Antro unit 3

Of all of the species of plants and animals that have lived on earth, about what percentage are still alive?

1%

Approximately how many species of plants, animals, and other living things have been given scientific names and described?

1.8 million

The brain size of australopithecines was about _______ that of ours.

1/3 The brain size of most early hominids was within the range of modern chimpanzees but far below that of humans. The cranial capacity of adult australopithecines was about 390-545 c.c. The average for modern humans is around 1345 c.c.

If an isotope of some element has a half-life of 15,000 years, approximately how much of the isotope atoms in a dating sample will remain after 30,000 years?

1/4

The oldest radiocarbon dates that potentially can be obtained with the accelerator mass spectrometry method go back to about ____________ years ago.

100,000

Which of the following dates is the earliest? a) 1233 B.C. b) 1934 B.P. c) 223 A.D. d) 545 years ago

1233 B.C.

The date for the earliest clear evidence of early life on Earth. This is fossil colonies of single-celled microscopic organisms.

3.5 billion years

The date for the earliest signs of life on Earth. These are organic chemicals that were presumably produced by single-celled microscopic organisms. This evidence is not convincing to some researchers because it consists of the chemical markers of life in rock rather than fossils of actual cells.

3.7-3.9 billion years

The earliest australopithecines evolved from apes about ________ million years ago.

4-5 The earliest known species of australopithecines (Australopithecus anamensis) evolved by about 4.2 million years ago. Their ancestor was probably the transitional genus known as Ardipithecus.

The oldest rocks on earth that have been discovered so far date about _____________ years old.

4.4 billion

The earth is about ______________ years old.

4.5 billion

The most likely age of the Earth, based on radiometric dating of meteorites.

4.54 billion years

The earliest primates evolved about _____________ years ago.

50-55 million

Archbishop James Ussher estimated the age of the earth to be about ______________ years.

6,000 In the early 17th century, Ussher counted up the total time for the generations in the Bible and then added it to time of modern history to come up with a date of 4004 B.C. (or roughly 6000 years ago) for the beginning of our planet.

In Israel, museums often use B.C.E. and A.C.E. dates. A.C.E. is the same as:

A.D. ## CORRECT --> A.C.E. stands for after the common era. Using this instead o.f A.D. (Anno Domini or the year of our lord) is a way of avoiding the overtly Christian connections of the Gregorian Calendar

The placental mammals evolved in:

Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America

Which of the following statements is true? a) The australopithecines and early humans were sexually dimorphic but modern humans are not. b) Australopithecines were usually taller than modern humans. c) All australopithecine species had relatively large concave faces. d) b and c

All australopithecine species had relatively large concave faces.

Which of the following statements is likely to be true concerning Australopithecus aethiopicus? Photo a) They are the earliest known robust species of early hominins. b) They had smaller brains than the other robust species of early hominins. c) They are thought to be a transitional form from an earlier gracile species of australopithecine. d) All of the above

All of the above All of the above statements are true concerning this very early East African species of robust australopithecines. Look at the other answers for more details.

Which of the following occurred during the Miocene Epoch (23-5.3 million years ago)?

Apes first evolved. Apes apparently evolved from monkeys early in the Miocene Epoch. Fossil monkeys and prosimians are comparatively rare from the Miocene, but apes are common. Among the Miocene apes that were adapting to the savannas were our ancestors.

The name of the species that may have been the immediate ancestor of the australopithecines. The fossils for which this species was named was found in Northern Ethiopia by Tim White and his colleagues in the 1990's. They date to about 4.4 million years ago and may represent the first stage in the evolution of bipedalism.

Ardipithecus ramidus

The genus name of an early hominin that literally means "southern ape."

Australopithecus

The genus of early hominins that was most likely the immediate ancestor of humans.

Australopithecus

The genus that was most likely the immediate ancestor of humans.

Australopithecus

The earliest known robust species of early hominins--it lived about 2.5 million years ago. So far, this species has been found only in East Africa. Since it had a smaller brain than the other robust species and it was early, it is thought to be a transitional form from one of the gracile species that came before. It had a very large sagittal crest.

Australopithecus aethiopicus

The name of the earliest known robust australopithecine species. The fossil skull for which this species was named was found in 1985 on the western side of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. It is a nearly complete robust skull with an unusually large sagittal crest. Manganese in the soil deposit where it was located stained it black. As a result, this unusual fossil has become known as the "black skull."

Australopithecus aethiopicus

A species of early australopithecines that lived about 3.7-3.0 million years ago in East Africa. Skeletally, they were still somewhat transitional from early Pliocene apes. This can be seen in their legs which were relatively shorter than those of the later australopithecines. They also had slender curved fingers reminiscent of chimpanzees. As a result of these anatomical characteristics, it has been suggested that they were less efficient bipeds and more efficient tree climbers than the later australopithecines. Some of the males had small sagittal crests.

