Anthro Final-Vocab

Artifact

Any object fashioned or altered by humans

Material culture

the durable aspects of culture, such as tools, structures, and art

Soil mark

a stain that shows up on the surface of recently plowed fields that reveals an archaeological site

Midden

a refuse or garbage disposal in an archaeological site

flotation

an archaeological technique employed to recover very tiny objects, including pollen, by immersion of soil samples in water to separate heavy from light particles.

Coprolites

Preserved fecal material providing evidence of the diet and health of past organisms

endocast

a cast of the inside of a skull, helps determine the size and shape of the brain

stratigraphy

in archaeology and paleoanthropology, the most reliable method of relative dating by means of strata.

Fluorine dating

in archaeology or paleontology, a technique for relative dating based on the fact that the amount of fluorine in bones is proportional to their age.

Palynology

in archaeology or paleontology, a method of relative dating based on changes in pollen over time.

Radio-carbon dating

in archaeology or paleontology, a technique for chronometric dating based on measuring the amount of radioactive carbon left in organic materials found in archaeological sites.

Ethnocentrism

the belief that the ways of one’s own culture are the only proper ones

forensic anthropology

the examination of human biological and cultural remains for legal purposes

genes

portions of DNA molecules that direct the development of observable or identifiable traits

natural selection

the evolutionary process through which factors in the environment exert pressure that favors some individuals over others to produce the next generation.

genome

the complete sequence of DNA for a species

meiosis

a kind of cell division which produces the sex cells, each of which has half the number of chromosomes, and hence genes, as the parent cell

phenotype

the physical appearance of an organism which may or may not reflect its genotype because the latter may include recessive alleles; genotype and environment

gene pool

the total genes of a population

anthropomorphize

ascribing human characteristics to non-human animals

Adaptive radiation

the rapid diversification of an evolving population as it adapts to a variety of available niches

homonin

the taxonomic subfamily of tribe within the primates that includes humans and our ancestors

foramen magnum

a large opening in the skull through which the spinal cord passes and connects to the brain

tool

an object used to facilitate some task or activity

Ethnic group

people who collectively and publicly identify themselves as a distinct group based on shared cultural features such as a common origin, language, customs, and traditional beliefs.

Neandertal

a distinct fossil group within the genus Homo inhabiting Europe and Southwest and Central Asia approx. 30,000 to 125,000 years ago

Enculturation

the process by which a society’s culture is passed on from one generation to the next and individuals become members of their society

paleoindians

the people who were the earliest inhabitants of the Americas

medical pluralism

the presence of multiple medical systems, each with its own practices and beliefs in a society

sahul

the greater Australian landmass including Australia, New guinea, and Tasmania. At times of maximum glaciation and low sea levels, these areas were continuous.

Natufian

a Mesolithic culture living in the lands that are now Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and western Syria between 10,200 and 12,500 years ago.

Domestication

an evolutionary process whereby humans modify, either intentionally or not, the genetic makeup of a population of plants or animals, sometimes to the extent that members of the population are unable to survive and/or reproduce without human assistance.

australopithecus

the genus including several species of early bipeds from eastern, southern, and central Africa, abt 1.1 to 4.3 million years ago

social stratification

the emergence of social classes- a series of ranked social categories according to characteristics such as wealth, occupation, or kin group.

advocacy anthropology

anthropologists committed to social justice and human rights who are actively and increasingly involved in efforts to assist indigenous groups, peasant communities, and ethnic minorities; research that is community based and politically involved.

melanin

a chemical responsible for dark skin pigmentation which helps protect against damage from UV radiation

anthropocene

a geological epoch defined by massive environmental changes brought on by humans since the industrial revolution

neolithic

the New Stone Age; prehistoric period begining ~10,000 years ago. People had stone-based technologies and depended on domesticated plants/animals for food

health disparity

a difference in the health status between the wealthy elite and the poor in stratified societies

Society

An organized group or groups of interdependent people who generally share a common territory, language, and culture

Civilization

In anthropology, a type of society in which large numbers of people live in cities, are socially stratified, and are governed by a ruling elite working through centrally organized political systems called states

ethnocentrism

viewing the world through the eyes of their own culture; assume that their own culture is the best

Theocracy

form of government in which the religious leader and the political leader are the same

Ethnography

a detailed description of a particular culture primarily based on firsthand observations and interactions.

Morphemes

the smallest units of sound that carry a meaning

Ecosystem

a system, or a functioning whole, composed of both the natural environment and all the organisms living within it.

sociolinguistics

the study of the relationship between language and society through examining how social categories (variables) such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, race, occupation, etc. influence the use and significance of distinctive styles of speech

Political organization

the way power is distributed and embedded in society; the means through which as society creates and maintains social order.

sanctions

externalize social control designed to encourage conformity to social norms (formal, informal)

horticulture

the cultivation of crops in food gardens, carried out with simple hand tools such as digging sticks and hoes

linguistic determination

the idea that language to some extent shapes the way in which we view and think about the world around us

ethnolinguistics

the study of the relation between language and culture

economic system

an organized arrangement for producing, distributing, and consuming goods (formal and informal)

consanguineal kin

biologically related relatives, commonly referred to as blood relatives

religion

an organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural, along with associated ceremonial practices by which people try to interpret and/or influence aspects of the universe otherwise beyond their control

divination

a magical procedure by which the cause of a particular event, such as an illness, may be determined or the future foretold

Serial monogamy

a marriage form in which an individual marries or lives with a series of partners in succession

polygyny

a marriage form in which a man is married to 2 or more women at the same time

patrilineal descent

descent traced exclusively through the make line of ancestry to establish group membership

folklore

a 19th century term first used to refer to the traditional oral stories and sayings of the European peasant, and later extended to those traditions preserved orally in all societies, originally to distinguish between “folk art” and the “fine art” of the literate elite.

fictive kin

relationships referred to through kinship terms but where the individuals involved are not necessarily related by blood or marriage

generalized reciprocity

a mode of exchange in which the value of the gift is not calculated, nor is the time of repayment specified

negative reciprocity

a mode of exchange in which the aim is to get something for as little as possible; both sides negotiating to get the better part of the deal; may involve bargaining, manipulation, outright cheating, or theft.

Myth

a sacred narrative explaining how the world came to be in its present form; explains the fundamentals of human existence- where everything in our world came from, why we are here, and where we are going.

Proximus

The study of people’s perception and use of social space