Deck 12: Origin and Evolution of the Genus Homo Tc L1

Question 1

Researchers Bernard Wood and Marc Collard consider early members of the genus Homo to be __________.

A) small-brained examples of Homo erectus.
B) brainier than some members of Homo sapiens
C) from at least three different species
D) large-brained Australopithecines

Answer 1

large-brained Australopithecines

Question 2

H. erectus skulls are __________.

A) thick-boned
B) wider than they are long
C) high foreheaded
D) all of these

Answer 2

thick-boned

Question 3

The KNM-ER 1813 fossil

A) has a larger brain than KNM-ER 1470
B) is considered a specimen of Homo habilis
C) is likely to be the remains of a late Australopithecus
D) is considered a specimen of Homo rudolfensis

Answer 3

is considered a specimen of Homo habilis

Question 4

Homo erectus appeared in Africa about __________ years ago.

A) 180,000
B) 8 million
C) 1.8-1.9 million
D) 18,000

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a way that Homo differs from Australopithecus?

A) only members of the genus Homo use tools
B) hominins in the genus Homo have a larger braincase
C) hominins in the genus Homo have less projecting faces
D) Australopithecines have smaller teeth

Question 6

The earliest stone tools occur in the record starting about __________ million years ago.

A) .5
B) 1.5
C) 2
D) 2.5

Question 7

Early Homo probably carried tools with them rather than constantly discarding and remaking them.

Question 8

Robert Blumenschine and Curtis Marean's study of scavengers indicates that early members of the genus Homo __________.

A) probably hunted because scavenging affords so few calories
B) could easily have survived as scavengers
C) probably relied solely on gathered vegetable matter
D) none of these

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of H. erectus compared to earlier species of hominin?

A) larger body
B) larger head
C) bipedal
D) unique skull shape

Question 10

Which was the first hominin to leave Africa?

A) H. habilis
B) H. rudolfensis
C) A. robustus
D) H. erectus

Question 11

Archaeological sites at which there is evidence that early hominins were obtaining the raw material to make stone tools are referred to as

A) scavenging sites
B) quarrying sites
C) home-base sites
D) gathering sites

Question 12

For what purpose were Oldowan tools most likely used?

A) harvesting crops
B) processing gathered vegetable matter
C) butchery
D) all of these

Question 13

Some paleoanthropologists refer to the earliest H. erectus as H. __________.

A) ergaster
B) rudolfensis
C) neandertalensis
D) paranthropus

Question 14

Compared to the Australopithecines, members of the genus Homo

A) are shorter
B) have more projecting faces
C) have smaller teeth
D) all of these

Question 15

The earliest members of the genus Homo are remarkably different from their Australopithecine ancestors.

Question 16

Early hominin meat-eaters might have obtained their meat by __________.

A) hunting
B) aggressive scavenging
C) passive scavenging
D) all of these

Question 17

The Oldowan tool industry involved removing __________ from __________.

A) cores/ flakes
B) flakes/ hammerstones
C) flakes/ cores
D) flakes/ bones

Question 18

Taxonomic debates about the members of the genus Homo arise from

A) a paucity of fossils
B) differences in species concepts
C) inherent difficulties of taxonomy
D) all of these

Question 19

What is the range of H. erectus brain size?

A) 1,000-1,500cc
B) 700-1,200 cc
C) 900-1,200cc
D) 700-900 cc

Question 20

The H. erectus browridge, or __________, is quite prominent.

A) angular torus
B) sagital keel
C) metopic keel
D) supraorbital torus

Question 21

Homo erectus skulls feature a __________, a thick ridge that runs along the back of the parietal bone.

A) angular torus
B) occipital torus
C) sagital keel
D) metopic keel

Question 22

The skeletal remains of the Nariokotome boy are __________.

A) post-cranial only
B) nearly complete
C) cranial only
D) nearly complete with most of the cranium intact

Question 23

The earliest hominin site outside of Africa is in __________.

A) the Republic of Georgia
B) Indonesia
C) Saudi Arabia
D) Israel

Question 24

A bone is considered platymeric if it is __________.

