Deck 12: From Hominin to Homo

Question 1

The openings in the vertebrae of Homo ergaster are

A) smaller than in modern humans.
B) larger than in modern humans.
C) the same size as in modern humans.
D) sometimes larger and sometimes smaller than in modern humans.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A derived feature of Homo ergaster not shared with modern humans is

A) occipital torus.
B) smaller jaws and teeth.
C) a broad, flat face.
D) less prognathism.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Homo ergaster shared important adaptive traits with modern humans, including

A) complex foraging technology.
B) fast life histories.
C) a very large brain for their body size.
D) occipital torus.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Average Homo ergaster brain size was

A) 500 cc.
B) 800 cc.
C) 1,500 cc.
D) 2,000 cc.

Question 5

Homo ergaster males were

A) twice as large as females.
B) 20% to 30% larger than females.
C) about the same size as females.
D) smaller than females.

Question 6

Paleontologists state that Homo ergaster was fully committed to terrestrial life because

A) the teeth of Homo ergaster show evidence of meat eating.
B) sexual dimorphism is reduced in this species.
C) Homo ergaster had the same body proportions as people who live in tropical savannas today.
D) their brain size is larger than the brains of other hominins.

Question 7

Homo ergaster possessed many derived features shared by modern humans, including

A) a taller skull.
B) larger teeth.
C) no chin.
D) small, gracile muscles.

Question 8

Homo ergaster possessed some primitive characteristics of earlier hominids, including

A) a chin.
B) a high forehead.
C) large browridges.
D) postorbital constriction.

Question 9

Homo ergaster disappeared from the African fossil record about

A) 1.6 million years ago.
B) 60,000 years ago.
C) 6,000 years ago.
D) 600,000 years ago.

Question 10

Studies of tooth enamel growth rate indicate that Homo ergaster

A) matured faster than australopiths.
B) matured at the same rate as australopiths.
C) did not have the long childhood of modern humans.
D) had the long childhood of modern humans.

Question 11

Homo ergaster appeared in the fossil record about

A) 180 million years ago.
B) 18 million years ago.
C) 1.8 million years ago.
D) 18,000 years ago.

Question 12

A new species appeared in Africa around 1.8 mya. Called Homo erectus by some paleontologists, others refer to these hominins as Homo ________.

A) rudolfensis
B) heidelbergensis
C) ergaster
D) neanderthalensis

Question 13

Which of the following statements is true regarding the African range of Homo ergaster?

A) H. ergaster specialized in the woodland forests of East Africa.
B) By 1.8 mya, H. ergaster had extended its range to the most northern and southern parts of Africa.
C) H. ergaster could not colonize the high-altitude plateaus of Ethiopia or use the dry edges of the Rift Valley.
D) This species' range encompassed almost the entire continent, which means that it was adapted to a broad range of environmental conditions.

Question 14

________ had large, robust bodies with relatively long arms and legs and may have been adapted to run long distances.

A) Homo habilis
B) Australopithecus africanus
C) Homo ergaster
D) Paranthropus boisei

Question 15

Homo ergaster

A) made Mode 1 technology only.
B) developed more slowly than the australopithecines, but more rapidly than modern humans.
C) had an apelike postcrania with longer arms than legs.
D) lived in shelters made from various materials such as adobe.

Question 16

The large browridges and the ridge at the back of the skull of Homo ergaster are

A) larger in females than in males.
B) needed to buttress the skull against novel stresses created by an increased emphasis on tearing and biting.
C) characteristic of australopithecines as well.
D) smaller than those seen in australopithecines.

Question 17

Homo ergaster and Homo habilis may have coexisted for almost ________ in Africa.

A) 1 million years
B) 500,000 years
C) 3 million years
D) 200,000 years

Question 18

During interglacial periods of the early Middle Pleistocene,

A) the world was drier.
B) temperatures were cooler.
C) glaciers covered Europe and North America.
D) animals moved from Africa to Eurasia.

Question 19

A primitive trait of Homo ergaster is

A) large browridges.
B) a small brain.
C) a vestibular system similar to that of quadrupedal primates.
D) short legs, long arms, and curved fingers.

