EVOLUTION

7. Compare modern humans and Neanderthals. What evidence suggests we are very closely related species?

Modern humans and Neanderthals had a lot of similar cultural features. Both Neanderthals and humans perform burials, also both used cosmetics to cover up the body. According to DNA humans re actually really similar, in fact there is only a 0.12% difference in the DNA. Also, when the very first Homo sapiens were created, there was some interbreeding that occurred between us and the Neanderthals which show just how much we are related.

 

8) Explain why biologist do not use characterises such as skin colour or spoken language to classify humans.

Biologists do not use those because the traits we associate with human races are genetically barely different. There is no such thing as human races. It is a cultural choice to classify people by spoken language and skin colour.

 

9) Human have lived as small groups of hunter—gatherers during most of the last 100 000 years. Our food consisted of some animals and many plants. Sweet foods, fatty foods, and salts were relatively rare. Today some of the favourite foods of most people fit into these same categories.

a) Make a list of 10 of your favourite foods. How many are sweet, high in fat or salty?

Chocolate, chicken, pasta, pizza, some vegetables, bananas, ice cream, noodles, fish, rice. A lot of them are high in fat and are sweet.

 

b) Suggest a way that natural selection might have cause us to evolve love for these foods.

Natural selection caused us to evolve a love for these foods because before, food supply was scarce. Humans needed food that was high in fat and calories to function because there wasn’t much food available. Things like chocolate had all of that so people would eat a lot of chocolate because their bodies actually needed it. These foods were really difficult to get and people would cherish it if they have it. Eventually when these kinds of food because so abundant, people took advantage of that and became addicted.

 

c)How has the evolutionary love for these foods influenced societal problems related to obesity and poor eating habits?

This caused a huge problem because now a days people don’t really walk around and burn calories. They stay on their computers working on their biology portfolios. These foods are also very high in fat and calories and when those things build up, it results in obesity.

 

 

10)It is thought that the initial population of Homo sapiens that left Africa were relatively small, while the population that remained in Africa was quite large. Use this information to predict whether genetic variability will be higher among human populations in Africa or in other parts of the world. Use the internet to check your prediction. 

Genetic variability in Africa would be a lot higher because it had a lot more people. The population that left Africa was small so there wouldn’t be much genetic diversity because it would only be a small amount of people that were mating with each other. But in Africa, there were a lot more people allowing genetic variability to be a lot greater.