Australopithecus afarensis

The genus and species of the very early australopithecine found by Donald Johanson in 1974 at the Hadar site in the Afar Desert region of Northern Ethiopia. It was a 40% complete skeleton of an adult female whom they named Lucy. She lived 3.2-3.18 million years ago.

Australopithecus afarensis

Which of the following is most likely to have been our ancestor?

Australopithecus afarensis

A species of australopithecine that lived about 3.3-2.5 million years ago in South Africa. Skeletally, they were less ape-like than earlier species of australopithecines but were still usually small and light in frame. This was one of the last gracile australopithecine species. It was also the first one to be discovered.

Australopithecus africanus

Which of the following species had teeth that were the most similar to our own? Photo a) Australopithecus afarensis b) Australopithecus africanus c) Australopithecus robustus

Australopithecus africanus The front teeth of africanus were relatively large like ours and their canine teeth did not project beyond the others. Microscopic wear patterns on africanus teeth suggest a diet consisting of relatively soft foods like us.

The first australopithecine discovery (i.e., the Taung child) was classified as:

Australopithecus africanus Raymond Dart gave the Taung child the genus and species names Australopithecus africanus (literally southern ape from Africa). In fact, this was a misnomer since it was an early hominin rather than an ape.

The earliest known australopithecine species. They lived 4.2-3.9 million years ago in East Africa. Little is known about them due to the scarcity of their fossils. However, they apparently were a transitional species descended from Ardipithecus ramidus or an even earlier ape ancestor near the beginning of the Pliocene Epoch. They probably were only partially bipedal and still efficient tree climbers.

Australopithecus anamensis

The name of the earliest known australopithecine species. The fossil for which this species was named was found In 1995 by Meave Leakey southwest of Lake Turkana. The species was named after the word for "lake" in the Turkana language.

Australopithecus anamensis

A super-robust East African species of early hominins that lived about 2.4-1.4 million years ago. They were more massive and beefy-looking than Australopihecus robustus. While they were only a few inches taller, they averaged 20 pounds heavier. Like their South African cousins, they had prominent sagittal crests and very large grinding teeth with thick enamel. This suggests a similar diet of hard vegetable foods.

Australopithecus boisei

The genus and species of the super robust australopithecines found in 1959 at Olduvai Gorge by Louis and Mary Leakey. He originally classified this fossil into a new genus, Zinjanthropus (East African man), but later agreed that it belonged to an already known genus of early hominins.

Australopithecus boisei

Which of the following is out of chronological order (listed from oldest to most recent)?

Australopithecus boisei

The name of a 2.5 million year old species of early hominin found in Ethiopia in 1996 by Berhane Asfaw and Tim White. This species had anatomical similarities to Australopithecus afarensis but lived much later, during the time of Australopithecus africanus.

Australopithecus garhi

A South African robust species of early hominins that lived about 2.0-1.4 million years ago. Like Australopithecus boisei, their teeth appear to have been adapted to eating tough, fibrous vegetable foods. This is indicated by their strong jaws and very large molar and premolar teeth with thick enamel. Microscopic wear patterns on their teeth indicate that they regularly ate foods such as hard nuts and seeds. They also had pronounced sagittal crests, though not as large as boisei.

Australopithecus robustus

A kind of chronometric date that is measured in years before the present. By convention, scientists have assigned 1950 A.D. in the Gregorian calendar as the present.

B.P. date

An American chemist who in 1907 estimated the age of the Earth to be at least 2 billion years based on the decay of uranium-238 to lead-206 in rocks.

Bertram Boltwood

The geologic era following the extinction of the last dinosaurs. During this era, more advanced mammals (placental mammals) rapidly evolved and became the dominant large animals. It was only in this last geologic era that primates evolved.

Cenozoic (age of mammals)

The English scientist who speculated in an 1871 publication that fossils of the earliest humans and their primate ancestors ultimately would be found somewhere in Africa. He based this on the fact that the natural range of our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees and gorillas, is limited to Africa. He concluded that we ultimately must have shared a common ancestor with those apes in Africa.

Charles Darwin

An English geologist who in 1867 estimated the age of life on Earth to be about 240,000,000 years based on his assumption of the amount of time for the successive changes in animal species found as fossils in sedimentary rock layers.

Charles Lyell

Which of the following statements is true? a) Cosmic radiation does not enter the Earth's atmosphere at a constant rate. b) There is no danger of contaminating radiocarbon dating samples by handling them with bare hands. c) Most plants and animals have C-14 in their bodies. However, humans do not. d) Radiocarbon dating is not often used because it can only date organic matter which rarely survives in the ground.

