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| small changes occurring within species, such as a change in allele frequencies |
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| changes produced only after many generations, such as the appearance of a new species |
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| the branch of science concerned with the rules of classifying organisms on the basis of evolutionary relationships |
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| a group of extinct and living bipedal primates in the family Hominidae |
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| a pattern of evolution in which the rate of evolution in one functional system varies from that in other systems. For example, in hominin evolution, the dental system, locomotor system and neurological system all evolved at markedly different rates |
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| the study of how bones and other materials came to be buried in the earth and preserved as fossils. Taphonomists study the processes of sedimentation, the action of streams, preservation properties of bone and carnivore disturbance factors |
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| study of the sequential layering of deposits |
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| biostratigraphy (faunal correlation) |
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| a relative dating technique based on regular changes seen in evolving groups of animals as well as presence or absence of a particular species |
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| a dating technique that gives an estimate in actual numbers of years |
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| relative dating techniques |
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| dating methods that tell us if something is older or younger than something else, but not by how much |
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| a depiction of species as groups of individuals capable of fertile inbreeding but reproductively isolated from other such groups |
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| species defined from fossil evidence, often covering a long time span |
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| the process by which a new species evolves from an earlier species; the most basic process in macroevolution |
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| change accumulates slowly in evolving lineages |
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| the concept that evolutionary change proceeds through long periods of stasis punctuated by rapid periods of change |
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| polishes, striations, and other diagnostic microscopic changes on the edges of stone tools |
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| large opening for the passage of the spinal cord to the brain; located at the bottom of the skull for bipeds |
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| internal cast of a hollow object (specifically used for the cranium); can be man-made or occur through fossilization |
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| a slight ridge of bone found along the midline sagittal suture of the cranium, typically found in H. erectus skulls. A thickening or widening of bone running along the middle of the top of the skull. |
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| the more highly developed this structure is, the more developed the masticatory muscles are; jaw muscles were anchored here. |
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| a cranial feature of Neandertals in which the occipital bone projects substantially from the skull's posterior |
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| bony ridge located above the eye sockets of all primates; reinforces weaker bones in the face |
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| used to describe the positional relationship of the mandible to the skeletal base; due to normal variation among phenotypes |
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| narrowing of the cranium just behind the eye sockets in primates |
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| osteodontokeratic culture |
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| theoretical construct of Raymond Dart who proposed that jagged animal bones and horns were the result of "killer ape advancing his species by murder." Really, the fractures in the bones were created post-mortem. |
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| cheekbones; part of the structures derived from the ancestral single temporal fenestra; robust species had larger zygomatic arches, allowing space for more powerful chewing muscles |
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| the position of the body in a bent orientation, with arms and legs drawn up to the chest |
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| mode of locomotion in which the animal moves along the horizontal branches with a regular gait pattern involving all four limbs |
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| arm swinging, a form of locomotion used by some primates; involves hanging from a branch and moving by alternately swinging from one arm to the other; seen in species characterized by arms longer than legs |
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| terrestrial quadrupedalism |
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| limbs are same length of arboreal quadrupedals, with forelimbs being 90% as long as hind limbs |
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| vertical clinging and leaping |
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| characteristic of lemurs and tarsiers; support themselves vertically by grasping onto trunks of trees or other large plants while their knees and ankles are tightly flexed |
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| weight of the upper body is supported by the knuckles and not the palm of the hand |
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| walking habitually on two legs |
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| the moist, hairless pad at the end of the nose seen in most mammalian species; enhances the ability to smell |
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| found in Strepsirhine primates and consists of four or six long, flat, forward-angled teeth used for feeding and grooming |
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| characteristic that sets lemurs and lorises apart; used for grooming |
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| differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species (for example - human males are slightly taller on average than human females) |
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| patches of tough, hard skin on the buttocks of Old World monkeys and chimps that serve as sitting pads |
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| the period of heat or maximum sexual receptivity in females |
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| members of the primate superfamily that includes apes and humans |
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| the systematic study of the biological basis of all social behavior |
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| how social structure and organization are influenced by an organism's environment |
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| sum of an organism's classical fitness (how many of its own offspring it produces and supports) and the number of equivalents of its own offspring it can add to the population by supporting others |
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| a common behavior in many primate species whereby individuals other than the parents hold, carry and in general interact with infants |
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| technique for dating certain archaeological materials (such as stone tools) that were heated in the past and that release stored energy of radioactive decay as light upon reheating |
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| dating method based on the earth's shifting magnetic pole |
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| applies only to bones; water seepage into bones leaves fluorine and can help determine whether the bones are the same age; downfall is that this only applies if the bones are found in the same location |
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| used to control flake size and shape; required several complex and coordinated steps, suggesting increased cognitive abilities in later premodern populations |
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