Q&A Hero

Q: One important use of applied archaeology mentioned in the text is: a. To settle border disputes between modern nations. b. To prove the fundamental truths of evolution. c. To demonstrate the ancient presence of humans in the Americas and in China. d. To demonstrate that no Europeans were present in North America before Columbus. e. To increase agricultural yields by revitalizing ancient irrigation techniques.

Q: Which of the following statements about early use of tools by hominins is NOT true? a. Early hominin toolmakers were most likely right-handed. b. Experimental analysis of fossil bone tools from australopithecine sites in South Africa suggests that they were used as digging sticks. c. It is clear that the australopithecines were not capable of making stone tools. d. Mode 1 refers to the method used to make Oldowan stone tools.

Q: Spheroids were most likelya. bolas used in hunting. b. hammers used for knapping. c. flakes used to make digging sticks.d. anvils used to crack nuts.

Q: Psychiatry has been a frequent subject of medical anthropology. One critical finding is: a. The Freudian model of psychoanalysis is appropriate to all cultures universally. b. People in all cultures experience universal psycho-sexual stages of development. c. Schizophrenics are considered ill in Western cultures but are considered religiously enlightened in other cultures. d. Doctors are most frequently trained to treat mental disease as a result of either biological dysfunction or psychosocial factors but not both. e. Mental illness is always caused by social factors, but because of the influence of drug companies, doctors are reluctant to believe this finding.

Q: A critical insight of medical anthropology is that: a. Disease and medicine never exist independently from culture. b. Diseases are universal, biological entities and have little relation to culture. c. There is a single, universal medical model that is applicable to all cultures. d. Although diseases may have different names and different treatments in different cultures, the same diseases are present in all cultures. e. Traditional cultures have a greater number of diseases that modern medicine considers "psychological" than does modern culture.

Q: The dense accumulations of stone tools and bones are thought to be a. home bases of early hominins. b. temporary camps of early hominins. c. random natural accumulations. d. processing sites where stone tools were cached.

Q: Which of the following problems would an applied anthropologist be most likely to study? a. The ways in which families are organized to carry out the basic tasks of farming in agricultural societies. b. The ways in which health care delivery to American minority communities might be improved. c. The ways in which a society's religious beliefs relate to its artwork. d. The relationship between the language members of a culture speak and the ways in which they understand the world. e. The percentage of goods and practices in a culture that have their origins in a different culture.

Q: Which of the following is evidence that early hominins acquired meat by hunting? a. Associations of tools and animal bones have been found. b. Cut marks are common on limb bones. c. Tooth marks are common on the shafts of limb bones. d. The existence of home bases has not been demonstrated.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a line of evidence in favor of early hominins obtaining meat by scavenging? a. Scavenging is evolutionarily conservative. b. Cut marks can be found on vertebrae of prey. c. Scavenging has never been found to be a practical form of meat acquisition. d. Scavenging requires some advanced cognitive processing.

Q: An emic approach to the study of culture is one that emphasizes: a. The description of a culture from the point of view of a member of the culture. b. The comparison of similar parts of different cultures. c. The study of the ecological adaptation of a culture. d. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. e. The search for general laws or principles that can be applied to all human cultures.

Q: What is ethnography? a. It is the reconstruction of past cultures based on material remains. b. It is the scientific study of the concept of culture and adaptation. c. It is the process of doing qualitative, fieldwork-based research. d. It is the protection and exhibition of cultural resources. e. It is the process of seeking laws and general principles that govern cultural phenomena.

Q: Which of the following is the WEAKEST evidence in favor of early hominins obtaining meat by scavenging? a. Most large mammalian carnivores practice some scavenging. b. Scavenging requires cunning. c. Scavenging is never dangerous. d. Scavenging is considered practical when migratory herds are not present.

Q: What kinds of studies established that most of the accumulated bones found in Olduvai were NOT deposited by natural causes?a. Taxonomic b. Taphonomic c. Palynologicald. Microscopic

Q: The close association of hominin chipped stone tools and animal bones may not be because hominins used tools on these animals, but could be a result ofa. volcanic eruptions. b. carnivore activity. c. moving water.d. sedimentation.

Q: All of the following statements about the understanding of culture in anthropology are correct except: a. Culture is biologically and genetically transmitted from person to person. b. Culture is the way of life of a particular human society. c. Culture is the learned behaviors and symbols that allow people to live in groups. d. Culture is the primary way that human adapt to their environments.

Q: Microscopic analysis of Oldowan chipped stone tools indicates that they were used fora. wood working and butchery. b. sewing and piercing hides. c. digging in termite mounds.d. ritual activities.

Q: A primary contribution of urban archaeologists is the development of: a. New architecture based on traditional designs. b. New methods of city governance. c. New knowledge about people who resided at the site. d. New insights into agriculture. e. New information about traditional Native American lifestyles.

Q: Archaeologists are principally interested in: a. Excavating sites and developing museums to preserve ancient landforms. b. Collecting artifacts made by ancient peoples. c. Tracing the course of human evolution through an examination of the fossilized remains. d. Understanding and reconstructing the cultures of past societies. e. Tracing the early development of Western civilization.

