Deck 3: Human Biocultural Evolution: Emergence of the Biocultural Animal

Question 1

One of the central ideas of Darwin's theory of evolution was the idea that

A) all organisms change over time regardless of their environment
B) organisms changed only as a result of not interacting with their environment
C) change in organisms was related to their adaptability to a particular environment
D) biblical forces were responsible for the changes we see in organisms

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The construction of meaning, social relationships, and niches are all part of a larger theoretical framework that anthropologists refer to as the

A) epigenetic system
B) interpretive approach
C) constructivist approach
D) behavioral system

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed that all life was arranged in

A) a random order based on chance
B) the order in which each was created by the Gods
C) a great chain of being
D) order from most to least useful

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A taxonomic structure is one that

A) both names and classifies all organisms according to a system
B) names and classifies animals according to an evolutionary logic
C) organizes all plants and animals in random fashion
D) determines the importance of an organism based on a system of classification

Question 5

One of the key popular misunderstandings about the causes of obesity is

A) we are living in a time of excessive abundance
B) humans have a normal diet
C) we have not managed to dissuade people to stop consuming fast foods
D) that obesity is a widespread global problem when it is not

Question 6

The refinement of Darwin's theory has shown that

A) evolution is limited in both time and place according to creation theories
B) creation science has actually been correct all along
C) evolution cannot be measured, even across generations within a population
D) evolution can only be measured or seen across generations within a population

Question 7

One of the more important ways that anthropology contributes to the development of evolutionary theory is that

A) it offers a moderating voice on the hard, fact-based approach of evolutionary theory
B) it challenges the biological reductionism of much evolutionary theory
C) it supports the fundamental biological reductionism in evolutionary theory
D) it clearly separates the role of culture from biology in evolution

Question 8

One of the important ways that genetic material is moved between different populations, such as through gene flow, is

A) through the decision about when to have a child
B) through the careful use of birth control products
C) through the prevention of sexually transmitted infections
D) through the choice of a sexual partner

Question 9

The ability of African cichlids, a popular pet fish, to develop highly similar body shapes despite coming from two different and geographically distant environments is an example of

A) random mutation
B) developmental bias
C) genetic drift
D) phenotypic variation

Question 10

Plasticity can be understood as not being Lamarckian because

A) we now know how to evaluate the difference between an organism's will to change and the underlying genetic code that creates that change
B) DNA sequencing has been able to clearly establish the process of modification
That precludes the possibility of a willed change by an organism
C) modification happens before genetic changes appear that keep the change in place across generations
D) genetic changes always precede phenotypic changes which is something that Lamarck was not aware of at that time

Question 11

In terms of the extended evolutionary synthesis, large-scale agriculture, which produces massive amounts of both food and pollution, can be understood as a form of

A) environmental destruction
B) physical adaptation
C) evolutionary change
D) niche construction

Question 12

Anthropologists who study human biocultural evolution believe that evolution

A) comes to a gradual halt when an organism achieves optimum fitness
B) continues, but increasingly slowly, until it ceases due to all adaptive channels being exhausted
C) continues in all organisms until they are extinct
D) stops at the moment an organism branches out into a different species

Question 13

A __________ charts the evolutionary history of a particular taxonomic branch and yields information about its ancestry.

Question 14

Comparing DNA sequences allows us to understand whether organisms are connected through common __________.

Question 15

Individuals migrating from one country to another can fundamentally alter genetic variation in all members of both populations because of __________.

Question 16

According to the extended evolutionary synthesis, parents who teach their young a particular behavior that aids in their evolutionary success are practicing __________.

Question 17

__________ emerges when genetic variation within a group grows so large that its members begin exhibiting important genetic and physical differences.

Question 18

All humans have the ability to become __________, but it did not come into existence until about 10,000 years ago.

Question 19

Clyde Kluckhohn argued that both biological and cultural aspects of humanity must be seen as a continuum of small changes.

Question 20

Variation in genes acts as the sole source for biological change of traits in an organism.

Question 21

Non-random mating among the Hutterite sect in Canada is a good example of how genetic drift works.

Question 22

Many evolutionary processes interact to affect the organism.

Question 23

Gene flow is the movement of genetic material across different ecosystems.

Question 24

The reason biocultural anthropology rejects the genetic system of inheritance as the only means of understanding human evolution is that

A) it is too broad a field to make sense of evolutionary complexities
B) in addition to genotypes, the phenotypes of human ancestry must be taken into account
C) it is too narrow to appreciate the complexity of human inheritance
D) our knowledge of genes and the genetic code is too simple to apply it to the whole of human evolutionary processes

Question 25

The core idea of Darwin's and Wallace's ideas-descent with modifications via natural selection-is intimately tied to what larger force?

A) speciation
B) variation
C) environmental change
D) global warming

Question 26

An evolutionary perspective on variations in physical traits reflects

A) genetic changes
B) cultural changes
C) adaptive changes
D) rate of changes

Question 27

One of the useful results of a phylogeny is to show that

A) each lineage has a unique history, and thus no organism is "more evolved"
B) all lineages share a common history, and thus no organisms are "more evolved"
C) each lineage has a unique history, and thus one organism is seen as "more evolved" than another
D) all lineages share a common history, and thus some organisms are "more evolved"

Question 28

Termites in the wild construct huge "mounds" as a habitat. From the perspective of biocultural evolutionary concepts, termites and their engineering feats are involved in a type of

A) niche construction
B) developmental construction
C) niche evolution
D) behavioral inheritance

Question 29

Sickle-cell anemia, a blood cell mutation, takes a toll on those afflicted, but is an example of a mutation that may also be useful because it