Cosmic radiation does not enter the Earth's atmosphere at a constant rate.

A British astronomer and mathematician who proposed in 1691 that if the original oceans were fresh water, one could calculate the minimum age of the Earth by dividing the total amount of salt now present in the oceans by the amount added each year from the world's rivers and streams. While he actually did not have the full necessary data available, he used this approach to conclude that the Earth is minimally 100,000,000 years old.

Edmond Halley

The geologic epoch that occurred about 55-34 million years ago. It was during this epoch that early forms of most of the placental mammal orders that are present today first appeared. Among them were primate species that somewhat resemble modern prosimians such as lemurs, lorises, and possibly tarsiers. This was the epoch of maximum prosimian adaptive radiation.

Eocene Epoch

The term for the hole at the base of a skull through which the spinal cord passes. It literally means a "large hole or opening" in Latin.

Eocene Epoch

Which of the following statements is true about fission track dating? a) Glass can be dated with this technique. b) It is a radiometric technique based on the fact that lead-206 decays and produces uranium-238. c) This method can only date things that go back in time to about 1/2 million years. d) all of the above are true

Glass can be dated with this technique.

The 1200 mile long depression or valley system running northeast to southwest in East Africa. This valley system with lakes and grasslands developed in a volcanically active fault zone at the juncture of two large tectonic plates.

Great Rift Valley system

The biological family that includes all australopithecines and humans. These are all human-like, bipedal animals.

Hominini (hominins)

The genus of all human species.

Homo

Which of the following statements is true of carbon-14?

Humans get it from the plants and animals that they eat.

The biological order of mammals that was named for their adaptation to eating insects. They were among the earliest of the placental mammals to evolve. They first appeared before the end of the Mesozoic Era.

Insectivora or Insectivore

Which of the following statements is true of dendrochronology?

It can be used to determine when a tree was cut down and how old it was at that time.

Which of the following statements is true concerning potassium-argon dating?

It can date things that are 3,000,000 years old.

Which of the following statements is true about amino acid racemization dating?

It is based on the fact that L-amino acids changeover to their D forms progressively after death.

What was happening to the foramen magnum in some species of primates during the Eocene Epoch?

It was moving towards the center of the head.

In 1995, Meave Leakey found a new, very early australopithecine species at Lake Turkana , Kenya which she named Australopithecus anamensis. Which of the following statements describe this fossil?

It was transitional between apes and later australopithecines.

An early 17th century Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland who accepted the Judeo-Christian Old Testament as being literally true and subsequently determined the age of the Earth by counting biblical generations. With this method, he calculated that the Earth began in 4004 B.C. on October 23 (about 6,000 years ago).

James Ussher

Which of the following is not a chronometric date?

John is 4 years younger than Maria

An ancient Egyptian historian who counted the durations of all dynasties of pharaohs and gods that reigned down to his time (3rd century B.C.). This allowed him to conclude that the Earth is about 38,000 years old (from our time).

Manetho

During which of the following geological eras did the dinosaurs dominate life on earth?

Mesozoic

The geologic era during which mammals first appeared and large reptiles dominated the planet. This was the age of dinosaurs. It occurred about 245-65 million years ago.

Mesozoic Era (age of reptiles)

The geological epoch that occurred about 23-5 million years ago. It was during this epoch that apes evolved from monkeys. Fossil monkeys and prosimians are comparatively rare from most this epoch, but apes are common. By 14 million years ago, the group of apes that included the ancestors of humans were apparently in the process of adapting to life on the edges of the expanding savannas in Southern Europe.

Miocene Epoch

Which of the following is true of the Oligocene Epoch (33.9-23 million years ago)?

Monkeys evolved from prosimians during this epoch or at the tail end of the Eocene Epoch which preceded it.

Which of the following statements is true concerning what the world was like when the first primate-like animals lived?

Most land masses had tropical or subtropical climates.

A small eroded valley in Tanzania where Louis and Mary Leakey found the first known East African early hominin in 1959.

Olduvai Gorge

The geological epoch that occurred about 34-23 million years ago. It was in this epoch that the first monkeys evolved from prosimians. By the beginning of this epoch, North America and Europe drifted apart and became distinct continents. The Great Rift Valley system of East Africa also was formed. The Himalayan chain of mountains and the Tibetan Plateau beyond rose high as the Indian tectonic plate continued to crash into Asia. This epoch follows the Eocene Epoch.

Oligocene Epoch

Which of the following statements is true of the fossil record?

Our interpretation of the fossil record has been biased.

A chronometric dating method based on the fact that the magnetic north and south poles periodically reverse. A permanent record of these reversals can be found in the thermoremnant magnetism of volcanic rock deposits. When fossils are found sandwiched between such volcanic layers, they can be dated by association--i.e., a minimum and a maximum age can be assigned.

