Q&A Hero

Q: The origins of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was that of a revitalization movement.

Q: How does Steno's law of superposition support relative and absolute dating methods?

Q: The Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 was an aftermath of the breakup of the Ghost Dance by the U.S. government.

Q: Cargo Cults are high-demand forms of Christianity that developed in West Africa in the early twentieth century.

Q: Why is punctuated equilibrium an important addition to natural selection?

Q: In Haitian Vodou, the identification of the Yoruba deity Legba as St. Peter is an example of syncretism.

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

Q: 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.

Q: The lwa of Vodou closely resemble the orisha of the Yoruba.

Q: 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.

Q: The movement of the technology of processing acorns among the tribes of California is a good example of syncretism.

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

Q: A remote, isolated society that nevertheless uses manufactured clothing and canned goods received from the outside is said to be assimilated.

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

Q: Traits that diffuse from one culture to another are usually altered to fit into the cultural system of the receiving culture.

Q: 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.

Q: An invention occurs where someone uses technology to bring about a deliberate change.

Q: The practice of justifying beliefs and actions by reference to religious texts held to be inerrant is: a. totalism b. scripturalism c. traditioning d. agnosticism

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

Q: Fission track dating can provide dates when used on which type of material? a. sedimentary rock b. shell c. bone d. igneous rock

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

Q: Totalism, scripturalism, and traditioning are features of: a. fundamentalism b. high demand religious groups c. agnosticism d. revitalization movements

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

Q: An example of a UFO religion is: a. Heaven's Gate b. Unification Church c. Branch Davidians d. Wicca

Q: 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 b. amino acid dating c. potassium-argon dating d. electron spin resonance dating

Q: A new religious group that practices mass wedding ceremonies is the: a. Branch Davidians b. Unification Church c. Vodou d. Raelians

Q: A high demand religion is characterized by: a. strict control of outside information b. communal living c. members being given new names and identities d. all of the above

Q: 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

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

Q: Many religious groups develop by branching off of established mainstream religions. The groups that remain mainstream and differ the least from the origin religion are called: a. cults b. sects c. denominations d. movements

Q: 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.

Q: Wiccan beliefs include: a. nature is a manifestation of deity b. folk and ritual magic is used for good and never for evil c. rituals associated with the goddess are performed at full moons d. all of the above

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

Q: Modern Wiccan beliefs are based upon the works of: a. E. E. Evans-Pritchard b. Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner c. Edward Tylor and James Frazer d. Bronislaw Malinowski and Claude Lvi-Straus

Q: 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.

Q: An example of a neo-pagan religious system is: a. Wicca b. Santeria c. John Frum Cult d. Branch Davidians

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

Q: The Witchcraze is a Neo-Pagan religion found in Europe and the United States.

Q: Fluorine dating is an example of what type of dating method? a. chronometric b. nonrelative c. chemical d. genetic

Q: Euro-American witches in the 15th century obtained their evil power through contact with the Devil.

Q: 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.

Q: In many parts of Africa today, AIDS is being blamed on the activity of witchcraft.

Q: 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

Q: Since the Navaho witch is a personification of evil, witchcraft serves to culturally define immoral and antisocial behavior.

Q: A granary has collapsed seriously injuring a man who was working underneath it. An Azande would be most like to blame the injury upon sorcery.

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

Q: Among the Azande, the diagnosis of an illness is confirmed by a medium through spirit possession.

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

Q: Among the Azande, witchcraft accusations are most likely to occur between people with strong social ties.

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

Q: The Azande confirm the identity of a witch through autopsy after the witch has died or through autopsy of a blood relative of the same sex.

Q: 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 b. carbon 14 c. dendrochronology d. electron spin resonance

Q: An Azande is a witch because of the inheritance of mangu or witchcraft substance.

Q: 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 b. electron spin resonance c. thermoluminescence d. dendrochronology

Q: Among the Azande witchcraft is basically evil, but it is good when it is directed at enemies.

Q: Witches in small-scale societies derived their power from the knowledge and use of spells.

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

Q: Hedonism and the symbol of a goat's head within an inverted pentagram refer to: a. Wicca b. Asatru c. Satanism d. Druidism

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

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

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

Q: Which of the following is true about the concept of the evil eye? a. a person can cause misfortune by looking at a person b. it is bad form to say something complementary about a child c. spitting and particular hand gestures can be used to protect one against the evil eye d. all of the above

Q: Which era saw the proliferation of mammals? a. Holocene b. Cenozoic c. Jurassic d. Mesozoic

Q: Arthur Miller's play The Crucible used the Salem trials as an allegory for: a. illegal immigration b. McCarthyism c. the use of alcohol during Prohibition d. the breakup for the traditional family

Q: 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 b. dendrochronology c. Steno's law of superposition d. carbon 14 dating

Q: A series of witchcraft trials and executions took place in the late 17th century in the United States, in the town of: a. Lancaster b. Salem c. Concord d. Springfield

Q: 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. b. paleomagnetism. c. fluorine analysis. d. geolayering.

Q: The book Malleus Maleficarum stated that witches: a. could shift shapes, and fly through the air b. were more likely to be women than men c. must be arrested, convicted, and executed d. all of the above

Q: The book Malleus Maleficarum was: a. written in the 15th century and set forth European witchcraft beliefs of the time b. a 17th century description of witchcraft beliefs in northern Africa c. a late 18th century anthropological study of European witchcraft d. was written by Gerald Gardner and became the basis of much Neo-Pagan belief

Q: Igneous rock can be dated with which of the following methods? a. radiopotassium dating b. dendrochronology c. radiocarbon dating d. fluorine dating

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

Q: The Witchcraze: a. took place in Europe during the 15th through 17th centuries b. refers to witchcraft activity in New England during the 16th and 17th centuries c. is the term used by E. E. Evans-Pritchard to refer to certain witchcraft activities found in African tribal societies d. refers to Neo-Pagan rituals in the 20th century

Q: The earth's age is _______ years. a. 4.6 billion b. 3.4 billion c. 6,000 d. 12 billion

Q: In contrast with tribal beliefs, Euro-American witchcraft beliefs are characterized by: a. witches were usually female b. the power of witches was derived from a pact with the Devil c. witchcraft was a crime against God and witches could be publicly executed d. all of the above

Q: The spread of AIDS in small-scale societies is often attributed to witchcraft and sorcery because: a. AIDS is a poorly understood disease of which there is no clear cause in the minds of the people b. modern medicine is relatively ineffective in treating AIDS c. AIDS appears to strike random, especially among the poor d. all of the above

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

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

Q: In contrast to the Gwari of West Africa, Nupe witches are always female. It appears to be due to the fact that: a. Nupe wives engage in activities that their husbands cannot control b. political power is vested in female chiefs who rule through their husbands and brothers c. women sexuality and fertility is viewed as dangerous and powerful d. the Nupe were influenced by Christian missionaries at the time of Witchcraze in Europe

Q: Which of the following is true about Navaho witchcraft? a. witches use materials taken from corpses such as corpse powder b. witches can turn themselves in animals at will c. witches will kill a close relative as part of the process of becoming a witch d. all of the above are true statements

Q: 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.