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Determination of the relative or absolute age of materials or objects by measurement of the degree of racemization of the amino acids present. With the exception of glycine, the amino acids found in proteins can exist in two isomeric forms called d-…

The observation, measurement, and explanation of human variability in time and space. Anthropology is a science concerned with the interrelations of the biological, cultural, geographical, and historical aspects of humankind, including modern human…

The systematic quantitative representation of the human body. Anthropometric techniques are used to measure the absolute and relative variability in size and shape of the human body. Instrumentation Depending on the objective, anthropometric…

The establishment of the temporal sequence of prehistoric events. An event can be defined as a duration of time during which certain features came together to form a set, for example, when certain materials were formed into an object (manufacturing…

Any member of an adaptively diverse group of extinct hominin species that inhabited Africa between approximately 4.2 million years ago (MYA) and 1.2 MYA. The term australopith is used in preference to the term australopithecine, which is sometimes…

The study of skeletal remains from archeological sites by biological (or physical) anthropologists. Bioarcheology differs in several ways from traditional skeletal research. Previous work focused on individual case studies (for example, individuals…

The adaptation of an animal or plant through breeding in captivity to a life intimately associated with and advantageous to humans. Domesticated plants and animals differ genetically and morphologically from their wild counterparts, often in ways…

The application of physical anthropology theory and techniques to medicolegal questions. Forensic anthropology may also pertain to subdisciplines of anthropology, such as cultural anthropology, biological/physical anthropology, archaeology, and…

Ancient fossilized members of human beings and those species directly ancestral to modern humans. Fossil humans comprise all prehistoric skeletal remains of humans that are archeologically earlier than the Neolithic (necessarily an imprecise limit,…

The deoxyribonucleic acid of Homo neanderthalensis. Neandertals (also spelled Neanderthals) are the closest evolutionary relatives of modern humans. Based on fossil and archeological records, Neandertals are large-brained people with a distinct…