Glossary of technical terms

 

Definitions for some terms used in the novel

 

allele a gene that is found in one of two or more different forms in the same position in a chromosome, and so produces a particular characteristic that can be different for different people, such as eye colour

ante-mortem before death; bone damage in ante-mortem injuries shows evidence of healing

archaeology the study of the buildings, graves, tools and other objects that belonged to people who lived in the past, in order to learn about their culture and society

biological anthropology also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline in which research is concerned with the biological and behavioural variation of human beings, other non-human primates, and extinct hominin ancestors of the human species

congenital a congenital disease or condition exists at or from birth

cranial of the skull

cryptography the practice of creating and understanding codes that keep information secret

dentition the number, type and arrangement of teeth in a person or animal

epigraphology the archaeological study of inscriptions

foramen a natural passage in the body, especially through a bone

gene a unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring

mandible in a person or animal, the lower jaw bone

maxilla the upper jaw bone that supports the upper teeth and forms part of the eye sockets and nasal cavity

neonate a medical word for a baby who is less than four weeks old

palaeogenetics the study of the past through the examination of preserved genetic material from the remains of ancient organisms

palaeopathology the branch of science concerned with the pathological conditions found in ancient human and animal remains

pelvic girdle (in vertebrates) the enclosing structure formed by the bony pelvis, providing attachment for the hind limbs or pelvic fins

peri-mortem at or near the time of death; in peri-mortem injuries, bone damage occurring at or near the time of death, without any evidence of healing

perinatal relating to the time, usually a number of weeks, immediately before and after birth

philology the branch of knowledge that deals with the structure, historical development and relationships of a language or languages; in North America, literary or classical scholarship

post-cranial of or relating to the part of the body below the head

pseudoscience a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method

sexual dimorphism of an animal, a distinct difference between the sexes in size or appearance, in addition to the sexual organs themselves

species a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding