Deck 10: Early Hominin Origins and Evolution: the Roots of Humanity

Question 1

Based on the morphology of the hand phalanx, Orrorin tugenensis lived in a:

A)dry savanna.
B)woodland environment.
C)jungle environment.
D)forest environment.

Answer 1

forest environment.

Question 2

Bipedalism's advantages over quadrupedalism include:

A)an increased ability to see greater distances.
B)running faster.
C)ease of transporting food.
D)both a.and c.

Answer 2

both a.and c.

Question 3

Based on the research of Philip Reno, early hominins show reduced sexual dimorphism, which is evidence for cooperation and likely for:

A)monogamy.
B)multifamily grouping.
C)pair bonding.
D)multimale grouping.

Answer 3

pair bonding.

Question 4

Which of the following is a derived trait of Sahelanthropus tchandensis?

A)big toe opposability
B)larger body size
C)length of the calcaneus
D)nonhoning chewing complex

Question 5

Hominins have canines that are:

A)small, blunt, and nonprojecting, with no diastema.
B)large and pointed, with a diastema.
C)projecting, with a diastema.
D)part of a honing complex.

Question 6

The patchy forest hypothesis proposes that forests:

A)became patchy and food more dispersed.
B)became lush woodlands.
C)became wet and swamp-like.
D)did not change.

Question 7

Two types of australopithecines were using two different types of locomotion in East Africa:

A)one was a quadruped and the other a leaper.
B)one was a clinger and the other a climber.
C)one was a knuckle walker and the other a quadruped.
D)one was a climber and the other a biped.

Question 8

Thick dental enamel in _______ helps with crushing food.

A)apes
B)australopithecines
C)humans
D)eosimians

Question 9

Ecological evidence from the site where Ardi was found shows that early hominins:

A)lived in a lush jungle.
B)lived in a savanna.
C)lived in a forest.
D)migrated out of the area due to drought.

Question 10

A hominin is defined as having the following two obligate behaviors:

A)speech and advanced cognition.
B)bipedal locomotion and nonhoning chewing complex.
C)bipedal locomotion and speech.
D)nonhoning chewing complex and advanced cognition.

Question 11

Using tools and toolmaking is an adaptation by hominins linked to:

A)improved diet.
B)bipedalism.
C)sleeping.
D)becoming larger.

Question 12

Owen Lovejoy's provisioning hypothesis proposes that:

A)bipedalism meant less body surface to expose to the sun, resulting in a smaller body size.
B)monogamy and food provisioning created the necessity for bipedalism.
C)bipedalism arose in areas where the forest was disappearing.
D)bipedalism arose as a result of a shift to hunting as a primary source of food.

Question 13

Ardi was adapted to life in trees and:

A)on the ground.
B)in the desert.
C)near water.
D)both b.and c.

Question 14

The foundational behavior of hominins was:

A)hunting.
B)tool use.
C)bipedalism.
D)speech.

Question 15

Ardi's intermediate form of bipedality included the use of:

A)longer hind limbs for clinging and leaping.
B)palms and feet to move along tree branches.
C)long phalanges to wrap around tree branches.
D)a tail.

Question 16

The first recognizable ancestors of the lineage leading to humans include:

A)Australopithecus afarensis.
B)Paranthropus.
C)Sahelanthropus tchandensis.
D)Orrorin tugenensis.

Question 17

An increased ability to see greater distances is one of the adaptations to:

A)bipedalism.
B)diurnal sleeping patterns.
C)improved diet.
D)becoming larger.

Question 18

Which of the following is an adaptive characteristic of bipedalism?

A)opposable thumb
B)nails instead of claws
C)convergent eyes
D)longitudinal arch in the foot

Question 19

Speech, advanced cognition, and complex material culture:

A)do not define a hominin.
B)define a hominin.
C)define a higher primate.
D)did not evolve through the primate lineage.

Question 20

Humans use their molars for:

A)biting.
B)crushing.
C)shearing.
D)mashing.

Question 21

The Oldowan Complex includes tools like:

A)hand axes, flakes, and cores.
B)cobbles, flakes, and side scrapers.
C)choppers, cobbles, flakes, and bone tools.
D)choppers, hand axes, and side scrapers.

Question 22

Distinctive traits of robust australopithecines include:

A)small front teeth and large back teeth.
B)a small brain and a large body.
C)a big face and a sagittal crest.
D)both a.and c.

Question 23

The Oldowan Complex is a part of the:

A)Upper Paleolithic.
B)Lower Paleolithic.
C)Eocene.
D)Solutrean.

Question 24

Australopithecus robustus was likely the longest-surviving species of australopithecine in South Africa.It had:

A)a big brain, big teeth, and a big face.
B)large molars, a big face, and a sagittal crest.
C)a large body, large teeth, and a sagittal crest.
D)a big face, large teeth, and a large body.

