ANTRHO 1102 WEEK 6 QUESTIONS (UNIT 2)
Homo erectus
This human ancestral species ( ) might date as far back as 1.9 million years ago (m.y.a.) and continued to exist until about 500,000 years ago.
True
True or false: "The Levant" refers to countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean, including Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
false
True or false: Our knowledge of Au. afarensis is based on fewer than 10 fossil specimens representing only 2 individuals discovered at Laetoli and Hadar.
True
True or false: The Kanjera site provides the earliest, and very complete, evidence for persistent reliance on meat within the hominin diet.
True
True or false: The brain size or cranial capacity of Australopithecus afarensis was only slightly larger than the average chimpanzee brain size.
True
True or false: The earliest member of the genus Homo, dated to 2.8 m.y.a., was found in Ethiopia, and the earliest stone tools, dated to 3.3 m.y.a., were discovered in Kenya.
-Paranthropus had a sagittal crest. -Paranthropus had a bigger skull and larger back teeth. -Paranthropus had a thicker face and a more rugged skeleton.
Which of the following differentiates Paranthropus from Australopithecus?
Paranthropus robustus & Paranthropus boisei
Which of the following hominins had an anatomical feature called a sagittal crest?
Au. afarensis had pointed premolars that are somewhat similar to an ape's.
Which statement most accurately describes the teeth of Australopithecus afarensis?
Lucy lived around 3 m.y.a., and about 40 percent of her skeleton was recovered.
Which statement regarding "Lucy" is true?
Homo erectus
Based on current fossil evidence, which human ancestral species was the first to migrate out of Africa?
Au. afarensis.
Both Au. africanus and Paranthropus probably descended from ( ).
are the earliest known ancestral hominin fossils found outside Africa.
Fossil finds from Dmanisi, Georgia, dating to 1.8-1.7 million years ago (m.y.a.) are significant because they ( ).
Africa & Java
H. erectus remains have been found at which places?
H. erectus & H. habilis
H. rudolfensis overlapped in time with which of the following hominins?
hard, abrasive foods.
Heavily enameled teeth suggest that the Au. anamensis diet likely may have included ( ).
Ardipithecus was probably ancestral to Australopithecus.
Of Ardipithecus and Australopithecus, which genus was probably the ancestor?
Laetoli, Tanzania & Hadar, Ethiopia.
Significant Australopithecus afarensis discoveries have been made in ( ).
Miocene
Some ( ) hominins evolved into a groups known collectively as australopiths.
big back teeth
Some of the physical markers that have led scientists to identify certain early fossils as hominins rather than apes are features that have been lost during subsequent human evolution. One example is:
big back teeth.
Some of the physical markers that have led scientists to identify certain early fossils as hominins rather than apes are features that have been lost during subsequent human evolution. One example is:
gracile
South African australopiths can be divided into two major groups based on bone structure. To which group does Australopithecus africanus belong?
a French village
The Acheulean toolmaking tradition got its name from ( ).
a by-product of flaking.
The Oldowan chopper was ( ).
Both share a similar height and body shape.
How Homo erectus is like modern humans?
Newborn hominin infants have brains and skulls that grow dramatically after birth.
How did natural selection find a balance between the birth of infants with larger brains and the requirements of upright bipedalism, which limit the expansion of the hominin pelvic opening?
Homo erectus
Hunting was an important cultural behavior marking a significant step for a human ancestor. Which ancestral species does the fossil record indicate was the earliest habitual hunter?
Big back teeth of the hominins were important for adapting to the savanna.
Identify a true statement about hominins.
significant time spent in trees.
Lucy's arms suggest ( ).
Africa
The oldest Homo habilis and Homo erectus fossils can be found on which continent?
bipedalism.
The single-most important humanlike characteristic that set apart early hominins from ape ancestors was ( ).
The toddler bones date to about 3.3 m.y.a. and, compared to Lucy, includes more skull and skeletal material.