Paleomagnetic dating (or geomagnetic reversal time scale dating or geomagnetic polarity time scale dating)

The geologic era during which there was the appearance and evolution of early multicellular life forms including invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants. In addition, life moved onto the land for the first time. This era existed about 545-245 million years ago.

Paleozoic Era

The super-continent that was created when all of the continents came together and fused early in the time of the dinosaurs. It began forming about 285 million years ago. It was complete by about 210 million years ago and began drifting apart again 10 million years later. The name of this super-continent literally means "all of the Earth" in Greek.

Pangaea

The genus name given to an early hominin that literally means "parallel to man." It is now generally considered to be a robust australopithecine.

Paranthropous

The robust species of early hominins are commonly assigned to the genus ______________ .

Paranthropus

The Zinjanthropus boisei fossil found by Louis and Mary Leakey at Olduvai Gorge in 1959 was anatomically closest to which early South African hominin?

Paranthropus robustus

The name of a presumably very ancient human skull and jaw found in England in 1912 by Charles Dawson. As a result of fluorine analysis testing in the early 1950's, this fossil was found to be an elaborate hoax.

Piltdown Man hoax

The Australian anatomy professor at the University of Witerwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, who obtained a fossil skull that had been blasted out of a nearby limestone quarry at Taung. In 1925 he classified it as Australopithecus africanus. Because of its small size, he called it the "Taung baby." In fact, it was a child of 3-4 years old.

Raymond Dart

We did not have accurate scientific estimates of the age of the Earth until the 1960's and 1970's because:

Reliable radiometric techniques that could date the earliest time periods were not available until then.

The medical doctor and enthusiastic amateur paleontologist from Scotland who found the first known adult Australopithecus africanus while excavating in Sterkfontein cave in 1936. In 1938, he discovered more fossil remains of africanus and other early hominins in Kromdraai cave. Some of these fossils were larger boned and more muscular with powerful jaws. He named them Paranthropus robustus. It is now generally called Australopithecus robustus.

Robert Broom

Paleomagnetic dating is based on the fact that:

Some of the mineral components of rock acquire a weak permanent magnetism when heated to a red hot state. *When the iron atoms in rock or clay are exposed to heat above 1100° F. (600° C.), they acquire a weak magnetic field that is aligned with the earth`s own magnetic field at that time.

A limestone cave in South Africa where, in 1924, the first known australopithecine discovery was made.

Taung

Which of the following statements is true?

The bones of living animals normally contain both organic molecules and inorganic minerals.

Which of the following statements is true? a) The magnetic and the rotational north poles move around but are always within 5-10 miles of each other. b) By measuring thermoremnant magnetism in fire hearths, researchers have created a map of the wandering of magnetic north around the rotational north pole during the last 175,000 years. c) The magnetic north and south poles reverse or change places from time to time. d) none of the above

The magnetic north and south poles reverse or change places from time to time.

Which of the following statements is true concerning the early hominins?

The robust and gracile lines of species differed from each other in the features of their heads.

Which of the following statements is true of the australopithecines that were living 3 million years ago?

Their leg and foot bones were much more similar to ours than to apes. Late australopithecine feet and legs were very similar to ours. In fact, their entire skeleton below the neck was far more similar to humans than to apes. As a result, it is likely that they were bipedal like us.

Which of the following statements is true of thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance dating? a) Neither destroys or alters the sample in the dating process. b) They are both radiometric techniques. c) They both are based on the weight change of samples when they are heated. d) all of the above are true

They are both radiometric techniques.

Which of the following statements is true of the australopithecines?

They are members of our biological tribe of primates.

The Great Rift Valley began to form during the Oligocene Epoch as a result of:

They became scarce in most regions.

Which of the following statements is true concerning the gracile australopithecine species?

They generally were slender and delicate boned.

Tim White and several of his Ethiopian colleagues found a 4.4 million year old hominin known as Ardipithecus ramidus at the Aramis site in the Middle Awash region of Northern Ethiopia. Which of the following statements is true about this species?

They were probably the ancestors of the early australopithecines.

An English canal and mine engineer who in 1799 expanded on James Hutton's idea of geologic time by dividing sedimentary rock layers into 6 main divisions based, in part, on the fossil evidence of life that they contained. These main divisions, or eras, that he proposed became the basic framework for the geologic time scale of the Earth that we still use today.

William Smith

Who was the first to point out that fossils present in sedimentary rock formations always follow each other in the same order from strata to strata?

William Smith

Which of the following dating techniques potentially could be used to date a log used as a roof beam in an ancient house? a) dendrochronology b) amino acid racemization c) paleomagnetic d) a and b e) all of the above

a and b

The term "zygomatic arch" refers to:

a bony arch extending horizontally on either side of the face below the eyes on primates and many other vertebrates.

An unconformity is:

a break or change in the original stratigraphic sequence

A dating technique using a research instrument primarily employed in physics to accelerate streams of charged subnuclear particles to high velocities in order to sort and analyze them. This technique is now also used to count individual carbon isotope atoms for radiocarbon dating. The advantage of this technique over the conventional radiocarbon method is that it requires a far smaller sample size and can potentially provide dates going back to around 100,000 B.P.

accelerator mass spectrometer dating (AMS dating)

The relatively rapid expansion and diversification of an evolving group of organisms as they adapt to new ecological niches. This is the process by which one species evolves into two or more species. This occurs as a result of different populations becoming reproductively isolated from each other, usually by adapting to different environments.

adaptive radiation

Which of the following were australopithecine species?

afarensis and africanus

Which of the following chronometric methods can now be used for dating in the time range 20,000-40,000 B.P.?

amino acid racemization

A chronometric dating method based on the fact that amino acids progressively change to mirror image forms following the death of an organism--i.e., from L-amino acid to D-amino acid forms.

amino acid racemization dating

When two fossils are found next to each other in the same geological stratum, it is usually assumed that they date from the same time period. This is done on the basis of the principle of:

association

The first life on our planet dates to __________________ years ago.

at least 3.5 billion

Which of the following statements is true about most chronometric dates used by paleoanthropologists? a) They should be considered to be accurate to at least a single year. b) They should be considered to be only close approximations. c) They are given with a plus or minus factor which is an indication of their probable accuracy. d) b and c

b and c

By 3 million years ago, the australopithecines were:

becoming common in East and South Africa

The name for the relative dating technique that is based on the discovery of index fossils.

biostratigraphy

When the bones of early humans are found in the same geological deposit as those of other animal species that are known to have lived at a specific time in the past, it is assumed that these people lived then as well. This is an application of dating with:

biostratigraphy

Fluorine analysis of two bones from the same site can tell us that they probably:

came from the same or different time periods

Which of the following isotopes has the shortest half-life?

carbon-14

Tree growth ring widths usually vary with:

changing weather patterns

The term for a date that places an event in its chronological position with reference to a universal time scale such as a calendar. Such dates usually are given in terms of the number of years before or after a calendar starting point. For instance, 1950 B.C. was 1950 years before the beginning date of the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly used today.

chronometric date

Which of the following geological epochs is out of order (from older to more recent)? a) Eocene b) Oligocene c) Miocene d) Paleocene e) all are in order

d) Paleocene The Paleocene (ca. 65.5-55.8 million years ago) should come first. The correct chronological sequence of these geological epochs is Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene.

Which of the following is true of Pangaea? a) It was a super-continent formed by all of the continents coming together. b) Pangaea resulted from tectonic movements. c) The climates on Pangaea were essentially the same as they are today in the Northern Hemisphere. d) a and b

d) a and b

Olduvai Gorge is located in: a) the Great Rift Valley b) East Africa c) South Africa d) a and b

d) a and b Olduvai Gorge is a 30 mile (48 km.) long, small eroded canyon complex cutting into the Serengeti Plain in Northern Tanzania. It is in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. Many hominin fossils dating back 2 million years have been found at Olduvai.

Which of the following techniques can be used to date mollusk shells and egg shells? a) radiocarbon dating b) fission track dating c) electron spin resonance dating d) a and c e) all of the above

d) a and c

Radiometric dating techniques are all based on knowledge of: a) the rate at which certain isotopes decay b) known half-lives for certain isotopes c) how to measure the amount of certain isotopes remaining in a sample d) all of the above

d) all of the above

The cave at Swartkrans in South Africa was carefully reinvestigated by C. K. Brain between 1965 and 1983. What did he find? a) the bones of more than one species of hominin b) evidence suggesting that leopards killed some of the early hominins at this site c) stones from another area that were brought into the cave at the time that the early hominins were present d) all of the above

d) all of the above

Which of the following can be learned about a species from studying their fossilized skeletons? a) growth patterns b) life expectancy c) medical pathologies d) all of the above

d) all of the above

Which of the following could be a fossil? a) a woman who lived 15,000 years ago found frozen in a glacier b) a penguin that lived 100,000 years ago found in a dry valley in Antarctica c) a wasp inside a 30 million year old block of amber d) all of the above e) none of the above

d) all of the above

Which of the following dating techniques is radiometric? a) carbon-14 b) potassium-argon c) fission track d) all of the above

