Question 1

In South Africa's Blombos Cave, 100,000-year-old paint was recently discovered. This find indicates that

Accepted Answer

A)  artistic behaviors developed before anatomically modern bodies. 
B)  modern behavior is much older than anthropologists once believed. 
C)  Neandertals used paint in different ways than anatomically modern humans. 
D)  Neandertals created art and had symbolic thought. 
E)  humans made red paint for functional but not symbolic reasons. 
A)  artistic behaviors developed before anatomically modern bodies. 
B)  modern behavior is much older than anthropologists once believed. 
C)  Neandertals used paint in different ways than anatomically modern humans. 
D)  Neandertals created art and had symbolic thought. 
E)  humans made red paint for functional but not symbolic reasons. B

Question 2

In 1987, a group of molecular geneticists at the University of California at Berkeley offered support for the idea that anatomically modern humans arose fairly recently in Africa, then spread out and colonized the world. The geneticists analyzed genetic samples of 147 women whose ancestors came from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. By estimating the number of mutations that had taken place in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of each of these samples, the researchers concluded that

Accepted Answer

A)  establishing a "genetic clock" to model human evolution is reliable only when focusing on 50,000 years into the past. 
B)  everyone alive today has mtDNA that descends from a woman (dubbed "Mitochondrial Eve") who lived in Asia around 50,000 years ago, and her descendants left Asia 100,000 years ago. 
C)  everyone alive can count the Neandertal of western Europe as their ancestor. 
D)  Neandertals coexisted with modern humans in the Middle East for at least 2,000 years. 
E)  everyone alive today has mtDNA that descends from a woman (dubbed "Mitochondrial Eve") who lived in sub-Saharan Africa around 200,000 years ago, and her descendants left Africa no more than 135,000 years ago. 
A)  establishing a "genetic clock" to model human evolution is reliable only when focusing on 50,000 years into the past. 
B)  everyone alive today has mtDNA that descends from a woman (dubbed "Mitochondrial Eve") who lived in Asia around 50,000 years ago, and her descendants left Asia 100,000 years ago. 
C)  everyone alive can count the Neandertal of western Europe as their ancestor. 
D)  Neandertals coexisted with modern humans in the Middle East for at least 2,000 years. 
E)  everyone alive today has mtDNA that descends from a woman (dubbed "Mitochondrial Eve") who lived in sub-Saharan Africa around 200,000 years ago, and her descendants left Africa no more than 135,000 years ago. E

Question 3

Biological and cultural changes enabled H. erectus to exploit a new adaptive strategy-gathering and hunting. This in turn was crucial for H. erectus to

Accepted Answer

A)  overcome its greatest challenge: an imperfect bipedal gait. 
B)  bring about the onset of complex language. 
C)  push the hominin range beyond Africa, into Asia and Europe. 
D)  diminish the rate of mortalities due to violent encounters with large animals and other hominins. 
E)  beat out H. habilis in competition for key ecological niches. 
A)  overcome its greatest challenge: an imperfect bipedal gait. 
B)  bring about the onset of complex language. 
C)  push the hominin range beyond Africa, into Asia and Europe. 
D)  diminish the rate of mortalities due to violent encounters with large animals and other hominins. 
E)  beat out H. habilis in competition for key ecological niches. C

Question 4

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 leap between earlier hominins and H. erectus.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

The geological epoch known as the ________ has been considered the epoch of early human life.

Accepted Answer

A)  Würm 
B)  Cenozoic 
C)  Pleistocene 
D)  Mousterian 
E)  Miocene 
A)  Würm 
B)  Cenozoic 
C)  Pleistocene 
D)  Mousterian 
E)  Miocene

Question 6

What is so significant about the recent fossil finds of an H. erectus and an H. habilis from Ileret, Kenya, east of Lake Turkana?

