Course Introduction
Biological Anthropology Test Bank
Biological Anthropology explores the biological and evolutionary foundations of the human species. This course examines human origins, genetics, evolutionary theory, primatology, fossil records, and the variation and adaptation found among living populations. Students will gain an understanding of how humans fit into the natural world, the physical and genetic similarities and differences with other primates, and the processes that have shaped human evolution over time. The course integrates current research and methods from both anthropology and biology to provide a comprehensive view of what it means to be human from a biological perspective.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Physical Anthropology 3rd Edition by Clark Spencer Larsen
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13 Chapters
580 Verified Questions
580 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: What Is Physical Anthropology
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36 Verified Questions
36 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What makes it possible for humans to accumulate an amazing amount of information over long periods of time?
A)social learning
B)television
C)social media
D)mimicry
Answer: A
Q2) How is a theory different from a hypothesis?
A)A hypothesis explains observations and cannot be refuted by new evidence.
B)A theory is an explanation based upon controversial facts.
C)A theory is an explanation that has been carefully examined and tested.
D)A theory has been less thoroughly tested than a hypothesis.
Answer: C
Q3) Physical anthropologists seek to study:
A)humans from a cultural perspective.
B)humans from a biological perspective only.
C)humans from a biological and cultural perspective.
D)human behavior only.
Answer: C
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Evolution: Constructing a Fundamental Scientific Theory
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) How did Lamarck contribute to the theory of evolution?
A)He discovered genetic mutation through experiments with pea plants.
B)He proposed the concept of natural selection after his voyage to the Galapagos Islands and his study of finches.
C)He proposed the first serious model of how traits are passed on from parent to offspring through inheritance of acquired characteristics, though that idea turned out to be incorrect.
D)He proposed a concept known today as gene flow.
Answer: C
Q2) Why was Darwin's 1859 published theory of natural selection not widely accepted by his peers? What later scientific advance was critical to the subsequent broad acceptance of natural selection as a major force in evolutionary change?
Answer: Darwin's theory lacked a mechanism for the inheritance of desirable characteristics.Gregor Mendel discovered the principles of inheritance-that is, the basis for understanding how traits are transmitted from parent to offspring.Mendel's discovery that traits are passed as discrete units (genes) laid the foundation for our understanding of chromosomes and of population genetics.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Genetics: Reproducing Life and Producing
Variation
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42 Verified Questions
42 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Individuals whose blood type is A and who carry both dominant and recessive genes at this locus have a genotype of:
A)AA.
B)AO.
C)AB.
D)OO.
Answer: B
Q2) If two alleles influencing the expressed phenotype for a trait are equally expressed, this is an example of:
A)polymorphism.
B)codominance.
C)pleiotropy.
D)Mendelian inheritance.
Answer: B
Q3) Microsatellites are:
A)small satellite transmitters used in genetic research.
B)useful for determining group but not individual identification.
C)highly individualized repetitive stretches of nuclear DNA.
D)known from Watson and Crick's 1950's research.
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Genes and Their Evolution: Population Genetics
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43 Verified Questions
43 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Over a period of two generations, the frequency of green dung beetles in a population shifts from 75% to 71% while the frequency of brown dung beetles within this population shifts from 25% to 29%.This is an example of: A)minievolution.
B)microevolution. C)millievolution. D)nanoevolution.
Q2) Why is the peppered moth an excellent example of directional selection?
Q3) You are reading a scientific article about cheetahs that have stripes instead of spots.The article refers to this as a genetic mutation.Though you see they have no negative impact on the cheetahs' fitness, the stripes are nevertheless considered a genetic mutation because mutations:
A)can result in an evolutionary advantage. B)can result in an evolutionary disadvantage. C)may have no effect on the phenotype.
D)all of the above
Q4) Why is a frameshift mutation far more likely to lead to a defective protein than a point mutation?
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Biology in the Present: Living People
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45 Verified Questions
45 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the days races were thought to be valid, static categories, Friedrich Blumenbach categorized humans into the following races:
A)Negroids, Caucasoids, and Mongoloids.
B)Mongoloids, Negroids, Inuit, and Caucasoids.
C)Mongoloids, Malays, Ethiopians, American Indians, and Caucasoids.
D)Mongoloids, Negroids, Malays, Europeans, and Caucasoids.
Q2) Cultural adaptation:
A)occurs at the population level via natural selection.
B)occurs at the individual level during childhood.
C)involves using material culture or learned practices to make living possible in certain settings.
D)usually occurs in adults, not children.
Q3) The long limb measurements of Turkana pastoralists indicate that the population:
A)is on the continuum of variation observed in Allen's rule.
B)represents the variability that results from Wolff's law of skeletal replacement.
C)has body proportions that are not well adapted to warmer climates.
D)is well adapted for life at high latitudes, as Allen's rule predicts for pastoralist populations.
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Chapter 6: Biology in the Present: the Other Living Primates
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Sample Questions
Q1) Colobine primates:
A)are mostly frugivorous.
B)are usually terrestrial.
C)have specialized digestive anatomy for eating leaves.
D)are referred to as "cheek pouch" monkeys.
Q2) African monkeys, including Miss Waldron's red colobus, are:
A)among the most endangered animals due to human exploitation of resources.
B)a healthy population living in a subtropical environment.
C)not highly adaptable to changing environments but do well in zoos.
D)among the most endangered animal species due to disease.
