Deck 11: The Origins and Evolution of Early Homo

Question 1

Eugène Dubois was one of the first researchers in the nineteenth century who used the scientific method to test the hypothesis of early human ancestors in Asia with:

A)fossil evidence.
B)comparative anatomy.
C)genetics.
D)archaeological remains.

Answer 1

fossil evidence.

Question 2

What was the original name for Homo erectus?

A)Australopithecus
B)Pithecanthropus
C)Paranthropus
D)Homo rudolfensis

Answer 2

Pithecanthropus

Question 3

Which of the following shows the first evidence of modern human traits,including increasing brain size and dependence on material culture?

A)Homo erectus
B)Homo sapiens
C)Homo neanderthalensis
D)Homo habilis

Answer 3

Homo habilis

Question 4

Some Homo erectus specimens were large and had robust bones while others were:

A)small with robust bones.
B)tall with robust bones.
C)gracile.
D)small with thin bones.

Question 5

Homo rudolfensis is so morphologically similar to ________ that they may be regarded as the same species.

A)Homo erectus
B)Homo sapiens
C)Homo habilis
D)Australopithecus robustus

Question 6

Which two fossil species lived at the same time around 2.5-1 mya?

A)Australopithecus and Homo sapiens
B)Homo erectus and Pithecanthropus
C)Homo habilis and Homo erectus
D)Pithecathropus and Homo rudolfensis

Question 7

What do the marks found by anthropologist Tim White on the Bodo cranium indicate?

A)the earliest example of carnivore toothmarks on a hominin fossil
B)a pathology associated with poor diet,which may have contributed to this individual's death
C)the fabrication of the fossil as a hoax,demonstrating that science is ultimately self- correcting
D)the removal of flesh from the skull by tool-using hominids,either as a ritual or as some form of cannibalism

Question 8

Homo naledi,recently discovered in South Africa,has a sagittal keel,large browridge,thick cranial bones,and reduced tooth size.The brain size is small,close to 500cc. Where might this new species fit in the larger pattern of human evolution in Africa?

A)H.naledi seems most likely a member of the genus Homo;however,its small brain size is regarded as a primitive hominin trait more reminiscent of the australopithecines.
B)H.naledi sits comfortably at the juncture of Australopithecus and early Homo,since all of its traits seem intermediate between the two.
C)H.naledi has several traits that do not fit with the genus Homo,including its large browridge and thick cranial bones;however,it must be Homo because it is securely dated to 1 mya.
D)H.naledi demonstrates the exact mix of traits expected for a new Homo fossil of this time period and this region.

Question 9

Australopithecines and Homo habilis were similar to each other in what way?

A)overall body plan and body size
B)brain size
C)tooth size
D)size and robsuticity of the face

Question 10

Which of the following was a trait of Homo habilis?

A)long,modern legs
B)short legs
C)a striding gait
D)quadrupedalism

Question 11

Stone tools are more commonly found on archaeological sites thought to be associated with:

A)Australopithecus africanus.
B)Paranthropus.
C)Australopithecus afarensis.
D)Homo habilis.

Question 12

What do modern anatomical features of the Nariokotome Boy include?

A)relatively short arms and long legs
B)brain size within the modern human variation
C)relatively long arms and short legs
D)large nose with an improved sense of smell

Question 13

What do the habitats of southern and eastern African sites dating to 2.5 mya indicate?

A)the spread of C3 plants
B)reduction both in habitat types and in dietary diversity
C)more frequent use of tools for the digging and processing of roots and tubers
D)the decreasing variation in Homo's diet

Question 14

What features show that Homo erectus walked just like a modern human?

A)long legs and opposable toes
B)double arches of the feet and an adducted big toe
C)long arms
D)a foramen magnum at the base of the skull

Question 15

The earliest members of the genus Homo have been found to date from:

A)0.5 mya-present.
B)2.5-1.0 mya.
C)4.0-3.0 mya.
D)more than 4.0 mya.

Question 16

What are the most important adaptive changes that Homo habilis experienced?

A)changes in locomotion indicated by shorter legs
B)brain enlargement and masticatory changes,likely linked to the growing importance of tools
C)big-game hunting allowed by the use of improved weapons
D)the use of marine resources

Question 17

Anatomical evidence from fossilized hand bones suggests that the precision grip needed to make and use stone tools was present:

A)only in Homo erectus.
B)only in Homo habilis.
C)in Homo habilis and some australopithecines.
D)in all australopithecine and Homo species.

