Deck 12: The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans

Question 1

Which of the following has not been proposed as a model to explain the origin of modern Homo sapiens?

A) An origin in Africa followed by migration to other areas where indigenous premodern populations were replaced.
B) An origin in Africa followed by migration to other areas where both interbreeding and replacement occurred.
C) Several origins in different areas where modern forms evolved from local populations.
D) Separate origins in Africa and Australia with migrations from both these areas to displace all other populations.
E) A strong influence of modern humans evolving first in Africa that left an imprint on populations throughout the world that is detectable today.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Modern human occupation dates to 50,000 in

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

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Early modern Homo sapiens remains rom the Near East include

A) Kow Swamp
B) Skhūl
C) Herto
D) Omo Kibish
E) Zhoukoudian

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to the complete replacement model, anatomically modern Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa

A) and dispersed to Europe where they interbred with local premodern H. sapiens populations
B) and migrated to other areas completely displacing all premodern H. sapiens populations without interbreeding with them
C) remained there while premodern populations elsewhere evolved more slowly
D) around 500,000 years ago
E) and the local populations would not have evolved totally independently from one another.

Question 5

What does the Regional Continuity Model of modern Homo sapiens origins not propose?

A) Modern humans did not appear solely in Africa.
B) Premodern populations in Europe, Asia, and Africa all evolved into modern Homo sapiens.
C) There was gene flow between premodern populations from different regions of the Old World.
D) Local populations would have evolved totally independently from one another
E) Local populations would not have evolved totally independently from one another

Question 6

The Skhūl site is dated to approximately ________ years ago.

A) 250,000-200,000
B) 75,000-43,000
C) 200,000-100,000
D) 130,000-100,000
E) 40,000

Question 7

Of the sites listed below, which is the most important one for determining the morphology of the earliest Homo sapiens in western Europe?

A) Cro-Magnon
B) Tabun
C) Katanda
D) Mladeč
E) Herto

Question 8

Researchers have recently sequenced the genetic identities of nine ancient fully modern H. sapiens from sites in Italy, France, the Czech Republic, and Russia. What did this research focus on?

A) the Y chromosome
B) mtDNA
C) the ABO blood groups
D) the Y chromosome and the ABO blood groups
E) only cranial remains

Question 9

The analysis of the Herto remains indicates they are

A) most similar to Australopithecus
B) indistinguishable from modern Homo sapiens
C) most similar to late Homo erectus from China
D) not specifically similar to modern Homo sapiens
E) none of these

Question 10

According to Partial Replacement Models, modern humans first appeared in Africa

A) and interbred with premodern populations of Eurasia, thus partially displacing them
B) and remained there until modern humans from Asia displaced them
C) about 500,000 years ago
D) but were later displaced by European Neandertals
E) and India, simultaneously.

Question 11

According to the most recent evidence, the first modern Homo sapiens evolved in Africa around _______ years ago.

A) 200,000
B) 1,500,000
C) 50,000
D) 500,000
E) 5,000,000

Question 12

According to the Regional Continuity Model, ________ prevented local populations of premodern Homo sapiens from becoming separate species.

A) founder's effect
B) gene flow
C) displacement by African Homo sapiens
D) mitochondrial DNA
E) genetic drift

Question 13

Anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils from Africa have been dated to about _____ years ago.

A) 100,000-70,000
B) 200,000-100,000
C) 195,000-80,000
D) 35,000
E) 65,000

Question 14

The hypothesis that all modern humans descended from an African lineage

A) has been conclusively proven to be correct
B) is supported by mtDNA evidence
C) is supported by evidence from researchers in India
D) is conclusively proven as incorrect
E) is based on archaeological evidence obtained from caves in Spain

Question 15

Which of the following sites in western Europe may offer evidence for genetic continuity between Neandertals and modern humans?

A) Abrigo do Lagar Velho
B) Tabun and Qafzeh
C) Qafzeh and Skhūl
D) Border Cave and Vindija
E) Cromagnon

Question 16

Thus far, the earliest specimens of modern Homo sapiens are from which site?

