Biological Anthropological Analysis of Gorilla

Biological Anthropological Analysis of Gorilla Gorilla Biological anthropology is also known as physical anthropology, it is an interesting mixture of social studies and biology of people. This study concerned with the biological and behavioural aspects of human beings, and their related non-human primates and their extinct ancestors. To grasp how human evolution, occur from earlier life forms (primates). Primates include (Homo sapiens), the apes, the monkeys and gorillas. we can know about primate behaviour by studying them. If I would like to talk about gorilla. the largest of the living primates, it is ground dwelling herbivore animal that inhabits the forest of Africa. They are also known for their gentle human like behaviour and emotions such as laughter and sadness. They even make their own tools to assist them survive in the forest. Gorillas are stocky animals with broad chests and shoulders. Some of the body parts seem to be same as humans like hands and their small eyes set with hairless faces. They play a very important role in local biodiversity, roaming through large territories assist humans for example to spread the seeds of fruits they consume. Studies have shown gorilla blood is not reactive to anti-A and anti-B which would in humans indicate type O blood. Moreover, like humans, gorillas have different finger prints. Classification of Gorillas based on their species: Gorillas are our closest living relative after chimpanzees and bonobos. they are divided into two species; the eastern gorilla (G. g. diehli) and the western gorilla (G. g. gorilla). The eastern gorilla consists of two more sub-species. These species are the eastern lowland (G. B Graueri) and the mountain gorilla. (G. B. Beringei). Physical description: Gorillas are the largest living primates. They are stocky animals with broad chests and shoulders. Some of the body parts seem to be same as humans like larger hands, eyes, face.ÂÂ   There DNA is 97% 98% identical to that of a human. There forearms are much shorter than the upper arm. The face is black and hairless with small eyes that are close together and prominent nostrils. Adults males are identified by sagittal crest along the midline of the skull and a small are of white hairs on the black that is why they also known as silverbacks. Moreover, eastern gorillas have darker and longer fur on their arms whereas western gorillas have shorter hairs which grey or brown in colour. Size: adult males weigh up to 200kg whereas females have around half the size. They can reach the height of 1.2 to 1.7 meters when standing on two feet. Social structure of gorillas: They have a well-developed social structure. They forming stable family groups in which dominant male keep the position for years. Usually they are 5 to 10 individuals in one group or vary from 2 to over 50 members. Furthermore, if any male gorilla leaves the group, he wanders alone for many years. whereas female gorillas leave their group at maturity to join other group or single males. But it is very rare in female gorillas and they reproducing in their original groups. Life cycle of gorillas: Female gorillas become sexually mature at age of 7-8 years old. but they start breeding several years later. Whereas males are mature later than females. But some of the gorillas starts breeding before the age of 15 years. They have high infant mortality. There is long gestation to single births (8.5) months. Females generally give birth to three or four babies during their reproductive life. the mortality rate for gorillas is less than one year old is high, but for the adults the rate is only 5 %. In the wild they might live for 40 years old. in the united states, a captive gorilla was reported to have lived to the age of 54. Reproduction: Female will purse their lips and slowly approach a male while making eye contact. This serves to urge the male to mount her. If the male does not respond, then she will try to attract his attention by reaching towards him or slapping the ground. Males incite copulation by approaching a female and displaying at her or touching her. Male gorillas are not active in a caring for the young. But they do play a role in socialising them to other youngsters. the silverback has a largely supportive relationship with infants in his troop and shields them from aggression within the group infants remain in contact with their mothers for the first five months and mothers stay near the silverback for protection. Infants began to break their contact with their mothers after five months.by 12 months old infants move up to five meters from their mothers when they enter juvenile period at the third year and this last until their sixth year. Intelligence: Gorillas are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity such as koko, have been taught a subset of sign language like other apes, gorillas can laugh grieve have rich emotional lives, develop strong family bonds, make tools and think about past and future. Diet: Gorillas are mainly herbivorous(vegetation)and they spend almost half of the day in feeding on stems, bamboo shoots and a variety of fruits. How do gorilla communicate? As we know gorillas live in the dense rain forests where it is very difficult to see the group members. So, they use mainly vocalisation for communication in accordance with their role as group leader. For newly born babies of gorillas. Vocalisations (screaming)are the most way to attracting their mothers attention to their needs. However, body parts and facial expression also indicate the gorillas mood. Postures signalling mood or intention to the partner are sometimes even used for communication over greater areas. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=communication+videos+of+gorillasqpvt=communication+videos+of+gorillasview=detailmid=5DAF26CADB7EC10E05E75DAF26CADB7EC10E05E7FORM=VRDGAR Moreover, gorillas senses resemble those to humans. They also use the senses in their communication not only hearing and seeing, but also touching and smelling. Silverback males have a characteristic smell. In dangerous situations, they emit very specific scent that can smell from many metres that can help to alert the group without producing any noise. This is very rare that gorillas using tools in the wild. Western lowland gorillas have been observed using sticks to apparently measure the depth of water and as walking sticks to support their posture when crossing deeper water.an adult female used a detached trunk from a small shrub as a stabilizer during food gathering. Nesting : Gorillas construct nests for daytime and night use. Their nests are a simple aggregation of branches and leaves about 2 to 5ft and constructed by individuals. Molecular ecology of gorillas: Microsatellite analysis can reveal unexpected patterns of behaviour for example the high frequency of extra pair mating in socially monogamous birds [reviewed in griffin et al.,2002]. In animal groups, neither mating behaviour nor social dominance rank always predict paternity, and genetic analysis have revealed the presence of alternative, unobserved male mating strategies that produce a significant proportion of offspring e.g.., in grey scales. [Worthington Wilmer et, al., 1999]and free living sheep [colt man et al., 1999]. One of the earliest attempts to use a molecular approach to assess the genetic mating system in wild apes was made in a study of mountain gorillas however the conclusions were limited while most gorillas social groups appear to be composed of a single mature silverback male along with adult females and offspring, some 40%mountain gorillas group contained two or more silverback males [Robbins, 1999; Schaller, 1963; Webber and vedder,1983]. Reasons why gorillas are endangered? Habitat Loss, Reduction, and degradation. Poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting that can be used for commercial purposes. Poachers can kill gorillas to sell their meat and various body parts or some time they capture gorillas and keep them alive and use gorillas as private collection of animals. Diseases:Â  due to the genetic similarity between humans and gorillas, they are also victims of outbreaks that can affect people.one of the major virus is known as Ebola virus and poaching are the threats of the western lowland gorillas By 2003, one-third wild gorillas had died due to this virus. Other diseases affecting gorillas are polio, hepatitis A, tuberculosis and intestinal parasites References: http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/gorilla http://www.bing.com/videos https://www.defenders.org/gorilla/basic-facts Coltman DW, Bancroft DR, Robertson A, Smith JA, Clutton-Brock TH, Pemberto JM. 1999. Male reproductive success in promiscuous mammal: behavioural esti-mates compared with genetic paternity. Mol Ecole 8:1199-1209.

