Introduction to Anthropology Question Bank
Course Introduction
Introduction to Anthropology provides students with a foundational understanding of the study of humanity, exploring the diverse biological, cultural, linguistic, and archaeological aspects of human life both past and present. This course examines key concepts, methods, and theories used by anthropologists to investigate human societies, cultural practices, physical evolution, and language development. Through comparative analysis and case studies from around the world, students will gain insights into how humans adapt, interact, and create meaning within various environments, fostering an appreciation for cultural diversity and the complexity of human experiences.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Physical Anthropology 9th Edition by Robert Jurmain
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14 Chapters
832 Verified Questions
832 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Physical/biological anthropologists are only interested in the human fossil record.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The human predisposition to assimilate culture and function within it is profoundly influenced by biological factors.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Physical anthropologists are interested only in the study of biological systems.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Forensic anthropology is an applied subfield which benefits from a background in physical anthropology.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Development of Evolutionary Theory
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54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which concept, proposed by Charles Lyell, had a profound effect on 19<sup>th</sup> century scientific thought?
A) recent origins for earth
B) the role of catastrophic events in producing geological phenomena
C) natural selection
D) the immense age of the earth
E) the inheritance of acquired characteristics
Answer: D
Q2) The discovery of evolutionary principles first took place in western Europe, made possible by
A) advances in scientific thinking that began in the 18<sup>th</sup> century
B) understanding by Christians that there was a recent origin of life on earth
C) the cohesive theory formulated by Arabs, Indians, and Chinese that species were continuously changing
D) advances in scientific thinking that date back to the 16<sup>th</sup> century.
E) the central importance placed on evolution by physical anthropologists.
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: The Biological Basis of Life Connections
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58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chromosomes are
A) made up of DNA and proteins
B) visible during all stages of cell division
C) composed of two strands during early stages of cell division
D) indiscrete structures
E) occur singularly
Answer: C
Q2) Autosomes
A) occur singularly
B) carry genetic information that determine the individual's sex
C) carry genetic information influencing all physical characteristics
D) carry genetic information influencing all physical characteristics except primary sex determination
E) do not carry genetic information
Answer: D
Q3) The Human Genome Project was successfully completed in 1952.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Heredity and Evolution
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63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain Mendel's principle of segregation.
Q2) Which of the following is not a polygenic trait?
A) stature
B) skin color
C) eye color
D) ABO blood type
E) hair color
Q3) Genetic drift is the random factor in evolution.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In order for a mutation to be passed on to offspring, the mutation must
A) occur in a gamete
B) be beneficial
C) occur in a somatic cell
D) result in additional chromosomes
E) have negative evolutionary consequences
Q5) A manifestation of sickle-cell anemia is the abnormal hemoglobin S reduces the ability of red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Processes of Macroevolution
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57 Verified Questions
57 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is an epoch of the Cenozoic era?
A) Ordovician
B) Permian
C) Triassic
D) Cambrian
E) Eocene
Q2) What is the term for the rapid expansion and diversification of groups of organisms into newly available ecological niches?
A) generalization
B) homology
C) parallel evolution
D) adaptive radiation
E) specialization
Q3) Define "species" and the biological species concept. Why is the latter the one preferred by most biologists?
Q4) Contrast the two schools of taxonomy: evolutionary systematics and cladistics.
Q5) Define analogous and homologous traits and provide an example of each.
Q6) Explain the difference between generalized and specialized characteristics. What are examples of each in terms of the adaptive potential?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: An Overview of the Primates
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Sample Questions
Q1) The primate emphasis on the visual sense is reflected all of the following except
A) the reduction in the size of structures related to the sense of smell
B) the presence of color vision in most species
C) a more forward facing position of the eyes relative to most other mammals
D) visual information from each eye transmitted to visual centers in both hemispheres
E) lack of color vision in most species
Q2) What are the smallest New World anthropoids?
A) marmosets and tamarins
B) howler monkeys and baboons
C) spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys
D) squirrel monkeys and bonobos
E) macaques
Q3) Humans are the only living representatives of the habitually bipedal primates hominin tribe.)
A)True
B)False
Q4) List five traits used to define the order Primates.
Q5) What primate traits are likely to be adaptations to arboreal lifestyles?
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Chapter 7: Primate Behavior
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63 Verified Questions
63 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Vervet monkey vocalizations
A) are involuntary responses to external stimuli
B) are voluntary responses to external stimuli
C) refer solely to the emotional state of the individual
D) includes information about past and present events
E) are impossible to record and study
Q2) Ecological factors influencing primate social behavior include which of the following?
A) the distribution of food and water, predators, and nutritional value of foods
B) levels of testosterone among predators
C) Ancestry of primates
D) Gene codes for behaviors
E) learning
Q3) Chimpanzees have never been observed to modify twigs for termite fishing before actually arriving at the termite mound.
A)True
B)False
Q4) List and discuss four factors that affect the social structure of a given species.
Q5) What are dominance hierarchies, and what important functions do they serve?
