Deck 3: Biological Bases of Social Evolution

Question 1

For Robin Dunbar the enlargement of brain size was mostly caused by:

A) a more complex physical environment
B) more intense competition among species
C) an increase in the pace of evolution
D) dense social networks of up to 150 people
E) none of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The existence of calls in other animals is not the same as human language because:

A) there is no time-place displacement
B) they cannot be applied beyond the species-specific setting in which they originated
C) the references are much more specific to mating, danger and food than human language is
D) a, b and c
E) none of the above. Calls are just as complex as human language.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

One example of an advantage of verbal language over grooming is:

A) it makes coalition formation possible
B) it creates orders of mind
C) it allows us to reach more individuals at one time
D) language creates sociality in animals.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The only monogamous primate is the:

A) gibbon
B) orangutan
C) gorilla
D) chimp
E) bonobo

Question 5

Which of the following did bipedalism make possible:

A) adaptation to a drier climate
B) freeing of the hand for tool use
C) the ability to throw objects and kill at a distance
D) enhanced ability to communicate with gestures
E) all of the above

Question 6

A precondition for verbal language is:

A) the need to hunt cooperatively
B) the need to plan the hunt
C) rewiring of the brain for emotional control
D) the need to expand social groups to cope with Ice Age conditions
E) all of the above

Question 7

The first hominid to use tools was:

A) Ardipithecus
B) Australopithecus (Lucy)
C) Homo Habilis
D) Homo Erectus
E) Homo Neanderthals

Question 8

In the competition between Homo Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, that latter prevailed because for all the reasons except which one?

A) Homo sapiens had larger brains
B) Homo Sapiens had verbal language
C) Homo Sapiens planned their hunts
D) Homo Sapiens operated in larger groups
E) Homo Sapiens outpopulated Homo Neanderthals

Question 9

Of all hominids, the one who did the most meat eating was:

A) Homo Habilis
B) Homo-Erectus
C) Homo Neanderthals
D) Homo Sapiens

Question 10

It is possible for a species to be social without being socio-cultural.

Question 11

Without a theory of mind it is not possible to lie.

Question 12

It is not possible for animals to form coalitions and alliances unless they have verbal language.

Question 13

Third order intentionally is possible without verbal language.

Question 14

One foundation stone of hypothetical reasoning is verbal language.

Question 15

Monkeys have more sociality than any of the apes.

Question 16

When some apes moved from the trees to the ground, their emotional expression became louder.

Question 17

The rewiring of the brain from the limbic system to the neo-cortex opened up the range of emotional expressions.

Question 18

Compared to Neanderthal females Homo Sapiens females were more dependent on males.

Question 19

Define fourth order intentionality and give an example from your own life.

Question 20

Give an example of your membership in a group in which any four of the eight of Boyer's conditions for coalition formation were operating:

A) name which of the eight coalitions were formed, and
B) say how they operated in your group.

Question 21

Unscramble the following processes into their evolutionary order and justify why each of these is the foundation of the next: song and dance, conventional contact calls, vocal and physical grooming, gossip, and gestures.

Question 22

Contrast the pros and cons of hominids living during the Ice Ages as opposed to the interglacial periods in terms of the possibilities for evolution.

Question 23

Name as many processes as you can for what the skill of verbal language adds that gestural communication cannot do. How does verbal language feed forward into cultural evolution?