Q3) The increased brain size observed in the order Primates:
A)results in extended periods of nursing and development to accommodate increasing behavioral complexity.
B)results in shorter developmental periods to accommodate the necessary energy expenditures of larger brain size.
C)demonstrates the importance of intelligence in primate evolution.
D)both a.and c.
Q4) Describe the arboreal adaptation of primates and include specific anatomical characteristics.
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Chapter 7: Primate Sociality, Social Behavior, and Culture
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46 Verified Questions
46 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sexual dimorphism:
A)relates to sexual courtship rituals in primates.
B)is the study of sexual intercourse between primates.
C)tends to be lower than in groups where males disperse and compete with unrelated males.
D)determines male and female social hierarchy.
Q2) Chimpanzee communication involves different combinations of sounds, such as:
A)screams, gnashing, and hissing.
B)grunts, pants, and hoots.
C)howling, hoots, and high-pitched screams.
D)pants, coos, and gurgles.
Q3) Polyandrous residence patterns represent:
A)a social grouping that includes multiple adult males and females.
B)one of the most common patterns in prosimians and Old World monkeys.
C)a social grouping in which males cooperate in parenting activities.
D)a social grouping that includes one male and multiple females.
Q4) Compare and contrast male and female primates in terms of reproductive strategies and competition.
Q5) Describe some examples of learned behavior and cultural traditions among primates.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Fossils and Their Place in Time and Nature
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Sample Questions
Q1) A hearth is discovered with bone fragments in it.What method might be used to date the bone?
A)dendrochronology
B)electron spin resonance
C)fission track
D)amino acid method
Q2) The time it takes for 50% of an unstable isotope to decay to a stable form is called the:
A)semichron.
B)middlemorph.
C)demidose.
D)half-life.
Q3) 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.
Q4) Differentiate between absolute and relative dating techniques, giving one example of each.
Q5) Why is punctuated equilibrium an important addition to natural selection?
Page 10
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Chapter 10: Early Hominin Origins and Evolution: the Roots of Humanity
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Sample Questions
Q1) You find a fossil that you are sure shows evidence of bipedalism.You know this because which of the following anatomical traits is present?
A)a narrow pelvis
B)a posterior position of the foramen magnum
C)an opposable hallux
D)thighbones that angle in toward the knees
Q2) The diversity of the hominins included increasingly specialized:
A)locomotion.
B)social patterns.
C)body sizes.
D)diets.
Q3) The only preaustralopithecine found outside the East African Rift Valley is:
A)Orrorin tugenensis.
B)Ardipithecus kadabba.
C)Sahelanthropus tchadensis.
D)Ardipithecus ramidus.
Q4) Discuss the two obligate traits, including specific anatomical features, that first emerge in the preaustralopithecines to eventually become firmly established in australopithecines.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The Origins and Evolution of Early Homo
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Sample Questions
Q1) Stone tools are more commonly found on archaeological sites thought to be associated with:
A)Homo rudolfensis.
B)Paranthropus.
C)Australopithecus.
D)Homo habilis.
Q2) The many stone tools, fragmentary animal bones, and teeth found at Gran Dolina, Spain, indicate that hominids there:
A)processed and consumed animals including other hominids.
B)did not differ appreciably from earlier Asian Homo erectus.
C)were similar to later Homo sapiens.
D)none of the above
Q3) The original name for Homo erectus was:
A)Australopithecus.
B)Pithecanthropus.
C)Paranthropus.
D)Homo rudolfensis.
Q4) Discuss the fossil evidence of Homo habilis, and describe the anatomical and behavioral traits of Homo habilis that introduce the evolution of Homo sapiens.
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Chapter 12: The Origins, Evolution, and Dispersal of Modern People
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Atapeura 5, early archaic Homo sapiens and Neandertal specimens show heavy wear on the incisors and canines, indicating:
A)the use of the front teeth for gripping materials.
B)the purposeful modification of teeth to demonstrate social rank, as with the Aztecs.
C)their use for shaping the cutting edges of stone blades.
D)the chewing of massive amounts of fibrous materials.
Q2) Discuss which anatomical traits are used to contrast modern humans' physical appearance with that of similar hominids.Which are derived and which are ancestral? Are these traits biological adaptation, as in the case of Neandertals?
Q3) The morphology of the Paleoindian skull from Kennewick indicates that it:
A)was recovered from an elaborate burial.
B)represents an early Eskimo population.
C)looks quite different from modern Native Americans' skulls.
D)is about 3,000 years old.
Q4) Discuss the origin of the Neandertals in terms of biological adaptation and other forces of evolution.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Our Last 10,000 Years: Agriculture, Population, and Biology
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45 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) The frequent occurrence of agriculture around the world was accompanied by two phenomena:
A)an increase in population size and food shortages.
B)a change in climate and consequent change in environment.
C)the distribution of land wealth and trade of produce.
D)a decline in nutritional quality and increase in infectious disease.
Q2) Extreme anemia can lead to:
A)cancer.
B)porotic hyperostosis.
C)heart disease.
D)measles.
Q3) A round cross section of a long bone suggests that the bone will:
A)have greater strength through one of its axes.
B)have less strength through its y-axis.
C)have equal strength in all directions.
D)break given a small amount of tension.
Q4) Discuss the evidence from the skeletons and teeth of early agriculturalists.Then describe the negative consequences of a shift from food foraging to the domestication of food in terms of pathologic evidence.
Page 15
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