International Businesses Essay

What are the implications of these shifts for international businesses based in Britain? North America? Hong Kong? Over the last 30 years, there has been a shift away from a world in which national economies are relatively self-contained entities, isolated by barriers to trade and investment, and differences in government regulation, culture, and business systems and toward a world where barriers to trade and investment are declining, cultures are converging, and national economies are merging into an integrated, interdependent global economic system. As companies from Japan and emerging markets like China play a more vital role in the world economy, the dominance of companies from the United States and Western Europe has diminished. Significant implications for British firms involve their need to look beyond Europe and America for investment and opportunities. Consumer spending power is growing the most quickly in developing countries. British firms also face the opportunity (and the threat) of attracting Asian firms interested in Britain as a launch pad for the European market. For North American firms, the same holds true, although the importance of the increasing prosperity in Latin America suggests a potentially huge market in â€Å"their backyard.† Hong Kong, while losing its â€Å"independence†, is perceived as the gateway to the immense market of mainland China. While the free market freedoms Hong Kong firms have enjoyed are now less taken for granted, access to China is improving along with the move towards a market economy within China. International businesses based in all three locations are facing new opportunities and threats.

Was Mary Bloody or Misunderstood Essay

Mary became Queen of England in 1553, after she executed Lady Jane Grey. Source A, in the textbook, says that â€Å"There were bonfires and tables in every street and wine and beer and ale†, this is an account from the diary of a Londoner at the time Mary became Queen, and so it is quite reliable. Mary mistook this celebration to mean that the people of England were glad they had a Catholic Queen on the throne. So she set about trying to turn the country into a Catholic country. This did not settle well with the public and caused many Protestants to take an immediate disliking towards her. As Mary realised this she took to giving the death penalty to as many heretics as she could. Source A, on the sheet, say that â€Å"Women at their marketing, men at their daily trade†¦ all learned to know the sweet smell of burning flesh.† This was written by a historian in 1940 so it is not very reliable, however it does show that a lot of burnings took place. Source D, on the sheet, is written by D. Loades, a historian, in 1991 said that â€Å"Mary personally bears the responsibility for the death of nearly 300 heretics, but she also executed traitors more ruthlessly than either her father or her sister†A famous writer at the time, John Foxe, wrote about Mary I. He said that neither man, woman or child was spared from the cruel burnings at Mary’s hand. A section of his writing, including this information, is quoted in Source B; it was written in 1559, a year after Mary’s death, so it is more reliable than other sources. However even though it was written around Mary’s time, John Foxe was a Protestant so the information could be bias. Source E, on the sheet, written by a historian in 1990, says â€Å"The Bishop of Winchester had urged Mary to burn the heretics, but it was Mary who insisted on continuing even when it was obvious the cruel punishments were leading people to support the Protestants rather than turn to the Catholic religion.† If people weren’t listening and actually going against her, the Queen, then it would probably have annoyed her even more because she wouldn’t have had the control over the country she wanted. Therefore she might have increased the executions. Source F says that when Mary died â€Å"All the churches in London rang their bells and that night bonfires were lit and tables placed in the street and people ate drank andmade merry.† This was written by a Londoner at the time Mary died so it is a reliable source,  however he might have been Protestant which could have made the account bias. Many people thought Mary deserved the name ‘Bloody Mary’ but there was also people who thought she was just misunderstood. Source A is Mary speaking to her council in 1555, so it is very reliable, when she began the public executions â€Å"Concerning punishments of heretics, we think I ought to be done without rashness. The people must see that any condemned are treated fairly, so that they understand the truth.