A fossil discovery known as "Lucy's Baby" was found in northern Ethiopia. Which statement best describes this specimen?
gracile
All of the South African australopiths probably descend from Au. afarensis, which was ( ) in form, or from an (as yet undiscovered) South African version of Au. afarensis.
a large brow ridge.
Among the anatomical contrasts that distinguish H. erectus from modern humans are ( ).
savanna country & open grassland
Bipedalism traditionally has been viewed as an adaptation to ( ).
Wooded
Fossilized remains indicate that Orrorin tugenensis lived in what kind of environment?
a trail of ancient footprints preserved in volcanic ash
What evidence of bipedalism was discovered at a famous site in Laetoli, Tanzania?
The find suggested that the boy as an adult might have reached a height of six feet.
What important information regarding Homo erectus was revealed by the fossil find known as the Nariokotome boy?
They were following the animals they hunted for meat.
What is the best explanation of why Homo erectus expanded out of Africa into Europe and Asia?
430 cm3
What is the cranial capacity (brain size) of Australopithecus afarensis?
It is the hole through which the spinal cord attaches to the brain; its placement on the skull indicates whether or not a creature was bipedal.
What is the foramen magnum and why is it important?
Oldowan tools
What is the name for the simple stone tools dating to about 1.8 million years ago that were first discovered by L. S. B. and Mary Leakey?
Homo rudolfensis
What is the name of the ancient hominin species dating to 2.4-1.78 m.y.a., and associated with the skull labeled KNM-ER 1470, which has an unusual combination of a large brain (775 cm3) and very large molars?
Ardipithecus ramidus
What is the name of the hominin skeleton that was discovered in 2009 and dates to 4.4 million years ago?
Sahelanthropus tchadensis
What is the name of the possible human ancestor that was discovered in Chad (Central Africa) and dates to 6-7 million years ago?
Australopithecus afarensis
What is the species name of the oldest fossil child, known as "Lucy's Baby"?
longer legs
What physical characteristic of Homo erectus allowed it to hunt longer distances?
430 cm3, close to the size of an average chimp
What was the cranial capacity of Au. afarensis?
Olduvai
What was the discovery site (in 1986) of the female Homo habilis fossil find known as OH62?
All were in Africa.
What was the physical location of the three important early hominin discoveries of 2015?
Australopithecus africanus; Raymond Dart
What was the species name given to the famous "Taung child" discovery, and which anatomist named it?
potassium-argon (K/A) dating
Which dating technique was used to establish that the age of the volcanic ash at the Laetoli site was 3.6 million years old?
Australopithecus afarensis
Which hominin species dates to between 3.8 and 3.0 m.y.a. and is associated with the sites of Laetoli, Tanzania, and Hadar, Ethiopia?
Homo erectus
Which of the following ancestral human species had an average cranial capacity of around 900 cm3?
-a small brain -curved fingers on an otherwise humanlike hand -apelike shoulders adapted to climbing
Which of the following are characteristics of H. naledi?
Homo erectus
Which of the following human ancestral species is associated with the tool type known as Acheulean?
The ancestral relationship of Ardipithecus to Australopithecus has not been determined.
Which of the following is a true statement about the genus Ardipithecus?
It was a bipedal hominin from northern Kenya.
Which of the following is true about Au. anamensis?
The fossils have been dated somewhere between 335,000 B.P. and 236,000 B.P.
Which of the following is true about H. naledi?
It led to territorial expansion among hominins.
Which of the following is true of a meat-rich diet?
The teeth and skulls were more apelike, while the pelvis and leg bones were more humanlike.
Which of the following is true of similarities and differences of the anatomical features of Au. afarensis with those of apes and humans?
L. S. B. and Mary Leakey
Which of the following paleoanthropologists made Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania famous by discovering and naming the first Homo habilis?
-It is dated to 3.5 million years ago. -The fossil find was made in northern Kenya. -It provides evidence that at least two hominin lineages existed at the same time.
