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

Prehensile

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The ability to physically grasp something. All primates have prehensile hands. With the exception of humans, they all also have effective prehensile feet. The larger New World monkeys (Cebidae) have ...

Ectothermic

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The ability to maintain core body temperature in a normal range mainly by avoiding exposure to environmental temperature extremes. Reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects are ectothermic animals. ...

Endothermic

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The ability to maintain a relatively constant core body temperature regardless of external conditions by using internal physiological means. That is to say, they are homeothermic, or stable in core ...

Omnivorous

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The ability to live by eating both meat and vegetable foods. See carnivorous and herbivorous.

Synthetic theory of evolution

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

The 20th century conception of evolution being caused by a number of complex and often interacting processes. This is essentially a combination of Darwin's concept of natural selection, Mendel's ...

Flora and fauna

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

Terms of Latin origin that are commonly used in the sciences to refer to the plants (flora) and animals (fauna) in an environment.

Cosmic radiation

Anthropology; Physical anthropology

Streams of highly penetrating charged particles (composed of free electrons, protons, alpha particles, and a few heavier atom nuclei) that bombard the earth at high speed from outer space. On ...