The Rise Of Contemporary Humans Exam Prep Ch.9

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

Chapter 9 The Rise of Contemporary Humans

1) Postorbital constriction is a condition in which:

A) the width across the orbits is greater than the width of the area behind them.

B) the width across the orbits is less than the width of the area behind them.

C) the width above the orbits is greater than the width of the area below them.

D) the width below the orbits is greater than the width of the area above them.

2) Most fossils of the genus Homo found in Africa and Eurasia dating from about 500,000 to 100,000 years ago exhibit all of the following morphological changes from the characteristic patterns of Homo erectus EXCEPT:

A) slightly thinner cranial bones.

B) decreased size of the occipital relative to the nuchal plane.

C) reduced postorbital constriction.

D) reduced supraorbital torus.

3) Most fossils of the genus Homo found in Africa and Eurasia dating from about 500,000 to 100,000 years ago exhibit all of the following morphological changes from the characteristic patterns of Homo erectus EXCEPT:

A) a larger and slightly higher cranial vault.

B) a large supraorbital torus.

C) a less prognathic face.

D) reduced occipital torus.

4) Identify a characteristic of the fossils of the genus Homo found in Africa and Eurasia dating from about 500,000 to 100,000 years ago.

A) a large, attached supraorbital torus

B) a highly prognathic face

C) a large and slightly high cranial vault

D) a prominent postorbital constriction

5) Identify a characteristic of the Bodo cranium.

A) The supraorbital tori are fused.

B) The cranial capacity is small.

C) It has thick walls.

D) It is fragile.

6) Which of the following is true of the fossils of the genus Homo?

A) a small gap behind the third molar

B) a pronounced and conspicuous chin

C) large midfaces

D) tiny incisors

7) Which of the following is NOT one of the three possible species of Homo that lived between 2.0 and 0.5 million years ago?

A) Homo antecessor

B) Homo ergaster

C) Homo erectus

D) Homo rudolfensis

8) Another name for an occipital torus is:

A) nuchal torus.

B) supraorbital torus.

C) postorbital torus.

D) sagittal torus.

9) What is a retromolar gap?

A) the space in front of the first molar

B) the space in front of the last molar

C) the space behind the first molar

D) the space behind the third molar

10) Identify a true statement about the Levallois technique of tool making.

A) It represented a refinement of the Mousterian industry.

B) It involved simple preparation of stones to make tools.

C) It centered on a disk-core technique.

D) It provided higher and better quality tools.

11) Which of the following is NOT true about the Mousterian industry?

A) It was a stone tool technology.

B) Flakes were produced with little effort.

C) It represented a refinement of the Olduwan technique.

D) It was found in many Neanderthal sites.

12) Which of the following is NOT true of the Mousterian industry?

A) It produced tools of a narrow size range.

B) It centered on a disk-core technique.

C) It produced many good flakes.

D) It yielded a wide variety of tools.

13) The classic H. erectus traits included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) a sagittal keel.

B) a discontinuous supraorbital torus.

C) a long cranium.

D) an occipital torus.

14) The classic H. erectus traits included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) a high cranium.

B) a robust mandible.

C) a fairly robust supraorbital torus.

D) a receding chin.

15) A canine fossa is:

A) the indentation on the maxilla above the canine root.

B) the indentation on the mandible above the canine root.

C) the indentation on the maxilla below the canine root.

D) the indentation on the mandible below the canine root.

16) The term "pneumatized" means:

A) large, protruding bones.

B) large, air-filled sinuses.

C) marked neck muscle attachments on the skull.

D) marked quadricep muscle attachments on the femur.

17) Blade tools are made from:

A) stone flakes that are at least twice as wide as they are long.

B) bones that are at least twice as wide as they are long.

C) stone flakes that are at least twice as long as they are wide.

D) bones that are at least twice as long as they are wide.

18) A suprainiac fossa refers to:

A) large, protruding bones.

B) large, air-filled sinuses.

C) marked neck muscle attachments on the skull.

D) marked quadricep muscle attachments on the femur.

19) The mandibular symphysis is:

A) the point where the retromolar gap contacts the mandible.

B) the point where the two parts of the mandibular ramus contact one another.

C) the point where the maxilla and mandible contact one another.

D) the point where the two halves of the mandible contact one another.

20) Fossils from which of the following sites are NOT considered to represent some of the earliest known fossils of anatomically modern Homo sapiens?

A) Terra Amata

B) Qafzeh

C) the Klasies River mouth

D) Skhul

21) The ________, dating to approximately 600,000 years ago, is the oldest probable archaic human specimen.

A) Dali cranium, found in the Shaanxi Province of China in 1978

B) Lake Ndutu skull, found in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in 1973

C) Bodo cranium, discovered in Ethiopia in 1976

D) Kabwe, or Broken Hill, cranium, found in Zambia in 1921

22) The ________, has been dated to between 300,000 and 130,000 years ago.

A) Dali cranium, found in the Shaanxi Province of China in 1978

B) Lake Ndutu skull, found in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in 1973

C) Bodo cranium, discovered in Ethiopia in 1976

D) Kabwe, or Broken Hill, cranium, found in Zambia in 1921

23) The ________, dates from about 400,000 to 200,000 years ago.

A) Dali cranium, found in the Shaanxi Province of China in 1978

B) Lake Ndutu skull, found in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in 1973

C) Bodo cranium, discovered in Ethiopia in 1976

D) Kabwe, or Broken Hill, cranium, found in Zambia in 1921

24) The ________, dates to between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago.

A) Dali cranium, found in the Shaanxi Province of China in 1978

B) Lake Ndutu skull, found in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in 1973

C) Bodo cranium, discovered in Ethiopia in 1976

D) Kabwe, or Broken Hill, cranium, found in Zambia in 1921

25) Fossil assignments to the taxon ________ were based on the fact that they seem to link H. erectus and H. sapiens but are not easily placed in either one.

