atavist
Genetic ancestral echo
An atavist is a person who exhibits traits from distant ancestors that had disappeared in recent generations—a biological or cultural throwback.
The word extends to anyone who seems to belong to an earlier era: He was an atavist, preferring handwritten letters to email.
The term often carries a faintly disapproving tone, suggesting someone primitive or out of step with progress.
Return to ancestral type
- reversionReturn to former state
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- forebearsAncestral family members
progenitors · pedigree · genealogy · descent · inheritance · roots · predecessors · forefathers
Return to ancestral type
- reversionReturn to former state
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
common descent · vestigial · regression · cladistics · homologous · paleobiology · morphology · speciation
Return to former state
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- genesUnits of heredity
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
phenotype · alleles · recombination · chromosomes · DNA · trait · hereditary · recessive
Return to ancestral type
- cavemanPrehistoric cave-dwelling human
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- hunter-gathererPre-farming subsistence lifestyle
tribal · aboriginal · primal · archaic · ancient · vestigial · shamanic · totemic
throwback
Return to ancestral type
forebears · progenitors · pedigree · genealogy · descent · inheritance · roots · predecessors · forefathers · foremothers
throwback
Return to ancestral type
- reversionReturn to former state
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
natural selection · common descent · vestigial · regression · cladistics · homologous · paleobiology · morphology · speciation · adaptation
reversion
Return to former state
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- genesUnits of heredity
- inheritanceProperty received from ancestors
genotype · phenotype · alleles · recombination · chromosomes · DNA · trait · hereditary · recessive · dominant
throwback
Return to ancestral type
- cavemanPrehistoric cave-dwelling human
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
hunter-gatherer · tribal · aboriginal · primal · archaic · ancient · vestigial · shamanic · totemic · ritualistic
primal
First in origin
animalistic · urge · drive · impulse · inborn · inherent · gut · unlearned · biological · subconscious
atavistinnovator
Creator of new methods
futurist · pioneer · modernist · visionary · trailblazer
atavistmutation
Permanent DNA alteration
mutant · evolutionary · sport · neomorph
atavistprogressive
Favoring reform and innovation
reformer · radical · revolutionary · iconoclast · nonconformist