Question 1

Orrorin tugenensis and the Toumai specimen are unquestionably hominins.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Sexual dimorphism is less pronounced in modern Homo sapiens than in the australopiths.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

The hominins known collectively as the australopiths had at least eight species,

Accepted Answer

A)   but only five of them have been confirmed to be bipedal, thus putting into question that all australopiths were hominins.
B)   Au. sediba, Au. garhi, Au. africanus, Au. afarensis, Au. anamensis, Paranthropus robustus, Paranthropus boisei, and Paranthropus aethiopicus.
C)   Au. anamensis, Au. afarensis, Au. kenyanthropus, Au. kadabba, Au. garhi, Au. robustus, Au. paranthropus, and Au. sediba.
D)   all discovered in Africa except Au. boisei.
E)   all discovered and named by the Leakey family.

Question 4

Bipedalism has traditionally been viewed as an adaptation to open grassland or savanna country, although Ardipithecus lived in a humid woodland habitat. Perhaps bipedalism developed in the woodlands but became even more adaptive in a savanna habitat.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

Which of the following hominin traits is key to differentiating early hominins from the apes?

Accepted Answer

A)   tool use
B)   brain size
C)   bipedalism
D)   opposable thumbs
E)   sharp teeth

Question 6

Oldowan tools were made by striking flakes off the sides of cores.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

Which of the following statements about Ardipithecus kadabba is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   The kadabba find consists of eleven specimens, including a jaw bone with teeth, hand and foot bones, fragments of arm bones, and a piece of collarbone.
B)   It lived during the late Miocene, between 5.8 and 5.5 million years ago.
C)   It is recognized as the earliest known hominin, with the Toumai find from Chad, dated to 7-6 m.y.a., and Orrorin tugenensis from Kenya, dated to 6 m.y.a., as possibly even older hominins.
D)   Its fossils belong to individuals that were apelike in size, anatomy, and habitat.
E)   Its bipedalism is still questioned because none of the fossil bones found was a pelvis or a femur.

Question 8

What do the skull, jaws, and teeth of australopiths indicate?

Accepted Answer

A)   Their diet was largely vegetarian.
B)   Warfare was commonplace, because we see much evidence of head trauma.
C)   They used a fairly complex spoken language.
D)   They were carnivores.
E)   They were cannibals.

Question 9

Sahelanthropus tchadensis, or Toumai,

Accepted Answer

A)   may be the oldest possible human ancestor yet found.
B)   moves scientists close to the time when humans and apes in the Americas diverged from a common ancestor.
C)   may be the oldest possible "missing link" between gorillas and Orrorin tugenensis.
D)   looks more like a chimp than a human, specifically because of the placement of its foramen magnum at the base of its skull, which is farther back than in later hominins.
E)   apparently lived in a habitat with scarce animal life and mountain terrain. A

Question 10

Which of the following statements about the so-called "black skull" is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   The skull shows anatomical features similar to those of genus Paranthropus.
B)   Some scientists assign the black skull its own species, Paranthropus aethiopicus.
C)   The skull has a sagittal crest.
D)   Some scientists categorize the skull as belonging to a very early hyperrobust Paranthropus boisei.
E)   The skull shows evidence of cold-weather adaptations. E

Question 11

What major hominin group, for which we have an extensive fossil record, lived from approximately 4 to 1 m.y.a.?

Accepted Answer

A)   Homo sapiens
B)   Ramapithecus
C)   Homo erectus
D)   Australopithecus
E)   Dryopithecus

Question 12

Northern Tanzania and the Afar region of Ethiopia have yielded some of the most famous and informative glimpses into hominin evolution. Which of the following statements about fossil finds in these areas is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   The fossils from both Laetoli and Hadar are representative of Au. afarensis.
B)   Although the fossils from these two regions were deposited half a million years apart, their many resemblances justify including them all as part of the same species, Homo habilis.
C)   The fossils from both Laetoli and Hadar, although clearly hominin, were similar in many ways to chimps and gorillas.
D)   The Laetoli site in northern Tanzania yielded a series of fossilized footprints.
E)   Lucy, a tiny hominin female who lived around 3 m.y.a., was found in the Hadar site in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

Question 13

Although the first hominins appeared late in the Miocene, most hominin fossils have been dated to

Accepted Answer

A)   the Holocene.
B)   400,000 to 300,000 years ago.
C)   the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs.
D)   the early Miocene.
E)   20 to 15 m.y.a.

