Primates’ enhanced sense of vision stems from
a. eyes rotated forward.
b. tendency toward nocturnality.
c. color vision.
d. both a and c.
Homo erectus fossils date to
a. 3″1 mya.
b. 2.5 mya”500,000 yBP.
c. 1.8 mya”300,000 yBP.
d. 1.2 mya”800,000 yBP.
Thomas Hunt Morgan
a. demonstrated that chromosomes carry genetic material in the form of genes.
b. studied mutations in Homo sapiens.
c. thought change was gradual and occurred over long time periods.
d. none of the above.
Homo habilis used which type of tools?
a. Acheulian hand axes
b. Oldowan stone tools
c. Mousterian tools
d. none of the above
Science is considered self-correcting because
a. theories can be modified or replaced in response to new findings.
b. hypotheses are built on meticulous observation.
c. hypothesis-testing can result in rejection of previous hypotheses.
d. all of the above.
Research conducted by Richard Lee found that hunter-gatherers showed great variation
in workload and leisure time. Prior to this research, hunting and foraging was thought to
be physically and temporally demanding. Lee’s findings are
a. evidence of the importance of the scientific method.
b. evidence of the importance of hypothesis testing.
c. evidence of the usefulness of observations and hypothesis generation.
d. all of the above.
Colobine primates
a. are mostly frugivorous.
b. are usually terrestrial.
c. have specialized digestive anatomy for eating leaves.
d. are referred to as “cheek pouch” monkeys.
Which of the following is a New World domesticate?
a. wheat
b. rice
c. cotton
d. pigs
An individual who displays the disease sickle-cell anemia must have inherited the
deleterious allele from both phenotypically normal parents. This individual is therefore
a. homozygous dominant.
b. homozygous recessive.
c. heterozygous.
d. haplozygous.
Which of the following is the expansion of blood vessels near the body’s surface in
response to excessive heat?
a. vasoconstriction
b. vasodilation
c. arterial flow
d. venous flow
Which of the following statements concerning Homo sapiens is false?
a. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils are close to 200,000 years old.
b. The earliest Homo sapiens fossils are associated with cave art and other symbolic
archeological remains.
c. Molecular studies demonstrate that Homo sapiens are all fairly similar genetically.
d. This is the only hominid species with a well-defined chin.
Within the kingdom Animalia
a. mammals have differing numbers of sex chromosomes.
b. mammals have the same number of chromosomes.
c. mammals have differing number of chromosomes.
d. all mammals have the same DNA.
What effect does natural selection have on population variation?
a. increases variation
b. decreases variation
c. both increases and decreases variation
d. does not affect variation
Anatomically modern humans were found in all of the following sites except
a. Shanidar, Iraq.
b. Cro-Magnon, France.
c. Skhul, Israel.
d. Omo, Ethiopia.
atalhyk is an important Neolithic site located in
a. southwest Asia.
b. southern Africa.
c. central Mexico.
d. India.
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach categorized humans into the following races
a. Negroids, Caucasoids, and Mongoloids.
b. Mongoloids, Negroids, Inuit, and Caucasoids.
c. Mongoloids, Malays, Ethiopians, American Indians, and Caucasoids.
d. Mongoloids, Negroids, Malays, Europeans, and Caucasoids.
A recent news article reports on findings from a dig in Mesopotamia. The researchers
report that skeletal populations indicate a decline in stature and likely overall health at
this period in time. This reminds you of another study you have read about, the
populations of St. Catherines Island. What could be the reasons for the changes in
skeletons?
a. Health and stature declined with a transition to hunting and gathering.
b. Health and stature declined with the adoption of agriculture.
c. Health and stature declined with the Industrial Revolution.
d. Health and stature declined because of an outbreak of an avian virus.
