Deck 12: Premodern Humans

Question 1

Which is NOT true about the Pleistocene?

A)It is also known as the Ice Age.
B)It is marked by massive advances and retreats of glaciations.
C)It was characterized by at least 15 major and 50 minor glacial advances in Europe.
D)During interglacials, there is an increased in rainfall.
E)During glacial periods, there is an increase in rainfall.

Answer 1

During interglacials, there is an increased in rainfall.

Question 2

In Africa, premodern Homo sapiens fossils have been found in all of the following EXCEPT

A)Ethiopia.
B)South Africa.
C)Zambia.
D)Egypt.
E)Tanzania.

Answer 2

Egypt.

Question 3

Premodern Homo sapien  fossils are found in

A)North America.
B)Europe and elsewhere in the Old World.
C)Australia only.
D)South America.
E)Antarctica.

Answer 3

Europe and elsewhere in the Old World.

Question 4

Fossils from Africa and Europe from ______ are placed within H. heidelbergensis.

A)850,000 ya to 200,000 ya
B)300,000 ya to 100,000 ya
C)125,000 ya to 75,000 ya
D)990,000 ya to 600,000 ya
E)500 ya to 150 ya

Question 5

Neandertals are classified in the text as

A)Australopithecus neanderthalensis.
B)H. heidelbergensis .
C)H. erectus neanderthalensis.
D)H . sapiens neanderthalensis .
E)Ardipithecus neanderthalensis.

Question 6

The majority of Neandertal fossils have been found in

A)South America.
B)Asia.
C)India.
D)Africa.
E)Europe.

Question 7

The Middle Pleistocene is dated between

A)125,000 to 10,000 ya.
B)10,000 ya to present times.
C)780,000 to 125,000 ya.
D)900,000 to 750,000 ya.
E)25,000 to 10,000 ya.

Question 8

H. heidelbergensis from _______ is hypothesized to have evolved into H. sapiens.

A)Europe
B)Asia
C)North America
D)South America
E)Africa

Question 9

Which of the following premodern Homo sapiens crania shows possible evidence of cannibalism in the form of cut marks?

A)Broken Hill
B)Tabun
C)Bodo
D)La Chapelle
E)Swanscombe

Question 10

Compared to Homo erectus , the cranium of premodern Homo sapiens, has a(n)

A)less vertical forehead.
B)more angled occipital region.
C)smaller than average cranial capacity.
D)more angled back of the skull.
E)increased brain size.

Question 11

During the Middle Pleistocene, there is evidence that temporary shelters were built by

A)Australopithecus .
B)premodern Homo sapiens .
C)Paranthropus .
D)Homo erectus .
E)Homo habilis.

Question 12

Which of the following sites, dated to approximately 500,000-400,000 years ago, has yielded a sample representing about 28 premodern Homo sapiens individuals?

A)Ehringsdorf
B)Atapuerca
C)Steinheim
D)Swanscombe
E)Petralona

Question 13

Where does the best evidence of Middle Pleistocene human-controlled fire come from?

A)China
B)Western Europe
C)Eastern Europe
D)South Africa
E)East Africa

Question 14

Some premodern Homo sapiens and Homo erectus specimens share traits such as

A)a large face.
B)the lack of a supraorbital torus.
C)the presence of a chin.
D)thin cranial bones.
E)high forehead

Question 15

The earliest member of our own species are frequently referred to as

A)premodern humans.
B)anatomically modern humans.
C)postmodern humans.
D)prehistoric humans .
E)primitive humans.

Question 16

During the Middle Pleistocene, premodern Homo sapiens invented the _____ technique.

A)Acheulean
B)Levallois
C)Mousterian
D)Chatelperronean
E)Oldowan

Question 17

In Asia, premodern human fossils sites include

A)Bodo.
B)Atapuerca.
C)Jinniushan.
D)Arago.
E)Swanscombe.

Question 18

Which is true about the Spanish site Sima de los Huesos?

A)It dates back to 800,000 years.
B)It is made up of only male remains.
C)It contains more than 80 percent of all Middle Pleistocene hominin remains.
D)It was a collection of Neandertal remains.
E)It contained over 100 individuals, most of them family members.

Question 19

In Europe, premodern Homo sapiens fossil sites include all of the following EXCEPT

A)Swanscombe.
B)Steinheim.
C)Laetoli.
D)Gran Dolina.
E)Arago.

Question 20

In Africa, early premodern Homo sapiens appeared around

A)200,000 ya.
B)400,000 ya.
C)100,000 ya.
D)600,000 ya.
E)35,000 ya.

