Deck 12: The Origins,evolution,and Dispersal of Modern People

Question 1

In the study of human evolution,scientists define modern in terms of:

A)a series of distinctive anatomical traits that contrast with archaic traits from earlier hominins.
B)a designated timeframe between the Upper and Lower Paleolithic.
C)a series of anatomical traits that distinguish Cro-Magnon features from Neandertal's.
D)traits like large browridges,large nasal sinuses,and a large masticatory complex.

Answer 1

a series of distinctive anatomical traits that contrast with archaic traits from earlier hominins.

Question 2

The Middle Paleolithic is associated with ________ tools,which Neandertals produced.

A)blade
B)Acheulean
C)flake
D)Mousterian

Answer 2

Mousterian

Question 3

What is the name of the European archaeological period that is marked by a great increase in technology and various kinds of art and that was underway around 45,000-35,000 yBP?

A)the Later Stone Age
B)the Upper Paleolithic period
C)the Neolithic period
D)the Eurocentric period

Answer 3

the Upper Paleolithic period

Question 4

What makes the hominin remains from Gran Dolina Cave,Atapuerca,of special interest to anthropologists?

A)The small size of the new species of Homo erectus found here demonstrates the effects of evolving on an isolated island.
B)Several of the bones have cutmarks,which most likely represents some sort of ritual or ceremonial treatment of the dead.
C)Some of the bones have many cutmarks,indicating butchering and suggesting the earliest evidence of cannibalism in human evolution.
D)Some of the bones show impact marks,suggesting that they were broken open for marrow by large carnivores that also lived in these caves.

Question 5

The oldest Neandertal site dates to ________,at ________.

A)130,000 yBP;Krapina,Croatia
B)32,000 yBP;Krapina,Croatia
C)130,000 yBP;La Chapelle-aux-Saints,France
D)25,000 yBP;La Chapelle-aux-Saints,France

Question 6

What is one way we can generalize about the archaic Homo sapiens?

A)They were found only in Europe and Asia.
B)They show a mixture of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens traits.
C)They dated to the late Pliocene.
D)They are usually found with Oldowan stone tools.

Question 7

What traits do modern humans have?

A)large browridges,large nasal sinuses,and a large masticatory complex
B)a high vertical forehead,a round and tall skull,and small browridges
C)a large face,small teeth,and the lack of a projecting chin
D)thicker postcranial bones than archaic Homo sapiens

Question 8

What is likely true of the people represented by the Denisova fossils?

A)They interbred with Homo erectus.
B)They share a common ancestor with Neandertals.
C)They were isolated to the point of extinction.
D)They looked very much like Neandertals.

Question 9

The best fossil evidence to suggest that Neandertals could produce a language like that of modern humans comes from which bone(s)collected at Kebara,Israel?

A)the cervical (neck)vertebrae
B)the mandible
C)the ribs
D)the hyoid

Question 10

Molars and premolars of early archaic Homo sapiens are reduced in size,while in some populations,front teeth may be increased in size.How do anthropologists explain this observation?

A)Front teeth increased in size because of changes in diet,and this forced back teeth to become smaller.
B)Back teeth became smaller because of increased use of material culture for processing food,while front teeth might have increased in size as an adaptation to using them as tools.
C)Hominins shifted from eating roots,which makes use of the back teeth,to fruit,which makes use of the front teeth.
D)The rise and increased use of language required this reconfiguration of the teeth.

Question 11

At what European Upper Paleolithic site were anatomically modern human fossils discovered?

A)Atapuerca,Spain
B)Mauer,Germany
C)Petralona,Greece
D)Cro-Magnon,France

Question 12

Specimens of ________ have been discovered at the following sites: Broken Hill,Dali,and Atapuerca.

A)Homo erectus
B)modern Homo sapiens
C)archaic Homo sapiens
D)Neandertals

Question 13

What does the Multiregional Continuity hypothesis suppose?

A)Modern Homo sapiens first evolved in Africa and then spread to Asia and Europe,replacing archaic Homo sapiens populations.
B)The transition to modernity took place regionally and without involving replacement.
C)Homo erectus populations migrated out of Africa to replace archaic Homo sapiens.
D)Archaic Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa to replace Neandertals in Europe.

Question 14

To date,where have the majority of Neandertal fossils been found?

A)India
B)Europe and western Asia
C)northern Africa
D)southeast Asia

Question 15

What do Neandertals' cold-adapted traits include?

