Physical Anthropology Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Physical Anthropology distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

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Quick Reference

Natural Selection

The evolutionary mechanism by which organisms with traits better suited to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more successfully, gradually increasing the frequency of advantageous traits in a population over successive generations.

Bipedalism

The form of locomotion in which an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. In human evolution, the transition to habitual upright walking is considered one of the earliest and most defining adaptations of the hominin lineage.

Hominin

Any member of the taxonomic tribe Hominini, which includes modern humans (Homo sapiens) and all extinct species more closely related to humans than to chimpanzees, our closest living relatives. The term encompasses the entire human evolutionary lineage after the split from the last common ancestor with chimpanzees.

Genetic Drift

Random changes in the frequency of alleles in a population from one generation to the next, occurring by chance rather than by natural selection. Its effects are most pronounced in small populations, where random sampling can cause significant shifts in gene frequencies.

Primatology

The scientific study of nonhuman primates, including their behavior, ecology, anatomy, genetics, and evolution. Primatologists use comparative methods to understand the biological and behavioral traits that humans share with other primates and to reconstruct ancestral conditions.

Osteology

The scientific study of bones, including their structure, function, disease, and role in identifying organisms. In physical anthropology, human osteology focuses on analyzing skeletal remains to determine age, sex, stature, ancestry, and pathological conditions of past individuals.

Adaptive Radiation

The rapid diversification of a single ancestral lineage into multiple new species, each adapted to exploit different ecological niches. This process helps explain bursts of speciation observed in the fossil record.

Sexual Dimorphism

Systematic differences in form, size, or appearance between males and females of the same species. In physical anthropology, the degree of sexual dimorphism in fossil species provides clues about mating systems, social organization, and selection pressures.

Cline

A gradual change in the frequency of a trait or allele across a geographic area. Clinal variation demonstrates that human biological diversity is continuous rather than divided into discrete racial categories.

Paleoanthropology

The interdisciplinary study of earlier hominins through the fossil record, combining methods from geology, archaeology, biology, and anatomy to reconstruct the anatomy, behavior, and environments of extinct human ancestors.

Key Terms at a Glance

Adaptation:A trait that increases an organism's fitness in a particular environment, arising through natural selection over generations.

Allele:One of two or more alternative forms of a gene at a particular locus on a chromosome.

Bipedalism:Habitual locomotion on two legs, the defining characteristic of the hominin lineage.

Brachiation:A form of arboreal locomotion in which primates swing from branch to branch using their arms. Characteristic of gibbons and seen to a lesser extent in great apes.

Cline:A gradient of gradual change in the frequency of a trait or allele across a geographic region.

Dendrochronology:A dating method that uses patterns of annual tree-ring growth to establish chronologies for archaeological and paleoenvironmental contexts.

Encephalization:The evolutionary increase in brain size relative to body size, a prominent trend in hominin evolution.

Endocast:A cast of the interior of a cranium, providing information about brain size and surface morphology in fossil species.

Foramen Magnum:The large opening at the base of the skull through which the spinal cord passes. Its position is used to assess bipedality in fossil hominins.

Founder Effect:A reduction in genetic diversity that occurs when a small group establishes a new population separated from the original larger population.

Gene Flow:The movement of alleles between populations through migration and interbreeding, which tends to homogenize genetic differences.

Genetic Drift:Random fluctuations in allele frequency from generation to generation, particularly significant in small populations.

Genotype:The genetic makeup of an individual organism, consisting of the specific alleles present at each locus.

Hominin:A member of the tribe Hominini, including modern humans and all extinct species more closely related to humans than to chimpanzees.

Morphology:The study of the form and structure of organisms, including their size, shape, and proportions.

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