Deck 13: The Early Hominins

Question 1

C.K.Brain explains the South African fossils as being:

A)tools
B)the result of leopard predation
C)the result of predation by Australopithecus
D)none of the above

Answer 1

the result of leopard predation

Question 2

The Taung baby is assigned to the species:

A)Australopithecus afarensis
B)Australopithecus africanus
C)Australopithecus anamensis
D)Paranthropus robustus

Answer 2

Australopithecus africanus

Question 3

The hominin material from Bed I and Lower Bed II of Olduvai Gorge belong to the species:

A)P.boisei
B)A.africanus
C)P.robustus
D)A.afarensis

Answer 3

P.boisei

Question 4

Today,paleoanthropologists have determined that A.africanus is not a hominin,because it:

A)does not have an enlarged brain case,like the Piltdown skull
B)is quadrupedal
C)possessed a sagittal crest
D)none of the above;A.africanus is indeed a hominin

Question 5

The Taung baby was found in:

A)South Africa
B)East Africa
C)Southeast Asia
D)Western Europe

Question 6

The three species of early hominins known from South Africa are:

A)A.africanus ,A.afarensis,and A.sediba
B)A.africanus,P.robustus,and A.sediba
C)A.africanus,P.boisei,and P.robustus
D)A.afarensis,and P.robustus.A.garhi

Question 7

The South African sites where Australopithecus is found were once:

A)limestone caves
B)desert wastelands
C)saltwater lakes
D)lush forests

Question 8

"Paranthropus" means:

A)southern ape
B)African
C)parallel to man
D)robust skull

Question 9

The australopithecine fossils from the Koobi Fora Formation of East Lake Turkana date from:

A)4.9 to 5.1 million B.P.
B)3.3 to 1.4 million B.P.
C)0.9 to 1.1 million B.P.
D)600,000 to 400,000 B.P.

Question 10

The first member of the genus Australopithecus to be discovered was found by:

A)Raymond Dart
B)Robert Broom
C)L.S.B.Leakey
D)Donald Johanson

Question 11

Raymond Dart decided that the Taung child was a hominin based on:

A)the forward position of the foramen magnum
B)the large cranial capacity
C)the lack of body hair
D)all of the above

Question 12

The hominins include:

A)Australopithecus
B)Paranthropus
C)Homo
D)all of the above

Question 13

"Australopithecus" means:

A)"Australian skull"
B)"southern skull"
C)"southern ape"
D)"african ape"
E)"Taung baby"

Question 14

The tribe Hominini includes:

A)Aegyptopithecus
B)Australopithecus
C)Afropithecus
D)Amphipithecus
E)all of the above

Question 15

The site of Sterkfontein has yielded finds of:

A)Australopithecus africanus
B)Paranthropus robustus
C)early Homo
D)all of the above

Question 16

The hominin sites of Olduvai Gorge are located at what were once:

A)tropical forests
B)savanna grasslands
C)lake margins or stream beds
D)swamp lands

Question 17

Olduvai Gorge has been excavated beginning in the 1930s by:

A)Louis and Mary Leakey
B)Donald Johanson
C)Raymond Dart and Robert Broom
D)Richard Leakey and Alan Walker

Question 18

Austalopithecus sediba is characterized by:

A)features of both the genus Homo and other austropithecines
B)a cranial capacity of about (for MH1)420 cubic centimeters
C)hands that show some degree of arboreal adaptation
D)all of the above

Question 19

Olduvai Gorge is located in:

A)southern Africa
B)northern Africa
C)western Africa
D)eastern Africa

Question 20

The Paranthropus finds at Olduvai Gorge date to around:

A)4.40 million years ago
B)2.75 million years ago
C)1.75 million years ago
D)1 million years ago

Question 21

The person associated with finds of both Kenyanthropus platyops and Australopithecus anamensis is:

A)Louis Leakey
B)Raymond Dart
C)Meave Leakey
D)Donald Johanson

Question 22

WT 17000 from West Lake Turkana has been dated at:

A)5.1 million B.P.
B)3.5 million B.P.
C)2.5 million B.P.
D)900,000 B.P.

Question 23

A tuff is a(n):

A)find that was hard to make
B)area lacking of sedimentary deposits
C)dry river bed
D)layer of volcanic material

Question 24

The site of Hadar is located in:

A)Ethiopia
B)Kenya
C)Tanzania
D)Zambia

Question 25

The australopithecine fossils from Kanapoi have been dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method to around:

A)5.10 million B.P.
B)4.15 million B.P.
C)3.77 million B.P.
D)3.15 million B.P.

Question 26

One of the oldest australopithecine sites,Laetoli,has yielded many hominin fossils as well as tracks of hominin footprints.This site dates from:

A)4.3 million B.P.
B)3.6 million B.P.
C)3.3 million B.P.
D)2.8 million B.P.

Question 27

According to the consensus among paleoanthropologists,"Lucy" is:

A)a female australopithecine
B)the first fossil australopithecine to be discovered where the cranium and postcranial remains are known to be from the same individual
C)a representative of the species Australopithecus afarensis
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 28

Kenyanthropus platyops is named after its most distinctive feature which is:

A)the appearance of a flat face
B)an enlarged brain case
C)the lack of bipedalism
D)reduced size of the canine teeth

Question 29

In 1984,a fossil cranium and partial mandible,WT 17000 or the "Black Skull," were found at West Lake Turkana.Some paleoanthropologists suggest that this fossil be placed in a new species named:

A)Australopithecus habilis
B)Australopithecus capensis
C)Paranthropus aethiopicus
D)Homo africanus

Question 30

The footprints of Australopithecus,found at Laetoli,indicate that the australopithecines:

A)were imperfect bipeds who walked on the sides of their feet
B)walked somewhat like modern gorillas
C)were basically quadrupedal,but occasionally rose to a two-legged posture
D)walked in a striding bipedal mode like modern humans

Question 31

Although there might be more than one species present at Hadar,the current consensus is that only one species is present,and that species is:

A)A.africanus
B)P.boisei
C)P.robustus
D)A.afarensis

Question 32

"Lucy" was found at:

A)Hadar
B)Omo
C)Laetoli
D)Taung

Question 33

The leader of the expedition which found the fossil "Lucy" was:

A)L.S.B.Leakey
B)Richard Leakey
C)Donald Johanson
D)Raymond Dart

Question 34

Kenyanthropus platyops was contemporary with:

A)Orrorin tugenensis
B)Australopithecus afarensis
C)Paranthropus robustus
D)early members of the genus Homo

Question 35

Recent finds in northern Chad have been assigned to the species:

A)Australopithecus africanus
B)Australopithecus bahrelghazalia
C)Paranthropus aethiopicus
D)Paranthropus chadensis

Question 36

Australopithecus gahri was found in ________ and is dated to ___________.

A)Ethiopia,2.5 million B.P.
B)Kenya,6.5 million B.P.
C)Chad,3.5 million B.P.
D)Tanzania,1.5 million B.P.

Question 37

Fossils belonging to the species Australopithecus anamensis were discovered at:

A)Koobi Fora,Kenya
B)Kanapoi,Kenya
C)Lomekwi,Kenya
D)Laetoli,Tanzania

Question 38

Finds of Paranthopus boisei range from:

A)4.5 to 3.8 million years ago
B)3.6 to 2.5 million years ago
C)2.3 to 1.4 million years ago
D)1.8 million to 600,000 years ago

Question 39

The 1994 find from Hadar,AL444-2:

A)is about 3 million years old
B)represents the largest known australopithecine cranium
C)is 200,000 years younger than Lucy
D)all of the above

Question 40

The australopithecine foorprints at Laetoli were formed when australopithecines:

