Anth330 Midterm 2 Flashcards
K selected
fewer offspring, live birth
R selected
a lot of offspring at once, eggs
4 major primate groups
Prosimii - Lemurs, Lorises, Tarsiers (nocturnal, large eyes) south america.
New World Monkeys - Platyrrhini: Tamarins, howler, spider.
Old World Monkeys - Catarrhini: baboons, colubus (africa).
Apes and Humans - Hominoidera (superfamily)
Homeothermic
stable internal body temperature
Isotherm
body temp influenced by temperature
Quadrupedal
walking on four limbs
Bipedal
walking on two limbs, position of foramen magnum(hole in base of skull, spinal column), curvature of the spinal column(S shaped), shape of pelvis (bowl shaped), arch of foot(T,T joint), position of big toe, orientation of lower limbs (angled in)
Arboreal
adapted to life in trees
Behavioral Ecology
study of the evolution of behavior, emphasizing the role of ecological factors as agents of natural selection
Behavior
anything organisms do that involves action in response to internal or external stimuli
Ecological
refers to relationships between organism and all aspects of their environment (temp, predators, vegetation, disease)
Savannah Enviro
large bodied, dimorphic primates, large groups, baboon
Home Range
geographic area within which a group of primates usually moves
Dominance Hierarchies
ranking system:
Linear: A is above B is above C
Triangular: A is above B is above C below D below B
Coalition: A is above B+C or B+C is above A
Affiliation
amicable associations between individuals. (reconciliation, consolation)
Altruism
behavior that benefits another individual but at some potential risk or cost to oneself. (ex: protect offspring)
Sexual Selection
only operates on one sex in species
male competition and female choice
can lead to sexual dimorphism
Biological Continuum
organisms are related through common ancestry and that behaviors and traits seen in one species are also seen in others to varying degrees. (DEGREE rather than KIND)
Fossil
remains of once living plants and animals
Material Culture
Durable remains of culture such as objects, structure, and the plants and animals used by hominins.
Taphonomy
study of the deposition of plant and animal remains and the environmental conditions affecting their preservation.
Artifact
any object fashioned or modified by humans (ex: cell phones, hierogliphics)
Features
non portable element such as hearth or an architectural element such as foundation that is preserved in the archeological record.
Site
places containing the archeological remains of previous human activity.
Survey
search for arch sites and collect info about the location, distribution, and organization of past humans
Grid System
(excavation process 1) 3D system for recording
Relative Dating
describing an event, object, or fossil as being older or young as another.
Dendrochronology
counting of the tree rings 12000-8000 BP
Radiocarbon Dating
measure radioactive decay of carbon
<50,000BP) (14C-12C
Molecular Clock
determine when branching of related species occurs from a common ancestor.
Hominin Clock
Human and Great Ape split: 5-7 mya
confirms with fossil evidence
Ethnoarchaeology
approach used by archaeologists to gain insights into the past by studying contemporary people
Experimental Archaeology
research that attempts to replicate anaent technology, procedures, or life ways to test a hypothesis.
Arboreal Hypothesis
proposes that life in the trees was responsible for enhanced visual activity and manual dexterity in primates.
Visual Predation Hypothesis
proposes that hunting behavior in the tree-dwelling primates was responsible for their enhanced visual activity
Foramen Magnum
hole in base of skull, spinal column
Gender
cultural traits, (man or woman identification)
Sexual Dimorphism
males are larger or different than females
Absolute Dating
determine approx computed age in archeology. also know as chronometric dating
Prosimian
members of a suborder of Primates, the Prosimii. traditionally, the suborder includes lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers.
Prehensile
grasping, as by the hands and feet of primates.
Diurnal
active during the day
Stereoscopic Vision
the condition whereby visual images are, to varying degrees, superimposed on one another. this provides dfor depth perception, or the perception of the external environment in three dimensions. stereoscopic vision is partly a function of structures in the brain.
Sensory Modalities
different forms of sensation (e.g. touch, pain, pressure, heat, cold, vision, taste, hearing and smell).
Adaptive Niche
the entire way of life of an organism; where it lives, what it eats, how it gets food, how it avoids predators, etc
Brachiation
a form of locomotion in which the body is suspended beneath the hands and support is alternated from one forelimb to the other; arm swinging.
Intelligence
mental capacity; ability to learn, reason, or comprehend and interpret information, facts, relationships, and meanings; the capacity to solve problems; whether through the application of previously acquired knowledge or through insight.
Derived
referring to characteristics that are modified from the ancestral condition and thus are diagnostic of particular evolutionary changes.
Social Structure
the composition, size and sex ratio of a group of animals. social structures, in part, are the results of natural selection in specific habitats, and they guide individual interactions and social relationships.
Grooming
picking through fur to remove dirt, parasites, and other materials that may be present. social grooming is common among primates and reinforces social relationships.
Anthropocentric
Regarding humans as the central element of the universe.
Interpreting reality exclusively in terms of human values and experience
Adaptive Radiation
the diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches
Stratigraphy
study of earth sediments deposited in demarcated layers (strata). Age increases with depth → the deeper into the ground, the older.
Sagittal Crest
A prominent ridge bone found on the cranium. Large temporal muscle attachments
Dental Formula
The numerical description of a species’ teeth, listing the number, in one quadrant of the jaws, of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.
Platarrhine: 2.1.3.3 new world monkeys
Catarrhine: 2.1.2.3 old world monkeys
Diastima
space between two teeth
Hominin
Humans and human ancestors in a more recent evolutionary taxonomy; based on genetics.
Olfaction
The portion of the anterior brain that detects odors.
Opposable
Refers to primates’ thumb, in that it can touch each of the four fingertips, enabling a grasping ability.
Potassium Argon Dating
40K vs 40AR (>200,000 BP)
Anthropoids
members of a suborder of Primates, the suborder Anthropoidea. Traditionally, the suborder includes monkeys, apes, and humans
Binocular Vision
vision characterized by overlapping visual field provided for by forward-facing eyes.
Neocortex
the more recently evolved portions of the brain’s cortex that are involved with higher mental functions and composed of areas that integrate incoming information from different senses.
Ecofact
natural materials that give environmental information about a site. Examples include plant and animal remains discarded as food waste and also pollen grains preserved in the soil
Seriation
relative dating method that orders artifacts into a temporal series based on their similar attributes or the frequency of these attributes
Radiometric Decay
a measure of the rate at which certain radioactive isotopes disintegrate
Half-Life
the time period in which one-half the amount of a radioactive isotope is chemically converted to a daughter product
Nuchal Torus
a projection of bone in the back of the cranium where neck muscles attach; used to hold up the head
Soft Hammer Percussion
a direct percussion method of making stone tools that uses a resilient hammer or billet to gain greater control over the length, width, and thickness of flakes driven from a core
Hard Hammer Percussion
A direct percussion method of making stone tools that uses one rock as a hammer to knock flakes from another rock that serves as a core