Question 25

Australopithecus robustus's large masticatory complex (large molars, face, and muscles) indicate an adaptation to:

A)eating hard food with sand in it.
B)eating a great deal of red meat.
C)eating foods requiring heavy chewing.
D)gnawing on bones.

Question 26

The only preaustralopithecine found outside the East African Rift Valley is:

A)Orrorin tugenensis.
B)Ardipithecus kadabba.
C)Sahelanthropus tchadensis.
D)Ardipithecus ramidus.

Question 27

Australopithecus garhi may be the ancestor of:

A)Homo habilis.
B)Australopithecus afarensis.
C)Orrorin tugenensis.
D)Homo sapiens.

Question 28

Along with other distinct traits, robust australopithecines had large _______ adapted for grinding food.

A)premolars and molars
B)temporalis muscles and a sagittal crest
C)front teeth and small back teeth
D)both a.and b.

Question 29

The ravine in northern Tanzania where many early hominin fossils have been recovered (often referred to as the "cradle of humankind") is:

A)Lake Turkana.
B)Olduvai Gorge.
C)Swartkrans.
D)Hadar.

Question 30

The diversity of the hominins included increasingly specialized:

A)locomotion.
B)social patterns.
C)body sizes.
D)diets.

Question 31

The earliest hominins probably lived in which kind of environment?

A)dense tropical forest
B)complex hybrid habitats
C)open savanna grassland
D)arid, high-altitude uplands

Question 32

Robust australopithecines were extinct by:

A)1 mya.
B)3 mya.
C)4 mya.
D)Their lineage continued.

Question 33

The discovery of Kenyanthropus platyops was important mainly because:

A)it had a small brain like an ape's.
B)it was discovered in Kenya.
C)it showed diversity in the hominin fossil record 3.5 mya.
D)it probably lived in woodlands.

Question 34

The adaptive radiation of the australopithecines after their split from the lineage that led to early Homo seems to have focused on:

A)bipedalism.
B)mastication.
C)brain size increase.
D)body size increase.

Question 35

Beginning more than 3 mya, at least two lineages of hominin emerged, one that led to the genus Homo and one that:

A)included the now extinct descendants of Au.afarensis.
B)gave rise to the genus Ardipithecus.
C)was an evolution of other australopithecine lineages.
D)ended with Au.africanus.

Question 36

Fossils attributed to Australopithecus garhi were found at the Bouri site, in Ethiopia, along with:

A)abundant stone tools.
B)animal bones with cutmarks.
C)evidence for early Homo.
D)fossil footprints.

Question 37

The Laetoli footprints demonstrate that the foot of Australopithecus afarensis was humanlike in having a:

A)rounded heel.
B)nondivergent big toe.
C)double arch.
D)all of the above

Question 38

In East Africa robust australopithecines are also called:

A)Orrorin.
B)Sahelanthropus.
C)Gigantopithecus.
D)Paranthropus.

Question 39

In an ape, the space between the upper lateral incisor and the canine that accommodates a large, projecting lower canine is a:

A)dental gap.
B)gingival space.
C)mesial bridge.
D)diastema.

Question 40

Evidence indicating that Orrorin tugenensis was bipedal comes mainly from which part of the skeleton?

A)femur (thighbone)
B)skull
C)foot
D)pelvis

Question 41

The earliest australopithecines first show up in the fossil record more than:

A)0.5 mya.
B)1 mya.
C)2 mya.
D)4 mya.

Question 42

Discuss the Ardipithecus ramidus fossil and its implications for understanding human evolution.

Question 43

You find a fossil that you are sure shows evidence of bipedalism.You know this because which of the following anatomical traits is present?

A)a narrow pelvis
B)a posterior position of the foramen magnum
C)an opposable hallux
D)thighbones that angle in toward the knees

Question 44

Discuss the anatomical changes that occurred in the bipedal hominin and how they reflect certain habitat adaptations, and then discuss the hypotheses that propose why the change occurred.

Question 45

Discuss the two obligate traits, including specific anatomical features, that first emerge in the preaustralopithecines to eventually become firmly established in australopithecines.

Question 46

A preaustralopithecine most likely has which of the following characteristics?

A)nonhoning dentition, primitive apelike traits, and increased brain size
B)modified honing dentition, primitive apelike traits, and increased brain size
C)modified honing dentition, primitive apelike traits, and small brain size
D)nonhoning dentition, loss of apelike traits, and small brain size

Question 47

Australopithecus garhi has been proposed as an ancestor for Homo mainly because it:

A)had a bigger brain than other australopithecines.
B)had smaller molar teeth than other australopithecines.
C)had longer legs relative to arm length than other australopithecines.
D)was bipedal.