Question 18

The earliest fossil evidence for Homo erectus in Western Europe dates from ________ mya and was found in ________.

A)1.6;Sima de los Huesos
B)0.3;France
C)1.6;Dmanisi,Georgia
D)1.2;Sima del Elefante

Question 19

Who discovered Pithecanthropus erectus?

A)Eugène Dubois
B)Time White
C)Behane Asfaw
D)Yohannes Haile-Selassie

Question 20

Which of the following is a conclusion drawn from comparing Homo erectus remains?

A)This species must have evolved and spread very quickly as there is almost no variation from specimen to specimen.
B)As the species spread from Africa,Homo erectus became smaller and smaller over time,so the Asian specimens are the smallest and the African ones are the largest.
C)This taxon exhibits a high degree of variation,with some very gracile features and some very robust features.
D)This species is the most gracile of all of the hominins,less robust than both Australopithecus and modern humans.

Question 21

How did Acheuliean stone tools compare to Oldowan tools?

A)Acheulian stone tools had a narrower range of functions.
B)Acheulian stone tools used fewer raw materials.
C)Acheulian tool kits were characterized by fewer tool types.
D)Acheulian stone tools required more learning and skill to produce.

Question 22

Based on height calculations of Homo erectus fossils,what do physical anthropologists estimate that their average height was?

A)similar to Homo habilis
B)similar to australopithecines
C)tall,with males about five feet nine and females about five feet three
D)tall,with females typically about 15 percent taller than males

Question 23

What was the first hominid to migrate beyond Africa?

A)Australopithecus
B)Homo habilis
C)Homo erectus
D)Homo neanderthalensis

Question 24

What are some modern human traits that the Nariokotome Boy discovered at Lake Turkana (Homo erectus)showed?

A)shorter arms and longer legs compared with those of earlier hominids
B)larger brain but retention of an australopithecine-like body plan
C)longer legs than later hominids
D)a mix of arboreal and bipedal adaptations

Question 25

Homo erectus fossils date to:

A)3-1 mya.
B)2.5 mya-0.5 mya.
C)1.8 mya-300,000 mya.
D)1.2 mya-800,000 mya.

Question 26

What does fossil evidence of cutmarks made with stone tools at early hominid sites suggest?

A)Meat eating started only with the appearance of Homo erectus and stone tools.
B)Big game hunting was the most common way early hominids obtained meat.
C)Meat eating started before Homo erectus but increased with more advanced technology.
D)Violence among hominids was rampant.

Question 27

Who discovered Homo erectus?

A)Louis Leakey
B)Richard Leakey
C)Eugène Dubois
D)Ernst Haeckel

Question 28

The Homo erectus fossil from Sangiran,Java,dates to as old as:

A)800,000 yBP.
B)1.2-1.0 mya.
C)1.8-1.6 mya.
D)2.2-2.0 mya.

Question 29

Which species became increasingly specialized to foods requiring heavy chewing?

A)Homo sapiens
B)Homo habilis
C)Homo erectus
D)Australopithecus

Question 30

Compared to earlier hominids,which of the following did Homo erectus have?

A)a smaller brain
B)larger teeth
C)a bigger sagittal keel
D)a larger brain

Question 31

What do fossils tell us about Homo erectus's cranial capacity?

A)It is always less than 1,000 cc.
B)It is always more than 800 cc.
C)It ranges from 650 cc to 1,200 cc.
D)It ranges from 900 cc to 1,200 cc.

Question 32

What is a central theme of human evolution?

A)increasing adaptive flexibility
B)decreasing cranial capacity
C)decreasing body size
D)more robust jaw

Question 33

What is the likely explanation for the rapid increase in body and brain size among Homo erectus?

A)an influx of genes for increased height
B)greater access to protein and improved nutrition
C)a tendency to reach for fruits higher in the trees,which increased their height over time
D)the evolution of bipedalism

Question 34

Which of the following is true about the Acheulian complex?

A)It emerged around 2.5 mya.
B)It is used to describe simple pebble tools.
C)It emerged around 1.8 mya.
D)It is characteristic of Homo habilis.

Question 35

What do the many stone tools,fragmentary animal bones,and teeth found at Gran Dolina,Spain,indicate about hominids there?

A)They processed and consumed animals including other hominids.
B)They did not differ appreciably from earlier Asian Homo erectus.
C)They were similar to later Homo sapiens.
D)They were australopithecines.

Question 36

The Dmanisi B fossils from the Republic of Georgia are dated to:

A)1.0 mya.
B)800,000 yBP.
C)1.8 mya.
D)2.5 mya.