Which of the following statements about Kenyanthropus playtops are true?
It was mainly vegetarian.
Which of the following statements about the diet of afarensis is true?
The average cranial capacity of H. erectus at about 1,000 cm3 was double the size of the australopiths.
Which of the following statements best describes the cranial capacity (brain size) of Homo erectus compared with the australopith average?
The species overlapped between 1.9 and 1.4 m.y.a., but after that only Homo erectus endured to perhaps 0.5 m.y.a. (or 500,000 years ago).
Which of the following statements best describes the time period during which Homo habilis and Homo erectus overlapped?
The skeleton of H. erectus (below the head) was similar to that of modern humans.
Which of the following statements is true about the skeletons of Homo erectus and modern humans?
Upright bipedalism
Which of the following traits appeared first in human evolution, setting human ancestors apart from ape ancestors?
Ardipithecus had a transitional pelvis and lived in a woodland forest environment.
Which statement best describes some important characteristics of Ardipithecus?
The thigh bone suggests bipedal walking, and the upper arm bone suggests tree-climbing skills.
Which statement best describes the anatomy and characteristic movement of the possibly ancestral species known as Orrorin tugenensis, which dates to about 6 million years ago?
Au. afarensis had a brain size of 430 cm3, only slightly bigger than the average chimp brain size.
Which statement best describes the brain size (cranial capacity) of Australopithecus afarensis?
The average cranial capacity of Homo sapiens is 1,350 cm3, and the cranial capacity of the australopiths ranges from 430 to 540 cm3.
Which statement best describes the cranial capacities of Homo sapiens and the australopiths?
The Lucy skeleton, which is 40 percent complete, is that of a female hominin and has been dated to about 3.3 m.y.a.
Which statement best describes the famous fossil find known as "Lucy"?
The australopith pelvis is shorter and bowl shaped, and the spine is curved, similar to that of humans.
Which statement best describes the general shape of the pelvis and spine of Australopithecus?
The weight of adult males was likely twice that of the females
Which statement best describes the sexual dimorphism of Australopithecus afarensis?
The weight of adult males was likely twice that of the females.
Which statement best describes the sexual dimorphism of Australopithecus afarensis?
Homo habilis
With a cranial capacity of 600 to 700 cubic centimeters (cm3), which of the following species was initially identified as the first tool maker and as the first member of the genus Homo?
There are notable skull similarities.
How do the discoveries at Dmanisi compare to the Nariokotome boy?
The australopiths' brain size was only slightly larger than that of chimps and was roughly one-third the size of Homo sapiens' brain.
How does the brain size or cranial capacity of the australopiths compare with Homo sapiens and chimps?
6 to 7 million years old
How old is the human ancestor known as Sahelanthropus tchadensis?
for breaking open bones for marrow, and for digging up roots and insects to eat
How were Oldowan stone tools likely used?
-finds at South Africa's Rising Star cave of more than 1,500 bones, which have been assigned to the species H. naledi. -a jaw fragment found in Ethiopia, dating to 2.8 m.y.a., that appears to be the earliest known member of the genus Homo.
Key hominin fossil discoveries announced in 2015 included ( ).
Australopiths
The genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus are both part of what hominin group?
Ardipithecus had a divergent big toe, like an ape's, and her feet lacked the archlike structure of later hominin feet.
The early hominin species Ardipithecus had bipedal anatomy but still retained which characteristic of apelike anatomy?
Kenyanthropus platyops.
The fossil of the flat-faced "man" that was discovered in 1999 by Maeve Leakey's research team and represented a new branch of the early human family tree was named ( ).
Homo erectus
The human ancestral species ( ) is associated with the cave site in China known as Zhoukoudian, which contained hearths and a large amount of tools, animals bones, and the fossilized remains of more than 40 individuals.
foramen magnum
The location of which opening at the bottom the skull of an ape or human ancestor indicates whether the species was bipedal or quadrupedal?
height
The most notable aspect of the Nariokotome boy fossil was its ( ).
foramen magnum
The name for the place in the skull where the spinal cord joins the brain is the ( ), and its placement in the species named "Toumai" or Sahelanthropus suggests that Toumai may have walked bipedally.
could move bipedally.
