Glossary of Terms and Concepts

calories and energy needed for daily activity, maintenance, and repair of the body from injury or stress; this is in addition to basal metabolism.

a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.

a trait that helps an organism to maximize its reproductive success.

a rapid increase in the number of species with a common ancestor, characterized by great ecological and morphological diversity.

the reason a trait exists within a species; the reproductive or survival benefit it confers.

an increase in the production of androgens by the adrenal cortex that usually occurs during the eighth or ninth year of life; promotes the onset of puberty.

one of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome.

to clean and maintain the appearance of an individual of the same species; often done to sustain social cooperation.

care provided by anyone other than the biological mother. Unlike alloparenting (which sees the biological parents as one unit), allomaternal caregivers include the biological father as a member of the group who helps support the mother early in childrearing.

care provided by individuals other than biological parents; a universal behavior among humans that has shaped our evolutionary history and remains important in contemporary society.

the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense.

similarity of function and superficial resemblance of structures that have different origins.

a trait that was present in the immediate ancestors of a species; may be evolutionarily ancient or within recent ancestral species.

based on personal observation, case study reports, or random investigations rather than systematic scientific evaluation; anecdotal evidence.

regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God or other animals.

the study of humans across space and time.

Of or relating to the scientific study of the measurements and proportions of the human body. (Oxford Languages)

the (mis)attribution of human like traits and characteristics to other species - especially those of the cognitive and emotional type.

the study of human-animal interactions; may include impacts of domestication, cultural change, kinship, or meaning building; often combined with biological and/or cultural anthropology.

the death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism's growth or development; "programmed" cell death.

(chiefly of animals) living in trees.

someone who does not experience sexual attraction toward individuals of any gender.

a group of (usually) juvenile male animals who are still sexually immature or who have been thrown out of their parent groups but not yet formed a new family group.

a type of exchange where an immediate return of equivalent value is expected for what is given.

the rate at which the body uses energy while at rest to keep vital functions going, such as breathing and keeping warm; base metabolism for survival.

changes to the way an animal responds, usually to some type of external stimulus, in order to survive.

the study of how the general physiological effects of hormones alter the development and expression of behavior and how behavior may influence the effects of hormones.

a change in an organism's behavior that results from exposure to stimuli, such as changing environmental conditions.

a type of prehistoric stone implement flaked on both faces.

a naming system in which two terms are used to denote a species of living organism, the first one indicating the genus and the second the species.

the study of human remains in the past; diet, nutrition, and residence patterns; may also study trauma and warfare.

a form of locomotion using two limbs; walking upright.

sexually attracted not exclusively to people of one particular gender; attracted to both men and women.

the area of the brain that regulates breathing patterns while speaking and vocalizations required for normal speech.

Traits that show low levels of variation; less responsive to environmental change.

a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue.

a threadlike structure of nucleic acids and protein found in the nucleus of most living cells, carrying genetic information in the form of genes.

a measure of the degree of biological relationship between two individuals.

the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

a situation in which all individuals would be better off cooperating but fail to do so because of conflicting interests between individuals that discourage joint action.

a long-term biological interaction in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed.

the study of similarities and differences in behavioral organization among living beings, from bacteria to plants to humans.

the willingness to act upon or relieve the suffering of another.

a relationship between organisms in which one or both are harmed when trying to use the same resource related to growth, reproduction, or survivability.

the lack of any perceptible change in an adult female when she is fertile and near ovulation.

the process of becoming pregnant, involving fertilization and implantation of the embryo in the uterus.

an unmeasured third variable that influences, or “confounds,” the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable; an "extra," yet meaningful, variable that was not controlled for in an experiment.

refers to individual awareness of unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environments.

related by blood; direct ancestry.

of or relating to the same species as a focal individual.

the evolutionary process in which the organisms evolve bodily parts that are analogous in terms of structure and function despite their ancestors that are very dissimilar or unrelated.

coming closer together, especially in characteristics or ideas; in evolution, two species sharing a trait from different evolutionary trajectories.

the process of working together to the same end.

an intense form of cooperation, in which individuals help raise offspring that are not their own.

the outer layer of the cerebrum (the cerebral cortex ), composed of folded gray matter and playing an important role in consciousness.

signals about desirable characteristics and access to resources through costly biological displays, altruism, or other behaviors that would be hard to fake.

the volume of the interior of the cranium of vertebrates that possess a cranium and a brain

Relating to different cultures or comparison between them.

the belief that a culture’s ethics and social structures are derived from the context within which it arose.

the ability to learn and transmit behaviors through processes of social or cultural learning; increasingly seen as a process, involving the social transmittance of behavior among peers and between generations.

the use of anthropological methods to unpack large data sets, making them useful to decision-makers.

