Anthropology Midterm – Flashcards
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1.Which primate paleo-genus is found in the Fayum and is probably close to the ancestry of both major groups of living Old World anthropoids?
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Aegyptopithecus; Oligocene
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2.About when did the initial hominid divergence from the African hominoids most likely occur?
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Later Miocene, 10-7 million years ago
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3.What is a hominin's defining characteristics?
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Bipedal locomotion, large brain size and tool making behavior as being significant (at some stage) in defining what makes a Hominin a Hominin.
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4. What are the adaptive advantages of bipedalism?
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Free hands for carrying objects, making and using tools. Wider view of the surrounding countryside and in open/ semi-open terrain, early spotting of predators. Efficient way of covering long distance.
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5.Anatomical changes in hominins indicative of habitual bipedal locomotion include...
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Change in the pelvis (helps to stabilize the line of weight in a bipedal posture from the lower back to the hip joint). Having a divergent large toe helped with grasping and climbing but is less capable as a stable platform during bipedal locomotion.
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6.The earliest stone tools are dated to approximately...
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2.6 million years ago
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7.The estimated average cranial capacity for Homo habilis is
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631 cm cubed
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8.The earliest australopith fossils come from ...
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Central African site called Toros- menalla
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9.The hominin fossils from Laetoli and Hadar are classified by most researchers as...
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Australopithecus Afarensis
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10.Recently discovered remains from the Tugen Hills, dated to about 6 million years ago have been placed in which genus?
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Orrorin
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11.Sahelanthropus has an unusual combination of characteristics, including
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A small braincase and huge brow ridges, The upper canine is reduced and is worn down from the tip called the honing complex ( the sharing of a large upper canine with the first lower premolar, with the wear leading to honing of the surfaces of both teeth)
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12.Which situations would be best suited to the carbon-14 dating technique?
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To date organic materials ranging from less than 1,000 years up to around 50,000 years old.
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13.Potassium-40 (40K) decays to...
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To the gas argon-40 and has a half-life of 1.25 billion years
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14.The current evidence indicates that hominins possessed all the major structural changes necessary for bipedalism by... (years ago)
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5 to 7 million years ago
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15.What are the contributions of Olduvai research?
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Found that hominins were already inventing and adopting culture as a mean to deal with the world around them. Found the fossil material Homo Habilis "handy man" since they were tool makers. Found a nearly complete cranium.
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16.The key artifacts in the Oldowan tool tradition are:
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- Stone artifact manufacture, large mammal butchery and novel transport and discard behaviors. - Assemblages mostly consisted of stone flakes which were used for cutting; hammer stones used as the name implies, core tools such as choppers which so considerable battering on the edges, and stone cores which were used only as a source of flakes. - Oldest tools that archaeologists can reliably identify
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17.Radiometric dating techniques are based on what principle?
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technique used to date materials such as rocks, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates
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18.Which dating techniques relies on the regular growth of tree rings?
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Dendrochronology
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19.When a disease is continuously present in a population it is said to be...
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Endemic
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20.Proto-hominins (pre-australopiths) lived approximately ... (years ago)
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6.0 to 4.4 million years ago
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21.Could proto-hominins (pre-australopiths) use tools?
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Very possible because they could have used tools that did not turn into fossils for people to study
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22.Which term refers to the process of attaching a handle to a tool?
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Hafting
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23. If you were digging a hominin site that contains geological layers that resulted from volcanic activity, what dating technique would you most likely use?
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potassium argon method which is a dating technique based on accumulation of argon 40 gas as a byproduct of radiometric decay of potassium 40 in volcanic materials
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24.The principle of superposition is a key component of what relative dating technique?
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Stratigraphy
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25.Reconstructing human technology and material culture as a means of generating testable ideas about the past is known as:
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Experimental archaeology
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26.The study of contemporary human societies as a means of understanding the past is known as:
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ETHNOARCHAEOLOGISTS
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27. The spatial and temporal relationships between artifacts and features is known as:
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contexts
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28. Which of the best defines an ecofact?
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natural materials that give environmental information about a site. Examples include plants and animal remains discarded as food waste and also pollen grains preserved in the soil.
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29. What is the most common means of conducting a site survey?
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Wireless site survey
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30. The study of the human past, primarily through material remains, is known as:
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archeology
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31. Taphonomy is defined as:
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The study of how bones and other materials came to be buried in the earth and preserved as fossils. They study the processes of sedimentation, the action of streams, preservation properties of bone and carnivore disturbance factors
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32. What kinds of evidence of hominin behavior are most likely available for study?
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tools and bones
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33. Why are stone tools important for reconstructing the human past?
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Helps to place the time period because as time evolves, the tools get more advanced.
