Deck 17: Human Evolution: a New Kind of Ape

Question 1

What is true of fear in humans?

A) Humans may have certain innate fears.
B) Humans are capable of learning fear.
C) Fear has an adaptive advantage to help humans freeze, flee, or retaliate.
D) b and c
E) a, b, and c

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following statements is accurate?

A) Apes and hominins are more closely related to New World monkeys than to Old World monkeys.
B) Apes and hominins are equally related to New and Old World monkeys.
C) Apes and hominins are more closely related to Old World monkeys than to New World monkeys.
D) Apes descended from Old World monkeys.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

You are studying how tools have evolved through cultural evolution. You find several instances where groups with very different technologies meet and there is a transfer of technology from one group to the other. This is analogous to what process in biological evolution?

A) genetic drift
B) natural selection
C) Mendelian inheritance
D) horizontal gene transfer

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is/are true regarding DNA in fossils?

A) It is impossible to extract DNA from fossils.
B) Scientists have hominin DNA from one million years ago.
C) Although DNA degrades over time, scientists have been able to extract DNA from some australopithecine remains.
D) b and c
E) none of the above

Question 5

Bottleneck and founder effects are situations that make what condition more likely to affect allele frequencies in a population?

A) nonrandom mating
B) natural selection
C) genetic drift
D) mutation

Question 6

What evidence suggests that early hominins used tools to gather meat?

A) blood stains on tools
B) cut marks on the fossil bones of large mammals
C) There is no evidence than non-Homo hominins used tools to gather meat.
D) a and b

Question 7

Humans often form long-term bonds, having sex exclusively with their partners. What type of mating system is this?

A) sexual monogamy
B) polyandry
C) social monogamy
D) promiscuity

Question 8

Which group did the genus Homo evolve from?

A) Sahelanthropus
B) Orrorin
C) Australopithecines
D) Ardipithecus

Question 9

When does figurative art, such as cave paintings and sculpture, begin to appear in the fossil record?

A) approximately 75,000 years ago
B) approximately 60,000 years ago
C) approximately 40,000 years ago
D) approximately 35,000 years ago

Question 10

For the most part, early human populations

A) remained isolated.
B) expanded into new regions.
C) made frequent contact with other human populations.
D) remained genetically similar to other human populations.

Question 11

What traits of Homo erectus are inferred adaptations for running?

A) long legs
B) enlarged gluteus maximus
C) a strong arch in the foot
D) b and c
E) a, b, and c

Question 12

How are our brains adapted for language?

A) There is an innate ability to learn language.
B) Brains are able to hear speech separate from non-speech sounds.
C) The cerebral cortex takes up 90% of our brain, allowing for sophisticated thinking like language.
D) all of the above

Question 13

What feature did Ardipithecus ramidus possess that were similar to extant humans?

A) opposable toes
B) flexible feet
C) short fingers
D) all of the above

Question 14

How did Neanderthal anatomy differ from Homo sapiens?

A) wider shoulders and hips
B) stockier build
C) some had larger brains
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 15

What have studies on the evolution of the hominin brain revealed?

A) Expansion of the arcuate fasciculus may have created links in the brain that make language possible.
B) Enlargement of the putamen and cerebellum may have increased the precision of the larynx.
C) Full-blown language may be unique to modern humans.
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 16

Which statement below is accurate regarding hominins that first left Africa at least 1.8 million years ago?

A) They colonized much of the globe including the Americas.
B) They were the ancestors of modern-day humans.
C) They all belong to the genus Australopithecus.
D) none of the above

Question 17

Which of the following neurotransmitters is associated with motivation?

A) dopamine
B) acetylcholine
C) epinephrine
D) nitric oxide

Question 18

The shift in diet to animal meat with increased tool use likely caused what anatomical change in Homo erectus?

A) increasingly flared rib cage
B) smaller digestive system
C) increased brain size
D) a and b
E) b and c

Question 19

What traits of hominin teeth were associated with the shift from eating primarily fruits and leaves to eating seeds and nuts?

A) smaller incisors and canines
B) larger molars
C) thicker enamel
D) all of the above

Question 20

Which of the following is not a trait that the Australopithecines share with chimpanzees?

A) brain volume of 400 cc
B) weight between 25 and 50 kg
C) double curved spine
D) curved fingers and toes

Question 21

Our earliest evidence suggests that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa; how long did our own species stay in Africa before spreading outside the continent?

A) almost 500,000 years
B) almost 300,000 years
C) almost 200,000 years
D) almost 100,000 years

Question 22

Fossil LD 350-1 consists only of the left side of the lower jaw. What can we infer from such sparse clues?

A) LD 350-1 was Homo erectus because of the smaller sized jaw.
B) LD 350-1 was from the genus Homo because of the smaller sized teeth.
C) LD 350-1 is from 2.8 mya and the oldest fossil from the Homo clade.
D) a and c
E) b and c

Question 23

Which of the following is not a type of Oldowan technology?

A) hammer stone
B) flake scraper
C) hand axe
D) bifacial chopper

Question 24

What is the age of the oldest hominin tools found so far?

A) 1.7 million years ago
B) 3.3 million years ago
C) 0.3 million years ago
D) 0.2 million years ago

Question 25

What types of dental force are needed to eat seeds and nuts?

A) crushing and grinding
B) shearing and cutting
C) gripping and tearing
D) all of the above

Question 26

What evidence exists for sophisticated hunting in Homo heidelbergensis?

A) butchered bones of wild horses
B) rhinoceroses and other large mammals found at the bottom of cliffs
C) tool exchange among cultures
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 27

How might brain shape reveal clues about hominin history?

A) The globe-shaped brain of modern humans may result from enlargement of parts that are involved in speech.
B) The elongated brains of Neanderthals may reveal that their language capacity was less developed than that of modern humans.
C) Only brain size can give scientists clues about cognitive ability.
D) a and b
E) none of the above

Question 28

What was unusual about the discovery of Homo naledi?

A) It may have evolved around the same time as H. sapiens.
B) It had primitive hominin traits.
C) It had a brain the size of H. sapiens.
D) a and b
E) a and c

Question 29

According to the current fossil record, Acheulean technology

A) was restricted to the genus Homo.
B) was found in the genera Homo and Australopithecus.
C) was more ancient than Oldowan tools.
D) was shared by all hominins.

Question 30

If Homo floresiensis evolved from H. habilis, what implication does this have for human evolution?

A) Homo expanded out of Africa once.
B) Homo expanded out of Africa twice.
C) Homo habilis originated in Asia.
D) Homo erectus originated in Asia.

Question 31

Neanderthals and Denisovans split approximately

A) 530,000 years ago.
B) 430,000 years ago.
C) 400,00 years ago.
D) 200,00 years ago.

Question 32

Some controversial evidence of hominin tools in China suggests that hominins may have left Africa as early as

A) 60,000 years ago.
B) 1 million years ago.
C) 2.1 million years ago.
D) 500,000 years ago.

Question 33

Primates form a ________ clade; great apes, deeply nested within the primate order, form a ________ clade.

A) monophyletic; polyphyletic
B) monophyletic; monophyletic
C) polyphyletic; paraphyletic
D) polyphyletic; monophyletic

Question 34

What feature do humans and other primates share that caused Linnaeus and other early taxonomists to group them together?

A) opposable toes
B) forward-facing eyes
C) a tail
D) hair

Question 35

Where are the oldest hominin fossils found?

A) Africa
B) Asia
C) Europe
D) the Americas

Question 36

Which is most likely true regarding the presence of the lactase (LCT) allele in European populations?

A) The LCT allele, which evolved in the European population, increased in frequency after the advent of agriculture.
B) The LCT allele was brought to European populations by Russian steppe nomads.
C) Early European farmers did not carry the LCT allele.
D) a and c
E) b and c

Question 37

What species of Homo was recently discovered in a South African cave?

A) H. habilis
B) H. erectus
C) H. floresiensis
D) H. naledi

Question 38

How are scientists investigating the evolution of language?

A) by studying behavior in nonhuman relatives
B) by studying the genetics of language
C) by studying the evolution of the brain
D) all of the above

Question 39

The end of the Miocene brought what to Africa?

A) drop in temperature
B) reduced rainfall
C) increased food supply
D) a and b
E) a and c

Question 40

How do the brains of Homo naledi and H. floresiensis complicate explanations of hominin brain evolution?

A) They are larger than other hominin brains, which makes them outliers the general trend.
B) They have an unusually large forebrain.
C) They are significantly smaller than other hominins of their time.
D) They do not complicate hominin brain evolution; they fall in line.

Question 41

How could upright walking have helped early hominins stay cool?

A) increased convective heat loss
B) cutaneous evaporative cooling
C) minimized skin exposure to the sun
D) b and c
E) a, b, and c

Question 42

What Homo erectus characteristic is more like that of Australopithecines than like modern humans?

A) similar height
B) narrow hips
C) brow ridges
D) long, slender legs

Question 43

What does language allow for in humans that is difficult for other populations?

A) making complex plans together
B) gaining a deep understanding of the inner lives of other humans
C) teaching each other new concepts and technologies
D) all of the above

Question 44

Which organisms are known to use tools?

A) only hominins
B) only Homo
C) organisms other than hominins, including chimpanzees
D) organisms other than hominins, including chimpanzees and corvids

Question 45

How might corrective lenses have affected human evolution?