A)a narrow nasal aperture
B)long limbs
C)a narrow torso
D)a projecting midface

Question 16

The Levallois method of stone tool production is associated with the ________ culture.

A)Mousterian
B)Upper Paleolithic
C)Magdalenian
D)Solutrean

Question 17

Approximately when do analyses of modern human genetic variation indicate that Homo sapiens may have evolved?

A)50,000 yBP
B)200,000 yBP
C)750,000 yBP
D)1 million yBP

Question 18

In Atapeura 5,what does the heavy wear on the incisors and canines of early archaic Homo sapiens and Neandertal specimens indicate?

A)the use of the front teeth for gripping materials
B)the purposeful modification of teeth to demonstrate social rank,as with the Aztecs
C)their use for shaping the cutting edges of stone blades
D)the chewing of massive amounts of fibrous materials

Question 19

What do traits of anatomically modern humans include?

A)a robust build of the postcranial skeleton
B)large browridges and wide cheekbones
C)flat cheekbones and small teeth
D)a long and low brain case

Question 20

The last Neandertals date to:

A)250,000 yBP.
B)100,000 yBP.
C)75,000 yBP.
D)32,000 yBP.

Question 21

While on an archaeological dig in Europe,you find a stone tool that is rounded on one side and has had flakes removed from the other side,giving it the appearance of a tortoise shell.What is this is likely to be?

A)a prepared Levallois core typical of prehistoric modern humans that inhabited this region
B)an Oldowan chopper
C)a completed tool that is similar to those you have seen from the Solutrean toolkit
D)a Clovis point

Question 22

What does the morphology of the Paleoindian skull from Kennewick indicate?

A)It was recovered from an elaborate burial.
B)It represents an early Eskimo population.
C)It looks quite different from modern Native Americans' skulls.
D)It is about 3,000 years old.

Question 23

Compared to modern Homo sapiens,archaic Homo sapiens had:

A)cold adaptations such as a reduced cranial capacity and a wider nasal aperture.
B)larger teeth often with unique wear patterns.
C)warm adaptations such as shortened limbs and a wider nasal aperture.
D)a protruding face,a protruding chin,and an occipital bun.

Question 24

What can we conclude about the Herto skulls from Ethiopia?

A)They are distinctly modern.
B)They have a combination of archaic and modern features.
C)They are distinctly archaic.
D)They are considered Homo habilis.

Question 25

Homo floresiensis ("The Hobbit")has been interpreted as either a distinct and new species of the genus Homo,or an instance of Homo sapiens with an abnormality resulting in distinct features just in that individual. Which of the following is evidence that supports the former interpretation?

A)the fact that although the cranial capacity of this specimen is small,it is within the range of modern humans
B)the presence of several features,including a small or absent chin and rotted premolars,that links the specimen to modern populations living in the region today
C)DNA evidence showing a close relationship between this specimen and nearby Homo erectus remains
D)the presence of a much earlier fossil from the same region,with similar morphologies,suggesting a long period of evolution at this locality,of this species

Question 26

The earliest archaeological evidence of humans in Australia is from ________,dating to ________.

A)Kow Swamp;13,000 yBP
B)Lake Mungo;42,000 yBP
C)Melbourne;25,000 yBP
D)Tasmania;35,000 yBP

Question 27

Allen's and Bergmann's rules are perfect examples of natural selection's effects on anatomical adaptations to environments in mammals.These include:

A)the limb and trunk proportions of Neandertals.
B)the cranial capacity of modern human populations.
C)the quadrupedal nature of most mammals.
D)the larger nasal apertures of archaic humans.

Question 28

Sub-Saharan Africans show the largest genetic diversity of any human population.What is a likely cause of this?

A)the accumulation of genetic mutations over the last ten years
B)the group's small breeding population,maintaining genetic diversity
C)the accumulations of genetic mutations over time
D)the introduction of genetic diversity from Europe and Asia

Question 29

All fossils of archaic Homo sapiens and earlier Homo erectus show:

A)continued reduction in skeletal robusticity and tooth size.
B)stabilization of brain size despite increased cultural complexity.
C)increased chewing surface areas associated with increased meat in the diet.
D)steadily decreased body size over time.

Question 30

Which model of modern human origins does evidence of modern/archaic interbreeding support?

