Anthropology and Evolution Notes Review

Flashcards summarizing key concepts related to anthropology and evolution for exam review.

Evolution

An ongoing biological process that involves a change in the genetic makeup of a population from one generation to the next, leading to macroevolution and microevolution.

Macroevolution

Greater evolutionary changes that lead to the emergence of new species.

Microevolution

Smaller evolutionary changes within a species over time.

Culture

The behavioral aspects of human adaptation, including traditions, language, technology, and social roles, transmitted from one generation to the next.

Biocultural Evolution

The mutual interactive evolution of human biology and culture, where both influence each other's development.

Scientific Method

An approach to research involving problem identification, hypothesis formulation, and hypothesis testing through data collection and analysis.

Holistic Approach

Encompassing the entirety or whole, essential for understanding humanity from multiple perspectives in anthropology.

Socio-Cultural Anthropology

The study of human cultures and life ways, focusing on social institutions and practices.

Linguistic Anthropology

The study of human languages and communication systems, emphasizing how cultural information is transmitted.

Archaeology

The study of material products of society to reconstruct past behaviors and cultures.

Biological Anthropology

The study of human evolution, variation, and ecology, exploring humanity's relationship with the environment.

Creation Myths

Narratives explaining how humanity and the universe came into existence, often involving supernatural forces and order.

Special Creation

The belief that humans or other entities were created by a higher power or supernatural means.

Natural Selection

The process by which organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, affecting species over time.

Thomas Malthus

An English clergyman known for his theory that population growth is multiplicative while resource growth is linear.

Charles Lyell

Scottish geologist who proposed uniformitarianism, suggesting that current natural processes shaped the Earth's features over time.

Charles Darwin

Naturalist known for his work on evolution and natural selection as described in 'On the Origin of Species'.

Inheritability

The characteristic of traits being passed from parents to offspring, crucial for natural selection to act.

Fitness

A relative measure of reproductive success, changing with environmental conditions.

Protozoa

Single-celled organisms that vastly outnumber multicellular organisms.