Question 1

Radiometric dating techniques

Accepted Answer

A)   are not based on the phenomenon of radioactive isotope decay rates
B)   can be used to determine the absolute age of organic materials
C)   include the K/Ar but not carbon-14 methods
D)   are a form of stratigraphy
E)   are relative dating techniques

Question 2

What is the contribution of investigations at Olduvai Gorge to paleoanthropological research?

Accepted Answer

Olduvai Gorge, located in the Great Rift...

Question 3

Which of the following would be best suited to the carbon-14 dating technique?

Accepted Answer

A)   materials more than 100,000 years old
B)   volcanic rock
C)   sedimentary rock
D)   metals
E)   certain organic materials less than 75,000 years old

Question 4

When did the initial hominid divergence from the African hominoids most likely occur?

Accepted Answer

A)   during the late Miocene
B)   during the early Miocene
C)   as late as 1 mya
D)   3 mya
E)   20 to 30 kya

Question 5

Which of the following is not a chromometric dating method?

Accepted Answer

A)   C-14
B)   K-Ar
C)   Fluorine dating
D)   Thermoluminescence
E)   stratigraphy

Question 6

Dating methods indicating that something is older or more recent than something else

Accepted Answer

A)   are called chronometric dating methods
B)   are called absolute dating methods
C)   include the K/Ar method
D)   never require stratigraphic information
E)   are called relative dating methods E

Question 7

Australopithecus afarensis specimens from Laetoli and Hadar are

Accepted Answer

A)   the largest well-studied collection of early hominins
B)   the oldest hominins discovered to date
C)   the smallest least-studied collection of early hominins
D)   only found in South Africa
E)   forms of H. habilis A

Question 8

Anatomical changes in hominins indicative of habitual bipedal locomotion include

Accepted Answer

A)   feet with opposable big toes for grasping
B)   shortening and broadening of the pelvis
C)   increased length of arms relative to legs
D)   increased length of the spine
E)   increased length of pelvis

Question 9

The earliest hominin traces

Accepted Answer

A)   date to the beginning of the Miocene
B)   are primarily full skeletons
C)   are primarily dental and cranial pieces
D)   date to the Eocene
E)   are merely shattered bones impossible to identify C

Question 10

Carbon-14 dating is a relative dating method used to date rocks and minerals.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

You are a paleoanthropologist planning an excavation at a new hominin site in East Africa that is dated to about 2 mya. What fossil hominin species might you expect to find? What anatomical traits might you use to assign them to specific existing taxa?

Accepted Answer

As a paleoanthropologist planning an exc...

Question 12

Define the term mosaic evolution. List three different anatomical or behavioral hominid traits that demonstrate the nature of mosaic evolution.

Accepted Answer

Mosaic evolution refers to the concept t...

Question 13

If an isotope has a half-life of 4 billion years, then in 4 billion years what will happen?

Accepted Answer

A)   All of the original amount will have decayed.
B)   A quarter of the original amount will still remain.
C)   Half of the original amount will still be present.
D)   All of the original amount will still be present.
E)   The original amount will have doubled.

Question 14

The term hominin refers to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?

Accepted Answer

A)   Tribe
B)   Genus
C)   Species
D)   Subfamily
E)   Genera

Question 15

Relative dating techniques

Accepted Answer

A)   can provide exact dates of fossil material
B)   are always accurate to within 500 years
C)   are based on the radioactive decay of unstable isotopes
D)   include biostratigraphy
E)   rely upon stable isotopes

Question 16

Although excavations at Olduvai Gorge have yielded abundant archaeological traces, no hominin remains have ever been found there.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Except for some early Homo individuals, there is very little in the way of an evolutionary trend in increased body size or of marked greater encephalization.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

The terms Sivapithecus, Proconsul, and Dryopithecus¸ applied to different groups of Miocene hominoids, refer to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?

Accepted Answer

A)   species
B)   genus
C)   subfamily
D)   family
E)   order

Question 19

Some of the late Eocene primates have been found in Asia.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

The current evidence indicates that hominins possessed all the major structural changes necessary for bipedalism by 4 million years ago

Accepted Answer

A)   5 to 7 million years ago
B)   8 to 10 million years ago
C)   3 to 4 million years ago

Exam 9: Hominin Origins

Radiometric dating techniques

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is the contribution of investigations at Olduvai Gorge to paleoanthropological research?

Correct AnswerAnswered by ExamLex AIOlduvai Gorge, located in the Great Rift...View AnswerShow Answer

Which of the following would be best suited to the carbon-14 dating technique?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When did the initial hominid divergence from the African hominoids most likely occur?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is not a chromometric dating method?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Dating methods indicating that something is older or more recent than something else

Correct AnswerverifiedE

Australopithecus afarensis specimens from Laetoli and Hadar are

Correct AnswerverifiedA

Anatomical changes in hominins indicative of habitual bipedal locomotion include

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The earliest hominin traces

Correct AnswerverifiedC

Carbon-14 dating is a relative dating method used to date rocks and minerals.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

You are a paleoanthropologist planning an excavation at a new hominin site in East Africa that is dated to about 2 mya. What fossil hominin species might you expect to find? What anatomical traits might you use to assign them to specific existing taxa?

Correct AnswerAnswered by ExamLex AIAs a paleoanthropologist planning an exc...View AnswerShow Answer

Define the term mosaic evolution. List three different anatomical or behavioral hominid traits that demonstrate the nature of mosaic evolution.

Correct AnswerAnswered by ExamLex AIMosaic evolution refers to the concept t...View AnswerShow Answer

If an isotope has a half-life of 4 billion years, then in 4 billion years what will happen?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The term hominin refers to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Relative dating techniques

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Although excavations at Olduvai Gorge have yielded abundant archaeological traces, no hominin remains have ever been found there.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Except for some early Homo individuals, there is very little in the way of an evolutionary trend in increased body size or of marked greater encephalization.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The terms Sivapithecus, Proconsul, and Dryopithecus¸ applied to different groups of Miocene hominoids, refer to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Some of the late Eocene primates have been found in Asia.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The current evidence indicates that hominins possessed all the major structural changes necessary for bipedalism by 4 million years ago

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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Olduvai Gorge, located in the Great Rift...
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E

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C

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As a paleoanthropologist planning an exc...
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Mosaic evolution refers to the concept t...
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