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| the taxonomic family to which humans belong; also includes other, now extinct, bipedal relatives. |
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| colloquial term for members of the family Hominidae, which includes all bipedal hominoids back to the divergence from African great apes. |
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| on two feet. walking habitually on two legs is the single most distinctive feature of the family Hominidae. |
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| a large flat grassland with scattered trees and shrubs. savannas are found in many regions of the world with warm (or hot) and dry climates. |
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| a change in the genetic structure of a population. the term is also frequently used to refer to the appearance of a new species. |
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| functional response of organisms or populations to the environment. adapation results from evolutionary change (specifically, as a result of natural selection) |
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| small genetic changes that occur within a species. |
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| changes that occur only after many generations, such as the appearance of a new species (speciation). |
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| all aspects of human adaptation, including technology, traditions, language, religion, marriage patterns, and social roles. culture is a set of learned behaviors; it is transmitted from one generation to the next through learning and not by biological or genetic means. |
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| general cultural orientation or perspective shared by members of a society. |
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| anything organisms do that involves action in response to internal or external stimuli; the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment. such responses may or may not be deliberate, and they aren't necessarily the result of conscious decision making. |
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| the capacity or inclination to do something. a situation whereby an organism is susceptible to behavioral or anatomical modification because of preexisting traits. |
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| the mutual, interactive evolution of human biology and culture; the concept that biology makes culture possible and that developing culture further influences the direction of biological evolution; a basic concept in understanding the unique components of human evolution. |
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| the field of inquiry that studies human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology; includes cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and physical anthropology. |
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| detailed descriptive studies of human societies. in cultural anthropology, an ethnography is traditionally the study of a non-Western society. |
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| objects of materials made or modified for use by hominids (extinct forms and modern humans). the earliest artifacts tend to be tools made of stone or, occasionally, bone. |
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| the interdisciplinary approach tot he study of earlier hominids- their chronology, physical structure, archaeological remains, habitats, etc. |
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| measurement of human body parts. when osteologists measure skeletal elements, the term osteometry is often used. |
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| the study of gene structure and action and the patterns of inheritance of traits from parent to offspring. genetic mechanisms are the underlying foundation for evolutionary change. |
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| the study of the biology and behavior of nonhuman primates (prosimians, monkeys, and apes). |
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| the study of skeletal material. human osteology focues on the interpretation of the skeletal remains of past groups. some of the same techniques are used in paleoanthropology to study early hominids. |
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| the branch of osteology that studies evidence of disease and injury in human skeletal or, occasionally, mummified remains from archaeological sites. |
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| an applied anthropological approach to dealing with legal matters. physical anthropologists work with coroners and others in the identification and analysis of human remains. |
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| a body of knowledge gained through observation and experimentation; from the Latin scientia meaning "knowledge." |
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| relying on experiment or observation; from the Latin empiricus, meaning "experienced." |
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| a research method whereby a problem is identified, a hypothesis (or hypothetical explanation) is stated, and that hypothesis is tested through the collection and analysis of data. if the hypothesis is verified, it becomes a theory. |
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| a provisional explanation of a pheonomenon. hypotheses require verification or falsification through testing. |
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| facts from which conclusons can be drawn; scientific information. |
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| in a manner involving measurements of quantity and including such properties as size, number, and capacity. when data are quantified, they are expressed numerically and are capable of being tested statistically. |
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| the precise repetition of an experiment or expansion of observed data to provide verification; the procedure by which hypotheses and theories are verified, modified, or discarded. |
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| a broad statement of scientific relationships or underlying principles that has been at least partially verified through rigorous testing. |
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| viewing other cultures from the inherently biased perspective of one's own culture. ethnocentrismusually results in other cultures being seen as inferior to one's own. |
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| pertaining to relativism; viewing entities as they relate to something else. cultural relativism is the view that cultures have merits within their own historical and environmental contexts and that they shouldn't be judged through comparison with one's own culture. |
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| the chemical processes within cells that break down nutrients and release energy for the body to use. (when nutrients are roken down into their component parts, such as amino acids, energy is released and made available for use by the cell.) |
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