Deck 5: Living Primates: Comparing Monkeys, Apes, and Humans

Question 1

The word primate comes from the Latin for "of the first rank" and was the word Linnaeus used in his taxonomic system because

A) religious authorities demanded that all texts be written in Latin
B) Linnaeus only wrote and conversed in Latin
C) he took for granted the idea that humans were closer to divine powers
D) he wanted to be sure that his system saw the widest possible use and Latin was popular when he created the system

Answer 1

C

Question 2

One important adaptation found in New World monkeys is the presence of

A) a longer thumb
B) a prehensile tail
C) a wet nose
D) color that blends into the surrounding habitat

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Anthropologists often study primates to broaden understanding of

A) the phylogeny of hominoids
B) the genetic makeup of humans and other primates
C) the evolution of social behavior in humans
D) the evolution of tool making in humans

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Ethnoprimatology is an emerging field that studies

A) the interface between human and ape communities
B) differences in the evolutionary trajectories of humans and apes
C) the histories of primate communities, including humans and apes
D) the daily life of apes and monkeys

Question 5

A dominance hierarchy exists when members of the same group have

A) specific individuals who possess greater physical strength than others
B) an agreed upon "pecking order" that allows individuals to mate with others
C) ranking relative to others that establishes access to resources
D) a relationship with other groups that allows them to establish peaceful relations

Question 6

Among the Bonobo chimpanzees, social conflict is often resolved through sexual activity. This is a form of

A) affiliation
B) dominance
C) behavior modification
D) reconciliation

Question 7

Socioecological pressures are forces that modify primate behaviors and can include all of the following except

A) locomotion
B) altruism
C) nutrition
D) competition

Question 8

In some species of primates, females and their relatives and young are socially organized around

A) dimorphic units
B) analogous units
C) dominant units
D) matrifocal units

Question 9

One striking difference between the social behavior found in common chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, and in bonobo chimpanzees, Pan paniscus, is that of

A) foraging strategies
B) dominance relationships
C) sexual relationships
D) fertility signals from females

Question 10

Social behavior patterns observed in one species that look like behavior patterns in another, but which do not arise from a shared ancestry, are known as

A) non-ancestral behaviors
B) homologous behaviors
C) analogous behaviors
D) inherited behaviors

Question 11

For much of its early history, physical anthropology was associated with what methodology?

A) gene decoding
B) facial recognition methodology
C) measurement and classification of skulls according to racial characteristics
D) primatological field studies

Question 12

An example of how modern humans differ from primates is

A) cultural variations in mating patterns
B) intensive caring for the young
C) the importance of social cooperation
D) the use of tools

Question 13

Strepsirrhines are __________ dwelling creatures.

Question 14

Monkeys, apes, and humans are all referred to as __________.

Question 15

Our understanding of the Ebola virus may be improved by research on human-ape interactions, such as that done by __________.

Question 16

Behavioral ecologists call the favoring of a genetic relative over a more distant relative __________.

Question 17

The act of primates leaving their group when they enter reproductive maturity is known as __________.

Question 18

Among the primate Pan paniscus (bonobo chimpanzee), dominance interactions resulting in disputes are often resolved through the use of __________.

Question 19

Most primates rely extensively on their sense of smell.

Question 20

Primates often live in groups in order to avoid predators.

Question 21

It is easy to identify direct causal links between genes and behavior.

Question 22

Behavioral ecology uses a comparative approach to evaluate differences among primates.

Question 23

The term hominine refers to humans and great apes.

Question 24

Primates rely extensively on all the characteristics listed below except

A) manual dexterity
B) stereoscopic vision
C) sense of smell
D) larger brain

Question 25

The anatomy of Haplorrhines is considerably more varied than that of Strepsirrhines in large part because

A) they mature much more rapidly
B) they are more diverse in their lifeways
C) they are subject to a wider range of diseases
D) there are a larger number of different species

Question 26

All the characteristics listed below are common behavior patterns found in all primates except

A) mother-infant bond
B) affiliation and grooming
C) father-son bond
D) cooperation and conflict

Question 27

When children in the United States reach a certain age, they often move out of their parents' home and into their own living space, something anthropologists refer to as

A) dispersal
B) rite of passage
C) leaving home
D) age of consent

Question 28

When behavioral ecologists study socioecological pressures on primates, they are primarily interested in

A) nutrition
B) locomotion
C) predation
D) all of the above

Question 29

The evolution of the tail among New World monkeys reflects an adaptation to their environment and would be of interest to a

A) cultural anthropologist
B) forensic anthropologist
C) evolutionary psychologist
D) behavioral ecologist

Question 30

The concept of costs and benefits is useful to understand

A) the payback associated with an investment
B) energy expenditure in an organism
C) the success of a reproductive strategy
D) whether fitness in an organism is maximized

Question 31

A crucial limitation of cost-benefit analysis in primates is

A) the inability of researchers to discern actual thought processes in non-human primates
B) that it overlooks individual behavior
C) the oversimplification of population dynamics and complexity
D) the environmental changes that are beyond the control of the individual