Question 21

The Neandertal site in northern Spain, El Sidrón,

A)dates to approximately 130,000ya.
B)uncovered fragmented remains of 28 individuals.
C)demonstrates evidence of warfare.
D)shows hybridization.
E)shows that the males were related and may serve as evidence of patrilocal mating.

Question 22

Some Neandertal physical characteristics may have arisen as adaptations to a ______ environment.

A)humid
B)hot
C)cold
D)tropical
E)high altitude

Question 23

Neandertal brain size

A)was smaller, on average, than that of modern humans.
B)was larger, on average, than that of modern humans.
C)was smaller, on average, than that of Homo erectus .
D)averaged about 2,500 cm³.
E)averaged about 1,100 cm³.

Question 24

Neandertal art consists of

A)large painted depictions found in caves.
B)elaborately carved full-sized sculptures.
C)use of pigment and jewelry.
D)"Venus" figurines.
E)stylized architectural settlements.

Question 25

In Israel important discoveries at Tabun and Kebara include all of the following EXCEPT

A)a 120,000-year-old female skeleton.
B)the most complete Neanderthal pelvis.
C)a hyoid bone identical to H. sapiens.
D)four well-preserved spears.
E)the burial of a large male.

Question 26

Where have Neandertal skeletal remains NOT been found (in Europe)?

A)Spain
B)France
C)Croatia
D)Germany
E)Italy

Question 27

The evolutionary roots of Neandertals reach as far back as ________ years ago.

A)100,000
B)400,000
C)65,000
D)10,000
E)130,000

Question 28

The La Chapelle-aux-Saints skeleton

A)is a Neandertal.
B)was probably not a deliberate burial.
C)is that of an older female.
D)was that of a young boy.
E)is a premodern human.

Question 29

The French Neandertal site of St. Césaire dates to _______ years ago.

A)75,000
B)50,000
C)100,000
D)35,000
E)65,000

Question 30

The stone tool technology most often associated with the Neandertals is termed

A)Acheulian.
B)Mousterian.
C)Levallios.
D)Magdalenian.
E)Oldowan.

Question 31

Neandertal subsistence was based on

A)hunting using spear throwers.
B)hunting large mammals.
C)intense agriculture.
D)horticulturalism.
E)herding domesticated animals.

Question 32

Neandertal crania are

A)large, long, low, and bulging at the sides.
B)absent of browridges.
C)a rounded, smooth occipital area like that seen in modern humans.
D)a vertical forehead like that seen in modern humans.
E)small and flat.

Question 33

Neandertal remains from southern Siberia

A)date to 50,000 to 37,000 ya.
B)showed evidence of cannibalism.
C)contained a patrilocal family lifestyle.
D)contained a very sick and old male.
E)had extensive tools made of bone.

Question 34

Shanidar Cave is located in

A)Israel.
B)France.
C)Germany.
D)Croatia.
E)Iraq.

Question 35

The average Neandertal was

A)more robust than modern humans.
B)tall and gracile.
C)less robust than modern humans.
D)very small-brained.
E)hunched down.

Question 36

The skeleton of a 30- to 45-year-old male with a healed fracture to the face, right arm, and right leg was found at the site of

A)Amud.
B)Shanidar.
C)Tabun.
D)Qafzeh.
E)Krapina.

Question 37

There is some evidence to suggest all of the following about Neandertals EXCEPT that they

A)were compassionate.
B)buried their dead.
C)were capable of symbolic behavior.
D)used Mousterian tools.
E)used bows and arrows for long-distance hunting.

Question 38

The Mousterian stone tool tradition

A)was developed by Homo erectus .
B)is associated with Neandertals only.
C)is found in Asia only.
D)is found in Western Europe only.
E)is associated with the cultural period of the Middle Paleolithic.

Question 39

The Neandertal site in Croatia, which has one of the oldest intentional burials, is

A)La Chapelle-aux-Saints.
B)Krapina.
C)Shanidar.
D)Arago Cave.
E)Broken Hill.

Question 40

Compared to the Upper Paleolithic modern humans, Neanderthal

A)burials are more complex, usually containing hundreds of tools.
B)burials usually contain several individuals, precisely oriented relative to each other.
C)tools are usually more sophisticated.
D)tools are made of materials transported (traded)over long distances.
E)burials go back at least 90,000 years at Tabun.

Question 41

The prevailing consensus is that Neandertals were capable of articulate speech.

Question 42

The Gran Dolina human remains are definitely NOT from Homo erectus .

