Deck 11: The Evolution of Genus Homo

Question 1

Oldowan refers to

A)early East African hominids.
B)early hominids from Olduvai Gorge.
C)early stone tools.
D)tools made before the use of stone.

Answer 1

early stone tools.

Question 2

Homo habilis/rudolfensis is placed in genus Homo because of

A)large body size.
B)modern proportions of arms.
C)modern teeth.
D)increased brain size.

Answer 2

increased brain size.

Question 3

The average cranial capacity of Homo erectus/ergaster is about

A)450 ml.
B)580 ml.
C)980 ml.
D)1200 ml.

Answer 3

980 ml.

Question 4

Homo erectus spread so rapidly and so far probably because

A)they were smart and so were curious about new lands.
B)their success produced increased population size and necessitated spreading out.
C)they used up all the resources of the savannas and had to search for new ones.
D)the climate of Africa suddenly changed,and they had to find new places to live.

Question 5

From the neck down,Homo erectus was

A)very similar to the preceding species,Homo habilis.
B)like Australopithecus and Paranthropus.
C)essentially like modern humans.
D)much larger and more muscular than modern humans.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the inclusion of early Homo in our genus?

A)evidence of stone tool manufacture
B)increase in brain size
C)modern body size and proportions
D)lessening of facial prognathism

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a defining trait of genus Homo?

A)Enlargement of the brain
B)Evolution of bipedalism
C)Increasing reliance on culture
D)Adaptations for endurance running

Question 8

Which of the following dates defines the Pleistocene period?

A)5 to 6 million years ago
B)5 million years ago to the present
C)1.6 million years ago to 10,000 years ago
D)2 million to maybe 100,000 years ago

Question 9

Evidence suggests that the stone tools of early Homo were important for

A)protection from the other hominin species.
B)the hunting and killing of animals.
C)the manufacture of wood and bone tools that have not survived.
D)the quick and easy dismemberment of scavenged animal carcasses.

Question 10

The earliest stone tools are referred to as

A)Oldowan.
B)Australopithcine.
C)Acheulian.
D)Hominid.

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a difference between the crania of Homo erectus and those of modern humans?

A)presence of brow ridges
B)presence of a sagittal keel
C)presence of a occipital torus
D)presence of apelike dental features

Question 12

The average cranial capacity of Homo erectus/ergaster is

A)about the same as chimpanzees.
B)about the same as modern humans.
C)about half that of modern humans.
D)just under the modern human minimum.

Question 13

The Pleistocene is defined by

A)an advance in stone tool making techniques.
B)the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs.
C)the evolution of the genus Homo.
D)a series of glacial advances and retreats.

Question 14

The oldest established fossil of Homo erectus/ergaster is about how old?

A)4.4 million years
B)3.9 million years
C)1.8 million years
D)750,000 years

Question 15

The period of the Ice Ages,glacial advances and retreats,is known as the

A)Pleistocene.
B)Paleolithic.
C)Cambrian.
D)Jurassic.

Question 16

The earliest stone tools are associated with

A)Australopithecus afarensis.
B)Ardipithecus ramidus.
C)Paranthropus boisei.
D)Homo habilis/rudolfensis.

Question 17

The earliest stone tools are dated to

A)5 to 6 million years ago.
B)4.4 million years ago.
C)2.6 million years ago.
D)900,000 years ago.

Question 18

Geographically,Homo erectus is found

A)throughout the Old World.
B)only in Africa.
C)in Africa and Asia,but not Europe.
D)only in Asia.

Question 19

The fossils called Homo ergaster by some differ from those called Homo erectus in

A)having larger brains.
B)having more prognathism.
C)having smaller facial bones.
D)being smaller in body size.

Question 20

Which scarce savanna resource(s)might Homo erectus have been most in search of in their migrations?

A)meat
B)plant foods
C)water and shelter
D)rocks to make tools from

Question 21

We may argue that Homo erectus was a very successful hominid species for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A)the species lasted for nearly 2 million years.
B)the species shows little biological change throughout its time on earth.
C)the species made advances in technology almost to the modern stage.
D)lack of much cultural change shows a degree of environmental equilibrium.

Question 22

In terms of Homo erectus tool types,why is the cave of Zhoukoudian,China of interest?

