exam one

Sahelanthropus tchadensis is a recent and important find because

: It may be the oldest possible human ancestor yet found at around 6 million years old. Response Feedback: Sahelanthropus tchadensis is the earliest fossil remains of a pre-australopith adult male. The skull was found in central Africa (Chad - hence the name "tchadensis") and dates to between 6 and 7 million years ago.

A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull and indicates exceptionally strong jaw muscles, especially in robust australopithecines

: Yes Response Feedback: A sagittal crest is the term to describe the bony protuberance found on top of the skulls of robust australopithecines. The sagittal crest serves primarily to attach the temporalis muscle, which is one of the main chewing muscles.

About 50,000 - 60,000 years ago there is a rapid acceleration of cultural change and human creativity. Anthropologists call this a period of behavioral modernity. To what does the advent of behavioral modernity refer?

A period when early anatomically modern humans became fully human in symbolic thought and elaboration in cultural creativity. Response Feedback: Behavioral modernity represents fully human behavior based on symbolic thought and cultural creativity. This is a time when Anatomically Modern Humans developed strategies to maintain cultural identities, communicate ideas, and organize their societies all expressed symbolically through artifacts, ornamentation, and art

As discussed in lecture, all species we rely on the process of biological and cultural evolution in order to survive (adapt) and Darwin's theory of natural selection remains the best explanation of a mechanism for evolution. So, why is there an opposition to evolution by many individuals?

All of the above, and then some. These ideas lead individuals to misunderstand the process of evolution as ongoing and critical as the way all species (animal, plant, fungus, bacteria, viruses) to adapt to environmental stresses. Response Feedback: It is thought to be degrading to be compared to apes and monkeys, yet we are all part of the animal kingdom. Science and religion can co-exist. The belief in a higher being doesn't exclude the possibility of biological evolution and acknowledgment of evolutionary processes doesn't preclude or prevent the existence of a higher being. Not all religions reject human evolution. Today, the Catholic Church acknowledges the evolutionary processes do occur, but that the human soul is a divine creation and no subject to evolutionary processes

Question Selected Match Biological anthropology C. Concerned with the biological and behavioral characteristics of human beings and our closest relatives, the non-human primates and their ancestors. Anthropological archaeology A. The systematic study of artifacts (technology and material culture) and ecofacts as a means of reconstructing past lifeways. Linguistic anthropology D. The study of structure, history, and social aspects of human language. Cultural anthropology B. A focus on human sociocultural adaptations of observable behavior.

Anthropology is a four-field approach (Biological, Archaeology, Linguistics, and Cultural). Within each of these sub-disciplines, there are both an academic and applied perspectives

Franz Boas was an influential anthropologist who challenged social Darwinism and its notion of progress. Which statement best defines his position on the false idea that certain races were more superior than others

Boas could find absolutely no evidence supporting the idea that one race was superior to another or that one race was inherently more intelligent than another. Response Feedback: As quoted by Boas, "from a purely biological point of view, the concept of race unity breaks down. The multitude of genealogical lines, the diversity of individual and family types contained in each race is so great that no race can be considered as a unit. Furthermore, similarities between neighboring races and, in regard to function, even between distinct races are so great that individuals cannot be assigned with certainty to one group or another." (p. 21)

Which of the following is an accurate statement about Culture?

Culture is acquired by humans as members of society through the process of enculturation. Response Feedback: Anthropologists define Culture as, "the learned and shared knowledge passed from one generation to the next via the process of enculturation". The process of learning and sharing Culture is what guides participation within a particular cultural group or society. (p. 41)

Which of the following statements about culture is NOT true?

Culture is transmitted genetically. Response Feedback: There is no "culture gene"... Culture and the ideas and values that define Culture are learned, not inherited genetically

Biologically, people need to eat. However, culture teaches us what, when, and how to do so. This is an example of how..

Culture takes the natural biological urges we share with other animals and teaches us how to express them in particular ways. Response Feedback: Some behaviors are related to fundamental biological needs and they have learned cultural components that frame a set of core social values about when, how, where, and with whom to do these biological needs.

