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Breanna Thompson
Professor Reed
Anthropology 1012-002
Final Paper
April 10, 2016

Genetic Anthropology
Anthropology is very important in helping us understand our past, present and even our
future, but one of the most helpful subfield of anthropology is genetics. Genetic anthropology
provides scientific proof as well as evidence of where we came from and how we have evolved
into what we are today. The research that has been done on genetics over the years has given us
a better understanding of how we evolved from the beginning and how we have learned to
survive. Genetic anthropology has been used by scientific researchers all over the world to help
identify ancient bones. These scientific researchers sometimes have disagreements as to the
species of these ancient bones. Genetic anthropology has helped us come a long way in
understanding our history as we have evolved as humans and has helped us prove our
evolutionary change plus it has increased our current understanding of genetic anthropology.
Genetic anthropology addresses the genetics changes and the DNA studies of ancient
bones. The scientist research different skeleton bones from different places all over the world as
well as from different time periods. Ideas about genetic anthropology was developed in the
1800s by scientists. There has been many discoveries during the years from various scientist
such as the three-helical structure. The methods have become more defined and able to prove
more about the DNA from ancient bones of our ancestors. They are still trying to answer how

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DNA can provide an understanding to human evolution and how we possibly became who we
are today.
There are many questions about genetic anthropology such as, how did we evolve as
humans and how are we related? Genetic anthropology has been useful in identifying the
different areas of the world that humans originated that assist in physical anthropology. It is
helping to identify the migration that may have occurred between different continents. It has
identified genetic kinship among individuals buried at the same site by using their DNA and
identifying a child-parent relationship. Strontium isotope analyses point to different origins for
males and children versus females. By this approach, we gain insight into a Late Stone Age
society, which appears to have been exogamous and patrilocal, and in which genetic kinship
seems to be a focal point of social organization. (Hank, etc.).
Scientific researchers have learned that using genetics on ancient skeleton bones from
graves sites and caves around the world has provided them way to identify their origins and
species. This research includes humans and animals. The use of bone DNA typing in particular
has already yielded useful insights into Polynesian prehistory as well as spectacular applications
in the forensic identification of skeletal remains. (Hagelberg). They have used teeth, small
bones and skin to extracted DNA to determine the relationship between animals or humans.
They have examined Egyptian mummy tissues under a microscope and discovered there were
fluctuations in the tissue due to the damage and contamination, but that the DNA was from a
human. Scientist reconstructed the complete genome of a male Neanderthal from a toe bone
dating back at least 50,000 years, which had been discovered in the Altai Mountains of Siberia.
Comparing the Altai genome to modern human DNA confirmed the interbreeding. (Zimmer).
Scientists have located originally Neanderthals in Africa, but later found relatives in Central

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Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Through microevolution, which is a small genetic change that
occurs within a species, such as the variation seen in different ABO blood types. Macroevolution
are large scale changes that occur in populations after many generations. These evolutions occur
because of natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift, and mutations. Gene flow is the exchanging
od genes between populations. Genetic drift is a changes in alleles, which is a version of a gene,
but allele frequencies change in populations due to random chance. If the alleles with low
frequencies are not passes to offspring then eventually they will disappear from the population.
Mutations are a molecular alteration in genetic mutation. The research of genetics has open doors
to our past and will be beneficial to our future. This research shows us how genetic have helped
determine and classify some of our past ancestors such as Neanderthals.
Genetic Anthropology began in the 1800s with some discoveries, but most discoveries
where found after the 1940s and continue on to this day. The work of many scientists paved
the way for the exploration of DNA. Way back in 1868, almost a century before the Nobel Prize
was awarded to Watson, Crick and Wilkins, a young Swiss physician named Friedrich Miescher,
isolated something no one had ever seen before from the nuclei of cells. He called the compound
"nuclein." This is today called nucleic acid, the "NA" in DNA (deoxyribo-nucleic-acid) and RNA
(ribo-nucleic-acid). (Fredholm). James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were given
the Nobel Prize in 1963 for the solving a very important biological riddle in genetics with the
DNA-helix that identified the molecule that carried genetic information from one generation to
the next generation. A Czech monk named Gregor Mendel did experiments with peas and
determined that the peas had certain traits such as shape or color that were inherited in different
packages which we now call genes. Genes are an entire sequence of DNA bases that are

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responsible for the synthesizing of a protein this builds who we are as humans. These discoveries
have helped us understand how we inherit traits.
There were two geneticist, Adam Siepel and Sergi Casellano from different laboratories
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Max Planck Institute, that joined together to co-author a new
study that traces how DNA changes over time by comparing genomes. They compared the
European Neanderthal DNA to the genes from Siberia to see how they were related to humans
alive today. In 1997, scientists found the first scrap of Neanderthal DNA in a fossil. Since then,
they have recovered genetic material, even entire genomes, from a number of Neanderthal bones,
and their investigations have yielded a remarkable surprise: Today, 1 to 2 percent of the DNA in
non-African people comes from Neanderthals. (Zimmer). Genetic anthropology is discovering
new ways to identify our DNA to our ancestors.
Researchers use the bones they find from various sites to conduct DNA research. The
bones found can be animal, ancient ancestors and closely linked human species. The
development of new molecular methods, especially the polymerase chain reaction, has made
possible the recovery and manipulation of these molecules, and the subsequent molecular genetic
characterization of the ancient samples. The analysis of ancient (a)DNA is complicated by the
degraded nature of ancient nucleic acids, as well as the presence of enzymatic inhibitors in
aDNA extracts. (ORourke, etc). Researchers have been using the polymerase chain reaction on
the Native Americans and found how the mother and daughter are related to each other. They
have also done various research on specific chromosomes to see how they have been past down
from our ancient ancestors. Researchers harvested more DNA from European Neanderthal
fossils, putting together very detailed reconstructions of a single chromosome, Chromosome 21.
(Zimmer). Since the discovery of the three-helical structure for DNA and that humans have 23

