Final Antropology Online

Front 1

how do we now estimate the age of the earth? how was it done before?

Back 1

we now use radiometric dating
used to look at ancient texts

Front 2

how old is the earth? how do we know this?

Back 2

4.54 +- 2 billion years
radiometric dates for rocks brought back from the moon in the 70's

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when did first life begin on earth? how do we know this?

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3.4-3.5 billion years ago
fossil colonies were found

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when did mammals first evolve?

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50-55 mya

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lithosphere

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outer rock shell of the earth

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Pangaea

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super continent

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mesozioc era

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age of reptiles
145.5 to 299 mya

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cenozoic era

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age of mammals
65.5 mya to present

Front 9

in what kind of climate did early primates live?

Back 9

warm moist climates

Front 10

when were the first primates? what were they like? what did they evolve from?

Back 10

early paleocene epoch
similar to tree shrews and squirrels
evolved from prosimians

Front 11

adaptive radiatioin

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rapid expansion and diversification of an evolving group of organisms. process by which one species develops into more.

Front 12

what were primates like during the eocene epoch

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grasping hands and fee good for manipulating objects and climbing trees
eyes were stereotopic vision

Front 13

in which geologic epoch did the prosimians have their maximum adaptive radiation?

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Eocene

Front 14

when did teh first monkeys and apes appear

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oligicene epoch 33.9-23 mya

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what major geological events occured during the oligocene epoch?

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regional climate shifts
n. american and europe drifted apart

Front 16

foramen magnum

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large hole or opening at the bottom of the skull

Front 17

great rift valley

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in east africa
developed as tectonic plates pulled apart

Front 18

PQQ the earliest primates evolved ______ years ago

Back 18

50-55 mya
10 or more million years after dinosaurs became extinct

Front 19

Which of the following statements is true concerning what the world was like when the first primate-like animals lived?
a) Most land masses had tropical or subtropical climates.
b) The continents were essentially in the same location as today and they had the same shapes.
c) Most of the plants and animals that are found on earth today were present.
d) none of the above

Back 19

A. the world was much warmer 60-65 million years ago. it is likely that the poles were not yet ice covered

Front 20

Which of the following statements is true of the early primate-like mammals or proto-primates?
a) They were about the size of large dogs or wolves.
b) They probably lived mostly in grassland environments.
c) Their numerous, well preserved fossils have been found mostly in Europe.
d) none of the above.

Back 20

d.

Front 21

The placental mammals evolved in:
a) Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America
b) South America
c) Australia

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A. --> When the early placental mammals evolved, these continents were all still connected together. As a result, the placental mammals occupied all of these land masses. However, they were absent until much later in South America and Australia.

Front 22

Which of the following geological epochs is out of order (from older to more recent)?
a) Eocene
b) Oligocene
c) Miocene
d) Paleocene
e) all are in order

Back 22

d. --> The Paleocene (ca. 65.5-55.8 million years ago) should come first. The correct chronological sequence of these geological epochs is Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene.

Front 23

Which of the following is true of the primates that lived during the Eocene Epoch (55.8-33.9 million years ago)?
a) There were primate species that resemble modern prosimians such as lemurs, lorises, and possibly tarsiers.
b) This was the epoch of maximum prosimian adaptive radiation.
c) Primate brains and eyes generally were becoming larger, while their snouts were getting smaller.
d) all of the above

Back 23

d

Front 24

What was happening to the foramen magnum in some species of primates during the Eocene Epoch?

Back 24

it was moving towards the center of the head
--> This suggests that they were beginning to hold their bodies erect while hopping and sitting like modern prosimians and monkeys rather than horizontal like a horse or a cow.

Front 25

Which of the following is true of the Oligocene Epoch (33.9-23 million years ago)?
a) Monkeys evolved from prosimians during this epoch or at the tail end of the Eocene Epoch which preceded it.
b) Unusually large numbers of fossil primates from this epoch have been found.
c) There was very little geological and climatic change during this epoch.
d) All of the above are true.

Back 25

a. --> One of these early monkeys was Aegyptopithecus. It was about the size of a large domestic cat (13-20 pounds) and probably was an omnivorous forest tree-dweller.

Front 26

The Great Rift Valley began to form during the Oligocene Epoch as a result of:

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the movement of tectonic plates in east africa

Front 27

Which of the following happened to prosimians during the Oligocene Epoch?
a) They became scarce in most regions.
b) They increased in numbers in most regions.
c) Their numbers remained about the same as they had been in the previous epoch.

Back 27

a. --> With the exception of the Island of Madagascar, which had been cut off from Africa, prosimian species became relatively scarce during the Oligocene probably as a result of losing out in competition with monkeys.