A)It yields evidence of advanced tool types,similar to modern human tools.
B)There are no hand axes there.
C)Evidence exists from the cave of the use of spears
D)Evidence shows that Homo erectus from China only made primitive tool types

Question 23

The hand axe first appeared in

A)Africa.
B)Java.
C)Europe.
D)China.

Question 24

Which of the following does the text indicate may have been the most important use of fire among populations of Homo erectus?

A)heat
B)cooking
C)protection from animals
D)source of light and a social focus

Question 25

The earliest well-accepted date for the use of fire is about

A)1.5 million years ago.
B)750,000 years ago.
C)500,000 years ago.
D)100,000 years ago.

Question 26

The presence of Homo erectus outside of Africa and Asia is based on

A)an abundance of fossil bones of that species.
B)artifacts associated with the species from other areas.
C)associated artifacts at several sites and a few fossils from the Republic of Georgia and Italy.
D)conjecture but no hard evidence.

Question 27

Interpretations of the linguistic skills of Homo erectus have come from all the following EXCEPT

A)brain endocasts.
B)vocal tract reconstruction.
C)fossils of the larynx and pharynx of the species.
D)logic about the complexity of the subjects they communicated.

Question 28

The hand axe differs from previous tools in that

A)it is sharper and more durable.
B)it is worked over its entire surface.
C)it is designed to be attached to a wooden shaft.
D)it is a flake tool rather than a core tool.

Question 29

One important conclusion about the brains of Homo erectus is that they were

A)actually almost modern in size.
B)differently shaped that those of modern humans.
C)asymmetrical,and thus the left and rights sides may have been specialized.
D)only about the size of a chimp's,despite the large size of the skulls.

Question 30

Recent evidence of very old dates for Homo erectus in Java probably mean that

A)the species first evolved in Java.
B)they evolved in Africa and migrated very rapidly to Asia.
C)they evolved all over the Old World.
D)they evolved in Africa earlier than we have evidence for.

Question 31

The reconstructed vocal tracts of Homo erectus show that they were

A)high up in the throat like a chimp's.
B)positioned in the throat like a modern human infant.
C)constructed to allow them to breathe and swallow at the same time.
D)low in the throat like a modern human adult's.

Question 32

The earliest well-accepted evidence for the use of fire comes from

A)Africa.
B)France.
C)Thailand.
D)China.

Question 33

Evidence indicates which subsistence activity for Homo erectus?

A)big-game hunting
B)domestication of plants
C)scavenging of dead animals and gathering of plants,hunting of small animals
D)animal herding

Question 34

During the time Homo erectus existed,they showed

A)a slight increase in brain size.
B)a slight decrease in brain size.
C)great advances in stone tool technology.
D)a degeneration in cultural achievements.

Question 35

Recent evidence indicates that Homo erectus may have been in Java by

A)5 million years ago.
B)slightly under 2 million years ago.
C)750,000 years ago.
D)about 100,000 years ago.

Question 36

Recent evidence indicates that Homo erectus may have lasted in Java until

A)5 million years ago.
B)almost 2 million years ago.
C)750,000 years ago.
D)more recently than 100,000 years ago.

Question 37

Fossils of Homo antecessor have been dated to

A)1.5 million years ago.
B)780,000 years ago.
C)half a million years ago.
D)140,000 years ago.

Question 38

The fossils labeled Homo antecessor were found in

A)Africa.
B)Italy.
C)China.
D)Spain.

Question 39

The tool most associated with Homo erectus is the

A)hand axe.
B)Oldowan chopper.
C)spear.
D)bow and arrow.

Question 40

Homo antecessor shows

A)a mixture of modern and archaic features.
B)a set of traits nearly indistinguishable from H.erectus.
C)features that are mostly fully modern.
D)modern features except for the face.

Question 41

The brain size of the Neandertals was

A)almost within the modern human range.
B)well within the modern human range.
C)within and even above the modern human range.
D)well outside the modern human range.

Question 42

Fossils attributed to Homo heidelbergensis are found in

A)Africa only.
B)Heidelberg,Germany.
C)all over Europe.
D)all over the Old World.

Question 43

The culture associated with the Neandertals is called

A)Oldowan.
B)Acheulian.
C)Levallois.
D)Mousterian.

Question 44

The Klasies River Mouth site in South Africa is noted for all the following EXCEPT

A)human fossils of modern appearance.
B)bifacial blades made with the punch technique.
C)evidence of big game hunting.
D)the first evidence of art.

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT associated with the Neandertal material culture?