d) all of the above

Which of the following have been suggested as advantages of bipedalism in a tropical grassland environment? a) It provides an advantage in scavenging for food and watching out for predators in open environments. b) It helps to dissipate excess body heat and reduces the absorption of heat from the sun. c) It makes it easier to walk greater distances. d) all of the above

d) all of the above

Which of the following is true of the primates that lived during the Eocene Epoch (55.8-33.9 million years ago)? a) There were primate species that resemble modern prosimians such as lemurs, lorises, and possibly tarsiers. b) This was the epoch of maximum prosimian adaptive radiation. c) Primate brains and eyes generally were becoming larger, while their snouts were getting smaller. d) all of the above

d) all of the above

It has been suggested that the coming together of continents to form Pangaea resulted in: a) extinction of all plants and animals b) a devastating ice age c) massive genetic bottle-necking d) b and c

d) b and c

Which of the following statements is true of dating by stratigraphy? a) Soil strata are always found in the order that they were laid down. b) In most cases, the stratigraphic record for a site can be sorted out. c) People and other animals often alter the original stratigraphic record. d) b and c

d) b and c

In 1974, a team of paleoanthropologists under the direction of Donald Johanson found a 40% complete skeleton of a very early hominin species at the Hadar site in the Afar Desert region of Northern Ethiopia. What was it called? a) Australopithecus anamensis b) Lucy c) Australopithecus afarensis d) b and c

d) b and c Johanson formally named this early species Australopithecus afarensis, but the original skeleton was also nicknamed Lucy. She was a 3 feet 3 inches tall adult with a slender body. She lived 3.2-3.18 million years ago.

Raymond Dart concluded that the Taung child was a bipedal animal because a) it had a brain as large as humans b) it had hip and leg bones that looked like those of modern people c) it was found in association with the bones of early humans d) none of the above

d) none of the above

There apparently were at least two main evolutionary lines of hominins after 2.5 million years ago. The one that became our ancestors: a) lived primarily in dense tropical forests on mountain slopes b) was strictly vegetarian c) was strictly carnivorous d) none of the above

d) none of the above

Which of the following statements is true about fossilization? a) It is a common occurrence. b) It is more common for animals from mountains and forests than for those from deserts and oceans. c) Small animals with light weight, thin bones are more likely to become fossils than are large animals with heavy, dense bones. d) none of the above

d) none of the above

Which of the following statements is true of dating by using stratigraphy, index fossils, and fluorine analysis? a) They are the only relative dating methods in use today. b) They can yield both relative and chronometric dates. c) They can only date artifacts. d) none of the above

d) none of the above

At the end of the Mesozoic Era (ca. 65.5 million years ago) there was a major catastrophic extinction of life on earth. Which of the following statements is true of this extinction period? a) It was the only major extinction period on our planet. b) It was the greatest extinction period. c) It resulted in the death of all species of plants and animals. d) none of the above

d) none of the above There have been at least 6 major extinctions. They occurred about 488, 444, 360, 251, 200, and 65.5 million years ago. The most devastating one was about 251 million years ago (95-96% of species became extinct at that time).

Which of the following statements is true of the early primate-like mammals or proto-primates? a) They were about the size of large dogs or wolves. b) They probably lived mostly in grassland environments. c) Their numerous, well preserved fossils have been found mostly in Europe. d) none of the above.

d) none of the above.

The early 20th century description of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal skeleton by Marcellin Boule:

demonstrates the problem with describing a fossil species based on a single specimen

The study of annual growth-rings of trees, usually for the purpose of chronometric dating logs and, subsequently, human remains and artifacts found in association with them.

dendrochronology or tree-ring dating

Which of the following dating techniques could date something that is older than 100,000 years?

electron spin resonance

A radiometric dating method based on the fact that background radiation causes electrons to separate from their atoms and become trapped in the crystal lattice of minerals. This progressively alters the magnetic field of the material at a predictable rate. The magnetic field of the atoms in a sample is measured to determine the age. This technique is employed primarily to chronometrically date calcium carbonate in limestone, coral, teeth, and egg shells.

electron spin resonance dating (ESR dating)

A radiometric dating method based on the fact that when trace amounts of uranium-238 decay, there is a release of highly energy-charged alpha particles which burn narrow tracks, or damage trails, through glassy materials like obsidian (i.e., volcanic glass).

fission track dating

Latin terms used to refer to the plants and animals in an environment.

flora and fauna

In the early 1950's, Piltdown Man was discovered to be a hoax as a result of using which of the following dating techniques:

fluorine analysis

Which of the following dating methods could be used most effectively in proving that a human bone and a mammoth tusk found in the same stratum of a site were from animals that did not live at the same time?

