Deck 10: Early Hominid Origins and Evolution: The Roots of Humanity

Question 1

In 1959,Louis Leakey described the first specimen of Australopithecus ever discovered.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The earliest hominids probably lived in which kind of environment?

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

Answer 2

complex hybrid habitats

Question 3

In which of the following species would you expect to find a large projecting canine tooth with a sharp edge on its back?

A)modern human
B)Australopithecus afarensis
C)Australopithecus boisei
D)gorillas

Answer 3

gorillas

Question 4

Owen Lovejoy's model for the origin of bipedalism focuses on:

A)dispersing heat away from the body.
B)males provisioning females and young.
C)reaching for food in high places.
D)making and using stone tools.

Question 5

In addressing bipedalism's origin,Darwin focused on:

A)hunting.
B)females' ability to carry babies.
C)body temperature control (thermoregulation).
D)parasite reduction.

Question 6

The fossil nicknamed "Lucy" is a member of which species?

A)Australopithecus anamensis
B)Ardipithecus ramidus
C)Australopithecus afarensis
D)Australopithecus africanus

Question 7

At which site would you be most likely to find fossil remains of Australopithecus africanus?

A)Sterkfontein,South Africa
B)Hadar,Ethiopia
C)Laetoli,Tanzania
D)Swartkrans,South Africa

Question 8

Early hominids display the same high level of sexual dimorphism in body size as living gorillas and living orangutans do.

Question 9

The oldest known possibly bipedal hominid genus is:

A)Sahelanthropus.
B)Australopithecus.
C)Homo.
D)Ardipithecus.

Question 10

Direct radiometric dating of volcanic rocks provides very accurate ages for many East African Rift Valley hominid sites.

Question 11

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

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

Question 12

The oldest recognizable artifacts are simple stone tools dating to about 2.6 mya and are referred to as the Oldowan Complex.

Question 13

The earliest hominids had very large canine teeth,similar to a male chimpanzee's.

Question 14

All the early hominids from Africa older than 2 million years possessed small brains,the size of apes'.

Question 15

Bipedal locomotion preceded the appearance of large brains during the course of hominid evolution.

Question 16

Each of the following traits is found in a bipedal hominid EXCEPT:

A)a wide,short pelvis.
B)a big toe in line with the other toes.
C)an angled thigh bone.
D)a foramen magnum far back on the skull.

Question 17

The only pre-Australopithecine found outside the East African Rift Valley is:

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

Question 18

The fossils from Piltdown,England,represent some of the most important evidence for the evolution of early humans in Europe.

Question 19

Fossil remains of the pre-australopithecines are found throughout most of the Old World,from Africa to East Asia.

Question 20

The first hominids appeared in Africa about 2-3 mya.

Question 21

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 22

Among living nonhuman primates,which is Homo sapiens' closest relative?

A)baboon
B)gorilla
C)orangutan
D)chimpanzee

Question 23

The Laetoli site,in Tanzania,is most famous for:

A)the discovery of "Lucy."
B)preserving fossil hominid footprints.
C)huge caches of stone tools.
D)a collection of robust australopithecine fossils.

Question 24

Rodman and McHenry's hypothesis to account for the success of the bipedal adaptation in early hominids involves mainly:

A)keeping cool in the heat of the day out on the savanna.
B)males provisioning females and young.
C)energetic efficiency in moving between patches of forest.
D)freeing of the hands to make stone tools.

Question 25

Which of the following would NOT be part of an Oldowan toolkit?

A)simple stone flakes
B)rounded and pitted hammerstones
C)crude core pieces
D)long,sharp blades

Question 26

In examining the bones of AL-288 ("Lucy"),which trait would you NOT expect to find?

A)a brain the size of a chimp's
B)long,curved finger bones and toe bones
C)long legs
D)large molar teeth (as compared to a modern human's)

Question 27

Which of the following hominids had a brain significantly larger than a chimpanzee's?

A)Australopithecus afarensis
B)Sahelanthropus tchadensis
C)Kenyanthropus platyops
D)none of the above

Question 28

The australopithecine lineage went extinct about:

A)0.5 mya.
B)1 mya.
C)2 mya.
D)3 mya.

Question 29

Some australopithecines are referred to as "robust" because:

A)their cranial capacity had increased dramatically.
B)they were much taller than their ancestors.
C)they were probably much hairier than their ancestors.
D)they possessed very large molar teeth and chewing muscles.

