Deck 3: Becoming Human

Question 1

Anatomically modern humans are members of the species ___________________________.

A) Homo erectus
B) Homo heidelbergensis
C) Homo naledi
D) Homo sapiens

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to current evidence, ____________________ was the first hominin to leave the African continent.

A) Ardipithecus ramidus
B) Homo erectus
C) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
D) Neandertal man

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of these archaeological regions is located in southern England?

A) Boxgrove
B) Atapuerca
C) Herto
D) Chaco Canyon

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The ____________________ geological epoch began approximately 2.6 million years ago.

A) Miocene
B) Pliocene
C) Pleistocene
D) Holocene

Question 5

Oxygen isotope analysis measures changes in ancient _____________________.

A) acidity
B) brain size
C) technology
D) temperature

Question 6

Which of these hominins has a notable protruding chin?

A) Homo floresiensis
B) Homo sapiens
C) Neandertals
D) Homo erectus

Question 7

The ___________________ site in the Republic of Georgia contained fossils from early Homo erectus.

A) St. Acheul
B) Dmanisi
C) Cro-Magnon
D) Grotte du Renne

Question 8

Homo erectus fossils are found on each of the following continents except______________.

A) Africa
B) Asia
C) Australia
D) Europe

Question 9

The Schöningen site in Germany is best known for _____________________________.

A) Homo floresiensis
B) Oldowan choppers
C) Pan troglodytes
D) wooden spears

Question 10

Engraved red ochre was discovered at Blombos Cave, ______________________.

A) Chad
B) Kenya
C) South Africa
D) Tanzania

Question 11

Homo erectus and Homo sapiens are most anatomically similar______________________.

A) during the Holocene epoch
B) from the neck down
C) in the features of their skulls
D) on the Movius Line

Question 12

Homo erectus appears in Africa about __________________________.

A) 3.75 billion years ago
B) 95,000 years ago
C) 4.4 million years ago
D) 1.9 million years ago

Question 13

Which of these sites covered in Chapter 3 is not located in Africa?

A) Diepkloof Rock Shelter
B) Herto
C) Omo Kibish
D) 'Ubeidiya

Question 14

Which of these sites covered in Chapter 3 is located in Africa?

A) Liang Bua
B) Blombos Cave
C) Zhoukoudian
D) Dmanisi

Question 15

The famous "Nariokotome Boy" is a member of which hominin species?

A) Homo erectus
B) Homo floresiensis
C) Homo neanderthalensis
D) Homo sapiens

Question 16

What is the signature artifact of the Acheulian tool tradition?

A) Sidescraper
B) Leaf-shaped arrow point
C) Wooden spear
D) Bifacial handaxe

Question 17

Members of ____________________ were about 3.5 feet tall.

A) Homo neanderthalensis
B) Gigantopithecus blacki
C) Homo floresiensis
D) All of the above

Question 18

Which of these paleoanthropological sites is located in North America?

A) Pinnacle Point 13B
B) Sangiran
C) Denisova Cave
D) None of the above

Question 19

Homo heidelbergensis appears in Africa about _____________________.

A) 2 million years ago
B) 900,000 years ago
C) 40,000 years ago
D) 20,000 years ago

Question 20

________________ is a special way of knapping a core so that it is shaped in a way that allows the removal of a thin, well-shaped flake.

A) FOXP2
B) Neolithic
C) Levallois
D) Gran Dolina

Question 21

______________________ refers to an archaeological period recognized in Western Eurasia (and sometimes northern Africa)

A) Middle Paleolithic
B) Denali
C) Formative
D) Desert Archaic

Question 22

The Olorgesailie Basin is located in ________________, East Africa.

A) China
B) Kenya
C) Indonesia
D) Morocco

Question 23

Gran Dolina at Atapuerca featured surprising evidence of ________________________.

A) cannibalism
B) farming
C) tool use
D) bipedalism

Question 24

Some archaeologists have speculated that __________________ was used to make tools east of the Movius Line.

A) bamboo
B) diamond
C) red ochre
D) human bone

Question 25

The recent single origin model hypothesizes that modern Homo sapiens evolved once in _____________________.

A) Africa
B) Asia
C) Middle East
D) Zhoukoudian

Question 26

According to the recent single origin model, modern Homo sapiens evolved about ___________________ years ago.

A) 4.6 billion
B) 2 million
C) 1.9 million
D) 200,000

Question 27

__________________ DNA is passed exclusively from mothers to their children and represents maternal lineages.

A) Junk
B) Mitochondrial
C) Mutant
D) Nuclear

Question 28

The __________________ site in Ethiopia yielded fossils of early Homo sapiens.

A) Olduvai Gorge
B) Grotte du Renne
C) Omo Kibish
D) Diepkloof Rockshelter

Question 29

Humans have a ________________ pharynx region than common chimpanzees.

A) softer
B) simpler
C) shorter
D) larger

Question 30

A red pigment called ________________________ may reflect personal ornamentation among Neandertals.

A) ochre
B) Chatelperronian
C) Nassarius
D) Levallois

Question 31

Recent interpretations of archaeological evidence often incorporate DNA evidence.

Question 32

On average, Neandertal brains are slightly larger than those of modern humans.

Question 33

Genetic analysis of a finger bone from Blombos cave revealed a previously unknown hominin.

Question 34

¹⁶O and ¹⁸O represent types of Ochre.

Question 35

FOXP2 is a gene that is associated with language.

Question 36

Homo floresiensis fossils were found at the Liang Bua site in Indonesia.

Question 37

Basal ganglia are part of the larynx associated with language.

Question 38

In 2010 a draft sequence of the Neandertal genome was published.

Question 39

Did Neandertals and modern humans ever interbreed? How do we know?

Question 40

Briefly describe the climate of the Pleistocene. How did this affect hominin migrations?

Question 41

What are foraminifera? Why are they relevant to archaeology and paleoanthropology?

Question 42

What significant find was made at Denisova Cave in Russia?

Question 43

What was unique about the Schöningen spears? How might this find affect archaeological interpretations of stone tools?

Question 44

Should we classify Neandertals as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis or Homo neanderthalensis? What evidence supports your choice?

Question 45

What was the behavioral significance of the engraved red ochre found at Blombos Cave?

Question 46

What are some differences between the chimpanzee and human vocal tracts? How do these differences facilitate human speech?

Question 47

What role does FOXP2 play in our linguistic ability? What does it tell us about Neandertal language?

Question 48

Why are Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis classified as separate species?

Question 49

Describe the assimilation model for the development of modern Homo sapiens. How does this differ from the older multiregional model?

Question 50

Describe two explanations for the small stature of Homo floresiensis. What evidence supports these interpretations?

Question 51

How would you define "modern" human behavior? What material evidence of those behaviors could we seek in the archaeological record?

Question 52

Chapter 3 is titled "Becoming Human," implying a process, not an event. Why is it so difficult to mark a moment in time when we "became human"? How are we a result of cultural mosaic evolution?

Question 53

As detailed in Chapter 3 (box Peopling the Past: Genetics, Neandertals, and Modern Humans, page 77), our understanding of Neandertals is a good example of the scientific method in action. How has science added to, and improved upon, our knowledge of Neandertals-from the earliest fossils found to modern genetics?