fluorine analysis

A relative dating method based on the fact that bones buried in the ground progressively lose nitrogen and gain fluorine and other trace elements. If two bones from the same site have markedly different amounts of nitrogen and fluorine, it is a strong indication that they did not come from the same time period. The bone with the least amount of nitrogen and the greatest amount of fluorine is most likely the oldest.

fluorine analysis dating

The unusual kind of evidence of Australopithecus afarensis found at the Laetoli site about 30 miles south of Olduvai Gorge in Northern Tanzania. It was found in 1978 by Mary Leakey and Tim White.

footprints of 3 bipedal hominins walking in a now hardened volcanic ash layer

In the early 1970's, Mary Leakey and Tim White found bones of what were likely Australopithecus afarensis dating in the range 3.7-3.5 million years ago at a site in Northern Tanzania named Laetoli. What else did they find there?

footprints of these early hominins

The term for any remains or traces of ancient organisms. Often they are mineralized bone, though they may be animal tracks, frozen or desiccated bodies, creatures trapped in amber, etc.

fossil

A term applied to the early australopithecines and the earliest humans. It means graceful, slender, and delicate and is used to describe the body characteristics (especially bones) of these species.

gracile

The amount of time for half of the atoms of a radioactive element in a sample to decay, or fission. The reduction in the number of atoms follows a geometric scale.

half-life

The remains of a plant or animal of a species that is known to have lived only during a specific time period. The discovery of such a fossil in an archaeological site is circumstantial evidence of the approximate time period that it was occupied. These fossils can be used to relatively date the remains of our ancient ancestors if they were found in association with each them.

index fossil

The body of an animal is more likely to become fossilized if it:

is buried deeply in the ground

Any of two or more forms of an element that differ in terms of atomic mass but have the same atomic number--for example, carbon-12 and carbon-14.

isotope

The Neandertal skeleton that the French paleontologist, Marcellin Boule, analyzed early in the 20th century and incorrectly concluded was from a dull-witted, brutish, ape-like man who walked hunched over with a shuffling gait. This misled several generations of anthropologists.

la Chapelle-aux-Saints man

The Earth's outer rock shell consisting of about a dozen enormous rigid tectonic plates and many smaller ones that are more or less constantly moving relative to each other at a rate of a few centimeters a year.

lithosphere

The term for a fossil consisting of a bone that has lost its organic components and now consists only, or primarily, of minerals. This is characteristic of surviving dinosaur and other very ancient bones.

mineralized bone

The kind of environment in which bipedal locomotion probably evolved. Bipedalism was very likely an adaptation to living in this kind of environment—it provided advantages for survival.

mixed woodland and grassland environment

A paleospecies is most often defined from the fossil record based on:

morphology

Paranthropus robustus differed from Australopithecus africanus in that the former:

often had a prominent sagittal crest Unlike africanus, robustus usually had a sagittal crest (i.e., a ridge of bone extending from front to back along the midline of the top of the skull). A sagittal crest serves as an anchor attachment for exceptionally large, strong jaw muscles

The study of early forms of humans and their primate ancestors is:

paleoanthropology

The study of the fossil and archaeological record of humans and their primate ancestors.

paleoanthropology

If you were excavating an early human site that you believe dates to around 2,000,000 years ago, which of the following dating techniques would you most likely use?

paleomagnetic

The study of earlier forms of all life present in the fossil record.

paleontology

The term used by paleoanthropologists for a group of similar fossils whose range of morphological variation does not exceed the range of variation of a closely related living species.

paleospecies

The term for the bones of the hip region.

pelvis or pelvic girdle

Permanently frozen soil. This is a common condition above the arctic circle and in other similarly cold environments.

permafrost

The process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria use energy from sun light to create new organic molecules out of carbon dioxide and water.

photosynthesis

The approach to assigning species names to new fossil skeletons based on the idea that if two fossils have major similarities they should be categorized as being members of the same species. From this perspective, minor anatomical differences within the same population are expected since the members of living species have individual variation. People who advocate this viewpoint are also referred to in the biological sciences as "lumpers."

populational approach or viewpoint

If you were excavating a site that lacks any ancient organic matter but has a strata of volcanic ash that you believed was about 2-3 million years old, what dating technique would you most likely employ?

potassium-argon

A radiometric dating method based on the fact that potassium-40 in volcanic rock decays into argon-40 and calcium-40 at a known rate. Chronometric dates are determined by measuring the amount of argon-40 in a sample.

potassium-argon dating (K-Ar dating)

The term for breaks in the original stratigraphic sequence of a geological deposit. Understanding all of these changes in an area is a prerequisite for using stratigraphy for relative dating purposes.

primary context

The idea that if there are layers in a sedimentary deposit, those laid down first will be on the bottom and those laid down last will be on the top. This principle is the basis for one of the commonly used relative dating techniques.

