Anthropology Chapter 9,10,11
Bifacially flaked tools characterize the _______ stone tool industry.
Acheulian
Homo erectus represents a different kind of hominin than the more ancient African predecessors. One of the reasons is
An increased body size and robustness
The hominin fossils from Laetoli and Hadar are classified by most researchers as
Australopithecus afarensis
Neandertal skeletal remains indicate that they extended their range to the east, far into Central Asia, but as yet no remains have been found in
China
The first Chinese H. erectus discoveries were the result of the focus on locating
"Dragon bones" used as medicine and aphrodisiacs
Homo erectus discoveries from East Africa of firmly dated fossils have established the clear presence by
1.7 mya
The Homo erectus remains from Africa are dated to _____ years ago.
1.7-1 million
There is a very late surviving H. erectus group in Java that apparently managed to survive there until less than________years ago.
100,000
Neandertal fossil remains have been found to reach as far back as ________ years ago.
130,000
Homo erectus appeared in East Africa between ___ million years ago.
2.0 and 1.8
The earliest stone tools are dated to approximately
2.6 million years old
Africa sites evidence premodern H. sapien fossils that range from _________ years ago.
600,000
The estimated average cranial capacity for Homo habilis is
631 cm3
What is the range for estimated cranial capacities for Homo erectus?
700 to 1,250 cubic centimeters
The Middle Pleistocene began about _____ years ago and ended______years ago.
780,000, 125,000
The first Homo habilis fossils were found during the 1960's in
Olduvai Gorge
_______ relies on identifying changes in the orientation of the earth's geomagnetic poles.
Paleomagnetism
The ________ epoch has been called the "Ice Age."
Pleistocene
Which of the following statements is false?
Several definite Homo erectus fossils have been discovered in France.
The term hominin refers to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?
Tribe
T/F: Except for some early Homo individuals, there is very little in the way of an evolutionary trend in increased body size or of marked greater encephalization.
True
T/F: Rates of development can be accurately reconstructed by examining dental growth markers.
True
T/F: Remains of early genus Homo have been found in both East and South Africa
True
_______ make the best samples for the K/Ar dating method.
Volcanic rocks
By far the largest collection of Homo erectus remains have been found at
Zhoukoudian
Hominins have been variably defined as having which of the following?
a large brain, toolmaking abilities, adaptations for bipedalism
Compared to Homo erectus, the cranium of the earliest premodern Homo sapiens exhibit
a more rounded braincase
Neandertal crania are characterized by which of the following?
a projecting midface
Chinese paleoanthropologists argue that Asian premodern human fossils evidence both earlier and later characteristics. The more ancestral traits include
a sagittal ridge
Sahelanthropus has an unusual combination of characteristics, including
a small braincase, huge browridges, small vertical face, and lack of shearing canine/premolar arrangement
When compared to large-bodied earlier Homo specimens, Homo erectus relative brain size is
about the same
The fossil skeleton known as "Lucy" belongs to which species?
afarensis
What is the average cranial capacity of H. erectus?
approximately 900 cubic centimeters
Dating methods indicating that something is older or more recent than something else
are called relative dating methods
The sum of the genetic, fossil, and archaeological evidence suggests that Neandertals
are closely related to modern humans
The earliest hominin traces
are primarily dental and cranial pieces
For humans, culture integrates an entire adaptive strategy involving all of the following except
biological components
Thermoluminescence dates
burned flint tools
Two forms of evidence help to confirm the hypothesis that H. erectus evolved in Africa. First, all of the earlier hominins come from Africa. Second,
by 1.7 mya there are well-dated fossils of H. erectus at East Turkana, in Kenya, and not long after at other sites in East Africa.
Radiometric dating techniques
can be used to determine the absolute age of organic materials
The tool technology of premodern Homo sapiens in the Middle Pleistocene
carried over from the Acheulian tools of Homo erectus with little change until near the end of the period
Which of the following would be best suited to the carbon-14 dating technique?
certain organic materials less than 75,000 years old
Mousterian culture evidences all of the following except
clear distinctions between Neandertals and early modern humans.
