The earliest stone tools are dated to approximately
a. 2.6 million years old
b. 25,000 years old
c. 250,000 years old
d. 25 million years old
e. 50 million years old
How do the basic principles of inheritance, identified by Mendel in plants, differ from
those in humans?
a. They are simpler.
b. Plants don”t have alleles.
c. There are no differences since the basic principles are the same.
d. There are no Mendelian traits in humans.
e. The number of chromosomes is different; therefore the genetic principles are
different.
Chimpanzees live in groups composed of
a. one adult male, several females, and their young
b. large communities of bonded males and females, plus young of all ages
c. one adult male plus one adult female and their young
d. several adult females, one adult male, and any dependent young
e. other primate species
One interpretation of the genetic evidence is that the intermixing of the Neandertal and
the modern human lineages
a. never occurred
b. occurred between 2 million and 1 million years ago
c. occurred between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago
d. occurred between 690,000 and 550,000 years ago
e. will be impossible to determine.
The inhabitants of the Indus Valley urban centers:
a. had previously occupied the higher valley margins to the west
b. had previously practiced hunting and gathering in the Indus valley
c. migrated there from the upper Indus valley
d. adopted farming and herding when they settled on the valley floor
e. represent a long term sequence of occupation of the valley floor
Regarding the example of the peppered moth, which of the following is not true
a. the two color patterns resulted from genetic variation in the species
b. it has recently come under criticism
c. natural selection acted upon pre-existing variation in the population
d. the dark is more visible on the trees darkened by pollution
e. the most common variety of the peppered moth in England, prior to the 19th century,
was a mottled gray color.
Dark skin is found in populations near the equator. Why?
a. It protects from frostbite.
b. It protects from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
c. It helps prevent rickets.
d. It protects from the damaging effects of UV radiation on folate.
e. It increases the skin’s exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Unlike a cladogram, a phylogenetic tree
a. includes the dimension of time
b. does not suggest ancestral-descendant relationships
c. is one-dimensional
d. are used by physical anthropologists to identify and assess the utility of traits
e. are used by physical anthropologists to make testable hypotheses regarding
relationships between groups of organisms
Which Mesoamerican group filled the vacuum caused by the decline of Teotihuacn?
a. Inca
b. Toltecs
c. Aztecs
d. Maya
e. Olmec
What is the initial step in the scientific method?
a. the formation of a theory
b. the formation of a hypothesis
c. to perform an experiment
d. to publish a scientific article
e. to collect data under precise conditions
A cultigen is defined as
a. a domesticated plant under human control
b. an animal species which is dependent on humans
c. a wild plant which is predisposed to domestication
d. the symbiotic relationship between humans and plants
e. a society which raises domesticated plants
Arms that are longer than the legs, and a short stable lumbar spine are traits associated
with
a. brachiation
b. vertical clinging and leaping
c. arboreal quadrupedalism
d. terrestrial quadrupedalism
e. full-time bipedalism
According to the most recent evidence, the first modern Homo sapiens evolved in
Africa around _______ years ago.
a. 200,000
b. 1,500,000
c. 50,000
d. 500,000
e. 5,000,000
What characteristic does NOT represent a common trait of animals suited for
domestication?
a. hierarchical herd structure
b. territorial
c. not prone to flight
d. will transfer allegiance to humans
e. even-tempered
The archaeological record indicates Paleolithic individuals were capable of expanding
into new habitats,
a. but their population density remained low.
b. but they did not adapt culturally.
c. but they did not adapt biologically.
d. but they had a measurable environmental impact.
e. but they did not spread out of Africa.
Gibbons and siamangs are adapted for
a. quadrupedalism
b. bipedalism
c. brachiation
d. vertical clinging and leaping
e. knuckle-walking
The terms Sivapithecus, Proconsul, and Dryopithecus applied to different groups of
Miocene hominoids, refer to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?
a. species
b. genus
c. subfamily
d. family
e. order
Hominins have been variably defined as having which of the following?
a. a large brain, toolmaking abilities, adaptations for bipedalism
b. toolmaking abilities but no adaptations for bipedalism
c. adaptations for bipedalism, but lacking a large brain
d. a large brain and no toolmaking abilities and adaptations for bipedalism
e. a small brain, no toolmaking abilities and no adaptations for bipedalism
Kabwe, Bodo, Florisbad, Elandsfontein and Laetoli are sites that evidence premodern
Homo sapiens and are located in
a. Europe
b. Africa
c. Central Asia
d. China
e. Iraq
What do archaeologists assume is the source of the organization and structure of the
archaeological record?
a. past human behavior
b. geologic processes
c. stratigraphic succession
d. primary contexts
e. home-based foraging
Which of the following does not describe the lives of hominin ancestors and their
predecessors?
a. They suffered periodic food shortages that sometimes ended in starvation.
b. They suffered from traumatic injury and infectious disease.
c. Their populations were small and mobile.
d. Their reproductive capacity was much different from the apes.
e. Infant mortality rates were high.
___________ is the study of the evolution of behavior, emphasizing the role of
ecological factors as agents of natural selection.
a. Sociobiology
b. Biological-ecology
c. Behavioral ecology
d. Evolutionary ecology
e. Eco-sociobiology
_______ is a radiometric dating method popular with archaeologists that can be used to
date materials up to 75,000 years old.
a. Carbon-14
b. Paleomagnetism
c. Thermoluminesence
d. K/Ar
e. Biostratigraphy
In Mendel’s experiments, what was the ratio of tall to short plants in the F2 generation?
a. 15 to 1
b. 3 to 1
c. tall, short
d. 4 to 1
e. 5 to 1
Homo erectus discoveries from East Africa of firmly dated fossils have established the
clear presence by
a. 2.8 mya
b. 1.7 mya
c. 800,000 ya
d. 3.2 mya
e. There are no H. erectus discoveries from East Africa
The earliest hominin traces
a. date to the beginning of the Miocene
b. are primarily full skeletons
c. are primarily dental and cranial pieces
d. date to the Eocene
e. are merely shattered bones impossible to identify