principle of superposition

Another name used to describe the first primate-like mammals that were evolving by the beginning of the Cenozoic Era 65 million years ago. They were roughly similar to squirrels and tree shrews in size and appearance. The existing, very fragmentary fossil evidence suggests that they were adapted to an arboreal way of life in warm, moist climates.

proto-primates

The term for a four-footed form of locomotion. This is characteristic of most mammals. Humans are exceptions, being bipeds.

quadrupedal (quadruped)

Which of the following techniques can date wood and feathers?

radiocarbon dating

A radiometric dating method based on the fact that the amount of carbon-14 steadily decreases in all organisms after death. This technique is used to provide chronometric dates for organic materials such as bone, shell, wood, and charcoal.

radiocarbon dating (carbon-14 dating)

A term referring to techniques for chronometric dating based on known half-lives of particular isotopes or the rate of other cumulative changes in atoms resulting from radioactivity. Examples include electron spin resonance, fission track, potassium-argon, radiocarbon, and thermoluminescence dating.

radiometric dating

The term for a date that gives the time of an event only with reference to another event that is not worldwide in scale. It only indicates that one event occurred earlier or later than another. For instance, the observation that strata 2 is younger than strata 1 beneath it in a geological deposit does not provide information about how many years ago strata 2 was laid down. It only indicates its age relative to strata 1.

relative date

The early hominins that had a prominent sagittal crest.

robust australopithecines

The group of australopithecine species that was least likely to have been an ancestor of humans. This group lived at the same time as the first humans. (gracile or robust)

robust australopithecines

Which of the following species of australopithecines are generally not considered to be gracile forms?

robustus and boisei

The point on the northern extremity of the earth where the axis of rotation is located. Compared to the magnetic north pole, this one is relatively stable.

rotational north pole

A ridge of bone projecting vertically, from front to back, along the top midline of the skull. It serves as a muscle attachment area for the muscles that extend up both sides of the head from the jaw. The presence of this ridge of bone indicates that there are exceptionally strong jaw muscles.

sagittal crest

The general term for a seasonally dry tropical or subtropical grassy plains with scattered trees. These environments are usually the habitat of large herbivores and their predators. The first hominids apparently evolved on and near East and South African areas like this.

savanna

The number of known major global extinction events that have occurred on Earth.

six (they occurred about 488,440, 360, 251, 200, and 65.5 million years ago)

The study of geological strata, or layers of rock or soil, usually for relative dating based on the principle of superposition.

stratigraphy

Relative dating with stratigraphy is based on the principle of:

superposition

The study of the conditions under which plants, animals, and other organisms become altered after death, buried, and sometimes preserved as fossils.

taphonomy

Relative dates can tell us:

that some event is older or younger than another

The first australopithecine fossil to be recognized as being something other than an ape was:

the Taung child

The lithosphere is:

the earth's outer rock shell

Tectonic movement refers to:

the movement of a dozen enormous rigid plates and many smaller ones that make up the lithosphere

Which of the following techniques could be used to date pottery?

thermoluminescence dating

A radiometric dating method based on the fact that background radiation causes electrons to separate from their atoms and become trapped in the crystal lattice of minerals. When heated to high temperatures, the trapped electrons are released and they give off energy in the form of light. The characteristic of that light is measured to determine the age of the sample. This technique is mainly used to date pottery and rock that previously had been in an intense fire.

thermoluminescence dating (TL dating)

Magnetic fields that are altered or formed in atoms of iron by heat in excess of 1100°F. (600° C.). Such fields line up with the magnetic field of the Earth at the time of the exposure to a high temperature. They will remain oriented to that direction indefinitely despite the fact that the true position of magnetic north wanders over thousands of miles around the rotational north pole and even reverses with the magnetic south pole over longer periods of time.

thermoremnant magnetism

Radiocarbon dates for samples that have had prolonged exposure to the gasses coming out of car exhaust systems usually are:

too old

When researchers examine two fossil skeletons and conclude that they must come from different species because they look slightly different from each other, they most likely are taking a _________________ approach.

typological

The approach to assigning species names to new fossil skeletons based on the idea that if two fossils look slightly different, they should be categorized as being from two different species. This approach emphasizes minor differences. People who maintain this approach are generally referred to in the biological sciences as "splitters".

typological approach or viewpoint

Which of the following would a paleoanthropologist most likely do in order to be more certain about the dating of an ancient artifact?

use a number of different dating methods

The date 23000 ± 2000 B.P. means that there is a high probability that the true date is:

within the range 21000-25000 years ago

The bony arch extending horizontally on either side of the face just below the eyes on primates and many other vertebrates. The major jaw muscles pass under these arches on their way up to the temporal areas of the skull for attachment.

zygomatic arch