Chapter 3 Additional Resources

Why Is Evolution Important to Anthropologists?

Websites

  • “Understanding Evolution,” The University of California at Berkeley
    http://www.evolution.berkeley.edu/
    One of the most thorough and accessible sites offering professors and students an in-depth look on some of the key aspects of evolution, links to teaching materials, and a browsable resource library called “Understanding Evolution.” Its web address is maintained by the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Check out the article on the silent crickets of Hawaii for a fantastic example of evolution at work.
  • McMaster Ancient DNA Centre
    https://adna.mcmaster.ca/ 
    The McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, housed in the Department of Anthropology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, conducts cutting edge research on evolutionary genetics.
  • American Association of Anthropological Genetics
    http://www.anthgen.org
    This website offers a wide range of resources including bibliographies, meetings, workshops, and media updates on current research on anthropological genetics.
  • Summer Internship for Indigenous Peoples in Genomics
    https://sing.igb.illinois.edu/
    Workshop to help provide awareness and support to Indigenous peoples to understand how genomics is currently used to help Indigenous communities and to encourage more Indigenous peoples to become more involved in research.

Videos

Borrell, Phillipe, and Charles Gilbert. 2007. Tracked Down by our Genes. Brooklyn, NY: First Run/Icarus Films. DVD, 53 min.

This film explores issues surrounding bioethics. What are the ethical implications, for instance, of genetics research and the collection of genetic material? This is a particularly salient issue given that many Indigenous groups, for instance, claim that geneticists are engaged in new forms of colonial exploitation through genetic research. This link provides further background information on the film: http://www.icarusfilms.com/new2008/gene.html.

“Darwin’s Struggle: The Evolution of the Origin of Species.” 2009. Top Documentary Films video, 60 min. http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/darwin-struggle-evolution-origin-species/

This film documents how Darwin came to conceptualize and write his famous book On the Origin of Species.

Barrett, Matthew, John Rubin, and Sarah Holt. 2009. “NOVA: What Darwin Never Knew.” Boston, MA: PBS Distribution. DVD, 112 min. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/darwin-never-knew.html.

This video explores how modern genetics research has confirmed many of Darwin’s original theories about the nature of human evolution.

BIO. 2013. “Gregor Mendel—Mini Biography.” YouTube video, 2:35. Posted July 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmSJGhPTB5E.

This video documents the life history and background of Gregor Mendel and provides the viewer with an anthropological perspective on how and why Mendel was motivated to conduct his now infamous pea experiments.

Discovery – “Mathematical Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Interpretation of Evolution” YouTube video (6:03). Posted April 25, 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQy12X_Sm2k

This discusses the 1966 meeting of MIT engineers and biologists to discuss problems in evolutionary theory, and that neo-Darwinism did not work mathematically and the push for new theoretical understandings of human change.

Books and Articles

Alters, Brian, Anila Asghar, and Jason R. Wiles. 2005. “Evolution Education Research Centre.” Humanist Perspectives 154.

This article reports on two research projects within the Evolution Education Research Centre at McGill University. The first is about the treatment of evolution in provincial curriculum within Canada. The second shifts from the usual focus on Christian opposition to teaching evolution to address some of the tensions between evolutionary theory and Islam.

Arbour, Laura, and Doris Cook. 2006. “DNA on Loan: Issues to Consider when Carrying out Genetic Research with Aboriginal Families and Communities.” Community Genet 9: 153–160.

This article addresses the need to carry out research according to mutual expectations when working on genetic research with Aboriginal peoples. The authors discuss practical approaches for developing respectful relationships and suggest that biological samples should be considered to be only “on loan” for the purposes of the agreed upon research.

Bak, Per, and Maya Paczuski. 1997. “Mass Extinctions vs. Uniformitarianism in Biological Evolution.” Lecture Notes in Physics 480: 345–372.

Bak and Paczuski discuss the theory of uniformitarianism as formulated by Charles Lyell in 1830. They note that this theory, also known as gradualism, had a major influence on Charles Darwin. Uniformitarianism was seen as preferable to catastrophism, which was rejected by the scientific community—partly because it was reminiscent of creationism. The authors note, however, that catastrophic events do occur, such as mass extinctions. These forms of intermittent natural phenomena fall between uniformitarianism and catastrophism, and include the concept of punctuated equilibrium.

Balter, Michael. 2000. “Was Lamarck Just a Little Bit Right?” Science 288 (5463): 38.

Balter notes that Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829) is remembered somewhat dismissively today for his theory that evolution occurs by the inheritance of acquired characteristics. The author points out that Lamarck made major contributions to biology that should not be overlooked, including being one of the first to argue that evolution rather than divine intervention was responsible for biological changes over time. While the work of Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel led to the dismissal of Lamarck’s ideas, the field of epigenetics—genetic expressions not linked to alterations of DNA sequences—leaves open the idea that some acquired genetic mutations can be passed on to offspring, some of which could play an adaptive role.

Burkhardt, Richard W., Jr. 1970. “Lamarck, Evolution, and the Politics of Science.” Journal of the History of Biology 3 (2): 275–298.