Using knowledge about things that are generally true in order to think about and understand particular situations or problems.

an exchange of goods, care, or services that is delayed, creating a relationship as well as an obligation for a return.

a long-term trend of declining birth and death rates, resulting in substantive change in the age distribution of a population.

Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it. (Oxford Languages)

Ex. Age, Zip Code, Sex, Gender, Education, Income.

a self-replicating material that is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.

A variable (often denoted by y) whose value depends on that of another; the variable being tested and measured in an experiment, and is 'dependent' on the independent variable.

a trait that is new to the species being studied; a trait that is not present in any of the immediate ancestors of the species.

Darwin's original term for evolution based on the idea that parents pass traits to their offspring and that small variations cause change in a species over time.

the evolved and ubiquitous ability to adjust phenotypic development in response to environmental cues experienced in the more plastic early stages of development.

(of a cell or nucleus) containing two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.

care or investment of energy that provides immediate survival benefit to the receiving young; examples include bathing, feeding, and holding or playing.

signals about one's mate quality or internal state that do not correspond to the individual's true state.

being awake during the day; most activity occurs during the day.

the evolution of different forms or structures in related species as they adapt to different environments.

controlling, prevailing, or powerful position especially in a social hierarchy; may be taken or given depending upon the nature of the group.

a trait that will appear in the offspring if one of the parents contributes it.

relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.

A study population or research done from inside a group; the internal perspective.

a form of social contagion that involves the spontaneous spread of emotions and related behaviors. Such emotional convergence can happen from one organism to another, or in a larger group.

the ability to feel what others feel.

a concept that implies an increase in brain or neocortex size relative to body size, size of lower brain areas, and/or evolutionary time.

a measure of relative brain size defined as the ratio between actual brain mass and predicted brain mass for an animal of a given size, which is hypothesized to be a rough estimate of the intelligence of the animal.

the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of a culture or group by a person, another culture, etc.

an imprint of the interior of the brain case.

the ancestral environment to which a species is adapted.

a state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.

A type of hormone made by the body that helps develop and maintain female sex characteristics and the growth of long bones.

the belief that one’s own culture is the only right or natural way of being.

The use of comparative data from anthropology to inform reconstructions of past human societies.

The study and systematic recording of human cultures; also a descriptive work produced from such research. (Merriam Webster)

Narrative, rich description of the lifeways of other groups/cultures. (Volsche)

the study of human behavior and social organization from a biological perspective.

Research done from outside a group; the external perspective.

the study of how to arrange reproduction within a human population to increase the occurrence of heritable characteristics regarded as desirable. Developed largely by Sir Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race, eugenics was increasingly discredited as unscientific and racially biased during the 20th century, especially after the adoption of its doctrines by the Nazis in order to justify their treatment of Jews, disabled people, and other minority groups.

the study of how brains and behavior evolve; comparisons with other species; how a species' evolutionary past shapes modern behavior.

evo-devo; the study of the reciprocal relationships between ontogenetic development and evolutionary processes.

a shift in the function of a trait during evolution; a previously benign trait may become functional for the first time or an adaptations function may change in response to new environmental pressures.

traits that are present in the phenotype of an individual organism.

impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination.

the ability to produce an abundance of offspring or new growth; capable of conceiving and/or siring offspring.

able to conceive young.

the number of children born alive to women of that age during the year as a proportion of the average annual population of women of the same age.

the study of food as a center of culture; focus on what/who is food, how food is prepared, and the ritual of eating food.

the study of human remains using skeletal analysis to solve criminal cases.

each of the paired lobes of the brain lying immediately behind the forehead, including areas concerned with behavior, learning, personality, and voluntary movement.

a mature haploid male or female germ cell which is able to unite with another of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction to form a zygote; sperm or egg.

the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed; one's experience of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny as defined by culture.

a form of exchange where items, care, or services are given with no regard for their value or interest in compensation.

a unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.

the genetic constitution of an individual organism.

a movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning.

metabolism devoted to growth which constantly increases with increasing body size; slows only after reaching one's adult body size.

mathematical formula devised by British naturalist and population geneticist W.D. Hamilton that supports the notion that natural selection favours genetic success, not reproductive success per se.