Question 37

What do African Homo erectus cranial features include?

A)thick cranial bones
B)small browridges
C)a rounded skull
D)a sagittal crest

Question 38

Which of the following is true about Gran Dolina adult hominids?

A)They were able to produce spectacular art,similar to later Homo sapiens.
B)They had a larger cranial capacity than later Homo sapiens.
C)They were more modern than Homo erectus,and like later Homo sapiens,had a wide nasal aperture.
D)They were similar to modern humans but with a narrow,Homo erectus-like nasal aperture.

Question 39

What is likely the cause of the increased body size in Homo erectus,compared to the body size of earlier hominids?

A)stone-tool use that facilitated root and tuber processing
B)increased protein in the diet,perhaps due to more intensive use of stone tools and cooking
C)increased intake of food,facilitated by larger teeth that permitted better food processing
D)warmer climates,which changed the overall shape of the hominin body plan

Question 40

What does Homo erectus skull morphology include?

A)a short base
B)thin bones
C)small browridges
D)thick bones and large browridges

Question 41

What did Rosenberg and Trevathan discover in their study comparing human and nonhuman primate birth?

A)They are remarkably similar despite the large difference in brain size.
B)The infant nonhuman primate's head is oriented in the opposite direction of the human infant's head,the former facing backwards.
C)The infant nonhuman primate's head is oriented sideways in comparison to the human infant's head.
D)Primates have a much lower success rate than humans;nonhuman primate infants often do not survive the birth process.

Question 42

What are the differences between Homo habilis and Homo erectus?

A)Homo habilis shows a reduction in the size of the face relative to the brain case.
B)Homo erectus shows a reduction in the size of the face relative to the brain case.
C)Homo habilis has a more modern body plan than Homo erectus.
D)Homo erectus generally has a smaller brain capacity than Homo habilis.

Question 43

Nonhuman primates have smaller brains,and humans have large brains and advanced technology. How does the birthing process differ?

A)Birth in nonhuman primates is shorter and less painful.
B)Birth in nonhuman primates is more difficult in the absence of modern medical technology.
C)Despite the differences in technologies,birth in humans and nonhuman primates takes about the same amount of time.
D)Medical technology ensures that human births take far less time than nonhuman primate birth.

Question 44

To what are greater body size and facial gracility documented in Homo erectus likely related?

A)changes in technology
B)changes in climate
C)genetic drift
D)sexual selection

Question 45

Homo erectus was likely the first hominid to successfully migrate to regions beyond Africa.Discuss how the biology and culture of Homo erectus led to its success on three major continents with varying environments.

Question 46

Discuss the fossil evidence of Homo habilis and describe the anatomical and behavioral traits of Homo habilis that introduce the evolution of Homo sapiens.

Question 47

Describe Homo erectus's cranial and postcranial anatomical characteristics.How is this species significantly different from earlier hominids,and how did these characteristics increase the success of this species over that of their ancestors?

Question 48

What do all fossils represent?

A)transitions
B)dead-end species
C)an inability to adapt to changing local environments over time
D)a new evolutionary lineage

Question 49

What was an effect of the controlled use of fire by hominids?

A)It decreased the amount of food energy available in the hominid diet.
B)It made the digestion of foods more difficult.
C)It limited the expansion of hominids into certain environments,such as dry grasslands.
D)It contributed to geographical expansion and increased food availability.

Question 50

Contrast the cranial and dental anatomy and adaptation of Australopithecus robustus with African Homo erectus.

Question 51

An argument against the validity of evolutionary theory says that there are too few transitional forms representing the gap between any two living species that supposedly share a common ancestor.How do the human evolutionary record and this criticism relate?

A)The fact that there are few transitional fossils in the human fossil record supports the criticism.
B)Alternative evolutionary theories such as punctuated equilibrium state that we do not expect to see transitional forms in the fossil record.
C)Almost every species in the pre-modern human fossil record can be regarded as a transitional species between a typical African ape and modern humans.
D)This is an open question that requires further research to settle.

Question 52

What does the recent discovery of a ca.700,000 yBP hominin at Mata Menge,Indonesia,tell us?

A)The pattern of hominin evolution is firmly established with little anatomical variation in the Middle Pleistocene.
B)The later Flores fossils must have evolved from the new,large-bodied Mata Menga hominin.
C)The "Island theory" to explain reduction in body size of many island-dwelling mammals is now disproven.
D)In predicting future research on both the early and later end of the evolution of Homo,we should expect the unexpected.