- While evolution allows for modifications to occur in species over time, only the most advantageous modifications will be passed on to the descendants of a population over time 
- This is known as natural selection, first described by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace

Evolution through Natural Selection

Rapid evolution in plants and animals that is instigated by human behavior, often through the manipulation of genes. 

Evolution through Artificial Selection 

Evolution is a constant process that is not exclusive to the past and occurs in our modern day! For example, cod fish have recently, rapidly evolved to be smaller in order to avoid human capture in light of excessive fishing.

Current Examples of Evolution

The mutual influence of two or more species on one another's evolution.

Coevolution

Evolution Reference Library

- Social Anthropology 

- Cultural Anthropology

- Linguistic Anthropology

- Biological or Physical Anthropology

- Visual Anthropology

- Psychological Anthropology

- Archaeology 

- Applied Anthropology 

- Nutritional Anthropology 

- Digital Anthropology

Subdisciplines of Anthropology

The study of human behavior, societies, and cultures throughout history (including the present). Anthropology, in broad terms, studies methods to describe and explain the similarities and differences in biology and culture of all humanity in all times and places. 

Anthropology

Evolution by natural selection was first demonstrated by the observation that more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive. This is followed by three observable facts about living organisms: 
- 1) Traits vary among individuals with respect to their morphology, physiology, and behavior (phenotypic variation)
- 2) Different traits confer different rates of survival and reproduction (differential fitness)
- 3) Traits can be passed from generation to generation (heritability of fitness)

Basis for Darwin's Theory of Evolution

Phylogeny is the study of the evolutionary relationships and history of different species of organisms on Earth. Taxonomic classification systems often take these phylogenies into account to organize species based on their evolutionary connections, which can be visually depicted using phylogenetic trees.

Phylogeny

The process in which physical/behavioral changes of a population occur over long periods of time. Evolution is a scientific theory that for over the last 150 years, scientists have gathered an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports this theory.  

Arizona State University

Smith College

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Georgetown University

- Evolution of the Brain and Behavior
- Life-Span Development of the Brain and Behavior

Evolution and Development of the Nervous System

- Genetics
- Cell theory
- Evolution
- Homeostasis

Foundations of Modern Biology

Breedlove, S. & Watson, N. (2017). Behavioral neuroscience, eighth edition. Oxford University Press.

Behavioral Neuroscience 8th Edition

Shook, B., Nelson, K., Aguilera, K., & Braff, L. (2019). *Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology*. American Anthropological Association Arlington. 978-1-931303-62-0

Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology Reference

Plasticity is how the brain is able to learn and adapt to environments. It exists throughout a person's lifetime, though it tends to be more active in early development when the brain is still forming. Plasticity is one of the key concepts within behavioral neuroscience that affects nearly all systems of the brain and brain functions.

Plasticity

The brain is a highly complex organ that develops in an orderly fashion, as directed by genes and the environment. There are four main stages of brain development that describe how the brain changes in morphology throughout prenatal life. Within these four main stages of brain morphological development, there are six stages describing the development of the nervous system that enable the brain to change in morphology. (Page 194 has images of the morphological changes of the developing brain). 

Stages of Brain Development

Experience and the environment regulate gene expression in brain development by helping to shape behaviors and a person's surroundings and vice versa. This is called epigenetics.

Genes and Experience Guide Brain Development

- visual deprivation

- early exposure to visual patterns

Individual Differences in Experience Affect Brain Development 

- Memory Impairment

- Alzheimer's Disease 


Brain Changes Due to Aging

Evolution 

- Development begins from common structure (dorsal tube)
- Symmetry within brain structures (bilateral symmetry) 
- Construction of spinal nerves with spinal cord (segmentation)
- Communication between brain and spinal cord (hierarchical control) 
- Differentiated neural systems 
- Localized functions

Common Neural Features in Vertebrates

Abnormalities in the development of the nervous system that are influenced by both our genes and the environment. Developmental disorders commonly manifest as behavioral abnormalities.

Developmental Disorders

The scientific field of study of traits and their passage from parents to offspring. Humans inherit 23 chromosomes from the father, and 23 from the mother. These 23 pairs of chromosomes consist of 22 autosomal chromosome pairs and one sex chromosome pair. The physical unit of inheritance is a gene, comprised of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) segments.

Genetics and Inheritance in Humans

Developed in the 17th century following early observations of microscopic life, the cell theory is a foundational scientific principle. It posits three main claims: the cell is the fundamental unit of life, all living organisms contain at least one cell, and new cells can only arise from pre-existing cells.

Cell Theory

The Earth is estimated to be approximately 4.6 billion years old. For its first 2 billion years, its atmosphere lacked oxygen, which is necessary to support life as it is currently known.

The Earth's Early Atmosphere

The primordial soup hypothesis proposes that life on Earth began in a body of water. According to this idea, metals and gases from the atmosphere combined with an energy source—such as lightning or ultraviolet light—to form the organic carbon compounds that serve as the chemical building blocks of life.

Primordial Soup Hypothesis

In 1952, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey conducted an experiment to test the primordial soup hypothesis by simulating the early Earth's atmosphere. They combined water ($$\text{H}_2\text{O}$$), methane ($$\text{CH}_4$$), hydrogen ($$\text{H}_2$$), and ammonia ($$\text{NH}_3$$) in a sealed, sterile flask, heated the mixture to generate water vapor, and introduced electrical sparks to simulate lightning. After one week, they analyzed the contents and discovered amino acids, which are the structural units of proteins.

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