Deck 8: The First Hominids

Question 1

The first clear evidence of stone tools appears more than _______ million years after the appearance of bipedalism.

A) 12
B) 10
C) 5
D) 2

Answer 1

2

Question 2

The earliest Australopithecine species, anamensis, is dated to about ______ million years ago.

A) 3.9-4.2
B) 5.8-4.4
C) 8.8-10.3
D) 11-12

Answer 2

3.9-4.2

Question 3

What makes Ardipithecus ramidus unique is that it

A) was bipedal.
B) had apelike dentition.
C) combined apelike dentition with bipedalism.
D) had a giant body.

Answer 3

combined apelike dentition with bipedalism.

Question 4

The Leakeys worked for almost 30 years at __________ before finding a hominid fossil, A. boisei.

A) Laetoli
B) Hadar
C) The Fayum
D) Olduvai Gorge

Question 5

All of the following are "costs" of bipedalism except

A) it is harder to overcome gravity to supply the brain with sufficient blood.
B) the weight of the body above the pelvis and lower limbs puts greater stress on the hips, lower back, knees, and feet.
C) the hands were freed for other tasks.
D) pregnant women had greater stress placed on the lower limbs.

Question 6

Raymond Dart found Australopithecus africanus in

A) 1992.
B) 1998.
C) 1925.
D) 1945.

Question 7

The first definite hominid was ________.

A) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
B) Kenyapithecus
C) Australopithecus
D) Orrorin tugenensis

Question 8

Undisputed bipedal early hominids lived in ___________ about 4 million years ago.

A) China
B) East Africa
C) North America
D) West Africa

Question 9

The skeleton of humans differs from that of the great apes in all of the following except

A) the human head is more or less balanced on the backbone.
B) it has powerful muscles at the back of the neck.
C) the human pelvis is broader and lower than that of the apes.
D) the big toe is not opposed to the other toes.

Question 10

The first early hominid found outside East Africa is

A) A. garhi.
B) A. afarensis.
C) A. bahrelghazali.
D) A. africanus.

Question 11

Robert Broom discovered the first known fossils of A. robustus in

A) 1936.
B) 1947.
C) 1954.
D) 1938.

Question 12

Anthropologist Donald Johanson found 40 percent of the skeleton of a female hominid at Hadar, which he named __________ after the Beatles song.

A) Rita
B) Lucy
C) Yoko
D) Day-Tripper

Question 13

Gracile australopithecines include all of the following except

A) anamensis.
B) afarensis.
C) aethiopicus.
D) africanus.

Question 14

Which of the following hominid characteristics came first?

A) bipedalism
B) modification of the female pelvis
C) expansion of the brain
D) reduction of the face

Question 15

Sahelanthropus tchadensis was found about ______ million years ago.

A) 15
B) 7
C) 3
D) 2

Question 16

With the drying trend of 16 to 11 million years ago, the area called the ________ expanded in Africa.

A) polar icecaps
B) tropical rain forest
C) savanna
D) bush

Question 17

Which of the following has evidence showing that it may have been a bipedal early hominid?

A) Orrorin tugenensis
B) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
C) Kenyapithecus
D) all of the above

Question 18

The famous footprints of Australopithecus were found at

A) Laetoli.
B) Alexandria.
C) Nairobi.
D) Addis Ababa.

Question 19

Robust australopithecines include all of the following except

A) aethiopicus.
B) boisei.
C) africanus.
D) robustus.

Question 20

According to the model of human evolution in Ember and Ember, the presumed common ancestor of apes and modern humans lived about _________ million years ago.

A) 30
B) 15
C) 10
D) 6

Question 21

We know bipedal hominids emerged in Africa because

A) eye witness accounts are available.
B) the earliest hominids moved from Asia to Africa.
C) the available fossil record shows this.
D) the mountains were perfect for bipedalism.

Question 22

Bipedal locomotion, walking on two legs, was not the only change that occurred during early hominid evolution. Included were

A) the expansion of the face.
B) the expansion of the jaw.
C) the expansion of the brain.
D) a smaller pelvis for females.

Question 23

Bipedalism freed the hands, which allowed tools to be carried. This was an advantage because

A) it built up the primates' arms for more strength.
B) it caused a preoccupation with tools so the primate did not have to worry about anything else.
C) the tools could be used as weapons against predators, if necessary.
D) there was no real advantage, as it made it harder to run from danger.

Question 24

The fossil that Raymond Dart discovered was that of

A) an adult male.
B) a young child.
C) an older woman.
D) an older man.

Question 25

Bipedalism does have its downside, including:

A) it's harder to overcome gravity to supply brain with sufficient blood.
B) the weight on the body above the pelvis and lower limbs causes stress on the hips, lower back, knees, and feet.
C) females even have more stress during pregnancy.
D) all the above.

Question 26

The word garhi means __________ in the Ethiopian language.

A) howdy
B) man
C) eureka
D) surprise

Question 27

Discuss the importance of bipedalism in the evolution of hominids.

Question 28

Sahelanthropus tchadensis was an unusual find because

A) it was found in Australia.
B) it was found outside Eastern and Southern Africa.
C) it was the most expensive find ever.
D) no one seemed interested in this find at the time.

Question 29

What is the main argument against bipedal development as an adaptation for life on the savannas?

A) there is evidence there were few savannas, but more woodland and open country
B) there is no evidence that the behavior was adaptive
C) bipedalism actually caused more problems than they solved
D) most primates are bipedal, so it is not a special adaptive behavior

Question 30

A. anamensis has been found in several locations in

A) Japan.
B) the United States.
C) Tanzania.
D) Kenya.

Question 31

What is Scott Simpson's evaluation of the importance of A. afarensis in human
evolution?

Question 32

Compare Orrorin tugenensis and Ardipithecus ramidus. Why are they important in the understanding of hominid evolution?

Question 33

Paleoanthropologists disagree about our ancestors, but they do agree

A) there were at least two separate hominid lines between 3 million and 1 million years ago.
B) there were no extinctions of any early species.
C) evolution could not have played a role in speciation.
D) there is enough evidence to be totally certain of any conclusions they now draw.

Question 34

One of the most famous A. afarensis fossils is named Lucy. Why is it so famous?

A) it was one of the most complete skeletons found
B) because she was named after the song, "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"
C) because no other afarensis fossils have been found
D) because it was found in Ethiopia

Question 35

Why is Sahelanthropus tchadensis important in understanding evolution?

Question 36

The genus Australopithecus were definitely hominid based on the fact

A) their teeth show the basic hominid characteristics.
B) they were fully bipedal.
C) they had a parabolic dental arch.
D) all of the above.

Question 37

The Leakey family made a significant find in 1959 with the discovery of Australopithecus boisei. Why was this discovery so important?

A) it demonstrated that the earliest hominids were living in Europe
B) it demonstrated that early hominids were present in East Africa, not just South Africa
C) because it only took two years to find
D) it proved South Africa was the only place in Africa to find evidence of early hominids

Question 38

There are at least ______ species of Australopithecus.

A) 5
B) 6
C) 7
D) 10

Question 39

The leader of the expedition that found 3.6 million year old footprints at Laetoli was

A) Louis Leakey.
B) Richard Leakey.
C) John Leakey.
D) Mary Leakey.

Question 40

Discuss and evaluate theories of the evolution of bipedalism.

Question 41

Discuss the importance of the work of the Leakey family.

Question 42

Discuss the model of human evolution presented by Ember and Ember.

Question 43

Explain why cladograms of human evolution are important.

Question 44

Why are the australopithecines considered the first definite hominid?

Question 45

Why are the new finds of early "robust" australopithecines puzzling?