Deck 10: Homo Erectus and Archaic Homo Sapiens

Question 1

Analysis of various skull measurements from Asian and African Homo erectus by Andrew Kramer strongly suggests that

A) all Asian and African specimens should be classified as Homo ergaster.
B) all specimens older than one million years are Homo erectus, while those younger than one million years are Homo ergaster.
C) all Asian specimens are Homo ergaster and all African specimens are Homo erectus.
D) all African specimens are Homo ergaster and all Asian specimens are Homo erectus.
E) Asian and African hominids from 1.8 million years to 500,000 years ago are all Homo erectus.

Answer 1

Asian and African hominids from 1.8 million years to 500,000 years ago are all Homo erectus.

Question 2

The only source of change in mitochondrial DNA is

A) crossing over.
B) genetic drift.
C) natural selection.
D) random mutation.
E) meiosis.

Answer 2

random mutation.

Question 3

The Moula-Guercy site in France provides possible evidence for

A) cannibalism among Neanderthals.
B) warfare between Neanderthals and modern humans.
C) interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans.
D) big game hunting by Neanderthals.
E) seasonal subsistence strategies by Neanderthals.

Answer 3

cannibalism among Neanderthals.

Question 4

The Olorgesailie site in Kenya shows possible evidence of

A) warfare.
B) control of fire by Australopithecines.
C) Oldowan stone tool production.
D) co-operative hunting by Homo erectus.
E) ritual by Homo erectus.

Question 5

A technique Homo erectus seems to have used for hunting large games was

A) to surround their prey and shoot arrows at it from a safe distance.
B) to drive the prey into a lake or river so it would drown.
C) to drive the prey into a swampy area, where it would get "bogged down" and be easier to kill.
D) to stampede their prey off a cliff, so that the fall would kill or critically injure the prey.
E) to use domesticated dogs to chase down the prey.

Question 6

The evolutionary transition from Homo erectus to Archaic Homo sapiens may have begun

A) 1.5 million years ago.
B) 1.0 million years ago.
C) 750,000 years ago.
D) 500,000 years ago.
E) 200,000 years ago.

Question 7

In eastern Africa, Homo erectus co-existed with at least one other species of hominid.

Question 8

Which of the following is not true of the Terra Amata site near Nice, France?

A) The site was occupied in the late fall, judging by the remains of acorns found in fossilized human feces.
B) The site shows evidence of small huts, about 4.5 m by 9 m, having been constructed.
C) A basic feature of each hut was a hearth.
D) The occupants gathered shellfish, did some fishing, and hunted both small and large game.
E) Debris in some of the huts is evidence of stone tool manufacturing.

Question 9

The migration of Homo erectus out of Africa around 2 million years ago was preceded by the migration of Homo habilis almost 250,000 years earlier.

Question 10

Several caves sites in the Mount Carmel region of Israel contain evidence of

A) warfare between Neanderthals and modern humans.
B) both Neanderthal and modern human occupation.
C) ritual burial by Neanderthals.
D) a cave bear skull cult.
E) altruism in Neanderthals.

Question 11

The oldest Acheulian tools thus far found date back to about

A) 1.5 million years ago.
B) 1.8 million years ago.
C) 2.5 million years ago.
D) 1.0 million years ago.
E) 2.0 million years ago.

Question 12

Compared to Homo habilis, Homo erectus had

A) relatively big teeth, a larger brain and a small stature.
B) relatively small teeth, a similar-sized brain and a similar stature.
C) relatively small teeth, a larger brain and a taller stature.
D) relatively big teeth, a similar-sized brain and a similar stature.
E) relatively big teeth, a larger brain and a taller stature.

Question 13

H. heidelbergensis differs from H. erectus in having

A) smaller teeth.
B) smaller jaws.
C) a smaller brain.
D) All of the above
E) A and B only

Question 14

Stone tools and other cultural artifacts dating from 1.8 million years ago to about 200,000 years ago are assumed to have been produced by

A) Homo habilis.
B) Homo erectus.
C) Neanderthals.
D) Homo heidelbergensis.
E) Archaic Homo sapiens.

Question 15

Lewis Binford suggests that the Klasies River people

A) hunted small grazers and big game.
B) hunted big game.
C) hunted small grazers and scavenged large carnivores.
D) only scavenged for meat.
E) were vegetarian.

Question 16

Which of the following was not part of the Mousterian tool kit?

A) Two-sided arrow.
B) Convergent scraper.
C) Levallois flake.
D) Convex side scraper.
E) Double scraper.

Question 17

The Moro reflex is

A) a gag reflex exhibited by hominins.
B) a residual form of the innate ability to cling during a human infant's first few weeks of life.
C) the tendency for primate infants to keep their heads above water.
D) a tendency to flee when a predator is spotted.
E) an automatic attentiveness that anthropoid infants exhibit toward the sound of their mother's voice.

Question 18

Homo erectus fossils discovered in Africa are classed as

A) Homo erectus.
B) Homo sapiens.
C) Homo rudofensis.
D) Neanderthals.
E) Homo ergaster.

Question 19

Homo heidelbergensis differs from H erectus in having

A) smaller cranial capacity.
B) smaller body size.
C) larger teeth and increased cranial capacity.
D) larger teeth and reduced cranial capacity.
E) smaller teeth and increased cranial capacity.

Question 20

The analysis of the wrist bones of H. floresiensis suggests that

A) they made tools.
B) the made tools more sophisticated than H. erectus.
C) their wrist is the same as modern humans.
D) their wrist is more primitive than modern humans.
E) their wrist is proportionally smaller for body size.

Question 21

von Koenigswald's discovery in Java in the 1930s confirmed Eugene Dubois's speculations about the characteristics of H. erectus.

Question 22

For Africa, the term Middle Stone Age is used instead of Middle Palaeolithic.

Question 23

The Terra Amata site on the French Riviera is the oldest known village.

Question 24

Fossils classified as Homo erectus were not discovered until decades after the discovery of the fossil hominids known as Neanderthals.

Question 25

Endocast evidence suggests hemispheric specialization was not yet present in H. erectus.

Question 26

Outline the evidence suggesting that H. erectus took part in rituals.

Question 27

We still do not know for certain when Homo erectus first used fire in a controlled manner.

Question 28

The structure of the brain of H. floresiensis is similar to that of H. erectus.

Question 29

One apparent change in Homo erectus is a reduction in sexual dimorphism to almost modern human levels.

Question 30

Who were the Denisovans?

Question 31

Taurodontism refers to a reduced pulp cavity seen in H. erectus.

Question 32

Many scholars question whether Homo heidelbergensis represents one or several hominid species.