Q&A Hero

Q: From Neanderthal bone, scientists were able to extract a. RNA. b. DNA. c. mitochondrial DNA. d. chromosomes.

Q: Much of what we know about early Homo sapiens comes from the long term inhabitants of Europe and Eurasia,a. Homo erectus.b. Homo neanderthalensis.c. Homo habilis.d. Homo sapiens sapiens.

Q: Although they lacked the cognitive flexibility of modern humans, Homo sapiens sapiens ultimately evolved from a. Australopithecus afarensis. b. Homo erectus. c. Homo neanderthlensis. d. Australopithecus garhi.

Q: Bamboo is an ideal material for people subsisting on a. elephant. b. hippopotamus. c. small animals. d. large animals.

Q: Acheulian sites at Ambrona and Torralba in central Spain revealed remains of dismembered a. elephants. b. bears. c. whales. d. deer.

Q: Evidence for Homo erectus butchery and perhaps big-game hunting comes from a. Torralba and Ambrona. b. Swartkrans. c. Olduvai Gorge. d. Terra Amata.

Q: The maker of the Acheulian hand ax had to envision its a. purpose. b. value. c. strength. d. shape.

Q: The earliest known wood artifacts dated to 400,000 years ago and were discovered in a coal mine in a. Africa. b. Germany. c. Iraq. d. Asia.

Q: Which of the following is characteristic of Homo erectus? a. far more human than Homo habilis b. habitual bipedalist c. probably lost the thick hair covering that is characteristic of nonhuman primates d. all of the above

Q: By 2 million years ago, there were probably several species of early Homo. For convenience, they can all be grouped under a single species,a. Homo sapiens.b. Homo australopithecus.c. Homo habilis.d. Homo erectus.

Q: Which of the following is NOT one of the three possible uses for Oldowan stone tools? a. butchering and meat cutting b. sawing and scraping wood c. cutting soft plant matter d. digging and manipulating soil

Q: Bed I from Olduvai lies on a volcanic bedrock known as a. tuff. b. silica. c. granite. d. obsidian.

Q: Hominin evolution can be thought of as a series of radiations that unfolded over at leasta. 1.5 million years.b. 2.25 million years.c. 3.75 million years.d. 5 million years.

Q: Three major anatomical changes took place during the 2.5 million years between Australopithecus afarensis and the emergence of Homo erectus some 1.6 million years ago. Which of the following changes is NOT one of the three changes mentioned in the text?a. Brain size increased from about 450 cc in Australopithecus afarensis to 1000 cc in Homo erectus.b. There was an increase in sexual dimorphism.c. There were modifications of the hips for bipedal locomotion.d. There were modifications of the limbs for bipedal locomotion.

Q: Louis and Mary Leakey named this hominin "handy person." a. Homo sapien b. Homo habilis c. Homo rudolfensis d. Homo erectus

Q: The name of this Australopithecine means surprise. a. Australopithecus garhi b. Australopithecus boisei c. Australopithecus robustus d. Australopithecus africanus

Q: Of the following, which is NOT one of the three robust Australopithecines that lived from 3 million to 1 million years ago? a. Australopithecus boisei b. Australopithecus aethiopicus c. Australopithecus robustus d. Australopithecus africanus

Q: This Australopithecine may have been among the first of a doomed line of robust hominins.a. Australopithecus boiseib. Australopithecus aethiopicusc. Australopithecus robustusd. Australopithecus africanus

Q: Dramatic confirmation of hominin bipedalism by 3.6 million years ago comes from Laetoli in Tanzania. At Laetoli, Mary Leakey discovereda. evidence of elephant hunting by early hominins.b. a complete Australopithecus skeleton.c. two almost intact Australopithecus feet.d. footprints of two hominins.

Q: The famous Australopithecine Lucy belongs to the speciesa. Australopithecus anamensis.b. Sahelanthropus tchadensis.c. Australopithecus afarensis.d. Australopithecus robustus.

Q: The Awash region of Ethiopia is home to the earliest known east African hominin, a 5 million year old Australopithecine nameda. Ardipithecus ramidus.b. Sahelanthropus tchadensis.c. Australopithecus africanus.d. Australopithecus robustus.

Q: The earliest known hominin, found in Chad, Central Africa, has been nameda. Ardipithecus ramidus.b. Sahelanthropus tchadensis.c. Australopithecus africanus.d. Australopithecus robustus.

