Primates and Anthropology Study Guide

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to primates and anthropology for exam preparation.

Dexterity

Grasping hands that use both hands and feet to grasp.

Visual Acuity

Excellent eyesight including stereoscopic vision and color perception.

Big Brains

Greater capacity for memory, thought, and association; larger brain to body ratio.

Infant Dependency

Significant period of dependency of infants on parents.

Strepsirrhines

A subgroup of primates including lemurs and lorises, characterized by a smaller brain-to-body ratio.

Haplorrhines

A subgroup of primates including tarsiers and apes, with a larger brain-to-body ratio.

Nocturnal

Active at night.

Diurnal

Active during the day.

Homologies

Similarities due to shared ancestry.

Analogies

Similarities in appearance or function that are not due to shared ancestry.

Convergent Evolution

Independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages.

Brachiation

Arboreal locomotion by swinging from branches using arms.

Bipedalism

Upright locomotion using rear limbs.

Qualitative Research

A research strategy that produces in-depth and detailed descriptions of social activities.

Thick Description

A way of writing ethnography that focuses on meaning, context, and detail.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's culture is superior to others.

Cultural Relativism

The principle of understanding beliefs and practices based on their own culture.

Biocultural

Referring to the interactions of biological and cultural processes.

Phenotype

The physical traits of an organism.

Genotype

The genetic makeup of an organism.

Balanced Polymorphism

The maintenance of multiple alleles in a population due to selective advantages.

Microaggressions

Everyday verbal and nonverbal insults targeting marginalized groups.

Assimilation

When one group adopts the patterns of another, losing its distinct identity.

Multiculturalism

Encouraging diversity and the coexistence of distinct cultural or ethnic units.

De facto

Practices that exist in reality, such as housing discrimination without law.

De jure

Laws that enforce racial discrimination.

Scientific Racism

The use of scientific claims to justify racial inequalities.

Social Darwinism

The application of Darwin's theory of natural selection to social and racial issues.