| anthropology | The holistic study of the human species. Anthropology includes the study of human biology, human physical evolution, human cultural evolution, and human adaptation.
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| applied anthropology | Anthropology used to address current practical problems and concerns.
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| archaeology | A subfield of anthropology that studies the human cultural past and the reconstruction of past cultural systems.
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| belief systems | Ideas that are taken on faith and cannot be scientifically tested. Examples are religions, philosophies, and ethical and moral beliefs. Compare with scientific method.
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| bioanthropology | Another name for biological anthropology.
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| biological anthropology | A subfield of anthropology that studies humans as a biological species.
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| cultural anthropology | A subfield of anthropology that focuses on human cultural behavior and cultural systems and the variation in cultural expression among human groups.
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| culture | Ideas and behaviors that are learned and transmitted. Also, the system made up of the sum total of these ideas and behaviors that is unique to a particular society of people. Nonbiological means of adaptation.
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| deduction | Suggesting specific data that will be found if a hypothesis is true, a step in the scientific method involving the testing of hypotheses. See also induction.
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| forensic anthropologist | One who applies anthropology to legal matters. Usually used with reference to the identification of skeletal remains and the assessment of time and cause of death.
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| holistic | Assuming an interrelationship among the parts of a subject. Anthropology is a holistic discipline.
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| human ecology | A specialty of anthropology that studies the relationships between humans and their environments.
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| hunter-gatherers | Societies that rely upon naturally occurring sources of food. They have no domestic plants or animals except, perhaps, dogs.
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| hypotheses | Educated guesses to explain natural phenomena. In the scientific method, hypotheses must be testable. See also theory.
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| induction | Developing a general explanation from specific observations. The step in the scientific method that generates hypotheses. See also deduction.
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| osteology | The study of the structure, function, and evolution of the skeleton.
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| paleoanthropology | A specialty that studies the human fossil record.
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| physical anthropology | The traditional name for biological anthropology.
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| primates | Large-brained, mostly tree-dwelling mammals with three-dimensional color vision and grasping hands. Humans are primates.
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| primatology | A specialty of anthropology that studies nonhuman primates.
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| science | The method of inquiry that requires the generation, testing, and acceptance or rejection of hypotheses.
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| scientific method | The process of conducting scientific inquiry. See science.
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| species | A group of organisms that can produce fertile offspring among themselves but not with members of other groups. A closed genetic population, usually physically distinguishable from other populations.
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| theory | A hypothesis that has been well supported by evidence and testing. In science, theory is a positive term.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education