Anthropology

Anthropology

The study of humans, with subfields including Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, and Biological/Evolutionary Anthropology.

Material Culture

The physical manifestations of human activities, such as tools, art, and structures, studied in Archaeology.

Cultural Resource Management

Safeguarding archaeological heritage through protection of sites and salvage archaeology, within legislative frameworks.

Ethnography

An approach in Cultural Anthropology focusing on the study of culture through direct observation and interaction.

Biological Anthropology

A subfield focusing on human biology, evolution, and adaptation, including Paleoanthropology and Primatology.

Natural Selection

The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring over time.

Genetic Drift

Evolutionary change due to random processes, significant in small populations, leading to changes in genetic material.

Founder Effects

Differences in variant frequency in a population due to random chance when new populations are established.

Mutation

Changes in DNA bases or chromosome structure, leading to genetic variability, inheritable in sex cells.

Evolution

A change in allele frequencies in a population over time, with types including Monogenic and Polygenic traits.

DNA

A molecule containing genetic information, with Adenine bonding with Thymine and Cytosine bonding with Guanine in its structure.

Relative Dating

Providing a relative ordering of material or sites through methods like stratigraphy and faunal succession.

Absolute Dating

Estimating the age of artifacts using methods like radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating, and argon-argon dating.

Archaeological Site

Location of past human activity, with artifacts, features, and ecofacts providing insights into human history.

Context

The spatial and temporal associations of artifacts and features within an archaeological site, crucial for interpreting findings.

Preadult care

Refers to the long period of offspring care provided by parents before the offspring reach adulthood.

Reliance on Learned Behaviors

Indicates that due to the long period of offspring dependency in primates, there is more time for learning and acquiring behaviors.

Brain Size

Primates have relatively large brains for their body size, especially the neocortex, which is responsible for memory, problem-solving, and abstract thought.

Primate Classification

Involves a hierarchy based on taxonomic ranks, with species names represented by binomials consisting of the Genus and species.

Euarchonta

A group that includes primates, Scandentia (tree shrews, not actual shrews), and Dermoptera (flying lemurs, not actual lemurs).

Tree Shrews

Members of the Euarchonta group that neither live in trees nor are actual shrews, feeding on fruits and insects, and were once considered primates but later reclassified.

Flying Lemurs

Part of the Euarchonta group, they do not fly and are not lemurs, consuming leaves, possessing a gliding membrane, and having unique lower incisors.

Memorize Human Body Bones

A task to remember the bones of the human body.

Memorize Primate Classification

Involves learning and recalling the classification system of primates.

Shrews

Small insectivorous mammals not directly related to tree shrews despite the similar name.