A layer of stratigraphy in one location overwhelmingly represents one species, while
the same species is discovered in a similar stratigraphic layer fifty miles away. What
method is used to provide an estimate of age for this layer and this species?
a. biostratigraphy
b. dendrochronology
c. Steno’s law of superposition
d. carbon 14
Sexual selection:
a. is the physical competition for access to females.
b. is the competition for resources to access females.
c. is the frequency of a trait’s attractiveness to members of the opposite sex.
d. is the selection of males by females on the basis of disposition, physical appearance,
and hierarchical position.
Relative to body size, primate brain size:
a. is proportional to human brain size.
b. is more or less the same in large and small primates.
c. is smaller than in other large mammals.
d. is larger among great apes than among other primates.
Another name for the evolutionary force called gene flow is:
a. “founder effect.”
b. “disruptive selection.”
c. “admixture.”
d. “transposition.”
Many primate societies are complexly organized, enabling their members to form
alliances including by:
a. rank.
b. age.
c. kinship.
d. all of the above
The last Neandertals date to:
a. 250,000 yBP.
b. 100,000 yBP.
c. 75,000 yBP.
d. 32,000 yBP.
Sexual dimorphism:
a. relates to sexual courtship rituals in primates.
b. is the study of sexual intercourse between primates.
c. tends to be lower than in groups where males disperse and compete with unrelated
males.
d. determines male and female social hierarchy.
DNA:
a. is single stranded.
b. contains six different nucleotide bases.
c. directs cellular function.
d. contains the base uracil.
Biological evolution in humans and in other organisms is evidenced by:
a. increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant strains of tuberculosis.
b. low frequencies of the sickle-cell trait in malaria-endemic areas.
c. basic solutions for coping with climate change.
d. antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in hospitals.
A source of new genetic material to a population is:
a. natural selection.
b. mutation.
c. gene flow.
d. gene drift.
Homologous chromosomes:
a. are genetically identical.
b. carry genetic information that influences the same trait.
c. are inherited only from the mother.
d. are members of different pairs.
The Neolithic site atalhyk is located in:
a. southwest Asia.
b. southern Africa.
c. central Mexico.
d. India.
The oldest Neandertal site dates to __________, at __________.
a. 130,000 yBP; Krapina, Croatia
b. 32,000 yBP; Krapina, Croatia
c. 130,000 yBP; La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France
d. 25,000 yBP; La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France
A preaustralopithecine most likely has which of the following characteristics?
a. nonhoning chewing, primitive apelike traits, increased brain size
b. modified honing chewing, primitive apelike traits, increased brain size
c. modified honing chewing, primitive apelike traits, small brain size
d. nonhoning chewing, loss of apelike traits, small brain size
Anthropology includes the study of:
a. the use and social context of body language.
b. fossil plants and their closest relatives.
c. prehistoric societies and artifacts.
d. the relationship between humans and the universe.
RNA differs from DNA in that it uses:
a. uracil instead of adenine.
b. uracil instead of guanine.
c. guanine instead of uracil.
d. uracil instead of thymine.
Fossils attributed to Australopithecus garhiwere found at the Bouri site, in Ethiopia,
along with:
a. abundant stone tools.
b. animal bones with cutmarks.
c. evidence for early Homo.
d. fossil footprints.
Some of the best information on climate history is based on the study of:
a. amino acids.
b. foraminifera.
c. isotopes.
d. dendrochronology.
Patrilocal societies are expected to display:
a. greater mtDNA diversity than Y chromosome diversity.
b. roughly equivalent mtDNA and Y chromosome diversity.
c. greater Y chromosome diversity than mtDNA diversity.
d. no strong correlation between societal structure and genetic diversity.
The Middle Paleolithic is associated with _________ tools which Neandertals
produced.
a. blade
b. Acheulean
c. flake
d. Mousterian
Coinciding with the appearance of early hominins about 5″10 mya, the climate was:
a. wet and rainy.
b. hot and humid.
c. dry and seasonal.
d. temperate.
Ardi was adapted to life in trees and:
a. on the ground.
b. in the desert.
c. near water.
d. both b. and c.
Sexual dimorphism:
a. relates to the mating rites of primates.
b. concerns differences in body size and canine size.
c. determines male and female social hierarchy.
d. is the study of sexual intercourse between primates.
