Basic Knowledge Check 5 Test Bank

Below are all the possible questions that you could be asked for Basic Knowledge Check #2. You will take the Check on Moodle, which will randomly give you 20 of the following questions. More than one answer may be correct. Where appropriate, select all correct answers.

• 1. In the context of human evolution, the phrase "modern behavior" refers to:

     1. art, symbolic behavior, and the fishing and hunting of small animals and birds

     2. the use of fire, hunting of large animals, wearing furs and other clothing

     3. male-female pair bonding and provisioning of the young

     4. universal suffrage

  2. Which of these do anthropologist believe is a critical reason for the development of symbolic behaviors among ancient humans?

• • 1. symbols allowed artistic expression, which channeled human energy away from violence and into the higher cognitive abilities needed for civilization

    2. symbols are the foundation of religion, and societies cannot function without religion

    3. symbols are critical for conveying information about our identity to strangers

    4. symbols are the foundation of language, so no true languages could exist before evidence of symbolic expression

• 3. Which of these represents modern behavior as practiced by Neandertals?

• • 1. the 50,000 year old burial at La Chapelle-aux-Saints

    2. the use of pigment at Pinnacle Point, 165,000 years ago

    3. fishing and hunting small animals at Gorham's Cave, 30,000 years ago

    4. the harpoons of Katanda, 80,000 years ago

• 4. Which of these is the main reason Middle Pleistocene humans would eat fish?

• • 1. because they didn't have enough land animals to feed everyone

    2. because they needed the healthy oils and minerals found in fish

    3. because fish gave them a move diverse and balanced diet, which is better for health

    4. they liked the taste

• 5. High population density may explain the evolution of which of these traits?

• • 1. bipedalism

    2. long-distance running

    3. modern behaviors

    4. loss of body hair

• 6. A narrow (modern-width) pelvis, modern arm to leg ratios, and modern stature are first seen in:

• • 1. Homo erectus

    2. Homo heidlebergensis

    3. Neandertals

    4. anatomically modern humans

• 7. Which of these is NOT an idea that has been proposed to explain the purpose of hand-axes:

• • 1. they were used for chopping down trees

    2. they were “killer frisbees”

    3. they were butchery tools

    4. they were “Swiss army knives”

• 8. Which of these species is the first for which we have incontrovertible evidence for the use of fire and of true hunting abilities?

• • 1. Homo sapiens neanderthalensis

    2. Homo erectus

    3. Homo heidlebergensis

    4. Homo sapiens sapiens

• 9. Why did the erectines expand out of Africa?

• • 1. to see what was on the other side

    2. they had cultural and physical adaptations that allowed them to thrive in non-tropical environments

    3. as populations grew, new groups budded off and filled up more territory, within a few generations they filled the tropical regions and continued outward

    4. their innate sense of adventure and love of exploration drove them onward

• 10. A nearly complete skeleton of a young Homo ergaster was found at:

• • 1. Kabwe

    2. Sungir

    3. Nariokotome

    4. Mojokerto

1. Homo floresiensis is:

   1. 1. probably an offshoot of Homo erectus

      2. found only on the island of Flores

      3. extraordinarily small for a hominin

      4. unusually small-brained for its age

• 1. Sexual dimorphism in Homo erectus was:

     1. similar to gorillas

     2. similar to chimpanzees

     3. similar to modern humans

     4. similar to Homo habilis

  2. Strong social skills, transportation and caching of food, and food sharing are all characteristics of:

• • 1. primates

    2. social carnivores

    3. Homo erectus

    4. Australopiths

• 3. The latest (most recent) living erectines are found in:

• • 1. Dmanisi

    2. Asia

    3. Europe

    4. Africa

• 4. The species name Homo erectus has been used to refer to:

• • 1. all erectines

    2. all erectines outside of Africa

    3. only erectines in Asia

    4. all late erectines

• 5. Which of these is a characteristic of erectines compared to habilines?

• • 1. larger dentition

    2. external nose

    3. smaller stature

    4. longer face

• 6. Which of these is characteristic of Homo erectus?

• • 1. an occipital or nuchal torus

    2. Mousterian tools

    3. Art

    4. a brain as large as modern humans

• 7. Are humans still evolving today?

• • 1. Yes, faster than ever

    2. Yes, but not as quickly now that natural selection doesn't affect us as strongly

    3. No, but there may be slight changes due to genetic drift

    4. No, we are no longer evolving

• 8. Which of the following hominin species had increased communication abilities, possibly even early language?

• • 1. Australopithecus africanus

    2. Paranthropus robustus

    3. Homo habilis

    4. Sahelanthropus tchadensis

• 9. Encephalization first occurs:

• • 1. among the first members of the genus Homo

    2. among the Habilines

    3. around 7-5 million years ago

    4. at the end of the Pleistocene

• 10. The tools used by the Habilines are called:

• • 1. Achulean

    2. Mousterian

    3. Olduwan

    4. Habilian

• 11. Which of these species had upper bodies that were well adapted for climbing?

• • 1. Homo habilis

    2. Australopithecus afarensis

    3. Homo erectus

    4. Australopithecus boisei

• 12. Which of these species are Habilines?

• • 1. Homo erectus

    2. Homo rudolfensis

    3. Homo habilis

    4. Homo ergaster

• 13. If I were to argue that Homo erectus populations in China evolved into local Middle Pleistocene humans, and that those Middle Pleistocene humans then evolved locally into Homo sapiens sapiens, I would be a proponent of the _________ model of the origins of modern humans.

• • 1. Partial Replacement

    2. Multiregional Evolution

    3. Out of Africa

    4. Eve Hypothesis

• 14. My DNA is 2.7% Neandertal. This evidence supports the ______________ model of the origins of modern humans.

