Deck 9: African Exodus

Question 1

Eugene Dubois' named his Trinil, Java, find, which means "ape-human which stood upright,"

A)Homo sapiens.
B)Homo habilis.
C)Pithecanthropus erectus.
D)Australopithecus africanus.

Answer 1

Pithecanthropus erectus.

Question 2

The out-of-Africa (or Noah's ark)model hypothesis of modern human original holds that

A)Homo erectus populations evolved independently.
B)Homo sapiens evolved in one place and then spread to all parts of the Old World.
C)the population moved from a single point of origin.
D)human populations took wildly different evolutionary paths toward anatomically modern people.

Answer 2

Homo sapiens evolved in one place and then spread to all parts of the Old World.

Question 3

Although there is continued debate about our origins, there is wide agreement that modern humans first developed about 200,000 years ago in

A)Africa.
B)Java.
C)Siberia.
D)South America.

Answer 3

Africa.

Question 4

Mitochondrial DNA testing has indicated that, assuming a constant rate of genetic diversification, all human variation

A)could have arisen in the past 150,000 years.
B)is inherited via the maternal line.
C)can be traced to tropical Africa.
D)is explained by our divergence from Neanderthals.

Question 5

In evolutionary terms, the transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens seems to have occurred

A)quickly.
B)sporadically.
C)slowly.
D)none of these.

Question 6

Homo sapiens spread from tropical Africa into Europe and Asia

A)to escape religious persecution.
B)to escape advancing glaciation.
C)between 100,000 and 45,000 years ago.
D)between 25,000 and 40,000 years ago

Question 7

Complex fluctuations between glacial maxima and much shorter interglacial periods coincided with the

A)evolution of modern humans.
B)evolution of Homo erectus.
C)evolution of both Homo erectus and Homo sapiens.
D)move out of Africa.

Question 8

Discuss the major argument for considering Homo ergaster a separate form. What reasons do critics who resist this argument proffer? Do you think these are reasonable criticisms?

Question 9

Compare and contrast Homo erectus with earlier forms of Homo.

Question 10

Outline the initial radiation of early humans throughout the Old World. Discuss reasons why our ancestors might have left tropical Africa.

Question 11

Discuss the findings at the archaeological site of Torralba, Spain. What does this information tell us about Homo heidelbergensis and its contemporaries?

Question 12

The multiregional (or candelabra)model hypothesis of modern human origin holds that

A)Homo erectus populations evolved independently.
B)Homo sapiens evolved in one place and then spread to all parts of the Old World.
C)the population moved from a single point of origin.
D)human populations took wildly different evolutionary paths toward anatomically modern people.

Question 13

Distinguishing modern humans with archaic humans, we can say archaic humans lacked

A)emotion.
B)intelligence.
C)a conscience.
D)cognitive flexibility.

Question 14

We find the first signs of religious ideology with

A)Neanderthals.
B)Australopithecines.
C)primates.
D)hominids.

Question 15

The Matuyama-Brunhes boundary marks

A)the moment of the reversal of the Earth's magnetic field.
B)the beginning of the time of constant temperatures and glaciations.
C)the predominance of Homo sapiens over Homo erectus.
D)the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene.

Question 16

During glacial maxima, how much of the Earth's surface was covered in ice sheets?

A)one-third
B)one-fourth
C)one-sixth
D)one-eighth

Question 17

How many glacial episodes has the Earth experienced?

A)5
B)1
C)9
D)12

Question 18

Which of the following was the first to use fire, fashion more elaborate tools, and leave Africa?

A)Homo neandertalensis
B)Homo sapiens
C)Australopithecus afarensis
D)Homo erectus

Question 19

Which of the following is characteristic of Homo erectus?

A)brain capacity between 775 and 1,300 cubic centimeters
B)more rounded skull with conspicuous brow ridges
C)hips and limbs full adapted to upright posture
D)all of these

Question 20

Anthropologists Leslie Aiello and Robin Dunbar have argued that what ability appeared in humans by at least 250,000 years ago?

A)tool making
B)use of fire
C)language
D)cognitive reasoning

Question 21

Which of the following is an anatomical difference when comparing features of Neanderthals compared with modern humans?

A)robust postcranial skeleton
B)bun-shaped skull
C)retreating forehead
D)all of these

Question 22

Mitochondrial DNA used to trace the origins of modern humans and major population movements in prehistory in inherited

A)through the female line.
B)through the male line.
C)as a dominant trait.
D)as a recessive trait.

Question 23

Based on DNA sequencing information, we can estimate that Neanderthals may have split from early modern humans

A)between 55,000 and 69,000 years ago.
B)between 550,000 and 690,000 years ago.
C)at some indeterminate date during the Ice Age.
D)some 150,000 years ago.

Question 24

A spear made from a point, shaft, and binding is an example of

A)a composite tool.
B)a French dentriculated flake.
C)a Stillbay-type tool.
D)a Mousterian tool.

Question 25

Explain how mitochondrial DNA is used to understand human ancestry. What does mtDNA information tell us about the relationship between Neanderthal and ourselves?