Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Archaeology, and Evolutionary Theory

Vocabulary flashcards covering introductory biological anthropology, archaeology subfields, the history of evolutionary thought, cell biology, genetics, and evolutionary forces.

Participant Observation

A research method in cultural anthropology where researchers study a culture by actively engaging in it as a member of society.

Ethnography

A written description of a specific people and their culture based on anthropological fieldwork.

Cultural Relativism

The anthropological principle stating that a culture can only be understood from within its own context and circumstances, rather than judged by external standards.

Ethnocentrism

The bias or belief that one's own culture's ways and values are superior or the most correct compared to those of others.

Urban Anthropology

A subfield of cultural anthropology that deals with cultural issues and social dynamics within inner cities.

Medical Anthropology

A subfield of cultural anthropology that explores the relationships between cultural attributes, health, and disease.

Media Anthropology

A subfield of cultural anthropology that studies mass media and digital communication and their impacts on culture.

Biological Anthropology

The study of human biology within an evolutionary framework, emphasizing the interaction between biology and culture; also called physical anthropology.

Palaeoanthropology

The study of human evolution through the investigation of the fossil record.

Osteology

The study of the skeleton, central to anthropology for analyzing human fossils, interpreting individual lifeways, and identifying remains in archaeological or forensic contexts.

Primatology

The study of the biology, behavior, and social structures of non-human primates.

Molecular Anthropology

The branch of biological anthropology that uses genetic technologies, such as DNA analysis, to investigate evolutionary relationships between human populations and non-human primates.

Forensic Anthropology

The application of anthropological and archaeological techniques to legal issues, typically involving the identification and analysis of skeletonized human remains.

Archaeology

The study of humanity's past through the analysis of material culture left behind, including artifacts, features, and biological remains.

Bioarchaeology

A subfield of archaeology focused on the study of human biological remains from archaeological sites.

Zooarchaeology

A subfield of archaeology focused on the study of animal remains from archaeological contexts.

Experimental Archaeology

A subfield of archaeology where researchers attempt to replicate ancient processes and techniques under controlled conditions to understand how they were performed.

Culture

A system of learned, shared, and symbolic thoughts, actions, and beliefs that serves as a primary strategy for human adaptation to natural and social environments.

Biocultural Evolution

The interactive evolution of human biology and culture, where cultural practices and technologies alter environmental pressures and influence natural selection.

Evolution

The sum of inherited changes in living organisms across generations over time.

Scientific Theory

An explanation for an aspect of the natural world that has been repeatedly tested and supported through rigorous scientific scrutiny.

Geocentrism

The historical worldview proposing that the motionless Earth is the center of the universe, around which the sun and celestial bodies revolve.

Heliocentrism

The astronomical model proposing that the Earth and other planets orbit the sun.

Binomial Nomenclature

The standardized system established by Carolus Linnaeus for naming organisms using a two-part scientific name consisting of genus and species.

Use and Disuse

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's principle asserting that organs develop or atrophy depending on how much an organism uses them during its lifetime.

Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's incorrect theory that physiological changes acquired during an organism's lifetime can be passed on to its offspring.

Catastrophism

The geological theory supported by Georges Cuvier stating that Earth's geological landscape and extinct species resulted from sudden, violent cataclysmic events followed by new creations.

Uniformitarianism

The geological principle proposed by James Hutton stating that the slow natural geological processes observed today operated identically in the past.

Deep Time

The concept that Earth's geological history spans immensely vast time scales, far beyond thousands of years, introduced through uniformitarianism.

Fitness

In evolutionary biology, a relative measure of reproductive success based on an individual's ability to survive and produce viable offspring.

Homologous Structures

Anatomical structures in different species that share a common evolutionary origin despite performing different functional roles.

Nucleotide

The basic structural unit of DNA, composed of a deoxyribose sugar molecule, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Codon

A three-letter sequence of nitrogenous bases in DNA or RNA that codes for a specific amino acid.

Gene

A specific sequence of DNA codons that contains the instructions to synthesize a specific protein.

Chromosome

A structure composed of tightly coiled DNA and proteins that contains genetic material.

Mitosis

A process of somatic cell division resulting in two genetically identical daughter cells, each containing the full diploid set of $46$ chromosomes.

Meiosis

A two-stage cell division process producing four unique sex cells (gametes), each containing a haploid set of $23$ chromosomes.

Recombination

The exchange of genetic material between paired homologous chromosomes during meiosis; also known as crossing over.

Diploid Number

The full complement of paired chromosomes in somatic cells, equal to $46$ in humans ($2n$).

Haploid Number

Half the full complement of chromosomes found in mature gametes, equal to $23$ in humans ($n$).

Genotype

The specific genetic makeup or combination of alleles an individual possesses at a given locus.

Phenotype

The observable physical or physiological expression of an organism's traits resulting from its genotype and environmental interaction.

Alleles

Alternate versions or variants of a specific gene located at the same locus on a chromosome.

Dominant Allele

An allele whose phenotypic effect masks or overshadows a recessive allele in a heterozygous genotype.

Recessive Allele

An allele whose phenotypic effect is masked in a heterozygote and is only expressed when an individual is homozygous for that allele.

Homozygous

Having two identical copies of a specific allele at a given locus on paired chromosomes.

Heterozygous

Having two different alleles at a given locus on paired chromosomes.

Punnett Square

A diagrammatic grid used to calculate and predict the possible genotypes and phenotypes of offspring from known parental genotypes.

Principle of Segregation

Gregor Mendel's first law of inheritance stating that gene pairs separate randomly during gamete formation so that each gamete receives only one allele.

Principle of Independent Assortment

Gregor Mendel's second law of inheritance stating that alleles for different traits are distributed into gametes independently of one another.

Codominance

An inheritance pattern in which two different dominant alleles at a locus are both fully expressed in the phenotype of a heterozygote.

Incomplete Dominance

An inheritance pattern in which neither allele is dominant, producing an intermediate or blended phenotype in heterozygotes.

Polygenic Traits

Physical characteristics whose expression is controlled by the cumulative effect of multiple different genes.

Pleiotropy

A genetic phenomenon where a single gene influences multiple unrelated phenotypic traits.

Epigenetics

The study of inherited changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than alterations in the underlying DNA sequence.

Mitochondrial DNA

Circular DNA molecules located inside mitochondria that are inherited exclusively through the maternal line.

Modern Synthesis

The mid-$20^{\text{th}}$-century unification of Darwinian natural selection with Mendelian genetics to define evolution as a two-stage process of variation generation and selective pressure.

Mutation

An error or change in the genetic code during DNA replication, acting as the ultimate source of new genetic variation.

Gene Flow

The exchange or movement of genetic material between distinct populations through migration and interbreeding.

Genetic Drift

Random fluctuations in allele frequencies within a population across generations due to statistical sampling error.

Founder Effect

A form of genetic drift occurring when a small group establishes a new population, carrying allele frequencies that differ from the parent population.

Population Bottleneck

A severe and rapid reduction in population size that randomly reduces genetic diversity among surviving individuals.

Artificial Selection

The deliberate selective breeding of plants or animals by humans to encourage specific desirable traits.

Sexual Selection

A form of natural selection operating through differential mating success driven by partner preferences or competition within a sex.