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34. The term 'hominin' refers to:
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The evolutionary group that includes modern humans and now-extinct bipedal relatives
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35. ___________ is the study of the evolution of behavior, emphasizing the role of ecological factors as agents of natural selection.
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Behavioral ecology
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36. Ecological factors influencing primate social behavior include ...
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The distribution of food and water, predators and nutritional value of foods
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37. Primate groups composed of several adult males and females are advantageous in what kind of areas?
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Where predation pressure is high, particularly in mixed woodlands and on open savannas.
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38. Mounting as an expression of dominance in baboons is believed to also serve to ...
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Defuse potentially situations by indicating something like "It's okay, I accept your apology."
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39. Amicable behaviors that promote group cohesion are called _______ behaviors.
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Affiliative Behaviors. Examples include grooming, reinforcing social bonds and promoting group cohesion.
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40. In many primate species, ________ have/has a central role in reinforcing social relationships.
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social grooming
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41. Are permanent male-female bonds typical among non-human primates?
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no they are uncommon
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42. The term for a mating system in which males, and some cases females, have several mating partners is...
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Polygynous
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43. What does K-selection refer to?
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An adaptive strategy whereby individuals produce relatively few offspring in whom they invest increased parental care
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44. Species producing relatively large numbers of offspring and invest little parental care are ...
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R-selected
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45. Infanticide by adult males can occur because...
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-Males kill infants fathered by other males -Maximizes the individuals reproductive status -Coincides with the transfer of a new male in a group -Once the male has killed the child, he fathers another infant with the victim's mother
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46. What is the basic primate social unit
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A female and her offspring
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47. Linguistic symbols are said to be ________ because they do not resemble the object or concept they represent.
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Arbitrary
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48. Which non-human primates have been taught to use sign language?
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Great Apes: orangutans, gorillas and bonobos, chimpanzees
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49. What do the language experiments with chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas indicate?
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They can learn the symbols but they cannot interpret what they mean
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50. Currently, there are approximately _______ species of non-human primates.
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230
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51. What is noteworthy about primate maturation, learning, and behavior?
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A more efficient means of fetal nourishment, reduced numbers of offspring, longer periods of gestation and delayed maturation.
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52. Traditionally, primate characteristics have been explained as the result of adaptation to ________ environments.
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Arboreal
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53. Using all four limbs to support the body during locomotion is called
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Quadrupedialism
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54. Vertical clinging and leaping is a locomotor pattern frequently practiced by which kinds of primates?
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Colobus monkeys, Indris Lemurs, galagos, tarsiers aka found in Prosimians
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55. _________ is seen in some New World monkeys, but not in any Old World monkeys
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Prehensile tail
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56. DNA hybridization of humans and chimpanzees indicate they share about _________ of their DNA base sequences.
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98%
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57. What are the defining characteristics of tarsiers?
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Nocturnal, insectivores, social unit is a mom, dad and offspring. Also their enormous eyes, ability to rotate their head 180 degrees
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58. What are the most non-derived, or primitive, primates?
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Prosimians
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59. Monkeys are divided into which two major groups?
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Old and New World Monkeys
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60. What are the smallest New World anthropoids?
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Marmosets and tamarins
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61. What is a hominoid? Examples?
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Members of the primate superfamily that includes apes and humans
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62. Sexual dimorphism refers to...
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Differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species
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63. Gibbons and siamangs are adapted for what kind of locomotion?
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Brachiation aka arm swinging
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64. Mountain gorilla social groups are usually composed of
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One or two large silverback males, a variable number of adult females and their sub adult offspring
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65. Chimpanzees live in groups composed of (age/sex)
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Males, females and a variation in age. They live in large communities in size from 10-100 individuals
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66. What is a major underlying factor for the declining numbers of nonhuman primates?
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Reduction of Habitat
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67. Ideally, taxonomic classification suggests what kind of relationships?
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Organisms are classified first according to their physical similarities
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68. Structural similarities shared by species that are acquired by descent from a common ancestor are ...
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Homologies
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69. What is the evolutionary process that produces analogous structures called?
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Homoplasy
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70. Structural similarities shared by a wide array of distantly related species that are inherited from a remote ancestor, such as the number of bones in the forelimb, are termed ...
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Homologies
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71. What is the term for traits that reflect specific evolutionary lineages and can be informative of evolutionary relationships?
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Derived (modified) traits
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72. A hypothesis regarding ancestor-descendant relationships that includes a time scale is called a
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Phylogenetic tree
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73. Speciation can occur as a result of ...
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Isolation
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74. Morphological variation between individuals within a species
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May be the product of male/ female morphological differences
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75. As discussed in the text, long-term continental drift had significant evolutionary ramifications because
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Groups of animals became isolated from each other by oceans, significantly influencing the distribution of mammals and other land vertebrates
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76. What does the term endothermic refer to?
