Exam 9: Early Hominins

Fossil finds from East Africa clearly show that bipedal hominids lived there in the early Pliocene (between 5 and 3 million years ago); these finds come from

Why does the presence of patterned stone tools at some hominin fossil sites indicate that early hominins had probably developed culture?

Homo rudolfensis is roughly contemporary with

Proposed explanations for the evolution of bipedalism include the following: erect posture facilitated both predator avoidance and prey detection; erect posture improved thermoregulation and the dispersion of body heat; and, erect posture freed the hands to perform other activities.

Jonathan Wells and Jay Stock argue that ___________ led humans to become "colonizing apes," able to live in diverse environments.

The hominin pelvis shifts the orientation of the femur from the front of the pelvis to the side.

Reduction in the size of the face, cheek teeth and jaws over the course of hominid evolution was likely due to natural selection for a big, strong chewing apparatus being relaxed.

The Taung Child, described by Raymond Dart, was one of the most important fossil finds of the 20th century; it was the first australopithecine to be discovered and the first specimen of ________ to be described.

Paleoanthropologists attempt to determine if a stone flake is a tool by looking for a

One of the possible consequences of brain expansion was that offspring are born more developed.

Microscopic scratches parallel to the edge of a stone tool often occur when the tool is used as a