Several small figurines have been found that date back over 10,000 years ago. These include the "Venus" figurines and various bull effigies. Why are these important to consider in the context of what their symbolism might represent?

During Roman times, similar symbols represented fertility and prosperity and may demonstrate a connection with similar symbolic meaning over a long period of time. Response Feedback: Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with fertility and prosperity and suggests that these symbolic concepts during Roman times may have deep antiquity.

A scientific theory is defined as a suggested but unverified explanation for observed phenomenon

False Response Feedback: A hypothesis is defined as a suggested but unverified explanation for observed phenomenon. A hypothesis is a provisional explanation of a phenomenon that can be tested for validity using the scientific method. A theory in social science is a set of tested hypotheses or ideas formulated to explain something and suggest patterns, connections, and relationships. A theory yields new information about nature to answer to a set of pre-existing problems.

Apes have tails.

False Response Feedback: Apes have more complex behavior, an increased period of infant development, and an overall larger body size. However, tails are not a characteristic of the great apes (of which we are members)

Like our good Hollywood friend, Dr. Indiana Jones, most archaeologists are primarily interested in collecting artifacts (material culture).

False Response Feedback: Archaeologists are not only interested in collecting artifacts, but rather in the examination of artifacts within a broader context to "infer and understand human behavior" and evaluate questions such as urbanization, warfare, artistry, agricultural development, the collapse of civilizations, and environmental adaptation. (p. 36-37)

According to your reading for this week, some human societies are "lost in time" and are the result of a lack of change or transformation. In other words they have not evolved and will always remain biologically and culturally "primative".

False Response Feedback: As your book describes, change (biological and cultural) is constant and around us everyday. There are no societies lost in time, because time will always lead to transformation. "Nothing is permanent EXCEPT change" (p. 4)

Neandertals created the spectacular cave paintings that are dated to 35,000 years ago

False Response Feedback: At present, this is false. Current data demonstrates that Anatomically Modern Humans were the ones who created the cave paintings; not Neandertals

The study of non-human primate behavior reveals the "biological roots" of human behavior

False Response Feedback: Each primate species travels along its own unique evolutionary route. We, as humans, split from our non-human primate cousins millions of years ago. While Gorilla and chimpanzees are closely related to humans and we share certain traits with anatomy, brain structure, genetic, and overall biochemistry, the gorillas and chimpanzees that we see today are not en route to becoming human. They are en route to becoming gorillas and chimpanzees of the future.

in lecture and in the reading, several examples highlight racial classifications. These classifications demonstrate that biology and behavior are linked and based on race.

False Response Feedback: FALSE. Culture and behavior are learned not governed by genetic factors. Cultural and biological variations are not inherited in the same way. p. 25-26

The genus Homo did not appear until after all of the australopithecines had died off

False Response Feedback: Fossil and dating evidence suggest the two genera overlap in time.

Because they are predominantly terrestrial, gorillas exhibit only minor sexual dimorphism

False Response Feedback: Gorillas have a significant degree of sexual dimorphism with males on average twice the size of females.

"Lucy" is a member of the species Homo habilis

False Response Feedback: Lucy is of the species Australopithecus afarensis. She represents 40% of the skeletal remains of a short (3-4 feet tall) and small brained (little larger than a chimp) australopithecus (pre-Homo) that lived between 3.5 to 4 millions years ago

Cupping has been studied extensively and is a traditional healing practice restricted to Southeast Asian cultures

False Response Feedback: Many "Westerners" use cupping as a form of healing

Homo neanderthalensis were contemporaneous with Homo sapiens and had a significant distribution across Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.

False Response Feedback: Neandertals have only been found in Europe during the last major glaciation during a period from about 300,000 to as recent as 30,000 years ago

Absolute dating uses stratigraphy to establish a time frame in relation to other strata

False Response Feedback: Relative dating uses stratigraphy and the relationship of objects to establish a time frame. The date is relative to another item found above or below.