Question 43

The El Sidrón site in Spain is dated to 49,000 ya and contains remains of 12 individuals.

Question 44

In the Shanidar Cave of Iraq, fieldworkers found 10 individuals, 3 of which were deliberately buried.

Question 45

The premodern human fossils from Africa and Europe are more similar to each other than they are to the hominins from Asia.

Question 46

Sixteen of twenty of the best documented Neandertal burials include

A)"Venus" figurines.
B)stone tools.
C)atlatl, bows, and arrows.
D)individuals placed in a flexed position.
E)many sacrificed family members.

Question 47

The Chatelperronian tool industry is associated with Neandertals and may be the product of cultural diffusion from modern H. sapiens .

Question 48

An interesting fact regarding the site called the Sima de los Huesos is that it contains more than 80 percent of all Middle Pleistocene hominin remains in the world.

Question 49

Chinese archaeologists point out that Chinese premodern H. sapiens specimens show no indication of genetic continuity with modern H . sapiens from China.

Question 50

The genetic analysis of Neandertal fossils indicates they were found in all these areas EXCEPT

A)China.
B)France.
C)New Guinea.
D)Germany.
E)Africa.

Question 51

The main effect of fluctuating climates in Africa during the Pleistocene was to change rainfall patterns.

Question 52

Which is true about the "Denisovans"?

A)They were from Central Europe.
B)They may be a different branch of recent human evolution.
C)They are the predecessors of Neandertals.
D)They are closely related to all H. sapiens.
E)They share about 4-5 percent of genes with Europeans.

Question 53

The first evidence of deliberate burial of the dead is associated with

A)Homo erectus .
B)Homo habilis .
C)Neandertals.
D)early premodern Homo sapiens from Africa.
E)anatomically modern Homo sapiens .

Question 54

Neandertals were advanced in their use of spear throwers for long-distance hunting.

Question 55

Homo heidelbergensis refers to finds from China dating to between 850,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Question 56

Chinese paleoanthropologists argue that modern Chinese evolved from a separate H. erectus lineage.

Question 57

Bone, a high-quality tool material, was widely used throughout the Middle Pleistocene.

Question 58

The average Neandertal brain size was 1,520 cm³.

Question 59

African premodern humans show a mixture of primitive and more derived traits.

Question 60

Neandertal DNA evidence from Europe gives dates between

A)50,000 and 32,000 ya.
B)20,000 and 10,000 ya.
C)80,000 and 50,000 ya.
D)130,000 and 80,000 ya.
E)32,000 and 20,000 ya.

Question 61

Discuss the general characteristics of Neandertals; include specific examples.

Question 62

Explain the results of molecular tests done through the study of Neandertal DNA.

Question 63

Explain the climatic changes and conditions during the Pleistocene and the dispersal of Middle Pleistocene hominins.

Question 64

Describe, explain, and give examples of the premodern humans from Africa.

Question 65

Middle Pleistocene hominins are a very homogenous group, and it is easy to get a clear evolutionary picture of these hominins.

Question 66

Describe the general time frame when earlier premodern humans (mostly classified as Homo heidelbergensis)lived and in what areas of the world they have been found.

Question 67

Describe the time frame during which Neandertals lived and where their remains have been found.

Question 68

Describe, explain, and give examples of the Neandertal remains found in Europe.

Question 69

Describe the new discovery at Denisova Cave, explaining its importance to human evolution.

Question 70

Why do some paleoanthropologists classify Neandertals as Homo neanderthalensis ? What are the biological and phylogenetic implications of this designation?

Question 71

Describe the injuries and pathologies evident in the Shanidar I skeleton. What, if anything, does this tell us about Neandertal lifestyle and/or cultural behavior?

Question 72

What is known of Mousterian technology, and why is it not limited to Neandertals?

Question 73

Describe, explain, and give examples of the premodern humans from Asia.

Question 74

Genetic studies have been able to extract mtDNA as well as nuclear DNA of Neandertals.

Question 75

Describe, explain, and give examples of the premodern humans from Europe.

Question 76

Describe and explain the different approaches to classification, the lumpers vs. splitters discussed in the book, and give examples and strengths and weaknesses of each approach.

Question 77

Describe and give examples of the culture of Neandertals, include a discussion of technology, subsistence, speech, burials, etc.

Question 78

Neandertal DNA is very different compared to modern human DNA.

Question 79

Describe the terminology and comparison of Middle Pleistocene hominins.

Question 80

Describe, explain, and give examples of the Neandertal remains found in Asia.