Principles of Physical Anthropology Exam
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Course Introduction
Principles of Physical Anthropology offers an in-depth exploration of the biological and evolutionary foundations of the human species. The course covers topics such as human genetics, primate behavior, fossil evidence of human evolution, biological adaptation to diverse environments, and variation among contemporary human populations. By integrating perspectives from comparative anatomy, paleontology, and molecular biology, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of how humans have evolved and adapted over time. Special emphasis is placed on interpreting scientific data and examining the ethical considerations inherent in anthropological research. This foundation enables students to appreciate the dynamic interactions between biology, environment, and culture in shaping humanity.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Physical Anthropology 9th Edition by Robert Jurmain
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
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Q1) Cultural anthropology
A) was first developed as a discipline in the 17<sup>th</sup> century
B) includes the recovery and analysis of material culture from earlier civilizations
C) focuses solely upon the study of traditional societies
D) has no practical application in modern society
E) is the study of the patterns of belief and behavior found in modern and historical cultures.
Answer: E
Q2) Which is not an important aspect of human culture?
A) It is learned.
B) It includes such things as technology, language, religion, and gender roles.
C) It is genetically determined.
D) It is a critical role in human evolution.
E) It is a strategy that includes various technologies, but fortunately excludes language and kinship rules which are always changing.
Answer: E
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Chapter 2: The Development of Evolutionary Theory
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Q1) Who was the first to recognize the role of the environment as a significant factor in evolutionary change?
A) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
B) Georges Cuvier
C) Thomas Malthus
D) Charles Darwin
E) Charles Lyell
Answer: A
Q2) The theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics has recently displaced natural selection as mainstream science's most accepted theory of evolutionary change.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Charles Darwin recognized the importance of beak variation in finches while visiting the Galápagos Islands.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Biological Basis of Life Connections
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Q1) The cell nucleus
A) is the same thing as the cytoplasm
B) is not distinct from the cytoplasm
C) contains only X and Y chromosomes
D) is made up of ribosomes
E) contains genetic information
Answer: E
Q2) Which of the following produces genetic variation in populations?
A) mitosis
B) meiosis
C) nondisjunction
D) replication
E) recombination
Answer: B
Q3) The result of nondisjunction is that NONE of the daughter cells will receive any chromosomes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Heredity and Evolution
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Q1) How many ABO phenotypes blood types) are there?
A) 4
B) 2
C) 3
D) 6
E) 1
Q2) Two people both heterozygotes) are able to taste a chemical substance called PTC. The ability to taste PTC is caused by a dominant allele T). The inability to taste PTC is caused by a recessive allele t). What proportion of their offspring would be expected to be heterozygous?
A) 3/4
B) 1/2
C) All
D) 1/4
E) 2/3
Q3) Mitochondrial DNA mtDNA) is extremely useful for studying genetic change over time.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Define genetic drift. How are founder effect and genetic drift related?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Processes of Macroevolution
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Q1) Define analogous and homologous traits and provide an example of each.
Q2) As discussed in the text, long-term continental drift had significant evolutionary ramifications because
A) groups of animals were no longer isolated from each other by oceans.
B) the distribution of mammals and other land vertebrates were unaffected.
C) geological activities induced volcanic activities which decimated populations of placental mammals.
D) groups of animals were isolated from each other by oceans.
E) scientists can map the changes that occurred.
Q3) The phyum chordate includes all animals with a never cord, gill slits, and supporting cord along the back.
A)True
B)False
Q4) During the Paleozoic era, reptiles were the dominant land vertebrates.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Epochs are categories of geological time ; the Cenozoic contains seven.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Contrast the two schools of taxonomy: evolutionary systematics and cladistics.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: An Overview of the Primates
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Q1) Sexual dimorphism
A) refers to differences between adults and adolescents with regard to sexual behavior
B) is particularly pronounced in all primate species
C) refers to differences between the sexes with regard to features such as body size
D) is more common in arboreal species
E) has not been observed in any monkey
Q2) Humans are the only living representatives of the habitually bipedal primates hominin tribe.)
A)True
B)False
Q3) Traditionally, primate characteristics have been explained as the result of adaptation to ________ environments.
A) terrestrial
B) rocky
C) arboreal
D) desert
E) ocean
Q4) What traits distinguish Old World monkeys from apes and humans?
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Chapter 7: Primate Behavior
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Q1) According to the current evidence discussed in the text, which of the following statement is true?
A) Humans are the only species capable of conveying information pertaining to specific components of the external environment.
B) Nonhuman primates can communicate any information except that which pertains to their emotional state.
C) Some nonhuman primates appear to give specific alarm calls that refer to particular categories of predators.
D) Free-ranging monkeys and apes use symbolic language in the same manner as humans.
E) Some monkeys communicate about past and future events by means of symbolic gestures.
