atavisms
Traits from ancestors
Atavisms are traits or behaviors that reappear after being absent for generations—throwbacks to an ancestral form.
In biology, an atavism might be a whale born with vestigial hind limbs or a human baby with a tail.
The term extends to social or cultural reversions: His outbursts were atavisms from a more brutal era.
The singular atavism names either a specific instance or the phenomenon generally.
Those from whom one descends
- forebearsAncestral family members
- progenitorsOriginal ancestors of a lineage
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
bloodline · pedigree · genealogy · descent · forefathers · roots · inheritance · throwback
Return to ancestral type
Coming back into view
- resurgenceReturn after dormancy
- reemergenceReturning to visibility
- revivalReturn after decline
- returnGo back again
throwback · regression · relapse · reversion · recrudescence · flashback · echo · rebirth
First in origin
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- cavemanPrehistoric cave-dwelling human
- tribalOf a clan
ancient · hunter-gatherer · savage · barbaric · feral · animalistic · bestial · instinctual
Units of heredity
- DNAHereditary code molecule
- allelesVariant forms of genes
- chromosomesGene-bearing nuclear structures
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
phenotype · recessive · dominant · heritable · mutation · inheritance · hereditary · reactivation
ancestors
Those from whom one descends
- forebearsAncestral family members
- progenitorsOriginal ancestors of a lineage
- lineageDescent from progenitors
heritage · bloodline · pedigree · genealogy · descent · forefathers · roots · inheritance · throwback · reversion
throwback
Return to ancestral type
- reversionReturn to former state
- vestigialReduced, without current function
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
phylogeny · regression · devolution · recapitulation · rudimentary
reappearance
Coming back into view
- resurgenceReturn after dormancy
- reemergenceReturning to visibility
- revivalReturn after decline
return · throwback · regression · relapse · reversion · recrudescence · flashback · echo · rebirth · reawakening
primal
First in origin
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- cavemanPrehistoric cave-dwelling human
tribal · ancient · hunter-gatherer · savage · barbaric · feral · animalistic · bestial · instinctual · primordial
genes
Units of heredity
- DNAHereditary code molecule
- allelesVariant forms of genes
- chromosomesGene-bearing nuclear structures
genotype · phenotype · recessive · dominant · heritable · mutation · inheritance · hereditary · reactivation · chromosomal
atavismsinnovations
New methods or devices
novelties · mutations · originalities · breakthroughs · inventions
atavismsadvancements
Forward movements in development
adaptations · specializations · refinements · progressions · sophistications