(of a person) sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex.

of or relating to a different species from the focal individual.

having two different alleles of a particular gene or genes.

hetero = different

the idea that cultures have individual histories that shape their practices and beliefs.

viewing parts as interconnected, such that each part cannot exist without the others.

self-regulating processes by which biological systems tend to maintain stability while adjusting to conditions; the tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes.

a primate of a family ( Hominidae ) that includes humans and their fossil ancestors and also (in recent systems) at least some of the great apes.

the state of having the same or similar relation, relative position, or structure;  similarity due to shared ancestry between a pair of structures or genes in different taxa.

having two identical alleles of a particular gene or genes.

homo = same

a signal that provides accurate information about an individual's internal state, mate quality, or intentions.

A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation; an educated guess for the answer of a research question.

a evolutionary mechanism to avoid undesirable alleles and phenotypes from remaining in the population.

a model of trait inheritance that encompasses ecology, epigenetics, and culture as part of the transmission of traits between individuals.

A variable (often denoted by x) whose variation does not depend on that of another;  the variable the experimenter manipulates or changes, and is assumed to have a direct effect on the dependent variable.

care or energy investment that provides long-term survival benefits to the recipient young; examples include resource acquisition, home defense, or territory maintenance.

The process of inferring a general law or principle from the observations of particular instances. (Oxford English Dictionary)

the preference for fairness and resistance to incidental inequalities.

the process by which genetic information is passed on from parent to child.

the period in between two consecutive births; often quantified as the average across births in a social group or population.

Members of the competitive sex show off for mates and the opposite sex chooses the best display.

the competition between individuals of different species.

inter = between

competition between members of the same sex (usually males) for access to mates.

long lived species that produce few offspring at a time, tend to be larger-bodied, provide higher levels of nutrition and care for their young.

natural selection in favor of behavior by individuals that may decrease their chance of survival but increases that of their kin (who share a proportion of their genes).

the secretion of milk by the mammary glands.

a trait that is present in the genotype and capable of emerging but has not yet become expressed.

tendencies or preferences that allow animals to quickly rule out unlikely alternatives in order to effectively process and learn behaviors.

when an increase in one life history trait (improving fitness) is coupled to a decrease in another life history trait (reducing fitness); giving one trait more investment than another.

major evolutionary change. The term applies mainly to the evolution of whole taxonomic groups over long periods of time.

a trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful.

behaviors intended to physically or figuratively guard access to a mate from potential competitors.

The Male Provisioning Hypothesis (MPH) proposes that men have evolved to provision their mates and children and that this provisioning has resulted in significant changes to the evolution of human biology and life history.

a variety of behavioural strategies whose function is to maintain the bond between romantic partners and to prevent partners from switching to alternative mates.

biological triggers or results of individual behavior occurring in response to environmental or internal stimuli.

the study of medicine from an evolutionary or cultural perspective; also considers barriers to care for individual groups.

first occurrence or onset of menstruation.

The time of life when a woman's ovaries stop producing hormones and menstrual periods stop. Natural menopause usually occurs around age 50. A woman is said to be in menopause when she hasn't had a period for 12 months in a row.

evolutionary change within a species or small group of organisms, especially over a short period.

cell division required for tissue growth and repair; a type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent nucleus, typical of ordinary tissue growth.

an organism or other self-contained system used to evaluate a particular biologic activity or disease process.

the outward appearance of an animal as well as the form and structure of internal parts, like bones and organs.

a social group in which males and females share territory; may be male led (patriarchal) or female led (matriarchal).

changes in the DNA sequence of an organism.

the ecological interaction between two or more species where each species has a net benefit. Mutualism is a common type of ecological interaction.

the social group into which an individual is born.

the scientific study of animals or plants, especially as concerned with observation rather than experiment, and presented in popular rather than academic form. (Oxford Languages)

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

potentially hostile exchanges among strangers where one party loses to compensate another; punishing a criminal for their crimes against society.

the process of removing detrimental or deleterious traits from a population.