A) Omo Kibish
B) Klasies River Mouth
C) Qafzeh
D) Cro-Magnon
E) Kow Swamp

Question 17

Two different Replacement Models have been proposed. They differ from each other with respect to which of the following?

A) the anatomy of modern humans
B) the timing of the origin of modern humans
C) whether a speciation event caused the demise of Neandertals
D) the origin and dispersal of the first modern human populations
E) the use of DNA sequences in analyses

Question 18

The Herto remains are

A) from South Africa
B) from the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia
C) considered to be modern Neandertal
D) considered to be Ardipithecus
E) the earliest European evidence of modern humans

Question 19

Current evidence indicates that the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils are from which geographical location?

A) China
B) India
C) Germany
D) France
E) Africa

Question 20

According to the compete replacement model, the transition from premodern to modern Homo sapiens

A) occurred in several regions of the Old World simultaneously
B) occurred first in Europe
C) only occurred once, in Africa
D) began about 10,000 years ago in Indonesia
E) began about 100,000 years ago in Asia

Question 21

During the last glaciation in Eurasia,

A) human habitation was impossible
B) the entire area was permanently covered with ice-sheets
C) a warming trend at about 30,000 ya partially melted the glacial ice
D) hunting was impossible because there were no animals in the region
E) Neandertals became extinct.

Question 22

The transition between premodern and anatomically modern forms of humans may have occurred as early as 500,000 years ago in Africa.

Question 23

The cave paintings in the Grotte Chauvet

A) are relatively crude and primitive
B) mostly depict landscapes
C) mostly depict female humans
D) date to about 10,000 ya
E) date to 35,000 ya

Question 24

The Kow Swamp remains

A) are more robust than the Lake Mungo remains
B) are dated earlier than Lake Mungo remains
C) are from central Europe
D) were dated from museum collections and therefore dates may be invalid
E) suggest that native Australians are later migrants from elsewhere, not descendants of a single migration dating back to about 50,000 ya.

Question 25

The first modern Homo sapiens evolved from Western Europe.

Question 26

What is the benefit of an atlatl?

A) It is a unique type of projectile point
B) It is used for starting fires.
C) It is used to increase the force and distance of a spear throw.
D) It can be used as a drill
E) It is used for fishing.

Question 27

The question of whether modern humans and Neandertals interbred at some point

A) was settled about ten years ago
B) was never an issue among paleoanthropologists
C) is far from settled
D) was called into question with the discoveries at Zhoukoudian
E) is established based on genetic evidence.

Question 28

The Abrigo do Lagar Velho specimen is an important discovery that aids in the understanding of possible interbreeding between Neandertals and anatomically modern H. sapiens because the remains

A) are from Portugal
B) are dated to about 50,500 years ago
C) the remains are a highly mixed set of anatomical features
D) were studied by Erik Trinkaus
E) are an incomplete skeleton of an adult female

Question 29

The Upper Paleolithic culture period is divided into categories based on stone tool technologies. These include all of the following except

A) Solutrean
B) Magdalenian
C) Aurignacian
D) Chatelperroonian
E) Grottevian

Question 30

The skeletal remains of Homo floresiensis are notable for each of the following characteristics or assumptions except

A) the short stature.
B) the small cranial capacity
C) they were living 13,000 years ago.
D) their predecessors were perhaps H. erectus populations
E) they came to Flores on rafts, the remains of which were recovered from the island of Flores

Question 31

Early rock art from Africa may be as old as ________ years.

A) 10,000
B) 68,000
C) 100,000
D) 28,000
E) 40,000

Question 32

The Upper Paleolithic

A) began at the onset of the Pleistocene
B) is a cultural period attributed primarily to Neandertals
C) is characterized by the invention of iron tools
D) began about 150,000 years ago
E) is divided into five different industries, based on stone tool technologies

Question 33

Types of Upper Paleolithic art include all of the following except?