A) Homo antecessor

B) Homo rudolfensis

C) Homo heidelbergensis

D) Homo neanderthalensis

26) Identify a feature of the Mousterian industry.

A) It produced tools of a limited size range.

B) It involved complex preparation of stones to make tools.

C) It centered on a disk-core technique.

D) It required tool makers to put a lot of effort to produce good flakes.

27) Which of the following is an anatomical characteristic of contemporary humans?

A) a receding chin

B) an inconspicuous canine fossa

C) a flattened cranium

D) a highly flexed cranial base

28) Which of the following was NOT true about the Levallois technique of making tools?

A) It started in Eurasia and spread to Africa.

B) It involved more complex preparation of stones to make tools.

C) It provided higher quality tools.

D) It provided tools that could be refined for a wide variety of uses.

29) Evidence exists that H. heidelbergensis did all of the following EXCEPT:

A) hunt cooperatively.

B) use spoken language to communicate.

C) produce complex tools.

D) live in groups.

30) Unlike the late archaics or Neanderthals, contemporary humans:

A) do not have a protruding chin.

B) have a face that is not pulled in under the cranium.

C) have no retromolar gap.

D) do not have an indentation on the maxilla.

31) The oldest fossil representatives of anatomically modern humans come from:

A) Australia.

B) Africa.

C) Eurasia.

D) the Americas.

32) The oldest fossils claimed to be contemporary humans, re-dated to about 300,000 years old, are found at:

A) the Florisbad site in South Africa.

B) the Omo 1 site in Ethiopia.

C) the Klasies River mouth site in South Africa.

D) the Jebel Irhoud site in North Africa.

33) A number of mandibular and postcranial fossils representing up to 10 individuals and dating from between about 118,000 and 60,000 years ago were found at:

A) Florisbad in South Africa.

B) Omo in Tanzania.

C) the Klasies River mouth site in South Africa.

D) Herto Bouri in Ethiopia.

34) How old is the human fossil (a cranium with two modern features) found at the famous fossil site of Laetoli?

A) about 150,000 years

B) about 120,000 years

C) about 100,000 years

D) about 125,000 years

35) A partially complete cranium that dates to about 100,000 years ago was found at:

A) the Florisbad site in South Africa.

B) Omo in Tanzania.

C) the Klasies River mouth site in South Africa.

D) Herto Bouri in Ethiopia.

36) Current versions of the Multiregional Evolution (MRE) model of the origin of contemporary humans suggest that:

A) all humans in the last 1.7 million years have been members of the same species.

B) many speciation events took place in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago.

C) different traits from smaller populations spread more broadly than morphological traits of African origin.

D) gene flow from populations on the African continent had a stronger impact than gene flow from other regions.

37) Crania dating to approximately 110,000 to 80,000 years ago that have Neanderthal features as well as many contemporary anatomical features were found at:

A) Qafzeh in the Middle East.

B) Die Kelders in South Africa.

C) Skhul in the Middle East.

D) Jebel Irhoud in North Africa.

38) Fossils dating to about 100,000 to 90,000 years ago that exhibit some transitional features, but share more similarities with contemporary humans than archaics, especially in the presence of a chin, were found at:

A) Qafzeh in the Middle East.

B) Die Kelders in South Africa.

C) Skhul in the Middle East.

D) Jebel Irhoud in North Africa.

39) Which of the following is NOT true about the fossil evidence found at Jebel Irhoud in North Africa?

A) The frontal bone is more vertical.

B) The crania are long and wide.

C) The face is nearly flush with the frontal bone.

D) None of the mandibles show a clear chin.

40) Fossils fitting the descriptions of contemporary humans and dating to approximately 30,000 years ago were found:

A) at Liujang in China.

B) at Zhoukoudian in China.

C) on the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo.

D) at the Mungo 3 burial site in Australia.

41) Fossils displaying a mix of archaic and modern anatomical characteristics (more contemporary than archaic) and dating to nearly 70,000 years ago were found:

A) at Liujang in China.

B) at Zhoukoudian in China.

C) on the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo.

D) at the Mungo 3 burial site in Australia.

42) Fossils dating to approximately 60,000 years ago were found:

A) at Liujang in China.

B) at Zhoukoudian in China.

C) on the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo.

D) at the Mungo 3 burial site in Australia.

43) Identify a uniquely contemporary human characteristic.

A) the supraorbital torus

B) the retromolar gap

C) the chin

D) the ulna

44) The ________ model proposes that contemporary humans are the most recent morphological form in a species that has been around for nearly 2 million years.

A) Multiregional Evolution (MRE)

B) Multiple Dispersal (MD)

C) Recent African Origin (RAO)

D) Recent African Origin-Hybrid (RAO-H)

45) The ________ variant of the Recent African Origin model posits that contemporary humans outcompeted archaic humans in the same environments, until the archaics eventually became extinct.

A) hybrid

B) replacement

C) assimilation

D) expansion

46) Name and describe the functions of four morphological changes seen in Homo found in Africa and Eurasia dating from about 500,000 to 100,000 years ago that differ from the characteristic patterns of Homo erectus.

47) Compare and contrast five traits of archaic and early contemporary humans.

48) Compare and contrast five traits of Neanderthals and early contemporary humans.

49) Compare and contrast the three main models associated with the origin of contemporary humans. Give one piece of evidence for each model and one piece of evidence against each model.

50) Describe the very complex material culture that coincides with the appearance of contemporary humans. Your answer should include at least two examples from three of the following categories: blades and associated industries that revolutionized the human tool kit, changing technologies and behavioral patterns that affected diet, the use of art and symbols, or burial of the dead and postmortem modifications.