Question | Answer |
small stylized statues of females made in a variety of materials by early modern humans | “Venus” figurines |
tree-dwelling | arboreal |
spear thrower; a device used to increase and extend the power of the human arm when throwing a spear | atlatl |
members of an early hominid genus found in Africa and characterized by bipedal locomotion and small brain size | australopithecines |
walking on two feet, a distinctive characteristic of humans and our ancestors; appeared earlier than increased brain size or tool use | bipedalism |
frequency change of a particular trait as you move geographically from one point to another. | clinal distribution |
descent with modification from a single common ancestor or ancestral population | evolution |
mixing of genetic material that results from the movement of individuals and groups from place to place. | gene flow |
changes in the frequencies of specific traits caused by random factors. | genetic drift |
a group of similar species | genus |
species of early human found in Africa, Asia, and Europe; present between 1.8 million & about 200,000 years ago; brain/body size >; brain vol.1000cc size up to 1250 cc | Homo erectus |
species of early human found in Africa; present between 2.5 & 1.8 million years ago; brains lrg compared to body; skulls high & less protrusion in face | Homo habilis |
species of human found throughout the world; earliest appeared about 500,000 years ago | Homo sapiens |
theory that seeks to explain transition from archaic to modern Homo sapiens, by proposing that modern & archaic forms interbred | hybridization model |
pigment found in the skin, hair, and eyes of human beings, as well as many other species, that is responsible for variations in color | melanin |
theory that seeks to explain transition from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens, arguing different populations of Homo sapiens are descendant from different populations of Homo erectus | multiregional model |
random change in genetic material; the ultimate source of all biological variation | mutation |
mechanism of evolutionary change; changes in traits of living organisms that occur over time as a result of differences in reproductive success among individuals | natural selection |
members of a population of archaic Homo sapiens; lived between 130,000 & 35,000 years ago | Neanderthal |
stone tools made by Homo habilis | Oldowan tools |
animal that eats both plant and animal foods | omnivore |
slight difference in the image of an object seen from two different vantage points | parallax |
member of a biological order of mammals that includes human beings, apes, and monkeys as well as prosimians (lemurs, tarsiers, and others) | primate |
theory that modern people evolved 1st in Africa & then spread out to inhabit virtually all the world, out-competing/destroying other human populations in the process | replacement model |
childhood disease characterized by the softening and bending of leg and pelvis bones; related to insufficiency of vitamin D and/or calcium | rickets |
theory that the evolution of certain traits can be explained by competition for opportunities to mate | sexual selection |
group of organisms whose members are similar to one another and are able to reproduce within their group but not with members of other groups | species |
learned use of twigs or blades of grass to extract termites from their mounds characteristic of some groups of chimpanzees | termite fishing |
in its broadest sense evolution refers to __ change | directional |
evolution is a __ of populations, not individual organisms | characteristic |
for a change to be evolutionary in a biological sense, it must affect the __ we pass on to next generations | genes |
evolution is the primary way we understand the __ history of humanity, and all life | biological |
6th century BCE Anaximander of Milteus speculated that humans arose from | fish |
used evidence of fossil fish from numerous place around Mediterranean to support Anaximander's theory | Xenophanes of Colophon |
biological anthropology fits into cultural anthropology because human behavior rest on a | biological base |
language, two-legged stance, & need to reproduce are all __ __ that are basic to human culture | evolved traits |
understanding human's evolutionary history is important to cultural anthropologists because it informs us about the things that all humans | have in common |
most convincing scientific explanation of variety/history of live on earth, theory of evolution by | Charles Darwin |
__ among members of a species comes from mutation, sexual reproduction, gene flow, & gene drift | variations |
mutations are the __ __ of all variation | ultimate source |
gene flow also creates | new variations |
a random factor that cause a specific characteristic to be prevalent in the descents of this group | isolation |
before development of sanitation is 19th century & antibiotics in 20th century, vast numbers of children | died very young |