Some Neandertal physical characteristics may have arisen as adaptations to a ______ environment.
cold
Homo erectus differs most distinctly from both early Homo and Homo sapiens in
cranial size
During glacial peaks, much of western Europe would have been
cut off from the rest of Eurasia
Potassium-40 ( 40 K)
decays to the gas, argon-40 ( 40 Ar)
The Middle Pleistocene humans are morphologically
diverse and broadly dispersed throughout time and space
Shanidar cave is extraordinary in that an individual in the burial
evidences a skull having received a crushing blow, probably causing blindness, and a blow to the right side rendering the right arm useless.
The most complete Homo erectus skeleton found to date is the Nariokotome specimen, which includes
facial bones, pelvis, most of the limb bones, ribs and vertebrae
Different stone tool industries coexisted in some areas for long periods during the Middle Pleistocene.
false
t/f: A nuchal torus refers to the projection of bone on the top of the cranium which is very common among Homo erectus.
false
t/f: All archaeologists agree that Homo erectus appears to have been an efficient big game hunter who rarely gathered wild plant foods.
false
t/f: An analysis of the WT 15000 specimen suggests it would only have been about 4 feet tall at maturity.
false
t/f: Chinese archaeologists point out that Chinese premodern H. sapiens specimens show no indications of genetic continuity with modern H. sapiens from China.
false
t/f: Kamaya Kimeu discovered the most complete Homo erectus at Zhoukoudian.
false
t/f: Neandertals are a fully separate biological species from modern humans and therefore theoretically incapable of fertilely interbreeding with modern people.
false
t/f: New evidence from Zhoukoudian cave has substantiated the long held notion that Homo erectus used controlled fire.
false
t/f: The Dmanisi cranial remains show that the very early European specimens had large brains.
false
t/f: The evolutionary roots of Neandertals are shrouded in mystery because there are no fossils from western Europe.
false
Adaptive advantages of bipedalism include the following except
further refinements to capabilities used for swimming
There is some evidence to suggest that Neandertals accomplished all of the following except
had language capabilities equivalent to modern humans
In general, the cranium of Homo erectus
has a pentagonal shape when viewed from behind
Fossil evidence for early hominin foot structure
has come from South and East African sites
Relative dating techniques
include biostratigraphy
Supposed grave goods found in Neandertal burials
include bone and stone tools, along with animal bones
The Mousterian stone tool tradition
is not always associated with just Neandertals, since sometimes it is found with modern humans.
The task of interpreting early hominin evolution
is still not complete
During glacial periods, the climate in Africa became
more arid
The genetic evidence from Neandertal remains that is used in studying most Neandertal fossils is in the form of
mtDNA
One interpretation of the genetic evidence is that the intermixing of the Neandertal and the modern human lineages
occurred between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago
Paleoanthropologists consider__________________ to be the immediate predecessors to modern Homo sapiens.
premodern Homo sapiens
Remains evidencing Middle Pleistocene culture indicate that premodern Homo sapiens
presumably hunted large animals, perhaps horses
Anatomical changes in hominins indicative of habitual bipedal locomotion include
shortening and broadening of the pelvis
What is the dating method that uses the principle that undisturbed underlying geologic deposits are older than overlying geologic deposits?
stratigraphic dating
Which of the following is not a chromometric dating method?
stratigraphy
Since abundant remains of animal bones are found at their sites paleoanthropologists have described Neandertals as
successful small game hunters, but not necessarily as successful large game hunters as modern humans.
