324 Glossarylaw of segregation The Mendelian principle that variants of genes for a
particular trait retain their separate identities through the generations.
Levalloisian technique Tool-making technique by which three or four long
triangular flakes were detached from a specially prepared core; developed
by members of the genus Homo transitional from H. erectus to H. sapiens.
linguistic anthropology The study of human languages—looking at their
structure, history, and relation to social and cultural contexts.
Lower Paleolithic The first part of the Old Stone Age beginning with
the earliest Oldowan tools spanning from about 200,000 or 250,000 to
2.6 million years ago.
macroevolution Evolution above the species level.
mammal The class of vertebrate animals distinguished by bodies covered
with fur, self-regulating temperature, and, in females, milk-producing
mammary glands.
marrow The tissue inside of long bones where blood cells are produced.
material culture The durable aspects of culture such as tools, structures,
and art.
medical anthropology A specialization in anthropology that combines
theoretical and applied approaches from cultural and biological
anthropology with the study of human health and disease.
medical pluralism The presence of multiple medical systems, each with its
own practices and beliefs in a society.
medical system A patterned set of ideas and practices relating to illness.
meiosis A kind of cell division that produces the sex cells, each of which has
half the number of chromosomes found in other cells of the organism.
melanin The chemical responsible for dark skin pigmentation that helps
protect against damage from ultraviolet radiation.
Mesoamerica The region encompassing central and southern Mexico and
northern Central America.
Mesolithic The Middle Stone Age period between the end of the Paleo-
lithic and the start of the Neolithic; referred to as Archaic cultures in the
Americas.
microlith A small blade of flint or similar stone, several of which were
hafted together in wooden handles to make tools; widespread in the
Mesolithic.
middens A refuse or garbage disposal area in an archaeological site.
Middle Paleolithic The middle part of the Old Stone Age characterized
by the development of the Mousterian tradition of tool making and the
earlier Levalloisian traditions.
mitosis A kind of cell division that produces new cells having exactly the
same number of chromosome pairs, and hence copies of genes, as the
parent cell.
molecular anthropology A branch of biological anthropology that uses
genetic and biochemical techniques to test hypotheses about human
evolution, adaptation, and variation.
molecular clock The hypothesis that dates of divergences among related
species can be calculated through an examination of the genetic
mutations that have accrued since the divergence.
monogamous Mating for life with a single individual of the opposite sex.
Mousterian tradition The tool industry of the Neandertals and their
contemporaries of Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern Africa from
40,000 to 125,000 years ago.
multiregional hypothesis The hypothesis that modern humans originated
through a process of simultaneous local transition from Homo erectus to
Homo sapiens throughout the inhabited world.
mutation Chance alteration of genetic material that produces new
variation.
natal group The group or the community an animal has inhabited since
birth.
Natufian culture A Mesolithic culture living in the lands that are now Israel,
Lebanon, and western Syria, between about 10,200 and 12,500 years ago.
natural selection The evolutionary process through which factors in the
environment exert pressure, favoring some individuals over others to
produce the next generation.
Neandertals A distinct group within the genus Homo inhabiting Europe
and southwestern Asia from approximately 30,000 to 125,000 years ago.
Neolithic The New Stone Age; prehistoric period beginning about
10,000 years ago in which peoples possessed stone-based technologies
and depended on domesticated plants and/or animals.
Neolithic revolution The profound cultural change beginning about
10,000 years ago and associated with the early domestication of plants
and animals and settlement in permanent villages. Sometimes referred to
as the Neolithic transition.holistic perspective A fundamental principle of anthropology: that the
various parts of human culture and biology must be viewed in the broad-
est possible context in order to understand their interconnections and
interdependence.
home range The geographic area within which a group of primates usually
moves.
homeobox gene A gene responsible for large-scale effects on growth and
development that are frequently responsible for major reorganization of
body plans in organisms.
homeotherm An animal that maintains a relatively constant body
temperature despite environmental fluctuations.
hominid African hominoid family that includes humans and their
ancestors. Some scientists, recognizing the close relationship of
humans, chimps, bonobos, and gorillas, use the term hominid to refer
to all African hominoids. They then divide the hominid family into
two subfamilies: the Paninae (chimps, bonobos, and gorillas) and the
Homininae (humans and their ancestors).
hominin The taxonomic subfamily or tribe within the primates that
includes humans and our ancestors.
hominoid The taxonomic division superfamily within the Old World
primates that includes gibbons, siamangs, orangutans, gorillas,
chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans.
Homo The genus of bipeds that appeared 2.5 million years ago characterized
by increasing brain size compared to earlier bipeds. The genus is divided
into various species based on features such as brain size, skull shape, and
cultural capabilities.
Homo habilis “Handy man.” The first fossil members of the genus Homo
appearing 2.5 million years ago, with larger brains and smaller faces than
australopithecines.
homologies In biology, structures possessed by two different organisms
that arise in similar fashion and pass through similar stages during
embryonic development though they may possess different functions.
homozygous Refers to a chromosome pair that bears identical alleles for a
single gene.
horticulture Cultivation of crops carried out with simple hand tools such
as digging sticks or hoes.
hunting response A cyclic expansion and contraction of the blood vessels
of the limbs that balances releasing enough heat to prevent frostbite with
maintaining heat in the body core.
hydraulic theory The theory that explains civilization’s emergence as the
result of the construction of elaborate irrigation systems, the functioning
of which required full-time managers whose control blossomed into the
first governing body and elite social class.
hypoglossal canal The opening in the skull that accommodates the
tongue-controlling hypoglossal nerve.
hypothesis A tentative explanation of the relation between certain
phenomena.
illness The meanings and elaborations given to a particular physical state.
informed consent Formal recorded agreement to participate in
research; federally mandated for all research in the United States
and Europe.
innovation Any new idea, method, or device that gains widespread(^) acceptance in society.
ischial callosities Hardened, nerveless pads on the buttocks that allow
baboons and other primates to sit for long periods of time.
isolating mechanism A factor that separates breeding populations, thereby
preventing gene flow, creating divergent subspecies, and ultimately (if
maintained) divergent species.
isotherm An animal whose body temperature rises or falls according to the
temperature of the surrounding environment.
Kenyanthropus platyops A proposed genus and species of biped contem-
porary with early australopithecines; may not be a separate genus.
k-selected Reproduction involving the production of relatively few
offspring with high parental investment in each.
lactase An enzyme in the small intestine that enables humans to assimilate
lactose.
lactose A sugar that is the primary constituent of fresh milk.
law of competitive exclusion When two closely related species compete
for the same niche, one will out-compete the other, bringing about the
latter’s extinction.
law of independent assortment The Mendelian principle that genes
controlling different traits are inherited independently of one another.
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