The Paleoindian skull from Kennewick, in Washington State,
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.
The ratio of C3 to C4 plants in a paleoenvironment can be estimated using the ratio of
two stable isotopes of which element derived from fossils or ancient soils?
a. oxygen
b. nitrogen
c. carbon
d. strontium
Based on genetic analysis of living primates calibrated by the fossil record, it is
estimated that apes and Old World monkeys diverged into separate lineages around
a. 5 mya.
b. 10 mya.
c. 15 mya.
d. 25 mya.
Some Neandertal skulls have cranial capacities that are ________ those of the average
modern human.
a. smaller than
b. larger than
c. equal to
d. none of the above
The clinal decrease in type B blood from East Asia to Western Europe is probably the
result of
a. founder effect.
b. stabilizing selection.
c. mutation.
d. gene flow.
How is a theory different from a hypothesis?
a. Unlike a theory, a hypothesis explains observations and cannot be refuted by new
evidence.
b. A theory is an explanation based upon controversial facts.
c. A theory is an explanation relying on careful examination and testing of evidence.
d. A theory has been less thoroughly tested than a hypothesis.
Which of the following is not associated with the initial transition from foraging to
agriculture?
a. reduced height
b. increased dental hypoplasia
c. lower incidence of dental caries (cavities)
d. higher incidence of infection
All of the following sites contain hominid fossils displaying stone tool cutmarks except
a. Gran Dolina, Spain.
b. Krapina, Croatia.
c. Herto, Ethiopia.
d. Klasies River Mouth, South Africa.
Fossil remains of the pre-australopithecines are found in what part of the world?
a. throughout most of the Old World, from Africa to East Asia
b. throughout the entire globe
c. in Asia only
d. in Africa only
The growth potential of populations
a. has been reached worldwide thanks to improvements in genetic technology.
b. has not yet been reached in most wealthy countries.
c. has been reached even in less wealthy populations where growth periods are slow.
d. can be achieved with improvements in disease control and nutrition.
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 humans than among other primates.
Jane Goodall’s observations of chimpanzee behavior in the wild documented all of the
following except
a. chimpanzees using stripped sticks to access termites.
b. chimpanzees regularly hunting in groups.
c. chimpanzees using spears to hunt for small primates.
d. chimpanzees using leaves as sponges to access rainwater in tree crevices.
Analyses of modern human genetic variation suggest that Homo sapiens evolved
approximately
a. 50,000 yBP.
b. 200,000 yBP.
c. 750,000 yBP.
d. 1 million yBP.
Suspensory locomotion is characteristic of which primate?
a. macaques
b. vervets
c. baboons
d. gibbons
Baboons
a. have highly dexterous fingers.
b. live in habitats similar to early hominids.
c. may give anthropologists a glimpse into early human behavior.
d. all of the above.
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) consists of
a. general energy requirements.
b. basal metabolic requirements plus all other energy requirements.
c. basal metabolic requirements only.
d. requirements to maintain gamete production.
The strength and mass of bone
a. do not affect the tendency to fracture.
b. are entirely genetically determined.
c. vary with an individual’s level of physical activity.
d. none of the above.
The geographic range of Archaic Homo sapiens included
a. Africa only.
b. Asia only.
c. Africa and other parts of the Old World.
d. the New World.
The only possible source of new genetic material is
a. natural selection.
b. mutation.
c. gene flow.
d. gene drift.
You overhear a debate among anthropology graduate students regarding whether
anthropology should be categorized as a biological or social science. You have learned
in your introductory courses that it is both. Why is it both?
a. Anthropology consists of empirical observations in the laboratory setting.
b. Anthropologists study culture only through the written works of other cultures.
c. Anthropologists study biology within the context of culture and behavior.
d. None of the above.
Evolution can best be defined as
a. the appearance of a new species.
b. a change in allele frequencies in a breeding population over time.
c. changes in the DNA of an individual over his or her lifetime.
d. a process that occurs only over extremely long periods of time.
A group of primates at the local zoo includes one adult male, several adult females, and
their offspring. It is possible that this group
a. represents a polyandrous residence pattern.
b. is a group of howler monkeys.
c. is likely a group of chimpanzees.
d. none of the above.
Before adulthood, height deficits can be made up by
a. rapid growth following disruption.
b. longer duration of growth.
c. neither a nor b.
d. both a and b.
Sociality among primates is likely the result of which of the following selective
pressures?
a. predation
b. niche competition
c. adaptive radiation
d. habitat
The hypothesis that the origin of human bipedalism was linked to a shift from life in the
trees to life on the ground in the grasslands of Africa
a. has been upheld by subsequent scientific data on human origins.
b. was developed in consultation with genetic and fossil evidence.
c. has been rejected recently subsequent to new fossil evidence.
d. has become a scientific law.
Relative to Oldowan tools, Acheulean stone tools
a. had a narrower range of functions.
b. used fewer raw materials.
c. were characterized by fewer tool types.
d. required more learning and skill to produce.
Most human nuclear DNA is coded to produce ________ .
a. amino acids
b. proteins
c. RNA
d. mutations
Evidence indicating that Orrorin tugenensis was bipedal comes mainly from which part
of the skeleton?
a. femur (thighbone)
b. skull
c. foot
d. pelvis
The modern human site of Skhul 5 and the Neandertal sites of Amud and Kebara are
located in the same region in Asia. Based on the age estimates of these sites, scientists
suggest that
a. Neandertals predate modern humans in the region.
b. modern humans predate Neandertals in the region.
c. Neandertals and modern humans existed contemporaneously in the region.
d. Neandertals and modern humans are the same species.
Mitochondrial DNA is
a. contained within the cell’s nucleus.
b. passed from father to son.
c. passed from mother to offspring.
d. found only in bacteria.
Jane Goodall was the first to document
a. the use of stick tools by chimpanzees.
b. predatory behavior of chimpanzees.
c. the enduring nature of the mother-offspring bond in chimpanzees.
d. all of the above.
Ethnographic evidence from around the world shows that postmenopausal women do
all of the following except
a. die young.
b. play important roles in provisioning grandchildren.
c. act as repositories of information about culture and society.
d. contribute to their daughters’ reproductive success.
The oldest known possibly bipedal hominid genus is
a. Sahelanthropus.
b. Australopithecus.
c. Homo.
d. Ardipithecus.