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Anthropology > Chapter 7: Primate Evolution > Flashcards

Chapter 7: Primate Evolution Flashcards

(72 cards)

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1
Q

taphonomy

A

the study of what happens to the remains of an organism after death

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2
Q

provenance

A

the original location of a fossil or artifact

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3
Q

relative dating

A

a method of dating that identifies objects as being younger or older than other objects

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4
Q

absolute (chronometric) dating

A

a method of dating that assigns a specific age and estimated error to a fossil or site (e.g., 1.6 plus/minus 0.23 million years)

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5
Q

dating error

A

the degree to which a date derived from an absolute or relative technique differs from the actual date

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6
Q

stratigraphy

A

the study of the different layers (strata) that have been deposited over time

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7
Q

biostratigraphic dating

A

a method of relative dating that involves dating a fossil based on associated faunal remains that have been securely dated using other methods

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8
Q

fluorine dating

A

a method of relative dating that involves comparing the amount of fluorine that has accumulated in fossils found at the same site

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9
Q

paleomagnetism

A

a method of relative dating that involves comparing reversals in the earth’s magnetic field

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10
Q

radioactive isotopes

A

unstable isotopes that decay, emitting radioactivity

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11
Q

radiometric dating

A

an absolute method of dating based on the radioactive decay of isotopes

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12
Q

carbon-14 (radio-carbon dating)

A

a method of absolute dating based on the radioactive decay of carbon-14 into nitrogen-14

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13
Q

half-life

A

the amount of time it takes for half of an existing quantity of radioactive material to decay

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14
Q

accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating

A

a method of radiocarbon dating used to date very small samples

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15
Q

potassium-argon dating

A

a method of absolute dating based on the radioactive decay of potassium (40K) into argon gas (40Ar)

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16
Q

argon-argon dating

A

a method of absolute dating that measures the isotopic ratio of 40A to 39A

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17
Q

fission-track dating

A

a method of absolute dating that involves counting the number of tracks produced by the decay (fission) of the uranium isotope 238U contained in certain kinds of rocks

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18
Q

uranium-lead dating

A

a method of absolute dating that looks at the radioactive decay of uranium0238 to lead-206 and uranium-235 to lead-207 in minerals

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19
Q

uranium-series dating

A

a method of absolute dating that looks at the decay of uranium-234 to thorium-230 in calcium carbonate materials

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20
Q

electron spin resonance (ESR)

A

a method of absolute dating that involves measuring electrons trapped in materials such as teeth

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21
Q

thermoluminescence (TL)

A

a method of absolute dating that involves measuring the amount of light produced by the release of electrons trapped in objects such as stones and ceramics when they are heated

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22
Q

optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)

A

a method of absolute dating that involves determining the last time mineral grains such as quartz or feldspar were exposed to daylight by using light to measure the amount of energy trapped in the minerals’ crystals

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23
Q

cosmogenic nuclide dating

A

a method of absolute dating that looks at the ratio of aluminum-26 to beryllium-10 in quartz sand crystals

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24
Q

geologic time scale

A

the division of the earth’s geologic events into time periods such as eras and epochs

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25
Cenozoic era
the geological era in which mammals, including primates, evolved
26
epoch
a measure of geologic time that partitions geologic eras (e.g., Cenozoic) into smaller units, defined with regard to major climatological /environmental events
27
Pangaea
the original landmass made up of the seven continents we recognize today
28
continental drift
the movement of the plates that make up the earth's continents
29
Laurasia
the landmass consisting of North America, Europe, and Ausia
30
Gondwanaland
the landmass consisting of South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Madagascar, and India
31
biodiversity
variation in life forms within a given ecosystem
32
endemism
the state of being found exclusively in a particular place
33
paleoecology
the study of ancient environments
34
paleobotanists
specialists who study ancient plant remains
35
palynologists
specialists who study pollen
36
paleontologists
specialists who study the fossilized remains of extinct life forms
37
oxygen isotope analysis
the use of stable oxygen isotopes to reconstruct ancient climates; it can also be used to examine the geographic origins of organisms such as humans
38
stable isotopes
different forms of an element that have different atomic mass and that are not radioactive
39
crown group
the last common ancestor of a clade plus all of its descendants, including living members of the clade
40
stem group
a group of extinct organisms that are not part of the crown group
41
extant
still existing; commonly used to refer to living species
42
paleobiology
the study of the behaviour and ecology of fossil organisms
43
dental microwear
microscopic wear on the enamel surfaces of the teeth, primarily due to diet
44
shearing quotient
a measure of the relative shear potential of molar teeth
45
occlusal
the chewing surface of a tooth
46
Paleocene
the first epoch of the Cenozoic era, dating from about 66 to 56 Ma
47
plesiadapiforms
a group of primate-like mammals that lived during the Paleocene epoch
48
procumbent
forward-projecting
49
Eocene
the second epoch of the Cenozoic era, dating from about 56 to 34 Ma
50
omomyids
tarsier-like primates from the Eocene epoch
51
adapids
lemur-like primates from the Eocene epoch
52
Notharctus
an Eocene primate of the family Adapidae
53
basal anthropoids
the earliest anthropoids
54
Oligocene
the third epoch of the Cenozoic era, dating from about 34 to 23 Ma
55
Fayum
a fossil-rich region of Egypt once home to many Oligocene anthropoids
56
oligopithecids
early anthropoids from the Oligocene epoch
57
parapithecids
a group of early anthropoids from the Oligocene epoch
58
propliopithecids
the largest group of the Oligocene anthropoids
59
Aegyptopithecus
a propliopithecid from the Oligocene epoch
60
Y-5 pattern
cusp pattern formed by 5 cusps on the lower (mandibular) molar teeth in hominoids
61
floating island model
the hypothesis that the ancestors of New World monkeys rafted across the Atlantic from Africa to South America on floating islands of vegetation
62
Victoriapithecidae
the family to which the earliest Old World monkeys belong
63
bilophodont
molar teeth characterized by four cusps connected by two ridges of enamel
64
Miocene
the fourth epoch of the Cenozoic era, dating from about 23 to 5.3 Ma
65
proconsulids
early Miocene hominoids from Africa
66
Proconsul
the best-known genus of early Miocene hominoids
67
cingulum
a raised ridge of enamel found on the upper molar teeth
68
Dryopithecus
a genus of large-bodied hominoids that lived in Europe during the Miocene epoch
69
klinorhynchy
downward tilting of the face relative to the cranial base
70
Sivapithecus
a genus of large-bodied hominoids that lived in Asia during the Miocene epoch
71
molecular systematics
the use of molecular data to reconstruct the evolutionary history of early primates and determine the time of divergence of different species
72
molecular clock
a concept involving the use of molecular data to estimate the sequence and timing of divergence of various evolutionary lineages

Anthropology (13 decks)

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