Front 28

Which of the following occurred during the Miocene Epoch (23-5.3 million years ago)?
a) Tectonic movements largely stopped.
b) The forests of East Africa and South Asia were expanding at the expense of grasslands.
c) Apes first evolved.

Back 28

c.--> Apes apparently evolved from monkeys early in the Miocene Epoch. Fossil monkeys and prosimians are comparatively rare from the Miocene, but apes are common. Among the Miocene apes that were adapting to the savannas were our ancestors.

Front 29

Which of the following statements is true of the australopithecines?

a) They are members of our biological tribe of primates.
b) They evolved about the same time as humans.
c) They were habitually quadrupedal

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a. We are both hominins, or members of the tribe Hominini. We share a common African ape ancestor and a bipedal mode of locomotion with the australopithecines.

Front 30

The earliest australopithecines evolved from apes about ________ million years ago.

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d. The earliest known species of australopithecines (Australopithecus anamensis) evolved by about 4.2 million years ago. Their ancestor was probably the transitional genus known as Ardipithecus.

Front 31

By 3 million years ago, the australopithecines were:
a) nearly extinct in Africa but were common in Southeast Asia
b) becoming common in East and South Africa
c) beginning to successfully adapt to cold temperate environments in Europe
d) none of the above

Back 31

b--> The fossil record indicates that the australopithecines were relatively common by 3 million years ago in East and South Africa. They apparently were also present in parts of North Central Africa as well.

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The first australopithecine fossil to be recognized as being something other than an ape was:

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The Tuang child This 3-4 year old South African australopithecine was analyzed by Raymond Dart in 1924. He stood nearly alone in the scientific world for more than a decade claiming that this was one of our ancestors.

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The first australopithecine discovery (i.e., the Taung child) was classified as:

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africanus --> Raymond Dart gave the Taung child the genus and species names Australopithecus africanus (literally southern ape from Africa). In fact, this was a misnomer since it was an early hominin rather than an ape.

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The robust species of early hominins are commonly assigned to the genus ______________ .

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paranthropus --> The paranthropoids were generally more muscular species (robustus, boisei, and aethiopicus) of early hominins. They are not thought to be our ancestors but, rather, species in an extinct evolutionary sideline. Some researchers lump them into the genus Australopithecus.

Front 35

Paranthropus robustus differed from Australopithecus africanus in that the former:

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often had a prominent sagittal crest--> Unlike africanus, robustus usually had a sagittal crest (i.e., a ridge of bone extending from front to back along the midline of the top of the skull). A sagittal crest serves as an anchor attachment for exceptionally large, strong jaw muscles.

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The cave at Swartkrans in South Africa was carefully reinvestigated by C. K. Brain between 1965 and 1983. What did he find?

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the bones of more than one species of hominin
b) evidence suggesting that leopards killed some of the early hominins at this site
c) stones from another area that were brought into the cave at the time that the early hominins were present

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Olduvai Gorge is located in:

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the great rift valley in east africa

Front 38

The Zinjanthropus boisei fossil found by Louis and Mary Leakey at Olduvai Gorge in 1959 was anatomically closest to which early South African hominin?

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paranthropus robustus --> Zinjanthropus boisei was essentially a super robust species of paranthropoids. Robustus was similar in appearance to boisei and probably was a close relative.

Front 39

In 1974, a team of paleoanthropologists under the direction of Donald Johanson found a 40% complete skeleton of a very early hominin species at the Hadar site in the Afar Desert region of Northern Ethiopia. What was it called?

Back 39

Lucy
australopithecus afarensis

Front 40

In the early 1970's, Mary Leakey and Tim White found bones of what were likely Australopithecus afarensis dating in the range 3.7-3.5 million years ago at a site in Northern Tanzania named Laetoli. What else did they find there?

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footprints of these early hominids --> There were footprints of 3 bipedal hominins (presumably afarensis) in a now hardened volcanic ash layer. They walked in 2 close parallel tracks. These footprints look almost like those of modern humans.

Front 41

n 1995, Meave Leakey found a new, very early australopithecine species at Lake Turkana , Kenya which she named Australopithecus anamensis. Which of the following statements describe this fossil?

Back 41

it was a transitional between apes and later australopithecines

Front 42

Tim White and several of his Ethiopian colleagues found a 4.4 million year old hominin known as Ardipithecus ramidus at the Aramis site in the Middle Awash region of Northern Ethiopia. Which of the following statements is true about this species?
a) They were probably the ancestors of the early australopithecines.
b) They were the ape ancestors of chimpanzees.
c) They were quadrupedal like chimpanzees and gorillas.
d) all of the above

Back 42

all the above

Front 43

hominim

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any species of the primate tribe hominini. the australopithecines and humans are hominims

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Lake Turkana

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in the great rift valley. "the black skull" paranthropus aethiopicus