† I think she was saying that when they want to arrest somebody, or execute them, they should make sure they have the right facts and make sure it is the right person. This might make people think that she is being fair about who she arrests and why. When Mary married Philip of Spain, who was Catholic, England helped Spain in the war against France. The result of the war was the loss of the last place England owned on France-Calais. Now, historians agree that it was probably unavoidable, so that shows us that it was not Mary’s fault. This is a good example of how she was misunderstood because she was only trying to help her husband’s country. Source D is about this and was written in 1994 so the time is not near, however by then people will have had more information about the events following the situation. So it is quite a useful source. At the time of Mary’s death a poem was written about her: Her perfect life in all extremes Her patient heart did show For in this world she never found But doleful days and woe The poem is saying that Mary tried to be kind and patient but she was only repaid with unhappy days full of sorrow. It was written by an anonymous poet so it could be bias but it is written when she died so it is quite a useful source but not completely trustworthy. Source C points out that Mary benefited the country greatly by reforming the tax system, the Army and the Navy. This shows that Mary cared about the country and it’s welfare/condition so she wasn’t a horrible person to her people. Source E says â€Å"Lady Jane Grey and her husband were sentenced to death but Mary saved them and they were only executed after they were thought to be involved in Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary.† This source was written in 1964 by a historian so it is not useful for the time it was written but useful because  the historian would have had all the facts, however the person could have been bias. The source shows that Mary was a kind person and she wanted to help a friend who was in trouble. Source B says that it wasn’t only Mary that killed people, in Essex â€Å"between 17 and 24 people were hanged each year for common theft.† This was written by a historian in 1976 so it is quite a reliable source however the historian could be bias on the subject of Mary and whether she was bloody or misunderstood. Looking at equal evidence for both sides of the argument, I think that Mary is bloody. I think this because she has killed so, so many people just because t hey had a different opinion to her! Any person can take a dislike to somebody if they have a completely different view to them. However it takes a horrible person to go so far as to kill nearly 300 people just to try and get everybody to agree with you. Even when she knew it wasn’t working, and she was just turning people against her, she carried on. She does have some good points – for instance reforming the tax system, the Army and the Navy – however she should be doing things like that because she was the queen and she had to have responsibilities. But taking it so far was just evil. When she realised that she was just turning people away from Catholicism and towards Protestantism she should have held back and tried to turn the country toward Catholicism in a different and less murderous way. Overall I think that Mary I deserves the name Bloody Mary and that she was a terrible queen.

African Minkisi and American Culture Essay - 6248 Words

African Minkisi and American Culture I. Introduction nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;African Minkisi have been used for hundreds of years in West Central Africa, This area where they are traditionally from was once known as the kingdom of Kongo, when Europeans started settling and trading with the BaKongo people. Kongo was a well-known state throughout much of the world by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The BaKongo, however, had probably long used minkisi before ethnographers and anthropologists ever recorded them. Minkisi are complex items that are used to heal and to harm people, and there is no equivalent term for nkisi in any European language. A seventeenth century Dutch geographer first wrote of the nkisi, and said that,†¦show more content†¦To understand the people, you also must first understand their worldviews, their history, religion, economic conditions, how advanced their scientific knowledge was, etc. By learning about this one item used in Kongo culture, I have learned an enormous amount about the Kongo cultu re and the BaKongo, and have come to a new level of awareness about material culture. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The goals of this paper have changed throughout the course of my research. At first, I didn’t even know what an nkisi was, let alone did I know where I wanted to go with this paper. After doing my research though, I have decided against a paper completely focused on original ideas. Instead, my goal of this paper is to use the things that I learned in our anthropology class, and apply them to minkisi. By applying the things I have learned in the readings from our class, I have learned a lot more about minkisi than I could ever gain by just reading a few books. I will especially focus on the works of Deetz, Vlach, and the authors about folk objects. I will also focus on what we talked about in class about â€Å"usable truth† when referring to objects associated with slave resistance. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The first conclusion I have come to during the course of my research, is that I don’t know how anybody could reduce African religion to being anything less than complicated. At first the minkisi seem â€Å"savage†. â€Å"Until quite recently, our (the Western world) response to