Anthro Chap 8

Front 1

1 - The study of fossils is called:
a) phylogeny.
c) chronometry.
b) biology.
d) paleontology.

Back 1

d) paleontology.

Front 2

2 - The English surveyor who developed the technique of stratigraphic correlation between regions was:
a) William Smith.
c) Alfred Wallace.
b) Charles Lyell.
d) Richard Owen.

Back 2

a) William Smith.

Front 3

3 - Crucial to creating a fossil record of a species is:
a) a living form of the fossil species.
b) a good representation in the fossil record.
c) the preservation of soft tissue such as muscle.
d) the lack of dating; knowing the age of the fossil introduces biases.

Back 3

b) a good representation in the fossil record.

Front 4

4 - The study of what happens to an organism's remains after death is:
a) archaeology.
c) forensic biology.
b) cryptozoology.
d) taphonomy.

Back 4

d) taphonomy.

Front 5

5 - Taphonomy is the study of:
a) human cultural remains.
b) human genetics.
c) the processes that affect an organism's remains after death.
d) the processes that affect a living organism through life.

Back 5

c) the processes that affect an organism's remains after death.

Front 6

6 - Which of the following is NOT an ideal environment for fossilization?
a) mud
c) sand
b) acidic soil (as in a jungle)
d) rock

Back 6

b) acidic soil (as in a jungle)

Front 7

7 - Most of the fossils discovered in Africa come from the eastern and southern parts of the continent. Why is this?
a) More populations of species lived in these areas and nowhere else.
b) Only these areas were conducive to sustaining life.
c) These areas provided better preservation.
d) Many villagers in these areas gather fossils to sell.

Back 7

c) These areas provided better preservation.

Front 8

8 - Eras are:
a) divisions in geologic time divided into periods and epochs.
b) any time periods in the past.
c) divisions of time based on cultural standards, as in Stone Age.
d) the time frames during which a certain fossil species existed.

Back 8

a) divisions in geologic time divided into periods and epochs.

Front 9

9 - The three eras that make up Earth history are:
a) strata, stratigraphy, and striations.
c) Early, Middle, and Upper Miocene.
b) Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene.
d) Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.

Back 9

d) Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.

Front 10

10 - To reconstruct and interpret evolutionary changes, it is crucial to place each fossil in time. This is called a(n):
a) chronological sequence.
c) period.
b) era.
d) phylogeny.

Back 10

a) chronological sequence.

Front 11

11 - The earth's age is _______ years.
a) 4 - 6 billion
c) 6,000
b) 3 - 4 billion
d) 12 billion

Back 11

a) chronological sequence.

Front 12

12 - The continent that existed about 200 mya, from which the modern continents ultimately emerged, is called:
a) Eurasia.
c) Australasia.
b) Afrinesia.
d) Pangaea.

Back 12

d) Pangaea.

Front 13

13 - Igneous rock can be dated with which of the following methods?
a) radiopotassium dating
c) radiocarbon dating
b) dendrochronology
d) fluorine dating

Back 13

a) radiopotassium dating

Front 14

14 - If fossil species A is consistently recovered from geological deposits beneath layers containing fossil species B, then A is considered older than B. This relative dating technique is based on the principle of:
a) superposition.
c) fluorine analysis.
b) paleomagnetism.
d) geolayering.

Back 14

a) superposition.

Front 15

15 - A stratigraphic layer in one location overwhelmingly represents one species, while the same species is discovered in a similar stratigraphic layer hundreds of kilometers away. What method is used to provide an estimate of age for this layer and this species?
a) biostratigraphy
c) Steno's law of superposition
b) dendrochronology
d) carbon 14 dating

Back 15

a) biostratigraphy

Front 16

16 - Which era saw the proliferation of mammals?
a) Holocene
c) Jurassic
b) Cenozoic
d) Mesozoic

Back 16

b) Cenozoic

Front 17

17 - What is the basic difference between relative and absolute dating?
a) the use of species
c) the use of years to express the age
b) the use of bones and teeth
d) the use of wood

Back 17

c) the use of years to express the age

Front 18

18 - In the 1600s Nicolaus Steno proposed:
a) the principle of uniformitarianism.
c) the law of stratigraphy.
b) taphonomy.
d) the law of superposition.

