Exam 4: Human Evolution

When did diurnal anthropoids first appear?

Neandertals were anatomically different from modern humans.

What tool did Irven DeVore fashion for his own surgery?

Which species has been called the "end product of a long period of evolution on a comparatively small island where environmental conditions placed small body size at a selective advantage"?

The earliest human stone tool tradition was the _______________.

Without isolation, gene flow tends to keep populations from differentiating into distinct species.

What fossil evidence was recovered in 1997 in Ethiopia and used to argue the veracity of the recent African origins hypothesis?

How is bipedalism "written upon the human body"?

While all of the following may have been critical to the development of an expanding brain; which of the following would have contributed most directly to brain growth?

________________ is the most controversial ancient member of the genus Homo.

Paleontologists who place more or less similar-looking fossils specimens together in more inclusive groups are called _______________.

Bipedalism is considered to be most adaptive in geographical areas known as _______________.

There has been an enormous amount of controversy surrounding whether Neandertals are a direct part of the Homo sapiens sapiens line. Why do you think this type of enigma generates such controversy? How would our story be different with Neandertals as "one of our direct ancestors" versus Neandertals as "a separate, indirect species"?

Whether Homo habilis represents the first species that used tools is still debated. It is argued that earlier tools could have been produced using organic materials, not the stone that characterized the tools of H. habilis. Examine the likelihood of whether or not perishable organic tools could have been produced by species that preceded H. habilis. You may want to consider some of the tools used by contemporary band level societies to support your argument.

Which of the following statements is considered to be true?

The Neandertals inhabited Europe and Africa from approximately 125,000 to 30,000 years ago.

Anthropologists have not fully resolved which human ancestors were the first to walk on two legs.

In Europe, Neandertals and anatomically modern humans co-existed for about 10,000 years.

What advantages did bipedalism confer on our early human ancestors in the savannah environment?

The evolution from australopithecine to Homo habilis is known to have occurred very gradually.