforts. The giraffes will have access to food other animals can't reach, and they will be able to reproduce as long as their body are proportioned.
  
  
• Who gets better access to these limited resources? Darwin's giraffes would get much more from the resources as they would adapt perfectly to their environment, and be able to utilize the resources given to them. They also wouldn't have a lot of predators being as large as they are. Darwin's giraffes would also have greater reproduction success.
  
• If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different: The species would have to adapt to new changes in the environment, if they do not, they will fail to have reproductive success and the traits that make them successful in today's world. If they failed to adapt, they could possibly die off. 

• In order for natural selection to occur, reproduction MUST occur! If the species failed to adapt to changes, and they failed to reproduce, they would die off, and become extinct. They need to be able to pass on their traits, to keep the species alive.
  
• In order for traits to evolve and change, they MUST be heritable.  Lamarck believed traits changed and were acquired over a individuals lifetime, and that this individual would pass these traits on to their offspring, but it's actually genetics that passes the traits on. They can be passed on to generations years from now.
  
• Individuals do not evolve. Populations do. Individuals will not see the evolving of different species, as their life is not long enough. It takes years to evolve, so future generations will witness the changes.
  
• Artificial selection is identical to natural selection with one important difference. Humans intervene, and are selective. Natural selection happens naturally.
  
• Could Darwin have developed his theory of natural selection without the influence and ideas of this individual? Explain. Yes, he could have, as his theory was proven to be correct while Lamarcks was not. Lamarck believed an animal wanted to evolve, for instance a giraffe reaching higher for food- therefore stretching his neck. Darwin believed this to be untrue, that they adapted to their environment. Evolution does not have a plan, it just happens.
  
• How did the attitude of the church affect Darwin and his decision to publish his theory? It kind of caused condemnation and approval, causing a divide among the church. Some were supportive of his ideas and others were completely against it. Darwin was able to get support from other scientists and eventually published his work.