A) helps reduce the instance of melanoma, or skin cancer, in the tropics
B) provides a way for people to resist dangerous viruses like Ebola
C) offers health researchers a way to understand genetic differences in a closed population group
D) provides resistance to malaria in the tropics

Question 30

The peppered moth is a classic example of how environmental factors

A) created by human activity negatively affect other life forms
B) are part of the interaction between genotype and phenotype
C) can lead to unwanted genetic changes in non-human organisms
D) have nothing to do with genetic or DNA changes in a population

Question 31

The symbolic system of inheritance works through the establishment of

A) adaptive responses to environmental changes
B) culture and language
C) changes in how we react to pathogens and diseases
D) safe foodways and what and how we consume food

Question 32

One of the key aspects of biocultural evolution is that there is

A) no specific direction or goal as an outcome, but that it is dynamic
B) always a directional component that guides the process
C) no evidence to support it yet
D) an eventual stasis point that is in tune with the organism's whole environment

Question 33

The genetic dimension of obesity is related to

A) the eating habits of our parents
B) the willpower to resist unhealthy food
C) the ability to accumulate and store energy in our bodies
D) the environmental conditions that have affected our food supply

Question 34

Even if we cannot necessarily predict the outcomes of direct genetic manipulation, we do know that it has direct social impacts, including

A) it can lead to unnecessary geneticization
B) it can cost more than the patient can afford
C) it facilitates the inflation of pharmaceutical prices for the wrong reasons
D) it can lead to unequal treatments in a given population

Question 35

Why is AIDS having a more dramatic effect on populations in sub-Saharan African than in North America and Europe?

A) In sub-Saharan Africa, people have limited access to medicine that makes AIDS a manageable condition
B) European and American populations are genetically predisposed to a lesser form of the disease
C) people's sexual behaviors are radically different across continents
D) the disease is spread via bacteria that is much more prevalent in Africa

Question 36

The behavioral system of inheritance refers to the patterned behaviors that parents and adults pass onto young members of their group via __________.

Question 37

"Survival of the fittest" is taken to mean competition for __________.

Question 38

Loss of genetic variation occurring when a small population creates a new, usually isolated, community is known as the __________.

Question 39

We know that modern humans evolve, because we can see evidence of gene flow due to international __________.

Question 40

The rise in obesity can only be explained by "thrifty genes" and genetic predispositions.

Question 41

A change in DNA sequence leading to variation is known as mutation.

Question 42

The physical characteristics of any organism that can be seen are known as the phenotype.

Question 43

Gene flow can occur because of intentional changes in immigration policies in a particular country.

Question 44

Gregor Mendel's findings about inheritance among pea plants stemmed from what key ability that he possessed?

A) his deep knowledge of genetics
B) his willingness to ignore his religious affiliation
C) the ability to observe closely
D) he had obtained the full blessing of the abbot at his monastery to conduct his work

Question 45

If you observed gradual changes in environmental temperature and, at the same time, observed that there were changes in the phenotype of a butterfly species over fifteen generations, which theory might best help explain what is going on?

A) plasticity
B) natural selection
C) extinction
D) essentialism

Question 46

If you wanted to understand the evolutionary dimensions of why human males have population-based differences in facial hair across the world, you might focus on

A) gene flow
B) rituals that promote shaving
C) cultural definitions of beauty
D) migration of ancient hominins into other regions

Question 47

The recent upsurge in migration due to refugees seeking safety from war zones provides biological anthropologists an easy opportunity to observe and document

A) cultural change
B) migration patterns induced by war
C) gene flow
D) phylogenetic changes caused by stress

Question 48

If you wanted to study genetic drift in Hutterite colonies such as those in which Michael Park studied gene flow, you would be interested in

A) non-random mating practices
B) population records that suggest a dramatic reduction in population
C) how agricultural practices are a form of niche construction
D) how natural selection winnows the population down

Question 49

Biocultural evolutionary theory has led to questions about the merits of reductionist thinking, and how it tends to oversimplify. One of the more productive results of this critique has been the application in anthropology of

A) a scientific approach to evolution
B) widespread use of statistical and medical data to support theory
C) the inclusion of non-Western ethnographic material
D) a holistic approach to evolution

Question 50

If you wanted to study mother-infant contact in modern Western societies, how important would it be to understand patterns established by our earlier human ancestors?

Question 51

Describe how a proponent of the extended evolutionary synthesis would explain the rise in obesity.

Question 52

Describe how gene flow might have shaped the evolution of the human hand.

Question 53

All creatures do some version of niche construction. What is so unique about how humans do it?

Question 54

The human diet is flexible and open-ended. Using a biocultural approach, explain how and why it might have evolved in this way.

Question 55

According to evolutionary theory, change in organisms is relational. Discuss what kinds of factors are part of that relational change for the human species.

Question 56

Proponents of the extended evolutionary synthesis argue that evolutionary theory must change as new mechanisms of evolution are discovered, while critics assert that the modern synthesis is adequate. What is your thinking about this debate?

Question 57

Many people think the word "evolution" implies progress and improvement. Yet the central idea in evolutionary theory is that evolution is non-directional and doesn't necessarily improve a population's prospects over time. Discuss intellectual, religious, and social reasons this gap in understanding persists.

Question 58

Based on what you have learned about evolutionary processes in this chapter, how do you think evolutionary processes might shape human behavior and psyche?

Question 59

Linnaeus developed what is now our taxonomic system using binomial nomenclature and grouped organisms together based on similarities in anatomy. How might you develop an alternative taxonomic structure? What would be a sound basis for grouping different types of organisms?