Prosimians are considered to have characteristics that are more primitive than those of monkeys and apes, and thus they are considered less evolved.

False Response Feedback: Remember, evolution is direction-less. A species is not more or less evolved over another

Charles Darwin independently developed the science of evolution. He had no influence from previous scholars

False Response Feedback: The evolution concept - the fact that evolution (biological change) has occurred and is occurring - was scientifically discovered well before his time. What Darwin did contribute to evolutionary science was his (along with Alfred Wallace) theory of the mechanisms of evolution or how evolution works. He called this the process of Natural Selection

Homo erectus was well traveled. Ranges include Europe, China, South Africa, and Northwest North America.

False Response Feedback: While Homo erectus certainly got around, they did not make it to the New World. The only Old World hominin to populate the New World is US - Homo sapiens - at least 11,000 and possibly as much as 20,000 years ago

Sahelanthropus tchadensis C. 7-6 million years ago Ardipithecus ramidus A. 4.4 million years ago Australopithecus afarensis B. 4.0-3.0 million years ago. Australopithecus boisei D. 2.2-1.5 million years ago

Focus on the chronology. For example, if I were to ask you what was the major hominin group that lived from about 4 to 1 million years ago, you should be able to identify that as australopithecus. This is because the genus Homo is no earlier than 2 million years ago

As noted in your reading, who first used the term "survival of the fittest"?

Herbert Spencer Response Feedback: Spencer first used the term "survival of the fittest" before Darwin. It did not mean the same thing to Spencer and Darwin. With Darwin, fitness is related to reproductive success and those individuals that are most successful in producing fertile offspring. With Spencer, evolution favored the physically strong, the more intellectual, and those with financial success. Those were the fittest to Spencer. Spencer believed that evolution was progressive that led to perfect civilized (Western) societies. (p. 12

Primatology is a specialization in biological anthropology. It is a very important specialization within anthropology. Why?

It allows for a comparative approach in order to make inferences about early social organization and behavior of all living primates, including humans. Response Feedback: Primatologists study the biological and behavioral characteristics of primates (apes, monkeys, and prosimians) to understand the evolution of behavior. Many primatologists focus on what is called behavioral ecology - the examination of evolutionary mechanisms of social behavior related to reproductive success

Is Culture unique to humans?

Not necessarily. Many non-human primate species show forms of rudimentary cultural behavior. Response Feedback: Certain primate species do show rudimentary forms of culture, such as tool use, language, and teaching. However, the human capacity for and elaboration of culture is unmatched

The earliest Anatomically Modern Homo sapien (AMH) fossils have been found in Ethiopia (Herto and Omo fossils) and offer evidence tha

Offers support for the origins of AMH in Africa. Response Feedback: Recent fossil and archaeological evidence accumulating to support African origin for AMHs includes finds near village of Herto in Africa that are generally anatomically modern and Omo Kibish remains from 195,000 B.P. that appear to be earliest AMH fossils yet found. As such, fossil record demonstrates the evolution of earlier archaic Homo Sapien, also known as Homo heidelbergensis forms into AMH in Africa and the movement of these groups out of Africa in Europe and Asia

One of the anatomically modern Homo sapiens cultures in Europe has been termed Cro-Magnon. Cro-Magnons lived about 43,000 to 15,000 years ago and adopted a highly versatile tool kit. Which of the following is not a foundation of the Cro-Magnon technology?

Production of pottery for food storage. Response Feedback: The production of pottery is not a characteristic of Cro-Magnon. Pottery is not developed until cultures became more sedentary, some 5,000 years after Cro-Magnon culture dissolved.

Which of the following definitions was one of the first used by Edward Burnett Tylor?

Selected Answer: "...that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society."

As defined in your reading, how does the example of ethnomusicology demonstrate the holistic and integrated nature of culture

Selected Answer: To understand music, an ethnomusicologist considers music more than something different than the spoken word and considers the different meanings that holistically shape and influence cultural activity.