Q2) Social relationships are crucial to nonhuman primates for all of the following reasons except:
A) Individuals support each other against outsiders
B) Alliances can be used to enhance the status of members
C) Resources can be protected
D) Order can be imposed by allowing individuals to attack each other
E) Predator avoidance
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Chapter 8: Primate and Hominin Origins
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Q1) The earliest stone tools are dated to approximately
A) 2.6 million years old
B) 25,000 years old
C) 250,000 years old
D) 25 million years old
E) 50 million years old
Q2) Except for some early Homo individuals, there is very little in the way of an evolutionary trend in increased body size or of marked greater encephalization.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The terms Sivapithecus, Proconsul, and Dryopithecus¸ applied to different groups of Miocene hominoids, refer to a distinction made at what taxonomic level?
A) species
B) genus
C) subfamily
D) family
E) order
Q4) What are some of the hypotheses purporting to explain the evolution of bipedalism?
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Chapter 9: The First Dispersal of the Genus Homo: Homo
Erectus and Contemporaries
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Q1) The Nariokotome Homo erectus specimen A) was discovered at Olduvai Gorge B) is estimated to have been about 65 years old at death C) is a young female D) would have reached an adult height of around 6 feet E) was destroyed in dating analysis
Q2) Homo erectus discoveries from East Africa of firmly dated fossils have established the clear presence by
A) 2.8 mya
B) 1.7 mya
C) 800,000 ya
D) 3.2 mya
E) There are no H. erectus discoveries from East Africa
Q3) There is a very late surviving H. erectus group in Java that apparently managed to survive there until less than________years ago.
A) 300,000
B) 100,000
C) 1.5 mya
D) 2.0 mya
E) 50,000
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Premodern Humans
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Q1) Chinese archaeologists point out that Chinese premodern H. sapiens specimens show no indications of genetic continuity with modern H. sapiens from China.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Discuss the capability to conduct MtDNA analyses of fossil skeletal remains. What contributions to the understanding of what it means to be human will this capability have in the future?
Q3) The sum of the genetic, fossil, and archaeological evidence suggests that Neandertals
A) are closely related to modern humans
B) are a fully separate biological species
C) were probably incapable of fertilely interbreeding with modern humans
D) represent several points in the dynamic process of speciation
E) were not successful hominins
Q4) List the similarities between early premodern Homo sapiens fossils and Homo erectus.
Q5) Describe what is known about Middle Pleistocene culture. Include information about technology, settlement, and subsistence.
Q6) List five major characteristics of Middle Pleistocene culture.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
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Q1) Current evidence indicates that the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils are from which geographical location?
A) China
B) India
C) Germany
D) France
E) Africa
Q2) Two different Replacement Models have been proposed. They differ from each other with respect to which of the following?
A) the anatomy of modern humans
B) the timing of the origin of modern humans
C) whether a speciation event caused the demise of Neandertals
D) the origin and dispersal of the first modern human populations
E) the use of DNA sequences in analyses
Q3) Lagar Velho is an important Upper Paleolithic site located in the Near East.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Why do most paleoanthropologists agree that several fossil forms, dating back to 100,000 ya, should be included in as fully modern humans?
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Chapter 12: Human Variation and Adaptation
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Q1) What is AIDS caused by?
A) mosquito bites
B) a bacterium
C) a mutation on a cell's receptor site
D) a virus
E) bad meat
Q2) Outline the general principles of Bergmann's and Allen's rules. Can we use these rules to explain human phenotypic variation at the level of the population?
Q3) The term ethnicity was originally proposed in order to avoid the emotional baggage associated with the term race.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The eugenics movement
A) formed the basis for notions of racial equality in Nazi Germany
B) was popular throughout the 1970s.
C) is a now discredited view of racial purity
D) was begun by Charles Darwin
E) is supported in biological data
Q5) What polymorphisms exist at the DNA level?
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Chapter 13: Legacies of Human Evolutionary History: Effects
on the Individual
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Q1) Humans have unusually short childhoods, reflecting the importance of learning in our species.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Environmental factors
A) have no effect on growth and development
B) have not been studied in regards to their effects on growth and development
C) definitely have effects on growth and development
D) always have negative effects on growth
E) call into question any effect of hormone glands
Q3) What is the term for a female's first menstruation?
A) menopause
B) menarche
C) andropause
D) andrenarche
E) cyclopause
Q4) What are some of the explanations for the recent trend toward a lower age of menarche?
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Q5) Describe the pattern of human brain growth. What is the importance of delayed brain growth in humans?
Chapter 14: The Human Disconnection
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Q1) According to the textbook authors, the problems facing our planet reflect
A) defects in our understanding of the evolutionary process.
B) problems inherent in biodiversity.
C) worrisome scientific overthinking.
D) an adaptive strategy gone awry.
E) education policies.
Q2) "Anthropocene" refers to
A) Hunting by humans for reasons other than acquiring food
B) Competition between humans and introduced non-native species that results in new bacterial species
C) Destruction of human life on earth caused by overpopulation of bacteria
D) A geological era that recognizes sudden and dramatic changes caused by human activities
E) A reflective view of the damage that humans cause river systems and oceans
Q3) Some human groups began to abandon their nomadic lifestyles and settled down approximately 15,000 years ago.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What factors are implicated in the near extinction of the bald eagle?
Q5) What impacts have human-invented antibiotics had on bacteria?
Page 16
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