eLucy

Glossary

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abduction: the action of moving a skeletal element away from the midline of the body.
acetabulum Click here for Image acetabulum Click Image To Close: the socket of the hip joint; an articular surface that encompasses the head of the femur.
Acheulean: a Lower Paleolithic tool culture first associated with Homo ergaster and Homo erectus; characterized by bifacially-flaked hand axes dating from around 1.5 Ma to 150 Ka.
adaptation: the process of adjusting to a particular environment or niche; a characteristic feature or trait of an organism evolved through natural selection to play a role or fulfill a particular function.
adduction: the action of moving a skeletal element toward the midline of the body.
adolescence: considered to be ages 13-24 years. The period of growth between puberty and complete fusion of the epiphysis of the long bones.
aeolian: sediments deposited by the wind.
allele: an alternate form of a gene that sits at the same position on a chromosome.
anatomic position: in humans, an upright, erect posture with the arms at the sides and the palms of the hands facing forward. In primates, an upright, bent posture with all four limbs outstretched and palms flat on the ground.
anatomy: the study of the structure of the body and the relationship to its parts.
antemortem: the time frame "before death."
anterior Click here for Image anterior Click Image To Close: a term usually reserved for human anatomy and refers to the side closer to the belly or front of a human; opposite of posterior. The term ventral may also be used.
Anthropology: the scientific study of humans and their primate relatives.
anvil: a large, stationary surface (such as a rock) that a core is struck against in order to remove a flake.
arboreal: refers to activity in trees and/or tree living.
arboreal quadrupedalism: four-limbed locomotion on the tops or between branches.
archaeology: the study of the material traces of cultural behaviors.
archaic: ancient.
Archaic Homo Sapiens: refers to ancient fossilized humans with features that apply to both modern Homo sapiens and Homo erectus. There is disagreement over whether this is a separate species or not. The fossils are dated from between 600,000 to 30,000.
articulation: the point where two or more bones are joined together. Some articulations are movable joints like the elbow or knee, while some are unmovable like the sutures between cranial bones.
artifact: objects modified and/or used by hominins.
assemblage: a set of artifacts found in association with each other; an accumulation of bones or artifacts.
attrition: the wearing away of a surface through grinding or friction.
Australopithecine: genus Australopithecus; a form of extinct hominin ancestral to humans. Fossil australopithecines show evidence of bipedalism, but generally retain relatively small brains and stature.
awl: a sharp tool used to punch holes in leather or wood. May be made of stone, bone, or antler.
bentonite: a clay that forms from the weathering of volcanic ash.
bicondylar angle Click here for Image bicondylar angle Click Image To Close: the angle at which the shaft of the femur sits relative to the perpendicular midline of the body. See also valgus knee.
biface: a stone tool that has been worked on both sides (faces).
bilateral: paired elements present on both the left and right side of the body, or a condition that affects both sides of the body.
billet: a tool for soft percussion, typically made of antler or wood.
bipedal: locomotion utilizing hind legs only. The front limbs may be used to aid balance.
brow ridge: often called the supraorbital torus, the brow ridge is the bony protrusion above the eye orbit seen in many primates. It is quite noticeable and distinctive in archaic Homo.
buccal: the term used for elements in the mouth closest to the cheek.
burin: a flake with a chisel-like edge. May have been used for engraving or carving wood/bone.
chert: a raw material used to make lithic tools. Found in irregular formations throughout sedimentary deposits. Similar to flint.
chopper: usually a simple cobble-sized tool with a few flakes removed from its perimeter to form a cutting edge. Choppers are typical of the Oldowan tool industry.
chromosome: a large molecule found in cells that contain DNA. Humans have 46 chromosomes (44 autosomal and 2 sexual), but different species have different chromosomal numbers.
condyle: an articular prominence of a bone.
conspecific: organisms belonging to the same species.
core: a prepared lithic with the outer cortex removed, and platforms for flaking typically prepared.
cortex: the rough outside of raw stone materials formed by chemical and mechanical weathering processes.
cranial: refers to the skull and mandible.
deciduous: lost during development; anatomical reference to primary or "baby" teeth (deciduous dentition).
dentition: teeth.
derived trait: traits that have been modified over time and therefore show that they come from a particular evolutionary lineage.
diagnostic: refers to an artifact that is from a distinct time period/tool industry; or a bone that is identifiable as a particular species.
diploidy: the state of cells containing two copies of each chromosome. Humans are diploids.
discoids: irregular, bifacially worked tools that have a working edge around their full (or greater majority) circumference.
distal: a relative term referring to the part of a limb that is further from the attachment point to the rest of the skeleton; the opposite of proximal.