Back 18

d) the law of superposition.

Front 19

19 - Cultural dating can be used to date:
a) ceramics.
c) shells.
b) bones and teeth.
d) trilobite evolution.

Back 19

a) ceramics.

Front 20

20 - During the Holocene artifacts like _______ began to appear.
a) bones and teeth
c) shells
b) ceramics
d) wooden objects

Back 20

b) ceramics

Front 21

21 - A wooden tomb is discovered with a well-preserved mummy inside. Which of the following methods could be used to date the tomb most accurately?
a) superposition
c) thermoluminescence
b) electron spin resonance
d) dendrochronology

Back 21

d) dendrochronology

Front 22

22 - A mummy is discovered whose tomb includes cloth, food, and other organic remains. What dating method would most likely be used to date the tomb?
a) biostratigraphy
c) dendrochronology
b) carbon 14
d) electron spin resonance

Back 22

b) carbon 14

Front 23

23 - Analysis of stable carbon isotopes in _______ can provide information on ancient diet.
a) shell
c) bones and teeth
b) cloth
d) wood

Back 23

c) bones and teeth

Front 24

24 - Scientists can determine the type of plant consumed based on:
a) carbon 14.
c) index fossils.
b) radioisotopes.
d) carbon 13 and carbon 12.

Back 24

d) carbon 13 and carbon 12.

Front 25

25 - Paleosols and fauna in the Middle Awash Valley of Ethiopia show that the earliest hominins lived in _______ settings.
a) wooded
c) marshy
b) unwooded grassland
d) desert

Back 25

a) wooded

Front 26

26 - A hearth is discovered with bone fragments in it. What method might be used to date the bone?
a) dendrochronology
c) fission track
b) electron spin resonance
d) amino acid method

Back 26

d) amino acid method

Front 27

27 - Stratigraphic correlation is:
a) matching strata by chemical composition and color from several sites across distances.
b) correlating stratigraphic markers in one location.
c) matching stratigraphy from known sites only.
d) dating through the use of a chronometric method.

Back 27

a) matching strata by chemical composition and color from several sites across distances.

Front 28

28 - Fluorine dating is an example of what type of dating method?
a) chronometric
c) chemical
b) nonrelative
d) genetic

Back 28

c) chemical

Front 29

29 - For dating hominin fossils that go back 4 million years, what dating methods might be used?
a) electron spin resonance
c) amino acid method
b) thermoluminescence
d) both a. and b.

Back 29

d) both a. and b.

Front 30

30 - The molecular clock has been useful to determine the phylogenetic relationships of species based on the assumption that:
a) a species lineage accumulates genetic differences over time at a constant rate.
b) only some species are genetically related.
c) DNA is preserved unchanged over long periods of time.
d) species adapt at specific rates.

Back 30

a) a species lineage accumulates genetic differences over time at a constant rate.

Front 31

31 - Paleontologists find a fossil ape with long arms. What type of environment can they infer it inhabited?
a) savanna
c) grassland
b) woodland
d) swamp

Back 31

b) woodland

Front 32

32 - An index fossil is:
a) a fossil found in a particular site.
b) the ideal specimen of that species to which all later descriptions must refer.
c) a fossil used to categorize a stratigraphic layer.
d) the type specimen of a species.

Back 32

c) a fossil used to categorize a stratigraphic layer.

Front 33

33 - Based on the molecular clock, geneticists believe the split between chimps and hominins occurred _______ mya.
a) 10-12
c) 6-8
b) 8-10
d) 4-6

Back 33

b) 8-10

Front 34

34 - What is the most important variable in reconstructing ancient climate?
a) weather
b) sea levels
c) temperature estimated using any of several methods
d) isotope ratios

Back 34

c) temperature estimated using any of several methods

Front 35

35 - Which dating method would be most appropriate for establishing the age of a volcanic ash layer from an early hominid site in eastern Africa?
a) carbon 14 dating
c) potassium-argon dating
b) amino acid dating
d) electron spin resonance dating

Back 35

c) potassium-argon dating

Front 36

36 - Some of the best information on climate history over the last several million years is based on the study of:
a) amino acids.
c) radioisotopes.
b) foraminifera.
d) dendrochronology.