At present, Homo heidelbergensis is considered a transitional species between H. erectus and Archaic H. sapiens because of the following

Skeletal morphology contains both Homo erectus-like and Homo sapiens-like characteristics. Response Feedback: Homo heidelbergensis contained both H. erectus-like and H. sapiens-like attributes. As a result, H. heidelbergensis likely represents the most recent species along our direct line and the ancestor to both Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis.

Culture is composed of ideas based on cultural learning and symbols. What is meant by a symbol?

Something verbal or nonverbal within a particular language or culture that comes to stand for something else, with no necessary or natural connection to the thing for which it stands. Response Feedback: Symbols are all-powerful and can contain complex levels of meaning, such as colors on a flag tied to nationalism or various symbols tied to identity within a group

n 1758 Carl Linnaeus was among the first to define and describe four races using his system of taxonomic system. Using the descriptions provided in the book, match the subspecies he created. Question Selected Match Homo sapiens europaeus B. "white Europeans" Homo sapiens asiaticus C. "yellow Asians" Homo sapiens americanus A. "red Americans" (Native Americans) Homo sapiens afer D. "black Africans

The classification of races, and their biased behavioral descriptions in favor of "white Europeans", established the false perception that culture and biology are linked. In fact, differences in the behavior are the result of culture and cultural upbringing... not biology. (p. 25-26)

Australopithecines and later Homo erectus differ morphologically in a variety of ways. Which of the following is one of those differences?

The cranial capacity of Homo erectus was much larger than australopithecines. Response Feedback: The cranial capacity of Homo erectus was much larger than earlier australopithecines. Brain size of Homo erectus averages around 900 cubic centimeters (see Table 7.1), whereas australopithecines are about half that size (see Table 6.2)

As mentioned in lecture, the example of how humans cope with low oxygen pressure in high altitudes illustrates which of the following?

The unique human capacity for both cultural and biological adaptation. Response Feedback: Biological and cultural adaptations are the mechanisms by which all organisms cope with environmental stresses, such as climate or altitude. Like all animals, humans have adapted and continue to adapt through biological means, but we are unique in that we also adapt through the use of culture. So much so, that we are dependent upon culture as a means of adaptation

Choose the preferred method in which anthropologists study the behavioral ecology of non-human primates.

Through observation and collection of fecal material when in the primate's natural habitat

A characteristic trend in hominin evolution has been an increase in brain size, especially with the advent of the genus Homo

True

Culture (capital C) is an abstract concept that carries varied meanings whereas culture (lowercase c) is the expression of certain social, economic, and political attributes that define a particular period in time or across space.

True

The example of cupping demonstrates the difficulties of being objective (using cultural relativism) when conducting anthropology on other cultures.

True Response Feedback: An anthropologist is concerned with understanding the motivation (why) for cultural practices or traditions by being objective and looking at the situation from the perspective of those who engage in it. They do this by using cultural relativism. Once the motivations have been identified, one then faces the challenge of whether to intervene as an outsider to stop the practice by considering aspects of human rights. (p. 61)

Because of its broad approach to studying humanity, anthropology is heavily influenced by both the sciences (biological anthropology and archaeology) and the humanities (linguistics and cultural anthropology)

True Response Feedback: Anthropology is both a scientific and humanities discipline. (p. 40)

Anthropology is more holistic than other social science disciplines because of the use of comparativism. As a result, anthropology uses a four-field approach to encompass physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology to examine the full breadth of what it means to be human across all space and time

True Response Feedback: Anthropology is unique because of this holistic and comparative perspective. This holistic and comparative perspective best characterizes anthropology when compared to other disciplines that study humans. (p. 40-41

Applied anthropology is an approach that seeks to do more than study and describe cultures in an academic setting but to also use anthropological methods to help solve contemporary human problems

True Response Feedback: Applied anthropology is centered on the approach that anthropologists should work to better the lives of those they study. It is the application of anthropology to solve human problems. (p. 39

Australopithecus was the major hominin group that lived from about 4 to 1 million years ago (m.y.a.).