A)Out-of-Africa because the modern traits came from Africa
B)Multiregional Continuity because each region interbred separately
C)Assimilation because following migration out of Africa,moderns interbred somewhat with local archaics
D)either the Out-of-Africa or Multiregional Continuity model because the physical traits do not accurately indicate the underlying genetics

Question 31

What is a distinctive trait of people from East Asia and the Americas?

A)shovel-shaped incisors
B)large nose
C)thick,long bones
D)extra muscles on the scapula

Question 32

Approximately when did human beings first arrive in the Americas?

A)50,000 yBP
B)25,000 yBP
C)15,000 yBP
D)5,000 yBP

Question 33

According to John Relethford,what is the explanation for Africa's high genetic diversity compared to Europe and Asia?

A)These populations had different levels of adaptation to disease.
B)Africa had the smallest population;genetic diversity is inverse to population size.
C)At the origin of modern humans,more people migrated into Africa than out of Africa.
D)Genetic drift increases genetic diversity in larger populations over time.

Question 34

Early Native Americans used which distinctive fluted spear points to hunt large-bodied Ice Age mammals?

A)Mousterian points
B)Solutrean blades
C)Levallois flakes
D)Clovis points

Question 35

The Neandertals' disappearance after 30,000 yBP involved their:

A)disappearance from the fossil record,but partial assimilation in the modern human genetic pool.
B)genetic isolation followed by complete extinction.
C)physical and genetic evolution into modern humans.
D)migration out of their Eurasian homeland into Africa.

Question 36

The fossils called Homo floresiensis were dated to:

A)12,000 to 8,000 yBP.
B)100,000 to 60,000 yBP.
C)400,000 to 260,000 yBP.
D)25,000 yBP.

Question 37

If genetic and morphological evidence of archaic-modern interbreeding had never been discovered,which model explaining modern Homo sapiens origins would be most likely,and why?

A)The Out-of-Africa model would be most likely because of continuity between modern human fossils and early African fossils,and low genetic diversity in Africa.
B)The Out-of-Africa model would be most likely because of continuity between modern human fossils and early African fossils,and high genetic diversity in Africa.
C)The Multiregional Continuity model would be most likely because modern Asians share traits with Asian Homo erectus,and modern Europeans share traits with Neanderthals.
D)The Multiregional Continuity model would be most likely because human genetic diversity is similar in Africa,Europe,and Asia,suggesting stable populations for long periods of time in each region.

Question 38

A hominid fossil that has a long,low skull,projecting face and occipital bone,and large nasal aperture is likely to be classified as having ________ characteristics.

A)modern
B)australopithecine
C)archaic
D)apelike

Question 39

What are the most distinctive features of cold adaptation in Neandertals?

A)the suprainiac fossa and globular shape of the skull
B)thick bones and extra muscles
C)the body and the length of the arms and legs
D)the retromolar space and heavy wearing on the teeth

Question 40

Painted perforated shells are evidence that Neandertals:

A)traded with modern humans.
B)had metal drills.
C)used symbolism.
D)had a diet based on seafood.

Question 41

Discuss which anatomical traits are used to contrast modern humans' physical appearance with that of similar hominids.Which are derived and which are ancestral? Are these traits biological adaptations,as in the case of Neandertals?

Question 42

What kinds of environmental pressures contributed to the dispersal of modern Homo sapiens around the world? What do the migrations of modern humans into Australia tell us about the range of human variation and adaptability in the past compared to the diversity we see in human populations today?

Question 43

Discuss the two models of modern human origins-Out-of-Africa and Multiregional Continuity.Briefly describe their main tenets and discuss how the more recent assimilation model differs from each.

Question 44

By when was the transition to fully modern Homo sapiens completed globally?

A)400,000 yBP
B)1.6 mya
C)160,00 yBP
D)25,000 yBP

Question 45

What "symbolic" behavior is evident in the archaeological record and associated with Neandertals and anatomically modern humans in Europe beginning around 35,000 yBP (during the Upper Paleolithic)?

Question 46

What does the Out-of-Africa model assert?

A)a single origin of modern people and eventual replacement of archaic Homo sapiens throughout Africa,Asia,and Europe
B)the importance of gene flow across population boundaries
C)migrations of australopithecines came out of Africa
D)migrations of Homo habilis came out of Africa

Question 47

Discuss the origin of the Neandertals in terms of biological adaptation and other forces of evolution.