The Herto skulls from Ethiopia:
a. are distinctly modern.
b. have a combination of archaic and modern features.
c. are distinctly archaic.
d. are considered Homo habilis.
Physical anthropologist John Hawks and colleagues suggest that evolution is speeding
up as population size continues to _________ and _________are introduced.
a. rise; parasites
b. mushroom; new mutations
c. decrease; ancestral traits
d. maintain its current stasis; no new genes
Mendel’s plant hybridization experiments demonstrated that:
a. traits inherited from each parent blended together in the offspring.
b. DNA was the molecule carrying the genetic code.
c. peas were a poor choice for understanding basic hereditary principles.
d. traits inherited from each parent remained distinct in the offspring.
What is the likely explanation for the rapid increase in body and brain size among
Homo erectus?
a. an influx of genes for increased height
b. greater access to protein and improved nutrition
c. reaching for fruits higher in the trees, which increased their height over time
d. survival of the fittest
The space between the canine and the first premolar in the lower jaw of some primates
is a(n):
a. retrocanine space.
b. alveolus.
c. mandibular gap.
d. diastema.
The increased brain size observed in the order Primates:
a. results in extended periods of nursing and development to accommodate increasing
behavioral complexity.
b. results in shorter developmental periods to accommodate the necessary energy
expenditures of larger brain size.
c. demonstrates the importance of intelligence in primate evolution.
d. both a. and c.
Evidence indicating that Orrorin tugenensiswas bipedal comes mainly from which part
of the skeleton?
a. femur (thighbone)
b. skull
c. foot
d. pelvis
Some technology has negatively influenced the world, including:
a. the technology associated with sustainability.
b. the burning of fossil fuels.
c. the use of solar energy.
d. the production of energy-saving appliances.
The dental pattern of Old World higher primates is:
a. 2-1-2-3.
b. 2-1-3-3.
c. 2-2-2-3.
d. 2-2-3-3.
One of the most significant items of scientific evidence for global climate change is:
a. the 85% reduction in the size of ice fields atop Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania.
b. a 2F increase in global temperatures during the last 200 years.
c. the decrease of sea levels by 12 cm during the last 100 years.
d. increased precipitation in the Gobi desert.
The visual predation hypothesis proposes that:
a. better vision allowed for better access to fruits and small insects.
b. primate traits arose as adaptations to preying on insects and small animals.
c. species could see predators from further away, thereby securing time to flee.
d. predators had the ability to see primates better.
Discuss the origin of the Neandertals in terms of biological adaptation and other forces
of evolution.
Is race a valid, biologically meaningful concept? Why or why not?
What is the evolutionary significance of meiosis?
Discuss the evolution of primates beginning with the Paleocene proprimates. In your
answer, consider the effect of climate change on the environment and primates’
environmental adaptations.
Discuss some of the possible medical outcomes of the Human Genome Project.
What is a polymorphic trait? Provide two examples of polymorphic traits in modern
humans, and give one example of a monomorphic trait.
Why was Darwin’s 1859 published theory of natural selection not widely accepted by
his peers? What later scientific advance was critical to the subsequent broad acceptance
of natural selection as a major force in evolutionary change?
Discuss the two obligate traits, including specific anatomical features, that first emerge
in the preaustralopithecines to eventually become firmly established in
australopithecines.
Discuss the fossil evidence of Homo habilis, and describe the anatomical and
behavioral traits of Homo habilis that introduce the evolution of Homo sapiens.
Contrast the cranial and dental anatomy and adaptation of Australopithecus robustus
with African Homo erectus.
Discuss the selective pressures operating in the late Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene
that favored an adaptive radiation of monkeys and contributed to decreased diversity
among apes.
How does Steno’s law of superposition support relative and absolute dating methods?
Discuss four key individuals who helped Darwin formulate the theory of natural
selection.
Discuss the difference between a hypothesis and a theory. Why is the distinction
important?
Why is the incidence of sickle-cell anemia an excellent example of a “balanced
polymorphism,” in which two or more alleles are maintained by natural selection in a
population?
Name and briefly describe the three hypotheses of primate origins.
Domestication of plants and animals led to stable food supplies during the Holocene;
however, it also resulted in significant environmental and health problems. Discuss
these problems in terms of natural selection.