A) extremely rounded
B) flattened from side to side
C) rounded only at the tips
D) flattened from front to back

Question 25

Homo ergaster is found in __________ ,while Homo erectus is associated with __________.

A) Africa, Asia
B) Asia, Europe
C) America, Africa
D) Indonesia, The Republic of Georgia

Question 26

A bone that is flattened from side to side is referred to as __________.

A) shove-shaped
B) platymeric
C) encephalitic
D) platycnemic

Question 27

The earliest hominins out of Africa date back to about __________ years ago.

A) 700 thousand
B) 1.7 million
C) 17,000
D) 7 million

Question 28

A calvaria is the skullcap of a creature, excluding the bones of the face and the base of the cranium.

Question 29

Research indicates that increase in brain size was faster between H. erectus and archaic H. sapiens that is was between archaic H. sapiens and modern humans.

Question 30

Compared to H. ergaster, H. erectus __________.

A) had thicker cranial bones
B) used more advanced tools
C) had more pronounced browridges
D) had larger brains

Question 31

The Dmanisi fossils prove that __________.

A) Homo erectus moved out of Africa early in its existence
B) Homo erectus took an aquatic route out of Africa
C) Homo ergaster is the same as Homo erectus
D) Homo erectus and Homo habilis should not be members of the same species

Question 32

Where can the sagital keel be found?

A) above the eye orbits
B) along the midline frontal
C) on the back of the parietal
D) none of these

Question 33

The "Nariokotome boy" fossil indicates that H. erectus __________.

A) could grow as tall as modern humans
B) had short lower limbs
C) was thin-boned
D) all of these

Question 34

Finds at Koobi Fora do not include __________.

A) KNM-ER 3733
B) fragmentary remains older than 1.8 million years ago
C) Nariokotome Boy
D) all of these were found at Koobi Fora

Question 35

The very first H. erectus fossil ever found was discovered in Indonesia.

Question 36

Which of the following is true of the Dmanisi finds?

A) they are similar to H. ergaster
B) they are small compared to other H. erectus fossils
C) they are more similar to African forms of H. erectus than to Asian forms of H. erectus
D) all of these

Question 37

So far, the earliest evidence of hominins in Southeast Asia dates to __________.

A) 1.3 million years ago
B) 10 million years ago
C) more that 1.5 million years ago
D) less than a million years ago

Question 38

The oldest African H. erectus fossils were found at __________.

A) Koobi Fora
B) west Turkana
C) the Bouri Formation
D) Olduvai Gorge

Question 39

H. erectus dental anatomy includes __________.

A) a gracile jaw
B) platymetric molars
C) shovel-shaped incisors
D) roots that are less complex than those of modern humans

Question 40

The earliest fossil evidence of H. erectus comes from __________.

A) Indonesia
B) Asia
C) Western Europe
D) Africa

Question 41

Which of the following described the Acheulean hand axe?

A) oblong
B) teardrop-shaped
C) blade-like
D) square

Question 42

The Acheulean tool tradition lasted until 10,000 years ago.

Question 43

The Chinese Homo erectus sites are easily dated due to the frequency of volcanic activity in the region.

Question 44

The latest surviving H. erectus are from __________.

A) Koobi Fora
B) Ethiopia
C) The Republic of Georgia
D) Java

Question 45

Which of the following describes Acheulean tools?

A) flakes removed as blades
B) wooden spear throwing devices
C) bifaced and flaked stone tools
D) composite tools made from bone, wood, and stone

Question 46

The Indonesian H. erectus sites almost always contain tools.

Question 47

One of the most extraordinary aspects of the Acheulean industry is its persistence and uniformity over great spans of time and space.

Question 48

Acheulean tools date back to approximately __________ years ago.

A) 1.8 million
B) 1.6 million
C) 1 million
D) 600,000

Question 49

In Java, Dubois found the calvaria of a __________.

A) Australopithecus africanus
B) Pithecanthropus robustus
C) Homo erectus
D) Homo habilis

Question 50

The earliest H. erectus tools __________.

A) are yet to be discovered
B) are from the Acheulean tool tradition
C) included cleavers and hand axes
D) resembled Oldowan type tools

Question 51

Evidence from Gran Dolina suggest that __________.