more than 40% of all deaths in London between 1813-1820 were | children <10 yr |
in the world's poorer nations, in modern times, large numbers of children die | before 5yr |
in 2003 , 11 African nations __ of children died before age 5yr | 20% |
Darwin was profoundly affected by the __ & __ philosophy of his era | social; political |
these philosophers emphasized role of competition in humans social life & culture | Adam Smith & Thomas Malthus |
argued competition among firms increased their productivity & led to social betterment | Smith, 1770s |
wrote that because human population levels rose much faster than agricultural production, struggles over resources were inevitable | Malthus |
Darwin gave __ & __ prominent roles in his theory | competition; struggle |
creatures who has traits that suited them well to their environment tended to __ in struggle for nutrition & reproduction | win |
Darwin argued that creatures who won survival struggle passed some __ __ to offspring | successful traits |
Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is referred to as | survival of the fittest |
survival of the fittest was a phrase coined by | Herbert Spencer (1864) |
regarding "fitness" referring to wealth, power, & physical strength | Spencer |
regarding "fitness" referring to creatures better adapted to environment tend to succeed in struggle for food/mates, passing on traits, & less well adapted traits tend to disappear | Darwin |
__ & __ do not necessarily guarantee reproductive success | strength; intelligence |
Darwin understood evolution by natural selection as a slow, steady, __ process | continuous |
proposed alternative model of evolution called punctuated equilibrium | Niles Eldridge & Stephen Jay Gould (1972) |
Eldridge & Gould agreed with the basic __ __ of natural selection | Darwinian mechanism |
species tend to remain stable for long periods, then through mutation & natural selection, change quite suddenly; supported by much of fossil record | punctuated equilibrium |
evolution challenges a __ __ of the world's religious texts about how animals came to live on the earth | literal reading |
in 1950 declared that evolution was compatible with Christian teachings | Catholic Church |
in 2007, said the debate between evolution & creationism in US was an "absurdity" & that evolution can coexist w/faith | Pope Benedict XVI |
in official publications/conference proceedings, United Presbyterian Ch., Episcopalian Ch., Unitarian Ch., United Methodist Ch., & Central Council of American Rabbis have all supported evolution & opposed teaching of | scientific creationism in public schools |
evolution has become part of the basic framework of all | biological sciences |
biological scientists agree on basic principles of evolution/natural selection, but argue about __ of evolution & precise __ under which it occurs | speed; conditions |
all arguing sides of natural selection debate agree on basic principles but differ on | specific applications |
modern-day human & modern-day gorillas & chimpanzees evolved from | common ancestors |
it is biologically __ to say that humans evolved from apes/monkeys & leads to ___ of evolution | inaccurate; misunderstanding |
by saying humans evolved from gorillas/chimpanzees suggests that humans are | more evolved |
no creature can be more __ than another | evolved |
belief that intellect/ability to alter environment is most important criterion of evolution is a __ __ of looking at biology | human-centered way |
no agreed upon __ __ of humans, gorillas & chimpanzees has been found | common ancestor |
through __ & info from __ __ give us information about the common ancestor of humans, gorillas & chimpanzees | fossils ; biochemical dating |
biological anthropologists use fossil record & tech. based on study of DNA, blood protein, blood-clotting agents, & immunology to try to determine __ common ancestors of humans, gorillas & chimpanzees lived | when |
creatures that became humans & apes split from those that gave rise to monkeys of Europe, Africa & Asia | 25-20 million yrs ago |
humans last had common ancestor with gorillas about | 8 million yrs ago |
humans last had common ancestor with orangutans about | 13 million yrs ago |
humans last had common ancestor with chimpanzees about | 7 million yrs ago |
all primates originated from __ mammals | tree-dwelling |
to survive in 3D world of trees, primates needed hands & feet with | opposable thumbs |
tree-dwelling primates developed very __ __ & __ __ | acute eyesight; depth perception |
in primates accurate depth perception comes from | stereoscopic vision |
primate's field of vision of each eye __ the other | overlaps |
overlapping vision allows primates to see objects __ from 2 slightly different angles at once | close-up |
most scent molecules are __ and tend accumulate at __ level | heavy; ground |
