Physical anthropology

Physical anthropology

The branch of anthropology that studies the development of the human race in the context of other primate species.

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Physical anthropology

dorsal

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The biological sciences use the terms dorsal, ventral, anterior, and posterior to refer to direction within the body of a bilaterally symmetrical organism. Body parts on the sides of a body are ...

creationism

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The belief that all species were created as they are today and that they have not undergone any evolution since then. This view is usually based primarily on the Book of Genesis in the ...

nucleotide

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The basic building block of nucleic acid. It consists of any one of four specific purine or pyrimidine bases attached to a ribose or deoxyribose sugar and phosphate group.

principle of association

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The assumption that if two objects are found in their primary context in the same strata of a site, they very likely date to the same time period.

The assumption that if there are layers in a sedimentary deposit, those laid down first will be on the bottom and those laid down last will be on the top. This is the basis of using stratigraphy as a ...

half-life

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The amount of time for half of the atoms of a radioactive element in a sample to decay, or fission. The reduction in the number of atoms follows a geometric scale--at the end of 2 half-lives, there ...

alpha male and alpha female

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The adult male and female members of a community who are at the top of their gender based dominance hierarchies. Non-human primate alpha males and females usually mate more frequently and have ...