Q: A squat, massively built primate with a crested skull. a. Ardipithecus ramidus b. Sahelanthropus tchadensis c. Australopithecus africanus d. Australopithecus robustus

Q: Latin for "southern ape." a. Zinjanthropus b. Homo c. Australopithecus d. Ardipithecus

Q: Which of the following is a characteristic of the fossil named Sahelanthropus tchadensis?a. From the back, it looks like a hominin from about 1.75 mya.b. From the front, it appears to be a chimpanzee.c. It has dated to between 8 and 9 million years old.d. The base of the skull suggests it walked upright.

Q: Which of the following is true of the fossil record between 7 and 1 million years ago? a. It is extremely thin. b. Most fossil evidence is in the form of foot and hand bones. c. Most fossils are found in East African caves. d. Not many hominin forms existed during this time.

Q: This type of locomotion provides an excellent power thrust for jumping into a tree. a. bipedalism b. quadrupedalism c. knuckle walking d. slithering

Q: Although we don"t know when humankind separated from the nonhuman primates, we do know humans and apes diverged from monkeys ina. Asia.b. Australia.c. Europe.d. Africa.

Q: The suborder of primates which includes lemurs and tarsiers. a. anthropoids b. primates c. prosimians d. pongids

Q: Of the two suborders of primates, apes, humans, and monkeys are a. anthropoids b. primates c. prosimians d. pongids

Q: We are members of this order with most other tree-loving placental mammals. a. anthropoids b. primates c. prosimians d. pongids

Q: Bipedalism is a way of moving best suited for a. power. b. speed. c. endurance. d. none of the above

Q: There have been at least 9 glacial periods for northern Europe and North America,with the last one retreatinga. 5,000 years ago.b. 10,000 years ago.c. 15,000 years ago.d. 20,000 years ago.

Q: Which of the following is true of human bipedalism?a. The center of gravity is behind the knee joint.b. Bipedalism is configured for endurance rather than power or speed.c. The knee is not extended when standing.d. Walking is less efficient in human bipedalism.

Q: During the initial stage of their evolution, apes were apparently restricted to a. North America. b. Europe. c. Asia. d. Africa.

Q: The first signs of global cooling appeared with the formation of a belt of pack ice around Antarctica some 35 mya during thea. Miocene.b. Oligocene.c. Pleistocene.d. Holocene.

Q: The Leakeys named the skull they found in 1959 in Olduvai Gorgea. Homo sapiens.b. Homo erectus.c. Zinjanthropus boisei.d. Australopithecus.

Q: The Pleistocene epoch a. was a period of extremely hot temperatures. b. from beginning to end, was essentially an ice age. c. was characterized by a very steady climate with practically no temperature variations. d. is sometimes called the Age of Humanity.

Q: The story of humanity begins deep in geological time, during the later part of the Cenozoic erathe age of a. humanity. b. the dinosaurs. c. enlightenment. d. mammals.

Q: "Archaeology of mind." a. cognitive archaeology b. cultural ecology c. postprocessual archaeology d. processual archaeology

Q: The best way to think about this is as a bush with many branches and clusters of twigs expanding from a single trunk.a. multilinear cultural evolutionb. cultural ecologyc. postprocessual archaeologyd. processual archaeology

Q: Archaeologists of this general persuasion argue that we can no longer interpret the past purely in terms of ecological, technological, or other material considerations.a. general systems theoryb. cognitive-processual archaeologyc. postprocessual archaeologyd. processual archaeology

Q: The view developed by Julian Steward that states that similar human adaptations may be found in widely separated cultures in similar environments. a. general systems theory b. cultural ecology c. postprocessual archaeology d. processual archaeology

Q: Discovered in the 1950s, it is a body of theoretical constructs that provide a way to look for "general relationships."a. general systems theoryb. cultural ecologyc. postprocessual archaeologyd. processual archaeology

Q: Interpretation based on developing specific hypotheses using induction and then testing the hypotheses against data. a. scientific method b. inductive reasoning c. deductive reasoning d. experimental archaeology

Q: The study of the processes by which human societies changed in the past. a. general systems theory b. cultural ecology c. postprocessual archaeology d. processual archaeology

Q: This method proposes the most adequate explanations for the moment. a. scientific method b. inductive method c. deductive reasoning d. experimental archaeology

Q: Most of this is confined to replicating ancient technologies. a. experimental archaeology b. descriptive method c. ethnoarchaeology d. processual archaeology

Q: An anthropologist living in an Australian Aboriginal camp and observing the activities of its occupants would be practicinga. experimental archaeology.b. a descriptive method.c. ethnoarchaeology.d. processual archaeology.