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Able to maintain internal body temperature by producing energy through metabolic processes within cells
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77. What are Monotremes?
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Egg-laying mammals
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78. What is the term for the rapid expansion and diversification of groups of organisms into newly available ecological niches?
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Adaptive radiation
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79. What is the false belief that there is a relationship between physical traits and certain behavioral traits such as intelligence and morality?
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Biological determinism
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80. What is the term for the philosophy of "race improvement" through the forced sterilization of some groups and the encouraged reproduction of others?
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Eugenics
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81. What is a polytypic species?
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Species composed of populations that differ in the expression of one or more traits
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82. In its most common biological usage, the term race is...
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Refers to geographically patterned phenotypic variation within a species
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83. Why are anthropologists interested in the ABO blood type system?
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provide some of the best examples of Mendelian traits in humans
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84. The frequency of the O allele (in ABO blood type) is almost 100 percent among which indigenous population?
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In south America
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1. Lactose intolerance is characterized by ...
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A person's ability to digest milk
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86. Population geneticists use the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation to determine ...
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The mathematical relationship expressing the predicted distribution of alleles in populations
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87. 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 ...
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Homeostasis
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88. Acclimatization refers to ...
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Physiological response to changes in the environment that occur during an individual's lifetime. These changes may be temporary or permanent, depending on the duration of the environmental change and when in the individual's life it occurs.
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89. What are some examples of acclimatization?
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A temporary and rapid adjustment to an environmental change. Another example is the very rapid increase in hemoglobin production that occurs when people who live at low elevations travel to higher ones.
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90. What contributes most to skin color?
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Mostly influenced by the pigment melanin, a granular substance produced by specialized cells in the epidermis.
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91. Dark skin is found in populations near the equator. Why?
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It is where the sun's rays are most direct and thus where exposure to UV light is most intense
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92. What causes rickets?
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Lack of vitamin D
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93. Mechanisms for radiating body heat include...
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Vasodilation: expansion of blood vessels, permitting increased blood flow to the skin. Permits warming of the skin and facilitates radiation of warmth as a means of cooling.
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94. Bergmann's rule ... what is it?
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Concerns the relationship of body mass or volume to surface area
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95. Hypoxia is...
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Lack of oxygen
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96. What are disease-causing organisms such as bacteria and viruses called?
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Pathogens
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97. The World Health Organization lists ______ as the world's leading killer of adults.
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Tuberculosis
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98. What is the belief that species do not change but are the same as when first created known as?
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Fixity of species
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99. By the 17th century, some scientists were beginning to break with long-held traditions and sought to investigate _______.
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evolution
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100. __________________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.
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John Ray
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101. _____________________refined the existing system of classifying biological organisms into a binomial system.
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Carolus Linnaeus
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102. Charles Darwin was not the only one to conceive of natural selection. Who published an article suggesting current species were descended from other species?
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Alfred Russel Wallace
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103. Who was the first to actually attempt to explain the mechanism by which species change?
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Charles Darwin
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104. What is the view that the extinction and the subsequent appearance of more modern forms could be explained by a series of disasters and creations?
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Catastrophism
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105. __________________ proposed that population size increases at a faster rate than food supplies.
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Thomas Malthus
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106. The fact that individuals who possess favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those who possess less favorable traits is the basis for which theory?
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Natural selection
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107. "Fitness," in an evolutionary sense, refers to an individual's ...
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Genetic contribution to the next generation compared with that of other individuals
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108. According to the text, which is among the reasons that about half of Americans believe that evolution does not occur?
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Because of their faith of creation
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109. A person who is homozygous recessive at a locus will express what kind of genotype?
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Two lowercase r's (rr)
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110. What is the term used to refer to the observable, physical expression of genotypes?
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phenotypes
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111. What is it called when a person possesses two different alleles at the same locus, and both alleles are expressed in the phenotype?
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- Codominance
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112. How many ABO phenotypes are there?
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six
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113. Mendelian traits are described as discrete, or discontinuous because ...
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- They are only controlled by alleles at one genetic locus
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114. Two people (both heterozygotes) are able to taste a chemical substance called PTC. The ability to taste PTC is caused by a dominant allele (T). The inability to taste PTC is caused by a recessive allele (t). What proportion of their children would be expected not to be able to taste PTC?
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1/4 of their children
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115. What types of traits are governed by more than one genetic locus?
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Polygenetic inheritance
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116. What is the only source of new genetic material in any population?
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Mutation
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117. What is gene flow defined as?
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Exchange of genes between populations
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118. Genetic drift is ...
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Evolutionary changes produced by random factors. It is a result of small population size
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119. Altruism is a behavior that ...
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Benefits another while involving some risk or sacrifice to the performer
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120. Some of the deliberate nonhuman primate behaviors that serve as communication include ...
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To communicate information relating to their emotional state only
