CHAPTER 10: Early Hominin Origins and Evolution
Choose the factual statements about the site of Bouri.
-Australopithecus garhi was found here. -Only indirect evidence of stone tool use in the form of cut marks and smashed bones has been found here. -Bouri is located in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia.
Which of the following statements about Australopithecus platyops is true?
-Australopithecus platyops is associated with a woodland habitat. -Australopithecus platyops had a relatively flat face. -Australopithecus platyops is one of the most poorly represented hominins.
Which of the following statements best characterize the patchy forest hypothesis?
-Bipedalism is more efficient for medium- and longer-distance travel than is quadrupedalism. -Some forests became patchy, requiring greater distances to be travelled between food sources.
While often only one or two paleoanthropologists are associated with a particular fossil discovery, in reality they work with large teams of people. Identify the correct statements about the teams that uncover and analyze fossils.
-The famous anthropologists whose names are associated with the discoveries are not native to the country in which the fossils are found. -Team members are often native to the country in which the fossils are found.
Many features distinguish modern humans from the nonhuman apes. However, only two of these features define hominins. Why?
-These two traits arose in the common ancestor of all hominins, but are not found in the nonhominin apes. -Proper taxonomic groups are always defined by the traits that are shared among members of the group but not found in closely related species. -The evolution of hominins involved several different changes that happened at different times. Only two of these features evolved early enough to apply to all the hominins.
Which of the following are important features of the pre-australopithecine Sahelanthropus tchadensis?
-dates to 7-6 mya -one of few hominin fossils found in Central Africa -prominent brow ridges
Match the features to the appropriate species. -Australopithecus anamensis *Australopithecus afarensis
-most similar to pre-australopithecines -found near Lake Turkana *The short-statured individual, "Lucy," is a member of this species . *associated with an extensive fossilized footprint track in Laetoli
Which of these features are associated with bipedalism as seen in humans?
-s-shaped curve of spine -short ilium
The events surrounding the Piltdown fossil discoveries provide important lessons for the scientific community. Place in chronological order the events that occurred before and after the excavations at Piltdown Common.
1. The leading scientific hypothesis was that a large brain was the most important human feature 2. Piltdown mas was found in southern England and is determined to be early human ancestor 3. Australopithecus africanus was found in South Africa 4. Piltdown man was discovered to be a hoax
Match each species of pre-australopithecine to the appropriate map showing where its fossil remains have been found. 1.) Ardipithecus Kadabba 2.)Ardipithecus ramidus 3.)Sahelanthropus tchadensis 4.) Orrorin tugenensis
1.) Ethiopia 2) Ethiopia 3)Chad 4.) Kenya
the location in Africa where it is found. 1.) limestone caves 2.) sedimentary basins and river drainage systems
1.) South Africa 2.) Great Rift Valley
You are presented with a fossil that was just excavated. This fossil skull has a large face, large molars, and a prominent sagittal crest, suggesting it is ____________.
Australopithecus robustus.
Choose the correct statement about nonhoning chewing and bipedalism.
They preceded speech and the use of stone tools by several million years
Ardipithecus ramidus was a transitional species in many ways, with some features that were apelike, some humanlike, and others that were a mosaic of both. Place "apelike," "humanlike," or "mosaic" on the correct feature.
skull and teeth-HUMANLIKE hand-APELIKE lower limb-MOSAIC