Question 20

Homo ergaster

A) may not have had spoken language.
B) could walk but not run.
C) was very lean.
D) was highly sexually dimorphic.

Question 21

Primitive features of Homo heidelbergensis include

A) a higher forehead.
B) a chin.
C) a skull with more vertical sides.
D) a large, prognathic face.

Question 22

Acheulean stone tools were

A) varied randomly in size and shape.
B) more standardized than Oldowan tools.
C) probably used mainly for chopping.
D) a Mode 3 technology.

Question 23

Evidence for meat eating by Homo ergaster includes

A) vitamin A poisoning in the KNM-ER 1808 skeleton.
B) controlled use of fire at Homo ergaster sites.
C) carnivore tooth marks on their skeletons.
D) preserved stomach contents in some skeletons.

Question 24

Derived features of Homo heidelbergensis include

A) a larger brain.
B) a prominent occipital bun.
C) a flat back of the skull.
D) a chin.

Question 25

Homo heidelbergensis appeared between

A) 2 and 1 million years ago.
B) 1 million and 10,000 years ago.
C) 800,000 and 500,000 years ago.
D) 400,000 and 10,000 years ago.

Question 26

Which of these is the most widely supported explanation for the small body size and mixture of primitive and derived traits of Homo floresiensis?

A) H. floresiensis is a result of evolutionary dwarfism.
B) H. floresiensis had microcephaly.
C) H. floresiensis had an ancestor older than Homo erectus.
D) H. floresiensis is a hoax.

Question 27

The projecting nose of Homo ergaster may have

A) increased their olfactory ability.
B) decreased the amount of oxygen available in each inhalation.
C) helped to prevent moisture loss.
D) altered the sound of their voices while using language.

Question 28

Homo erectus shares which of the following characteristics with Homo ergaster?

A) Cranial features such as the sagittal keel
B) The mode of tools made
C) Where it lived
D) When it lived

Question 29

The hominins of Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia, are associated with

A) Oldowan tools.
B) Acheulean tools.
C) Levallois tools.
D) Mousterian tools.

Question 30

The average brain size of Homo heidelbergensis was about

A) 700 cc.
B) 1,000 cc.
C) 1,300 cc.
D) 1,500 cc.

Question 31

Evidence that Homo ergaster ate meat includes the fact that

A) their tools were well designed for chopping.
B) their teeth were well designed for shearing.
C) they lived in Africa.
D) Homo ergaster lived in areas where fruits and plant food were not always available.

Question 32

Based on experiments, Acheulean stone tools were probably used

A) to dig for tubers.
B) to scrape bark from trees.
C) to butcher animals.
D) as projectiles in the hunt large animals ("killer Frisbees").

Question 33

Primitive features of Homo heidelbergensis include

A) a receding forehead.
B) a skull that is narrow behind the eyes.
C) thick cranial bones.
D) a sagittal crest.

Question 34

The Dmanisi hominins had the same ________ as modern humans.

A) brain size
B) body size
C) limb proportions
D) growth patterns

Question 35

Because of the finds in Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia, paleoanthropologists know that hominins left Africa by

A) 2.8 mya.
B) 1.8 mya.
C) 1.8 kya.
D) 2,800 ya.

Question 36

Homo erectus was shorter and stockier than Homo ergaster. This morphological difference most likely reflects

A) dietary differences.
B) different climatic adaptations.
C) differences in technological abilities.
D) nonadaptive random differences.

Question 37

Homo heidelbergensis lived in

A) Africa only.
B) Africa and Eurasia.
C) Eurasia only.
D) every continent of the world except Antarctica.

Question 38

The hominin H. heidelbergensis represents

A) a sister group of H. habilis.
B) a species found only in Asia.
C) archaic H. sapiens of the early Middle Pleistocene.
D) a hominin believed to have become extinct about 100,000 years ago.

Question 39

Homo ergaster used

A) Oldowan and Acheulean tools.
B) bone and wood tools but not stone tools.
C) Mousterian tools.
D) the earliest metal tools.

Question 40

Homo ergaster was the first hominin known to have

A) evolved in Africa.
B) used Oldowan tools.
C) lived in Europe.
D) eaten meat.

Question 41

Derived features of the Neanderthals include

A) thin limbs.
B) low, flat crania.
C) gracile faces.
D) large brains.