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid based on the five-carbon sugar deoxyribose. This is the material found within chromosomes that carries genetic information.
dorsal: refers to the side closer to the spine or back; opposite of ventral. In humans the term anterior may be used.
endocast: a cast of a brain through natural or artificial processes.
erosion: the process by which sediments are displaced by water, wind, ice, or gravity.
evolution: a change in gene allele frequencies from one generation to the next.
extant: species that are living. The opposite of extinct.
fauna: animals.
faunal: animal remains.
fitness (Darwinian): the ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.
fitness (inclusive): a cumulative measurement of the ability for an individual and that individual's relatives to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. The fitness of relatives is important because related organisms share a certain percentage of their genome.
flake: a fragment of stone generated during the reduction process of making a stone tool. Flakes may be primary (where one surface is entirely cortex), secondary (with traces of cortex), or tertiary (no cortex- the flake came entirely from the inner core).
flexion: the movement that results in the angle between skeletal elements getting smaller. Different muscles act to flex or extend different skeletal elements. See also extension.
flint: a raw material used to make lithic tools. Found in irregular formations throughout sedimentary deposits.
flora: plants.
fossil: formed when hard elements of a skeleton, such as shells, teeth and bones, are quickly buried by sand or mud. These sediments are turned into rock over millions of years, and during this time the organic components of the skeleton are replaced with minerals. This transition from bone to stone forms a fossil.
functional morphology: the study of the relationship between an organism's lifestyle and its anatomy.
gene: a specific sequence of nucleotides in DNA or RNA that is the unit of inheritance specifying the structure of a protein.
gene flow: the transfer of genes from one population to another. This ensures genetic diversity.
genetic drift: an accidental shift in gene allele frequencies.
genome: all the hereditary information of an organism that is encoded in DNA.
gracile: characterized as being small bodied and/or having slender and lightly-constructed anatomy; the opposite of robust.
graver: a modified flake with a small, distinct point. May have been used for engraving or carving wood/bone.
greater apes: refers to the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan.
Hadar: an African paleontological and archaeological site located in the Afar Triangle region of Ethiopia. This site became famous when Donald Johanson, Yves Coppens, and Tim White discovered "Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis) there in 1974.
hammerstone: a hard cobble used to strike a core in order to remove flakes. Hammerstones may be identified by the presence of wear on the ends, formed by repeated striking of a core.
hand axe: a tool of the Acheulean tradition. It is a bifacial stone core tool.
hominid: a term most commonly used to describe humans and our bipedal fossil relatives to the exclusion of the other large apes. In a formal sense, this term reflects a classification that groups humans and their bipedal fossil relatives in the family Hominidae to the exclusion of the apes who are placed in the families Hylobatidae (gibbion, siamang) and Pongidae (orangutan, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla).
hominin: a term most commonly used to describe the group that includes humans and our bipedal fossil relatives. In a formal sense, the term reflects a new classification based on the close genetic relationship among humans and chimpanzees that places them in the subfamily Homininae and separates the humans and their close fossil relatives into a separate tribe. Under this scheme, humans and their close relatives are "hominins."
hominoid: a term most commonly used to informally describe the apes (gibbon, siamang, orangutan, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla). In a formal sense, this term reflects a classification that places the large apes in the family Pongidae, the small apes in the family Hylobatidae, humans and their bipedal fossil relatives in the family Hominidae, and groups all of these in the superfamily Hominoidea. Under this scheme, all of these species are "hominoids" but the term is usually restricted to the apes only.
Homo: genus name for humans.