the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them priority shares of resources.

the process by which an organism alters its own (or another species') local environment to enhance their own reproductive success.

being awake at night; bulk of activity occurring in the dark or around dusk/dawn.

a standard or pattern, especially of social behavior, that is typical or expected of a group.

the exchange of resources that are of relatively equivalent value but are not the same resource.

the study of how bodies transform food into energy; evolutionary approaches to human diet.

the formation of associations between elements or occurrences after only one exposure to them; often emotionally charged or adaptively salient.

developmental influences on behavior; include cultural influences and learning history, and may include aspects of physiological growth.

a cell in an ovary; may mature into an ovum (egg) and combine with spermatozoa resulting in conception.

put into operation or use; define a complex behavior by specific aspects of its display.

the process of turning abstract concepts into measurable observations; identifying observable traits to measure abstract concepts and processes like emotion, cognition, and behavior.

the process in which a mature egg is released from the ovary. After it's released, the egg moves down the fallopian tube and stays there for 12 to 24 hours, where it can be fertilized.

also called Human Paleontology; the study of early humans and human ancestors in deep time; often working across millions of years with fossil remains.

the potential to be attracted to people of ALL sexes and genders.

structurally complex and long-distance vocalization of chimpanzees. The call is generally divided into four distinct, successive phases: introduction, build-up, climax and let-down.

a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life.

any parental expenditure that benefits offspring; may be performed by both males and females, females alone or males alone.

A research technique characterized by the effort of an investigator to gain entrance into and social acceptance by a foreign culture or alien group so as better to attain a comprehensive understanding of the internal structure of the society.

the action of giving birth to young; childbirth.

the time in a woman's life when menstrual periods become irregular as she approaches menopause.

the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.

the ability to learn the phenotypes of surrounding animals and to use that information to classify previously unmet animals; the ability to identify biological relatives by appearance or behavior.

the study and classification of sounds; focused on the components of language and how they vary across cultures.

a structure in a living organism, especially a sensory cell or sense organ, that responds to light falling on it.

the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities.

a diagram that depicts the lines of evolutionary descent of different species, organisms, or genes from a common ancestor.

the branch of biology that deals with classifying the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or group of organisms.

changes to internal body processes that regulate and maintain homeostasis for an organism to survive in the environment in which it exists.

the ability of an individual genotype to produce different phenotypes in response to the environment.

the ability for a trait to adapt or change over time in an individual organism; responsive to environmental changes.

the study of political boundaries, oppressions, and privileges; often focuses on governments and their people.

mating or marital system in which one female is associated with multiple husbands.

any mating system where a female or a male marries two or more members of the opposite sex.

a mating or marital system in which one man is associated with multiple wives.

beneficial exchanges among strangers where one party may give more than the other in reward or gratitude for displayed behaviors; additional reciprocity.

the process of increasing beneficial traits in a population.

a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats all or part of another organism, its prey.

any pattern of behavior shown by members of one sex that leads to preferred mating with certain members of the opposite sex.

causes that are the mechanisms directly underlying the behavior in an individual organism.

Relating to, measuring, or measured by the quality of something rather than its quantity; the narrative or rich quality of something; descriptive.

Relating to, measuring, or measured by the quantity of something rather than its quality; data that is primarily numeric in nature; counting.

someone who experiences their gender as fluid, meaning it can shift and change at any given time; neither wholly masculine or feminine.

those species that tend to produce a higher number of offspring or protogenies but they offer less parental care

a trait that is expressed only when genotype is homozygous and is suppressed by dominant traits in the phenotype.

an organism temporarily reduces their own fitness while increasing another's, with the expectation that the other will do the same in the future; this requires investing in others and building trust.

the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted by one country or organization to another.

being able to examine one's own feelings, reactions, and motives (= reasons for acting) and how these influence what they do or think in a situation; being conscious of one's own biases.

the slowing, reduction, or complete cessation of fecundity.

the proportion of the total energy budget of an organism that is devoted to reproductive processes.

the ability of individuals to pass on their genes to subsequent generations; quantified as the number of offspring one has that survive to adulthood and reproduction.

a measure of an individual's production of offspring per breeding event or lifetime.

a layer at the back of the eyeball containing cells that are sensitive to light and that trigger nerve impulses that pass via the optic nerve to the brain, where a visual image is formed.

a strategy in which bringing information to mind enhances and boosts learning; deliberately recalling information to pull knowledge “out” and examine what is known.

