Question 1

With the movement of H. erectus out of Africa, H. erectus eventually colonized Europe and Asia.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 2

In addition to their stocky bodies, which were adapted to conserve heat, Neandertals made clothes, developed elaborate tools, and hunted reindeer, mammoths, and woolly rhinos in order to adapt to the cold climate in Europe during the Würm glaciation.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 3

Summarize the fossil evidence for the evolution of H. erectus out of australopithecine ancestors. Make sure to identify major trends and how they correlate with different uses of the environment.

Accepted Answer

The fossil evidence for the evolution of H. erectus out of australopithecine ancestors shows a number of major trends. One of the key trends is the development of a larger brain size in H. erectus compared to australopithecines. This suggests a shift towards more complex cognitive abilities and potentially a more varied and adaptable diet. Additionally, H. erectus fossils show evidence of a more modern body shape, with longer legs and a more efficient stride, indicating a shift towards a more terrestrial lifestyle.

These trends correlate with different uses of the environment. The larger brain size and more modern body shape of H. erectus likely allowed them to adapt to a wider range of environments and exploit a greater variety of resources. This may have enabled them to expand their range and colonize new habitats, including more open grassland areas. The shift towards a more terrestrial lifestyle also suggests a greater reliance on hunting and scavenging for food, as well as potentially using fire for cooking and protection.

Overall, the fossil evidence for the evolution of H. erectus out of australopithecine ancestors points to a significant shift in both physical and behavioral traits, allowing H. erectus to thrive in a wider range of environments and exploit new resources.

Question 4

European fossils and tools have contributed disproportionately to our knowledge and interpretation of early (archaic) H. sapiens. What explains this?

Accepted Answer

A)  that anatomically modern humans evolved in France 
B)  the richness of data from the Zhoukoudian site 
C)  the long history of Paleolithic archaeology in Europe relative to other regions in the world 
D)  that archaic H. sapiens were driven to Europe by the more aggressive Cro-Magnons 
E)  stratigraphic disturbances caused by glaciers 
A)  that anatomically modern humans evolved in France 
B)  the richness of data from the Zhoukoudian site 
C)  the long history of Paleolithic archaeology in Europe relative to other regions in the world 
D)  that archaic H. sapiens were driven to Europe by the more aggressive Cro-Magnons 
E)  stratigraphic disturbances caused by glaciers

Question 5

One of the most surprising aspects of the recent discovery of H. floresiensis, a species of tiny people who lived, gathered, and hunted on the Indonesian island of Flores from about 95,000
B.P. until at least 13,000
B.P., is the specimens' very large skulls, yet they lack behaviors associated with anatomically modern humans.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Archaic H. sapiens (300,000? to 28,000 B.P.) encompass the earliest members of our species, along with

Accepted Answer

A)  H. floresiensis of the Indonesian island of Flores. 
B)  the Neandertals of Europe and the Middle East and their Neandertal-like contemporaries in Africa and Asia. 
C)  the Neandertals of China. 
D)  gorillas and chimps. 
E)  the late australopithecines of Africa. 
A)  H. floresiensis of the Indonesian island of Flores. 
B)  the Neandertals of Europe and the Middle East and their Neandertal-like contemporaries in Africa and Asia. 
C)  the Neandertals of China. 
D)  gorillas and chimps. 
E)  the late australopithecines of Africa.

Question 7

The spread of H. erectus from tropical and subtropical climates into temperate zones was facilitated by all of the following EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A)  the harnessing of fire. 
B)  living in rock shelters and caves. 
C)  blade-toolmaking traditions. 
D)  increasingly efficient hunting methods. 
E)  the use of animal skins as clothing. 
A)  the harnessing of fire. 
B)  living in rock shelters and caves. 
C)  blade-toolmaking traditions. 
D)  increasingly efficient hunting methods. 
E)  the use of animal skins as clothing.

Question 8

H. antecessor, a 780,000-year-old hominin found in Spain's Atapuerca mountains,

Accepted Answer

A)  is the possible common ancestor of the Neandertals and anatomically modern humans. 
B)  has shocked the scientific community, because these fossils show a very small brain despite evidence of these people's having sophisticated stone technologies. 
C)  provides conclusive evidence for the usefulness of population genetics. 
D)  had a brain capacity greater than H. habilis but smaller than A. robustus. 
E)  was misrepresented in the scientific literature, because its discovery occurred during a time when there was no framework for understanding evolution. 
A)  is the possible common ancestor of the Neandertals and anatomically modern humans. 
B)  has shocked the scientific community, because these fossils show a very small brain despite evidence of these people's having sophisticated stone technologies. 
C)  provides conclusive evidence for the usefulness of population genetics. 
D)  had a brain capacity greater than H. habilis but smaller than A. robustus. 
E)  was misrepresented in the scientific literature, because its discovery occurred during a time when there was no framework for understanding evolution.

Question 9

The Paleolithic tool tradition associated with H. erectus is the Acheulean.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

How do biological changes in H. erectus reflect new cultural adaptive strategies? How do these relate to H. erectus's capacity to extend the hominin range beyond Africa to Asia and Europe?

