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paleoanthropology

American  
[pey-lee-oh-an-thruh-pol-uh-jee, pal-ee-] / ˌpeɪ li oʊˌæn θrəˈpɒl ə dʒi, ˌpæl i- /

noun

  1. the study of the origins and predecessors of the present human species, using fossils and other remains.


paleoanthropology Scientific  
/ pā′lē-ō-ăn′thrə-pŏlə-jē /
  1. The scientific study of extinct members of the genus Homo sapiens by means of their fossil remains.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of paleoanthropology

First recorded in 1915–20; paleo- + anthropology

Vocabulary lists containing paleoanthropology

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Prior to that, she was a paleoanthropology researcher and received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in 2016 for work focused on hominin bipedalism.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 3, 2026

According to the researchers, one application of better understanding the factors that drive natural variation in human head shape is informing paleoanthropology studies, potentially shedding light on the early development of modern humans.

From Science Daily Nov. 17, 2023

In today’s scholar-eat-scholar world of paleoanthropology, claims of cannibalism are held to exacting standards of evidence.

From New York Times Jul. 1, 2023

When exactly the breakthrough occurred, however, has been one of the most contested questions in all of paleoanthropology.

From Washington Post Dec. 5, 2022

It was July 24, 1976, the day of one of the most serendipitous discoveries in the history of paleoanthropology.

From Scientific American Nov. 5, 2022

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