Homo habilis: "handy man"- named in 1964, it has been found at several fossil sites in East and South Africa. It appears that Homo habilis was a relatively short-lived species ranging in time from perhaps 2.4-1.6 mya. Coincident with the first appearance of H. habilis is the first good evidence of stone tool manufacture and use a hominin. It is also the species that shows the first definite evidence for an expansion in absolute brain size that is clearly beyond the ape range.
Homo sapiens: replaced Homo erectus regionally over several hundred thousand years. Modern humans are Homo sapiens.
homology: (adj. homologous) characters shared as a result of common ancestry.
homoplasy: characters that are similar but not the result of common ancestry; may be a result of convergent evolution and/or parallel evolution.
humerofermoral ratio: the length of the humerus divided by the length of the femur; gives the length of the arms in proportion to the legs.
iliac ala: the "wing" of the ilium; a large fan-shaped structure making up the lateral portion of the ilium. [Plural: Iliac alae]
ilium: the bone that fuses into the os coxa, forming the hip. The anterior component to the acetabulum. [Plural: ilia]
inferior Click here for Image inferior Click Image To Close: a term used for bipedal hominins (those that travel on two legs) to describe features on the trunk that are closer to the feet; the opposite of superior.
ischium: the bone that fuses into the os coxae to form the dorsal and inferior component of the acetablum. [Plural: ischia]
jaw: the mandible. It is the largest bone in the cranium and supports the lower teeth.
Ka: acronym, "thousand years ago."
lateral Click here for Image lateral Click Image To Close: refers to a structure that lies further from the midline. The opposite of lateral is medial. The small toe is lateral to the large toe.
lesser apes: the gibbon and the siamang.
lithic: from the Greek word Lithikos, which means stone. A stone tool.
locality: places.
Lucy: a specimen of Australopithecus afarensis discovered in 1974 at Hadar by Donald Johanson, Yves Coppens, and Tim White. Specimen number AL 288-1. The story told is that this specimen, thought to be a female, was nicknamed after the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
lumbar curvature: the anteriorly convex curvature of the spine in the region of the lumbar vertebrae.
Ma: acronym, "million years ago."
medial Click here for Image medial Click Image To Close: refers to a structure that lies closer to the midline; the opposite of lateral.
microlith: a technology common in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Consists of small (>3 cm), often geometric, pieces of knapped stone. These are often produced from small blades. Several microliths may be used to form a composite tool, such as barbs for an arrow or spear.
migration: the movement of individuals from a current population to another population or area; also refers to the movement of an organism from one biome to another.
mineralization: the process in which the calcium in bones is replaced by minerals from the surrounding soils. Eventually, the bone turns into rock, and under the right conditions can form a fossil.
Miocene: the epoch of geologic time from 23 to 5.3 million years ago.
morphology: the form and structure of a particular anatomical element.
Mousterian: a tool culture associated with Homo neanderthalensis; characterized by bifacially-flaked hand axes and flake tools made with the Levallois prepared-core technique.
mutation: an error in the reproduction of the genetic code.
natural selection: differential reproduction. Some individuals leave more offspring than others, contributing proportionally more gametes to future generations. If the phenotypic characteristics that contribute to greater reproductive success are transmitted through genes to offspring, those offspring should also have a reproductive advantage (assuming a stable environment). Phenotypic characters associated with more fertile individuals are thus augmented in the next generation, whereas characters associated with fewer progeny diminish in relative frequency. Selection thus does not necessarily reflect size, strength, or health, only the relative ability to produce fertile offspring.
Neanderthal: Homo neanderthalensis; an extinct species of hominin that existed in Europe and western Asia from 230,000 to 30,000 years ago. Neanderthal stature and brain size were comparable with modern humans, but certain features of their anatomy, such as large noses and a robust skeleton, may have been adaptations to Ice Age climates.
Oldowan: a tool industry characterized by simple choppers and flakes that represent the oldest types of stone tools. The choppers are often very crude and have only a few flakes removed. The flakes were once thought to have been byproducts of the manufacture of the choppers, but are now believed to have also been used for cutting.
