CARTA Glossary

An extinct aquatic and herbivorous mammal, related to living manatees, described by Georg Wilhelm Steller in 1714 while shipwrecked on Bering Island. The species was hunted into extinction shortly after European discovery.

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.

The social and cultural activity of sharing stories for entertainment, education, or instilling morals and values.

A genus of Gram-positive bacteria with over 50 recognized species. Streptococcus species are responsible for “strep” throat, pink eye, meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, endocarditis, erysipelas, and necrotizing fasciitis (the “flesh- eating” bacterial infections). However, many streptococcal species are not pathogenic and form part of the commensal human microbiota of the mouth, skin, intestine, and upper respiratory tract. Streptococci are also a necessary ingredient in producing Emmentaler (“Swiss”) cheese.

Events or experiences that typically result in stress on a system.

The distance between two subsequent footfalls.

The structural framework of an organ or tissue.

Substrates that, by virtue of their chemical similarity to neurotransmitters, interact with receptors.

A group of diverse neural formations deep within the brain which include the diencephalon, pituitary gland, limbic structures and the basal ganglia. They are involved in complex activities such as memory, emotion, pleasure and hormone production. They act as information hubs of the nervous system, as they relay and modulate information passing to different areas of the brain.

The quick, reliable, and accurate discrimination of small quantities (usually within numerosities 1–4).

A depression or groove in the cerebral cortex that, along with a gyrus (ridge), creates the folded appearance of the brain in humans and other mammals. The larger sulci are usually called fissures.

“Cutting above.” An incision to the male foreskin above the glans. Synonymous with dorsal slit.

A close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic.

A type of play involving fantasy, imagination, and pretend to us available objects as stand ins for other objects.

The ability of synapses to change in relation to activity and inactivity, with these changes as central to communication between neurons and memory.

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

The deliberate insertion of pigment into the skin to create visible marks.

One of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The temporal lobe is located beneath the lateral fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain.

A concept in social psychology that proposes the existence of a basic psychological conflict that results from having a desire to live but realizing death is inevitable.

The ability to attribute mental beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives, etc., to oneself and to others, and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are similar or different from one’s own. Related/Overlapping Terms: “Intentionality,” Attribution of Mental States,” “Inter-subjectivity,” “Mind- Reading,” “Perspective taking,” “Other-regarding Impulses,” etc.

Nikolaas Tinbergen’s 1962 paper “On aims and methods of Ethology,” defined complementary categories for analyzing and explaining animal behavior as proximate (developmental: both ontogenic and mechanistic) and ultimate (evolutionary: both phylogenetic and adaptive).

• Proximate/Ontogeny: How does the trait develop in individuals?
• Proximate/Mechanism: How does the trait work?
• Ultimate/Phylogeny: What is the trait’s evolutionary history?
• Ultimate/Adaptation: Why does the trait perform better than evolvable alternatives?

A population of central Mexico during the 16th century CE and who were military opponents of the neighboring Mexica.

The term “tool-assisted piercing” is only needed when contrasting and comparing to “free-hand piercing” methods. While the syntagm explicitly includes the use of any tools during a piercing procedure, the implied emphasis is actually more concerning the distinction of using forceps.

Receptors expressed on a cell surface that bind ligands on a different cell surface or between a cell surface and an extra-cellular molecule.

The idea that following repeated stimulus-induced activation, genes become poised or primed to respond to that stimulus.

A type of cell membrane protein that spans the width of the membrane and functions as a gateway for specific substances to enter or leave the cell or as a signaling molecule.

DNA sequence that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell’s genetic identity and genome size. They can also be referred to as “jumping genes”. They were discovered by Barbara McClintock and she earned the Nobel Prize in 1983 for that discovery. These sequences can be considered a type of “molecular parasite” within the genome.

The name of a city in oral histories from Mexico, also applied to specific archaeological sites. In oral histories, a source of authority for rulers of multiple sites.

A type of transmembrane protein oriented with the amino-terminal facing outside the cell.

Any typically herbivorous and hoofed mammal belonging to a diverse group that includes both perissodactyls (odd-toed ungulates including horses and rhinos) and artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates including cattle, pigs, giraffes, camels, deer, hippos). Recent discoveries indicate cetaceans evolved from early artiodactyls.

An untrue story erroneously taken to report truth.

The outermost protein domain of Siglec proteins and contains the sialic acid binding site.

The totality of all organisms (microbes) that colonize the vagina.

A hormone synthesized in the hypothalamus and then transported to the blood to regulate extracellular fluid volume in the blood vessels and kidneys. It also plays a role in vasoconstriction. Vasopressin and oxytocin evolved from a single primordial neurohypophyseal hormone called vasotocin, which is present in lower vertebrates. Vasopressin, oxytocin, and their receptors are involved in regulating mating systems in several mammals.

Any agent which carries and transmits an infectious pathogen to another living organism. Most agents that act as vectors are living organisms.

Of or relating to viruses. (see Virus)

A submicroscopic infectious agent 10 million times smaller than a human that relies on a living host cell for metabolic processes and replication. Like living organisms, viruses possess genes and evolve by natural selection. Unlike living organisms, viruses lack cellular structure, do not have their own metabolism, instead relying on a living host cell for production of materials, and replication through self-assembly inside a host cell.

The maximum rate of oxygen consumption measured during exercise of increasing intensity.

People belonging to societies that are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic, as originally proposed by CARTA member, Joseph Henrich.

An infection by the West Nile virus, which is typically spread by mosquitoes. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, or a rash. In rare cases, encephalitis (swelling of the brain) or meningitis occurs, with associated neck stiffness, confusion, or seizures.

A type of immune cell involved in protecting the body against infectious disease and foreign invaders. WBCs are also called leukocytes.

A species of cooperative/sociable weaver birds that is found throughout central and north-central southern Africa. White-browed sparrow-weavers form groups of two-to-eleven individuals, which consist of one breeding pair with the remaining as non-reproductive individuals.

Amala (1918-21) and Kamala (1912-1929) were two feral girls from Bengal, India, who were alleged to have been raised by a wolf family. There is much controversy to the veracity of the girls’ wolf story.

The product of force and displacement (distance).

One of the two allosomes of the mammalian genome that determine sex. The X-chromosome can be inherited maternally and paternally.

A viral disease caused by Yellow Fever Virus and spread by female Aedes mosquitos. Typically, short in duration, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains particularly in the back, and headaches. In some cases, a relapse of Yellow Fever will occur, causing abdominal pain and liver damage that results in yellow skin (see Jaundice).

The gram-negative bacterium that causes the plague, which takes three main forms: pneumonic, septicemic and bubonic.

An RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus that causes Zika Fever and is spread by Aedes mosquitos. It was first identified in 1947 in the Zika Forest of Uganda, from which it was named. Zika virus is related to the Dengue, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, and West Nile Viruses. Traditionally, Zika virus occurred within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia but spread to the Americas causing the 2015–2016 Zika virus epidemic. Origin: Africa.

A serovar of Salmonella and the causative pathogen of salmonellosis. “Non-typhoidal” Salmonella can be transferred from animals to humans and humans to humans.