Chapter 1

Question 1

savanna

Answer 1

large flat grassland with scattered trees & shrubs; found in many regions of the world with dry and warm/hot climates

Question 2

hominins

Answer 2

colloquial term for members of the evolutionary group that includes modern humans and now-extinct bipedal relatives

Question 3

species

Answer 3

group of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring; members of one species are reproductively isolated from members of all other species (they cannot mate with them to produce fertile offspring)

Question 4

bipedally

Answer 4

on two feet; habitually walking on two legs

Question 5

anthropology

Answer 5

field of inquiry that studies human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology; includes cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and physical/biological anthropology

Question 6

primates

Answer 6

members of the mammalian order Primates, which include lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans

Question 7

evolution

Answer 7

change in the genetic structure of a population; also frequently used to refer to the appearance of new species

Question 8

adaptation

Answer 8

anatomical, physical, or behavioral response of organisms or populations to the environment; result from evolutionary change (result of natural selection)

Question 9

genetic

Answer 9

having to do with the study of gene structure and action and the patterns of inheritance of traits from parent to offspring; genetic mechanisms are the foundation of evolutionary change

Question 10

behavior

Answer 10

anything organisms do that involves action in response to internal or external stimuli; response of an individual, group, or species to its environment - such responses may or may not be deliberate, and they aren’t necessarily the result of conscious decision making (absent in single-celled organisms, insects, and others)

Question 11

continuum

Answer 11

set of relationships in which all components fall along a single integrated spectrum (ex: color); all life reflects a single biological continuum

Question 12

culture

Answer 12

behavioral aspects of human adaptation, including technology, traditions, language, religion, marriage patterns, and social roles; a set of learned behaviors transmitted from one generation to the next by nonbiological (nongenetic) means

Question 13

worldview

Answer 13

general cultural orientation or perspective shared by the members of a society

Question 14

biocultural evolution

Answer 14

mutual interactive evolution of human biology and culture; concept that biology makes culture possible and that developing culture further influences the direction of biological evolution; a basic concept in understanding the unique components in human evolution

Question 15

applied anthropology

Answer 15

practical application of anthropological and archaeological theories and techniques; ex: many biological anthropologists work in the public health sector

Question 16

ethnographies

Answer 16

detailed descriptive studies of human societies; traditionally the study of a non-Western society in cultural anthropology

Question 17

artifacts

Answer 17

objects or materials made or modified for use by hominins; earliest artifacts are usually tools made of stone or bone

Question 18

paleoanthropology

Answer 18

interdisciplinary approach to the study of earlier hominins - their chronology, physical structure, archaeological remains, habitats, etc.

Question 19

primate paleontology

Answer 19

study of fossil primates, especially those that lived before the appearance of humans

Question 20

DNA

Answer 20

(deoxyribonucleic acid); the double-stranded molecule that contains the genetic code; main component of chromosomes

Question 21

osteology

Answer 21

study of skeletal material; human osteology focuses on interpretation of skeletal remains from archaeological sites, skeletal anatomy, bone physiology, and growth and development; some of the same techniques are used in paleoanthropology to study early hominins

Question 22

bioarchaeology

Answer 22

study of skeletal remains from archaeological sites

Question 23

paleopathology

Answer 23

branch of osteology that studies the evidence of disease and injury in human skeletal (or, occasionally, mummified) remains from archaeological sites

Question 24

forensic anthropology

Answer 24

applied anthropological approach dealing with legal matters; forensic anthropologists work with coroners and others in identifying and analyzing human remains

Question 25

primatology

Answer 25

study of the biology and behavior of nonhuman primates (lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes)

Question 26

science

Answer 26

body of knowledge gained through observation and experimentation; from the Latin “scientia”, meaning “knowledge”

Question 27

hypotheses

Answer 27

provisional explanation of a phenomenon; require verification or falsification through testing

Question 28

empirical

Answer 28

relying on experiment or observation; from the Latin “empiricus”, meaning “experienced”

Question 29

scientific method

Answer 29

approach to research whereby a problem is identified, a hypothesis is stated, and that hypothesis is tested by collecting and analyzing data

Question 30

data

Answer 30

facts from which conclusions can be drawn; scientific information

Question 31

quantitively

Answer 31

pertaining to measurements of quantity and including such properties such as size, number, and capacity; when data are quantified, they’re expressed numerically and can be tested statistically

Question 32

scientific testing

Answer 32

precise repetition of an experiment or expansion of observed data to provide verification; the procedure by which hypotheses and theories are verified, modified, or discarded

Question 33

quadrupedal

Answer 33

using all four limbs to support the body during locomotion; the basic mammalian (and primate) form of locomotion

Question 34

ethnocentric

Answer 34

viewing other cultures from the inherently biased perspective of one’s own culture; often causes other cultures to be seen as inferior to their own

Question 35

relativistic

Answer 35

viewing entities as they relate to something else; cultural relativism: view that cultures have merits within their own historical and environmental contexts