| A. afarensis | Early form of Australopithecus, known from Hadar in Ethiopia ("Lucy") and Laetoli in Tanzania; the Hadar remains date to 3.3-3.0 m.y.a.; the Laetoli remains are older, dating to 3.8-3.6 m.y.a.; despite its many apelike features, A. afarensis was an upright biped.
|
 |
|
|
| anatomically modern humans (AMHs) | Including the Cro-Magnons of Europe (31,000 B.P.) and the older fossils from Skhul (100,000), Qafzeh (92,000), Herto, and other sites; continue through the present.
|
|
|
|
| archaic Homo sapiens | Early H. sapiens, consisting of the Neandertals of Europe and the Middle East, the Neandertal-like hominins of Africa and Asia, and the immediate ancestors of all these hominins; lived from about 300,000 to 28,000 B.P.
|
|
|
|
| australopithecines | Varied group of early hominins. The term is derived from their former classification as members of a distinct subfamily, the Australopithecinae; now they are distinguished from Homo only at the genus level, as Australopithecus (A).
|
|
|
|
| bipedalism | Upright two-legged locomotion, the key feature differentiating early hominins from the apes.
|
|
|
|
| evolution | Belief that species arose from others through a long and gradual process of transformation, or descent with modification.
|
|
|
|
| gracile | Opposite of robust, "gracile" indicates that members of A. africanus were a bit smaller and slighter, less robust, then were members of A. robustus.
|
|
|
|
| hominid | A member of the taxonomic family that includes humans and the African apes and their immediate ancestors.
|
|
|
|
| hominin | A member of the human lineage after its split from ancestral chimps; the term hominin is used to describe all the human species that ever have existed, including the extinct ones, and excluding chimps and gorillas.
|
|
|
|
| Homo habilis | Term coined by L.S.B. and Mary Leakey; immediate ancestor of H. erectus; lived from about 2 to 1.7 m.y.a.
|
|
|
|
| m.y.a. | Million years ago.
|
|
|
|
| mutation | Change in the DNA molecules of which genes and chromosomes are built.
|
|
|
|
| natural selection | The process by which the forms most fit to survive and reproduce in a given environment do so in greater numbers than others in the same population; more than survival of the fittest, natural selection is differential reproductive success.
|
|
|
|
| Neandertals | Members of an archaic H. sapiens group that lived in Europe and the Middle East between 130,000 and 28,000 B.P.
|
|
|
|
| Oldowan | Earliest (2 to 2.5 m.y.a.) stone tools; first discovered in 1931 by L.S.B. and Mary Leakey at Olduvai Gorge.
|
|
|
|
| Paleolithic | Old Stone Age (from Greek roots meaning "old" and "stone"); divided into Lower (early), Middle, and Upper (late).
|
|
|
|
| robust | Large, strong, sturdy; said of skull, skeleton, muscle, and teeth; opposite of gracile.
|
|
|
|
| taxonomy | Classification scheme; assignment to categories (taxa; singular, taxon).
|
|
|
|
| theory | A set of ideas formulated (by reasoning from known facts) to explain something. The main value of a theory is to promote new understanding. A theory suggests patterns, connections, and relationships that may be confirmed by new research.
|
|
|
|
| uniformitarianism | Belief that explanations for past events should be sought in ordinary forces that continue to work today.
|
|
|
|
| Upper Paleolithic | Blade-tool-making traditions associated with H. sapiens sapiens; named from their location in upper, or more recent, layers of sedimentary deposits.
|