L3Bio NCEA — Human evolution definitions

Arboreal

Tree dwelling

Acheulian

Tool culture of Homo erectus and archaic H. sapiens. Pear-shaped hand axes

Ape

Includes gorilla, orangutan, gibbon chimpanzee. No tail, large brain; brachiating knuckle walkers

Australopithecus

Group of extinct omnivorous bipedal hominins. Includes A. amanemsis, A. afarensis, A. africanus and some others

Biological evolution

A change in the genetically transmitted material from one generation to the next

Bipedalism

Walking on 2 legs. Only Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo genuses

Brachiation

Swinging by arms as apes do

Broca’s area

Area of brain that produces speech

Brow ridge

Bony projection protecting eyes. Prominent in early hominins

Condyle

Buttress of bone on the vase of the femur. Humans have this on the outer base and apes on the inner. It prevents collapse of the knee inwards

Composite tool

Tool made from stone and other materials e.g. wood common of upper Palaeolithic periods

Cranium

Raised back of skull holding brain

Cultural evolution

A change in the learned behaviour from one generation to the next

Diastema

Gap between incisors and canines to allow for space for the canines

Foremen magnum

Opening in the skull for attachment of the spinal cord

Gracile

Light and small in structure

Hominid

Humans, gorillas, chimpanzees

Hominin

Humans both living and fossil

Hunter gatherer

Lifestyle whereby early archaic Homo species hunted animals and gathered plant/plant material for food

Lateral condyle

Buttress of bone at the lower end of the femur (which prevents the sideways deflection of the left during walking)

Mesolithic

Middle Stone Age, characterised by fishing and foraging for wild grains

Mousterian

Tool culture of Neanderthals. In middle Palaeolithic time period

Multiregional theory

African H. erectus dispered from Africa to Europe and Asia about 1.8mya. Each separate population evolved gradually into modern day H. sapiens while still having gene flow between each other

Neolithic

New Stone Age — age of agriculture and diverse tool cultures associated with H. sapiens

Nuchal crest

Attachment at the back of the skull for attachment of neck muscles

Occipital condyles

Piece of bone on the base of the skull where the first cervical vertebrae articulates with the skull

Oldowan

Tool culture of Homo habilis. In lower Palaeolithic time period

Opposable thumb

The tip of the thumb can touch the tip of the fingers from the same hand

Out of Africa hypothesis (replacement hypothesis)

Homo sapiens evolved in Africa (Ethiopia specifically, from African H. erectus into African H. heidelbergensis then into African H. sapiens) and then dispersed into Europe and Asia approximately 200,000ya replacing previous dispersals of H. erectus that had evolved into archaic Homo species e.g. Neanderthals.

Add on to this theory Hybridisation model — archaic Homo species had not become extinct when H. sapiens dispersed from Africa into Europe and Asia, they overlapped and interbred significantly and as such H. sapiens have Neanderthal DNA in their genome

Palaeolithic

Old Stone Age

Middle Palaeolithic

Period of time occupied by the Neanderthals

Paranthropus

Genus of vegetarian hominins includes P. aethiopicus, robustas and boisei

Plantigrade

The entire foot is in contact with the ground

Positive feedback loop

Relationship whereby two or more changes reinforces each other’s effects. In this context, biological evolution e.g. bipedal motion allowed for further biological evolution in the hand and/or brain. Another example is that biological evolution of a larger brain allowed for cultural evolution in that there was more capacity for abstract thought which led to increased tool complexity and thereby increased calorific food intake which led to further biological and cultural evolution

Primate

Order that includes prosimians, monkeys, apes and humans

Prognathism

Having a protruding muzzle

Prehensile

Grasping

Quern stone

Rounded stone used for grinding grains into flour Neolithic tool

Robust

Heavier, stronger structure

Sagittal crest

Bony projection on top of the cranium for attachment of chewing muscles

Scavenger

Feeding off dead animals

Selection pressures

The environmental factors that favour certain phenotypes over others

Sexual dimorphism

Where the male is larger and has structural differences from the female

Upper palaeolithic

Culture of Homo sapiens

Valgus angle

Carrying angle; the angle, less than 180°, between the femur and tibia. It indicates bipedalism

Wernicke’s area

Area of the brain concerned with recognition of speech

Zygomatic arch

Bone structure on side of cheek through which the chewing and muscles go