Course Introduction
Biological Anthropology
Textbook Exam Questions
Biological Anthropology explores the biological and evolutionary aspects of the human species, examining human origins, genetic diversity, adaptation, and our relationship with other primates. This course covers key concepts such as evolutionary theory, the fossil record, human variation, and primatology, providing insights into how biological processes and environmental factors have shaped the development of Homo sapiens. Students will gain an understanding of the scientific methods used to study human biology and evolution, as well as how culture and biology interact to influence human behavior and health.
Recommended Textbook
Physical Anthropology and Archaeology 4th Canadian Edition by Carol R. Ember
Available Study Resources on Quizplus 14 Chapters
447 Verified Questions
447 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1358
Page 2
Chapter 1: What Is Anthropology?
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
29 Verified Questions
29 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27117
Sample Questions
Q1) The field of bioarchaeology draws on both sociocultural anthropology and archaeology.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Paleoanthropologists study how and why contemporary human populations vary biologically.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Early Canadian anthropologists focussed their research on
A) Acadian communities in the Maritimes.
B) Metis communities on the prairies.
C) recent immigrants who had settled in the prairie provinces.
D) Native cultures of the Arctic and Northwest Coast.
E) agricultural communities in rural Ontario.
Answer: D
Q4) What are the four sub-fields of anthropology?
Answer: Physical anthropology, archaeology, socio-cultural anthropology, linguistics.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Uncovering the Past: Tools and Techniques
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27118
Sample Questions
Q1) Middens are of particular interest to archaeologists because they provide a cross-section of material culture.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Relative dating methods
A) provide an age estimate for a specimen or deposit in relation to another specimen or deposit.
B) are the only way to determine a realistic age of a specimen or deposit.
C) provide the best age estimates for fossils of our relatives, the hominids.
D) are not of much use to either archaeologists or paleoanthropologists.
E) have been subject to significant advances over the last 50 years.
Answer: A
Q3) Where a newly discovered site is relatively disturbed, the excavation of test pits at intervals across the site might provide a better understanding of the sites extent.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
4
Chapter 3: Reconstructing the Past: Analysis and Interpretation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27119
Sample Questions
Q1) Biochemical analyses of carbon isotope ratios can tell researchers what types of plants people consumed.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) A source of evidence for reconstructing past climates is
A) oxygen isotope ratios.
B) carbon isotope ratios.
C) nitrogen isotope ratios.
D) the level of strontium.
E) aDNA.
Answer: A
Q3) Animals associated with human populations may reflect the kinds of foods consumed.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Why might infant skeletons have high ¹ N levels compared to the skeletons of older children?
Answer: breast feeding enriches babies' tissues with ¹ N.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Historical Development of Evolutionary Theory
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27120
Sample Questions
Q1) The increased prevalence of drug resistant forms of diseases is a result of A) natural selection.
B) acquired inheritance.
C) poor medical condition.
D) migration.
E) increased medical costs.
Q2) The force of natural selection may involve easily perceivable changes over time, making it easy to observe directly.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Once speciation occurs, the evolutionary process cannot be reversed.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Evolution will ensure that new strains of common diseases will become less frequent than their original ones because of natural selection.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is one adaptations to terrestrial life exhibited by reptiles?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 6
Chapter 5: Modern Evolutionary Theory
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
37 Verified Questions
37 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27121
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not an outcome of meiosis?
A) In males, sperm are produced.
B) In females, ova are produced.
C) Reproductive cells that carry half the number of chromosomes characteristic of the species.
D) In humans, cells that carry 23 individual chromosomes.
E) In humans, cells that carry 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Q2) If one of Mendel's pea plants produced yellow peas (i.e., was phenotypically a yellow pea plant), but could also pass on the gene for green peas, that plant would be described as
A) homozygous yellow.
B) homozygous green.
C) heterozygous.
D) recessive.
E) mutants.
Q3) Another cause of the shuffling of parental genes is crossing-over.
A)True
B)False
Q4) How does the founder effect lead to genetic drift?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 6: Human Variation
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27122
Sample Questions
Q1) When first introduced into populations, Measles may will likely only kill a few individuals.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Research by psychologist Phillipe Rushton of the University of Western Ontario
A) shows Europeans and their descendants have the largest brains among modern human populations.
B) shows that East Asians have the fastest maturation rates among modern human populations.
C) has been dismissed by the general anthropological and broader scientific communities.
D) divides the human species into five biological races.
E) has been widely praised by anthropologists for its objective assessment of human variation.
Q3) Differences in most disease patterns in humans is the result of
A) modern technology.
B) the size of the population.
C) the type of organism.
D) biological differences.
E) differences in behaviour.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: The Living Primates
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
34 Verified Questions
34 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27123
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a reason why play is important in the development of young primates?
A) Play is important for learning.
B) Play is a way to learn social skills.
C) Play can help to establish social dominance relationships.
D) Play allows youngsters to practice physical skills useful to avoiding predators.
E) Play activity helps to stimulate their appetites.
Q2) Primates are characterized by stereoscopic vision.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Primate hands
A) in most species exhibit opposable thumbs.
B) are not as prehensile as primate feet.
C) may have three to five digits, depending on the species.
D) typically are armed with large, imposing claws.
E) have palms that are covered in hair (for protection and insulation).