A) engravings
B) cave paintings
C) sculptured figurines
D) fired ceramics
E) rock art

Question 34

Lascaux and Altamira

A) are well known Neandertal sites
B) are 20,000 year-old campsites
C) contain evidence of butchered mammoths
D) are famous for their numerous cave bear skulls
E) are famous for their elaborate cave paintings

Question 35

According to the text, Blombos Cave is significant for accomplishments in art and technology that compare to similarly dated accomplishments in

A) Europe
B) North America
C) South America
D) Russia
E) Australia

Question 36

The Upper Paleolithic culture period began in Western Europe about ________ years ago.

A) 40,000
B) 10,000
C) 5,000
D) 70,000
E) 100,000

Question 37

The partial replacement models have been bolstered by the sequencing of Neandertal genome.

Question 38

_______ is a site in southern France dated to 28,000 years ago. Fossil material from this site became the archetype for Upper Paleolithic Europeans.

A) Skhūl
B) La Chapelle-aux-Saints
C) Cro-Magnon
D) Qafzeh
E) Zhoukoudian

Question 39

A newly published controversial date for the Lake Mungo remains indicates they may be as old as ________ years.

A) 30,000
B) 400,000
C) 10,000
D) 600,000
E) 150,000, or the earliest specimens from Africa

Question 40

Archaeological sites in Australia have been dated to __________ years ago.

A) 25,000
B) 30,000
C) 75,000
D) 55,000
E) 100,000

Question 41

Review the evidence relative to the human occupation of Australia.

Question 42

Discuss the two main hypotheses that have been used to explain the origin and dispersal of modern humans.

Question 43

Lagar Velho is an important Upper Paleolithic site located in the Near East.

Question 44

Genetic evidence indicates that all native Australians are descendants of a single migration 50 kya.

Question 45

By 165,000 ya individuals were using fire at Blombos Cave, as evidenced by microliths that show evidence that the stone had been carefully heated.

Question 46

What does the discovery of Homo floresiensis tell us about the adaptive potential of humans?

Question 47

Summarize the main points of the various Replacement Models.

Question 48

The morphology of the child's skeleton from Abrigo do Lagar Velho in Portugal has been cited as support for the regional continuity model for understanding modern human origins.

Question 49

Why do most paleoanthropologists agree that several fossil forms, dating back to 100,000 ya, should be included in as fully modern humans?

Question 50

Summarize the importance of the discovery of the child's skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho relative to the debate on modern human origins.

Question 51

The bow and arrow seems to have first appeared during the Magdalenian.

Question 52

It is hypothesized that some population of inhabitants from Indonesia was the first group to colonize Australia.

Question 53

Bone tools, beads, and decorated ocher fragments were found at Blombos Cave as old as 73,000 years old.

Question 54

Describe the remains found in African sites that indicate accomplishments in Upper Paleolithic art and technology.

Question 55

Why are the Upper Paleolithic cave paintings significant to the understanding of the Upper Paleolithic?

Question 56

Define the problematic nature of the genetic evidence regarding the origins of modern Homo sapiens.

Question 57

There is evidence of chronological overlap in occupation of the Near East by Neandertals and modern humans.

Question 58

As a group, the specimens from Skhūl all have modern human features and none show any hints of premodern features.

Question 59

Recent analyses have shown that the mtDNA from fossil modern human skeletons is somewhat limited because mtDNA is a fairly small segment of DAN, and is transmitted between generations as a single unit.

Question 60

The Upper Paleolithic was a period during which there were rapid shifts in climatic conditions.

Question 61

Discuss the evidence that suggests modest interbreeding took place between Neandertals and modern humans.

Question 62

What were the environmental and climatic conditions from 40,000 ya to 10,000 ya in Eurasia? How did these factors influence the technological and cultural innovations of Upper Paleolithic humans?

Question 63

Discuss the Upper Paleolithic cultural period, including innovations in technology, art and burials.