Question 1

Monkeys, apes, and humans are all classified as anthropoids.

Accepted Answer

Anthropoids are a classification of primates that includes monkeys, apes, and humans.

Question 2

Cro-Magnon people had the technology to start a fire whenever one was needed.

Accepted Answer

Cro-Magnon people were able to control and use fire as early as 40,000 years ago, allowing them to better survive and adapt to their environment.

Question 3

Scientific evidence indicates that the earliest hominids were not bipedal.

Accepted Answer

The scientific evidence actually supports the theory that the earliest hominids, such as Ardipithecus ramidus, were bipedal. This adaptation to walking on two legs is considered a defining characteristic of the hominid lineage.

Question 4

Origin myths account for the ways in which supernatural forces and beings fashioned the world and all the living things.

Accepted Answer

Origin myths, by definition, explain the creation of the world and living things through supernatural forces and beings.

Question 5

Charles Darwin can be considered an "armchair biologist" because his theories are based on the fieldwork of other researchers.

Accepted Answer

Charles Darwin is not considered an "armchair biologist" because his theories were based on his own fieldwork and observations on his expeditions to locations such as the Galapagos Islands. He also conducted extensive research in his home laboratory and corresponded with a network of other naturalists and scientists to gather data and information for his theories.

Question 6

Upper Paleolithic artisans made stone tools in distinctive styles that vary from region to region.

Accepted Answer

Upper Paleolithic artisans across different regions had their own distinct styles of making stone tools. This indicates that they were capable of transmitting cultural information and skills.

Question 7

The process of natural selection has been tested experimentally.

Accepted Answer

The process of natural selection has been tested experimentally through various studies on organisms such as peppered moths, Darwin's finches, and bacteria, among others. These experiments have shown how natural selection leads to changes in the genetic makeup of populations over time, resulting in the adaptation of species to their environment.

Question 8

It has been estimated that humans possess in the neighborhood of 1,000,000 genes.

Accepted Answer

The human genome contains approximately 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes.

Question 9

"Lucy" is an early hominid known scientifically as Australopithecus afarensis.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. "Lucy" is a well-known specimen of Australopithecus afarensis, an early hominid species that lived approximately 3.9-2.9 million years ago in Africa. Lucy's discovery in Ethiopia in 1974 was significant for shedding insight into human evolution and bipedal locomotion.

Question 10

The order Primates, to which humans belong, arose about 67 million years ago.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true; the order Primates first arose about 67 million years ago.

Question 11

In the religious tradition of Taoism, the spiritual and material sources for the origins of humans are the opposite forces of yin (female) and yang (male).

Accepted Answer

In Taoism, it is believed that humans are the result of the interplay between the opposing forces of yin and yang, which represent the feminine and masculine energies of the universe. These forces are seen as complementary and necessary for balance and harmony in both the spiritual and material world.

Question 12

According to the fossil evidence, the first hominids to migrate out of Africa were the Neandertals.

Accepted Answer

The first hominids to migrate out of Africa were actually members of the Homo erectus species, not Neandertals. This is supported by fossil evidence found in Asia dating back about 1.8 million years ago. Neandertals appeared much later, around 300,000 years ago, and were primarily found in Europe and parts of western Asia.

Question 13

One factor that contributed to the demise (extinction) of the Neandertals was the fact that dinosaur hunting was extremely dangerous and many individuals were killed in the pursuit of these animals.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. Neandertals did not hunt dinosaurs as they went extinct approximately 65 million years before Neandertals appeared on Earth. The last non-avian dinosaurs died out around 66 million years ago, whereas Neandertals lived around 400,000 to 40,000 years ago.

Question 14

The theory of natural selection was arrived at simultaneously and independently by two different scholars.

Accepted Answer

The theory of natural selection was independently arrived at by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.

Question 15

Upper Paleolithic people gathered plants to supplement their food resources.

Accepted Answer

Upper Paleolithic people relied on a combination of hunting and gathering, including gathering plants, to supplement their food resources.

Question 16

The Cro-Magnon skeletal remains have been identified as a distinct race of human beings.

Accepted Answer

The Cro-Magnon remains are classified as early modern humans, not a distinct race, and are considered part of the same species as contemporary humans, Homo sapiens.

Question 17

Paleolithic hunters and gatherers lived mostly in marginal areas, such as dry desert regions.

Accepted Answer

Paleolithic hunters and gatherers actually lived in a variety of environments, including forests, grasslands, and coastal areas. They were able to adapt to their surroundings and make use of the resources available to them.

Question 18

Burins are special projectile points for hunting large game like mammoths.

Accepted Answer

Burins are actually specialized stone tools used for engraving or carving. They were not used as projectile points for hunting large game like mammoths.

Question 19

Cro-Magnon people were the first humans to domesticate cattle and sheep.

Accepted Answer

The domestication of cattle and sheep did not occur until several thousand years after the Cro-Magnon period.

Question 20

The replacement model or "Eve Hypothesis" suggests that modern Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and then migrated to other areas of the world, replacing the in?digenous populations such as the Neandertals.

Accepted Answer

The replacement model, also known as the Out of Africa or Eve Hypothesis, posits that modern humans evolved in Africa and then spread to other parts of the world, eventually replacing earlier hominid populations like the Neanderthals. This theory has been supported by genetic and archaeological evidence.

Quiz 2: Human Evolution