Exam 6: From First Primates to First Bipeds

The authors of the text argue that with the emergence of the genus Homo there began to develop a feedback loop between biological characteristics and cultural innovations in the human line.Discuss this and provide evidence.

What was the Piltdown Man controversy? Using this evidence,discuss the popular view and importance of the science of evolution in society then and now.Why is this scientific question sometimes considered differently than other areas of inquiry?

During which epoch did anthropoid fossils diversify and expand their range,and prosimian fossil forms became far less prominent?

Chimpanzees and humans use their ankles in much the same way while climbing.

The first specimen of A.robustus was discovered by Mary Leakey in 1894.

Distinguish between "lumpers" and "splitters."

The position of the human big toe is described as being:

This primate was a diurnal quadruped with a mixture of money and ape features: its lower molars had five cusps like an ape;its skull had forward-facing eye sockets protected by a bony wall;an endocast of the cranium reveals that it had a visual cortex larger than that found in Prosimians,but the brain was smaller than that of more recent anthropoids;and it had marked sexual dimorphism and was no bigger than a modern house cat.It is a:

Bipedalism is "written on our bodies." What does this statement mean? Provide evidence for your answer and then discuss the importance of bipedalism in the evolution of the human species.

Human birth is always considered extremely difficult because of paleoanthropological evidence.

The fossil Lucy was better adapted to tree climbing than more recent human ancestors.

Why were scientists initially biased against accepting Australopithecus africanus as a hominin?

What is the relationship between climate shifts and the emergence of the earliest primates? Present each of the epochs (Paleocene,Eocene,Oligocene,and Miocene),and explain the evolution of the primates from a reptilian beginning to the emergence of the first apes.

Who were Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey,and what were their contributions to our understanding of human evolution?

How is the understanding of the human birth process in the U.S.potentially a culture-bound perspective?

Which species of australopithecines was known as the "gracile" species?

What is the law of competitive exclusion,and what role did it play in early human evolution?

Which of the following did not contribute to the development of bipedalism among Miocene apes?

Bipedalism is the most important characteristic of the early human species.Compare and contrast bipedalism and quadrupedalism anatomically and environmentally.What specific affordances did bipedalism provide to humans that allowed them to emerge and radiate so dominantly over the world?

Why was the discovery of Lucy such a significant scientific event?