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Chapter 8: Primate and Hominin Origins
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Sample Questions
Q1) Habitual bipedalism is the only form of hominin terrestrial locomotion.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Where have the fossil remains of the Miocene Hominoids not been found?
A) Africa
B) Europe
C) Asia
D) North America
E) Turkey
Q3) Some of the late Eocene primates have been found in Asia.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Recently discovered remains from the Tugen Hills, dated to about 6 million years ago have been placed in which genus?
A) Sahelanthropu
B) Australopithecus
C) Paranthropus
D) Ardipithecus
E) Orrorin
Q5) What general conclusions can be drawn regarding the Miocene hominoids?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: The First Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo
Erectus and Contemporaries
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a sentence or two explain why the answer to the question, "Where did H. erectus first appear?" is not simple.
Q2) Discuss the fossil finds at Dmanisi in terms of their morphology and in terms of the information they provide about the dispersal of hominids out of Africa.
Q3) What is the average cranial capacity of H. erectus?
A) the same as for early Homo
B) approximately 900 cubic centimeters
C) the same as that for modern humans
D) the same as for Australopithecus
E) approximately 700 cubic centimeters
Q4) In general, the cranium of Homo erectus
A) has a high vertical forehead
B) is composed of delicate, thin bone
C) has no brow ridges
D) is virtually identical to that of modern humans
E) has a pentagonal shape when viewed from behind
Q5) There is some variation among the different geographical groups of the highly successful hominins, but anthropologists debate on how to classify them. Why? What are some of the causes of debate?
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Chapter 10: Premodern Humans
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Sample Questions
Q1) The evidence of deliberate burial of the dead by Neandertal is found at all the following except
A) Sima de los Huesos
B) Tabun
C) Kabwe
D) La Chapelle
E) Kebara
Q2) The La Chapelle-aux-Saints skeleton is not a typical Neandertal
A) and therefore not considered to be a Neandertal.
B) because it represents what is most likely a deliberate burial.
C) because is that of an older male.
D) because, as a specimen, it is a nearly complete skeleton.
E) because the individual not only had arthritis of the spine but evidences an extreme in the Neandertal range of variation.
Q3) Some paleoanthropologists classify Neandertals as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis? Others disagree. What are the biological and phylogenetic arguments?
Q4) Describe the cranial and postcranial anatomy of Neandertal skeletons.
Q5) List five major characteristics of Middle Pleistocene culture.
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Chapter 11: The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
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63 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Archaeological sites in Australia have been dated to __________ years ago.
A) 25,000
B) 30,000
C) 75,000
D) 55,000
E) 100,000
Q2) Discuss the Upper Paleolithic cultural period, including innovations in technology, art and burials.
Q3) Discuss the evidence that suggests modest interbreeding took place between Neandertals and modern humans.
Q4) Bone tools, beads, and decorated ocher fragments were found at Blombos Cave as old as 73,000 years old.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Types of Upper Paleolithic art include all of the following except?
A) engravings
B) cave paintings
C) sculptured figurines
D) fired ceramics
E) rock art
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Chapter 12: Human Variation and Adaptation
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60 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Population geneticists use the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation to determine
A) whether evolution is occurring at all loci throughout the genome simultaneously
B) whether allele frequencies in a population are changing
C) the mode of inheritance of Mendelian traits
D) whether a particular trait is polygenic
E) if human populations are operating on evolutionary forces
Q2) Deterministic or racist) views concerning human variation were once or presently held by all of the following except
A) Benjamin Franklin
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) Oliver Wendell Holmes
D) Abraham Lincoln
E) biologists
Q3) Mechanisms for radiating body heat include which of the following?
A) increased production of red blood cells
B) vasodilation
C) vasoconstriction
D) increased activity levels
E) increased metabolic rate
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Legacies of Human Evolutionary History: Effects
on the Individual
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are pleiotropic genes and what do they help us to understand?
Q2) The language centers of the human brain develop in the first three years of life.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Human milk, like that of other primates, is
A) high in fats
B) high in nutrients
C) low in antibodies
D) low in fats
E) low in supply, hence frequent nursing is required
Q4) Biological events that mark the transition to adolescence include all of the following except
A) increase in body size
B) hormonal changes
C) changes in body shape
D) decrease in stature
E) increased development and enlargement of breasts and penises
Q5) Discuss the genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors influencing human growth and development.
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Chapter 14: The Human Disconnection
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48 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Physical anthropologists do NOT view culture as a human adaptive strategy.
A)True
B)False
Q2) While the world looks to____________for leadership to expand and strengthen with broader and more rigorous binding agreements to cut carbon emissions, _______________also fails to lend support.
A) South Africa, Indonesia
B) South America, Central America
C) Japan, Thailand
D) Europe, Australia
E) the United States, China
Q3) The most immediate risk of acidification of the oceans is to the whales and dolphins off the western coasts of North America.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In 1990, the people of Bangladesh were unable to cope with the floods since they had no knowledge of irrigation systems.
A)True
B)False
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