Question 32

One of the distinguishing features of the different primate groups is

A) the wide genetic disparity found in all higher level primates
B) the characteristics of their social behavior and social organization
C) the extent and scope of sexual dimorphism
D) sizes of populations that live together in groups

Question 33

The term "culture" often implies socially transmitted learning. While such learning has been observed in many different species, including non-primates, a primatologist would likely argue that this learning is different among primates because

A) social learning can only be understood in the context of larger group behavior
B) social learning is entirely context-dependent and cannot be isolated along the lines of a single species
C) social learning in other species is confined to single behaviors
D) non-human species, whether primate or other, do not have the ability to learn and transmit across generations

Question 34

When considering the question "do apes have culture?" anthropologists typically emphasize that culture is more than the transmission of social behaviors across generations and cannot be understood by

A) evaluation of morphological and genetic components of a species
B) universalizing symbolic abstraction
C) changing the language used to describe culture
D) studying behavior alone

Question 35

From the anthropological perspective, culture, paired with language, makes our species distinct because

A) we are able to communicate knowledge that is inaccessible to other organisms and disseminate that knowledge
B) we are able to make tools
C) our morphology, such as an opposable thumb, allows us to manipulate our environment to meet our needs
D) we are able to examine our own past and draw conclusions about our current trajectory, thus effecting change

Question 36

Orangutans and humans are not simply anthropoids but also __________.

Question 37

Differences in height and strength between the males and females of a species are referred to as __________.

Question 38

Among chimpanzee and bonobo populations, tool use is more prolific among __________.

Question 39

Primatologists are unsure if observed patterns of social behavior in humans and chimpanzees are __________ or __________.

Question 40

Old World monkeys are exclusively terrestrial dwellers.

Question 41

Studying both humans and other primates can also include understanding how humans think about other primates.

Question 42

Dominance among primates is an inborn trait.

Question 43

Males and females in a given primate population may be co-dominant.

Question 44

Chimpanzees can suffer from polio. If you wanted to develop a chimpanzee polio vaccine, you would likely discover that

A) the pharmaceutical industry would invest heavily because of the potential for profitability
B) opposition from human polio sufferers would be strong
C) research and testing on apes are tightly regulated by many governments because of their close similarity to humans
D) few people care enough about chimpanzees to worry

Question 45

If you applied a behavioral ecology perspective to understanding a college student's dietary patterns, you would likely be most interested in

A) the wide mix of foods in the cafeteria
B) how much physical effort a student puts in to get food and how many calories they actually consume
C) who students eat with
D) dominance patterns and sexual dimorphism in the cafeteria

Question 46

If you wanted to study pair-bonding among bonobos as a window into understanding the evolution of human pair-bonding, you might encounter some difficulty because

A) bonobos can't talk openly about their relationships and mating habits
B) it is fairly straightforward to secure both permission and funding to study ape mating and pair-bonding
C) the wide range of marriage and kinship patterns among humans undermines any easy comparisons between the species
D) most institutional review boards prohibit the study of ape sexuality and behavior

Question 47

Suppose you wanted to study the reasoning behind why men use a particular hair product to attract sexual partners. As a biological anthropologist, you might be very likely to examine this through the lens of

A) grooming
B) affiliation
C) dominance hierarchy
D) cooperative behavior patterns

Question 48

The difference between a fight or flight response in an antelope and that of a primate can be seen in the latter's exposure to

A) a wider range of threats
B) the continuous presence of threat forces
C) social learning and culture
D) the different ways that the organisms are enculturated

Question 49

In comparing humans, apes, and monkeys, one significant factor that separates humans from both apes and monkeys is

A) differences between male and female sexual behavior
B) differences in susceptibility to disease
C) differences in genetic makeup
D) differences between male and female life patterns

Question 50

Which elements of the ethnographic method might be applicable to the study of monkeys and apes?

Question 51

Could you employ the term "culture" to explain the behavior of Norway rats, who also have socially transmitted learning? Why or why not?

Question 52

Given what you have read and understood about evolution and primates, explain what is meant by the idea of "socially transmitted learning."

Question 53

Behavioral ecology has been used widely to study primates, but do you think it is applicable to the study of human behavior?

Question 54

What does biological anthropology offer us in regards to a deeper understanding of threatened ape species, such as chimpanzees and gorillas, and how it might be possible to lessen the threats against them?

Question 55

Explain how human agriculture and technology make us similar to and different from apes.

Question 56

Recent studies in marine science indicate that the octopus has a sophisticated ability to problem-solve, in some ways parallel with chimpanzees and humans. Although there are obvious morphological differences between primates and octopuses, why might this similarity exist, and what does such evidence suggest about the distinctiveness of primate intelligence?

Question 57

How are humans similar to and distinct from chimpanzees?

Question 58

What meaning and relevance do studies of chimpanzee or gorilla lifeways have in the human world?

Question 59

Anthropologists have ethical concerns about cultural diversity and the vanishing lifeways of threatened peoples. Do anthropologists have a similar moral or ethical responsibility to consider the plight of other species, such as chimpanzees and gorillas, in their efforts to document vanishing lifeways?