bioarchaeology: The study of human history through research on the remains of ancient people or of animals closely associated with those people. People who work in this field are known as bioarchaeologists.
biological anthropology: The study of variations among humans and how our species has evolved. Biological anthropologists investigate how human behaviors and other traits may trace to genetics and changes in human physiology. They also may study fossils for clues to how our species evolved in hopes of better comparing and contrasting humans to other living primates.
Burkina Faso: This low-income, land-locked country in West Africa is an agricultural region that gets most of its money from cotton-growing. Its capital city is Ouagadougou.
colleague: Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.
conservation: The act of preserving or protecting something. The focus of this work can range from art objects to endangered species and other aspects of the natural environment.
DNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. It is built on a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.
element: (in chemistry) Each of more than one hundred substances for which the smallest unit of each is a single atom. Examples include hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, lithium and uranium.
environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest).
field: An area of study, as in: Her field of research is biology. Also a term to describe a real-world environment in which some research is conducted, such as at sea, in a forest, on a mountaintop or on a city street. It is the opposite of an artificial setting, such as a research laboratory.
insight: The ability to gain an accurate and deep understanding of a situation just by thinking about it, instead of working out a solution through experimentation.
isotopes: Different forms of an element that vary somewhat in mass (and potentially in lifetime). All have the same number of protons in their nucleus, but different numbers of neutrons.
metal: Something that conducts electricity well, tends to be shiny (reflective) and is malleable (meaning it can be reshaped with heat and not too much force or pressure).
organism: Any living thing, from elephants and plants to bacteria and other types of single-celled life.
political: (n. politics) An adjective that refers to the activities of people charged with governing towns, states, nations or other groups of people. It can involve deliberations over whether to create or change laws, the setting of policies for governed communities, and attempts to resolve conflicts between people or groups that want to change rules or taxes or the interpretation of laws. The people who take on these tasks as a job (profession) are known as politicians.
ratio: The relationship between two numbers or amounts. When written out, the numbers usually are separated by a colon, such as a 50:50. That would mean that for every 50 units of one thing (on the left) there would also be 50 units of another thing (represented by the number on the right).
trade: The buying, selling or swapping of goods or services — indeed, of anything that has value. Trade groups represent the makers or sellers of these goods and services. When nations talk about trade, they usually refer to the sale or purchasing of goods with one or more countries.