Olduvai: an African paleontological and archaeological site located in northern Tanzania in the Great Rift Valley. This site is well known for the work done by Louis Leakey starting in the 1950s and continued by his family. Olduvai has produced fossils of hominins such as Australopithecus bosei and Homo habilis.
opposable thumb Click here for Image opposable thumb Click Image To Close: a thumb that is able to rotate along its long axis. It is useful for gripping objects.
organism: a functional unit of animal or plant life. An organism can consist of one living cell, such as algae, or many living cells, such as a single Human being.
os coxae Click here for Image os coxae Click Image To Close: the hip bone, also called the pelvis, formed of two halves. Each half, or innominate, is formed by the fusion of three bones: ilium, ischium, and pubis.
Paleoanthropology: the study of the fossil record of human evolution.
parietal: bones forming the sides and the root of the skull.
parsimony: the assumption that closely related species will have fewer differences in the future compared to earlier species from which they derived.
pathology: the study of disease and disease processes
phalangeal shaft curvature: the observed curve in the shaft of a phalanx (finger bone).
phyletic: refers to a collection of species with a common ancestor. This implies a line of direct descent.
phylogeny: a hypothetical reconstruction of evolutionary relationships between groups of organisms.
Physical Anthropology: the study of humans and the other primates from a biological and evolutionary perspective.
plantarflexion: flexion of the foot toward the ground or distally. The foot plantarflexed when you stand on the tips of your toes.
Pleistocene: the epoch of geologic time from 1.8 million to about 10,000 years ago.
plesiomorphy: a primitive trait. One which was acquired in the ancestral lineage of some group, and which may not be used to clarify relationships at lower taxonomic levels.
Pliocene: the epoch of geologic time from 5.3 to 1.8 million years ago.
polyhedron: an angular tool with three or more working edges, which may intersect.
population: a single organism or group of organisms of a single living species in a particular geographical area. The organism(s) living within a population are more likely to breed with members of their own population than they are with members of other populations.
postcranial: refers to the body below the cranium (skull and mandible).
postmortem: the time frame "after death"
prehensile: grasping capabilities.
pressure flaking: a technique used to trim the edge of a tool. Typically this is done with a sharp instrument made from bone or antler, and pressure rather than a strike is used to generate a flake.
primates: a mammalian order that includes prosimians, monkeys, apes, and humans.
process: in anatomical terms, a projection from the bone.
prognathism: a term that describes the forward projection of the face. Many of the more ancient species of Homo have prognathic faces.
pronation: rotary motion that moves the thumb from the lateral to the medial position; the opposite of supination.
protuberance: an elevation or raised deposition on the bone surface.
proximal Click here for Image proximal Click Image To Close: relative term referring to the part of a limb that is closer to the attachment point to the rest of the skeleton; the opposite of distal.
pubis: the bone that fuses into the os coxa and forms the ventral and inferior component of the acetabulum. [Plural: pubes]
quadrupedal: refers to locomotion (walking, running, standing) on four legs. An animal that locomotes on four legs is referred to as a quadruped.
quadrupedalism Click here for Image quadrupedalism Click Image To Close: the four legged mode of locomotion practiced by the vast majority of terrestrial vertebrates, including most primates. See also arboreal quadrupedalism and terrestrial quadrupedalism.
quarry Click here for Image quarry Click Image To Close: man-made pit in which part of the earth is excavated.
Quaternary: the period in the Cenozoic era that started about 1.8 million years ago. We currently live in the Quaternary period.
reduction: the process by which raw materials are turned into lithic tools. This may involve percussion (hard or soft) and/or pressure flaking.
replication: the process by which a copy of a double-stranded DNA strand is made.
resharpening: the process by which a worn stone tool, such as a biface, is reflaked to provide a new, sharp cutting surface.
reworking: the process by which a stone tool or flake is reflaked into a new shape or tool type.
rift: a place where the Earth's crust and lithosphere are being pulled apart.
rift valley Click here for Image rift valley Click Image To Close: a long narrow valley surrounded by faults on either side. In the East African Rift System, numerous primates and hominid fossils have been found.
riparian: describes a region bordering a river.
river bed Click here for Image river bed Click Image To Close: ground area surrounding the path of a river.
