Question 1

What is the importance of the discoveries at Laetoli in terms of our understanding of human evolution?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the importance of the discoveries...

Question 2

The first Australopithecine fossil discovered in Africa was
A) discovered in sedimentary deposits along ancient lakeshores.
B) blasted out of ancient cave deposits using dynamite.
C) never properly placed in an evolutionary scheme.
D) eventually found to be a fraud.

Accepted Answer

The first Australopithecine fossil was discovered in a manner that involved the use of dynamite to blast it out of ancient cave deposits. This unconventional method was part of early excavation techniques used in paleoanthropological research.

Question 3

The discoveries at Olduvai are important because
A) they documented the early presence of hominins in Africa.
B) they provided the first finds of Homo sapiens.
C) they gave the age of the first hominins as around 500,000 years ago.
D) they shifted attention to East Asia as the cradle of human evolution.

Accepted Answer

The discoveries at Olduvai Gorge are important because they documented the early presence of hominins in Africa, specifically in the Great Rift Valley, and continue to provide important evidence about the evolution and behavior of early hominins. They also helped establish the discipline of paleoanthropology.

Question 4

Sexual dimorphism refers to
A) gendered handedness.
B) tool use by males.
C) difference in body size between the sexes.
D) difference in typical social roles.

Accepted Answer

Sexual dimorphism refers to the physical differences between males and females of a species. Body size is a common example of sexual dimorphism, with males typically being larger than females in many animal species.

Question 5

Oldowan tools were made by the _____ method.
A) hard hammer percussion
B) soft hammer percussion
C) pressure flaking
D) indirect percussion

Accepted Answer

Oldowan tools, which are among the earliest known stone tools used by early humans, were primarily made using the hard hammer percussion method. This technique involves striking a raw material (such as flint or chert) with a harder object (like a stone hammer) to remove flakes and shape the tool.

Question 6

Where do the first stone tools appear and when? What do these tools represent in terms of human evolution? Were the earliest tools made of stone?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Where do the first stone tools appear...

Question 7

Which of the following is considered to be the first major development in hominin evolution?
A) increased brain capacity
B) tool making
C) bipedalism
D) sexual dimorphism

Accepted Answer

Bipedalism is considered to be the first major development in hominin evolution as it allowed for the hominins to walk on two legs, freeing up their hands to carry tools and food. This also allowed for the development of the modern human skeletal structure, including an upright posture and larger brain. While increased brain capacity, tool making, and sexual dimorphism are important developments in hominin evolution, they came later in the evolutionary timeline.

Question 8

Cutmarks on animal bones at early human sites indicate
A) sexual dimorphism.
B) use of stone tools.
C) construction of shelter.
D) violent intertribal conflict

Accepted Answer

Cutmarks on animal bones indicate the use of stone tools to process or butcher the animal, which was a critical activity for early humans. Sexual dimorphism, construction of shelter, and violent intertribal conflict are not indicated by cutmarks on animal bones.

Question 9

What are some of the major characteristics that first document the distinction between apes and humans?

Accepted Answer

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Question 10

Footprints preserved in 3.6 million-year-old volcanic ash at Laetoli, Tanzania, indicate that
A) some of our early ancestors may have worn crude sandals.
B) A. africanus was on his/her way out of Africa.
C) A. boisei and A. africanus both lived about 3.6 million years ago.
D) A. afarensis was quadripedal.
E) bipedalism definitely preceded marked brain expansion in human evolution.

Accepted Answer

The footprints at Laetoli indicate that creatures that walked upright, likely A. afarensis, were present in Africa 3.6 million years ago. This suggests that bipedalism preceded marked brain expansion in human evolution.

Question 11

Discuss some of the various theories relating to the emergence of the three major characteristics of humanness. Be sure to list these characteristics as well.

