ANT2128 - March 2nd notes

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2128

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Anthropology

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Oct 30, 2023

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ANT 2128: Anthropology for the 21st Century Toxic Life in the Anthropocene ENM CHPT. 12 - Margaret Lock March 2, 2023 THE ANTHROPOCENE:  It's debated - working group is trying to push for the fact that earth scientists should recognize this as a new epoch  Many still consider the Anthropocene within the Holocene o Some view it as an extinction event for the Holocene o Many push against it being an epoch of its own  Push for it in 1980’s by Eugene Stoermer, and then in 2000’s by Paul Crutzen  Widescale debate between earth scientists about whether we should use the term  If we do accept it, then when did it start?  Some want to tie to neolithic and to everything humans have done  If you can show in many areas of earth that the same changes happened at the same time then it can be recognized  2016 the Anthropocene Working Group accepting the epoch o Marking it as when the first nuclear device detonated (July 1945) o Adoption recommended to the International Union of Geological Science o Formal proposal submitted, awaiting formal acceptance o Note there are still many groups that have not accepted this idea HUMAN IMPACT:  Chapter talks about all of the ways humans have impacted the environment  There are the standard effects we see, but we also see unique forms of the earth trying to ‘fix itself’ from our impact (ex. areas that used to be deserts are now greening) THE POSTGENOMIC ERA:  Moving away from the genome (being the origin of life), now rather seen as reactive to its internal and external environment  As we change the earth, we learn our nature is impacted by the nature we live in EPIGENETICS :  Things on top of traditional genetic basis  How environmental variables impact and change the genes of living entities  Making obsolete assumptions about genetic determinism SCULPTURING THE GENOME:  How social and environmental factors affect the body aren’t fully worked out  A few are well established, including: 1. Methylation  How methyl groups are added to a DNA molecule will affect the coding  Cell differentiation – generic cell -> methyl groups added = then the generic cell turns into something else 2. Chromatin fiber  To be altered to such a level that they become hereditable

 DNA itself not impacted by external factors, but the whole genome is being impacted and the chromatin is what regulates that response  Maternal deprivation o Studies of severe abuse in childhood changing DNA aspects o Hard to do studies on this – not going to harm children in studies o But we can get some data from autopsies  As cultural anthropologists we are often speaking with people experiencing a toxic environment and try to help them.  Looking through factors which helps us to understand all contextual aspects, as well as the feeling of having these problems (can be psychosomatic, physical, somatic) o Also looking at people’s own self-references LOCAL BIOLOGIES  Where these two above factors are coalescing  The specific context of these experiences  By focusing on local biologies we are looking at contingencies on the physical body, and how the environment plays a role in that NEUROTOXINS  Severe issues when exposed in utero & early life  Changes can have intergenerational aftermaths  Amount of time and at what age someone is exposed will dictate how bad these developmental problems will be  As of a 2011 review, about 13 million deaths per year LEAD POISONING  Lead pipes and old pipes, lead glues, etc.  Decreases brain volume, brain atrophy, negative effects on language function  Often times these lead pipes are in older parts of town, hence a lot of ethnic minorities suffering from these issues  Can be passed onto foetus in pregnant mothers  Body is pretty good at getting rid of lead out of your body if you’re away from it VARIOUS OTHER HORRORS  DDT, PCB’s, Dioxins  Chapter does a bit of a catch-all for these other toxins  Can often gather in fatty cells in animals, passed onto humans when we eat them  Big agricultural company herbicide (Syngenta) o Causes neuro problems, there were a lot of scientists trying to prove it, but the company was going after them and funding studies saying the opposite  Asbestos o Canada has a pretty big problem with it o Hard to overhaul and get rid of it, so push to not force laws to fit asbestos because of it o Pushed in 50’s and 60’s as it was a good insulator and fire resistant o Talc in baby powder – because talc is found where baby powder is MERCURY POISONING:

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