Until recently, H. erectus sites outside of Africa all have shown dates later than the earliest finds of species in Africa. This has led paleoanthropologists to assume that
the hominins who migrated to Asia and Europe descended from earlier African ancestors
Australopithecus afarensis specimens from Laetoli and Hadar are
the largest well-studied collection of early hominins
t/f: All analyses have shown that Homo erectus hominins represent a different hominin than their more ancient African predecessors.
true
t/f: Genetic evidence suggests that Neandertal DNA is remarkably similar to modern humans.
true
t/f: Given the newest dates for the Ngandong Homo erectus material on Java, it is possible that Homo erectus could have existed contemporaneously with Homo sapiens.
true
t/f: H. erectus was the first species with a cranial capacity approaching H. sapiens.
true
t/f: It now appears likely that cultural traditions relating to stone tool technology were largely equivalent over the full geographical range of H. erectus and its contemporaries.
true
t/f: Premodern Homo sapiens continued to live in caves and open-air sites, but may also have increased their use of caves.
true
t/f: Recent genetic evidence confirms that some interbreeding took place between Neandertals and H. sapiens sometime between 80,000 and 50,000.
true
t/f: The Acheulian biface or "hand axe" is a basic tool of the Acheulian tradition.
true
t/f: The main effect of fluctuating climates in Africa during the Pleistocene was to change rainfall patterns.
true
t/f: The mean cranial capacity for Homo erectus is 900 cm3
true
t/f: The premodern human fossils from Africa and Europe are more similar to each other than they are to the hominids from Asia.
true
t/f: When African migrants came into contact with premodern humans living in Eurasia, some interbreeding occurred.
true
Before hominins made stone tools, they probably
used sticks or other perishable materials
Evidence from Zhoukoudian suggests that Homo erectus
was a scavenger
Neandertal brain size
was larger, on average, than that of modern humans
The term Homo ergaster
was suggested to be used to refer to African Homo erectus specimens
Which of the following methods are not used to identify hominin fossil sites?
water reside analysis
At Zhoukoudian, there is now thought to be evidence that Homo erectus
were victims of hungry giant hyenas
Evidence for animal butchering is
widespread in Homo erectus sites
Some assumptions about the hunting capabilities of premodern humans have been challenged by an interesting archaeological find at Schöningen. What did they find interesting
wood spears
The Nariokotome Homo erectus specimen
would have reached an adult height of around 6 feet
The earliest australopith fossils come from
East Africa
While many theorists stayed home and debated the merits of natural selection and the likely course of human evolution, this young Dutch anatomist enlisted in the Dutch East Indian Army, having decided to go find evidence of it.
Eugene Dubois
The majority of Neandertal fossils been found in _____________where they have been most studied
Europe
T/F: A clear evolutionary picture is possible for organizing all the early hominins.
False
T/F: Although excavations at Olduvai Gorge have yielded abundant archaeological traces, no hominin remains have ever been found there.
False
T/F: Because organic materials such as sticks and bones are usually well preserved in the archaeological record, we have good evidence of the earliest stages of hominin cultural modifications.
False
T/F: Carbon-14 dating is a relative dating method used to date rocks and minerals.
False
T/F: Habitual bipedalism is the only form of hominin terrestrial locomotion.
False
T/F: Hominin emergence is characterized by the simultaneous appearance of bipedalism, toolmaking behavior, and a large brain.
False
What can be said about the dispersal of Middle Pleistocene hominins?
For the first time Europe became more permanently and densely occupied
If an isotope has a half-life of 4 billion years, then in 4 billion years what will happen?
Half of the original amount will still be present.
Thermoluminescence can be used on which of the following?
Heated materials such as burned flint
Thus far, there is agreement that all hominins found outside Africa are members of which genus?
Homo
_________ may have been contemporaneous with australopiths but had a significantly larger brain.
Homo habilis
What is paleoanthropology?
It is defined as the study of early humans.
What is the term for the stone tool technology most often associated with the Neandertals that extended across Europe and North Africa, into the former Soviet Union, Israel, Iran, central Asia and possibly China?
Mousterian
Upper Pleistocene premodern Homo sapiens that have their evolutionary roots in western Europe include
Neandertals