Accepted Answer

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Question 12

In a series of papers, Raymond Dart proposed which of the following as a bloodthirsty predator?
A) A. boisei
B) A. robustus
C) H. habilis
D) A. africanus

Accepted Answer

Raymond Dart proposed that A. africanus was a bloodthirsty predator, based on his interpretation of fossils found at the Taung Child site. However, this hypothesis has been largely rejected by modern paleoanthropologists.

Question 13

The site of Laetoli is important for all of the following reasons except
A) evidence of bipedalism is preserved there in the form of footprints preserved in volcanic ash.
B) evidence that Australopithecus afarensis was bipedal by 3.5 million years ago.
C) evidence of a very brief moment in time is recorded here, atypical of the nature of most other hominin and archaeological sites.
D) evidence of violent conflict among rival regional tribes

Accepted Answer

The site of Laetoli is not important for evidence of violent conflict among rival regional tribes; rather, it is important for its evidence of early hominin bipedalism and its preservation of a brief moment in time.

Question 14

"Lucy" is the nearly 40% complete skeleton of what hominin species?
A) Australopithecus boisei
B) Australopithecus africanus
C) Homo habilis
D) Homo erectus
E) Australopithecus afarensis

Accepted Answer

"Lucy" is the nearly 40% complete skeleton of the Australopithecus afarensis species.

Question 15

Discuss the differences between biological and cultural evolution.

Accepted Answer

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Question 16

Olduvai Gorge is all of the following except
A) almost two million years old.
B) home to a trove of garnet and onyx jewelry
C) located in East Africa.
D) a rich deposit of early hominin bones and stone tools.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Olduvai Gorge is all of the following...

Question 17

Discuss the basic principles of radiometric dating, including some description of both radiocarbon and radiopotassium methods.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the basic principles of radiometric dating,...

Question 18

Which of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
A) Olduvai Gorge and pebble tools
B) Taung and A.africanus
C) A. afarensis and Laetoli
D) K/Ar and bone

Accepted Answer

K/Ar dating is a method used to date volcanic rocks, not bones.

Question 19

The Leakeys have worked at Olduvai Gorge for more than 40 years. Discuss the finds from Olduvai and their significance in terms of our understanding of human evolution.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Leakeys have worked at Olduvai Gorge...

Question 20

The earliest known fossil human ancestor is called
A) Australopithecus.
B) Paranthropus.
C) Orrorin.
D) Homo.

Accepted Answer

Orrorin tugenensis, discovered in Kenya in 2000, is considered one of the earliest forms of hominid, dating back over 6 million years, making it older than the well-known Australopithecus.

Quiz 2: The First Humans

What is the importance of the discoveries at Laetoli in terms of our understanding of human evolution?

The first Australopithecine fossil discovered in Africa was

The discoveries at Olduvai are important because

Sexual dimorphism refers to

Oldowan tools were made by the _____ method.

Where do the first stone tools appear and when? What do these tools represent in terms of human evolution? Were the earliest tools made of stone?

Which of the following is considered to be the first major development in hominin evolution?

Cutmarks on animal bones at early human sites indicate

What are some of the major characteristics that first document the distinction between apes and humans?

Footprints preserved in 3.6 million-year-old volcanic ash at Laetoli, Tanzania, indicate that

Discuss some of the various theories relating to the emergence of the three major characteristics of humanness. Be sure to list these characteristics as well.

In a series of papers, Raymond Dart proposed which of the following as a bloodthirsty predator?

The site of Laetoli is important for all of the following reasons except

"Lucy" is the nearly 40% complete skeleton of what hominin species?

Discuss the differences between biological and cultural evolution.

Olduvai Gorge is all of the following except

Discuss the basic principles of radiometric dating, including some description of both radiocarbon and radiopotassium methods.

Which of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?

The Leakeys have worked at Olduvai Gorge for more than 40 years. Discuss the finds from Olduvai and their significance in terms of our understanding of human evolution.

The earliest known fossil human ancestor is called