Test Bank Docx Early Hominin Evolution Chapter 7

Biological Anthropology: Concepts and Connections, 3e (Fuentes)

Chapter 7 Early Hominin Evolution

1) Which of the following is NOT one of the families into which the living hominoids are divided in traditional taxonomy?

A) Hominoidea

B) Hylobatidae

C) Pongidae

D) Hominidae

2) The pongids consist of:

A) the Asian genus Pan and the African genera Gorilla and Pongo.

B) the Asian genus Pongo and the African genera Gorilla and Pan.

C) the African genus Gorilla and the Asian genera Pongo and Pan.

D) the African genus Pongo and the Asian genera Gorilla and Pan.

3) Bipedality refers to:

A) the ability to grip objects forcefully with the phalanges of the hand.

B) the state of having different alleles at both loci for the same gene.

C) the ability to regulate internal body temperature.

D) the use of two legs rather than four for locomotion.

4) Which of the following is NOT a physical trait shared by all hominins?

A) large canine teeth

B) a forward-placed foramen magnum

C) a dramatically reduced (or no) shearing complex

D) modifications in the pelvic girdle and lower limbs

5) Any fossil evidence of hominins before about 1.8 million years ago is found only in:

A) Europe.

B) Asia.

C) Africa.

D) North America.

6) Identify a cranial characteristic of hominins.

A) temporal origins central on cranium

B) molars with thin enamel

C) a parabolic dental arcade

D) a backward-placed foramen magnum

7) The Rift Valley is in:

A) east Africa.

B) west Africa.

C) north Africa.

D) South Africa.

8) The Aramis site along the Awash River is in:

A) Tanzania.

B) Kenya.

C) Ethiopia.

D) Egypt.

9) North and South America became connected during the ________ epoch.

A) Miocene

B) Pliocene

C) Pleistocene

D) Holocene

10) Identify a postcranial characteristic of hominins.

A) single-arched pes or foot

B) relatively abductable big toe

C) long os coxae with a narrow iliac blade

D) shortened phalanges of pedal digits 2-5

11) Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of late Miocene hominoids?

A) large canine teeth

B) thick molar enamel

C) substantial facial prognathism

D) a flat cranial base

12) ________ is the best-known early hominin.

A) Australopithecus anamensis

B) Australopithecus afarensis

C) Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba

D) Ardipithecus ramidus ramidus

13) ________ exhibited a sectorial premolar and both sexual and canine dimorphism.

A) Australopithecus anamensis

B) Australopithecus afarensis

C) Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba

D) Ardipithecus ramidus ramidus

14) Postcranially, ________ is somewhat different from earlier hominin forms.

A) Australopithecus anamensis

B) Australopithecus afarensis

C) Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba

D) Ardipithecus ramidus ramidus

15) The species Australopithecus bahrelghazali was established as a result of:

A) the finding of a single mandible fossil at the Koro Toro site.

B) subtle differentiations in fossil findings at the Aramis site.

C) pronounced differentiations in fossil findings at the Aramis site.

D) subtle differentiations in fossil findings at the Kanapoi and Allia Bay sites.

16) The Pliocene epoch was characterized by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) higher sea levels.

B) a significant change in the assemblages of animals across different areas of the planet.

C) climatic changes that led to geological events that affected wide areas.

D) a colder climate than the Miocene.

17) Before 1995, the Aramis fossils were placed in the genus:

A) Orrorin.

B) Sahelanthropus.

C) Australopithecus.

D) Ardipithecus.

18) All of the following were true about Piltdown Man EXCEPT:

A) he was proven to be a fake in 1953.

B) he was discovered in England in 1911.

C) he was thought to be the missing link between apes and humans.

D) he had a pronounced chin.

19) The real difference between early human ancestors and apes is:

A) a cranium large enough to accommodate a larger brain.

B) a chin.

C) bipedality.

D) significant canine dimorphism.

20) Identify a physical characteristic of the fossils of Australopithecus anamensis.

A) small molars with thin enamel

B) tiny and inconspicuous canines

C) a reduced shearing complex

D) the absence of bipedal anatomy

21) Identify an anatomical feature of Australopithecus afarensis.

A) inconspicuous canines

B) molars with thin enamel

C) divergent tooth rows

D) fairly small cranium

22) The near-complete skeleton and the many and diverse fossil fragments tell us that Ardipithecus:

A) had shorter arms than would be expected for a biped.

B) exhibited a marked dimorphism between males and females.

C) had large and prominent canine teeth.

D) preferred a general omnivorous diet.

23) Which of the following is true about the current knowledge of morphological and molecular relationships among the living apes and humans?

A) Gorillas and humans are more similar, and thus more closely related, to one another than either is to chimpanzees and orangutans.

B) Chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans are more similar, and thus more closely related, to one another than any of them is to humans.

C) Chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans are more similar, and thus more closely related, to one another than any of them is to the orangutan.

D) Gorillas and chimpanzees are more similar, and thus more closely related, to one another than either is to orangutans and humans.

24) The traditional classification of humans as hominids and chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans lumped together as pongids:

A) is supported by the discoveries of Australopithecus afarensis and Ardipithecus ramidus.

B) is supported by the discoveries of Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus bahrelghazali.

C) is an accurate reflection of evolutionary histories.

D) is not an accurate reflection of evolutionary histories.