• • 1. partial replacement

    2. multiregional evolution

    3. Eve hypothesis

    4. out of Africa

• 15. Where would you expect to find living people with the highest percentage of pre-modern DNA (that is, DNA from Neandertals and other Middle Pleistocene humans)?

• • 1. among people with the most primitive traits (biologically speaking), such as hairy bodies, large jaws, and smaller brains, regardless of their region of origin.

    2. In regions that are the farthest from East Africa, especially in more extreme environments, like Europe, where local adaptations gave pre-modern populations some advantageous traits relative to anatomically modern Homo sapiens sapiens.

    3. In Africa, where our long evolutionary history allowed earlier species of humans to interbreed with anatomically modern humans.

    4. among people with the lowest IQs, since IQ has been shown to correlate with the number of genes from anatomically modern Homo sapiens sapiens.

• 16. Which of these lines of evidence has been used to study the origins of modern humans?

• • 1. fossil remains

    2. ancient genetics

    3. modern genetics

    4. K/Ar radiocarbon dating

• 17. John Hawks is associated with:

• • 1. the interpretation of hominin lifestyles at Zhoukoudien

    2. the Partial Replacement model

    3. excavations at Olduvai Gorge

    4. the multiregional evolution model

• 18. If I argue that all modern humans are descendants of one small population that lived in Africa 200kya, I would be repeating an argument by:

• • 1. Christopher Stringer

    2. John Hawks

    3. Lewis Binford

    4. Milford Wolpoff

• 19. One proponent of the Multiregional Evolution Model is:

• • 1. Christopher Stringer

    2. John Hawks

    3. Richard Klein

    4. Milford Wolpoff

• 20. Which of these characteristics is absolutely unique to Homo sapiens sapiens and was not found in other hominins?

• • 1. a large brain

    2. stereoscopic vision

    3. a chin

    4. cultural abilities

• 21. Proponents of the Multiregional Evolution model of modern human origins believe that ___________ is the evolutionary force that creates most new species.

• • 1. natural selection

    2. genetic drift

    3. osmosis

    4. convergent evolution

• 22. Research by Rebecca Cann on mtDNA showed:

• • 1. Neandertals were genetically identical to Homo sapiens sapiens

    2. all known mtDNA lineages today had their origin in Africa

    3. the last common ancestor between today's mtDNA lineages was 3 million years ago

    4. mtDNA findings are consistent with an Out of Africa model of the origins of human evolution

• 23. The Complete Replacement model of modern human origins assumes that new species develop through _____________, rather than gradualism.

• • 1. gradualism

    2. mtDNA

    3. gene flow

    4. punctuated equilibrium

• 24. In terms of their behavior, Neandertals and theHomo sapiens sapiens that were contemporary to Neandertals:

• • 1. were very different

    2. were very similar

    3. had very different social organizations and hunting techniques, although their technology was similar

    4. had very different symbolic and language abilities, but similar family structure

• 25. Neandertal burials:

• • 1. have never been found. It is thought Neandertals did not bury their dead.

    2. always contained grave goods

    3. clearly show the lack of symbolic thinking among Neandertals

    4. are the earliest clear sign of special treatment of the dead

• 26. Mousterian technology:

• • 1. was created by anatomically modern humans

    2. was proof of behavioral modernity

    3. was a more efficient way of producing cutting edges from cores than earlier types of stone tools.

    4. was more crude than Achulean technology

• 27. Which of these is a true statement about the physical differences between Neandertals and anatomically modern humans?

• • 1. Anatomically modern humans tend to be more robust than Neandertals

    2. Neandertals had a larger average cranial capacity than modern humans.

    3. Anatomically modern humans are better adapted to cold environments than Neandertals

    4. Anatomically modern humans are less robust than Neandertals

• 28. Denisovans were:

• • 1. fossil Erectines found at the site of St. Denis in southern France

    2. the first members of our own sub-species, Homo sapiens sapiens, to interbreed with Neandertals

    3. the followers of Piotr Denisov, whose research on human brain structures led to the discovery of Broca's area

    4. fossils from Siberia that were contemporary with Neandertals.

• 29. Which of these is a true statement?

• • 1. Neandertals were the people who lived in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Pleistocene.

    2. Denisovans were the people who lived in East Africa during the Late Pleistocene

    3. Anatomically modern Homo sapiens sapiens were the people who lived in East Asia 500,000 years ago

    4. Homo heidelbergensis was the species that lived in Europe during the Pliocene.

• 30. Which of these is a Middle Pleistocene human?

• • 1. Homo heidelbergensis

    2. Homo sapiens neanderthalensis

    3. Homo erectus

    4. Homo sapiens sapiens

• 31. The initials AMH stand for:

• • 1. All Modern Humans

    2. Anatomically Modern Humans

    3. Ancient Mitochondrial Hominins

    4. Archaic Mousterian Hominins

• 32. Which of these is not associated with Neandertals?

• • 1. burial of the dead

    2. hunting of large animals

    3. personal adornment

    4. sophisticated stone tools

    5. all of the above have been associated with Neandertals

• 33. Lee Berger is known for:

• • 1. the discovery of Australopithecus sebida

    2. the discovery of Homo heidelbergensis

    3. the discovery of Homo naledi

    4. the Expensive Tissue hypothesis

• 34. Which of these traits is found in Homo naledi?

• • 1. small brain

    2. a pelvis similar to Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis)

    3. ape-like feet

    4. large brain

• 35. Which of these excavations was known for its "open science" model (sharing discoveries in real time through social media), as well as its extraordinary field conditions?

• • 1. Dmanisi

    2. Zhoukoudien

    3. Rising Star

    4. Olduvai Gorge