CARTA Glossary

A stone tool type characterized by oval or pear-shaped bi-faced “hand axes” and are typically associated with Homo erectus. ~1.76 mya - 130 kya.

Alternative DNA sequence at the same locus (location on the chromosome)

DNA that is extracted from ancient specimens (skeletons, mummified tissues, frozen specimens, archeological material, archival collections, sediments, and dirt). The current upper age limit for ancient DNA extraction and sequencing is 0.4-1.5 mya.

A stone tool type characterized by long, fine blades produced from a prepared core (Levallois Technique). Tools of this mode also include worked bone and antler points. ~43 kya - 28 kya.

Current Homo sapiens, a population of hominins who evolved in Africa 200-100 kya, developed a suite of behavioral and cognitive traits that distinguished them from other hominins in and outside Africa, which likely allowed them to replace all other related hominins across the planet, with some interbreeding but no surviving hybrid species.

A form of petroleum, a naturally- occurring organic by-product of decomposed plants, that is waterproof and flammable. Prehistoric humans used bitumen as an adhesive for hafting points to spears and for many other tasks and tools. Compare with Birch Tar.

Discrete strands of tightly packaged chromatin.

Behavior and norms that are shared, learned, and socially transmitted.

An extinct hominin population contemporary with Neanderthals that hybridized with ancient humans and Neanderthals. Knowledge of Denisovan morphology is limited to two small fossils found in Siberia and a jaw in Tibet.

Organisms with two sets of each chromosome except for XY sex chromosomes in male mammals.

The specific order of the nucleotide bases along a strand of DNA.

Searching for wild food or provisions as opposed to cultivating food crops or breeding livestock.

Movement of alleles between populations via mating.

Change in allele frequencies, including fixation and loss, by chance.

The study of genome structure/function.

A taxonomic rank used in biological classification of living and fossil organisms to group closely related species. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name plus species name forms the binomial species name (e.g. Homo sapiens).

A prehistoric stone tool with two faces and is usually made from flint, basalt, sandstone, quartzite, or chert.

A set of alleles along neighboring positions on a chromosome that are inherited together.

A classification of species comprising humans and our extinct relatives following the divergence from the common ancestor with chimpanzees.

An extinct hominin species with fossil evidence from at least 1.9 million years to 70 thousand years ago and found from Africa to Indonesia. H. erectus may have been the first hominin to leave Africa. H. erectus DNA may be retrievable from other species due to archaic admixture.

The hominin species comprising all living humans. Meaning “wise man” in Latin, the name was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The earliest fossil evidence of Homo sapiens appears in Africa around 300 kya (see Jebel Irhoud Hominins).

A subsistence strategy in which most or all food is obtained by foraging and is in contrast to agriculture, which rely mainly on domesticated species.

Transfer of alleles between species.

A method of creating stone tools by first striking flakes off the stone, or core, along the edges to create the prepared core and then striking the prepared core in such a way that the intended tool is flaked off with all of its edges pre-sharpened.

A stone tool type consisting of small blades or points, called microliths, that were typically used in composite tools, such as an arrow point fastened to a haft. ~35 - 3 kya.

The shape or form (outward appearance) of an organism. The branch of biology interested in the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.

Change in a DNA or RNA sequence.

Tool use is a necessity for survival. Tool use is an essential part of being human and we are the only known obligate tool users.

A hypothesis proposing the geographic origins of the genus Homo in Africa and migration of anatomically modern humans. These anatomically modern humans would have completely replaced the archaic human populations (Neanderthals, Denisovans, etc.) that had previously left Africa. This hypothesis emphasizes the African origin of our species but allows for the possibility of minor local contributions from archaic populations.

Observable traits of an organism that result from interactions between genes and environment during development.

A geological epoch from ~2.5 mya to 11.7 kya characterized by a period of repeated glaciations. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archeology. Subdivisions:

• Early (Lower) Pleistocene: ~2.58 mya - 781 kya.
• Middle Pleistocene: Emergence of Homo sapiens. 781 - 126 kya.
• Late (Upper) Pleistocene: 126 - 11.7 kya.

An evolutionary model in which pronounced change takes place in short bursts followed by periods of evolutionary continuity. Compare with Continuity.

A system of caves in the Malmani dolomites of South Africa (and a part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site) where fossils of a previously unknown, extinct species of hominin, Homo naledi, were first discovered in 2013.

Members of various Khoisan-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer and former hunter-gatherer groups that are the first nations of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. mtDNA and Y chromosome studies show that the San carry some of the most divergent (oldest) human haplogroups.

A variation involving a single base-pair, occurring in at least 1% of the population.

The prehistoric period during which stone was used to make tools and weapons and is synonymous with the Paleolithic. ~3.4 million years ago (mya) - 10 thousand years ago (kya). In African archaeology, stone age chronology is divided into Early Stone Age (ESA): ~2.6 mya to ~300 kya; Middle Stone Age (MSA): ~300 kya to ~50 kya; and Later Stone Age (LSA): ~ 50 kya to ~39 kya.

• Early Stone Age is characterized by the development of the first African stone tools, such as the Oldowan technology used by Australopithecines, and the later Acheulean technology, used by Homo erectus.
• Middle Stone Age is characterized by a transition from Acheulean to Levallois technology and the earliest known modern human behavior.
• Later Stone Age is characterized by microlithic industries and punch-struck blades, revealing fully modern human behavior.