A) Modern humans with faulty vision have decreased survivorship.
B) Modern humans with faulty vision have decreased reproductive success.
C) Modern humans with faulty vision can increase fitness by wearing corrective lenses.
D) none of the above

Question 46

Does the fact that humans are more capable than most organisms of altering their environment relax selection pressure on some traits? Please explain using an example.

Question 47

________ are typically ________, but with increased expression of the vasopressin gene, begin to act like ________ voles.

A) Prairie voles; monogamous; polygynous
B) Meadow voles; polyandrous; monogamous
C) Prairie voles; polygynous; monogamous
D) Meadow voles; polygynous; monogamous

Question 48

Which hypothesis about the selective forces influencing brain size has the strongest supporting evidence?

A) Brain size increased as humans became more social and cultured.
B) Brain size increased as making tools and using them to process food increased.
C) Brain size has mostly experienced stasis as opposing selective forces result in stabilizing selection.
D) a and b

Question 49

Human populations native to the Americas have much lower genetic diversity than human populations in Africa. This fact is best explained by

A) natural selection.
B) genetic drift resulting from the founder effect.
C) a reduced mutation rate.
D) larger population size.

Question 50

Based on the pattern of colonization of different areas of the world, which region is expected to have the lowest genetic diversity?

A) Middle East
B) Africa
C) Europe
D) the Americas

Question 51

The coccyx bone of humans and the true tail of most primates are examples of

A) a Homologous character.
B) a vestigial character.
C) convergent evolution.
D) all of the above

Question 52

Hominins include

A) all of the great apes.
B) humans and all extinct species branching from the human lineage after the split from the last common ancestor with chimpanzees.
C) humans and chimpanzees.
D) species belonging to the genus Homo.

Question 53

Which of the following is not a feature that suggests bipedalism?

A) foramen magnum of the skull oriented vertically
B) femur with a ball at its top
C) spine with a double curve
D) long curved toes and fingers

Question 54

With which species were Levallois tools first found?

A) Homo heidelbergensis
B) Homo sapiens
C) Homo erectus
D) Neanderthals

Question 55

How can paleoanthropologists determine whether a specimen is a new species of hominin or whether it is an individual of an already known hominin species?

A) Study the extent of variation within the known species.
B) Evaluate Homoplasic traits among known taxa.
C) Evaluate analogous traits among known taxa.
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c

Question 56

Abstract modifications to objects outside of functional use, such as on shells found with Homo erectus in Indonesia, may date back to

A) 1 million years ago.
B) 500,000 years ago.
C) 2 million years ago.
D) 900,000 years ago.

Question 57

How recent is Homo naledi thought to have lived?

A) 300,000 years ago
B) 236,000 years ago
C) 200,00 years ago
D) 47,000 years ago

Question 58

What is a hominin?

A) an order of primates
B) a family of greater apes
C) a family of human-like apes
D) a clade of humans and human-like apes

Question 59

Why might natural selection have favored hands with fingers capable of precise movements in Homo erectus?

A) Fine motor control would facilitate tool use.
B) Precise movements would facilitate movement among tree branches.
C) Increased tool use would allow hominins to access more food.
D) a and c
E) a, b, and c

Question 60

You are interested in the historical pattern of colonization of a hypothetical primate species that evolved in South Asia and then spread to other parts of Asia, then to Europe, the Middle East, and finally to Africa. You hypothesize that a small number of individuals initially left SouthAsia, but you are unsure whether (1) this population rapidly and continuously expanded, spreading to the other regions of the world, or whether (2) colonization of each new region involved small groups of individuals breaking off and migrating to new locations. How could you use data on population genetic diversity to test these hypotheses?

Question 61

Please describe two hypotheses that scientists have offered to explain the origin of Homo floresiensis.

Question 62

Researchers studying human genomes have found that two African Bushmen living within walking distance of one another have more genetic diversity than a European and an Asian who live thousands of miles apart. Explain this observation.

Question 63

Discuss the origins of the genus Homo. What evidence do researchers have to support these origins?

Question 64

Compare Oldowan and Acheulean technology and describe how each may have contributed to the evolution of humans.

Question 65

What lines of evidence have scientists been able to use to study brain evolution over the past four million years?

Question 66

Describe the classification of humans, including a description of the order, family, genus, species, and the hominin clade.

Question 67

Describe two hypotheses that scientists are exploring about the selective pressures that may have given rise to bipedality in the human lineage.

Question 68

What lines of evidence refute Leakey's hypothesis that the evolution of the genus Homo was linked to the origin of tool use?

Question 69

Compare the hunting capability of Homo heidelbergensis, Homo sapiens, and Neanderthals.

Question 70

Adaptive evolution typically proceeds through the modification of existing traits. How does the evolution of language-processing centers in the human brain support this idea?