Unit 3 Midterm Test Bank

Fill in the Blank Questions:

• 1. Name two features used to distinguish between robust and gracile Australopiths:

  2. Name one potential social function for art.

  3. Proponents of the Multiregional Evolution Model believe in a gradualist or uniformitarian view of speciation, while proponents of the complete replacement model believe in a _____ perspective on speciation.

  4. Another name for the Complete Replacement model of modern human origins is the _____________________ model.

  5. Milford Wolpoff is known for supporting the ___________________________ model of modern human origins.

  6. A child's skeleton found at the site of Abrigo do Lagar Velho in Portugal shows a mix of Neandertal and modern traits, possibly as a result of mating between Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens sapiens. This fossil has been cited as evidence for the ___________________ model of modern human origins.

1. Australopithecus africanus lived at the same time and in the same part of Africa as which robust Australopith?

   1. Many researchers believe it is unlikely that our earliest ancestors were capable of hunting. Instead, they believe Australopiths got meat through _______________.

   2. Name one trait of the Australopiths that reflects their adaptation to arboreal living.

   3. Name one site with evidence for modern behavior (in the anthropological sense) before 40,000 years ago.

   4. Name one type of food that is associated with modern behavior (in the anthropological sense):

   5. Name one type of art that has been found prior to 40,000 years ago:

   6. Our last common ancestor with chimpanzees was probably a _____________ biped, rather than an obligate biped.

   7. What type of locomotion is used by all hominins?

   8. The _____ _____ , at the base of the skull, is the hole through which your spinal cord enters the brain.

   9. The most ancient hominin fossil currently known was found in Chad. It was given the Latin name _________ _________________.

   10. During the period that the Erectines evolved, the world's climate is best described not just as cold, but as

   11. The decreased size of the trunk of the body in Homo erectus, and the development of a waist, suggests that this species ate more _____ than previous hominins.

   12. Name one species of Erectine:

   13. The earliest Erectines found outside of Africa were found at the site of _____________, in Georgia.

2. Homo habilis has been associated with a type of stone tool industry called ________ named for the first site where it was identified.

• 1. Increased communication ability and language are associated with a part of the brain known as:

  2. Because their stone tools show that most Habilines were __________, we have direct evidence that they had brain lateralization similar to modern humans.

  3. Name one species of Habiline:

  4. The _____ tool industry was made by Neandertals, but looks more modern than Mousterian technology.

  5. The Mousterian technology was made by __________________.

  6. The species ______________________ is a Middle Pleistocene Hominin that may be ancestral to Neandertals.

  7. Ancient DNA from skeletons found at the ______________ site in Siberia has been tied to DNA found in modern people throughout Asia. This research has been very important in understanding how modern humans are related to Middle Pleistocene Hominins.

  8. Name one species that was living at the same time as Homo naledi:

  9. Rising Star caves, in South Africa, is where fossils of ____________________ were found.

  10. This site, excavated by Lee Berger in South Africa, is the most productive hominin fossil site currently known.

Essay Questions:

• 1. In what way is human behavior similar to the behavior and social organization of our primate cousins? In what ways are we more like social carnivores?

  2. What do anthropologists mean by "modern" behavior, and what is the evidence for it before 50kya? Why did it appear when and where it did?

  3. What is the importance of environmental variability (rapidly fluctuating temperatures over a relatively short period of time) for understanding the evolution of the genus Homo?

  4. Compare and contrast the three models for the origins of modern humans, being as specific as possible. Name one researcher associated with each model

  5. What does the evidence say about the three different models of the origins of modern humans? Specifically discuss the evidence from modern genetics, ancient genetics, and the fossil record and which model(s) is/are supported by each category of evidence.

  6. What do we know about the lifestyle of Homo erectus? Be as specific as possible in describing Homo erectus's social organization, diet, and technology.

  7. How would an anthropologist answer the question: If humans descended from apes, why do we still have apes around?