Q4) What is the difference between prosimians and strepsirhines?
Q5) Why has evolution made humans so smart? Compare some of the theories that have been put forth.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Primate Evolution: From Early Primates to Hominoids
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27124
Sample Questions
Q1) The Miocene genus Proconsul is generally regarded as being
A) the common ancestor of all living anthropoids.
B) a catarrhine primate with highly specialized locomotion.
C) the common ancestor of all Old World monkeys.
D) an early hominoid with highly specialized dentition.
E) similar in appearance to the common ancestor of apes and humans.
Q2) The earliest true primates from early in the Eocene epoch (55-34 million years ago) fall into two major groups:
A) the tarsiers and the anthropoids.
B) the adapids and omomyids.
C) the strepsirhines and haplorhines.
D) the omomyids and anthropoids.
E) the adapids and strepsirhines.
Q3) Paleoprimatologists are in agreement that the plesiadapiforms should be classified in the order primates.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The inner ear of Plesiadapis resembled that of modern primates.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Chapter 9: Early Hominins
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
31 Verified Questions
31 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27125
Sample Questions
Q1) The hominin pelvis shifts the orientation of the femur from the front of the pelvis to the side.
A)True
B)False
Q2) One advantage of bipedalism is the ability to cover large areas, very quickly.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Taung Child, described by Raymond Dart, was one of the most important fossil finds of the 20th century; it was the first australopithecine to be discovered and the first specimen of ________ to be described.
A) Australopithecus afarensis
B) Australopithecus robustus
C) Australopithecus africanus
D) Australopithecus boisei
E) Australopithecus anamensis
Q4) The lumbar curve is a trait found in all primates.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 11
Chapter 10: Homo Erectus and Archaic Homo Sapiens
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27126
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not true of the Terra Amata site near Nice, France?
A) The site was occupied in the late fall, judging by the remains of acorns found in fossilized human feces.
B) The site shows evidence of small huts, about 4.5 m by 9 m, having been constructed.
C) A basic feature of each hut was a hearth.
D) The occupants gathered shellfish, did some fishing, and hunted both small and large game.
E) Debris in some of the huts is evidence of stone tool manufacturing.
Q2) Which of the following was not part of the Mousterian tool kit?
A) Two-sided arrow.
B) Convergent scraper.
C) Levallois flake.
D) Convex side scraper.
E) Double scraper.
Q3) Fossils classified as Homo erectus were not discovered until decades after the discovery of the fossil hominids known as Neanderthals.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: Modern Homo Sapiens
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27127
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not known from examples of representational art dating to the Upper Paleolithic?
A) cave paintings showing rare astronomical phenomena such as eclipses or comets
B) cave paintings both in the living areas of caves and in deep, hard-to-access reaches of caves
C) carved animals decorating spear shafts
D) "Venus" figurines depicting female forms
E) cave paintings that tend to depict either animals that may have been hunted or may have been feared
Q2) In South Asia the Upper Paleolithic saw an increasingly sedentary lifestyle developing along the banks of freshwater streams.
A)True
B)False
Q3) ________ tools were one of the innovations of Archaic peoples in the New World.
A) Ground stone woodworking
B) Acheulian
C) Clovis
D) Bifacial flaked
E) Levallois
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 13
Chapter 12: Origins of Food Production and Settled Life
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27128
Sample Questions
Q1) The Natufians of the Near East are the earliest Mesolithic people known to have A) combined the gathering of wild grains with the hunting of wild game.
B) relied entirely on wild grains for their food.
C) constructed storage pits for the wild grain they harvested.
D) organized their harvesting activities into work parties directed by managers.
E) practiced the planting of some of the grain they harvested.
Q2) The highest rate of population increase in the past 10 000 years occurred just after the emergence of farming and herding.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In South America, domesticated animals were not only used for food, they were also used for transportation; species used for transportation were
A) llamas and alpacas.
B) horses and cattle.
C) horses and donkeys.
D) llamas and camels.
E) alpacas and donkeys.
Q4) How did people in Mesoamerica maintain their hunting-and-gathering lifestyle after plants were domesticated?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: Origins of Cities and States
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27129
Sample Questions
Q1) Sites like La Venta, Mexico show evidence of elite status among children's burials.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Egyptian hieroglyphics provided the inspiration for the ancient Maya to develop their own hieroglyphic system.
A)True
B)False
Q3) It has been suggested that labour and management necessary for the upkeep of ________ led to the formation of a political elite.
A) an army
B) extensive trade networks
C) herds
D) temples
E) an irrigation system
Q4) Irrigation seems to have been important in many areas in which early state societies developed.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 15
Chapter 14: Applied Anthropology: Physical Anthropology and Archaeology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/27130
Sample Questions
Q1) Growth retardation is widely regarded as response to lack of A) adequate diet.
B) disease.
C) infanticide.
D) genetics.
E) fast food.
Q2) Which of the following is considered a culture-bound syndrome?
A) AIDS.
B) Malnutrition.
C) Morning sickness.
D) Anorexia.
E) Influenza.
Q3) The examination of Aboriginal welfare or the impact of large developments on Aboriginal communities is called
A) urban anthropology.
B) medical anthropology.
C) applied anthropology.
D) experimental anthropology.
E) biocultural anthropology.
Page 16
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.