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Ashley Chagnovich

April 27, 2016


Anthropology 1020
Reflection

Reflection: My Own Words


Before taking Anthropology 1020 my interpretation of human evolution was
really quite simple and nave. Humans came from apes and Humans could vary in color,
though I never understood why. After taking this course I realize there is a lot more to
human evolution and where, we, as humans, derived from.
Learning about the diversity/variation found in human species has been one of the
greatest experiences of my college career. It has opened my eyes to the facts behind how
humans came into existence today. Going over the four subfields of Anthropology:
Cultural, Linguistic, Archaeology, and Biological/Physical Biology taught me about the
cultural diversity of living humans (cultural), the variation in language (linguistic), the
cultural variation of past human population (archaeology) and the diversity of both past
and present human population (biological/physical biology). I learned about the scientific
method, and how it is self-correcting, constantly being retested. I was able to apply this
concept with an in-class activity with two cubes. The first cube has numbers on each side
and each side was a different color. As it turned out, the even numbered sides were
shaded versus the opposite sides. We could see the numbers: 2, 3, 4, 6 and 1, leaving the
class to believe that the number 5 was on the bottom of the cube, and it would not be
shaded.
Finally understanding the DNA structure, DNA Replication, Transcription,
Meiosis and Mitosis is such a relief. For years I have struggled to understand the detailed
concepts taught to me and it has finally clicked. Being able to have hands on interaction
during class helped a lot. Putting together various strands of DNA, connecting them to
one another and determining a secret saying by connecting the replication and
transcription cells.
The movie Skin Deep was also a great resource for me to learn from. I never
understood why humans varied in skin color and after watching this video I now
understand why. Knowing that we all started with dark skin, and over time and through
genetic mutation our skin lightened is incredibly fascinating to me.
Of course, my first assumption of humans came from apes has changed as well.
Though we may share the same similarities we did not come directly from apes. We share
a common ancestor that existed approximately 6-8 million years ago. I definitely think
knowing this information, Ill be able to explain my beliefs in a more educated manner
and feel confident in standing by my convictions on this topic.

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