Hominid Quiz

What's a hominid

A hominid is a creature that's bipedal, including humans

Where did Homo Sapiens evolve?

Africa

What made apes and early humans successful in the lush forests of early Africa?

Apes and early humans were successful in the lush forests of early Africa because of their grasping toes and their joint mobility in arms and shoulders.

Which of the 2 changes(bipedalism and larger brains) were the first to develop?

Bipedalism

What are 2 major changes that happen on the way to becoming human?

Bipedalism and larger brains.

What is the relationship between body size and brain size?

Generally, the larger the body, the larger the brain.

How are hominid and ape feet different?

Hominid feet are different from ape feet because they have a big toe that's in line and helps thrust the body forward, while apes have disconnected big toes used for grasping things.

Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis are discussed in detail in the documentary. Why are they important to the evolution of humans?

Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis are important to the evolution of humans because homo erectus is the first of the most human-like species to be found, and homo neanderthalensis is our closest extinct human relatives.

What is Lucy and why is she important?

Lucy is a hominid skeleton, or a australopithecus afarensis, and she's important because she and the rest of the afarensis are the last common ancestors related to branches of human ancestry.

Where was Lucy found and why is this location important to the study of human evolution?

Lucy was found in Hadar, Ethiopia, and this location is important to the study of human evolution since lots of hominid fossils were found there, so it shows to be a location where humans first started to form.

Homo erectus, like Turkana boy

One of the first to leave Africa (ergaster), large brain and oblong brain case, large brow ridge, small teeth, adapted for distance running

When did our Hominid ancestors separate from the chimpanzees?

Our hominid ancestors separated from the chimpanzees 5-7 mya.

What is an advantage to being bipedal?

The advantages of being bipedal are that it allows you to walk further distances faster, it let's you carry things, it allows you to make gestures, and allows to play.

How did the climate in Hadar change over time and why is this information important to know?

The climate changed in Hadar by going from being full of trees, life, and having a river to being a barren dessert. This information is important to know because it shows how the hominids lived in that area, and that they did migrate.

How did the environment change in Africa and how did those changes affect hominin evolution?

The environment became more cool and the lush forests changed over to sparse woodlands. Species had to adapt to live out of the trees and many went extinct. Species adapted to run and hunt and eventually move out of Africa.

What factors contributed to early humans migrating out of Africa?

The factors that contributed to early humans migrating out of Africa were that the climate started changing. It became drier and colder, and the forest becoming a barren place.

Foot

The foot used to have a big toe that diverges, being separate from other toes, like a hand, and it changed to the big toe not being separated.

Foramen magnum

The foramen magnum changed in hominids by moving from the back of the skull to the bottom of the skull.

Hip

The hip bone became larger and it's closer to the spine for more support.

Spine

The spine changed its shape from straight to an s-shape

Why was it beneficial for early hominids to lose their hair and how do we know when they lost their hair?

early hominids were able to regulate their temperature better without the fur. It allowed them to run further without overheating and that allowed them to hunt for successfully.

Australopithecus afarensis, like Lucy

long oval shaped cranium, slanted face, flat forehead, large zygomatic arches and jawbones. Still spent time in trees.

Why did they migrate out to populate the world?

migrated out of Africa to colonize new areas where there would be more food and less competition with other hominids

Homo neanderthalensis

rugged physique for survival in ice age Europe, made and used sophisticated tools, hunted, buried dead, mixed genes with homo sapiens.

skull changes between Australopithecus.sp and Homo sapiens

the shape of the skull changed a lot. The brain case became more rounded and larger, the teeth became smaller to adapt to change in diet and ability to use tools and fire, face became less slanted as the posture became more upright, the jaw bone became smaller to adapt to change in diet, the brow ridge became less prominent due to the increase in brain capacity.