Anthropology Notes

Classification

in biology, the ordering of organisms into categories such as orders families and genera to show evolutionary relationships

metazoa

they are multicellular animals with differentiated tissues,a major division of the animal kingdom

chordata

the phylum of the animal kingdom that includes vertebrates

vertebrate

animals with segmented bony spinal columns, includes fishes amphibians reptiles

homologies

similarities between organisms based on descent from a common ancestor

analogies

similarities between organisms strictly on common function with no assumed common evolutionary descent

homoplasy
the separate evolutionary development of similar characteristics in different groups of organisms

evolutionary systematic
a traditional approach to classification in which presumed ancestors and descendants are traced in time analysis of homologous characters

cladistics
an approach to classification that attempts to make rigorous evolutionary interpretations based solely on analysis of certain types of homologous characters

ancestral or primitive
referring to characters inherited by a group of organisms from a remote ancestor and thus not diagnostic of groups that diverged after the character first appeared

derived or modified
referring to characters that are modified from the ancestral condition and thus diagnostic particular evolutionary lineages

clade
a group of organisms sharing a common ancestor

theropods
small to medium sized ground living dinosaurs, dated to approx 150mya and thought to be related to birds

phylogenetic tree
a chart showing evolutionary relationships as determined by evolutionary systematics

cladogram
a chart showing evolutionary relationships as determined by cladistic analysis. its based solely on interpretation of shared derived characters.

biological species concept
a depiction of species as groups of individuals capable of fertile interbreeding but reproductively isolated from other such groups

speciation
the process by which a new species evolves from an earlier species

recognition species concept
a depiction of species in which the key aspect is the ability of individuals to identify members if their own species to mate

ecological species concept
the concept that a species is a group of organisms exploiting a single niche.

allopatric species
living in different areas

sexual dimorphism
differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species.

intraspecific variation
refers to variation seen within the same species

interspecific variation
refers to variation beyond that seen within the same species to include additional aspects seen between two different species

paleospecies
species defined from fossil evidence, often covering a large time span

genus
a group of closely related species

geological time scale
the organization of earth history into eras, periods, and epochs, commonly used by geologists and paleoanthropologists

continental drift
the movement of continents on sliding plates of the earths surface.

ecological niches
the position of a species within its physical and biological environments

epochs
categories of the geological time scale, subdivisions of periods

eras
eras include periods, periods are broken down into epochs, main eras: paleozoic,mesozoic and cenozoic

evolutionary pulse
by elisabeth vrba, suggests that abrupt climate change has drive brief pulses of evolution and extinction in animals ranging from antelopes to early human ancestors

viviparous
producing living young not eggs

heterodont
having different kinds of teeth

homodont
having the same teeth

endothermic
able to maintain internal body temperature by producing energy through metabolic processes within cells

homeothermic
an organism that has a constant body temperature n is largely independent of the temperature of its surroundings

adaptive radiation
a rapid expansion and diversification of life forms into new ecological niches/

punctuated equilibrium (interrupted long period of no change)
The theory that new species evolve suddenly over relatively short periods of time (a few hundred to a thousand years), followed by longer periods in which little genetic change occurs. Punctuated equilibrium is a revision of Darwin's theory that evolution takes place at a slow, constant rate over millions of years.

gradualist evolution
phyletic gradualism, thaat change accumulates gradually in evolving lineages

taxonomy
classifying organisms on the basis of evolutionary relationships

taphonomy
the study of how bones and other matierlas come to be buried in the earth and preserved as fossils

prosimians
grouping of mammals defined as being primates, but not monkeys or apes. They include, among others, lemurs, bushbabies, and tarsiers.

anthropoids
members of the primate infraorder Anthropoidea, which includes monkeys, apes, and humans

specialized morphology
horses and cattle have undergone a reduction in the number of digits from the ancestral pattern of five to one or two

prehensility
adapted for seizing, grasping or taking hold of something

vision reliant
corresponding reduction of the entire olfactory apparatus has also resulted in decreased size of the snout this increases reliance on vision

diurnal
active during the day

nocturnal
active during the night

sensory modalities
different forms of sensation ( taste, touch, pain etc.)

intelligence
A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience

arboreal hypothesis
based on the fact that animals such as squirrels are also arboreal, yet they havent evolved primate-like adaptations such as prehensile hands or forward-facing eyes

visual predation hypothesis
small mammals ate insects on the forest floor which made them develop hands , and they had to have good vision because they needed to detect insects, these features could becomes good to climb trees and jump from branch to branch