2 minute read
Quiz
QUIZ
1. What is not a characteristic that defines a difference between archaic man and modern man?
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a. Archaic man had a prominent brow ridge. b. Archaic man did not walk erect. c. Archaic man did not have prominent chin. d. Archaic man had a thicker skull.
Answer: b. Each of these is true of archaic man versus modern man, except that archaic man also walked erect as does modern man.
2. When did modern man first appear on earth, according to archaeological digs?
Answer: c. According to archaeological digs, modern man can first be identified as arriving on earth about 160,000 years ago.
3. Which of these species is our most distant common relative in terms of evolution?
a. Gorillas b. Bonobos c. Gibbons d. Orangutans
Answer: c. Gibbons were the first of these to diverge from the human lineage so they represent our most distant primate relative.
4. Which genus of ancient man was the first to be fully bipedal?
a. Ardipithecus b. Australopithecus c. Orrorin d. Sahelanthropus
Answer: a. About 5.6 million years ago, the genus Ardipithecus was the first to be fully bipedal among our human ancestors.
5. What provides the best evidence for determining when the different Hominid species diverged in evolutionary time?
a. Skeletal remains found in archaeological digs b. DNA sequencing c. Physical measurements of modern species d. Immunological cross-reactivity with modern species
Answer: b. DNA sequencing of homologous proteins provides a sort of molecular clock that is probably the most accurate in determining when species diverged among Hominids over evolutionary time.
6. When did modern humans leave Africa the most recent time?
Answer: c. Modern humans exited Africa about 55,000 years ago, although there is evidence that earlier humans left Africa as much as 2.6 million years ago.
7. Which species of the Homo genus did not likely leave Africa at all?
a. Homo neanderthalensis b. Homo floresiensis c. Denisovan man d. Homo habilis
Answer: d. According to modern theories of migration, Homo habilis did not likely migrate out of Africa, although each of the rest of these did leave a fossil record outside of Africa.
8. What was the major implication of the Toba Catastrophe or the supereruption of Lake Toba in Indonesia 70,000 years ago?
a. Other species were wiped out so man could ascend. b. Many if not most forms of humans across the globe were killed. c. There was an increasing dependence on marine life for food. d. Mankind came to be more social and survived in social groups.
Answer: b. There was a great reduction in mankind s numbers across the globe, with many early Homo species getting wiped out altogether.
9. What were the most likely earliest tools used by early man?
a. Flint tools b. Axes c. Bows and arrows d. Chipped stone
Answer: d. The chipped stone tools may have been natural or made by early man, who also developed the dexterity and hand strength to use them.
10. What modern human adaptation happened near the last glacial maximum rather than later in the Holocene period?
a. Ability to domesticate animals b. Caucasian genetics c. Lactase persistence d. Farming communities
Answer: b. Caucasian genetics, blue eyes, and cold adaptation happened during the last glacial maximum, while the Holocene period is associated with farming, domestication, and lactase persistence.