While Lamarck is often contrasted with Darwin today, Burkhardt’s research shows that his writing had little influence on contemporary scholars. Part of this indifferent reception by his contemporaries is related to hostile views dominating science during his time, as well as to the ideal that Lamarck’s arguments were insufficiently developed. The author examines how Lamarck’s own attitudes affected how his ideas were received—both in Lamarck’s lack of sensitivity to how his ideas would be received and his own feelings that his “views would indeed be poorly received.”

Cziko, Gary. 1995. Without Miracles: Universal Selection Theory and the Second Darwinian Revolution. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

A broader application of Darwinian evolutionary theory to examine the emergence of the human mind, language, and behaviour, connecting with approaches to artificial intelligence and making selection more powerful for scientific use.

Gibson, Mhairi E., and David W. Lawson, eds. 2014. Applied Evolutionary Anthropology: Approaches to Contemporary World Issues. New York, NY: Springer.

This edited volume is an excellent resource that discusses issues of ethics and evolutionary anthropology. It focuses in particular on how evolutionary anthropological paradigms inform social and government policy, corporate agendas, and other domains in non-academic contexts.

Gillespie, Charles. 1958. “Lamarck and Darwin in the History of Science.” American Scientist 46 (4): 388–409.

Gillespie contextualizes Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by trying to examine to what degree Darwin did and did not follow on the work of others. He focuses on Lamarck as the best known of the pre-Darwinian evolutionists. An interesting point that the author brings up is that opponents who objected to Darwin’s work on religious grounds further critiqued him by arguing that he was not original. In other words, Darwin was both wrong and basically just replicated Lamarck’s earlier writing. These critiques are, of course, wrong, but Gillespie does a great service by exploring the connections between Lamarck and Darwin.

Gould, Stephen Jay. 1994. “The Evolution of Life on Earth.” Scientific American 271: 85–91.

Gould notes that Charles Darwin himself saw natural selection as only one, albeit the most important, mechanism for evolutionary change. Punctuated equilibrium, which Gould helped develop, is presented as another way in which evolution of species can take place. Rather than always occurring gradually, new species can develop over short periods of time under punctuated equilibrium.

Greene, John C. 1974. The Death of Adam: Evolution and its Impact on Western Thought. Ames: The Iowa State University Press.

Bringing together the result of centuries of debate into the synthesis of Darwin’s approach to change, this review explores the philosophical and social underpinnings of evolutionary thought in the Western world.

Mayr, Ernst. 1972. “Lamarck Revisited.” Journal of the History of Biology 5 (1): 55–94.

Mayr remarks that it is difficult to develop an unbiased evaluation of Lamarck, given how he has long been cast in a negative light relative to Darwin. He points out that DNA studies clearly refute Lamarck’s theory of evolutionary causation. Nonetheless, the author notes that Lamarck is more than worthy of study for historical reasons, if no others. He undertakes the task of developing such a theory that is not simply an ad hominem attack.

———. 2001. What Evolution Is. New York: Basic Books.

Mayr begins his preface with a simple statement, but one that has become increasingly provocative: “Evolution is the most important concept in biology.” He then proceeds to demonstrate why this is the case. Mayr’s book is divided into four sections: What is evolution? How are evolutionary change and adaptedness explained? Origin and evolution of diversity: cladogenesis, and Human evolution. This tome provides a solid and readable overview of evolutionary theory.

Schwartz, Douglas W. 2008. “An Evolving Genius: The Extraordinary Early Life of Charles Darwin.” AnthroNotes 29(2): 1–9. http://anthropology.si.edu/outreach/anthnote/ANFall2008final.pdf

Schwartz provides a biographical sketch of Darwin’s life with the goal of understanding how he “evolved” into the scientific genius widely celebrated today. The author attributes Darwin’s independence—which later led to his voyage on the Beagle—to his mother’s death at an early age. Darwin also took long solitary walks as a young boy, observing the natural world around him, and collecting samples of eggs, insects, and minerals. By the age of ten, he was already becoming a student of natural history. The reader of this engaging biographical sketch will learn many other fascinating facets of Darwin’s life.

Sheets-Johnstone, Maxine. 1982. “Why Lamarck Did not Discover the Principle of Natural Selection.” Journal of the History of Biology 15 (3): 443–465.

Sheetz-Johnstone raises an intriguing question: Why was it that Darwin and not Lamarck came up with the principle of natural selection? Lamarck was certainly aware that living creatures adapted to their environments and changed through time. The author explores the related notions of whether natural selection never occurred to Lamarck, or whether Lamarck came close to the idea but did not make the final, intuitive leap achieved later by Darwin.

Wiles, Jason R. 2006. “Evolution in Schools: Where’s Canada?” Education Canada 46 (4): 37–41.

This short article in an education periodical provides some context regarding what kind of education students might be expected to have about evolution in Canada. Although battles over teaching evolution in Canadian schools are not as prominent as those in the United States, Wiles argues that students are not learning as much about evolution as they should.

Windley, Brian F. 1993. “Uniformitarianism Today: Plate Tectonics is the Key to the Past.” Journal of the Geological Society 150: 7–18.

Windley discusses the importance of the concept of uniformitarianism to modern geology: the present is the key to the past. He considers the idea as developed by James Hutton in 1795 and its promotion by Charles Lyell in the first half of the nineteenth century A.D. Windley examines how plate tectonics are a key reflection of the principle of uniformitarianism.

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