Source: Modified from Human Anatomy & Biological Systems Laboratory Experience, Anthropology 110L, Truckee Meadows Community College
Time needed: 60 - 75 minutes
Supplies Needed
Blood pressure wrist cuff [optional]
Measuring tape
Internet access
Readings
Namie, Joylin. 2019. Chapter 16: Contemporary Topics: Human Biology and Health. Explorations.
Introduction
This lab activity will guide students through a series of exercises to explore selected human biological systems from contemporary and evolutionary points of view. Students will be provided with data and will also collect data from themselves and/or members of a team of other students.This data will be used to compare blood pressure readings, glucose levels, BMI, and dietary components between individuals in modern, industrialized societies, with hunter-gatherers, horticulturalists, and pastoralists as a window into modern disease patterns.
Steps
Read the introduction to students and hand out the student worksheet.
Students work individually or in groups to answer the questions.
In the event a student is uncomfortable taking their blood pressure or calculating their BMI, allow the student to choose values for each and answer the questions accordingly. Alternatively, you may wish to supply a sample set of values.
Review Questions
How might understanding contemporary disease from an evolutionary perspective benefit medical practitioners in treating patients for hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity?
Consider the results of the lab activities in the context of modern college life. To what degree does being a student influence your eating habits and physical activity levels? What might colleges and universities do to encourage healthier eating and more physical activity among students?
Consider the end of Chapter 16, which explores contemporary examples of human evolution, as well as Chapter 14, which describes several long-term adaptations among humans due to selective pressures, such as solar radiation and high altitude. If (and this is a big “if”) high rates of obesity and sedentary lifestyles become selective forces, how might the physiology of humans in the distant future differ from that of contemporary populations?
Adapting for Online Learning
Rank how adaptable to online learning it would be: Easy to adapt
Tips and Suggestions
If students are completing these activities online and/or do not have access to a blood pressure cuff, ask them to supply a recent blood pressure reading if they have had one taken or to make one up if they have not, then investigate answers as to whether blood pressure rises or falls with the introduction of physical activity or stress by conducting an online search for information.
If you are doing this activity live in class, consider having students search online for their own videos and share what they found with the class, instead of using the videos provided here .
Gurven, Michael, Aaron D. Blackwell, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Jonathan Stieglitz, and Hillard Kaplan. 2012. “Does Blood Pressure Inevitably Rise With Age?: Longitudinal Evidence Among Forager Horticulturalists.” Hypertension 60: 25-33.
Lieberman, Daniel. 2020. Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding. New York: Pantheon Books.
Namie, Joylin. 2019. “Chapter 16: Contemporary Topics: Human Biology and Health.” In Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology, edited by Beth Shook, Katie Nelson, Kelsie Aguilera, and Lara Braff. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association. http://explorations.americananthro.org/