Risk taking is any consciously or non-consciously controlled behavior with a perceived uncertainty about its outcome, and/or about its possible benefits or costs for the physical, economic or psycho-social well-being of oneself or others.

an even-toed ungulate mammal that chews the cud regurgitated from its rumen. The ruminants comprise the cattle, sheep, antelopes, deer, giraffes, and their relatives.

the recording of practices and folklore of a culture, sometimes including the things that give rituals and practices meaning.

the study and recording of languages that are spoken less; may record languages with few speakers to document their relevance and preserve endangered languages.

The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

using anthropological methods and communication skills to translate complex scientific concepts for decision-makers and their constituents.

a widely accepted explanation of a biological or natural phenomenon based on sound evidence from rigorous empirical experiments and scientific observations.

the condition or process of deterioration, often but not always in alignment with age; loss of a cell's power of division and growth.

having the capacity to have feelings and responses to one's environment; capable of sensing the world around oneself.

the practice of engaging in a succession of monogamous sexual relationships.

a set of biological attributes in humans and animals, particularly related to development and reproduction.

distinct difference in size or appearance between the sexes of an animal in addition to difference between the sexual organs themselves.

a person's identity in relation to the gender or genders to which they are sexually attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, etc.

a mode of natural selection in which members of one biological sex choose mates of the other sex to mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex (intrasexual selection).

a person's identity in relation to the gender, sex, or genders to which they are typically attracted; sexual orientation.

a social group in which an alpha male and his female mates live in the same territory. Other adult males are usually not tolerated by the alpha male.

the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. Now largely discredited, social Darwinism was advocated by Herbert Spencer and others in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and racism and to discourage intervention and reform.

The process of investigating social structures through the use of networks and graph theory.

the tendency to associate in or form social groups; being social or navigating a social group.

combining social and cultural factors.

a standard or pattern, especially of social behavior and cultural practices, that is typical or expected of a group.

the study of the social nature of language; considers how language creates or defines boundaries between groups or how language can be used to reinforce cultural norms.

a social group in which females have individual territories encompassed by a single male whose territory includes all of the female's territories.

a trait that is a byproduct of the evolution of some other characteristic, rather than a direct product of adaptive selection.

the production or development of mature spermatozoa/sperm.

the mature motile male sex cell of an animal, by which the ovum/egg is fertilized, typically having a compact head and one or more long flagella for swimming; sperm.

the ability of the visual brain to register a sense of three-dimensional shape and form from visual inputs.

physical features of an organism that enable them to survive and be competitive in their environment.

secondary or below, especially in hierarchy; subspecies or subadult.

any rate below approximately 2.1 children born per woman of childbearing age.

above or before, especially in hierarchical systems; suprafamily.

any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms.

the ability to understand what another is feeling or experiencing.

the classification of something, especially organisms.

a compound structure at the end of a chromosome; a region of repetitive DNA sequences that protect the ends of chromosomes from becoming frayed or tangled.

hormone made mainly in the testes (part of the male reproductive system); needed to develop and maintain male sex characteristics, such as facial hair, deep voice, and muscle growth.

A method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses. (Oxford Languages)

sharing occurring because of possessors’ inability to monopolize food due to costs imposed by non-possessors; "paying off" the scrounger.

a swelling of a part of the body, generally without inflammation, caused by an abnormal growth of tissue, whether benign or malignant.

refers to the behavior's evolutionary significance or phylogeny; how the behavior enhances reproductive fitness in the species.

the world as it is experienced by a particular organism; may denote the primary sense of experience (e.g., smell, sight).

the belief that cultures exist on a continuum of more or less evolved.

the use of anthropological methods to solve real world problems; often working in private and nonprofit sectors.

a change or difference in the condition, amount, level, or presence of a measurable trait, usually within certain limits.

traits that have no apparent function and appear to be residual parts from a past ancestor.

the act or process of producing sounds with the voice, lungs, throat, or mouth.

Of or pertaining to people, ideas, and data collected from Western, Educated, Industrial Rich, and Democratic societies.

the study of animal remains; domestication; human use of animals in the archeological record.

a cell formed by the union of two gametes; broadly: the developing individual produced from such a cell.