Question 1

Which of the following cold-weather adaptations predates the appearance of Neandertals?

Accepted Answer

The use of fire predates the appearance of Neandertals and is considered one of the earliest adaptations to cold weather by human ancestors. Evidence of controlled use of fire by Homo erectus, an ancestor predating Neandertals, suggests that this adaptation was in place well before the Neandertals appeared.

Question 2

Until the recent-and surprising-discovery of H. floresiensis, few scientists

Accepted Answer

The discovery of H. floresiensis was surprising to scientists because it showed that a different human species had survived through 12,000 B.P. and possibly even later.

Question 3

Generations of scientists have debated whether the Neandertals were ancestral to modern Europeans. The current prevailing view, which denies the ancestry, proposes that

Accepted Answer

The current prevailing view is that modern humans evolved in Africa and eventually migrated into Europe, competing with and ultimately replacing the Neandertals who already inhabited the region. This is supported by genetic evidence that shows that non-African humans today have small amounts of Neandertal DNA, indicating interbreeding between the two groups, but that Neandertals are not the ancestors of modern Europeans. Options A, B, C, and D are not supported by current scientific evidence.

Question 4

H. antecessor, a 780,000-year-old hominin found in Spain's Atapuerca mountains,

Accepted Answer

H. antecessor is believed to be a possible common ancestor of Neandertals and anatomically modern humans based on its age and location in the evolutionary timeline.

Question 5

The Acheulean tradition is characterized by cobble choppers that were made by removing flakes from one end of a cobble.

Accepted Answer

The Acheulean tradition is characterized by handaxes that were made by bifacially flaking both sides of a core, not cobble choppers made by simply removing flakes from one end of a cobble.

Question 6

Which of the following traits does NOT characterize a Neandertal skull?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following traits does NOT...

Question 7

Spain's Atapuerca mountains hold one of the richest hominin fossil sites in the world. All of the following have been found in Atapuerca EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

All of the other options (A, B, C, and D) are true and have been found in Atapuerca. Option E, the first definitive evidence of human control of fire by 500,000 B.P., is not true. It is worth noting, however, that evidence of fire use has been found in other sites in Spain and Europe, just not at Atapuerca specifically.

Question 8

What archaic H. sapiens group has a pronounced brow ridge, stocky build, and massive nasal cavities, characteristics that were adaptations to cold weather?

Accepted Answer

Neandertals are known for their pronounced brow ridge, stocky build, and massive nasal cavities, which were adaptations to cold weather. H. habilis and H. rudolfensis are too old to have these adaptations, H. erectus had less pronounced brow ridges and a less stocky build, and anatomically modern humans have a less pronounced brow ridge and narrower nasal cavities.

Question 9

Several different kinds of hominin lived in Africa before and after the advent of Homo.

Accepted Answer

This is true. Examples of such hominin species include Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early members of the genus Homo.

Question 10

Although the Neandertals are remembered more for their physiques than for their manufacturing abilities, their tool kits were sophisticated. In fact, the Mousterian technology, which Neandertals are associated with,

Accepted Answer

The passage states that the Mousterian technology associated with Neandertals "included at least 14 categories of tools designed for different jobs." This matches with choice A.

Answer: E
 The passage mentions that the Mousterian technology involved "a very complex technique involving chipping the core bilaterally and symmetrically, something never before seen in hominin toolmaking." This matches with choice E.

The other choices are not supported by the passage: choice B mentions the use of metals, which is not mentioned in the passage; choice C is not mentioned at all; and choice D mentions blades, which are not specifically associated with Mousterian technology or Neandertals in the passage.

Question 11

The recent hominin fossil finds from Ileret, Kenya, negate the conventional view held since 1960 that H. habilis and H. erectus evolved one after the other. Instead, they lived side by side in eastern Africa for perhaps half a million years.

Accepted Answer

The statement accurately reflects the findings of recent hominin fossil discoveries in Ileret, Kenya.

Question 12

Worldwide, what were the Middle and Upper Pleistocene characterized by?

Accepted Answer

The Middle and Upper Pleistocene were characterized by successive glacial advances and retreats, which shaped global climate patterns and impacted hominin evolution and distribution.

Question 13

The earliest Acheulean tools associated with H. erectus come from the Kokiselei site near Lake Turkana in Kenya. What are the characteristics of these tools?

Accepted Answer

The characteristics of the earliest Acheulean tools associated with H. erectus at Kokiselei site near Lake Turkana in Kenya include symmetry, uniformity, and planning, marking a higher degree of sophistication than Oldowan tools.

Question 14

Biological and cultural changes enabled H. erectus to exploit a new adaptive strategy-gathering and hunting.

Accepted Answer

H. erectus had an increased brain size and improved tool-making abilities, allowing them to gather and hunt for food, which was a new adaptive strategy for the hominid species. This new strategy would have been shaped by both biological and cultural changes.

Question 15

The Paleolithic tool tradition associated with H. erectus is the Acheulean.

Accepted Answer

The Acheulean tool tradition is associated with H. erectus and is characterized by the production of oval and pear-shaped handaxes.

Question 16

The Acheulean hand ax, shaped like a teardrop, represents a predetermined shape based on a template in the mind of the toolmaker. Evidence for such a mental template in the archaeological record suggests a cognitive lead between earlier hominins and H. erectus.

Accepted Answer

The statement accurately represents the current understanding of the Acheulean hand ax and its implications for the cognitive abilities of early hominins, particularly H. erectus.

Question 17

What is the name of the stone-tool tradition associated with Neandertals?

Accepted Answer

The Mousterian stone-tool tradition is associated with Neandertals, characterized by the production of small, finely worked points used for hunting and scraping. The Oldowan tradition predates the Neandertals and is associated with Homo habilis, the Acheulean tradition is associated with Homo erectus, and blades and microliths are more characteristic of later stone-tool traditions.

Question 18

At the site of Terra Amata, in southern France, archaeologists have documented human activity dating back some 300,000 years. What do findings there indicate?

Accepted Answer

The findings at Terra Amata indicate that the site's inhabitants led an essentially human lifestyle, as human activity dating back some 300,000 years has been documented there.

Question 19

One of the most surprising aspects of the recent discovery of H. floresiensis is

Accepted Answer

The surprising aspect of the recent discovery of H. floresiensis is the evidence of sophisticated cultural abilities typically associated with anatomically modern humans, not with a hominin with a chimplike brain and extremities. The small-bodied hominin has been found associated with advanced lithic technology, use of fire, and symbolic behavior, suggesting that cultural advances occurred both within and outside the lineage leading to modern humans. However, there is no evidence of language development or cave art associated with this species. The discovery does not provide new information on the replacement of Neandertals by modern humans, the timing of anatomically modern humans in the Americas, or proof of astronomical knowledge.

Question 20

With the movement of H. erectus out of Africa, H. erectus eventually colonized Europe and Asia.

Accepted Answer

H. erectus left Africa around 1.8 million years ago and eventually colonized much of Europe and Asia. Fossils of H. erectus have been found in places such as Georgia, China, and Indonesia.

Quiz 9: Archaic Homo