Deck 13: Our Last 10, 000 Years: Agriculture, population, and the Bioarchaeology of a Fundamental Transition

Question 1

The idea that cranial shape can change within a human population as a result of dietary change is referred to as the:

A)masticatory-functional hypothesis.
B)hard object feeding hypothesis.
C)masseter-temporalis hypothesis.
D)morpho-cranial hypothesis.

Answer 1

masticatory-functional hypothesis.

Question 2

Until about 10,000 yBP,humans acquired virtually all their food through foraging.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The first animal to be domesticated during the Neolithic was the:

A)dog.
B)cat.
C)cow.
D)goat.

Answer 3

dog.

Question 4

Evidence from China indicates that rice and grapes were fermented for wine as early as 8,000 yBP.

Question 5

Improper alignment of the upper and lower dentition is called malocclusion.

Question 6

Biochemist Richard Marlar provided definitive evidence for cannibalism in Cowboy Wash,Colorado,with the discovery of:

A)cut marks on bones.
B)blood on stone tools.
C)human muscle protein in human coprolites (fossil feces).
D)skulls showing blunt force trauma.

Question 7

Modern humans have existed for over 100,000 years,but only over the last 10,000 years has Earth's population grown three orders of magnitude,from a few million people to over six billion today.

Question 8

In the late 1960s,Lee and DeVore argued that South African food-foraging people actually had more leisure time than early farmers.

Question 9

Greater reduction in jaw size relative to tooth size during the Holocene has led to greater incidence of:

A)dental crowding.
B)cavities.
C)root canal procedures.
D)gum disease.

Question 10

All of the following regions provide archaeological evidence for local plant domestication EXCEPT:

A)eastern North America.
B)southwestern Asia.
C)China.
D)Australia.

Question 11

The stable forms of carbon used in isotopic analyses to reconstruct diet are 12C and 14C.

Question 12

The archeological period between the end of the Upper Paleolithic but prior to the domestication of plants and animals is called the Mesolithic.

Question 13

With modern Homo sapiens' appearance in the late Pleistocene,human biological evolution basically stopped.

Question 14

Regarding the Neolithic,which of the following is TRUE?

A)It is believed to have occurred first in Europe.
B)It is characterized by small,settled villages where the domestication of plants and/or animals took place.
C)It occurred in one place initially,then spread everywhere else.
D)It occurred first approximately 25,000 yBP.

Question 15

More than 20% of all calories consumed by people today comes from:

A)millet.
B)rice.
C)sorghum.
D)corn.

Question 16

Stable carbon isotope analysis reveals that corn domestication became important in eastern North America about:

A)6,000 yBP.
B)4,000 yBP.
C)1,500 yBP.
D)AD 1000.

Question 17

Archaeological evidence showing a shift from long and narrow skulls to short and wide skulls,as a result of a change in diet linked to domestication,has been found in:

A)China.
B)Mexico.
C)France.
D)Nubia.

Question 18

Rice was first domesticated in New Guinea,about 6,000 yBP.

Question 19

The region of the Levant that contains more than fifty archaeological sites documenting the development of early farming villages in the Middle East is called:

A)the Arable Terrace.
B)the Indus Valley.
C)the Fertile Crescent.
D)the French Connection.

Question 20

Teosinte is the wild ancestor of modern domesticated wheat.

Question 21

Hookworm infestation of the human intestine can lead to a form of:

A)cancer.
B)anemia.
C)heart disease.
D)measles.

Question 22

Osteoarthritis is a skeletal disorder most easily seen on:

A)joint surfaces.
B)bone shafts.
C)the skull.
D)the ribs.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT associated with the initial transition from foraging to agriculture?

A)reduced height
B)increased dental hypoplasias
C)lower incidence of dental caries (cavities)
D)higher incidence of infection

Question 24

The great human population increase of the Holocene was probably due to:

A)a decrease in disease as a result of sedentism.
B)more effective medical practices.
C)decreased birth spacing.
D)a dramatic increase in nutritional quality as a result of agriculture.

Question 25

Cavities in the teeth are caused by a process called:

A)hypoplasias.
B)enamel defects.
C)dentin foramina.
D)dental caries.

Question 26

The main byproduct of plant photosynthesis is:

A)carbon dioxide.
B)oxygen.
C)starch.
D)water.

Question 27

Abnormal expansion of a bone's diameter as a result of infection is:

A)osteoarthritis.
B)megaosteopathy.
C)periosteal reaction.
D)big bone syndrome.

Question 28

What effect does high physical activity have on a long bone's second moment of area (SMA)?

A)SMA increases.
B)SMA decreases.
C)SMA can increase or decrease.
D)SMA is not affected.

Question 29

The type of iron found in some foods that provides all the amino acids humans require in their diet is:

A)heme iron.
B)nonheme iron.
C)flat iron.
D)raw iron.

Question 30

Which of the following is a New World domesticate?

