You are walking through a forest in the Central African Republic and you notice a twig
that has had its bark removed and is stuck in a hole in a termite mound. The twig is an
example of
a. material culture
b. tool use
c. learned behavior
d. all of the above.
Anatomically modern humans are characterized by all of the following except
a. a lightly built (gracile) postcranial skeleton.
b. tiny or nonexistent browridges.
c. average cranial capacity of 750 cc.
d. a “globular” brain case.
In your lab quiz you are provided with a hominid skull and asked to describe its unique
characteristics and what they may tell you about the behavior of the individual. You
notice that the gap typically seen between the canine and the third premolar on the
lower jaw of living ape species is not present. On your answer sheet you note the
following:
a. This individual most likely uses its teeth in dominance displays.
b. The teeth of this individual are adapted for processing plant and animal foods that
require shredding.
c. This hominid skull belongs to an individual dated after the development of tools for
food processing.
d. None of the above.
All of the following traits suggest cold adaptation for Neandertals except
a. a narrow nasal aperture.
b. short limbs.
c. a wide torso.
d. a projecting midface.
Tarsiers are unique among prosimians because they
a. are diurnal.
b. are vertical clingers and leapers.
c. have a fovea.
d. have a prehensile tail.
Which of the following cultural artifacts would provide the most narrowly defined date
for the sediments from which it was recovered?
a. an early Stone Age chopping tool
b. a Neolithic ceramic pot
c. a middle Stone Age point
d. a late Stone Age cave painting
Cavities in the teeth are caused by a process called
a. hypoplasia.
b. enamel defects.
c. dentin foramina.
d. dental caries.
DNA is important for protein synthesis because
a. it is biological code for the production of hormones and enzymes.
b. it serves as a template for protein production.
c. it provides the code to produce structural proteins.
d. all of the above.
In certain species of nonhuman primates there are groups where only one dominant
female has access to mates. The other females must wait until the opportunity to gain
mate access presents itself. This will have direct impacts on “fitness,” influencing which
of the following?
a. reproductive success
b. aggressiveness
c. strength
d. age at death
In studies of primate cognition and tool use, researchers have taught chimpanzees to
crack open nuts with stones. Later in life, these chimpanzees have taught other young
chimpanzees and offspring the same skill. This could be considered
a. social transmission of learned behavior.
b. a type of “culture” that is learned and passed between individuals.
c. evidence of the cognitive capabilities of primates.
d. all of the above.
A genetic study conducted over two generations found that the frequency of genotypes
in the first generation were AA: 0.36, Aa: 0.48, aa: 0.16. In the second generation,
genotype frequencies remained the same. According to the Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium, we can assume
a. negative assortative mating has maintained gene frequencies.
b. mutations have likely occurred resulting in the same frequency.
c. mating in this population is random.
d. the population is small and we cannot detect change.
Anatomical evidence from fossilized hand bones suggests that the precision grips
needed to make and use stone tools was present
a. only in Homo erectus.
b. only in Homo habilis.
c. in Homo habilis and some australopithecines.
d. in all australopithecine and Homo species.
Which type of stone tool traditionally marks the transition from the Middle to the Upper
Paleolithic?
a. cleaver
b. chopper
c. flake
d. blade
Approximately when did the African tectonic plate contact the Eurasian plate, allowing
early African apes to migrate throughout the Old World?
a. 5 mya
b. 12 mya
c. 17 mya
d. 28 mya
The only pre-australopithecine found outside the East African Rift Valley is
a. Orrorin tugenensis.
b. Ardipithecus kadabba.
c. Sahelanthropus tchadensis.
d. Ardipithecus ramidus.
When epiphyses fuse to the diaphyses,
a. long bone growth is slowed.
b. full adult height is attained.
c. the adolescent growth spurt begins.
d. the fusion is largely determined by the environment.
Contenders for primate status from the Paleocene epoch lack which of the following
characteristics observed in adapids and omomyids?
a. convergent eyes, partially or fully enclosed eye orbits, increased sense of vision
b. increased sense of vision, convergent eyes, reduced sense of smell, a short snout
c. reduced sense of smell, small incisors, large canines, large brain
d. all of the above
Physical anthropology as a discipline is concerned with
a. skeletal pathology.
b. primate behavior.
c. fossilized human remains.
d. all of the above.
The two suborders of primates are
a. platyrrhine and catarrhine.
b. prosimians and anthropoids.
c. pongidae and hominidae.
d. tarsiers and anthropoids.
Based on the archaeological record from various areas, what was the initial effect of
agriculture on height?
a. Height decreased.
b. Height increased.
c. Height became more variable within the population.
d. Height stayed the same.
Natural selection
a. works on preexisting variation in a population.
b. works on traits acquired through an organism’s lifetime.
c. works only on deleterious traits.
d. works only on advantageous traits.
Exercise improves physical fitness by contributing to all of the following except
a. increased bone strength.
b. increased heart and lung function.
c. increased cholesterol.
d. lower blood pressure.
Which of the following is the result of a single-point mutation on chromosome 11?
a. Marfan syndrome
b. Down syndrome
c. Kleinfelter’s syndrome
d. Sickle-cell anemia
According to anthropologist Jeffrey McKee, Earth’s biodiversity is decreasing due to
a. natural selection.
b. genetic drift.
c. mutation.
d. increasing human population numbers.
The dental formula of all known fossil and living catarrhines is
a. 2/1/3/3.
b. 2/1/2/3.
c. 2/1/2.
d. 2/1/3/2.
Archaeology is
a. the study of human evolution.
b. largely devoted to recovering artifacts and building museum collections.
c. the study of the behavior and material culture of past human societies.
d. the study of the evolution of language.
As seen in the skeletal record, which of the following diseases likely affected humans
as far back as the Holocene?
a. influenza
b. HIV
c. syphilis
d. tuberculosis
What does the Nariokotome Boy skeleton suggest to scientists?
a. that Homo erectus had short arms and long legs
b. that Homo erectus lived in cold climates
c. that modern human growth patterns were already present in Homo erectus
d. that this species acted exactly like modern humans
According to John Relethford, the most likely reason for modern-looking people to
have migrated out of Africa during the late Pleistocene was
a. disease.
b. loss of food supply.
c. climate change.
d. rapid population growth.
While conducting a study on hypoxia among individuals living in the Peruvian Andes,
you have been able to show that individuals in the population have likely suffered
hypoxia and/or resided there for long periods of time. You know this because
a. individuals in your sample have a smaller chest cavity than do individuals who live in
the village at the base of the mountains.
b. individuals who moved to the region as children have greater lung volumes than
individuals who moved to the area as adults.
c. individuals in the population have very low red blood cell counts.
d. none of the above.
The only early hominid that lacks the thick enamel coating on its teeth typical of other
hominids is
a. Australopithecus.
b. Sahelanthropus.
c. Ardipithecus.
d. Orrorin.
Phylogeny is important to the study of human evolution because
a. in order to understand modern human anatomy and behavior, we must understand our
evolutionary relationships to other extinct and living organisms.
b. in order to account for changes in our species over time, we need to know what
processes drove natural selection.
c. it allows us to study our closest living relative in order to better understand how
natural selection acted in previous environments.
d. all of the above.
Results from anthropomorphic measurements of Turkana pastoralists indicate long
limbs. This suggests which of the following?
a. The population is one point on the continuum of variation observed in Allen’s rule.
b. The population represents the variability that results from Wolff’s law of skeletal
replacement.
c. The population has body proportions that are not well adapted to warmer climates.
d. According to Allen’s rule, pastoralist populations are well adapted for life at high
latitudes.
Low birth weight can result from a mother’s
a. malnutrition.
b. excessive alcohol consumption.
c. smoking.
d. all of the above.