Deck 2: Humanitys Roots

Question 1

Modern humans are members of the genus __________________.

A) Australopithecus
B) Ardipithecus
C) Homo
D) Paranthropus

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Ardipithecus ramidus is approximately how old?

A) 100,000 years
B) 1.5 million years
C) 4.4 million years
D) 3.6 billion years

Answer 2

C

Question 3

_____________________: a classification system that divides animal and plant groups into categories based on their evolutionary relationships.

A) Morphology
B) Primatology
C) Taphonomy
D) Taxonomy

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of these species is farthest removed from us in time?

A) Ardipithecus ramidus
B) Australopithecus afarensis
C) Homo habilis
D) Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Question 5

Which of these hominin species was probably the most arboreal?

A) Paranthropus boisei
B) Ardipithecus ramidus
C) Homo habilis
D) Australopithecus africanus

Question 6

Which of these species has the largest average brain size (measured in cubic centimeters)?

A) Homo sapiens
B) Homo habilis
C) Pan troglodytes
D) Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Question 7

Which genus is associated with "robust" features like a sagittal crest and large molars?

A) Ardipithecus
B) Microtus
C) Homo
D) Paranthropus

Question 8

Which primate has been observed "termite fishing" in the wild?

A) Chimpanzees
B) Gibbons
C) Gorillas
D) Orangutans

Question 9

Ancient hominins most likely made tools from:

A) bone.
B) stone.
C) wood.
D) all of the above

Question 10

Prior to recent finds in Ethiopia and Kenya, ____________________ was the oldest known stone tool industry.

A) Acheulian
B) Mousterian
C) Oldowan
D) Solutrean

Question 11

Chapter 2 discusses the ____________________ site at Olduvai Gorge.

A) FLK 22
B) Lomekwi 3
C) Apollo 11 Cave
D) Liang Bua

Question 12

The famous "Lucy" was a member of which species?

A) Australopithecus afarensis
B) Paranthropus robustus
C) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
D) Zea mays

Question 13

Chapter 2 focuses primarily on which hominin characteristic?

A) Absolutism
B) Bipedalism
C) Prognathism
D) Sexual dimorphism

Question 14

To which taxonomic subfamily do you belong?

A) Gorillinae
B) Homininae
C) Pongidae
D) None of the above

Question 15

Modern humans are generally ____________________ the earliest hominins.

A) shorter than
B) taller than
C) the same size as
D) less intelligent than

Question 16

What Tanzanian site included a trail of fossilized Australopithecus afarensis footprints?

A) Laetoli
B) La Venta
C) Lascaux
D) Liang Bua

Question 17

The generic term australopith refers to members of what genus (genera)?

A) Ardipithecus
B) Australopithecus
C) Paranthropus
D) All of the above

Question 18

Which of these hominin species was first discovered in East Asia?

A) Ardipithecus ramidus
B) Australopithecus sediba
C) Homo habilis
D) None of the above

Question 19

Which of these has not been proposed as a mode of subsistence at FLK 22?

A) Active scavenging
B) Farming
C) Hunting
D) Passive scavenging

Question 20

Which of these hominin species was first discovered in Europe?

A) Ardipithecus ramidus
B) Australopithecus afarensis
C) Homo habilis
D) None of the above

Question 21

Oldowan choppers would have been particularly useful for _________________________.

A) breaking open bones for marrow
B) throwing at fast-moving prey
C) scraping hair off of hides
D) scaring away carnivores

Question 22

_____________________ occurs when individuals from two different groups within the same species mate and produce offspring.

A) Gene flow
B) Genetic drift
C) Mutation
D) Natural selection

Question 23

______________________ is when a change occurs in a gene or when other types of errors occur in chromosomes (long strands of genes).

A) Gene flow
B) Genetic drift
C) Mutation
D) Natural selection

Question 24

______________________ is most easily seen when populations become isolated from one another. For example, if a small group moves to a new area, the genes present in that group represent only a sample of the total genes present in their original population.

A) Gene flow
B) Genetic drift
C) Mutation
D) Natural selection

Question 25

During the late Miocene, much of Africa became ______________ and ________________.

A) drier; less forested
B) drier; more forested
C) wetter; less forested
D) wetter; more forested

Question 26

According to one model, the LCA species split into small groups, which remained _________________, and large groups, which became _______________________.

A) bipedal; quadrupedal
B) carnivorous; herbivorous
C) quadrupedal; bipedal
D) terrestrial; arboreal

Question 27

Where is the sagittal crest located?

A) Ethiopia
B) Finger bones
C) Pelvis
D) Skull

Question 28

Chapter 2 describes members of the genus Paranthropus as our evolutionary____________.

A) ancestors
B) children
C) cousins
D) siblings

Question 29

A site in the Dikika area of Ethiopia featured animal bones with cut marks dating to ____________________ years ago.

A) 6000
B) 40,000
C) 2.18 million
D) 3.39 million

Question 30

Hominin fossils have been found in each of these regions except ___________________.

A) Central Africa
B) East Africa
C) South Africa
D) West Africa

Question 31

The foramen magnum is located in the pelvis.

Question 32

The last common ancestor (LCA) of panins and hominins lived about 6.3 - 5.4 million years ago.

Question 33

The first fossils of Australopithecus africanus were found at the Taung site in South Africa.

Question 34

The oldest hominin fossils are found in Asia.

Question 35

One of the ancestors of Homo sapiens is Pan paniscus.

Question 36

The LCA lived during the miocene.

Question 37

Tribe Panini includes all of the following: bonobos, common chimpanzee, and orangutans.

Question 38

The most remarkable part of "Ardi's" skeletal structure was a grasping big toe.

Question 39

The Oldowan tool industry includes arrowheads.

Question 40

Natural selection is based on the principle that certain features are selected for, selected against, or are neutral.

Question 41

What archaeological evidence supports pre-Homo tool use?

Question 42

Describe the concept of mosaic evolution using examples from the text.

Question 43

What do we know about the diet of the genus Paranthropus? What evidence are these interpretations based on?

Question 44

What kinds of tool use have been observed among modern primates (humans excluded)?

Question 45

What do Oldowan tools reveal about the cognitive capacity of Homo habilis?

Question 46

Can you briefly explain why we are not descended from chimpanzees?

Question 47

We often describe hominin skulls in terms of how "ape-like" or "human-like" they are. What are some ape-like features of early hominin skulls?

Question 48

How might bipedalism aided in the thermoregulation of early hominins?

Question 49

Describe the evolutionary process of genetic drift.

Question 50

What is the purpose of taxonomy?

Question 51

Chapter 2 discusses several possible explanations for the origin of bipedalism. What do you think was the most significant advantage bipedalism provided for our ancestors? What evidence supports your choice?

Question 52

Natural selection is a relatively simple, but often misunderstood, evolutionary process. How would you explain it, simply yet accurately, to someone who has no previous experience with biology?

Question 53

Bones may be transported and modified by many natural and cultural processes. What are some ways that archaeologists can discern natural patterning from cultural patterning?

Question 54

Imagine that modern humans had all of the attributes that we actually have, but were fully quadrupedal. Would life as we know it be possible? How would the world be a different place?

Question 55

The paleoanthropological record is dominated by stone. Do you think our ideas about early hominin culture would change if we had perfect preservation of all materials? How so?