Question 42

Studies of Neanderthal postcrania indicate that Neanderthals

A) were very robust and heavily muscled.
B) used technology instead of their bodies to deal with the environment.
C) were adapted for interglacial periods.
D) did not have a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Question 43

About 300,000 years ago in Europe some features of H. heidelbergensis included double-arched browridges, average cranial capacity of 1,390 cc, and a face that bulges out, or is prognathic, about midway. These features are shared with

A) H. ergaster
B) H. erectus
C) Neanderthals
D) modern H. Sapiens

Question 44

For most of the last 130,000 years, the global climate has almost always been

A) hotter than at present.
B) colder than at present.
C) about the same as at present.
D) sometimes much hotter and sometimes about the same as present.

Question 45

Neanderthals

A) had short limbs relative to their body size, probably as an adaptation to cold climates.
B) had long limbs relative to body size, probably as an adaptation to warm climates.
C) were the first hominin to be adapted to virtually all climates humans later lived in.
D) were very small owing to their evolution on small islands.

Question 46

The average Neanderthal brain size was about

A) 2,000 cc.
B) 1,520 cc.
C) 1,000 cc.
D) 500 cc.

Question 47

Hominins living in Africa during the later Middle Pleistocene

A) had large cranial volumes ranging from 1,370 to 1,510 cc.
B) had specialized features diagnostic of European Neanderthals.
C) were less like modern hominins than earlier African hominins.
D) date prior to 400 kya.

Question 48

The tools of Homo heidelbergensis are

A) more similar to those of modern humans than to those of Homo erectus.
B) more similar to those of Homo erectus than to those of modern humans.
C) in between those of Homo erectus and modern humans.
D) never made of chipped stone tools.

Question 49

The lifeways of Neanderthals probably included

A) burial of the dead and hunting large game.
B) primarily scavenging for meat, and very little use of plant foods.
C) permanent settlements.
D) limited planting of crops.

Question 50

Evidence suggests that the lifeways of the Neanderthals included

A) organized warfare.
B) limited agriculture.
C) burial of the their dead.
D) permanent settlements.

Question 51

Derived features of the Neanderthals include

A) slim bodies.
B) large front teeth.
C) large brains.
D) very tall skeletons.

Question 52

Neanderthals

A) had relatively short life spans of no more than 45 years and often had injuries such as bone fractures.
B) had relatively short life spans of no more than 45 years and were very healthy, with almost no evidence of injury or disease as shown by their bones.
C) were often killed by large predators, as most of their bones are found in predator lairs and show gnaw marks.
D) are represented by very few bones that tell us very little about their lifeways.

Question 53

Neanderthals are known to have used

A) only Oldowan tools.
B) mostly Acheulean tools.
C) a wide range of Mousterian tools.
D) only wood and bamboo tools.

Question 54

During the height of the last glacial period (around 30 kya),

A) huge continental glaciers covered much of Southern Europe and North Africa.
B) sea levels rose.
C) Eurasia teemed with animals like woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, reindeer, aurochs, musk oxen, and horses.
D) forests expanded in Africa.

Question 55

The first Neanderthal findings were thought to be

A) diseased modern humans.
B) an extinct prehuman animal.
C) an undiscovered living race of people.
D) evidence of H. erectus in Europe.

Question 56

Neanderthal remains date to about

A) 1 million to 10,000 years ago.
B) 500,000 to 100,000 years ago
C) 130,000 to 30,000 years ago.
D) 30,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Question 57

Prepared core tools

A) are classified as Mode 2 technology.
B) include those made by the Acheulean technique.
C) include a variety of different kinds of tools made by modifying the shape of the original core.
D) are associated with all Homo species.

Question 58

Evidence suggests that Homo heidelbergensis

A) hunted large game such as woolly rhinoceros.
B) did not hunt large game.
C) scavenged only small prey.
D) was vegetarian.

Question 59

Neanderthals lived in

A) Europe only.
B) Europe and western Asia.
C) Asia only.
D) Africa and eastern Asia.

Question 60

Derived features of Homo heidelbergensis include

A) thin cranial bones.
B) small browridges.
C) a higher forehead.
D) a sagittal keel.