Accepted Answer

A)  They prove that H. erectus and H. habilis coexisted in the same ecological niche and eventually interbred to result in a single species. 
B)  They prove that functional differentiation in toolmaking preceded the advent of Homo. 
C)  They prove that sexual dimorphism was finally absent as a trend in human evolution by 2 m.y.a. 
D)  They negate the conventional view held since 1960 that habilis and erectus evolved one after the other. Instead, they lived side by side in eastern Africa for perhaps half a million years. 
E)  They confirm that H. habilis evolved from H. erectus. 
A)  They prove that H. erectus and H. habilis coexisted in the same ecological niche and eventually interbred to result in a single species. 
B)  They prove that functional differentiation in toolmaking preceded the advent of Homo. 
C)  They prove that sexual dimorphism was finally absent as a trend in human evolution by 2 m.y.a. 
D)  They negate the conventional view held since 1960 that habilis and erectus evolved one after the other. Instead, they lived side by side in eastern Africa for perhaps half a million years. 
E)  They confirm that H. habilis evolved from H. erectus.

Question 7

Climate changes had a profound impact on the hominin way of life. In southwestern Europe, for example,

Accepted Answer

A)  hominins were forced to migrate northward during the Würm glacial interval. 
B)  the melting of the ice sheets with the end of the Würm glacial period gradually lured big game farther north, pressuring hominins to use a greater variety of foods. 
C)  hominins began a sedentary life after the end of the Würm glacial period, forming the first villages in human history. 
D)  hominins turned to a more specialized diet based on big-game meat after the glacial retreat. 
E)  the melting of the ice sheets with the end of the Würm glacial period caused animal diversity to drop, challenging hominins to shift their diets from meat to coarse grasses. 
A)  hominins were forced to migrate northward during the Würm glacial interval. 
B)  the melting of the ice sheets with the end of the Würm glacial period gradually lured big game farther north, pressuring hominins to use a greater variety of foods. 
C)  hominins began a sedentary life after the end of the Würm glacial period, forming the first villages in human history. 
D)  hominins turned to a more specialized diet based on big-game meat after the glacial retreat. 
E)  the melting of the ice sheets with the end of the Würm glacial period caused animal diversity to drop, challenging hominins to shift their diets from meat to coarse grasses.

Question 8

The evidence from the Mount Carmel caves in Israel indicates that anatomically modern humans may have inhabited the Middle East before the Neandertals did.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

There is much debate among scientists about when, where, and how anatomically modern humans achieved behavioral modernity. Some researchers suggest that about 50,000 years ago a genetic mutation acted to rewire the human brain, allowing for an advance in language and other related modern behaviors. Others propose

Accepted Answer

A)  a hearth hypothesis, suggesting that the most important trigger to behavioral modernity was Homo's capacity, achieved 50,000 years ago, for manipulating fire and thus living in caves and cooking their meat. 
B)  that the advent of the nuclear family within larger nomadic groups made possible intense social interactions that triggered more complex social behaviors. 
C)  that instead of a sudden event in Europe due to a mutation, behavioral modernity resulted from a slow process of cultural accumulation within Africa, where Homo sapiens became fully human long before 40,000 years ago. 
D)  a culinary hypothesis, suggesting that Homo's capacity to increase the range of foods in the diet triggered the necessary brain development to make modern behaviors possible. 
E)  that drastic climatic changes 40,000 years ago led archaic humans to turn to ritual-a definite sign of behavioral modernity-to explain the unforeseen environmental changes that suddenly altered their way of life. 
A)  a hearth hypothesis, suggesting that the most important trigger to behavioral modernity was Homo's capacity, achieved 50,000 years ago, for manipulating fire and thus living in caves and cooking their meat. 
B)  that the advent of the nuclear family within larger nomadic groups made possible intense social interactions that triggered more complex social behaviors. 
C)  that instead of a sudden event in Europe due to a mutation, behavioral modernity resulted from a slow process of cultural accumulation within Africa, where Homo sapiens became fully human long before 40,000 years ago. 
D)  a culinary hypothesis, suggesting that Homo's capacity to increase the range of foods in the diet triggered the necessary brain development to make modern behaviors possible. 
E)  that drastic climatic changes 40,000 years ago led archaic humans to turn to ritual-a definite sign of behavioral modernity-to explain the unforeseen environmental changes that suddenly altered their way of life.

