Deck 9: Paleoanthropology: Reconstructing Early Hominin Behavior and Ecology

Question 1

The environmental setting where an archeological trace is found is called

A)sediment.
B)stratigraphy.
C)geomorphology.
D)context.
E)artifacts.

Answer 1

context.

Question 2

The earliest identified human artifacts are approximately _______ years old.

A)250,000
B)5.5 million
C)2.6 million
D)10,000
E)1.25 million

Answer 2

2.6 million

Question 3

What is the study of how bones and other materials came to be buried and preserved as fossils called?

A)Context
B)Paleoecology
C)Artifacts
D)Geology
E)Taphonomy

Answer 3

Taphonomy

Question 4

_______ make the best samples for the K/Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹AR dating methods.

A)Bones
B)Stone tools
C)Ostrich shells
D)Teeth
E)Volcanic rocks

Question 5

Fluorine analysis can only be used on

A)volcanic rock.
B)fossilized plants.
C)bone.
D)sedimentary rock.
E)petrified wood.

Question 6

The Piltdown hoax was revealed in the 1950s through the application of

A)carbon-14 dating.
B)fluorine analysis.
C)stratigraphic dating.
D)potassium-argon dating.
E)thermoluminescence.

Question 7

What is mosaic evolution?

A)Evolution occurring in various regions
B)Physiological and behavioral systems evolving at different rates
C)Physiological and behavioral systems evolving at the same rate
D)Intellectual and internal systems
E)Evolution of different species leading to the same outcome

Question 8

Which two kinds of dating methods do scientists use?

A)Paleoecology and taphonomy
B)Artifacts and context
C)Relative and chronometric
D)Fluorine analysis and stratigraphy
E)Absolute and estimated

Question 9

Paleoanthropology is

A)defined as the study of ancient humans.
B)practiced by archaeologists only.
C)concerned with fossilized skeletal remains only.
D)defined as the study of fossilized nonprimate mammals.
E)practiced by physical anthropologists only.

Question 10

Relative dating techniques

A)can provide exact dates of fossil material.
B)are always accurate to within 750 years.
C)were used to date the Zinjanthropus cranium to 2.8 million years ago.
D)include stratigraphy.
E)include carbon 14 dating.

Question 11

The earliest hominin tools thus far discovered are made of

A)bone.
B)stone.
C)metal.
D)wood.
E)ivory.

Question 12

The dating method that uses the principle that undisturbed underlying geologic deposits are older than overlying geologic deposits is called

A)stratigraphic dating.
B)paleomagnetism.
C)carbon-14 dating.
D)K/Ar dating.
E)fluorine analysis.

Question 13

Dating methods indicating that something is older or more recent than something else

A)are called chronometric dating methods.
B)are called absolute dating methods.
C)include the K/Ar method.
D)never require stratigraphic information.
E)are called relative dating methods.

Question 14

Objects or materials made or modified by hominins are called

A)artifacts.
B)ecofacts.
C)cores.
D)knappers.
E)scrappers.

Question 15

Which of the following sites has the most complete and best-studied paleoarchaeological record of any early hominin site in the world?

A)Hadar
B)Olduvai Gorge
C)The Potwar Plateau
D)Omo
E)Lake Turkana

Question 16

Which is true about the term hominid in the revised classification?

A)It is a new term in science.
B)It refers to bipedal apes.
C)It refers to all great apes and humans.
D)It refers to monkeys and apes.
E)It refers to all mammals.

Question 17

Olduvai Gorge

A)was discovered in 1992.
B)is located in Ethiopia.
C)is where Louis and Mary Leakey conducted their search for hominin fossils.
D)has NOT produced any hominid fossils.
E)has NOT produced any evidence of hominin tools.

Question 18

New evidence from the Dikika site in Ethiopia shows all of the following EXCEPT

A)evidence of pounding for bone marrow.
B)artifacts that back to approximately 3.4 mya.
C)enough evidence to prove the earliest use of tools.
D)possible evidence of tool use.
E)carefully investigated evidence of animal remains.

