Chapter 5 Human Origins Flashcards
What is the term for the natural history of earth and the universe, including the span of human existence?
Deep time
What do we call the chemical process that preserves an organism by turning it partially or wholly into a rock?
Fossilization
In order for an organism to become a fossil, it:
Has to be buried in oxygen-free sediment.
While a great many of the fossils of our earliest human ancestors have been found in Africa, why is it problematic to use these fossils to make concrete conclusions about our earliest origins?
There is unequal representation of time periods and species in the fossil record
What is the term used to describe scientists who study fossil remains of our early human ancestors?
Paleoanthropologist
Stratigraphy is a technique of relative dating, and it depends on _____.
Assumptions that what is deeper is older
The chance discovery of the Kennewick man in 1996 opened a window to early human life in North America. This success might not have been possible, however, without researchers making comparisons of the remains to nearby plants, animals, and other parts of the remains to understand the context. This approach to dating is called _____.
Relative
What kind of dating techniques gives a specific date for a fossil?
Absolute
Which of the following can be dated using radiocarbon dating methods?
hair preserved in peat bogs
What can the radiopotassium dating technique be applied to?
Stone of volcanic origin
Where in the body do we carry our genetic code?
DNA
Genetic studies of mtDNA indicates that:
All living humans have a common matrilineal ancestor.
At about what date do DNA studies place the migration of humans out of Africa?
100,000 yBP
Calculations of DNA mutation rates indicate that Native Americans migrated about _____ yBP.
15,000
What is evolution?
Evolution describes how biological adaptation in organism occur as a response to environmental changes, developing over generations
What do we called the Protestant Christian belief that God created the earth between 6,000 and 10,000 yBP?
Creationism
A recent attempt to undermine evolution tries to avoid religions and instead claims that hard evidence shows life is too complex to be random. What is this theory called?
Intelligent design
Scientists believe that genetic mutations are:
The only source of new genetic material in a population
What environmental agents increase the frequency of mutations?
Mutagens
Until the mid-1800s, most peppered moths in Great Britain were white, while a few were dark. Why did these groups switch during the Industrial Revolution, when most of the peppered moth population evolved to have the darker coloration?
Dark moths were selected because their color was an advantage in the new environment
The sickle cell gene is found in high frequency in certain African countries along the equator because:
The gene provides certain advantages in that environment
Genetic drift is significant in evolution because it can:
Make an isolated group genetically distinct
Gene flow is the:
Movement of genes between populations.
What significant fossil discoveries have emerged from the site at Middle Awash River valley in Ethiopia?
Fossils of both archaic and modern human ancestors
When a small part of a population with a unique phenotypical characteristic migrated to a new location and begins to reproduce separately as a new, distinct group, what is this process called?
Founder effect
Which of the following is a list of our human ancestors in chronological order (as we now understand them), from oldest to youngest?
Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus afarensis, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens
What do the discoveries in the Awash River valley suggest about the environment where bipedalism appeared in early hominids?
Early hominids may have lived in wooded regions along lakes, as well as on the savanna
The term Oldowan refers to:
The earliest stone tools found in Africa
Which of the following was a contemporary hominid with Australopithecus, but had significantly increased cranial capacity?
Homo habilis
What makes the Acheulian stone tools associated with Homo erectus different than those made by earlier hominids?
These tools were of a greater variety and accomplished a wider range of task
Among which species of early hominids do we begin to note the increasing role of culture, complex social structures, increased brain size, and complex mental activities?
Homo erectus
Why are we unlike to find agriculture associated with Neandertal material culture?
Agriculture developed well after the disappearance of Neandertals
According to the “out of Africa” theory, what led to the disappearance of Neandertals?
Modern Homo sapiens evolved first in Africa and them migrated to other areas, eventually replacing and assimilating with Neandertals
What is one of the unintended side effects of the Lascaux cave paintings discovery?
Media interest in the caves has overshadowed the earlier art found in Africa
When did modern Homo sapiens first enter Australia?
40,000 yBP
What is one possible explanation offered by some scholars to explain the “Hobbit” of Flores Island, Indonesia?
This is a case of microcephaly
Around 15,000 yBP, where had modern Homo sapiens migrated to from Asia?
North and South America
Genetic adaptation is distinct because it:
Only occurs at the population level
Although DNA provides a blueprint for an individual’s growth, other environmental factors such as nutrition and disease can impact the human life cycle. This describes what kind of adaptation?
Developmental
The individual most likely to demonstrate a developmental adaptation is someone who
has grown up in a high-altitude environment
The term acclimatization refers to:
The ability to make temporary physiological changes in response to the environment
The complex innovations that allow humans to more effectively respond to the surrounding environment are called _____ adaptations.
Cultural
The role of ultraviolet light is significant in human evolution because
Too much of this light can destroy folic acid, needed for healthy fetal development
Which of the following absorbs ultraviolet radiation as a natural sunscreen?
Melanin
Why are dark-skinned people found in equatorial region?
Dark skin is genetic adaptation to ultraviolet radiation
What is one type of cultural adaptation to ultraviolet radiation?
Vitamin D fortified milk
Anthropologist have observed that chimpanzees can use stones tools to crack nuts, and that they teach this useful skill to their offspring. This is significant because chimpanzees
Are capable of social learning
If the replacement theory is correct, then what should we expect to find out about early hominids?
Both archaic and modern humans should overlap in time in most locations.
According to the text, because of changes in the environment due to global warming, human beings will:
Undergo many adaptations, including genetic ones
What do we call a group of related organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile, viable offspring?
Species
Why did modern Homo sapiens settle in the Pacific Islands approximately 40,000 yBP
The climate cooled and sea levels lowered, providing more land
Which of the following emphasizes the deep underlying connection among all humans today?
Gene flow between populations
What is significant about the fetal origins hypothesis?
Prenatal stress has a dramatic impact on health
People from the high-altitude highlands of South America develop larger lung capacity in order to process more oxygen. Why does this sane lung capacity not reverse if these individuals move to a lower altitude?
This is permanent developmental adaptation