A) H. erectus was in Europe well before Asia
B) H. ergaster reached Europe before H. erectus
C) the H. erectus taxon may never have reached Europe
D) the H. erectus in Europe arrived there from Asia or Indonesia

Question 52

The Early Stone Age consists of which tool traditions?

A) Oldowan and Acheulean
B) Acheulean and Chatelperronian
C) blades and Oldowan type tools
D) Chatelperronian and Oldowan

Question 53

A calotte is the skullcap of a creature, excluding the bones of the face and the base of the cranium.

Question 54

The advantages of Acheulean technology include __________.

A) an ability to hold a sharp edge
B) a greater length of the working edge
C) convenient size
D) all of these

Question 55

Due to uninterrupted gene flow, the Chinese Homo erectus are identical to those found in Indonesia.

Question 56

It has been hypothesized that Acheulean tools were used for __________.

A) projectiles
B) butchering
C) sharpening wooden spears
D) all of these

Question 57

The fossils at Gran Dolina have been dated to nearly __________ years ago.

A) 8 million
B) 800
C) 800,000
D) 8,000

Question 58

The Peking Man fossils from Zhoukoudian date from around __________ years ago.

A) 600,000 to 200,000
B) 6 million to 2 million
C) 6,000 to 2,500
D) 6 million to 250,000

Question 59

Which of the following describes a difference between Oldowan and Acheulean tools?

A) made from stone
B) flaked
C) associated with H. erectus
D) bifaced

Question 60

The Acheulean __________ was a bifacial tool usually oblong with a cutting edge at one end.

A) atlatl
B) hand axe
C) cleaver
D) none of these

Question 61

Describe the basic characteristics of the Acheulean technology. What are the advantages of these tools over their Oldowan predecessors?

Question 62

Evidence indicates that __________was the first truly predatory hominin species.

A) H. habilis
B) A. africanus
C) H. erectus
D) A. robustus

Question 63

There is only equivocal evidence that H. erectus was the first hominin to cook meat.

Question 64

The Movius line separates __________.

A) Oldowan from Acheulean tools
B) Chatelperronian from Acheulean tools
C) hand-axe bearing areas from those without hand axes
D) Chatelperronian from Oldowan tools

Question 65

Evidence indicates that H. erectus reached maturity later than we do.

Question 66

H. erectus meat consumption is associated with __________.

A) lengthened small intestines
B) shorter large intestines
C) low population densities
D) all of these

Question 67

Describe the basic characteristics of the Oldowan tool tradition. Describe the types of sites are associated with these tools.

Question 68

Evidence from H. erectus dental microstructure indicates that early development of individuals was __________.

A) slow
B) much like that of our species
C) fast
D) none of these

Question 69

Outline and describe the basic differences between Oldowan and Acheulean technology. What are some possible differences in the use of these technologies?

Question 70

H. erectus meat consumption is associated with __________.

A) larger brains
B) larger bodies
C) Acheulean technology
D) all of these

Question 71

H. erectus migration is attributed to __________.

A) climatic changes
B) migrating herd animals
C) random movements of multiple hominin bands
D) all of these

Question 72

Explain the various hypotheses concerning the use of Acheulean tools. Given its great range of possible uses, why is there a Movius line?

Question 73

What is the evidence that H. erectus consumed meat. Explain the relationship between meat consumption and H. erectus physiology, migration, and technology.

Question 74

There is a one-to-one correlation between species and technology.

Question 75

Explain the debate about "Man the Hunter" and how it applies to the attempt to understand the lives of the members of early genus Homo. What is the most sensible view of H. habilis meat eating behavior?

Question 76

Explain the possible reasons for H. erectus migration.

Question 77

Provide an argument for the placement of H. habilis in the genus Australopithecus.

Question 78

Outline and describe the basic cultural and geographic differences between H. habilis and H. erectus.

Question 79

It is hypothesized that Asian H. erectus did not use hand-axe technology because they __________.

A) had smaller brains
B) had less dexterous hands
C) left Africa before the hand-axe was invented
D) all of these

Question 80

Outline and describe the basic physiological differences between H. habilis and H. erectus.