True Response Feedback: Australopithecus was the most geographically widespread of all hominin genera and longest living

Bonobos are exceptional among primates. They use sex as a behavior associated with conflict avoidance and to diffuse stressful situations

True Response Feedback: Bonobos are interesting primates! Sexual behavior in bonobos is not directly associated with ovulation. Most of primates mate when they are sexually "fertile" - usually within a short period around ovulation. The exceptions are humans and bonobos! With bonobos, they specifically use sex as behavior associated with conflict avoidance and to diffuse stressful situations. One could argue that humans might also use sex in a similar manner

in anthropology, our complex ability to communicate is grounded in the use of arbitrary symbols (sounds, written language, gestures, etc.) to impart meaning, which can then be interpreted by people as members of different cultures and societies.

True Response Feedback: Communication is the use of arbitrary symbols and humans assign cultural meaning to these symbols. They have no inherent meaning otherwise. (p. 38)

As your reading discusses, Franz Boas reasoned that the differences in cultures is a result of different responses to different environments. These different environments created different needs, of which societies created different types of technologies or ways to meet these needs

True Response Feedback: His approach would ultimately be called historical particularism, which says that the differences in cultures are a result of their historical past. (p. 19)

When classifying species within a taxonomy, anthropologists use homologies. Homologies are biological structures that are shared at the species level on the basis of a common descent.

True Response Feedback: Homologies are biological structures that are shared at the species level on the basis of a common descent - for example, forelimb bone organization of mammalian vertebrates. They may not have the same function today, but the structure and organization is the same. They are homologous

Humans are most closely related to chimpanzees

True Response Feedback: Humans and chimpanzees split from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. Chimpanzees are the most closely related to humans and we share certain traits with anatomy, brain structure, genetic, and overall biochemistry. We share a 98% DNA commonality with chimpanzees. It is important to note that because we split 6 million years ago we did not evolve from chimpanzees. Each of us has evolved separately along our evolutionary line into the forms we see today

Humans are dependent on culture and bipedal locomotion.

True Response Feedback: Humans are completely dependent on culture and cultural innovation, tools, structures, hunting strategies, etc. We are also obligate to bipedal locomotion. We cannot get around any other way

Eugenics is rooted in a fear of a weakening civilized society with the dilution (mixing) of unfit and inferior members. It's a program of "race improvement" through controlled reproduction and sterilization of "unfit" individuals so they cannot breed and thus "mix" with more civilized members

True Response Feedback: In the United States, eugenics was used as a means of controlling "undesirable" populations - immigrants, people of color, poor people, unmarried mothers, the disabled, and the mentally ill. Federally funded sterilization laws were on the books in 32 states throughout the 20th century. (p. 15

Lemurs are prosimians found primarily on the island of Madagascar. They are the most diverse in biology and behavior of the prosimians with over 60 different species living on the island

True Response Feedback: Lemurs are found on the island of Madagascar and other islands off the coast of Africa. Lemur behavior is as variable as lemur morphology with differences in diet, social systems, activity patterns, locomotion, communication, predator avoidance tactics, breeding systems, and intelligence levels

Mendel's concept of independent assortment is based on the fact that individual traits are inherited independently of one another

True Response Feedback: Mendel's law of independent assortment states that chromosomes are inherited independently of one another. In cell, we as humans receive 23 chromosomes from mommy and 23 chromosomes from daddy to give us the 46 we need to become human

Homo neanderthalensis were well adapted to cold climates with their large brain size, wide nasal openings, and short and stock post-cranial physique.

True Response Feedback: Neandertal cranial features included big brains related to metabolic efficiency and wide nasal openings to warm and moisten dry cold air. Postcranial features include short, stocky, robust frame with shorter limbs than in modern humans. These are all adaptations to cold climates

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

True Response Feedback: Palynology is the study of ancient plants through pollen samples to determine the former environment of a particular site

In genetics, codominance is the expression of two alleles in heterozygotes where neither allele is dominant nor recessive so each of the alleles influenced the phenotype expression

True Response Feedback: The best example of this is with the phenotype expression in codominant blood types.