make scent a less dependable indicator of direction | breezes |
primates have a reduced sense of __ compared with that of other mammals | smell |
primates, in particular humans/apes, have a larger __ compared to body weight than do other animals | brain |
almost all primates live in __ __ | social groups |
live in group consisting of single adult male & numerous adult females & offspring | gorillas |
live in groups that include several adult males & females & offspring | chimpanzees |
live in monogamous pairs | gibbons & several species of monkeys |
live in groupings w/one female and two males | monkeys from Central/South America |
core of primate societies is the bond between mother & | offspring |
the mother-infant bond is stronger in primates than any other animals, w/exception to | elephants |
besides the mother, the __ plays an important role in parenting | grandmother |
primates have an enormous ability & __ to learn | need |
by __, primates refine their physical skills, explore their world, & practice solving problems | playing |
both males & females are ranked as superior/inferior to one another | dominance hierarchies |
anthropologists believe __ serve to limit amount of aggression | hierarchies |
lower-ranking individuals less likely to challenge those w/more status than might otherwise be the case once | hierarchy is established |
greater access to food, sex, & other resource is the __ __ to a high rank in the hierarchy | critical benefit |
though presence of hierarchy prevents constant conflict, aggression does occur to change | patterns of dominance |
recorded 1st tool used among non-human primates in 1960 | Jane Goodall |
most sophisticated tool use, among non-human primates, is found among | chimpanzees & baboons |
reported chimpanzees fashioning sticks into spears & using them to hunt bush babies (squirrel-sized nocturnal primates) | Pruetz & Bertolani (2007) |
reported chimpanzees in Ivory Coast used hammer stones to break nuts & stone piles/chips left by process very similar to remains of early hominin tools | Mercader, Panger & Boesch (2002) |
2 well-documented examples of chimpanzee & bonobo tool use are | termite fishing & leaf sponges |
chimpanzees take leaves, chew them, & use resulting wad of material to soak up water from tree hollows & other places of difficult access | leaf sponges |
among all primates who use tools, it is __ who first develop tool-using skills | females |
females generally become __ __ at tool use when compared to males | more adapt |
tool use behavior among sea otters, woodpecker finches & other non-primates seems largely | instinctive |
different behavior patterns, such as tool use, are __ __ patterns passed along as part of knowledge of the social group | learned behavior |
humans & nearest ape relations have been following __ __ of evolution for past 5-8million years | separate courses |
history of human evolution is a narrative of | growth & movement |
humans had to innovate, apply learning in new/original ways, adapt by changing our behaviors in order to live in | many different ecosystems |
all human ancestors, current-day humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, & orangutans are member of biological family of | Hominidae |
if male & female are capable of producing offspring they are | members of same species |
if male & female are not capable of producing offspring, or offspring are infertile, they are | members of different species |
since there is no available test for fossil ancestors, w/regard to offspring, so determining species membership is | speculative |
human ancestors & modern-day people fall into | Australopithecus or Homo |
modern people are members of genus | Homo |
many ancient ancestors of modern people are members of | Australopithecus |
larger/harder something is the longer it takes to __, & greater chance of __ | decay; fossilization |
hardest part of body, easiest to fossilize | teeth |
large & found more frequently than smaller bones of the ribs | skull & leg bones |
decay very rapidly & rarely found | soft tissues |
techniques such as aerial/ground-based surveys, satellite imagery, & radar are used at certain geological formations to | locate fossils |
once fossil-bearing site found is it __ & __ | photographed; mapped |
fossil-bearing sites are usually divided into a __ | grid |
grids in fossil-bearing sites are __ examined by section | systematically |
complex & highly technical procedure; incl potassium/argon (K/Ar), Carbon14 (C14), thermoluminescence & paleomagnetic | dating of fossils |
dating techniques provide date | ranges |
date ranges are generally specified as + or - | a certain number of years |
critical thing that differentiates human & our ancestors from modern-day apes & their ancestors is | bipedal stance & locomotion |
shaped differently than those of animals that walk on all fours | skulls & pelvises of bipeds |
freed hands allowing our ancestors to carry things for long distances & make tools | bipedal locomotion |