Question 30

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 hominid fossil record 3.5 mya.
D)it probably lived in woodlands.

Question 31

Which of the following species is a good candidate for being directly ancestral to Australopithecus afarensis?

A)Australopithecus africanus
B)Kenyanthropus platyops
C)Sahelanthropus tchadensis
D)Australopithecus anamensis

Question 32

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 33

At which Ethiopian site has the skeleton of a three-year-old Australopithecus afarensis been recovered?

A)Dikika
B)Hadar
C)Aramis
D)Omo

Question 34

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

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

Question 35

Which early hominid genus differs from all others in having a thin layer of enamel on its teeth as apes do?

A)Kenyanthropus
B)Ardipithecus
C)Australopithecus
D)Orrorin

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT considered a robust australopithecine?

A)Australopithecus boisei
B)Australopithecus anamensis
C)Australopithecus aethiopicus
D)Australopithecus robustus

Question 37

The only early hominid that lacks the thick enamel coating on its teeth typical of other hominids is:

A)Australopithecus.
B)Sahelanthropus.
C)Ardipithecus.
D)Orrorin.

Question 38

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 39

The hyoid bone of the juvenile Australopithecus afarensis fossil suggests that this species probably couldn't:

A)speak like a modern human.
B)walk on two legs over long distances.
C)climb trees very effectively.
D)eat tough,fibrous foods.

Question 40

Australopithecus (Kenyanthropus)platyops is distinct from contemporary Australopithecus afarensis in having:

A)a much larger body size.
B)greater cranial capacity.
C)a flatter face.
D)bigger molar teeth.

Question 41

Describe in detail three theories aiming to explain the adaptive success of bipedal locomotion.

Question 42

Geologically speaking,why is East Africa's Great Rift Valley such an important region for conducting paleoanthropological research?

Question 43

A pre-australopithecine most likely has which of the following characteristics?

A)nonhoning chewing,vestigial apelike traits,increased brain size
B)modified honing chewing,vestigial apelike traits,increased brain size
C)modified honing chewing,vestigial apelike traits,small brain size
D)nonhoning chewing,loss of apelike traits,small brain size

Question 44

The discovery and scrutiny surrounding Eoanthropus dawsoni is an excellent example of the utility of:

A)flourine analysis to detect teeth that have been physically altered.
B)using preconceived ideas of human evolutionary patterns to identify potential hominid species.
C)the scientific method as a way of continually challenging existing data and theory.
D)only using fossils from African field sites to address human evolution.

Question 45

Name and briefly describe five key traits of modern humans that the living great apes do not display.

Question 46

Explain why the infamous skull of Piltdown Man,although proven to be a fake in the early 1950s,nonetheless represents an important example of the scientific method in action.

Question 47

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

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

Question 48

Which hominid has the largest molar teeth?

A)Kenyanthropus platyops
B)Australopithecus afarensis
C)Sahelanthropus tchadensis
D)Australopithecus boisei

Question 49

Imagine you are a paleontologist working in the field and you come across a skeleton of what you think might be an early hominid.What skeletal features would you look for to demonstrate that the creature walked bipedally?

Question 50

The early hominids from Chad (Sahelanthropus tchadensis)are very important because they:

A)span a nearly 3-million-year period.
B)provide evidence of hominid evolution 2,000 km (1,243 mi)from the Rift Valley.
C)were small-brained,bipedal creatures.
D)lived in savanna environments.

Question 51

The first person to demonstrate the detailed anatomical similarity between human beings and African apes through careful comparative dissections was:

A)Charles Darwin.
B)Thomas Huxley.
C)Georges Cuvier.
D)Richard Owen.

Question 52

Your friend is asking your opinion on a recent hominid fossil he heard about on the news.He is unable to remember the species name but knows that it lacked the specialized teeth seen in living apes,had elongated toes,an opposable big toe,and was part of a multidisciplinary study that reconstructed the early hominids' habitat.The fossil he is referring to is most likely:

A)Homo floresiensis.
B)Ardipithecus kadabba.
C)Sahelanthropus tchadensis.
D)Ardipithecus ramidus.

Question 53

The large brain is often considered a hallmark of modern humans and our hominid ancestors;however,it is not one of the characteristics thought to be obligate when discussing hominids.An obligate behavior of hominids is:

A)presence of material culture.
B)bipedal locomotion.
C)speech.
D)honing chewing.

Question 54

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

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

Question 55

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

A)1 mya.
B)2 mya.
C)500,000 years ago.
D)4 mya.