As it relates to symbolic thought and cultural florescence (behavioral modernity), scientists agree on the following: (1) around 6 million years ago hominin ancestors originated in Africa and became habitual bipeds; (2) by 2.6 million years ago hominins were making crude stone tools; (3) by 1.7 million years ago hominins had spread from Africa to Asia and eventually Europe. However, anthropologists disagree on when, where, and how early Anatomically Modern Humans achieved behavioral modernity

True Response Feedback: The debate is largely focused on behavioral modernity developing in Africa and then migrating out with later Homo sapiens populations or if behavioral modernity developed after Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa

Paleopathology is the study of disease and injury in skeletons from archaeological sites

True Response Feedback: They study old pathogens!

Humans are one the most adapted organisms on this planet. This is because in addition to biological adaptations that have occurred over millions of years, we also utilize cultural adaptations to cope with a variety of environmental stresses that define our ecological surroundings.

True Response Feedback: We has humans can adapt to our surroundings through both biological and cultural means. The use of a complex suite of cultural adaptations distinguishes us (but not necessarily makes us better!) from other organisms. Adaptations do not always lead to positive outcomes. This combination of biological and cultural adaptations emphasizes to the biocultural approach used by anthropologists

A key difference between Oldowan and later Acheulean tool use is that the Acheulean tool construction and use represent a predetermined shape based on a 'template' in the mind of the toolmaker.

True Response Feedback: While we don't know what Homo erectus was thinking, from what we can gather from stone tool analysis the Acheulean tools were constructed similarly suggesting a predetermined shape using some sort of template of how the finished stone tool should look. This is different than Oldowan, where analysis suggests that Homo habilis did not create the tools with any predetermined form in mind

A 2001 fossil find called Orrorin tugenensis..

appears to have been a chimp-sized creature that climbed easily and walked on two legs when on the ground

Systematic survey and excavation

are the two major components of fieldwork in archaeology and paleoanthropology

All of the following are true about the work of paleoanthropologists EXCEPT that they

do not have to worry about ethical and legal concerns, because they are dealing with the remains of dead humans. Response Feedback: Just because paleoanthropologists (and archaeologists) often work with human remains, does NOT mean that the do not have to worry about ethical and legal concerns regarding the treatment of individuals

Olduvai Gorge, also known as the "Cradle of Mankind", is located in

east Africa Response Feedback: Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches through eastern Africa. No other area has yielded the quality and abundance of early hominin fossils and information about early hominin behavior as Olduvai Gorge.

Radiometric dating techniques available to anthropologists

establish a probable date for fossils by calculating radioactive decay in the specimen found or the rocks surrounding it. Response Feedback: Radiometric dating, also known as absolute dating, allows archaeologists and paleoanthropologists the ability to accurately date organic material

Many people assume that evolution is linear, which implies progress toward betterment or perfection. However, the peppered moth example demonstrates that

evolution is non-directional and not about progress from a state of imperfection toward a perfect species. Response Feedback: Evolution through natural selection is direction-less or non-directional. As the environment changes, so does the direction of biological change. (p. 9)

An exchange of genetic material between populations of the same species through direct or indirect interbreeding is known as

gene flow Response Feedback: To exchange is to move, or to flow between populations. Often this is through interbreeding between formerly separated populations of the same species

Paleoanthropologists organize time and climate change using which two methods?

geological time and isotope stages

Franz Boas developed his modern version of anthropology and distanced himself from unilineal evolutionary thought. He argued for an approach of ____________________ , where the key to understanding cultural diversity around the world is because each culture is an outgrowth of its own past or history.

historical particularism Response Feedback: Boas argued that all humans are biologically equal and the differences that exist among human societies are the result of culture and the particular trajectory of history (historical particularism) that influenced each culture. He demonstrated that societies could not be evaluated by comparing them to the so-called civilized "Western" cultures and must be evaluated under their own terms. (p.19)

In terms of numbers and range, what is the most successful living hominoid species?

humans Response Feedback: Humans are an invasive species and have developed successful biological and cultural adaptations to become the most numerous and widely dispersed species on the planet.

