Deck 2: Human Origins: 7 Million to 19 Million Years Ago

Question 1

__________ was the first to question the nature of the relationship between humans and their relatives, the chimpanzees and gorillas.

A) Stephen Jay Gould
B) Louis Leakey
C) Charles Darwin
D) Thomas Huxley

Answer 1

D

Question 2

__________ are periods during the Pleistocene where the climate was as warm or warmer than that of today.

A) Heat waves
B) Interglacials
C) Glaciers
D) Global Warmings

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Fluctuations in the earth's climate during the Pleistocene are thought to be due to __________.

A) astronomical changes
B) methane gases
C) chlorofluorocarbons
D) volcanic eruptions

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following primates are included in the anthropoid suborder?

A) tarsiers
B) humans, apes, and monkeys
C) lemurs
D) indris

Question 5

Aegyptopithecus dates to the __________ epoch.

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

Question 6

Proconsul and Kenyapithecus date to the __________ epoch.

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

Question 7

It has been shown that chimpanzees share __________ percent of their genetic makeup with humans.

A) 25
B) 50
C) 75
D) 99

Question 8

Adaptive problems faced by early hominids include all of the following EXCEPT __________.

A) competition from predators
B) being large mammals
C) being terrestrial primates
D) living in a savanna environment

Question 9

The hominid found dating between 6 and 7 mya with a mix of ape-like and human-like
Characteristics is __________.

A) Sahelanthropus tchadensis (Toumaï)
B) Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy)
C) Ardipithecus ramidus
D) Australopithecus anamensis

Question 10

The important fossil nicknamed Lucy is a(n) __________ dating to 3.18 mya.

A) Australopithecus anamensis
B) Homo erectus
C) Australopithecus afarensis
D) Homo habilis

Question 11

At the site of __________ in northern Tanzania, there is evidence of bipedalism preserved in volcanic ash dating to 3.75 - 3.9 mya.

A) Olduvai
B) Koto Toro
C) Laetoli
D) Hadar

Question 12

Around 3 million years ago, the Australopithecus line split into two distinct lineages. The __________ australopithecines had small, delicate features and were found only in South Africa.

A) female
B) gracile
C) robust
D) garhi

Question 13

Around 3 million years ago, the Australopithecus line split into two distinct lineages. The __________ australopithecines were found in both East and South Africa and had a heavy build with specialized teeth.

A) gracile
B) male
C) robust
D) anamensis

Question 14

The find associated with bones displaying cut marks suggests meat eating by the __________ may have occurred earlier than previously thought.

A) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
B) Australopithecus afarensis
C) Homo erectus
D) Australopithecus garhi

Question 15

The first member of the Homo lineage was __________.

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

Question 16

Which of the following is an explanation for concentrations of bones and stone tools dating to the time of Homo habilis?

A) central places where hominids would return to eat, sleep, make tools, and socialize
B) formation of elaborate hunting parties
C) all of the bones are found in animal dens or caves
D) reduction in brain size leading to less social intelligence

Question 17

The stone tool industry associated with early Homo is __________.

A) Mousterian
B) Acheulian
C) Upper Paleolithic
D) Oldowan

Question 18

According to __________, the flakes were more important in Oldowan technology than the cores.

A) Leakey
B) Toth
C) Roche
D) Walker

Question 19

By examining living primates, Robin Dunbar was able to determine that __________ was related to brain size.

A) group size
B) climate
C) tool use
D) degree of sexual dimorphism

Question 20

Most archaeological evidence for Homo habilis indicates they lived near __________.

A) permanent water sources
B) mountains
C) ice sheets
D) rain forests

Question 21

Advantages of large group size in Homo habilis include __________.

A) protection against carnivores and the ability to cover a larger area in searching for food
B) the ability to provide physical defense against carnivores while searching for food
C) more individuals to babysit while females hunted
D) better protection by some group members sitting watch in trees

Question 22

In the 1960s, the Gardeners taught a chimpanzee named __________ how to communicate via American Sign Language (ASL).

A) Kanzi
B) Washoe
C) Nim Chimpski
D) Koko

Question 23

One way to determine the position of the larynx in fossils is by the __________.

A) length of the neck
B) size of the hyoid bone
C) shape of the base of the skull
D) shape of the lower jaw

Question 24

Due to a longer period of brain growth, infant dependency of Homo habilis would have been __________ that of chimpanzees.

A) the same as
B) greater than
C) shorter than
D) less than

Question 25

Discuss the skeletal and archaeological lines of evidence that suggest that Australopithecus afarensis (Lucy) was bipedal.

Question 26

List the four criteria used to assign a fossil into the genus Homo. Are any of these criteria controversial? Why?

Question 27

Discuss the differences in tool use between chimpanzees and Homo habilis.