Human Origins Exam Solutions
Course Introduction
This course explores the evolutionary journey of the human species, tracing our origins from the earliest primates to modern Homo sapiens. Through an interdisciplinary approach that combines anthropology, archaeology, genetics, and paleontology, students examine key discoveries in the fossil record, analyze changes in physical and behavioral traits, and study the environmental and social factors that shaped our development. The course also considers contemporary debates about what it means to be human and the ongoing evolution of our species.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Physical Anthropology 9th Edition by Robert Jurmain
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
14 Chapters
832 Verified Questions
832 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3778
Chapter 1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75361
Sample Questions
Q1) Cultural anthropology
A) was first developed as a discipline in the 17<sup>th</sup> century
B) includes the recovery and analysis of material culture from earlier civilizations
C) focuses solely upon the study of traditional societies
D) has no practical application in modern society
E) is the study of the patterns of belief and behavior found in modern and historical cultures.
Answer: E
Q2) The order Primates includes all of the following except
A) monkeys
B) prosimians
C) humans
D) tarsiers
E) marsupials
Answer: E
Q3) The focus of anthropology is very narrow and has only two subfields.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 3
Chapter 2: The Development of Evolutionary Theory
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75362
Sample Questions
Q1) ___________________wrote the highly praised Principles of Geology in which was emphasized the principle of uniformitarianism.
A) Charles Darwin
B) Charles Lyell
C) Alfred Russel Wallace
D) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
E) Thomas Malthus
Answer: B
Q2) __________________first recognized that species were groups of organisms that were distinguished from other such groups by their ability to mate with one another and produce fertile offspring.
A) John Ray
B) Charles Darwin
C) Carolus Linnaeus
D) Alfred Russel Wallace
E) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Answer: A
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 4
Chapter 3: The Biological Basis of Life Connections
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75363
Sample Questions
Q1) A triplet is a series of three DNA bases.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) In protein synthesis, the process called transcription is which of the following?
A) manufacture of tRNA
B) assembly of polypeptide chains
C) formation of a mRNA molecule
D) production of amino acids
E) manufacture of ribosomal RNA
Answer: C
Q3) What was a major goal of the Human Genome Project?
A) facilitate human cloning
B) map the chromosomes of every human on the planet
C) sequence the entire human genome
D) trace evolutionary relationships among primates
E) prevent overpopulation
Answer: C
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Heredity and Evolution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75364
Sample Questions
Q1) Mendelian traits are described as discrete, or discontinuous because
A) Their phenotypic expressions overlap
B) Their phenotypic expressions do not fall into clearly defined categories
C) Their genotypic expression overlap
D) Their genotypic expressions do not fall into clearly defined categories
E) Their phenotypic expressions do not overlap
Q2) What is type AB blood an example of?
A) codominance
B) blending
C) recessiveness
D) dominance
E) polygenic inheritance
Q3) What is the term for the condition of two copies of the same allele being present in the genotype?
A) dominant
B) codominant
C) recessive
D) homozygous
E) segregated
Q4) Explain Mendel's principle of segregation.
Page 6
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 5: Processes of Macroevolution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75365
Sample Questions
Q1) Speciation can occur as a result of all of the following except
A) geographic isolation
B) natural selection acting on populations
C) ecological separation
D) lack of differences in habitats
E) limited gene exchange
Q2) Mammals, in contrast to reptiles,
A) have larger brains
B) are homodont
C) cannot process a wide variety of foods
D) lack fur
E) are ectothermic
Q3) What is the term for the rapid expansion and diversification of groups of organisms into newly available ecological niches?
A) generalization
B) homology
C) parallel evolution
D) adaptive radiation
E) specialization
Q4) Why is geographic isolation important to the process of speciation?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 6: An Overview of the Primates
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
67 Verified Questions
67 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75366
Sample Questions
Q1) All Old World monkeys belong to which family?
A) Ominidae
B) Cercopithecidae
C) Callitrichidae
D) Pongidae
E) Monquidae
Q2) Traditionally, primate characteristics have been explained as the result of adaptation to ________ environments.
A) terrestrial
B) rocky
C) arboreal
D) desert
E) ocean
Q3) Mountain gorilla social groups are usually composed of
A) one adult silverback male and one adult female, plus their immature offspring
B) solitary individuals, except for females with dependent young
C) one or two adult silverback males, a few adult females and their immature offspring
D) several adults of both sexes and offspring of all ages
E) several adult males plus only one female and her offspring
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 8
Chapter 7: Primate Behavior
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75367
Sample Questions
Q1) Linguistic symbols are said to be ________ because they do not resemble the object or concept they represent.
A) autonomic
B) deliberate
C) arbitrary
D) closed
E) innate
Q2) Social relationships are crucial to nonhuman primates for all of the following reasons except:
A) Individuals support each other against outsiders
B) Alliances can be used to enhance the status of members
C) Resources can be protected
D) Order can be imposed by allowing individuals to attack each other
E) Predator avoidance
Q3) Mounting as an expression of dominance in baboons is believed to also serve to A) indicate sexual preference
B) defuse tense situations
C) indicate aggression
D) indicate a threat
E) submission
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Primate and Hominin Origins
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
72 Verified Questions
72 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75368
Sample Questions
Q1) _______ make the best samples for the K/Ar dating method.