Question 11

The stone-tool traditions of the Upper Paleolithic were based primarily on blade tools that, compared to those of the Mousterian, are made more quickly and are better at maximizing the amount of cutting edge from the same amount of stone.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

What is the most likely explanation of why early Homo left Africa and spread into Eurasia?

Accepted Answer

A)  overpopulation in Africa 
B)  Homo's smaller bodies, which made them more fit for long-distance travel 
C)  a hyperspecialization in vegetarian diets 
D)  the pursuit of meat 
E)  a maladaptation to a more energy-inefficient system of locomotion 
A)  overpopulation in Africa 
B)  Homo's smaller bodies, which made them more fit for long-distance travel 
C)  a hyperspecialization in vegetarian diets 
D)  the pursuit of meat 
E)  a maladaptation to a more energy-inefficient system of locomotion

Question 13

Which of the following statements about H. erectus fossils is NOT true?

Accepted Answer

A)  They indicate increasing hunting proficiency. 
B)  They are often found associated with Acheulean stone tools. 
C)  They show an increasing reliance on cultural adaptation. 
D)  They had a thicker skull bone and a very robust skeleton. 
E)  They have hyperrobust chewing muscles and broad, flat molars. 
A)  They indicate increasing hunting proficiency. 
B)  They are often found associated with Acheulean stone tools. 
C)  They show an increasing reliance on cultural adaptation. 
D)  They had a thicker skull bone and a very robust skeleton. 
E)  They have hyperrobust chewing muscles and broad, flat molars.

Question 14

The recent Dmanisi fossil finds suggest a rapid spread, by 1.77 m.y.a., of early Homo out of Africa into Eurasia.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Unlike the Mousterian technology, which had many different kinds of stone tools, the tool traditions of the Upper Paleolithic included only a few different types of implements.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

The discovery of the jaw of a H. heidelbergensis near Heidelberg, Germany, proves that H. sapiens evolved in Europe.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

The Clovis tradition, a sophisticated stone technology based on a sharp point that was fastened to the end of a hunting spear, flourished (widely but briefly) in the central plains and in what is now the eastern United States. Until recently, the Clovis people were considered the first settlers of the Americas. Recent research now suggests, however, that

Accepted Answer

A)  the members of the Clovis tradition depended on the domestication of horses to make travel possible. 
B)  most likely the Americas were settled by several colonists who came at different times and perhaps by different routes. 
C)  the wheel, which has never been found in Clovis sites, was a critical part of an even earlier arrival to the Americas. 
D)  the Americas were settled by one haplogroup-a lineage marked by one or more specific genetic mutations. 
E)  various groups of colonists entered the Americas, but they all used the same route. 
A)  the members of the Clovis tradition depended on the domestication of horses to make travel possible. 
B)  most likely the Americas were settled by several colonists who came at different times and perhaps by different routes. 
C)  the wheel, which has never been found in Clovis sites, was a critical part of an even earlier arrival to the Americas. 
D)  the Americas were settled by one haplogroup-a lineage marked by one or more specific genetic mutations. 
E)  various groups of colonists entered the Americas, but they all used the same route.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT associated with H. erectus?

Accepted Answer

A)  the use of fire 
B)  more sophisticated toolmaking 
C)  cave painting 
D)  the development of Acheulean tools 
E)  a massive ridge above the eyes 
A)  the use of fire 
B)  more sophisticated toolmaking 
C)  cave painting 
D)  the development of Acheulean tools 
E)  a massive ridge above the eyes

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

A)  Oldowan 
B)  microliths 
C)  Mousterian 
D)  Acheulean 
E)  blades 
A)  Oldowan 
B)  microliths 
C)  Mousterian 
D)  Acheulean 
E)  blades

Question 20

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

A)  The site's inhabitants led an essentially human lifestyle. 
B)  Homo erectus engaged in warfare. 
C)  Neandertals were not fully human. 
D)  Early hominids cultivated plants. 
E)  Homo habilis had language. 
A)  The site's inhabitants led an essentially human lifestyle. 
B)  Homo erectus engaged in warfare. 
C)  Neandertals were not fully human. 
D)  Early hominids cultivated plants. 
E)  Homo habilis had language.

