The following definitions, provided by Merriam-Webster, will help you master the vocabulary used in Britannica’s article about human evolution so you can better understand this topic.
- ancestor (noun): a progenitor of a more recent or existing species or group
- artifact (noun): a usually simple object (such as a tool or ornament) showing human workmanship or modification as distinguished from a natural object
- biome (noun): a major ecological community type (such as tropical rain forest, grassland, or desert)
- biped (noun): a two-footed animal
- braincase (noun): the cranium enclosing the brain
- dimorphism (noun): the condition or property of being dimorphic or dimorphous: such as the existence of two different forms (as of color or size) of a species especially in the same population
- diversify (verb): to make diverse or composed of unlike elements
- gracile (adjective): slender, slight
- inhabit (verb): to occupy as a place of settled residence or habitat
- lifeway (noun): a way or manner of living
- lineage (noun): descent in a line from a common progenitor
- migrate (verb): to move from one country, place, or locality to another
- morphology (noun): the form and structure of an organism or any of its parts
- omnivorous (adjective): feeding on both animal and vegetable substances
- posture (noun): the position or bearing of the body whether characteristic or assumed for a special purpose
- prehensile (adjective): adapted for seizing or grasping especially by wrapping around
- robust (adjective): strongly formed or constructed
- scavenge (verb): to salvage from discarded or refuse material
- stasis (noun): a state or period of stability during which little or no evolutionary change in a lineage occurs