robust: characterized as being large bodied and/or having heavily-structured anatomy; the opposite of gracile.
sacrum: formed by the fusion of five sacral vertebrae; the part of the vertebral column that forms the most dorsal part of the pelvic girdle, in between the os coxae.
scrapers: the dominant tool used during the Middle Paleolithic. The tools are mainly used for scraping, however, there are several different types that were not necessarily used in this manner, such as notched scrapers, side-scraper, steep-sided scrapers, and core-scrappers.
semiarid: describes a region with low annual rainfall and predominantly short vegetation, such as shrubs and grasses.
sexual dimorphism: the condition in which the males and females of a particular species each have different forms of the same feature or characteristic (e.g., body size, canine size). In those primate species that display marked sexual body size dimorphism, the males are larger than the females, with some species such as gorillas and orangutans approaching a 2:1 difference in mass.
skeleton Click here for Image skeleton Click Image To Close: the protective and supportive structure of an organism constructed of bone and cartilage.
skull: the bony portions of the head, including the cranium and the mandible.
species: the basic unit of biodiversity. Individuals of a species are reproductively isolated, meaning that they cannot produce viable offspring with a mate of a different species. In scientific classification (sometimes called Linnaean classification or nomenclature), species are listed by a capitalized genus name (i.e. Homo for humans) and a specific epithet (i.e. sapiens for humans). Therefore, the proper species name for humans is Homo sapiens.
spheroid: a round stone which may have been shaped by smoothing. An example of spheroids are bolas, rounded stones used as throwing weights in weapons that snare game by entangling the legs.
stone tool: tools made of stone that enabled hominins to exploit a broader range of activities such as food processing. Through time the stone tools used by hominins became more complex and standardized and new manufacturing techniques were invented along the way.
stratigraphy Click here for Image stratigraphy Click Image To Close: the layering of deposits into the ground.
superior Click here for Image superior Click Image To Close: a term used for bipedal hominins (those that travel on two legs) to describe features on the trunk that are closer to the head; the opposite of inferior.
suspensory behavior: a form of positional behavior in which the mass of the organism is supported beneath a substrate. In primates, suspensory behavior usually involves hanging by the forelimbs. The hindlimbs and the tail may also be used in suspensory posture.
symplesiomorphy: a shared primitive trait.
synapomorphy: a shared derived trait.
Taung child Click here for Image Taung child Click Image To Close: the first fossil to be termed Australopithecus africanus by Raymond Dart in 1924. The endocast of the skull was found in a rock quarry. It was incorrectly labeled the "missing link," since no such link actually exists.
temporal: located at the lateral base of the skull; surrounded the external ear.
terrestrial: on the ground.
thoracic vertebrae: the section of the vertebral column where the ribs attach. Modern humans have twelve thoracic vertebrae.
transcription: occurs when a sequence of DNA (i.e., a gene) is copied as a strand of messenger RNA (mRNA). This process occurs in the nucleus.
translation: occurs in the cytoplasm when the ribosome attaches to the mRNA strand and link together the appropriate amino acids which are coded for by the gene.
tuberosity: a rugged or robust protuberance on a bone.
tuff: sediments deposited by volcanic ash after an eruption.
uniface: a stone tool that has been worked only on one side (face).
valgus knee Click here for Image valgus knee Click Image To Close: the angulation of the femur such that the knees are closer together than the hip joints. See also bicondylar angle.
ventral: refers to the side closer to the belly or front; opposite of dorsal. In humans the term posterior may be used. For hand palmar and for foot plantar are synonyms for ventral.
Wernicke's area: the area of the brain that is used in the comprehension of speech.
x-chromosome: the female sex chromosome in mammals.
y-chromosome: the male sex chromosome.
Zhoukhoudian Click here for Image Zhoukhoudian Click Image To Close: a paleontological and archaeological site located near Beijing, China consisting of a cave system; nicknamed "Dragon Bone Hill" for the numerous fossils produced. This site is well known for the excavations in the 1920s by Gunnar Andersson, Davidson Black, C.C. Young and Wenzhong Pei, which produced "Peking Man" (Homo erectus).

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