Deck 6: Evolution: The Large-Brained Primate

Question 1

Piltdown Man, a fraudulent fossil, was accepted as authentic mostly because:

A) it turns out to have looked like authentic fossils found later
B) no one had the scientific knowledge at the time to expose it
C) it fulfilled expectations of what the earliest human should look like
D) it had such a humanlike jaw and teeth

Answer 1

it fulfilled expectations of what the earliest human should look like

Question 2

Which is the best explanation for the origin of the New World primates?

A) they evolved from New World prosimians
B) they evolved completely separately from Old World primates
C) they are a different branch of evolution from all the other primates
D) they descended from primates that "rafted" from Africa to South America

Answer 2

they descended from primates that "rafted" from Africa to South America

Question 3

Early apes were found in all the following EXCEPT:

A) Asia
B) Africa
C) Europe
D) North America

Answer 3

North America

Question 4

Lucy is considered to be a hominin because:

A) her brain is larger than an apes
B) her teeth are completely modern
C) her body proportions are like a modern human's
D) she was habitually bipedal

Question 5

The latest evidence suggests that bipedal locomotion may have first evolved:

A) on the open savannas of Africa
B) in the forests of East Africa
C) in a mixed savanna / forest environment
D) along the coastal plains of South Africa

Question 6

At present, the earliest proposed hominin fossil is:

A) Australopithecus afarensis
B) Orrorin tugenensis
C) Sahelanthropus tchadensis
D) Homo erectus

Question 7

The first well-established hominin fossils are placed in genus ________.

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

Question 8

The major difference between members of genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus is in:

A) brain size
B) body size
C) tool making ability
D) robusticity of chewing area and chewing muscles

Question 9

The evolution of genera Paranthropus and Homo may have been a response to:

A) an expansion of the dry savannas
B) an expansion of the tropical forests
C) a climatic trend toward wetter environmental conditions
D) the advance of the Pleistocene glaciers

Question 10

The earliest members of genus Homo were placed in that genus because of their:

A) large body size
B) increased brain size
C) modern body proportions
D) use of fire

Question 11

Culturally, the earliest members of genus Homo are associated with:

A) modern-like human language
B) the use of fire
C) big game hunting
D) the first stone tools

Question 12

A major use of stone tools for early Homo which has left concrete evidence is:

A) to cut wood for weapons and shelter
B) to aid in dismembering scavenged carcasses for meat
C) to create sparks for fires
D) to make sharp, pointed weapons for territorial defense

Question 13

Physically, the Homo erectus stage is NOT characterized by:

A) modern brain size
B) modern body size
C) modern body proportions
D) an increase in brain size over earlier hominids

Question 14

Fossils of Homo erectus are first found:

A) 100,000 years ago in Java
B) 1.8 million years ago in Europe
C) 1.8 million years ago in Africa
D) 2.6 million years ago in Africa

Question 15

Homo erectus is the first hominid to:

A) expand out of Africa
B) make stone tools
C) achieve modern brain size
D) walk upright

Question 16

Which of the following cultural achievements is NOT associated with Homo erectus?

A) first use of fire
B) the hand axe
C) use of flake tools
D) building of shelters

Question 17

Fossils of Homo erectus are found:

A) all over the Old World
B) only in Africa
C) only in Africa and Java
D) worldwide

Question 18

The author of the text suggests that the most important use of fire by Homo erectus was:

A) as a source of heat
B) for cooking meat
C) protection from animals
D) as a source of light, a social focus, and a sense of mastery over nature

Question 19

Archaic Homo sapiens are given the prefix "archaic" because:

A) they still had small brains
B) their average body size was smaller than modern humans'
C) cultural evidence shows they were not as smart as we are
D) they retained some primitive physical features of the skull

Question 20

Archaic Homo sapiens, despite the prefix "archaic," are placed in our species because:

A) they had modern sized brains
B) they devised writing systems
C) they left obvious evidence of religious beliefs
D) they looked just like modern humans

Question 21

The famous group of fossil humans known as the Neandertals is considered by the text to be included in:

A) Homo erectus
B) archaic Homo sapiens
C) anatomically modern Homo sapiens
D) Australopithecus

Question 22

The short stature and stockiness of the Neandertals has been interpreted as:

A) a result of poor nutrition
B) a result of their hard-working lifestyle
C) an adaptation to cold climate
D) an adaptation to hot climate

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT associated with the material culture of the Neandertals?

A) use of hafting
B) stone blades with artistic rather than utilitarian use
C) retouching of flakes produced by the Levallois technique
D) woodworking and antler carving

Question 24

Anatomically modern Homo sapiens first appear in the fossil record:

A) 1.8 million years ago
B) 500,000 years ago
C) 300,000 years ago
D) 25,000 years ago

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT associated with the evolution of anatomically modern Homo sapiens?

A) artistically-made stone tools
B) big game hunting
C) artistic carvings and cave paintings
D) the first use of fire

Question 26

To what sort of environment and behavior might the primate traits of prehensile hands and feet and stereoscopic vision have first been adaptive?

Question 27

What is the latest thinking on the origin of the primates of the New World?

Question 28

Lucy and her kin have been described as "bipedal apes."
What do we mean by this?

Question 29

Why is Lucy included in tribe Hominini?

Question 30

What four benefits was bipedalism thought to have conferred to the early hominins on the savannas of Africa?

Question 31

Latest evidence shows that bipedalism probably first arose in what sort of environment?

Question 32

Distinguish between members of genus Australopithecus and Paranthropus in terms of time, location, and physical features.

Question 33

What was robust about members of genus Paranthropus, the so-called robust early hominins? What evidence do we have for the adaptive significance of these traits?

Question 34

The earliest members of genus Homo are placed in this genus because of what traits or behaviors?

Question 35

Why is the finding of tools made of stone so important in the study of paleoanthropology?

Question 36

Evidence suggests that the stone tools of early Homo were important for what adaptive behavior?

Question 37

What role does the distinction between "lumpers"
and "splitters"
play in the analysis of fossils from the latest two million years of hominin evolution?

Question 38

Locate Homo erectus in time and space and briefly give a physical description.

Question 39

What needs may account for why Homo erectus spread so rapidly throughout Africa and into the rest of the Old World?

Question 40

Describe the Pleistocene and tell what effects it had on the evolution and spread of genus Homo.

Question 41

What were the possible uses of controlled fire for early humans? Which of these does the text feel is, in broad perspective, the most important?

Question 42

What is the evidence cited in the text for a complex communication system among Homo erectus?

Question 43

Why are archaic Homo sapiens included in our species? What then, is "archaic"
about them?

Question 44

Locate the Neandertals in space and time and give a brief physical description.

Question 45

What evidence do we have for biological adaptive traits among the Neandertals?

Question 46

What evidence do we have for the presence of abstract thought among the Neandertals?

Question 47

When did anatomically modern Homo sapiens appear and what behavior traits are associated with early members of this group?

Question 48

What is the Levallois tool making technique? When does it date to?

Question 49

What are ground stone tools? What are their benefits?

Question 50

In what form does the earliest concrete evidence of abstract thought appear?

Question 51

What are the hypothesized functions of the Upper Paleolithic cave paintings from France and Spain?

Question 52

What do we know about the possible new hominins from Indonesia and what are the current interpretations of those fossils?