Question 19

The earliest evidence of hominins that has been found dates to the end of the

A)Miocene.
B)Pleistocene.
C)Oligocene.
D)Pliocene.
E)Paleocene.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT one of the essentials drawn by paleoanthropologists?

A)Sociobiology
B)Dating
C)Paleoecology
D)Archaeological traces of behavior
E)Anatomical evidence from hominin remains

Question 21

A thin-edged fragment removed form a core is called a

A)flake.
B)knapper.
C)lithic.
D)core.
E)blank.

Question 22

Stable carbon isotope analyses

A)are performed on fossil plants.
B)are performed on teeth.
C)is a relative dating method.
D)are performed on volcanic rock.
E)are performed on clay remains.

Question 23

Which material does Electron Spin Resonance (ESR)date?

A)Stone tools
B)Ceramic pots
C)Dental enamel of animals
D)Wooden spears
E)Volcanic rocks

Question 24

People who make stone tools are called

A)flakes.
B)knappers.
C)lithics.
D)cores.
E)blanks.

Question 25

In archaeology, stones suitably sized and shaped to be further worked into tools are called

A)flakes.
B)knappers.
C)lithics.
D)cores.
E)blanks.

Question 26

What is the term used for  a method of removing flakes from a core by pressing a pointed implement against stone?

A)Microliths
B)Direct percussion
C)Microwear
D)Phytoliths
E)Pressure flaking

Question 27

Experimental archaeologists have attempted to learn more about stone tools by doing all the following EXCEPT

A)replicating stone tool manufacturing methods.
B)using stone tools to butcher an elephant.
C)cutting down trees with stone axes.
D)observing ecological factors.
E)traveling back in time.

Question 28

What is the term used for small stone tools usually produced from narrow blades punched from a core?

A)Microliths
B)Direct percussion
C)Microwear
D)Phytoliths
E)Pressure flaking

Question 29

Carbon-14 dating is most appropriate for dating

A)organic material.
B)charcoal.
C)volcanic rock
D)pottery fragments.
E)sedimentary rocks.

Question 30

Striking a core or flake with a hammer stone is called:

A)microliths.
B)direct percussion.
C)microwear.
D)phytoliths.
E)pressure flaking.

Question 31

_______ is a radiometric dating method popular with archaeologists that can be used to date materials up to 75,000 years old.

A)Carbon-14
B)Paleomagnetism
C)Thermoluminescence
D)K/Ar
E)Biostratigraphy

Question 32

Which is NOT true about thermoluminescence dating?

A)It relies on the principle of radiometric decay.
B)It dates dental enamel of animals.
C)It dates mainly stone tools.
D)It must heat the sample to 500 ° Celsius.
E)It was used to date ceramic pots.

Question 33

If an isotope has a half-life of 4 billion years, then in 4 billion years

A)all of the original amount will have decayed.
B) of the original amount will still remain.
C) of the original amount will still be present.
D)all of the original amount will still be present.
E)none of these

Question 34

Which dating method was used to date the famous Mt. Vesuvius eruption of AD 79?

A)Carbon-14
B)Paleomagnetism
C)Potassium-argon/ ⁴⁰Ar/ ³⁹AR
D)Dendrochronology
E)Thermoluminescence

Question 35

Jolly's seed-eating hypothesis is

A)considered the best supported hypothesis explaining the origins of hominid bipedalism.
B)based on the ecology of African apes.
C)based on the ecology of gelada baboons.
D)based on the ecology of modern human hunter-gatherers.
E)based on pressure flaking.

Question 36

Which of the following would be best suited to the carbon-14 dating technique?

A)Materials more than 100,000 years old
B)Volcanic rock
C)Sedimentary rock
D)Metals
E)Certain organic materials less than 75,000 years old

Question 37

Which of these factors is NOT considered to have influenced the initial evolution of bipedal locomotion in hominins?

A)Carrying objects
B)Seed and nut gathering
C)Long-distance walking
D)Visual surveillance
E)Overgrown limbs

Question 38

A stone reduced by flake removal is called a

A)flake.
B)knapper.
C)lithic.
D)core.
E)blank.