fossil skull, earliest evidence of creature considered ancestral to humans, found 2002 in Chad | Toumai |
early/mid-1990's, discovered remains of 40+ who lived approximately 4.4million yrs ago | Tim White |
large jaws, small brains; teeth similar to modern-day chimpanzees; pelvic bones, skulls, & forelimbs indicated bipedal | Ardipithecus ramidus |
earliest Australopithecine fossils are from N. __ & are between 3.9-4.2 million yrs old | Kenya |
1974, Hadar Ethiopia, "Lucy" 40% of bones present, discovered by team lead by | Donald Johanson |
Laetoli Tanzania, 3.5 million-year-old bed of volcanic ash found (2) footprint trails by Australopithecines | Mary Leakey |
small, light, slender, standing 3.5-5ft tall wght 65-100 lbs; 1/3 size of modern humans; lived in arid/semiarid grasslands, bushlands, & forests; found by Hadar & Leakey are called | gracile Australopithecines |
heavier skulls, reinforced w/bony ridges & substantially lrg teeth/jaws; adapted for chewing heavy, course material; lived in Africa until 1 million yr ago | robust Australopithecines |
critical factor in human evolution | toolmaking |
1st Australopithecus africanus skull identified | Taungs child |
the array of teeth of the Homo habilis suggests they were | omnivores |
the fact that Oldowan tools were designed for cutting & bashing rather than hunting suggests that Homo habilis rarely | killed large animals |
stone rings found at Olduvai Gorge (N. Tanzania) indicate Homo habilis probably built shelters for | protection from predators & climate |
earliest remains of Homo habilis are from __ __ & had been believed they were limited to that continent | eastern/southern Africa |
fossils from Indonesia/China, Oldowan-style tools in Pakistan/France, skulls/fossils similar to habilis in Damanisi/Rep. of Georgia indicate | habilis spread out of Africa |
the geographic dispersion of habilis suggests they were more __ & __ on __ than was previously thought | adaptable; dependent; culture |
Homo erectus fossils come from __ __ & are about 1.8 million yrs old | Northern Kenya |
Homo erectus were substantially larger than habilis, roughly the same size as | modern-day people |
1.6 million-yr-old skeleton of 12-yr-old boy found at Lk Turkana Kenya estimate that if they boy had grown to maturity he would have been | at least 6ft tall |
not only is the Homo erectus skull larger but its bone are | heavier |
erectus has a __ ridge of bone above eyes & __ bone is thick | heavy; cranial |
erectus' thick bones/heavy reinforcing features suggests very strong | jaw muscles |
erectus' skulls is marked by disproportionate shortness/thickness, making the largest point | below the ears |
Homo erectus' named by Eugene Dubois 1890s, years before any of australopithcines finds, so he named them because he believed he had found | oldest human ancestor who walked upright |
erectus was found before the fossils of earlier bipedal species because its | geographic spread was much larger |
inhabited much of Africa, Europe, & Asia; major finds have been made in eastern/northern/southern Africa, Spain, Middle East, China & Indonesia | erectus |
from its __ __ __ we know erectus was able to adapt to life in greater variety of ecological/climatic settings | wide geographic spread |
much of the era of erectus happened during | Ice Ages |
in order to thrive in many different habitats, erectus developed increasingly | sophisticated & complex culture |
important window on erectus culture provided by human/animals remains & artifacts (more than 40 erectus individuals/>100,000 artifacts) found at | Zhoukoudian, China (near Beijing) |
inhabited between 450,000 & 230,000 yrs ago by erectus | Zhoukoudian |
choppers, scrapers, points, & awls from stone; deer antlers for tools & possibly skulls for drinking bowls; remains of fires, | inhabitants of Zhoukoudian |
most anthropologists agree erectus was capable of __ fire | controlling |
show erectus was capable of hunting/butchering elephants 1/2 million years ago | remains in Spain |
many erectus fossil sites show marks of __ __ as well as cut marks from tools | carnivore teeth |
evidence of __ among the bone tools at Zhoukoudian suggests that clothing was made from animal skins | needles |
debate about the basic validity of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is largely | political and religious rather than scientific |
increasing acquisition of sophisticated, learned, cultural behavior is the __ __ in human evolution | critical trend |
Raymond Dart made his critical fossil discovery | in the 1920s |
one possible explanation for differences in skin color has to do with the response of people with different skin colors to | cold climates |
some __ of erectus fossils from Zhoukoudian were removed after death | brains |
homo erectus find 2003; new species of hominin called "the Hobbit"; discovered on isl. of Flores Indonesia; small variety of Homo erectus | Homo floresiensis |