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distinct chromosomes pairs, the researchers continue to find out more about our DNA and how it
is has been passed down from our ancestors.
There are several theories of understanding in genetic anthropology depending on the
origin of the species being studied and the area of the world. Recent studies suggest that
Neanderthal genes even influence human health today, contributing to conditions from allergies
to depression. (Zimmer). The other theories are more for human evolution that come from
observations of ancient bones and there has been controversy as well as new interpretations.
The recent African origin hypothesis holds that there was a single origin of modern humans in
Africa about 100,000 years ago, after which these humans dispersed throughout the rest of the
world, mixing little or not at all with non-modern populations. The multi-regional evolution
hypothesis holds that there was no single origin of modern humans but, instead, that the
mutations and other traits that led to modern humans were spread in concert throughout the old
world by gene flow, leading to genetic continuity among old world populations during the past
million years. (Stoneking). They know that genes go from one generation to the next and could
be passing on different diseases such as cancer. Scientist are working on being able to change or
remove certain genes that cause diseases or different conditions from being past down from one
generation to the next generation.
Scientist have made great strides in DNA since it was first identified, but they still need
to provide how DNA can provide an understanding to human evolution. They have identified
different theories from different areas of the world about possible migration of our ancestors.
While critics of ancient DNA may charge that small samples limit the power of the conclusions
drawn, ancient DNA remains the only direct way of detecting temporal change in the genetic
composition of a population. (Eshleman, etc). Scientist have found ancient bones in Asia,

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Africa, China, America, Germany, etc. They have extract DNA to help us understand how we
have evolved into the humans that we are today.
Genetic anthropology helps us to understand the make-up of our DNA which is genes,
nucleic acid, molecules, etc. Also, helps us to understand the various DNA of animals and how it
could relate to human DNA. Scientist are still researching the various parts of DNA. Studies
using aDNA to address questions in human population history or human evolution are reviewed
and discussed. Future prospects for the field and potential directions for future aDNA research
efforts in physical anthropology are identified. (ORourke, etc). They have discovered that
most non-african people came from the Neanderthals. There have been many scientists,
geneticist and researchers from all over the world that have helped in learning more about our
DNA and what it is made up of.
They have discovered that our genes affect human health today and possibly changing the
gene structure will stop diseases and other conditions. The more we learn about our ancestors
from their bones and how they lived as well as possibly died, we gain a better understanding
about humans and our place in the natural world. Genetic anthropology has provided an
understanding of how we possible became humans and our evolution. There may be varying
theories about human origins whether it is a single origin for modern humans or that there is no
single origin, but that it was multiregional evolution for modern humans. It is known that genes
are pasted from one generation to the next generation. Genetic anthropology has helped us come
a long way in understanding our history as we have evolved as humans and has helped us prove
our evolutionary change plus it has increased our current understanding of genetic anthropology.

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Works Cited:
Eshleman, Jason A., Ripan S. Malhi, and David Glenn Smith. "Mitochondrial DNA Studies of
Native Americans: Conceptions and Misconceptions of the Population Prehistory of the
Americas." Evolutionary Anthropology. Wiley-Liss. Web.
<http://class.csueastbay.edu/anthropologymuseum/2006IA/DNA_PDFS/mtDNA/Eshleman2003.
pdf>.
Fredholm, Lotta. "The Discovery of the Molecular Structure of DNA - The Double Helix." The
Discovery of the Molecular Structure of DNA. Nobel Media, 30 Sept. 2003. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/dna_double_helix/readmore.html>.

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Hagelberg, Erika. "Ancient DNA Studies." Online Library Wiley. Evolutionary Anthropoloy.
Web. 14 Apr. 2016. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.1360020605/epdf?
r3_referer=wol>.
Mark, Stoneking. "DNA and Recent Human Evolution." Online Library Wiley. Wiley-Liss, 2
June 2005. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.1360020208/abstract>.
O'Rourke, DH, MG Hayes, and SW Carlyle. "Web of Science - Please Sign In to Access Web of
Science." Web of Science - Please Sign In to Access Web of Science. Annual Reviews, Oct.
2000. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Wolfgang, Haak, Brandt Guido, Hylke N. De Jong, Christian Myer, Robert Ganslmeier, Volker
Heyd, Chris Hawkensworth, Alistair W. G. Pike, Harald Meller, and Kurt W. Alt. "Ancient DNA,
Strontium Isotopes, and Osteological Analyses Shed Light on Social and Kinship Organization
of the Later Stone Age." Ancient DNA, Strontium Isotopes, and Osteological Analyses Shed
Light on Social and Kinship Organization of the Later Stone Age. The National Academy of
Sciences of the USA, 5 Aug. 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/11/17/0807592105>.
Zimmer, Carl. "In Neanderthals DNA, Ancient Humans May Have Left Genetic Mark." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/science/ancient-humans-may-have-left-a-genetic-markon-neanderthals.html?ref=topics>.