A)the use of hafting
B)retouching of flakes produced by the Levallois technique
C)stone blades with artistic rather than utilitarian use
D)evidence for woodworking and bone and antler carving

Question 46

The earliest fossils with anatomically modern human traits are found in

A)Europe.
B)Africa.
C)Southwest Asia.
D)Southeast Asia.

Question 47

Neandertal fossils date from

A)1.8 million years to 100,000 years.
B)400,000 years to present.
C)225,000 years to 36,000 years.
D)150,000 years to present.

Question 48

According to latest evidence,humans entered the New World at least

A)100,000 years ago.
B)60,000 years ago.
C)20,000 years ago.
D)12,000 years ago.

Question 49

Fossils of Neanderthals were first discovered

A)in the 1980s.
B)in 1925.
C)around the turn of the 20^th century.
D)during Darwin's lifetime.

Question 50

Which is NOT true of the bodies of the Neandertals compared to modern humans?

A)They were relatively taller than modern humans.
B)They had proportionately short lower arms and lower legs.
C)They had large,heavy muscles.
D)They had very robust bones.

Question 51

The average brain size of Homo heidelbergensis is

A)under 1,000 ml.
B)just about 1,000 ml.
C)1,300 ml.
D)nearly 2,000 ml.

Question 52

The Neandertals lived

A)throughout the entire Old World.
B)in Europe and Southwest Asia.
C)in Africa and the Far East.
D)in western Europe.

Question 53

The short,short-limbed but heavy,muscular bodies of many Neandertal populations may indicate that they

A)lived strenuous lives and got lots of exercise.
B)lived in cold climates.
C)inhabited hot climates.
D)lived lives centered around big-game hunting.

Question 54

The Neandertals have been thought of in several different ways,but which of the following have they NEVER been considered?

A)slightly different-looking forms of modern Homo sapiens
B)a dead-end side branch of human evolution
C)a different species within genus Homo
D)a subspecies of Homo erectus

Question 55

Which of the following is NOT a difference seen in Homo antecessor and H.heidelbergensis as compared to H.erectus?

A)thinner cranial bones
B)less prognathism
C)less pronounced brow ridges
D)larger body size

Question 56

The difference between modern humans and so-called archaics involves all EXCEPT

A)degree of prognathism.
B)presence of heavy brow ridges.
C)slope of forehead.
D)brain size.

Question 57

Fossils with fully modern human traits first appear

A)1 million years ago.
B)500,000 years ago.
C)300,000 years ago.
D)120,000 years ago.

Question 58

The Neandertals differed from modern humans in all the following EXCEPT

A)forehead slope.
B)chin shape.
C)brain size.
D)presence of brow ridges.

Question 59

Which of the following is NOT accepted evidence of abstract belief among the Neandertals?

A)burial of the dead
B)care of the elderly and injured
C)inclusion of offerings in graves
D)remnants of a cave bear cult

Question 60

Which of the following is associated with Neandertal material culture?

A)the bow and arrow
B)the hand axe as predominant tool
C)the origin of bifacial tools
D)the possibility of the first use of hafting

Question 61

Evolutionary theory seems to support

A)the Multiregional Evolution Model
B)the African Replacement Model
C)a limited version of the Multiregional Evolution Model
D)no particular model

Question 62

The six-species scheme for naming groups within genus Homo is another way of stating which model for the origin of modern humans?

A)Multiregional Evolution
B)Genetic Replacement
C)African Replacement
D)Racial Homogeneity

Question 63

According to the book,the fossil,cultural,and genetic evidence in the debate over modern human origins is

A)conclusively in support of the African Replacement Model
B)ambiguous
C)conclusively in support of the Multiregional Evolution Model
D)in support of another model

Question 64

Which is the least likely explanation for Homo floresiensis from Indonesia?

A)They are a population of australopithecines.
B)They are a dwarfed population of H.erectus.
C)They are a dwarfed population of H.sapiens.
D)They are microcephalic modern humans.

Question 65

The African Replacement Model claims Homo sapiens first evolved about

A)2 million years ago.
B)400,000 years ago.
C)150,000 to 200,000 years ago.
D)12,000 years ago.

Question 66

The Multiregional Evolution Model claims Homo sapiens first evolved about

A)2 million years ago.
B)400,000 years ago.
C)150,000 to 200,000 years ago.
D)12,000 years ago.