Question 61

Describe the lifeways of the Neanderthals, comparing them with what is known about contemporary human foragers. Specifically address their behavioral ecology, their diet, and what is known about their culture

Question 62

Which of the following statements can be seen as support for the idea that Homo floresiensis is descended from Homo erectus?

A) The skulls of H. floresiensis share a number of derived characters with H. erectus.
B) A rich fossil record documents a long occupation of nearby mainland areas by H. erectus.
C) Mode 2 tools have been found on Flores and are dated to 500,000 years ago.
D) Adult H. floresiensis look like H. erectus children.

Question 63

Which of the following statements about ancient hominins is NOT true?

A) Homo ergaster lived in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
B) The average brain size of Homo ergaster was 600 cc.
C) The large variation seen in the brain size of Homo ergaster may be indicative of sexual dimorphism.
D) Homo ergaster was taller than modern humans.

Question 64

In what ways does H. ergaster differ from H. sapiens physically and developmentally? What does this evidence suggest about H. ergaster versus human behavior?

Question 65

What is the evidence that led paleoanthropologists to separate African and Asian hominins of the Lower Pleistocene into two separate species, H. ergaster and H. erectus, respectively? Can the same case be made for African and European H. heidelbergensis in contrast to their eastern representatives?

Question 66

Why do anatomists think that Homo ergaster did not have spoken language?

Question 67

Discuss the differences between Mode 1, 2, and 3 stone tool technologies.

Question 68

The rapidly fluctuating climates of the Pleistocene may have caused some populations of hominins to

A) migrate to Africa.
B) become fully isolated and even more specialized.
C) rely on plant foods more.
D) build permanent shelters.

Question 69

Provide three lines of evidence that help evaluate whether or not H. ergaster ate meat. Include evidence from archaeology (artifacts), as well as physical anthropology (the hominin fossils), in addition to comparative and geographical information. Do any of these lines of evidence suggest that they hunted their game?

Question 70

Homo ergaster lived in diverse areas of Africa before extending their range into Eurasia. What does this tell you about this species? What anatomical and behavioral characteristics may have aided the migration of Homo ergaster?

Question 71

What processes may have caused the changes in hominin morphology and technology during the Pleistocene?

Question 72

What is the evidence that Neanderthals took care of the sick and buried their dead?

Question 73

Which of the following statements about ancient hominins is likely true?

A) Homo ergaster possessed thick cranial bones and a sagittal keel.
B) Anatomists are certain that Homo ergaster had spoken language based on evidence from the thoracic vertebra.
C) Homo ergaster may have been the first hominin to control fire.
D) Homo ergaster made Mode 2 tools only.

Question 74

Which of the following is NOT a contributing factor in the current disagreements over how to classify Middle Pleistocene hominins?

A) There are very few fossils of Middle Pleistocene hominins, and no two appear to be from the same species.
B) The time scale of the Middle Pleistocene fossil record is very short, so evolutionary changes may be more subtle than for earlier time periods for which there is less disagreement.
C) Different anthropologists have different ideas about what processes shape human evolution during this period.
D) Regardless of which model is correct, the hominins were distributed over a huge area and may have resided in diverse ecological niches, with changing levels of interaction and isolation among them.

Question 75

________ is used as evidence that Neanderthals did not have modern language.

A) The simplicity of Mode 3 technology
B) The crural index
C) The relatively flat basicranium
D) The reconstruction of past climates

Question 76

Which of the following statements about ancient hominins is NOT true?

A) The use of fire to cook meat and tubers would have increased the foraging efficiency of Homo ergaster.
B) Acheulean tools are made with Mode 2 methods.
C) Homo ergaster males were 20% to 30% smaller than females.
D) The Pleistocene epoch began 1.8 mya and was characterized by warmer temperatures.

Question 77

Genetic data from fossils found at Denisova Cave

A) indicate that Neanderthals and other hominins of the time were genetically isolated.
B) show that the Denisovans, a population that predates 50,000 years, share a common ancestor with Neanderthals postdating the Neanderthal-human split.
C) show that a very small-bodied form of Homo ergaster or erectus evolved in Europe.
D) show that the Denisovans are a form of Neanderthal.