Accepted Answer

The biological changes in H. erectus ref

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

A)  show a thickening of the skull wall, probably as an adaptation to game hunting and interpersonal violence. 
B)  indicate increasing hunting proficiency. 
C)  are often found associated with Acheulean stone tools. 
D)  have hyperrobust chewing muscles and broad, flat molars. 
E)  show an increasing reliance on cultural adaptation. 
A)  show a thickening of the skull wall, probably as an adaptation to game hunting and interpersonal violence. 
B)  indicate increasing hunting proficiency. 
C)  are often found associated with Acheulean stone tools. 
D)  have hyperrobust chewing muscles and broad, flat molars. 
E)  show an increasing reliance on cultural adaptation.

Question 12

Several different kinds of hominin lived in Africa before and after the advent of Homo.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

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 confirm that H. habilis evolved from H. erectus. 
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 prove that functional differentiation in toolmaking preceded the advent of Homo. 
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 confirm that H. habilis evolved from H. erectus. 
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 prove that functional differentiation in toolmaking preceded the advent of Homo.

Question 14

Given the potential for language-based communications in activities such as cooperative hunting and the manufacture of complicated tools, and given brain size within the low H. sapiens range, it seems plausible to assume that
A. boisei had rudimentary speech.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Scientists continue to debate the relationship between two Homo fossil finds: KNM-ER 1470, named H. rudolfensis by some, and KNM-ER 1813, generally considered to be an exemplar of H. habilis. Is the smaller KNM-ER 1813 a distinct species? Could it be a female version of KNM-ER 1470, both being simply a female and male pair of the highly variable H. habilis? The only sure conclusion is that

Accepted Answer

A)  females are poorly represented in the hominin fossil record. 
B)  there is a trend in hominin evolution toward large molars. 
C)  no hominin fossil younger than 2.5 m.y.a. has exhibited chimplike features. 
D)  KNM-ER 1470 is more like an australopithecine than a Homo. 
E)  several different kinds of hominin lived in Africa before and after the advent of Homo. 
A)  females are poorly represented in the hominin fossil record. 
B)  there is a trend in hominin evolution toward large molars. 
C)  no hominin fossil younger than 2.5 m.y.a. has exhibited chimplike features. 
D)  KNM-ER 1470 is more like an australopithecine than a Homo. 
E)  several different kinds of hominin lived in Africa before and after the advent of Homo.

Question 16

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 17

Drawing on biological and cultural evidence, discuss the major similarities and differences in the cultural adaptive strategies employed by Australopithecus and H. erectus.

Accepted Answer

Australopithecus and H. erectus were bot

Question 18

Which of the following statements about the appearance of Homo habilis is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  H. habilis evolved from A. boisei, the hyperrobust australopithecines. 
B)  H. habilis demonstrates the adaptive advantage of sedentism. 
C)  H. habilis exhibits a relatively rapid expansion of cranial capacity. 
D)  H. habilis shows evidence of a shift from an arboreal to an open-grassland environment. 
E)  H. habilis represents a gradual shift away from predation to vegetarianism. 
A)  H. habilis evolved from A. boisei, the hyperrobust australopithecines. 
B)  H. habilis demonstrates the adaptive advantage of sedentism. 
C)  H. habilis exhibits a relatively rapid expansion of cranial capacity. 
D)  H. habilis shows evidence of a shift from an arboreal to an open-grassland environment. 
E)  H. habilis represents a gradual shift away from predation to vegetarianism.

Question 19

H. erectus is generally associated with which of the following technologies?

Accepted Answer

A)  Neolithic 
B)  Oldowan 
C)  Mousterian 
D)  Acheulean 
E)  Upper Paleolithic 
A)  Neolithic 
B)  Oldowan 
C)  Mousterian 
D)  Acheulean 
E)  Upper Paleolithic

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 9: Archaic Homo

With the movement of H. erectus out of Africa, H. erectus eventually colonized Europe and Asia.

In addition to their stocky bodies, which were adapted to conserve heat, Neandertals made clothes, developed elaborate tools, and hunted reindeer, mammoths, and woolly rhinos in order to adapt to the cold climate in Europe during the Würm glaciation.

Summarize the fossil evidence for the evolution of H. erectus out of australopithecine ancestors. Make sure to identify major trends and how they correlate with different uses of the environment.

European fossils and tools have contributed disproportionately to our knowledge and interpretation of early (archaic) H. sapiens. What explains this?

Archaic H. sapiens (300,000? to 28,000 B.P.) encompass the earliest members of our species, along with

The spread of H. erectus from tropical and subtropical climates into temperate zones was facilitated by all of the following EXCEPT

H. antecessor, a 780,000-year-old hominin found in Spain's Atapuerca mountains,

The Paleolithic tool tradition associated with H. erectus is the Acheulean.

How do biological changes in H. erectus reflect new cultural adaptive strategies? How do these relate to H. erectus's capacity to extend the hominin range beyond Africa to Asia and Europe?

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

Several different kinds of hominin lived in Africa before and after the advent of Homo.

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

Given the potential for language-based communications in activities such as cooperative hunting and the manufacture of complicated tools, and given brain size within the low H. sapiens range, it seems plausible to assume that A. boisei had rudimentary speech.

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

Drawing on biological and cultural evidence, discuss the major similarities and differences in the cultural adaptive strategies employed by Australopithecus and H. erectus.

Which of the following statements about the appearance of Homo habilis is true?

H. erectus is generally associated with which of the following technologies?

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

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Evolution and Genetics

Human Variation and Adaptation

The Primates

Early Hominins

The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology

Language and Communication

Ethnicity and Race

Making a Living

Political Systems

Gender

Families, Kinship, and Descent

Marriage

Religion

Arts, Media, and Sports

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters