The shift from the Miocene, which had greater diversity of ape species and fewer
monkey species, to a living assemblage with greater diversity of monkey species and
fewer ape species may be the result of
a. global climate changes that resulted in cooler, wetter environments less optimal for
ape species.
b. differences in ability to exploit the habitats that resulted after a change in global
climate.
c. cooler climates, where it is more difficult to preserve larger ape fossils.
d. declines in ape diversity, caused by competition from hominin species.
The earliest stone tools discovered to date, are dated at
a. 4 mya.
b. 1.5 mya.
c. 6 mya.
d. 2.6 mya.
The typical catarrhine dental formula is
a. 1 / 1 / 2 / 3.
b. 2 / 1 / 3 / 3.
c. 2 / 1 / 2 / 3.
d. 3 / 1 / 2 / 3.
Sexual dimorphism in canine size
a. is greater in societies where males compete.
b. is reduced in societies where males compete.
c. is greater when males live with relatives.
d. both b and c.
For women with very low body weight, high amounts of exercise can result in
a. increased female fertility.
b. increased ovarian function.
c. reduced ability to conceive relative to women who do not exercise.
d. higher rates of conception than in women who do not exercise.
Which model of modern human origins would predict the likely discovery of
modern/archaic hybrid fossils?
a. out-of-Africa
b. multiregional continuity
c. assimilation
d. None of these models would predict such a discovery.
If you traveled back in time to Africa about 27 mya and came across a group of the
early ape Proconsul feeding in a tree, what would you not expect to see these animals
doing?
a. hanging by their tails
b. grasping fruit in their hands
c. walking on all fours on branches
d. sitting upright
Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection was supported by which
leading scientist of the time?
a. Gregor Mendel
b. Thomas Malthus
c. Thomas Henry Huxley
d. Charles Lyell
The Human Genome Project (a massive collaboration to decode and study the human
genome) is most likely to contribute to an understanding of which disease?
a. cancer
b. influenza
c. tuberculosis
d. smallpox
Charles Darwin
a. was a theologian during the twentieth century.
b. was an English naturalist in the 1800s.
c. hypothesized about human origins in the 1700s.
d. was a scientist during the Enlightenment.
Mendel’s discrete units responsible for the characteristics in his pea plants are now
known as
a. chromosomes.
b. DNA.
c. genes.
d. RNA.
Homo erectus skulls
a. are long, low, and wide at the base.
b. have thick bones.
c. have large browridges.
d. all of the above.
Suspensory primates generally have what type of body structure?
a. longer legs than arms
b. longer arms than legs
c. longer thumbs than big toes
d. longer big toes than thumbs
Transcription
a. occurs in the nucleus.
b. occurs in the ribosome.
c. results in the production of proteins.
d. results in the transformation of mitochondria.
The time it takes for 50% of an unstable isotope to decay to a stable form is called the
a. semichron.
b. middlemorph.
c. demi-dose.
d. half-life.
Darwin was a crew member on ________ , a ship whose voyage informed his later
theory of natural selection.
a. the HMS Labrador
b. the HMS Beagle
c. the HMS Papillon
d. the HMS Elizabeth
Eugne Dubois was unique among major evolutionists in the nineteenth century in that
he sought to test hypotheses about early human ancestors with
a. fossil evidence.
b. comparative anatomy.
c. genetics.
d. archaeological remains.
Evidence of cannibalism among early hominids is found at
a. Zhoukoudian, China.
b. Gran Dolina, Spain.
c. Olduvai Gorge, Kenya.
d. Sangiran, Java.
In an ape, the space between the upper lateral incisor and the canine that accommodates
a large, projecting lower canine, is a
a. dental gap.
b. gingival space.
c. mesial bridge.
d. diastema.
The term morphology refers to
a. physical shape and appearance.
b. differences between males and females.
c. behavioral changes in animals.
d. genetic traits.
The high incidence of dental defects in early humans is tied to which of the following?
a. decline in nutritional quality
b. increase in nutritional quality
c. increase in infectious disease
d. a and c only
Broken Hill, Dali, and Atapuerca are Old World sites that contain the remains of
a. Homo erectus.
b. modern Homo sapiens.
c. archaic Homo sapiens.
d. Neandertals.
Humans are the only primates who lack a sectorial complex on the premolar. This is an
example of
a. a primitive trait, because it is present in multiple species of a group.
b. a primitive trait, because it is present in only one or few species of a group.
c. a derived trait, because it is present in multiple species of a group.
d. a derived trait, because it is present in only one or few species of a group.
A diagram (family tree) that proposes hypothetical ancestor-descendant relationships
between species is a
a. chronology.
b. phylogeny.
c. dendrogram.
d. lexigram.
Scientists are sure that Neandertals were efficient hunters because
a. Neandertal skeletons demonstrate a chemical signature associated with high protein
consumption.
b. Neandertal bones are quite robust.
c. Neandertals used stone tools to butcher animals.
d. none of the above.
Reconstruction of habitats at sites that existed in southern and eastern Africa 2.5 mya
suggests
a. the spread of C3 plants.
b. reduction both in habitat types and in dietary diversity.
c. a more frequent use of tools for the digging and processing of roots and tubers.
d. none of the above.
Eugne Dubois found fossils of which species in Southeast Asia?
a. Australopithecus afarensis
b. Homo sapiens
c. Homo habilis
d. Homo erectus
Which of the following were identified by Sir William le Gros Clark as tendencies of
primates?
a. the presence of arboreal adaptations
b. increased parental investment
c. the presence of dietary plasticity
d. all of the above
While observing primates at the zoo, you notice that the particular monkey you are
watching uses its hands, feet, and tail to move throughout the trees in its enclosure. This
is most likely
a. an Old World monkey, because many of these species have a tail with grasping
abilities similar to those observed in nonhuman primate hands and feet.
b. a lesser ape, because many of these species have a tail with grasping abilities similar
to those observed in nonhuman primate hands and feet.
c. a New World monkey, because these are the only monkeys that live in trees.
d. a New World monkey, because many of these species have a tail with grasping
abilities similar to those observed in nonhuman primate hands and feet.
The scientist who coined the name Homo sapiens for human beings and placed them in
a higher taxonomic group (primates) was
a. Charles Darwin.
b. Georges Cuvier.
c. Carolus Linnaeus.
d. Robert Hooke.
The many stone tools, fragmentary animal bones, and teeth found at Gran Dolina,
Spain, indicate that hominids there
a. processed and consumed animals and other hominids.
b. did not differ appreciably from earlier Asian Homo erectus.
c. were similar to later Homo sapiens.
d. none of the above.
The suborder Prosimians includes
a. New World and Old World monkeys.
b. lemurs, lorises, galagos, and tarsiers.
c. great apes and lesser apes.
d. lemurs, lorises, and galagos.
Whose efforts helped explain how chromosomes are replicated?
a. Rosalind Franklin
b. James Watson
c. Francis Crick
d. all of the above
Which of the following is true of human biological evolution?
a. With modern Homo sapiens” appearance in the late Pleistocene, human biological
evolution basically stopped.
b. It has been a linear process taking only 2 million years.
c. Humans are still evolving today.
d. Human evolution can be stopped at any time using cultural means.
Contrast the cranial and dental anatomy and adaptation of Australopithecus robustus as
compared to African Homo erectus.
The two traditional models of modern human origins are out-of-Africa and
multiregional continuity. Briefly describe the main tenets of these, and then discuss how
the more recent assimilation model differs from each.
While the domestication of plants and animals certainly led to a more stable food
supply in the Holocene, it also resulted in significant problems. Briefly describe some
of these problems.
Discuss anatomical characteristics that relate to primates’ arboreal adaptation.
List the six major events in human evolution, briefly describing each.
What is the evolutionary significance of meiosis?
Platyrrhine fossils first appear in the South American fossil record during the late
Oligocene epoch. Since they are not found in earlier fossil-bearing sediments, and
South America at that time was essentially an island continent, how do scientists think
they got there?
Compare and contrast both the anatomy and the special senses of prosimians and
anthropoids.
Describe in detail three theories aiming to explain the adaptive success of bipedal
locomotion.
How might living organisms’ evolution have been affected by the movement of
landmasses over time (plate tectonics)?
Why is it critical that paleontologists reconstruct past environments to provide a
complete picture of a particular lineage’s evolution? Name one way in which
paleontologists reconstruct paleoenvironments.
Why are primates social?
What is anthropology? What are the four branches of anthropology?
Discuss the significance of workload adaptation for skeletal function and maintenance
of bone strength.
Discuss how adaptations to local environments have likely influenced the evolution of
skin color in different geographic regions of the world.
Describe distinctive features of primate parenting relative to that of other mammals.
What evidence from the skeletons and teeth of early farmers do scientists use to
document the negative consequences of a shift from food foraging to the domestication
of food?
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?
Characterize the fossil evidence of Homo habilis, and describe the anatomical and
behavioral characteristics of Homo habilis that pave the way for Homo sapiens”
evolution.
Describe similarities and differences in diet and dentition among prosimians, Old World
monkeys, and apes.