Deck 9: Studying the Human Past

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a diagnostic sexually dimorphic feature of the human skull?

A)forehead slope
B)angle of the jaw
C)size of the mastoid processes
D)size and shape of the nasal opening

Answer 1

size and shape of the nasal opening

Question 2

The precise location of a fossil is referred to as its

A)radiometric date.
B)stratigraphy.
C)provenience.
D)site.

Answer 2

provenience.

Question 3

Perhaps the best method for determining age at death of a skeleton is

A)cranial suture closure.
B)epiphyseal union.
C)public symphysis.
D)dental eruption.

Answer 3

epiphyseal union.

Question 4

A fossil is

A)bone that has turned to stone.
B)the imprint of a leaf in hardened mud.
C)the mummified remains of some ancient creature.
D)any evidence of life from the past.

Question 5

An omnivore

A)has a diet of mostly meat.
B)has a diet of everything locally edible.
C)has a variable diet.
D)has a diet of mostly soft foods like fruits.

Question 6

The differences in the pelvic bones of males and females are most directly related to

A)the different sizes of males and females.
B)the differences in musculature of males and females.
C)the differences in reproductive roles of males and females.
D)the differences in gait and stride between males and females.

Question 7

Sexual dimorphism refers to

A)the different reproductive roles of the two sexes.
B)the hypothetical differences in behavior of men and women.
C)the physical differences between the sexes not related to reproduction.
D)people of ambiguous sexual orientation.

Question 8

A grid system is often used at the excavation of a fossil site to help record

A)vertical relationships.
B)stratigraphic sequences.
C)relative ages.
D)horizontal relationships.

Question 9

Osteology is the study of

A)fossils.
B)the structure and function of the skeleton.
C)the layers of rock and soil in the earth's crust.
D)methods for determining the dates of fossil remains.

Question 10

The best part of the skeleton for sexing human remains is the

A)pelvis.
B)limb bones (arms and legs).
C)skull.
D)vertebral column.

Question 11

A person whose epiphyses are all closed is most likely

A)over 20 years old.
B)between 21 and 28 years old.
C)over 14 years old.
D)over 28 years old.

Question 12

The horizontal locations of fossils at a site are recorded through the use of

A)a grid system.
B)stratigraphy.
C)radiometric dating.
D)relative dating techniques.

Question 13

A person who has a full set of adult teeth is most likely

A)between 6 years and 18 years old.
B)over 18 years old.
C)over 35 years old.
D)over 22 months old.

Question 14

A person,all of whose cranial sutures are completely open,is most likely

A)under 29 years old.
B)less than a year old.
C)over 42 years old.
D)between 29 and 42 years old.

Question 15

Bone that has turned to stone is said to be

A)really old.
B)stratified.
C)petrified.
D)extremely fragile.

Question 16

We can usually tell the sex of a human skeleton,because humans exhibit

A)different reproductive roles.
B)sexual dimorphism.
C)bisexuality.
D)gender identities.

Question 17

The provenience of a fossil refers to its

A)ownership.
B)location.
C)age.
D)species.

Question 18

The study of the structure and function of the skeleton is

A)comparative anatomy.
B)physiology.
C)osteology.
D)forensic anthropology.

Question 19

The least useful method for aging skeletal remains is

A)cranial suture closure.
B)epiphyseal union.
C)pubic symphysis.
D)dental eruption.

Question 20

The teeth of a human readily indicate that we have which dietary behavior?

A)herbivore
B)carnivore
C)omnivore
D)frugivore

Question 21

New studies indicate that humans and chimps are most different (about 6.4%)in what genetic variable?

A)base-pair sequence
B)copy number variation
C)insertions and deletions
D)proteins

Question 22

The half-life of radioactive potassium is

A)60,000 years.
B)1.3 billion years.
C)5,730 years.
D)11,460 years.

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of an absolute dating technique?

A)stratigraphy
B)grid system
C)horizontal relationships
D)radiocarbon

Question 24

Taphonomy is the study of

A)dating techniques.
B)the identification of fossil species.
C)how organic remains become fossils.
D)reconstructing whole organisms from fragmentary fossil remains.

Question 25

Any dating technique that gives a specific date for a fossil is called

A)absolute.
B)stratigraphic.
C)relative.
D)radiometric.

Question 26

A dating technique that indicates the age of a fossil in comparison to another is called

A)absolute.
B)radiometric.
C)half-life.
D)relative.

Question 27

Radiocarbon dating can be applied to

A)petrified bone.
B)stone of volcanic origin.
C)organic remains.
D)only dates over 60,000 years old.

Question 28

Which of the following is a technique for obtaining a relative date for a fossil?

A)biostratigraphy
B)radiocarbon
C)potassium/argon
D)grid system

Question 29

Which technique would probably be applied to dating an excavated Native American campsite?

A)potassium/argon
B)stratigraphic relationships in layers of rock
C)radiocarbon
D)a grid system

Question 30

The half-life of radioactive carbon is

A)60,000 years.
B)1.3 billion years.
C)5,730 years.
D)11,460 years.

Question 31

The study of how organic remains become fossils is called

A)paleontology.
B)paleoanthropology.
C)comparative anatomy.
D)taphonomy.

Question 32

Potassium/argon dates early human fossils

A)by directly dating the bones.
B)by their location relative to volcanic rock.
C)by position in a grid system.
D)by dating associated burnt wood remains.

Question 33

It was genetic studies that first indicated that hominids and apes had been evolutionarily separated for

A)12 to 15 million years.
B)5 to 6 million years.
C)1 million years.
D)about 12,000 to 15,000 years.

Question 34

Genetic studies indicate that humans and chimpanzees differ in about what percent of their genome at the nucleotide level?

A)50%
B)25%
C)10%
D)2%

Question 35

New technologies allow us to analyze the exact sequence of bases (A,T,G,C)in a species' genetic code.About how many bases are there in the human genome?

A)3 billion
B)300,000
C)100,000
D)50,000

Question 36

The potassium/argon dating technique is applied to

A)petrified bone.
B)stone of volcanic origin.
C)organic remains.
D)only dates over 60,000 years old.