25) While most of the unique physical traits shared by hominins were developed by about 5 million years ago, the large brain that characterizes modern hominins developed:

A) less than 10,000 thousand years ago.

B) about 1.5 million years ago.

C) about 3 million years ago.

D) about 4 million years ago.

26) Which of the following is NOT one of the main theories supporting the origin of bipedality discussed in your text?

A) The benefits of reduced weight bearing in the upper body favored bipedality.

B) Bipedality is derived from a foraging pattern favoring upright reaching.

C) Visual surveillance favored bipedality.

D) The benefits of long-distance walking favored bipedality.

27) Identify a characteristic of Orrorin tugenensis.

A) thick molar enamel

B) relatively small and humanlike canine teeth

C) grasping toe

D) femur heads indicating the absence of bipedality

28) A shearing complex is:

A) a condition in which the upper second premolar is somewhat sharpened or flattened from rubbing against the lower canine as the mouth closes.

B) a condition in which the upper first premolar is somewhat sharpened or flattened from rubbing against the lower canine as the mouth closes.

C) a condition in which the lower second premolar is somewhat sharpened or flattened from rubbing against the upper canine as the mouth closes.

D) a condition in which the lower first premolar is somewhat sharpened or flattened from rubbing against the upper canine as the mouth closes.

29) Humans are classified as all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Homo.

B) Homoninae.

C) Homininae.

D) Hominini.

30) Australopithecus afarensis fossils are found in areas that were primarily mixed ________ environments 4 to 3 mya.

A) forested and grassland

B) grassland and savanna

C) savanna and woodland

D) woodland and forested

31) Identify a characteristic of Ardipithecus ramidus.

A) large and prominent canine teeth

B) a backward-placed foramen magnum

C) thin molar enamel

D) grasping toe

32) Identify a characteristic of the fossil cranium of Sahelanthropus tchadensis.

A) relatively large canine teeth

B) relatively thin molar enamel

C) a prominent supraorbital torus

D) a well-developed shearing complex

33) Prognathism means that:

A) the jaw projects beyond the upper parts of the face.

B) the jaw does not project beyond the upper parts of the face.

C) the forehead projects beyond the upper parts of the face.

D) the forehead does not project beyond the upper parts of the face.

34) The placement of the taxonomic level "tribe" falls:

A) under superfamily and just above family.

B) under family and just above subfamily.

C) just under subfamily and just above genus.

D) under genus and just above species.

35) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of hominins?

A) molars with thin enamel

B) the presence of mastoid processes

C) temporal origins forward on cranium

D) a parabolic dental arcade

36) Over the last several million years, the Rift Valley has been characterized by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) ice sheets.

B) active volcanoes.

C) earthquakes.

D) mountain-building.

37) The fossils of ________, dated to approximately 4.5-3.9 mya, represent the first species in the genus Australopithecus.

A) Australopithecus anamensis

B) Australopithecus bahrelghazali

C) Australopithecus afarensis

D) Australopithecus deyiremeda

38) Canine dimorphism is:

A) a difference between the size of the upper (larger) and lower (smaller) canines.

B) a difference between the size of the upper (smaller) and lower (larger) canines.

C) a difference in the size of the canine teeth between species.

D) a difference in the size of the canine teeth between the sexes.

39) The hominins of the Middle and Late Pliocene exhibited all of the following traits EXCEPT:

A) large molars.

B) thick enameled molars.

C) sexual monomorphism.

D) bipedality.

40) Tooth rows in modern humans are:

A) parallel.

B) slightly divergent from one another.

C) slightly convergent.

D) uneven.

41) Fossil pollens and other fossil remains associated with the fossil finds of Ardipithecus suggest that it lived in a ________ environment.

A) forested or grassland

B) grassland or savanna

C) savanna or woodland

D) woodland or forested

42) All of the following were characteristics of Sahelanthropus tchadensis EXCEPT:

A) relatively small canines.

B) relatively thick enamel on the molars.

C) prominent brow ridges.

D) a large brain case.

43) Which of the following is NOT one of the main theories supporting the evolution of bipedality discussed in your text?

A) Bipedality is beneficial for carrying objects.

B) The benefits of long-distance running favored bipedality.

C) Male provisioning and female infant carrying resulted in bipedality.

D) Bipedality confers benefits in thermoregulation.

44) Which of the following is NOT a postcranial characteristic of hominins?

A) an angled femur

B) double-arched feet

C) an abductable hallux

D) wide flaring iliac blades

45) A tooth that exhibits side-to-side compression due to its role as a shearing surface for another tooth is called a:

A) sectorial molar.

B) sectorial premolar.

C) compacted molar.

D) compacted premolar.

46) Discuss the discovery and controversy surrounding the Piltdown Man. Name two traits that link the Piltdown Man to apes and two traits that link the Piltdown Man to humans.

47) Describe the Rift Valley, and include information such as where it is, how large it is, what its characteristics are, and why it is important.

48) Name and describe the functions of four characteristics of hominins.

49) Describe the life of early hominins. In your answer, be sure to explain where early hominins lived (including the habitat and climate), what they ate, the details of tool use, and what their social life was like.

50) Name and discuss three theories/selective pressures that could have favored the move from a generalized hominoid quadruped to a sometimes biped to a full terrestrial biped in the hominin lineage. When discussing the theories of bipedality, be sure to state whether or not the theory is plausible and why.