Back 36

b) foraminifera.

Front 37

37 - Coinciding with the appearance of early hominins about 5-10 mya, the climate was:
a) increasingly wet and rainy.
c) increasingly dry and seasonal.
b) increasingly hot and humid.
d) less temperate.

Back 37

c) increasingly dry and seasonal.

Front 38

38 - Fission track dating can provide dates when used on which type of material?
a) sedimentary rock
c) bone
b) shell
d) igneous rock

Back 38

d) igneous rock

Front 39

39 - Thermoluminescence dating can provide dates when used on which types of materials?
a) sediment, stone, and ceramics
c) bone, shell, and fabric
b) bone, wood, and stone
d) shell, ceramics, and wood

Back 39

a) sediment, stone, and ceramics

Front 40

40 - Electron spin resonance dating can provide dates when used on which type of material?
a) wood
c) teeth
b) shell
d) soft tissue such as muscle

Back 40

c) teeth

Front 41

41 - During crucial periods of human evolution, the Pleistocene was characterized by:
a) massive glaciation, then warm interglacials.
b) high humidity.
c) aridity, then humidity.
d) glaciation, then aridity.

Back 41

a) massive glaciation, then warm interglacials.

Front 42

42 - Studies of temperatures during the Cenozoic era suggest that temperatures have _______ over time.
a) steadily increased
c) fluctuated, sometimes greatly,
b) steadily decreased
d) stayed basically the same

Back 42

c) fluctuated, sometimes greatly,

Front 43

43 - The time it takes for 50% of an unstable isotope to decay to a stable form is called the:
a) semichron.
c) demidose.
b) middlemorph.
d) half-life.

Back 43

d) half-life.

Front 44

44 - At a site in the American Southwest, you find only a single ceramic pot in association with an individual within a burial. You can use the pot to date the burial based on:
a) biostratigraphic dating, because there may be animal remains inside the pot.
b) cultural dating, since the pot must be specific to a known culture and time period.
c) radiopotassium dating of the material used to make the pot.
d) fission track dating of the pot itself.

Back 44

b) cultural dating, since the pot must be specific to a known culture and time period.

Front 45

1 - How do dating methods help to support the theory of natural selection and biological evolution?

Back 45

Both relative and absolute dating methods provide timelines for evolution that support the fossil record rather than a biblical age. Cuvier found relative dating helpful to determine which species were older than others, though he did not have a numerical value for the fossils. The actual number of years is crucial to providing a date in time that can provide perspective on phylogenetic relationships by understanding biological adaptations through the process of natural selection. Natural selection requires a good deal of time because changes in the climate that produce change in the environment come first, then biological adaptation in the species follows.

Front 46

2 - Why is punctuated equilibrium an important addition to natural selection?

Back 46

Niles Eldridge and Stephen Jay Gould noted changes in species, like trilobites, that occurred rapidly. This they called punctuated equilibrium, or rapid change within long static periods, distinguishing it from gradual change (as in natural selection).

Front 47

3 - How does Steno's law of superposition support relative and absolute dating methods?

Back 47

Steno's law of superposition essentially states that evidence for an event or an object found at the bottom of a stratigraphic layer is older than an event evidenced or object found in the layers above. Thus, once a numerical age has been applied to a given event or object, that event or object can serve as an index providing a relative age for other events or objects in the stratigraphy.

Front 48

4 - Differentiate between absolute and relative dating techniques, giving one example of each.

Back 48

Relative dating consists of techniques for placing fossils in order from youngest to oldest (or vice versa). This relatively straightforward approach, focusing on superposition and marker fossils, facilitated the creation of the geologic timescale long before radiometric dating techniques were developed. One example of relative dating is stratigraphic correlation, in which strata from multiple locations are matched up to create a record of geologic change.