Question 1

Colonial archaeologists study pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 2

Paleopathology is the study of

Accepted Answer

A)   the biological and geological processes by which dead animals become fossils.
B)   ancient environments using samples of ancient pollen.
C)   hominin evolution and human life as revealed by the fossil record.
D)   disease and injury in skeletons from archaeological sites.
E)   the evolution of linguistic communication through ancient speech sounds and texts. D

Question 3

The specialist among a team of scientists at an excavation site who focuses on the study of ancient plants through pollen samples taken from the site is most likely a

Accepted Answer

A)   paleopathologist.
B)   palynologist.
C)   phytologist.
D)   pollenologist.
E)   paleontologist. B

Question 4

Which of the following researchers would most likely NOT be part of a paleoanthropological research team?

Accepted Answer

A)   geologist
B)   palynologist
C)   paleoecologist
D)   chemist
E)   psychotherapist

Question 5

Molecular anthropology studies evolutionary links using genetic analysis.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

How do researchers date the past? What are the limitations of each dating technique?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How do researchers date the past? What...

Question 7

What are the different kinds of archaeology?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the different kinds of archaeology?...

Question 8

Remote sensing refers to carrying out excavations in distant locations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

The principle of superposition states that in an undisturbed sequence of strata,

Accepted Answer

A)   the oldest layer is on the top.
B)   the oldest layer is on the bottom.
C)   the stratigraphic techniques are useful only if the soils have a high content of sandstone.
D)   the youngest layer is the least disturbed by environmental changes such as erosion.
E)   the oldest layer is the shallowest in the sequence.

Question 10

The utility of stratigraphy for dating purposes is based on the fact that

Accepted Answer

A)   all environmental forces leave behind the same kind of soil deposit.
B)   the depth and order of undisturbed soil strata reflect the age of their deposition.
C)   higher strata are usually older than lower strata in undisturbed soil.
D)   soil strata are uncluttered by bones, stones, and artifacts.
E)   once in the soil, there are very few things that can damage or disturb bones.

Question 11

Digging according to arbitrary levels is quicker but less refined than digging according to the site's stratigraphy.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Molecular dating uses an assumed constant rate of mutation to estimate the date of a most recent ancestor that is shared by two populations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Paleopathology is the study of disease and injury in skeletons.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT one of the kinds of archaeology discussed in this chapter?

Accepted Answer

A)   classical archaeology
B)   historic archaeology
C)   underwater archaeology
D)   linguistic archaeology
E)   colonial archaeology

Question 15

In an example of how microscopic evidence in studying the past can yield surprising results that may overturn long-held assumptions, Williamson's analysis of microscopic residues stuck to the edges of cutting tools found at a cave site in South Africa revealed that

Accepted Answer

A)   50 percent of the residues were from plants, contradicting the prevailing assumption that such tools were used mainly to hunt and butcher animals.
B)   all of the residues were from butchered animals, but most of the butchering had been performed by women and not by men.
C)   30 percent of the residues were from plants, suggesting a slow transition from vegetarian to carnivorous diets.
D)   50 percent of the residues were from domesticated plants, pushing back the date of plant domestication from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago.
E)   30 percent of the residues were from human flesh, suggesting cannibalism.

Question 16

Informed consent refers to

Accepted Answer

A)   U.S. anthropologists' signed commitment to the American Anthropological Association that they will abide by the organization's laws and regulations.
B)   host country leaders' agreement that the specified research be carried out.
C)   people's agreement to take part in research after they have been fully informed about its purpose, nature, funding, procedures, and potential impact on them.
D)   a coercive agreement between anthropologists and study participants that characterized much of the dubious and unethical research practices of the past.
E)   a signed contract between anthropologists and their academic institutions regarding the potential monetary value of the data they will collect in the field and how they will safeguard it.

Question 17

Data collected using systematic surveys do NOT typically address which of the following questions?

Accepted Answer

A)   What is the relative chronology of the layers exposed during excavation?
B)   How big are the sites in a given region?
C)   How many people lived in a certain area?
D)   What kinds of buildings existed in a given region?
E)   Where are the archaeological sites located?

Question 18

Radiometric dating techniques available to anthropologists

Accepted Answer

A)   work only for nonhuman primates, because genus Homo had culture.
B)   have caused a re-evaluation of the fossil record since their 1991 development.
C)   can only be used to date inorganic materials that are more than 1 million years old.
D)   do not work well for hominin fossils, because such fossils are too young for the effective range of the techniques.
E)   establish a probable date for fossils by calculating radioactive decay in the specimen found or the rocks surrounding it.

Question 19

Paleoanthropologist Stringer once noted that "absence of evidence does not necessarily prove evidence of absence." Why is this important to keep in mind when assessing the use of fossils to study the past?

Accepted Answer

A)   Taphonomy is not a true science, because it lacks accuracy.
B)   The fields of paleontology and paleoanthropology have established a chronology of the evolution of life.
C)   The failure to find a fossil species in a particular place does not necessarily mean that it did not live there.
D)   Paleontology and paleoanthropology are humanistic disciplines.
E)   The fossil record is a complete sample of all the plants and animals that ever lived.

Question 20

What are both carbon-14 and potassium-argon dating techniques based on?

Accepted Answer

A)   radioactive decay
B)   stratigraphic associations
C)   reversals of magnetic fields
D)   accumulations of mineral salts
E)   relative as opposed to absolute dating

Exam 4: Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Colonial archaeologists study pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas.

Paleopathology is the study of

The specialist among a team of scientists at an excavation site who focuses on the study of ancient plants through pollen samples taken from the site is most likely a

Which of the following researchers would most likely NOT be part of a paleoanthropological research team?

Molecular anthropology studies evolutionary links using genetic analysis.

How do researchers date the past? What are the limitations of each dating technique?

What are the different kinds of archaeology?

Remote sensing refers to carrying out excavations in distant locations.

The principle of superposition states that in an undisturbed sequence of strata,

The utility of stratigraphy for dating purposes is based on the fact that

Digging according to arbitrary levels is quicker but less refined than digging according to the site's stratigraphy.

Molecular dating uses an assumed constant rate of mutation to estimate the date of a most recent ancestor that is shared by two populations.

Paleopathology is the study of disease and injury in skeletons.

Which of the following is NOT one of the kinds of archaeology discussed in this chapter?

In an example of how microscopic evidence in studying the past can yield surprising results that may overturn long-held assumptions, Williamson's analysis of microscopic residues stuck to the edges of cutting tools found at a cave site in South Africa revealed that

Informed consent refers to

Data collected using systematic surveys do NOT typically address which of the following questions?

Radiometric dating techniques available to anthropologists

Paleoanthropologist Stringer once noted that "absence of evidence does not necessarily prove evidence of absence." Why is this important to keep in mind when assessing the use of fossils to study the past?

What are both carbon-14 and potassium-argon dating techniques based on?