| australopithecine | Any member of the genus Australopithecus,
including several species: anamensis,
afarensis, garhi, africanus, robustus, boisei, and
aethiopicus. The oldest members of the genus date
back to at least 4.2 million years ago. The genus became
extinct by 1 million years ago and was characterized
by an ape-sized brain but also by the modern
human behavioral trait of bipedal locomotion.
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| bipedal locomotion | The ability to walk on two feet.
With a few notable exceptions (such as some dinosaurs
and birds), the hominids are the only creatures
who habitually and efficiently walk on two feet.
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| C3 pathway | The photosynthetic process employed
by most trees, whereby a radioactive isotope of
carbon—13C—is differentially filtered out.
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| C4 pathway | The photosynthetic process employed
by most grasses and sedges, whereby a radioactive
isotope of carbon—13C—is more readily used
than in plants that follow the C3 pathway.
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| core | In stone-tool manufacturing, the nucleus from
which flakes or blades are removed. In manufacturing
a core tool like an Acheulean handaxe, the
stone nucleus becomes the tool. In a core-andblade
or core-and-flake technology, the core is
merely the source for numerous sharp flakes or
blades that are then used as is or modified into
tools.
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| cranium | The bones of the head and face (excluding
the lower jaw).
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| diastema | A gap between the teeth of both the
mandible (lower jaw) and the maxilla (upper jaw).
The large canine teeth of apes fit into the diastemas
of their opposing jaws when those jaws are closed.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) The genetic code; the
genetic instructions for each life-form on the
planet.
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| endocast | A mold of the brain produced naturally
when sediment enters the skull and then mineralizes.
Also produced artificially by coating the inside
of the skull with a latex-based material. Endocasts
can exhibit features of the exterior surface of
the brain.
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| flake | A stone fragment removed from a core by the
blow of a hammerstone, antler baton, or pressure
flaker. The flake can be discarded, used as is, or further
modified for use as a specific tool.
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| foramen magnum | Large hole at the base or back of
the skull through which veins, arteries, and nerves
pass. The location of the foramen magnum in a
fossil skull is an indicator of how the skull was attached
to the vertebral column and, by inference,
the form of locomotion employed by the creature.
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| genera | (sing., genus) The level in biological taxonomy
between family and species. For example,
chimpanzees are classified as Pan troglodytes while
their cousins, the bonobos, are classified as Pan
paniscus; they are members of the same taxonomic
family, the Pongidae, the same genus, Pan, but different
species, troglodytes and paniscus.
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| hammerstone | In stone toolmaking, the lithic tool
used in percussion flaking to remove flakes or
blades from a core or to detach additional flakes
from flakes or blades.
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| hominid | Any creature believed to be in the direct
human line, a member of the taxonomic family
Hominidae. Bipedal locomotion is the single most
salient characteristic of the hominids.
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| humerus | The upper arm bone.
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| ilium | The upper blade of the pelvis.
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| innominate | The left or right side of the pelvis that
consists of the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis.
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| ischium | The bottom rear portion of the innominate
bone of the pelvis.
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| isotope | A variety of an element’s atomic form. Isotopes
are distinguished by the number of neutrons
in their atomic nuclei. Some isotopes are unstable
and decay into other forms; these are said to be radioactive.
Some radioactive isotopes can be used in
dating paleontological or archaeological material.
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| knapper | One who makes stone tools. To knapp is to
make stone tools through the application of percussion
and pressure.
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| mandible | The lower jaw. (Compare to maxilla.)
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| maxilla | The upper jaw. (Compare to mandible.)
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| Miocene | forests of Africa with savannas set the
stage for the evolution of an upright primate
adapted for life under conditions of flat, open expanses
and few trees.
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| mosaic | Environments characterized by patches of
different habitats rather than a single, homogeneous
habitat. It is believed that the first hominids
lived in a mosaic environment characterized by a
mixture of woodlands and savannas.
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| niche | The actual physical area occupied by an organism
as well as its functional role in a community
of organisms. Sometimes referred to as an organism’s
ecological address.
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| object piece | In the manufacturing of stone tools,
the stone that is being worked through the application
of either percussion or pressure.
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| Oldowan | The earliest stone tools, simple chopping
tools and sharp flakes, dated to 2.4 million years
ago, that were probably made by Homo habilis.
Some evidence suggests they may also have been
produced by Australopithecus garhi and, possibly,
robustus.
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| paleoecological | Reference to the relationship between
an ancient organism and its environment
by reference to that physical evidence that has
preserved.
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| phylogeny | The evolutionary histories of different
kinds of organisms and their relationships to each
other. A phylogeny can be a chart showing the evolutionary
connections among organisms as well as
the timing of those connections.
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| Pliocene | Geological epoch of the Tertiary Period,
following the Miocene epoch and preceding the
Pleistocene epoch of the Quaternary Period. The
Pliocene is defined as beginning about 5 million
years ago and lasting until about 1.7 million years
ago.
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| pongid | A member of the taxonomic family Pongidae;
an ape.
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| postcranial | Referring to the skeleton, all of the
bones below the cranium.
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| punctuated equilibrium | A mode of evolution in
which long periods of stasis or equilibrium in a
species are interrupted by short, relatively rapid
bursts (punctuations) of great change, producing
a new species.
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| sagittal crest | A ridge of bone that runs along the
top of the skull from front to back and that provides
added surface area for the attachment of
powerful temporalis muscles that attach to the
jaws.Male gorillas and some ancient hominid fossils
possess a sagittal crest.
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| savanna | Grasslands. The replacement of the
Miocene forests of Africa with savannas set the
stage for the evolution of an upright primate
adapted for life under conditions of flat, open expanses
and few trees.
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| sexual dimorphism | Differences in the form and
size of the two sexes. Among most primates, the
male tends to be larger and physically more powerful
than the female.
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| striking platform | Part of a stone core or worked
flake that presents an area where the desired flake
can be removed when struck with a hammerstone
or antler hammer.
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| taphonomic | Referring to how materials become
part of the paleontological or archaeological record.
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| tibia | The larger of the two long bones making up
the lower leg; the shin bone.
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| turnover-pulse | A term coined by researcher Elisabeth
Vrba to refer to periods of significant environmental
change that produce rapid and signifi-
cant change in plant and animal species leading
either to extinction or rapid evolution.
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| ulna | One of the bones of the forearm. The ulna is
the more interior bone, closer to the body, while
the radius is the more exterior bone (on the thumb
side).
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education