some anthropologists belief floresiensis is a __ __ of erectus | dwarf form |
some anthropologists belief floresiensis is Homo sapiens with | diseases or congenital malformations |
depending on the assumptions of the researcher, some recent tests found floresiensis similar to __ or __ | erectus; habilis |
critical anatomical distinctions between erectus & sapiens lie in the __ & __ of the skull | volume; shape |
skull lacks heavy bony ridge above eyes; skull is high & vaulted w/lrg forehead | sapiens |
skeletal changes between erectus & sapiens reflect tight interrelationship of | learned behavior & biological evolution |
Neanderthals had brain sizes overlapping & __ __ than modern people | sometimes larger |
by 35,000 yr ago Homo __ __ had spread throughout the range of all populations & was the only form present | sapiens sapiens |
two prominent theories of how transition of erectus to sapiens took place | multiregional & replacement models |
supporters of multiregional model argue that since none of populations were isolated individuals & their genes moved freely & humanity developed as a | single unified species simultaneously |
multiregional model seems to explain from of __ __ among modern human populations | anatomical variations |
data supporting replacement model is based on | biochemical & genetic evidence |
replacement model has taken evidence from __ __ showing all living humans share at least one common ancestor | mitochondrial DNA |
DNA from remains of archaic Homo populations shows that __ & __ ancestral populations split 370,000 yr ago | human & Neanderthal |
hybridization model provides __ __ between multiregional & replacement models | common ground |
__ model has the most recent data supporting it & is widely accepted in biological sciences | replacement |
__ __ of Neanderthals show complex culture is not limited to modern Homo sapiens | burial practices |
Shanidar Cave, Iraq, shows Neanderthals had __ __ for burial of dead, through the high levels of pollen in graves indicating burial with flowers | symbolic rituals |
Moula-Guercy cave in France shows evidence that Neanderthals practiced | cannibalism |
made tools of much greater sophistication, efficiency, & variety than any prior species | Homo sapiens sapiens |
critical innovation of Homo sapiens sapiens was the __ __, made of several wood, bone, & stone pieces bound together | compound tool |
extremely __ __ tools have been found in eastern Congo, dated between 75,000-180,000 yr old making older than any sapiens sapiens tools found in Europe | complex bone |
shortly after modern people appeared __ __ of large mammals became extinct | 50 genera |
domestication of plants & animals involved substantial increases in the | amount of work humans had to do |
origin of current industrialized society lies in the move to dependency on __ __ & __ 10,000 yr ago | domesticated plants; animals |
geographical gradient | cline |
pattern of __ __ distribution leads anthropologists to believe having one/another gives specific advantages/disadvantages under different environmental conditions | blood type |
good example of trait that follows clinal distribution | sickle cell gene |
sickle cell gene is common in areas that have a high incidence of | malaria |
skin color is a complex trait because little known about geographic distribution & their __ significance | adaptive |
all humans have about the same number of | melanocytes |
amount of __ produced by melanocytes differs among human populations | melanin |
melanin in the skin absorbs __ __ protecting people from form of skin cancer | ultraviolet rays |
in northern latitudes light skin color must confer some __ advantage | reproductive |
melanin reduces the amount of ultraviolet light to interact with cells that produce | vitamin D precursors |
apply their knowledge of physical anthropology to identification of skeletal or badly decomposed human remains | forensic anthropologists |
one of Guatemala's leading human rights activists | Karen Fisher |
almost killed in 9/11 attacks & ended up working w/NY Medical Examiner's office in identifying more than 16,000 body parts at the disaster site | Amy Mundorff |
conducts forensic casework in TX & AZ; collects data on US/Mexico border-crossing fatalities | Kate Spradley |
forensic anthropologist at U of TX that unearthed a body under a houses foundation | Michelle Hamilton |
50% of the world's 634 recognized species & subspecies of __ are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered | primates |
In __ 71% of primates are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered | Asia |
37% of __ primates are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered | Africa's |
one key factor threatening primate populations is | destruction of habitat |
in some areas combination of __ increase & __ demand resulted in destruction of 90% of original habitat for primates | population; commercial |