Which of the following is not an early anthropoid family from the Fayum?
a. Victoriapithecidae
b. Parapithecidae
c. Oligopithecidae
d. Propliopithecidae
If you are examining the fossil remains of the genus Dryopithecus, they are most likely
from where?
a. India
b. Bolivia
c. France
d. China
Primates spend
a. much of their time foraging for food.
b. spend less than 25% of their day foraging for food.
c. spend a minimal amount of their time foraging for food.
d. only forage for food during the rainy season.
While reading a journal article on the evolution of primate characteristics, you note that
the author supports the arboreal hypothesis as the driver of the primate evolution.
Which of the following arguments could you develop in response to this article?
a. Many species outside of the primate order also live in trees and have forward-facing
eyes, but they are not primates.
b. The depth perception developed as a result of binocular vision is as important in
feeding strategy as it is in moving through an arboreal environment.
c. Grasping hands and feet are not required for tree-living species, as many mammals
lack opposability of digits.
d. All of the above.
How is biocultural anthropology different from cultural anthropology?
a. It combines cultural studies with archaeology.
b. It examines the interaction between genetics and culture in shaping human biology.
c. It is strictly a biological science.
d. It considers culture to be a byproduct of our biological histories.
More than 20% of all calories consumed by people today come from
a. millet.
b. rice.
c. sorghum.
d. corn.
You are reading a scientific paper regarding the relationships of the anatomical and
behavioral characteristics of chimpanzees and their implications for early hominid
evolution. You note that the authors refer to human ancestors as hominids. This implies
that
a. the researchers are relying on genetic classifications of chimpanzees and humans, as
this is most appropriate for their research.
b. the researchers are relying on anatomical classifications of chimpanzees and humans,
as this is most appropriate when looking at adaptation and anatomy.
c. the researchers are relying on genetic classification of chimpanzees and humans,
hence their use of the term “hominid” to describe human ancestors.
d. both b and c.
Miocene victoriapithecids are considered primitive ancestors of ________ .
a. all living apes
b. all living New World monkeys
c. all living Old World monkeys
d. all living prosimians
The English surveyor who developed the technique of stratigraphic correlation between
regions was
a. William Smith.
b. Charles Lyell.
c. Alfred Wallace.
d. Richard Owen.
The tarsiers belong to the taxonomic suborder of
a. Anthropoidea.
b. Prosimii.
c. sapiens.
d. Homo.
Which of the following has the greatest likelihood of becoming fossilized?
a. muscle tissue
b. teeth
c. skin
d. vertebrae
While at the gorilla exhibit at the zoo you notice that the sign reads Gorilla gorilla
gorilla. You recall that this is a scientific name and is part of a naming system known as
a. binomial nomenclature, which was developed by Carolus Linnaeus as a classification
system for plants and animals.
b. natural selection, because you know that Carolus Linnaeus was a proponent of
evolutionary change.
c. independent assortment, developed by Gregor Mendel.
d. none of the above.
Heavy wear on Neandertals’ incisor teeth has led some scientists to conclude that
Neandertals used their front teeth
a. as a kind of third hand for gripping materials.
b. for hunting and killing small animals.
c. for shaping the cutting edges of stone blades.
d. for gouging trees to extract sap.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
a. was studied during Darwin’s lifetime.
b. is the “recipe” for all biological characteristics and functions.
c. was discovered by Mendel.
d. is stored in the cells as ribosomes.
Which anatomical feature would you expect to find in the fossil remains of a nocturnal
species?
a. long legs
b. pointy teeth
c. large eye orbits
d. short fingers and toes
Greater body size and facial gracility documented in Homo erectus are likely related to
a. changes in tool technology and increasing access to meat and other proteins.
b. the natural continuation of previous trends documented in hominid fossils, similar to
great brain size.
c. the global climate, as these trends are characteristic of a cooler climate.
d. none of the above.
The Neandertals are last recorded in the fossil record about
a. 250,000 yBP.
b. 100,000 yBP.
c. 75,000 yBP.
d. 30,000 yBP.
In terms of geologic time, when did human beings appear on Earth?
a. very recently
b. a long time ago
c. at the same time as dinosaurs
d. at the same time as sharks