Q: An important school of thought in archaeology that argues that cultures are not made up of random selections of cultural traits.a. analogyb. inductive reasoningc. diffusiond. functionalism

Q: Plays a vital role in archaeology by inferring that a relationship exists between the similar types of human activities of the past to those of today.a. analogyb. inductive reasoningc. diffusiond. functionalism

Q: The process of deliberate settlement, when entire populations, large or small, decide to move to a new area.a. cultural selectionb. migrationc. diffusiond. social selection

Q: The process by which new ideas or cultural traits spread from person to person, group to group, or over long distances. a. cultural selection b. invention c. diffusion d. social selection

Q: Many inventions are not the work of a. solitary geniuses. b. climactic change. c. rising population densities. d. fundamental social change.

Q: Implies either the modification of an old idea or series of ideas. a. cultural selection b. invention c. diffusion d. ideology

Q: Defines artifacts, assemblages, economic practices, or art styles that last longer than the duration of a horizon.a. spanb. traditionc. phased. cultural component

Q: An example of this would be an all-embracing religious cult transcending cultural boundaries and spreading over an enormous area.a. horizonsb. traditionsc. phasesd. culture areas

Q: Somewhat akin to the well-known process of natural selection in biological evolution. a. cultural selection b. invention c. diffusion d. social selection

Q: The North American Southwest is a classic example of a a. horizon. b. region. c. phase. d. culture area.

Q: These are normally defined by natural geographic boundaries and display some cultural homogeneity. a. horizons b. traditions c. regions d. components

Q: Cultural units represented by separate levels of the same site, always within a well-defined chronological span. a. horizons b. traditions c. phases d. components

Q: The accumulation over a long period of time of minor differences in learned behavior. a. cultural selection b. normative view of culture c. inevitable variation d. phase

Q: The physically bounded portions of a site that contain a distinct assemblage, which serve to distinguish the culture of the inhabitants of a particular land. a. horizons b. traditions c. phases d. components

Q: The objects of primary interest to a culture historian. a. oral traditions b. myths c. artifacts and structures d. written histories

Q: The database from the archaeological record includes all but a. religious beliefs. b. artifacts. c. structures. d. food remains.

Q: Of the following, which is NOT a step in building a culture history? a. identification of a research area b. identification of religious practices c. excavation d. artifact analysis

Q: Culture history relies on a. oral traditions. b. accidental discoveries. c. cave paintings and pictographs. d. observations in time and space.

Q: The development of generalizations about a research problem based on numerous specific observations.a. normative view of cultureb. inductive reasoningc. descriptived. scientific

Q: The assumption that there is considerable uniformity within a culture at any time. a. normative view of culture b. inductive reasoning c. general systems theory d. multilinear cultural evolution

Q: Stonehenge reflects the distinctive idea of a. cyclical seasons. b. the movement of the sun and moon. c. time. d. the cosmos.

Q: The towers at Hovenweep, Colorado served as a. observatories. b. ritual sacrifice centers. c. ritual meeting places. d. grist mills for maize.

Q: The study of ancient astronomical observances is called a. astrology. b. ritual astroarchaeology. c. astroarchaeology. d. pyramidiots.

Q: Maya glyphs tell how axis points could be materialized through a. powerful ritual. b. the sacred place. c. pyramids. d. natural landscapes only.

Q: As societies become more complex, religious authority can becomea. mythical.b. standardized.c. sanctified.d. predictable.

Q: The people of any Maya community could identify and verify their a. cosmos. b. neighborhood. c. leaders. d. ancestors.

Q: In highly centralized societies, the propagation of religious beliefs and ideologies is mostly through a. ritual. b. art and architecture. c. word of mouth. d. chants.

Q: In many farming societies, the earth is symbolically considered a. the sacred place. b. female. c. the provider. d. a spirit being.

Q: Often more important than an artifact itself is its a. location at the site. b. surroundings. c. intended symbolism. d. context within the site.

Q: Information on religious beliefs as well as social ranking can be provided by a. paintings. b. artifacts. c. burials. d. all of the above

Q: Egyptian pharaohs were considered to be the living embodiment of the god a. Ra. b. Osiris. c. Khufu. d. Menes.