Anthropologists study...

humans, our immediate ancestors, and our closest living primate relatives. This includes all cultures from around the world, including our own "western" culture. Response Feedback: Anthropologists study people across all time and space. Anthropologists study all human cultures, including western cultures! They also study the biology and behavior of our closest living relatives, non-human primates

The Clovis tradition was a sophisticated stone technology based on a sharp point that was fastened to the end of a hunting spear. It flourished

in the central plains, on their western margins, and in what is now the eastern United States between 12,000 and 11,000 B.P. Response Feedback: The Clovis tradition is defined by a highly sophisticated stone technology that flourished around 13,000 ya in North America in the plains and eastern United States. The Clovis people became the Native Americans we know from the 15th century Spanish and French documents and those still with us today

There are several types of primate locomotion, such as terrestrial quadruped (baboons), brachiation (gibbons), vertical clinging (sifakas), and terrestrial biped (humans). When chimpanzees and gorillas move about on the ground, they usually use a posture called

knuckle-walking Response Feedback: Because of their size as adults, Gorillas are primarily terrestrial and use a posture called knuckle-walking. Chimpanzees occupy both arboreal and terrestrial environments. When in the trees, chimps tend to brachiate and while on the ground they also use knuckle-walking posture.

Any factor that contributes to the change in allele frequency in a breeding population from generation to generation is considered a mechanism of genetic evolution. Those mechanisms are

natural selection (directional, diversifying, and stabilizing selection), mutation, random genetic drift, and gene flow Response Feedback: Natural selection, mutation, random genetic drift, and gene flow are mechanisms of genetic evolution. Through these mechanisms the frequency of alleles (genes) in a breeding population from generation to the next generation can change and evolve.

Homo habilis (Handy Man) was the first to construct tools and used a lithic technology where flakes were chipped off a stone core. This technology is called ___________ by anthropologists

oldowan Response Feedback: In the Oldowan technology, a core is struck and flakes are removed that are used as sharp cutting tools. As a byproduct, a simple chopper is created and used for pounding or smashing open bones for access to bone marrow. Study of the tools by anthropologists indicates that there is no forethought in design in the creation of the choppers. They are simply a byproduct of making the flakes for cutting.

The geological epoch known as the __________ has been considered the epoch of early human life.

pleistocene Response Feedback: During the Pleistocene, Hominins were impacted by oscillations in glacial advances and retreats as the climate, flora, and fauna shifted. The most dramatic of these oscillations was in Europe and northern Asia with glacial advances impacting migration routes. With warming periods (glacial retreats), there was increased movement out of Africa into new productive resource zones

New World Monkeys are the only anthropoids that have a ______________ tail. While some Old World Monkeys do have tails, interestingly they do not have this type of functionality with their tail

prehensile Response Feedback: Prehensile tails are those that are adapted to be able to grasp or hold objects. Prehensile tails are found only among the New World Monkeys (The Americas) and are used as an aid in locomotion

The term [x] refers to all members of the Great Apes and Humans together, whereas the term [y] refers only to those members of the human lineage after the evolutionary split from a common ape ancestor

specified Answer for: x hominid Specified Answer for: y hominin Response Feedback: The term hominin is used to define members of the human lineage after its split from ancestral apes, 6 million years ago. Hominin emphasizes a very close evolutionary relationship of humans with African apes, especially chimpanzees and bonobos, yet still sets us apart from them. Hominid contains all Great Apes and humans together and their immediate ancestors

As noted in your reading for this week, biological anthropology is a broad subdiscipline of anthropology. However, a unifying concept among biological anthropologists is..

the study of evolution. Response Feedback: "A unifying concept in biological anthropology... is biological change, or evolution" (p. 36)