Antropology Chapter1 Vocab.

Front 1

Paleoantropologu

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the study of the fossil and cultural remains and other evidence of humans' extinct ancestors.

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Paleolithic

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the old stone age;the earlist stage of stone tool making, that began about 2.5 million years ago.

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Neolithic

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The new stone age; a late stage of stone tool making that begain about 10,000 years ago.

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Deep Time

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the theory that the earth is a billions of years old and thus has a long history of devolopment and change.

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evolution

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cumulative changes in the average characteristics of a population generally thought to occur over many generations

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catastrophism

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Georges Cuvier's theory that vast floods and other disasters wiped out ancient life forms again and again thoughout the earth's history.

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uniformitarianism

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chales lyell's theory that the forces now affecting the earth-water and wind erosion,frost,vocanism acted in a similar way in the past as in that the cange is always gradual and nondirectional.

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Natural slection

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the principal mechanism of darwin evolutinary chang, by which the individuals best adapted to the enviroment contribute more offspring to the succeeding generation than others do. As more such individuals characteristics are incorporated into the gene pool, the characteristics if the population evove.

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conspecifics

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members of the same species.