Human Evolution
Question Bank
Course Introduction
This course explores the biological and cultural evolution of humans, tracing our lineage from early primate ancestors to the emergence of modern Homo sapiens. Through a multidisciplinary approach, students examine fossil evidence, genetic research, and archaeological discoveries to understand the processes and milestones that have shaped human development. Key topics include primate behavior, hominid diversification, the development of bipedalism, tool use, brain expansion, and the origins of language and culture. By integrating insights from anthropology, genetics, and paleontology, the course provides a comprehensive overview of how humans have evolved and adapted to changing environments across time.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Physical Anthropology Discovering Our Origins 2nd Edition by Clark Spencer Larsen
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13 Chapters
678 Verified Questions
678 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: What Is Physical Anthropology?
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Sample Questions
Q1) How are modern humans distinguished from their earliest ancestors?
A)their appearance 6 mya along with bipedalism
B)the presence of habitual bipedalism and adaptations for arboreal living
C)the use of tools
D)hunting, speech, and dependence on domesticated foods
Answer: D
Q2) Primatologists record a new series of owl monkey vocalizations in the wild.After rigorous analysis and playback experiments they determine that the sounds could not be argued to represent a language because they are random, unrelated, and elicit no response from other individuals.The primatologists determine this because they know that language is
A)a set of symbols that refer to things other than themselves.
B)used by wild chimpanzees to transfer knowledge between individuals and generations.
C)representative of all forms of primate communication.
D)all of the above.
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Evolution: Constructing a Fundamental Scientific Theory
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Sample Questions
Q1) Thomas Hunt Morgan
A)demonstrated that chromosomes carry genetic material in the form of genes.
B)studied mutations in Homo sapiens.
C)thought change was gradual and occurred over long time periods.
D)none of the above.
Answer: A
Q2) How was Darwin influenced by Thomas Malthus's work on population growth?
A)Darwin was interested in Malthus's examinations of population changes in pea plants.
B)Darwin was influenced by Malthus's work on demography and population responses to food availability.
C)Darwin liked the concept of Latin taxonomic classification as it pertained to human groups.
D)Darwin was greatly influenced by research on acquired characteristics.
Answer: B
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4
Chapter 3: Genetics: Reproducing Life and Producing
Variation
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Sample Questions
Q1) In his experiments with garden peas, Mendel found that one physical unit is inherited from the father and one from the mother.This provided evidence for A)Mendel's law of independent assortment.
B)Thomas Hunt Morgan's ideas of mutation.
C)Mendel's law of segregation.
D)Mendel's concept of nondisjunction.
Answer: C
Q2) Individuals whose blood type is A and who carry both dominant and recessive genes at this locus have a genotype of A)AA.
B)AO.
C)AB.
D)none of the above.
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Genes and Their Evolution: Population Genetics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium assumes A)strong selection pressure on the trait(s) being studied.
B)a significant mutation rate from generation to generation.
C)gene flow that is equal both into and out of the population.
D)no gene flow, mutation, genetic drift, or natural selection.
Q2) Population geneticists refer to a reproductive population as a(n) A)allelic pool.
B)deme.
C)micropopulation.
D)macropopulation.
Q3) Studies of Darwin's finches have found that at certain points in time all finches on the island have either wide beaks or sharp, narrow beaks.The type of evolution that leads to this phenotype distribution is
A)directional selection.
B)natural selection.
C)disruptive selection.
D)stabilizing selection.
Q4) Why is a frameshift mutation far more likely to lead to a defective protein compared with a point mutation?
Q5) Why is the peppered moth an excellent example of directional selection?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Biology in the Present: Living People
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Sample Questions
Q1) While reading an ethnography of women living in a rural African community, you notice that women in this community have a significantly greater workload than men.The data shows that women spend more time clearing and planting fields than men of an equivalent age.What influence will this have on the overall population?
A)The population size will rapidly increase because women show greater fitness.
B)The population may remain the same or decrease due to lowered birth rate of women.
C)The population will remain the same because gendered difference in workload has no relationship to fluctuations in population size.
D)The population will only increase if the workload of women remains the same.
Q2) Before adulthood, height deficits can be made up by
A)rapid growth following disruption.
B)longer duration of growth.
C)neither a nor b.
D)both a and b.
Q3) How does human life history (prenatal stage, infancy, childhood, juvenile stage, adolescence, adulthood, old age) shed light on the interaction between genes and environment?
Q4) Is race a valid, biologically meaningful concept? Why or why not?
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Chapter 6: Biology in the Present: The Other Living Primates
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Sample Questions
Q1) Humans are the only primates who lack a sectorial complex on the premolar.This is an example of
A)a primitive trait, because it is present in multiple species of a group.
B)a primitive trait, because it is present in only one or few species of a group.
C)a derived trait, because it is present in multiple species of a group.
D)a derived trait, because it is present in only one or few species of a group.
Q2) Primate dietary adaptation is facilitated by A)highly specialized dentition.
B)expanded numbers of teeth.
C)four functionally distinctive tooth types.
D)none of the above.
Q3) Living lemurs are found only in A)Asia. B)Africa.
C)South America.
D)Madagascar.
Q4) Describe similarities and differences in diet and dentition among prosimians, Old World monkeys, and apes.
Q5) Discuss anatomical characteristics that relate to primates' arboreal adaptation.
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Chapter 7: Primate Sociality, Social Behavior, and Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) Variability in female primate reproduction is usually related to
A)variation in access to high-protein, easily digestible food.