The position of the foramen magnum in australopiths is centered under the base of the skull, which indicates that Australopithecus ( ).
-could climb in the trees and also move bipedally on the ground. -was discovered in Bavaria, Germany. -has been dated to 11.6 m.y.a.
The recently discovered fossil proto-ape known as Danuvius guggenmosi:
meat
The search for ( ) is the most probable explanation for Paleolithic-era home-range expansion. Multiple choice question.
Zhoukoudian
The species Homo erectus is associated with which of the following important archaeological sites?
L. S. B. and Mary Leakey
The species known as Homo habilis was first discovered and identified by which famous team of paleoanthropologists in 1960?
control of fire
Which ability of Homo erectus provided the best protection against cave predators?
to find a transitional form between apes and humans
Which of the following was the reason why Eugene Dubois went to the Indonesian island of Java?
Australopithecus garhi
A new species of hominin was discovered in 1999 in Ethiopia that may have used stone tools to butcher animals earlier than any human ancestral species had been thought to use them. What was the name given to this early tool user from 2.5-2.6 million years ago?
One site yielded about two dozen specimens; another site yielded fossil specimens representing 35-65 individuals.
A significant amount of fossil evidence has been found that relates to the hominin species Australopithecus afarensis. Which statement best describes the number of fossil specimens found?
Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis
Archaeological evidence of intentionally made fire has been found in Israel dating back almost 800,000 B.P. and in Spain dating back 800,000 B.P. Based on these dates, which human ancestral species would most likely have been the first to master fire?
Eugene Dubois
In 1891 the fossil find called "Java man" made ( ) famous as one of the first scientists to identify a "missing link" between apes and humans.
Australopithecus africanus
In 1924, Raymond Dart identified the skull of a child belonging to a new ancestral species from a quarry in Taung, South Africa. What was the name he gave to this new species?
Humanlike birth canals had to accommodate larger skulls, but the demands of bipedalism restricted the size that the pelvic opening could be.
In human evolution, the shape of the pelvis changed to accommodate two conflicting requirements. Which statement best reflects the nature of the change in the pelvis?
Australopithecus afarensis
In the evolutionary sequence of hominins, which probably came first: Australopithecus afarensis or robust australopiths?
Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
The first representative of Homo habilis was found at ( ).
Ardipithecus ramidus
The fossil known as "Lucy" is a partial skeleton of a bipedal walker. A more recently discovered fossil skeleton predates "Lucy" by more than a million years and is an even earlier bipedal walker. What is the name of this earlier species?
Oldowan
The stone tools that date to about 1.8 million years ago that were found in Tanzania in the early 1930s by the Leakeys are called ( ) pebble tools.
upright bipedalism.
The structure of the pelvic, hip, leg, and foot bones of Au. Afarensis suggests ( ).
The canines of Au. afarensis are larger than those of humans and extend beyond the other teeth.
The teeth of early hominins such as Australopithecus afarensis have been carefully analyzed to see if they are more like those of apes or humans. Which statement best describes the differences?
Acheulean hand ax.
The type of tool associated with Homo erectus is the ( ).
Hunting ability
What ability set apart Homo erectus from Homo habilis and Paranthropus boisei?
gracile and robust
What are the names of the two major groups of South African australopiths?
The large back teeth and thick lower jaw (mandible) suggest the ability to chew and process hard, brittle foods.
What do the teeth and jaws of Australopithecus afarensis suggest about its diet?
Au. afarensis males were taller and heavier than the females.
What does it mean when scientists say that there was a high degree of sexual dimorphism in Australopithecus afarensis?
able man (or handy man)
What does the name Homo habilis mean?
Old Stone Age
What does the term Paleolithic mean?