A) Bones
B) Stone tools
C) Ostrich shells
D) Teeth
E) Volcanic rocks
Q2) By about 2 mya, which of the following was true?
A) All hominins were members of the same genus.
B) There were one or more species of the genus Homo present in East Africa.
C) Modern humans were living alongside australopiths.
D) All hominins still lived only in East Africa.
E) There was only one hominid species present in Asia.
Q3) Before hominins made stone tools, they probably
A) used sticks or other perishable materials
B) had weapons made of metal
C) made tools from ivory
D) used pottery
E) took tools from other nonhuman primates
Q4) What characteristics define a hominin? Discuss which aspects of your definition can be assessed in the fossil record.
Page 10
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 9: The First Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo
Erectus and Contemporaries
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75369
Sample Questions
Q1) A nuchal torus refers to the projection of bone on the top of the cranium which is very common among Homo erectus.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Account for the evidence that suggests the Zhoukoudian was not a hominid habitation site?
Q3) The Homo erectus fossils from the Lantian sites in China are dated to______ years old.
A) 300,000
B) 1.52 million
C) 500,000
D) 1.15 million
E) 800,000 to 450,000
Q4) The term Homo ergaster
A) was suggested to be used to refer to African Homo erectus specimens
B) was suggested to be used to refer to Asian Homo erectus specimens
C) is fully accepted by all paleoanthropologists
D) was initially proposed by Eugene Dubois
E) refers to later H. erectus specimens
Q5) List the characteristics of Homo erectus discoveries in Java and China.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 11
Chapter 10: Premodern Humans
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
65 Verified Questions
65 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75370
Sample Questions
Q1) Some paleoanthropologists classify Neandertals as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis? Others disagree. What are the biological and phylogenetic arguments?
Q2) The Gran Dolina human remains are definitely Homo erectus.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Shanidar cave is extraordinary in that an individual in the burial
A) is the only Neandertal remains found Israel.
B) evidences a skull having received a crushing blow, probably causing blindness, and a blow to the right side rendering the right arm useless.
C) is without the right lower arm and hand, demonstrating the results of poor preservation.
D) is an ancient member of an extinct social group in Iraq.
E) lived to approximately 80 years of age.
Q4) The evolutionary roots of Neandertals are shrouded in mystery because there are no fossils from western Europe.
A)True
B)False
Q5) List five major characteristics of Middle Pleistocene culture.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75371
Sample Questions
Q1) Current evidence indicates that the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens
fossils are from which geographical location?
A) China
B) India
C) Germany
D) France
E) Africa
Q2) The Upper Paleolithic
A) began at the onset of the Pleistocene
B) is a cultural period attributed primarily to Neandertals
C) is characterized by the invention of iron tools
D) began about 150,000 years ago
E) is divided into five different industries, based on stone tool technologies
Q3) The hypothesis that all modern humans descended from an African lineage
A) has been conclusively proven to be correct
B) is supported by mtDNA evidence
C) is supported by evidence from researchers in India
D) is conclusively proven as incorrect
E) is based on archaeological evidence obtained from caves in Spain
Q4) Summarize the main points of the various Replacement Models.
Page 13
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 12: Human Variation and Adaptation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
60 Verified Questions
60 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75372
Sample Questions
Q1) Biological systems are balanced systems maintained by the interaction of physiological mechanisms that compensate for both external and internal changes. Such a balanced system is in A) hypoxia
B) homeostasis
C) heterostasis
D) acclimatization
E) polystasis
Q2) The ABO system is interesting from an anthropological perspective because it
A) illustrates that allele frequencies do NOT vary among populations
B) illustrates that some allele frequencies DO vary among populations
C) demonstrates that natural selection does not alter allele frequencies
D) has never been convincingly demonstrated for any allele
E) is no longer present in human populations
Q3) The majority of modern anthropologists regard biological determinism as a valid mode of explaining human racial differences.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Define vasodilation and describe its role in the human physiological response to heat.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: Legacies of Human Evolutionary History: Effects
on the Individual
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
52 Verified Questions
52 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75373
Sample Questions
Q1) List and briefly define the difference between life cycle stages of humans and other primates.
Q2) Humans have unusually short childhoods, reflecting the importance of learning in our species.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A long period of female postreproductive time is found in which of the following?
A) chimpanzees
B) gorillas
C) all monkeys
D) lemurs
E) humans
Q4) Throughout the world, women have
A) higher life expectancies than men
B) lower life expectancies than men
C) the same life expectancies as men
D) been incorrectly represented in statistical data on aging
Q5) Discuss the genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors influencing human growth and development.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: The Human Disconnection
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
48 Verified Questions
48 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75374
Sample Questions
Q1) A 2009 study estimated that __________% of the human population lives on less than a couple of dollars U.S) a day.
A) 33
B) 25
C) 48
D) 55
E) 75
Q2) If we use the criteria of cell numbers, then _______ are the dominant life form on the planet.
A) bacteria
B) viruses
C) humans
D) cockroaches
E) reptiles
Q3) Using evolution to solve health problems requires medical researchers have training that includes evolutionary theory.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What impacts have human-invented antibiotics had on bacteria?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 16