Linnaeus’s taxonomic system is referred to as a “hierarchy” because:
a. each species has a “higher level” genus and “lower level” species, and are placed
within additional higher level categories.
b. species are placed in a ranked list called the “Great Chain of Being.”
c. humans are considered the most evolved species.
d. naming species officially requires approval of an appointed board of high-level
experts.
The shift from the Miocene, which had greater diversity of ape species and fewer
monkey species, to a living assemblage with greater diversity of monkey species and
fewer ape species may be the result of:
a. global climate changes that resulted in cooler, wetter environments less optimal for
ape species.
b. differences in ability to exploit the habitats that resulted after a change in global
climate.
c. cooler climates, where it is more difficult to preserve larger ape fossils.
d. declines in ape diversity, caused by competition from hominin species.
The fossils called Homo floresiensis were dated to:
a. 12,000 yBP.
b. 18,000 yBP.
c. 40,000 yBP.
d. 25,000 yBP.
How is biocultural anthropology different from cultural anthropology?
a. Biocultural anthropology combines cultural studies with archaeology.
b. Biocultural anthropology studies the interrelationship between what humans have
inherited genetically and culture; cultural anthropology studies diverse cultures and
societies.
c. It is strictly a biological science.
d. It considers culture to be a by-product of our biological histories.
The northern African fossil primate called Biretia may be an early anthropoid, based on
the morphology of its:
a. ankle.
b. skull.
c. lower premolar tooth.
d. pelvis.
The Middle Paleolithic prepared-core stone tools that are associated with Neandertals
are called:
a. Mousterian.
b. Gravettian.
c. Solutrean.
d. Acheulean.
The discoverer of Homo erectus was:
a. Louis Leakey.
b. Richard Leakey.
c. Eugne Dubois.
d. Ernst Haeckel.
Cuvier, Lamarck, and Erasmus Darwin all shared an idea of evolution; however, their
ideas all lacked:
a. the longevity necessary for evolution to take place.
b. a basic understanding of inheritance.
c. an understanding of variation.
d. a mechanism for evolutionary change.
The following are complementary bases in DNA:
a. adenine and thymine.
b. adenine and cytosine.
c. guanine and thymine.
d. guanine and uracil.
Crucial to creating a fossil record of a species is:
a. a living form of the fossil species.
b. a good representation in the fossil record.
c. the preservation of soft tissue such as muscle.
d. the lack of dating; knowing the age of the fossil introduces biases.
Canadian primate paleontologist David Begun proposes that climate changes in Europe
prompted late Miocene apes to:
a. migrate to Asia from Europe following food sources.
b. take advantage of lower sea levels to migrate from Europe to South America.
c. spread to Europe from Africa following the expansion of tropical forests.
d. move from Europe back to Africa following food sources.
Distinctive traits of robust australopithecines include:
a. small front teeth and large back teeth.
b. a small brain and a large body.
c. a big face and a sagittal crest.
d. both a. and c.
The absence of the A and B alleles in Native American populations is a result of:
a. natural selection.
b. gene flow.
c. the founder effect.
d. mutation.
Phylogeny refers to:
a. evolutionary relationships that are based on shared characteristics including physical
traits, genetics, and behavior.
b. the fundamental anatomical features in primates that reflect their high degree of
diversity.
c. primates’ ability to get around in trees using an unusually wide range of motions
involving the limbs and trunk.
d. a set of behaviors and anatomical characteristics that is unique to mammals adapted
to life in the trees.
The transition to fully modern Homo sapiens was completed globally by about:
a. 400,000 yBP.
b. 1.6 mya.
c. 160,000 yBP.
d. 25,000 yBP.
Polygynous:
a. means “many marriages.”
b. means “many offspring.”
c. refers to a social group that includes one female and several males.
d. refers to a social group that includes one adult male, several adult females, and their
offspring.
Two types of australopithecines were using two different types of locomotion in East
Africa:
a. one was a quadruped and the other a leaper.
b. one was a clinger and the other a climber.
c. one was a knuckle walker and the other a quadruped.
d. one was a climber and the other a biped.
What effect did the advent of agriculture have on the level of interpersonal violence
seen in the archaeological record?
a. Violence increased.
b. Violence decreased.
c. Violence stayed about the same.
d. Intercultural violence increased.
Studies of temperatures during the Cenozoic era suggest that temperatures have
_______ over time.
a. steadily increased
b. steadily decreased
c. fluctuated, sometimes greatly,
d. stayed basically the same
The obesity pandemic is primarily due to:
a. the increased ability to produce and consume inexpensive, high-fat foods.
b. a lack of physical exercise.
c. a combination of lower calories and more exercise.
d. the production of high-calorie, low-fat foods even though people still have a high
exercise level.
Relative to people with a history of living in temperate climates, the Inuit and other
cold-adapted populations:
a. have lower BMRs.
b. consume more carbohydrates.
c. reduce peripheral body temperatures to maintain core temperatures.
d. have short limbs and large bodies.
Homeotic (Hox) genes are:
a. structural genes.
b. responsible for the development and location of key body parts.
c. responsible for determining the sex of offspring.
d. not used during embryonic development.
Developmental (or ontogenetic) adaptation:
a. occurs at the individual level throughout an individual’s lifetime.
b. occurs at the individual level during childhood.
c. involves using material culture to make living possible in certain settings.
d. occurs at the population level via natural selection.
New World domesticated products include:
a. wheat.
b. rice.
c. cotton.
d. pigs.
Parasitic infections are a primary cause of _______ in many regions of the globe.
a. iron-deficiency anemia
b. Staphylococcus aureus
c. treponematoses
d. endemic disease
Apes went extinct in southern Europe (including France, Spain, Italy, and Greece)
during the late Miocene, probably as a result of:
a. a meteor impact.
b. a disease pandemic.
c. climate change.
d. early humans hunting them for food.
The morphology of the Paleoindian skull from Kennewick indicates that it:
a. was recovered from an elaborate burial.
b. represents an early Eskimo population.
c. looks quite different from modern Native Americans’ skulls.
d. is about 3,000 years old.
Prehensile tails are:
a. present in catarrhine primates.
b. present in most primates.
c. present only in some platyrrhines.
d. made strictly of muscle.
The original name for Homo erectus was:
a. Australopithecus.
b. Pithecanthropus.
c. Paranthropus.
d. Homo rudolfensis.
Some of the best information on climate history over the last several million years is
based on the study of:
a. amino acids.
b. foraminifera.
c. radioisotopes.
d. dendrochronology.