In South Africa's Blombos Cave, 100,000-year-old paint was recently discovered. This find indicates that

Biological and cultural changes enabled H. erectus to exploit a new adaptive strategy-gathering and hunting. This in turn was crucial for H. erectus to

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 leap between earlier hominins and H. erectus.

The geological epoch known as the ________ has been considered the epoch of early human life.

What is so significant about the recent fossil finds of an H. erectus and an H. habilis from Ileret, Kenya, east of Lake Turkana?

Climate changes had a profound impact on the hominin way of life. In southwestern Europe, for example,

The evidence from the Mount Carmel caves in Israel indicates that anatomically modern humans may have inhabited the Middle East before the Neandertals did.

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

The stone-tool traditions of the Upper Paleolithic were based primarily on blade tools that, compared to those of the Mousterian, are made more quickly and are better at maximizing the amount of cutting edge from the same amount of stone.

What is the most likely explanation of why early Homo left Africa and spread into Eurasia?

Which of the following statements about H. erectus fossils is NOT true?

The recent Dmanisi fossil finds suggest a rapid spread, by 1.77 m.y.a., of early Homo out of Africa into Eurasia.

Unlike the Mousterian technology, which had many different kinds of stone tools, the tool traditions of the Upper Paleolithic included only a few different types of implements.

The discovery of the jaw of a H. heidelbergensis near Heidelberg, Germany, proves that H. sapiens evolved in Europe.

Which of the following is NOT associated with H. erectus?

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

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?

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Doing Anthropology

Evolution, Genetics, and Human Variation

The Primates

Early Hominins

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

Language and Communication

Making a Living

Political Systems

Families, Kinship, and Marriage

Gender

Religion

Ethnicity and Race

Applying Anthropology

The World System, Colonialism, and Inequality

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters

Exam 7: The Genus Homo

In South Africa's Blombos Cave, 100,000-year-old paint was recently discovered. This find indicates that

Biological and cultural changes enabled H. erectus to exploit a new adaptive strategy-gathering and hunting. This in turn was crucial for H. erectus to

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 leap between earlier hominins and H. erectus.

The geological epoch known as the ________ has been considered the epoch of early human life.

What is so significant about the recent fossil finds of an H. erectus and an H. habilis from Ileret, Kenya, east of Lake Turkana?

Climate changes had a profound impact on the hominin way of life. In southwestern Europe, for example,

The evidence from the Mount Carmel caves in Israel indicates that anatomically modern humans may have inhabited the Middle East before the Neandertals did.

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

The stone-tool traditions of the Upper Paleolithic were based primarily on blade tools that, compared to those of the Mousterian, are made more quickly and are better at maximizing the amount of cutting edge from the same amount of stone.

What is the most likely explanation of why early Homo left Africa and spread into Eurasia?

Which of the following statements about H. erectus fossils is NOT true?

The recent Dmanisi fossil finds suggest a rapid spread, by 1.77 m.y.a., of early Homo out of Africa into Eurasia.

Unlike the Mousterian technology, which had many different kinds of stone tools, the tool traditions of the Upper Paleolithic included only a few different types of implements.

The discovery of the jaw of a H. heidelbergensis near Heidelberg, Germany, proves that H. sapiens evolved in Europe.

Which of the following is NOT associated with H. erectus?

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

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?

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Doing Anthropology

Evolution, Genetics, and Human Variation

The Primates

Early Hominins

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

Language and Communication

Making a Living

Political Systems

Families, Kinship, and Marriage

Gender

Religion

Ethnicity and Race

Applying Anthropology

The World System, Colonialism, and Inequality

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters