ANTH 1001 Chapter : ANTH 1001 FEB25
Document Summary
Lactase- enzyme that allows you to digest lactose, which is a sugar in milk. Humans can digest milk as babies, but most of us lose the ability after weaning. Populations with long histories of dairying are typically lactose tolerant. Mutation for ability to digest mile as adults would have provided a natural selective advantage. Def: polytypism- phenotypically different populations in a species. Polytypism is result of diversity of environments that we inhabit. Our populations diversify because of natural selection, but our populations remain within a single species because of gene flow. Race- not a biological useful grouping of humans. Human variation prospective- any beneficial modification that relieves environmental stress and enhances an individuals survival. Acclimatization- (physiological and anatomical adjustments to the environment) as adaptation- acclimatization occurs within and individual. Acclimatization can be short term and reversible, or developmental and irreversible. All humans are capable of having these responses. Demonstrates the plasticity of humans response to environmental stress.