A)wheat
B)rice
C)cotton
D)pigs

Question 31

Interpersonal conflict during the Holocene is displayed on human skeletons in the form of:

A)cut marks on bones.
B)cranial depression fractures.
C)cranial puncture wounds.
D)all of the above

Question 32

Scientists who study plant remains in the archaeological record are:

A)paleontologists.
B)paleoethnobotanists.
C)ethnologists.
D)zooarchaeologists.

Question 33

Based on the archaeological record from various areas,what was the initial effect of agriculture on height?

A)Height decreased.
B)Height increased.
C)Height became more variable within the population.
D)Height stayed the same.

Question 34

The last 10,000 years is referred to as the:

A)Pleistocene epoch.
B)Holocene epoch.
C)Pliocene epoch.
D)Anthrocene epoch.

Question 35

Swollen and bowed shin bones (tibiae)and cranial cavitations are often caused by diseases called:

A)treponematoses.
B)smallpox.
C)bubonic plague.
D)malaria.

Question 36

The invasion of spongy bone into the eye sockets as a response to anemia is called:

A)hyperosteitis.
B)trabeculitis.
C)orbital arthritis.
D)cribra orbitalia.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT an infectious disease?

A)AIDS
B)tuberculosis
C)Ebola
D)diabetes

Question 38

The type of subsistence documented at the site in Cahokia,Illinois,is best described as:

A)food foraging.
B)mixed foraging and small-scale farming.
C)small-scale farming exclusively.
D)large-scale agriculture.

Question 39

All of the following are advantages of agriculture over foraging EXCEPT:

A)agriculture supports larger numbers of people.
B)agriculture results in a food surplus.
C)agriculture has led to increased diversity in food.
D)agriculture is a necessary prerequisite to civilization.

Question 40

Dental caries increased in some areas where agriculture began,due to an increase in the consumption of:

A)nuts.
B)starchy carbohydrates.
C)seeds.
D)animal protein.

Question 41

How many separate centers of domestication exist,according to archaeologists?

A)three
B)five
C)seven
D)eleven

Question 42

One of the most important technological innovations that appeared at about the same time as agriculture was:

A)writing systems.
B)the controlled use of fire.
C)metal tools.
D)ceramics.

Question 43

Describe some of the ways that modern humans' faces,jaws,and teeth changed after the shift to agriculture and consumption of softer foods.

Question 44

The cross section of a long bone reveals a bone that is perfectly round.This suggests that:

A)the bone will have greater strength through one of its axes.
B)the bone will have less strength though its y-axis.
C)the bone will have equal strength in all directions.
D)the bone will break given a small amount of tension.

Question 45

The large jaws of gorilla species,in addition to a sagittal crest,provide support for:

A)the temporalis-functional hypothesis used to describe variation and adaptation in human skulls.
B)the masticatory-functional hypothesis used to describe variation and adaptation in human skulls.
C)the masticatory-functional hypothesis which suggests that soft foods result in large jaw size.
D)none of the above

Question 46

What main change in subsistence defines the Neolithic period? Name three geographic regions where Neolithic life ways appeared independently.

Question 47

Based on archaeological and genetic studies of modern people,by what mechanism did wheat spread from the Levant into Europe?

Question 48

During your lab you are asked to identify the condition exhibited by a juvenile female skull,in addition to suggesting the likely cause of the condition.You identify the condition as:

A)porotic hyperostosis,resulting from iron-deficiency anemia.
B)periosteal reaction,resulting from changes in diet.
C)ameloblasts,resulting from changes in diet and parasitic infection.
D)Cribra orbitalia,resulting from iron-deficiency anemia or parasitic infection.

Question 49

What evidence from the skeletons and teeth of early farmers do scientists use to document the negative consequences of a shift from food foraging to the domestication of food?

Question 50

What effect did the advent of agriculture have on the level of interpersonal violence seen in the archaeological record?

A)Violence increased.
B)Violence decreased.
C)Violence stayed about the same.
D)It is difficult or even impossible to determine the level of violence from only the bones.

Question 51

The cross section of an adult femur reveals a bone that is longer/flattened in one direction,giving the cross section the appearance of an oval.This suggests:

A)that the individual was likely very physically active.
B)that the individual was lethargic and largely sedentary.
C)that the individual had a nutritional deficiency as a child.
D)You cannot discern anything from the shape of bone.

Question 52

Çatalhöyük is an important Neolithic site located in:

A)southwest Asia.
B)southern Africa.
C)central Mexico.
D)India.

Question 53

Research conducted by Richard Lee found that !Kung hunter-gatherers showed great variation in workload and leisure time.Prior to this research,hunting and foraging was thought to be physically and temporally demanding.Lee's findings are:

A)evidence of the importance of the scientific method.
B)evidence of the importance of hypothesis testing.
C)evidence of the usefulness of observations and hypothesis generation.
D)all of the above

Question 54

While the domestication of plants and animals certainly led to a more stable food supply in the Holocene,it also resulted in significant problems.Briefly describe some of these problems.