Your Inner Monkey Overview

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary related to human evolution and the characteristics shared with primate ancestors.

Primate

A group of mammals that includes monkeys, apes, and humans, characterized by traits like forward-facing eyes and grasping hands.

Vestigial Remnant

A body part that has lost its original function through evolution, such as the human coccyx, or tailbone.

Notharctus

An ancient primate species, about 50 million years old, noted for its early example of a grasping hand.

Trichromatic Color Vision

The ability to see three primary colors; evolved in early primates allowing them to identify ripe fruit and nutritious leaves.

Bipedalism

The ability to walk on two legs; an adaptation that freed the hands and is associated with the human S-shaped spine.

Homo habilis

An early human species, approximately 2 million years old, recognized for making stone tools.

Neural Plasticity

The ability of the brain to change and adapt as a result of experience, significant during the extended childhood of humans.

Tool Use

The act of using objects to achieve a specific purpose, closely linked to the development of hand dexterity in primates.