CARTA Glossary

An extinct species of archaic human that lived during the Middle Pleistocene, roughly 700,000 to 200,000 years ago, in Africa, Europe, and possibly western Asia. It is considered a direct ancestor of both Neanderthals and modern humans.

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).

Similarity in DNA sequence or phenotype that has evolved independently.

A signaling molecule in multicellular organisms that contributes to the regulation of physiology and behavior.

A lithic technology cultural period in the Middle Stone Age in Africa named after the Howieson’s Poort Shelter archeological site near Grahamstown, South Africa. Dates range from ~65.8 kya to 59.5 kya. Examples include composite weapons hafted with ochre and gum compound glue and microlith blades, bone arrows, and needles.

The specialized connections composed of axons linking Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area in the human brain and is a major anatomic feature supporting language function in humans.

A non‑coding regulatory DNA element (an enhancer) that does not encode a protein but influences the activity of nearby genes involved in brain development. It has undergone rapid sequence change in humans compared with other mammals.

People whose livelihood relies on foraging: hunting animals, fishing, and gathering wild plants and other resources for sustenance.

An explanation for the dietary shift to meat procurement during human evolution as a catalyst favoring a suite of transformative biological and behavioral adaptations.

An enzyme involved in the first step of aerobic oxidation of organic compounds.

Increased sensitivity to pain.

Pain, hypohedonia, dysphoria, anxiety, hyperalgesia, irritability, and sleep disturbances associated with drug abstinence following excessive drug taking.

The increase or abnormal addition of methyl groups (–CH₃) to DNA, typically at cytosine bases in CpG dinucleotides. This chemical modification is a key epigenetic mechanism that can influence gene expression without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

A neuropeptide that regulates arousal, wakefulness, and appetite.

A condition characterized by less than the normal amount of oxygen reaching the tissues; also, low partial pressure of oxygen at high elevations (hypobaric hypoxia).

A type of lithic industry featuring a backed bladelet specific to the coasts of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia dating between 25,000 and 11,000 years ago.

A mode of behavior or way of thought peculiar to an individual.

Myelin sheath-forming glial cells that have progressed from progenitor stages but have not yet fully differentiated or begun wrapping axons with insulating myelin sheaths.

Cells that are part of the immune system. Most develop from stem cells in the bone marrow and become different types of white blood cells (the microglia of the brain originate in the yolk sack during embryonic development). Immune cells are broadly classified into innate and adaptive immune cells. Innate immune cells include neutrophils, basophils, mast cells, monocytes and eosinophils, dendritic cells, and macrophages. Adaptive immune cells include B-cells and T-cells. T-Cells and Natural Killer T-cells mediate important dialogues between innate (rapid) and adaptive (slower) immune responses. B-cells and T-cells can form long- term immunological memory.

The capability of multicellular organisms to resist harmful microorganisms from entering it and compromising its biological systems. The balanced state of adequate biological defenses to fight infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion, while having adequate tolerance to avoid allergy, and autoimmune diseases. It critically relies on recognition of both self and non-self.

A type of protein that forms antibodies and other receptors both on cell surfaces and as soluble proteins of vertebrates. Comprised of a massive superfamily, immunoglobulins perform many different functions, including recognition, binding, or adhesion processes of cells.

A highly conserved region in the cytoplasmic domain of signaling chains of adapter proteins and receptors and typically result in activation of inflammatory responses.

Long non-coding microRNA

A sign that depends for its reference on the physical presence of the thing that it refers (its “referent”) to at some point in space and time (e.g. smoke, a weather vane, a bullet hole, your index finger) (Kluender, 2020).

The transition from agrarian and handcraft manufacture of goods to large scale industrial production starting 1760 in Great Britain and the United States.

The capability of producing infection or spreading disease to others. Synonymous with communicable and transmissible.

The cerebral cortex on the inferior convexity of the temporal lobe in primates, including humans and is It is crucial for visual object recognition.

An often-painful localized redness, swelling, and heat that is the body’s response to an injury or infection. While uncomfortable, it indicates that your body is working hard to repair itself or to defend against infection.

Often referred to as “flu,” this is a highly contagious viral respiratory illness. Symptoms include fever, severe body aches, and catarrh. Because it is so contagious, influenza often produces epidemics. There are several influenza viruses that affect humans (A, B, C) - all enveloped RNA viruses.

In piercing, the act of putting jewelry into an existing pierced channel, often with the aid of an insertion taper.

The power of minds to be about, to represent, or to stand for, things, properties and states of affairs. Refers to the ability of the mind to form representations and should not be confused with intention. Beliefs about others’ beliefs display what is sometimes known as “higher-order intentionality.”

Temporal coordination of behavior, physiology, neural activity, and/or mental representations between individuals.

A proposition in which some of a system’s output is returned through the input for processing, which allows the system to make adjustments in the output.

A research framework that adapts procedures to be more inclusive of underrepresented groups through community engagement with diverse participants and individualized methods to accommodate neural diversity.

The interval of life between conception and birth.

Sequences between eons, don't encode proteins

A non-indigenous organism that can destabilize ecosystems when introduced.

Each of two or more forms of the same element that contain equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei, and hence differ in relative atomic mass but not in chemical properties; in particular, a radioactive form of an element.

An infection of the central nervous system caused by the Japanese Encephalitis Virus. Most infections are benign but occasionally can cause inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), headaches, vomiting, fever, confusion and seizures.

A yellowing of the eyes and skin due to rapid breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs) and release of degraded hemoglobin.

In 1989, at age 4-5, he witnessed his father murder his mother and subsequently fled into the Ugandan jungle. He was accepted as a peripheral member of a group of vervet monkeys who cared for and nourished him for a period of two years. He was found and captured in 1991.

A fossilized human cranium dated to approximately 300,000–125,000 years ago, that was discovered in 1921 in Kabwe (formerly Broken Hill), Zambia. It is classified as Homo heidelbergensis or sometimes as an archaic Homo sapiens. The skull has a large braincase of about 1,230 cubic centimeters but also retains robust features, such as a prominent brow ridge, broad face, and thick cranial bones. The Kabwe Skull may represent a transitional form between Homo erectus and later anatomically modern humans.

Chromosome number in the cell nucleus.

A gene that encodes a lysine demethylase enzyme and plays a crucial role in epigenetic regulation via histone demethylation, influencing gene expression, chromatin structure, and cellular function. Studies have shown a role in tumor suppression.

A collective term for non-Bantu indigenous people of South Africa, as well as for the related languages they speak.

A description of the forces acting on a body; the forces the body exerts (or resists) during locomotion.

A palaeoanthropological area in the southern Main Ethiopian Rift that was discovered 1991 The Konso-Gardula sediments span ~ 1.9 mya to 1.3 mya. Early Homo fossils and Acheulean stone tools have been found here. 

The lengthening of the inner or outer labia through a regimen of pulling and stretching, often with herbs. Formerly included in the World Health Organization (WHO) typology of female genital modifications. Also known as “labia minora elongation,” or LME.