Final Exam: Origins of Humans

Question 1

a mammal group including monkeys, apes, and lemurs

Answer 1

primates

Question 1

What 3 features do humans share with other primates?

Answer 1

1. Opposable thumbs
2. Larger brains compared to other mammals
3. Can make and use tools

Question 2

What kinds of climates do non-human primates usually live in?

Answer 2

Warm climates

Question 3

How did climate change through the Cenozoic create problems for primates?

Answer 3

During the Ice Age time, their territory decreased because of the cold (we had fire so we weren’t as limited as they were to space back then)

Question 4

Humans are what 4 things? Why?

Answer 4

1. Vertebrates (we have backbones)
2. Tetrapods (we have four limbs, lungs)
3. Mammals (feed their young milk, have 3 middle ear bones, and one lower jaw bone)
4. Primates (opposable thumbs and large brains)

Question 5

time range of human-like fossil species

Answer 5

Late in the Neogene– Quaternary

Question 6

The amount of _______ cover back then was much smaller, so primates were limited to smaller spaces.

Answer 6

forestland

Question 7

Human-like fossils were first found where?

Answer 7

In the East African Rift Valley

Question 8

An area of active plate tectonics and immature sediment being deposited. Super famous, highly studied area.

Answer 8

East African Rift Valley

Question 9

two-legged primates

Answer 9

bipedal

Question 10

Walking on two legs appeared (before/after) large brain size appeared

Answer 10

before

Question 11

What is special about Australopithecus that shows that it is an ancestor of humans?

Answer 11

They were bipedal, had legs and feet much like humans, and walked standing straight up.

Question 12

What kind of environment did Australopithecus live in?

Answer 12

Grasslands (Eastern and South Africa)

Question 13

How would walking on two legs be advantageous for survival in grasslands? (3)

Answer 13

1. Walking
2. Seeing predators
3. Carrying food

Question 14

What is the scientific name for humans?

Answer 14

Homo sapiens

Question 15

T or F: There used to be a lot of different homo species that existed at the same time. Now only homo sapiens are left.

Answer 15

True

Question 16

The evolution of humans includes (larger/smaller) brain size, (larger/smaller) jaw bone, and _____ tools.

Answer 16

larger; smaller; stone

Question 17

On what continent did humans and human-like species originate?

Answer 17

(East) Africa

Question 18

Humans mostly moved what direction at first? What is a probable reason for this?

Answer 18

Mostly moved east west, probably bc of warmer climates

Question 19

Humans spread to what place last?

Answer 19

America

Question 20

Homo ______ had moved out of Africa before Homo sapiens.

Answer 20

erectus

Question 21

Why was it easier to reach North America during the Ice Age than it is today?

Answer 21

Low sea level created a land connection

Question 22

What are Neanderthals?

Answer 22

Relatives of humans (like cavemen)

Question 23

Neanderthals had (longer/shorter), (thinner/thicker) bones and often showed signs of _____ _______.

Answer 23

shorter, thicker; bone injuries

Question 24

Why do many scientists now consider Neanderthals to be members of our own species?

Answer 24

DNA Evidence shows breeding of humans and neanderthals (= same species?)

Question 25

T or F: Neanderthals had a behavior of caring for each other (digging graves) → more complex human like behaviors

Answer 25

true

Question 26

T or F: Neanderthals went extinct when humans met neanderthals, although there is no clear evidence of why.

Answer 26

True

Question 27

What happened to other human-like species as humans (Homo sapiens) spread around the world?

Answer 27

They went extinct

Question 28

The world-wide phenomenon if megafauna going extinct all over the world mysteriously doesn’t affect what two places? What is the evidence of this?

Answer 28

• Africa and Southern Asia
• Evidence: still have elephants, etc there

Question 29

What are the 2 things that make the megafauna extinction unique?

Answer 29

1. Happened at different times in different places
2. Only large land animals go extinct

Question 30

What are the 2 hypotheses for why the Ice Age megafauna went extinct?

Answer 30

1. Warming climate at the end of the last glacial (it warmed up, things died out)
2. Humans overhunted prey that were not used to human predators (The “Overkill” Hypothesis)

Question 31

What are the 2 problems with the warming climate hypothesis?

Answer 31

1. Different times on different continents (ex: Australia megafauna went extinct before North America; Australia was still cold at this time)
2. Megafauna had survived previous interglacials

Question 32

What is the strength of the “Overkill” Hypothesis? Problem of this hypothesis?

Answer 32

• Strength: explains extinction of large animals (slow breeders; slow to reproduce)
• Problem: Timing may or may not line up

Question 33

If overhunting by humans killed off the mammoths, what should we see in the fossil record?

Answer 33

Mammoths disappear soon after humans arrive.

Question 34

T or F: The “Overkill” Hypothesis only works if extinction is clearly dated to soon after humans arrived.

Answer 34

True

Question 35

What was another possible human impact that could’ve been a reason for animals being killed?

Answer 35

Fire use (setting woods on fire to drive animals out, then kill them)