B)access to males.
C)dominance rank.
D)both a and c
Q2) Research on primate vocalizations shows that
A)primates must learn to use and respond to vocalizations appropriately.
B)primate vocalizations are modified to reflect context.
C)primate vocalizations are fixed and innate.
D)a and b only.
Q3) Which of the following are examples of primate residence strategies?
A)one-male, multifemale; all-male; solitary
B)one-female, multimale; one-male, multifemale; one-male, one-female
C)one-male, multifemale; multimale, multifemale; solitary
D)all of the above
Q4) Chimpanzee tool use challenges the assumption
A)that humans are fundamentally different from chimpanzees.
B)that chimpanzees are capable of any type of behavior.
C)that chimpanzees are not likely to use tools.
D)that material culture is unique to humans.
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Chapter 8: Fossils and Their Place in Time and Nature
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Q1) Which of the following is false regarding absolute dating techniques?
A)They give geologic age in the form of a number ± some error.
B)They often rely on the decay of radioactive isotopes.
C)Each can work with any type of material.
D)14C and 40K/40Ar are two main methods.
Q2) The chart that shows the different time periods in Earth's history and also indicates significant evolutionary events is called the
A)temporal display.
B)geologic time scale.
C)paleochart.
D)virtual time machine.
Q3) Electron spin resonance dating would be most useful in attempting to date which object?
A)a fossilized tooth
B)an ancient stone artifact
C)an old lava flow
D)a limestone cave deposit
Q4) Differentiate between absolute and relative dating techniques, giving one example of each.
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Chapter 9: Primate Origins and Evolution: the First 50 Million Years
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gigantopithecus, the largest primate that ever lived, weighed approximately
A)3 kg
B)30 kg
C)300 kg
D)3,000 kg
Q2) Which of the following apes has been proposed as the last common ancestor of living African apes and humans?
A)Ouranopithecus
B)Sivapithecus
C)Dryopithecus
D)Gigantopithecus
Q3) The most likely contender for the common ancestor of all later catarrhines is A)Oligopithecus.
B)Aegyptopithecus.
C)Parapithecus.
D)Apidium.
Q4) Discuss the reasons why Paleocene-aged plesiadapiforms should or should not be included in the order Primates.
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Q5) Name and briefly describe the three main models, or hypotheses, of primate origins.
Chapter 10: Early Hominid Origins and Evolution: the Roots of Humanity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not considered a robust australopithecine?
A)Australopithecus boisei
B)Australopithecus anamensis
C)Australopithecus aethiopicus
D)Australopithecus robustus
Q2) Which of the following species is a good candidate for being directly ancestral to Australopithecus afarensis?
A)Australopithecus africanus
B)Kenyanthropus platyops
C)Sahelanthropus tchadensis
D)Australopithecus anamensis
Q3) The hyoid bone of the juvenile Australopithecus afarensis fossil suggests that this species probably could not
A)speak like a modern human.
B)walk on two legs over long distances.
C)climb trees very effectively.
D)eat tough, fibrous foods.
Q4) Name and briefly describe five key traits of modern humans that the living great apes do not display.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The Origins and Evolution of Early Homo
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Q1) Characterize the fossil evidence of Homo habilis, and describe the anatomical and behavioral characteristics of Homo habilis that pave the way for Homo sapiens' evolution.
Q2) ________ has been proposed as a likely ancestor for Homo habilis.
A)Australopithecus robustus
B)Australopithecus garhi
C)Australopithecus boisei
D)Australopithecus africanus
Q3) Homo erectus was first discovered by
A)Louis Leakey.
B)Richard Leakey.
C)Eugène Dubois.
D)Ernst Haeckel.
Q4) Gran Dolina adult hominids were similar to later Homo sapiens in their
A)ability to produce art.
B)large cranial capacity.
C)wide nasal apertures.
D)none of the above.
Q5) Contrast the cranial and dental anatomy and adaptation of Australopithecus robustus as compared to African Homo erectus.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Origins, Evolution, and Dispersal of Modern People
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Sample Questions
Q1) Shovel-shaped incisors are one of the most distinctive features of people from A)East Asia and the Americas.
B)South Africa.
C)Australia.
D)India.
Q2) All of the following traits suggest cold adaptation for Neandertals except A)a narrow nasal aperture.
B)short limbs.
C)a wide torso.
D)a projecting midface.
Q3) Which of the following statements concerning Homo sapiens is false?
A)The oldest Homo sapiens fossils are close to 200,000 years old.
B)The earliest Homo sapiens fossils are associated with cave art and other symbolic archeological remains.
C)Molecular studies demonstrate that Homo sapiens are all fairly similar genetically.
D)This is the only hominid species with a well-defined chin.
Q4) What "symbolic" behavior is evident in the archeological record and associated with anatomically modern humans in Europe beginning around 35,000 yBP (Upper Paleolithic)?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Our Last 10,000 Years: Agriculture, Population, and
Biology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Based on the archaeological record from various areas, what was the initial effect of agriculture on height?
A)Height decreased.
B)Height increased.
C)Height became more variable within the population.
D)Height stayed the same.
Q2) The invasion of spongy bone into the eye sockets as a response to anemia is called A)hyperosteitis.
B)trabeculitis.
C)orbital arthritis.
D)cribraorbitalia.
Q3) Dental caries increased in some areas where agriculture began, due to an increase in the consumption of A)nuts.
B)starchy carbohydrates.
C)seeds.
D)animal protein.
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