Question 14

The genus Homo did not appear until after all the australopiths had died off.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Interestingly, some of the physical markers that have led scientists to identify certain fossils as early hominins rather than apes are features that have been lost during subsequent human evolution. Which of the following is an example of this?

Accepted Answer

A)   stereoscopic vision
B)   thin enamel on teeth
C)   big back teeth
D)   chimplike tool use, such as termite capture
E)   climbing ability

Question 16

Which of the following is/are evidence of robust australopiths' adaptation to eating hard-shelled seeds and grasses?

Accepted Answer

A)   the presence of very large molars and a sagittal crest on the top of the skull
B)   massive fossilized temporalis muscles
C)   fine finger bones and a large mandible
D)   a small but flexible masseter muscle and an enlarged occipital bun
E)   bipedalism, providing the mobility necessary to gather food in open grasslands

Question 17

The dentition of Au. afarensis exhibits some similarities to the dentition of modern chimpanzees.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

Which of the following statements about Orrorin tugenensis is accurate?

Accepted Answer

A)   Orrorin's dentition was more human than apelike.
B)   Orrorin appears to have lived on the grassy savanna.
C)   Orrorin walked on two legs on the ground but climbed easily.
D)   Orrorin's brain is approximately the same size of a human brain.
E)   Orrorin is a generally accepted member of the hominin group.

Question 19

What is the term for the bony protuberance found on top of the skulls of robust australopiths?

Accepted Answer

A)   foramen magnum
B)   masseter
C)   ischium
D)   sagittal crest
E)   temporalis

Question 20

What is the most important difference between Australopithecus afarensis and the modern apes?

Accepted Answer

A)   Au. afarensis had a narrow chest, whereas living apes have a barrel chest.
B)   Au. afarensis had better color vision than apes.
C)   Au. afarensis had lost its prehensile tail.
D)   Au. afarensis had increased cranial capacity.
E)   Au. afarensis was bipedal. E

Exam 6: Early Hominins

Orrorin tugenensis and the Toumai specimen are unquestionably hominins.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Sexual dimorphism is less pronounced in modern Homo sapiens than in the australopiths.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The hominins known collectively as the australopiths had at least eight species,

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Bipedalism has traditionally been viewed as an adaptation to open grassland or savanna country, although Ardipithecus lived in a humid woodland habitat. Perhaps bipedalism developed in the woodlands but became even more adaptive in a savanna habitat.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following hominin traits is key to differentiating early hominins from the apes?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Oldowan tools were made by striking flakes off the sides of cores.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements about Ardipithecus kadabba is FALSE?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What do the skull, jaws, and teeth of australopiths indicate?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Sahelanthropus tchadensis, or Toumai,

Correct AnswerverifiedA

Which of the following statements about the so-called "black skull" is FALSE?

Correct AnswerverifiedE

What major hominin group, for which we have an extensive fossil record, lived from approximately 4 to 1 m.y.a.?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Northern Tanzania and the Afar region of Ethiopia have yielded some of the most famous and informative glimpses into hominin evolution. Which of the following statements about fossil finds in these areas is FALSE?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Although the first hominins appeared late in the Miocene, most hominin fossils have been dated to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The genus Homo did not appear until after all the australopiths had died off.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Interestingly, some of the physical markers that have led scientists to identify certain fossils as early hominins rather than apes are features that have been lost during subsequent human evolution. Which of the following is an example of this?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is/are evidence of robust australopiths' adaptation to eating hard-shelled seeds and grasses?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The dentition of Au. afarensis exhibits some similarities to the dentition of modern chimpanzees.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements about Orrorin tugenensis is accurate?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is the term for the bony protuberance found on top of the skulls of robust australopiths?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is the most important difference between Australopithecus afarensis and the modern apes?

Correct AnswerverifiedE

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E

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E