A)walked on cooling lava flows
B)walked on wet volcanic ash
C)escaped from a tar pit
D)wore shoes

Question 41

The most apparent difference between modern humans and A.africanus is that the latter would:

A)lack upright posture
B)be smaller and lighter in weight
C)lack the free use of the hands
D)lack any tools

Question 42

Postcranially,A.afarensis is characterized by:

A)a bowl-shaped pelvis
B)a lumbar curve in the spine
C)an arched foot
D)all of the above

Question 43

Based upon the curving of the A.afarensis finger and toe bones,some paleoanthropologists believe that this species was adapted to:

A)knuckle walking
B)high-speed quadrupedal running
C)arboreal suspensory locomotion
D)essentially modern bipedal locomotion

Question 44

The adaptive advantage of erect bipedalism is that it:

A)raises the eyes high off the ground
B)frees the hands
C)is efficient for covering large distances
D)all of the above

Question 45

The dentition of A.afarensis shows many nonhominin features including:

A)a small diastema between the upper canine and premolar
B)a parabolic dental arcade
C)a nonprojecting canine
D)all of the above

Question 46

C.K.Brain suggests that some evidence for bone tools may actually be evidence of:

A)carnivore activity
B)osteodontekeratic culture
C)subsistent implements
D)all of the above

Question 47

The evidence for bipedal locomotion in early hominins includes:

A)the postcranial skeleton
B)brain anatomy
C)fossilized footprints
D)all of the above
E)a and c

Question 48

A hand with relatively short,straight fingers and a relatively long thumb might belong to:

A)a chimpanzee
B)Australopithecus afarensis
C)Homo sapiens
D)all of the above

Question 49

The fact that the brain of a human infant is less than 30 percent of its adult size is a consequence of:

A)the evolution of erect bipedalism
B)a reduction in the length of gestation
C)the development of language
D)the development of pair bonding

Question 50

The first concrete evidence of the manufacture of stone tools dates to about:

A)3.6 million B.P.
B)2.6 million B.P.
C)1.8 million B.P.
D)1.2 million B.P.

Question 51

The Australopithecus bahrelghazalia find is associated with other animal fossils that have been dated to between:

A)6.0 to 5.5 million B.P.
B)4.5 to 4.0 million B.P.
C)3.5 and 3.0 million B.P.
D)2.0 and 1.5 million B.P.

Question 52

The first concrete evidence of the manufacture of stone tools comes from a site near the Gona River of:

A)Ethiopia
B)Tanzania
C)South Africa
D)Morocco

Question 53

The postcranial bones of A.anamensis suggest that the earliest known hominins were:

A)knuckle walkers
B)brachiators
C)erect bipeds
D)quadrupeds

Question 54

The dentition of Australopithecus is:

A)like modern human dentition
B)like modern chimpanzee dentition
C)intermediate between chimpanzee and human dentition
D)none of the above

Question 55

Raymond Dart believed that the presence of many broken bones at Makapansgat represented:

A)deliberately manufactured bone tools
B)an osteodontekeratic culture
C)the result of carnivore activity
D)a and b
E)all of the above

Question 56

One function of bipedalism is that it:

A)makes the animal a faster runner
B)lowers body temperature in warm climates
C)makes the animal stronger
D)makes it easy to jump greater distances

Question 57

Which of the following species is the oldest in the fossil record?

A)Australopithecus africanus
B)Australopithecus afarensis
C)Paranthropus aethiopicus
D)Paranthropus boisei

Question 58

The postcranial bones of A.afarensis suggest:

A)a transition to erect bipedalism
B)knuckle-walking
C)a lack of arboreal locomotion
D)all of the above

Question 59

The skeleton of the human hand differs from that of the chimpanzee hand in that the human hand is characterized by:

A)tactile pads and nails
B)an opposable thumb
C)three more muscles in the thumb
D)all of the above

Question 60

The term osteodontokeratic culture refers to the use of:

A)stone tools
B)wood tools
C)bone,tooth,and horn tools
D)all of the above

Question 61

A.africanus is characterized by a:

A)temporal-nuchal crest
B)relatively high forehead
C)marked postorbital constriction
D)all of the above

Question 62

Matching Questions
match each site with what was found there:

-Laetoli

A)Paranthropus boisei
B)Australopithecus footprints
C)Australopithecus skeleton
D)first Australopithecus to be discovered
E)oldest known Australopithecus

Question 63

Early hominins may have lived in:

A)savannas
B)wooded grasslands
C)swamps
D)all of the above

Question 64

Many of the characteristics that define Paranthropus are related to adaptations for:

A)heavy chewing and grinding
B)biting and tearing with the front teeth
C)meat eating
D)b and c

Question 65

An environmental factor that may be linked with the emergence of Paranthropus and Homo is:

A)a rise in global temperatures
B)a major cooling event
C)a tectonic shift in the African continent
D)none of the above

Question 66

Matching Questions
match each site with what was found there:

-Olduvai Gorge

A)Paranthropus boisei
B)Australopithecus footprints
C)Australopithecus skeleton
D)first Australopithecus to be discovered
E)oldest known Australopithecus

Question 67

Traits associated with heavy chewing include:

A)large and flared zygomatic arches
B)a sagittal crest
C)a large and deep mandible
D)all of the above

Question 68

The existence of very few foramina in P.robustus suggests they may have:

A)been carnivores
B)lived in wooded areas
C)been capable of speech
D)all of the above

Question 69

Which of the following cranial capacities falls within the range found in the genus Australopithecus:

A)300 cubic centimeters
B)500 cubic centimeters
C)900 cubic centimeters
D)1200 cubic centimeters

Question 70

The term foramina refers to:

A)the hole through which the spinal cord enters the skull
B)the long bone of the thigh
C)the small holes in the skull through which blood vessels pass
D)the thickening of bone at the top of the skull

Question 71

The existence of many foramina helps:

A)keep the brain cool
B)facilitate higher-level thought processes
C)with sudden bursts of speed
D)increase visual acuity

Question 72

Specific anatomical adaptations for a tough,fibrous diet include:

A)thickened tooth enamel
B)large molars and premolars
C)flared zygomatic arches
D)all of the above

Question 73

The genus Paranthropus is characterized by:

A)cranial capacities as high as 875 cubic centimeters
B)relatively large molars
C)well-developed chin
D)very small jaw compared to face

Question 74

An analysis of the dentition of the Taung baby suggests:

A)the Taung baby is not a hominin after all
B)Australopithecus gave rise to modern chimpanzees
C)the Taung baby represents a population far removed from the hominin line
D)prolongation of childhood,characteristic of modern humans,was not fully developed in Australopithecus

Question 75

The facial skeleton of Australopithecus is characterized by:

A)a lack of prognathism
B)prognathism
C)a concave profile
D)a and c
E)b and c

Question 76

Matching Questions
match each site with what was found there:

-Hadar

A)Paranthropus boisei
B)Australopithecus footprints
C)Australopithecus skeleton
D)first Australopithecus to be discovered
E)oldest known Australopithecus

Question 77

Matching Questions
match each site with what was found there:

-Taung

A)Paranthropus boisei
B)Australopithecus footprints
C)Australopithecus skeleton
D)first Australopithecus to be discovered
E)oldest known Australopithecus

Question 78

When a form has large jaw muscles,you might also find:

A)small teeth
B)a reduced number of teeth
C)the development of a sagittal crest
D)all of the above

Question 79

A.afarensis may be transitional between the Miocene hominoids and later australopithecines.It shows primitive characteristics including:

A)a small diastema in one location
B)a projecting canine
C)a semisectorial lower molar
D)all of the above

Question 80

The genus Australopithecus is characterized by:

A)marked postorbital constriction
B)thick postcranial bones
C)large incisors relative to the other teeth
D)thick cranial bones