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biology > human evolution key words > Flashcards

human evolution key words Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards
1
Q

What does biological evolution mean?

A

The inheritance of change of structural features of the skull and postcranial skeleton and physiological changes

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2
Q

What does cultural evolution mean?

A

The inheritance of change in the learned information like skills and customs stored in a population

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3
Q

What are hominins?

A

Hominins are the living and fossil species belonging to the human lineage - Australopithecus and homo genera

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4
Q

What are hominids?

A

Hominids are all extinct and living great apes, including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and their ancestral species.

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5
Q

What does post cranial refer to?

A

Skeletal features below the skull

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6
Q

What does arboreal mean?

A

The phrase arboreal is used to describe hominids which spend a large proportion of their time in trees

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7
Q

What is the valgus angle?

A

The angle the femur makes relative to the knee. This is close to 90 degrees in non-human apes, less so in bipedal humans

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8
Q

What is the foramen magnum?

A

The large opening at the base of the skull through which the spinal cord enters the cranial cavity

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9
Q

What does brachiation mean?

A

Arboreal locomotion, accomplished by swinging the arms from one hold to another

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10
Q

What does prognathous mean?

A

The jaws protrude in front of the cranium

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11
Q

What are the great apes?

A

Chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas

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12
Q

What is the sagittal crest?

A

A bony crest running lengthwise down mid-line of the skull

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13
Q

What is acheulean tool culture?

A

Tools made and used by H. erectus - typically teardrop-shaped “hand axes” that were worked on all surfaces

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14
Q

What is mousterian tool culture?

A

Tools made and used by H. neanderthalensis. Typically hand axes but including scrapers and fine points.

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15
Q

What is upper paleolithic tool culture?

A

Stone age culture of H. sapiens. Still in use by some groups of humans. Used stone, bone, wood, antlers, hides and rope etc to produce a range of useful objects.

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16
Q

What is oldowan tool culture?

A

First tools made by H. habilis - typically a chopper for striking bones to extract the marrow

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17
Q

What is the stone tool culture associated with H. erectus?

A

Archeulean tool culture

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18
Q

What is the stone tool culture associated with H. neanderthalensis?

A

Mouseterian tool culture

19
Q

What is the tool culture associated with H. sapiens?

A

Upper paleolithic tool culture

20
Q

What is the zygomatic arch?

A

The bony arch at the outer border of the eye socket, formed by the joining of the cheekbone and the zygomatic process of the temporal bone

21
Q

What is a quern?

A

Neolithic stone tool for grinding grain

22
Q

What is a scapula?

A

The shoulder blade

23
Q

What is an endocast?

A

A cast of the brain case

24
Q

What is a dental arcade?

A

The shape formed by the tooth sockets in the upper and lower jaws

25
Q

What does pentadactyl mean?

A

Having five digits on the hand or foot

26
Q

What is Broca’s region?

A

A region of the brain concerned with the production of speech, located in the cortex of the dominant frontal lobe

27
Q

What is Wernicke’s area?

A

A region of the brain concerned with the comprehension of language, located in the cortex of the dominant temporal lobe

28
Q

What is the cranium?

A

The part of the skull that encloses the brain

29
Q

What is the brow ridge?

A

A bony ridge located above the eye socket of all primates

30
Q

What is the mandible?

A

The lower jaw or jawbone

31
Q

What is the nuchal crest?

A

A bony ridge at the back of the skull where the muscles and ligaments are attached in order to support the head

32
Q

What is a habitual biped?

A

Something that usually walks upright on two legs

33
Q

What is knuckle walking?

A

A form of quadrupedal walking in which the body weight presses down on the ground through the knuckles

34
Q

What is an obligate biped?

A

Adapted to walking on only two legs, with no ability to walk on four

35
Q

What does the term prehensile describe?

A

An animal’s limb or tail that is capable of grasping

36
Q

What does endocranial mean?

A

Refers to features of the brain, inferred by endocast impressions and volume.

37
Q

What is domestication?

A

Deliberately managing the reproduction of a species to use it for human benefit. Typically involves a wild species becoming tamed and physically/phenotypically altered in some way to provide a benefit to humans.

38
Q

What is forethought and why is it important?

A

The ability to imaging an outcome or product before it happens. Vital for planning ahead, particularly in tool making, hunting, and migrating.

39
Q

What is the Levallois technique?

A

Multistage process involving preparing a core-stone then using a hammer and chisel to strike off a flake with very sharp edges. Required forethought and skill, and some amount of technical learning.

40
Q

What is mitochondrial DNA and why is it important?

A

The DNA present within every mitochondrion. Mitochondria were originally prokaryotic endosymbionts. mtDNA can be used to trace maternal inheritance patterns as mtDNA only passes from mothers to their offspring.

41
Q

What is the multiregional dispersal model?

A

Modern humans evolved separately in Europe, Asia, and Africa, following the dispersal of early Homo around 1 mya. Continual gene flow kept them from speciating.

42
Q

What does nomadic mean?

A

A population with no fixed home. Typically they wander from place to place, and it may involve following herds or movements from one food source to another seasonally.

43
Q

What is the out of Africa dispersal model?

A

Modern humans evolved from a homo group that left Africa around 120 kya, spreading throughout Europe and Asia and beyond, replacing all the previous hominins.

44
Q

Who were the denisovans?

A

A group of hominins identified from finger bones and teeth. Found in central Asia, with genetic links to people of East Asian and Melanesian ancestry.

biology (4 decks)

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