Question 39

_______ relies on identifying changes in the orientation of the earth's geomagnetic poles.

A)Stratigraphy
B)Dendrochronology
C)Fluorine analysis
D)Biostratigraphy
E)Paleomagnetism

Question 40

The K/Ar method is most appropriate for dating

A)the actual fossils within rock.
B)charcoal.
C)volcanic rock.
D)pottery fragments.
E)anything that once was living.

Question 41

Name the four essentials of the concluding stages of interpretation in paleoanthropology.

Question 42

Although excavations at Olduvai Gorge have yielded abundant archaeological traces, no hominid remains have ever been found there.

Question 43

Dean Falk's hypothesis suggesting the constraints of upright posture on brain size

A)is called radiation theory.
B)is called aridity cycle theory.
C)is called evolutionary pulse theory.
D)is called punctuated equilibrium theory.
E)proves that the radiator itself led to larger brains.

Question 44

Mosaic evolution is a pattern of evolution in which the rate of evolution in one functional system is the same as that in other systems.

Question 45

Culture is a set of learned behaviors transmitted from one generation to the next by nonbiological means.

Question 46

Describe potassium-argon dating and all its variations and applications.

Question 47

Define the term mosaic evolution .  Discuss three different anatomical or behavioral hominin traits that demonstrate the nature of mosaic evolution.

Question 48

The context is the environmental setting where an archaeological trace is found.

Question 49

Explain the difference between relative and chronometric dating.

Question 50

One of the constraints of paleoanthropology is that mounting a concentrated research project costs several hundred thousand dollars.

Question 51

Falk's "radiator theory" was proposed as an explanation of the origins of bipedalism in protohominins.

Question 52

The earliest members of the hominin lineage, dating back to 6-5 mya regularly manufactured stone tools.

Question 53

First define what makes a hominin a hominin, and then discuss which aspects of your definition can be assessed in the fossil and/or archaeological record.

Question 54

Taphonomy is the study of how bones and other materials come to be buried in the earth and preserved as fossils.

Question 55

Explain paleomagnetism and give examples.

Question 56

A "blank" refers to a stone that has been reduced by flake removal.

Question 57

Thermoluminescence dating is a method for dating certain archaeological materials that were heated in the past and that, upon reheating, release stored energy of radioactive decay as light.

Question 58

The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating method may be used on very small samples of volcanic rock, including single crystals.

Question 59

Lovejoy's male provisioning scenario

A)is now the best supported explanation for the evolution of bipedalism.
B)has not been significantly critiqued by paleoanthropologists.
C)is entirely consistent with the hominid fossil record.
D)is entirely consistent with the archaeological record.
E)assumes that males were paired monogamously with females.

Question 60

Discuss the science of paleoanthropology and its multidisciplinary approach.

Question 61

Define the term half-life, and discuss how the length of an isotope's half-life relates to the useful time-range of chronometric dating techniques.

Question 62

Explain the importance of accurate dating to human evolution and describe the differences between relative and chronometric (absolute)dating techniques.  Give an example of each type discussed in the text.

Question 63

Explain the basis of fluorine analysis. What type(s)of material is/are appropriate for fluorine analysis, and how accurately can this method date material? Are there any special limitations to this technique? What is the most famous application of fluorine analysis?

Question 64

Explain the methods used in stone tool technology.

Question 65

Explain what is meant by biocultural evolution, and provide examples of how it might have influenced the development of the earliest cultural behavior in hominins and also simultaneously influenced biological/anatomical changes in them.

Question 66

What is the "radiator theory"?

Question 67

Describe the human capacity for and our dependence on culture.

Question 68

Describe why paleoanthropology is necessarily a multidisciplinary science, and discuss the major subdisciplines that contribute to it.

Question 69

Explain how experimental archaeologists analyze ways in which bone is altered by human and natural forces and what evidence is revealed by this study.

Question 70

Discuss Lewis Binford's position on hominin research.

Question 71

Compare two different hypotheses that attempt to explain the origins of hominin bipedalism.  How secure do you think the evidence is to verify either view?

Question 72

Explain the biostratigraphy  dating technique and how it differs from other methods.