1. The document discusses the development of evolutionary theory from early ideas of biological change to the modern synthesis of genetics and natural selection. 2. Key figures discussed include Darwin, who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection, and Wallace, who independently developed the same theory. 3. Natural selection results from variation within populations, competition for limited resources, inheritance of traits, and differential reproductive success of individuals based on advantageous traits in their particular environments.

1. The Development of Evolutionary Theory
Anthropology 1: Fall 2016
the human experience, and they are not
inherently mutually exclusive categories.
biological evolution; acknowledgement of
evolutionary processes doesn't preclude the
existence of God.
religions or by most forms of Christianity.
A substantial majority of Americans (about 7 in 10)
believe the scientific Theory of Evolution is
compatible with a belief in God – one does not
preclude the other.
◦ “Evolution and Creationism in Public Education” People For
the American Way Foundation
processes, but one of the most misunderstood.

2. -8
million years ago (mya), not monkeys or chimpanzees.
r with other
primates
species is rarely witnessed
verification through accumulated evidence (and has
not been disproved)
n has been supported by a
mounting body of genetic evidence.
western Europe, made possible by scientific
thinking dating to the 16th century.
Arab, Indian, and Chinese cultures where notions
of biological evolution had already developed.
concept, but Natural Selection was a new theory

3. once created, can never
change
opposed to theories of
biological evolution.
was to challenge the
Argument from Design
(life engineered by a
purposeful God).
th the discovery of the New World,
introducing new ideas and challenging
fundamental views about the planet.
increased awareness of biological diversity.
church doctrine and belief
◦ Aristotle taught that the sun and planets existed in a
series of concentric spheres that revolved around the
sun.
◦ Copernicus challenged the idea that the earth was the
center of the universe.

4. ◦ Galileo’s work supported the idea that the universe was
a place of motion.
differentiated from other groups by their ability
to mate with one another and produce offspring.
oups of reproductively isolated
organisms into a single category, which he called
the species.
developed a method of classifying plants and
animals.
standardized Ray’s use of genus and species
terminology and established the system of binomial
nomenclature.
-level system became the basis for
taxonomy.
in’s grandfather

5. intellectual community in England
originated in the seas and all species descended
from a common ancestor.
itings, but how
much he was influenced by them is unknown.
-Baptiste Lamarck developed a theory to
explain the evolutionary process, known as the
Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics.
◦ An example is the giraffe: having stripped the leaves
from the lower branches of a tree, the animal tries to
reach leaves on upper branches.
◦ The neck becomes slightly longer.
◦ The longer neck is passed on to offspring.
offspring
Lamarck,
Cuvier explained the fossil
record as the result of a
succession of catastrophes
followed by new creation
events.

6. geological landscape is the
result of violent cataclysmic
events.
Charles Darwin’s
friend and mentor.
earned acceptance in Europe’s most
prestigious scientific circles, thanks to his
praised Principles of Geology, published during
the years 1830–1833.
t the earth’s features are the
result of long-term natural processes that
continue to operate in the present as they did in
the past.
actually explained by Lyell, this theory opposed
catastrophism and contributed strongly to the
concept of immense geological time.
in their separate discoveries of natural selection.
growth, not concerned with how species change.

7. population growth
Darwin and Wallace.
Thomas Malthus and Principles of
Population
serving as a naturalist on
the 5-year voyage of the
HMS Beagle.
of biological variation
within a species.
reproduction increased
variation, but did not yet
know why.
are born than survive to adulthood, coupled with
the notions of competition for resources and
biological diversity led to the theory of evolution.

8. circumstances favorable variations would tend to
be preserved, and unfavorable ones to be
destroyed.”
species and new species were influenced
by environmental factors.
Darwin, on evolution and natural
selection to the Linnean Society of
London
Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of
Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life” in 1959 in
a rush to the press to beat Wallace publishing on
Natural Selection first.
◦ Processes of Natural Selection,
are “the key” to understanding
evolution
relative reproductive success of individuals.
genetic contribution to the next generation
compared to that of other individuals.

9. offspring.
its genes on a faster rate than one that bears few
offspring.
r, is also the
number of young raised successfully to the point
where they reproduce, or differential net
reproductive success.
1. All species reproduce faster rate than food
supplies can increase.
2. There is biological variation within all species.
3. In each generation more individuals are
produced than can survive, and because of limited
resources, there is competition among individuals.
4. Individuals possessing favorable variations or
traits (i.e. speed, resistance to disease,
protective coloration) have an advantage over
those who do not.
traits increase the likelihood they will survive
and reproduce.

10. 5. The environment will determine if a trait is
beneficial.
◦ Geographical isolation (distance, natural barriers such
as oceans) contributes to the formation of new species
as individuals begin to adapt to different environments.
◦ Selective pressures (differential ecological
circumstances) cause distinct species to develop. The
13 species of Galápagos finches presumably all
descended from a common South American ancestor.
.
Natural Selection cont.
6. Traits are inherited and passed on to the next
generation. Individuals who produce more offspring
are said to have a greater reproductive success, or
fitness.
7. Variations accumulate over long periods of time,
so later generations may be distinct from ancestral
ones.
8. As populations respond to pressures over time,
they may become distinct species, descended from
a common ancestor.

11. 1. A trait must be inherited if natural selection is
to act on it.
2. Natural selection can’t occur without
population variation in inherited
characteristics.
3. Fitness is a relative measure that changes as
the environment changes.
4. Natural selection can only act on traits that
affect reproduction.
will lead to modified micro-organisms that
have evolved to resist therapies such as
antibiotics.
terial infections weed
out vulnerable microbes, but leave less vulnerable
to reproduce. Less vulnerable cause more serious
forms of disease than the organisms that were
eliminated.
Example: HINI Flu viruses are the result of
viruses “evolving” or changing in form.
several strains will pose the most serious
threat and try to develop a vaccine that
targets that specific “evolving” strain.

12. understand evolution, there is little hope
they can forestall potential medical crises
as the pace of change in pathogens
exceeds that of the antibiotics designed to
defeat them.