ANTH 1120: Contemporary Human Diversity, Forensic Anthropology, and Paleopathology

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering human diversity, evolutionary adaptations, high altitude biology, forensic anthropology, and paleopathology.

Biocultural Approach

An anthropological approach that recognizes the complex interrelationship between human biology and the various facets of culture, including technology and behaviour.

Adaptability

The evolutionary capacity to maintain physiological functions in response to short- or long-term stressors, enabling individuals to live long enough to reproduce and pass on genetic material.

Clines

Gradual shifts in trait prevalence across geographical lines, defined as a depiction of the frequency with which a character appears in one population compared to its occurrence in a neighbouring group.

Vitamin D Hypothesis

The hypothesis proposing that lighter skin pigmentation evolved at higher latitudes with lower UV radiation to facilitate the body's synthesis of vitamin D, preventing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.

Folate

A B vitamin critical for fetal neural tube development that degrades under UV radiation; darker skin provides a selective advantage in high UV environments by protecting it against degradation.

Hypoxia

A condition of inadequate oxygen supply in body tissues, commonly occurring in high-altitude environments above $2500\,m$ where lower barometric pressure reduces the molecular density of oxygen.

Respiratory Alkalosis

A shift in body chemistry toward increased alkalinity caused by the physiological processes associated with an elevated ventilation (breathing) rate at high altitudes.

Cheyne-Stokes Syndrome

An irregular breathing pattern occurring during sleep at high altitudes where the breathing rate oscillates, often causing individuals to wake up feeling as though they are suffocating.

High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE)

A severe high-altitude condition characterized by an abnormal accumulation of fluids in lung tissues that blocks normal oxygen transport.

High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE)

A very rare and critical condition where fluid enters brain tissues at high altitudes, resulting in behaviour disorders, convulsions, and potentially death unless evacuated immediately.

Developmental Adaptation Hypothesis

The hypothesis stating that physiological traits observed in high-altitude populations develop through growth and developmental adjustments rather than strict genetic inheritance.

EPAS1 Gene

A gene activated by low oxygen levels; Tibetans carry an allele nearly identical to Denisovan DNA that moderately elevates hemoglobin and red blood cells without harmful side effects.

Andrea Wiley

A biological anthropologist who posits that adaptation is not necessarily an intrinsically positive outcome, but rather a less negative condition given a population's environmental context.

Sickle-Cell Trait Heterozygotes ($Aa$)

Individuals who possess one sickle-cell allele and one normal allele, providing blood that deters the malaria parasite and confers resistance against dying from malaria.

Lactase Persistence

The continued production of the lactase enzyme past childhood that allows milk digestion into adulthood, co-evolving as a dominant genetic trait alongside the cultural practice of pastoralism.

Forensic Anthropology

The application of anthropological and archaeological techniques, such as excavation and skeletal analysis, to identify recent human remains and assist in legal investigations.

Osteology

The detailed microscopic and macroscopic study of the human skeleton, focusing on its structure, anatomy, and physiological functions.

Biological Profile

An individual profile constructed by forensic anthropologists from skeletal remains, consisting of age-at-death, sex, body size (stature), ancestry (population affinity), and unique individual features.

Epiphyseal Union

The developmental process by which the epiphyses (end caps of bones) fuse to the diaphyses (bone shafts) at predetermined rates, used to estimate subadult age-at-death up to age $23$.

Pubic Symphysis

The cartilaginous area where the two halves of the pelvis join, which degenerates from a ridged surface to a flatter and more porous texture as an adult ages.

Antemortem Trauma

Trauma or injury occurring far enough before death that the bone displays evidence of full or partial healing and remodelling.

Perimortem Trauma

Skeletal trauma occurring at or around the time of death, displaying no indicators of physiological healing or bone remodelling.

Postmortem Trauma

Skeletal damage that occurs to the remains after death, such as breakage or destruction caused by animal scavenging.

Blunt Force Trauma

Trauma resulting from a blow delivered by a wide instrument with a flat or rounded surface, causing bone compression, bending, or shearing across a relatively large area.

Sharp Force Trauma

Trauma produced by an implement with a sharp point or edge, characterized by narrow impact focuses such as punctures, chop marks, or cut marks.

Projectile Trauma

Trauma produced by an airborne object impacting bone with high kinetic energy, typically initiating with a small focal entry that enlarges as it travels through.

Paleopathology

The study of disease, nutritional stress, and trauma within human skeletal remains recovered from archaeological sites.

Bioarchaeology

The systematic anthropological study of human skeletal remains recovered specifically from archaeological contexts.

Osteomyelitis

An infection of the bone marrow cavity resulting from a localized infection (such as a skin ulcer) or pathogen dissemination through the bloodstream.

Porotic Hyperostosis and Cribra Orbitalia

Porous, sponge-like skeletal lesions appearing on the cranial vault and eye sockets, respectively, indicating extreme iron deficiency anemia.

Enamel Hypoplasia

Horizontal grooves or defects on teeth resulting from growth disruption and developmental stress, such as severe childhood malnutrition or illness.

The Osteological Paradox

The concept that skeletal remains displaying chronic disease markers or lesions represent individuals who were healthy enough to survive long-term infections, whereas those without lesions may have died too rapidly for bone alterations to appear.