Ch. 3 -- African Roots Flashcards
Articular surfaces
The surfaces of two adjacent bones marking the point at which they attach or “articulate”
By examining the articulate surfaces of a bone, scientists can determine the mechanics of joint movement
Australopithecine
Any members of the genus “Australopithecus,” including several species: ramidus, afarensis, africanus, and sediba
Characterized by ape-sized brain but with bipedal locomotion
Bipedal locomotion
Ability/habit of walking on two feet as opposed to four
Brachiation
Ability to swing, arm over arm, through the trees
Cranium
The bones of the head and face, but excluding the lower jaw
Diastema
Gap in the teeth of both the mandible (lower jaw) and maxilla (upper jaw)
Large canine teeth fit into the diastemas of their opposing jaws when those jaws are closed
Femur
The upper leg bone
Flake
Stone fragment removed from a core with the blow of a hammerstone, antler baton, or pressure flaker
Can be used as a tool either as is or further modified, or discarded
Foramen magnum
Large hole at the base or back of the skull through which veins, arteries, and nerves pass
Genera
The level in biological taxonomy between family and species
Hammerstone
In stone toolmaking, the hammerstone is the lithos tool used in percussion flaking to move flakes or blades from a core, or to detach additional flakes from flakes or blades
Hominid
Any creature believed to be in the direct human line
Ilium
The upper blade of the pelvis
Innominate
Left or right side of the pelvis
Ischium
The bottom rear portion of the innominate bone of the pelvis
Isotope
Variety of an element’s atomic form
Knapper
One who makes stone tools
Mandible
The lower jaw
Maxilla
The upper jaw
Miocene
Period of time from 25 to 5 million years ago
Mosaic
Environments characterized by patches of different habitats rather than a single, homogeneous habitat
Niche
The actual physical space occupied by an organism as well as its functional role in a community of organisms
Object piece
In the manufacturing of stone tools, the stone that is being worked through the application of either percussion or pressure
Oldowan
The earliest stone tools
Phylogeny
The evolutionary histories of different kinds of organisms and their relationships to each other
Pliocene
Geological epoch of the Tertiary Period, following the Miocene Epoch and preceding the Pleistocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period
About 5 mya to about 2.6 mya
Pongid
A member of the taxonomic family Pongidae
Postcranial
All of the bones below the cranium
Prognathous
The quality of having a forward-thrusting lower face
Sagittal crest
A ridge of bone that runs along the top of the skull from front to back
Provides added surface area for the attachment of powerful temporalis muscles that attach to the jaws
Savanna
Grasslands
Sexual dimorphism
Differences in the form and size of the two sexes
Striking platform
Part of a stone core or worked flake that presents an area where the desired flake can be removed when struck with a hammerstone or antler hammer
Tibia
The larger of the two long bones making up the lower leg (the shin bone)
Arboreal
Life in the trees