Q: Which of the following studies how languages are related to each other? a. Biological anthropology b. Human variation c. Historical linguistics d. Paleo-linguistics e. Cultural linguistics

Q: Which of the following statements is true regarding the Olduvai sites? a. The home bases found at Olduvai are now interpreted as spots where hominins ate their prey. b. Paleoanthropologists cannot distinguish between animal tooth marks and stone-tool marks on animal bones found at Olduvai. c. Taphonomic evidence suggests that the Oldowan hominins only acquired meat by scavenging. d. Taphonomic evidence suggests that the Oldowan hominins were sometimes hunters and sometimes scavengers.

Q: Anthropologists say that human adaptation is biocultural. Which of the following best represents what is meant by this statement? a. Human adaptation is both biological and cultural, and anthropologists cannot distinguish between the meanings of these concepts. b. Human adaptation involves both biological and cultural dimensions and each influences the other. c. Human adaptation is unique among all animals because it is based exclusively on physiological adaptations. d. Human adaptation is the same as that of all animal because culture plays a role in the adaptation of all forms of life. e. Human adaptation is based exclusively on culture. Biology is subsumed within the cultural dimension and does not exert an independent influence on humans.

Q: Olduvai bone and stone-tool accumulations were most likely a. home bases. b. butchery sites. c. natural accumulations due to water movement. d. plant extraction sites.

Q: At modern kill sites there is a. little conflict. b. conflict, but only between members of different species. c. conflict, but only between members of the same species. d. conflict, both between members of different species and between members of the same species.

Q: Which of the following correctly identifies the sub-disciplines of anthropology? a. Archaeology, Anthropometry, Cultural Anthropology, Paleontology, and Cultural Relativity. b. Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Cognitive Anthropology, Ethno-history, and Linguistics. c. Archaeology, Ethno-history, Anthropometry, Structural Anthropology, and Cultural Anthropology. d. Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, Applied Anthropology and Linguistics. e. Archaeology, Phonology, Medical Anthropology, Development Studies, and Cultural Anthropology.

Q: To say that anthropology is holistic means that anthropologists are particularly interested in: a. Objects and acts regarded as holy by various peoples. b. The whole personality of any particular individual. c. The integration of biological, sociocultural, and environmental factors in explaining human behavior. d. Studying every culture in the world. e. The efforts to find holes in particular theories.

Q: At Olduvai sites, a. both hominin and nonhominin carnivores were active, and nonhominin carnivores may have sometimes eaten hominins. b. nonhominin carnivores were the main prey of hominins. c. nonhominin carnivores were not active. d. virtually all hominin activity involved scavenging; there was virtually no actual hunting.

Q: The Olduvai accumulation sites were probably a. home bases, because many temporary shelters were found. b. home bases, because fire hearths were found. c. not home bases, because evidence of competition with other predators was found. d. not home bases, because only short-term use fire hearths were found.

Q: One of the most critical goals of cultural anthropology as an academic discipline is to: a. Describe, analyze, and explain different cultures. b. Increase the level of culture in particular human societies. c. Place large numbers of cultural anthropologists in political offices. d. Determine the direction of human evolution. e. Preserve world heritage for future generations.

Q: Taphonomy is the study of a. how stone tools are made. b. how to tell fossil plants from fossil animals. c. tree rings. d. what happens to an organism's remains from the time of death to the time the remains are found by scientists.

Q: The critical factor that distinguishes anthropology from other fields of study is: a. Its emphasis on rigorous experimentation and analysis of data. b. Its exclusive focus on non-Western cultures. c. Its use of theories of biological evolution to explain human behavior. d. Its interest in describing humankind throughout time and in all parts of the world. e. Its focus on the discovery of a single human nature.

Q: At modern kill sites a. hunters usually take meat from the limbs, and scavengers eat meat from the skull and vertebrae. b. hunters usually take meat from the skull and vertebrae, and scavengers eat meat from the limbs. c. hunters take almost all of the meat, and scavengers eat only cartilage and bone marrow. d. hunters and scavengers share all parts of carcasses.

Q: The so-called home bases found at Olduvai are now interpreted as spots wherea. hominins cached their kills. b. animals were butchered by hominins. c. hominins fed on kills.d. hominins practiced cannibalism.

Q: Taphonomic evidence suggests that hominins were a. mainly hunters. b. mainly scavengers. c. sometimes hunters and sometimes scavengers. d. neither hunters nor scavengers.

Q: Large mammalian carnivores in Africa a. never scavenge for meat. b. scavenge only when they are sick or old. c. often scavenge for meat rather than hunting. d. almost always scavenge for meat and vary rarely hunt.

Q: The difference between a stone-tool mark and a tooth mark is that a. stone-tool marks are crooked because hominins were not skilled at using stone tools. b. tooth marks leave smooth grooves, and stone-tool marks leave many parallel grooves. c. stone-tool marks contain stone flake residue. d. tooth marks occur along the entire shaft of the bone but stone-tool marks occur only at the end of the bone.

Q: Which of the following statements is likely true regarding the Olduvai sites? a. There is definitive evidence of "home bases" at Olduvai Gorge. b. Paleoanthropologists are not able to distinguish between animal tooth marks and stone-tool marks on animal bones from Olduvai Gorge. c. Taphonomic evidence suggests that the Oldowan hominids were sometimes hunters and sometimes scavengers. d. There are no sites at Olduvai that are simply carnivore kill or cache sites.

Q: Taphonomists believe that the Olduvai bone and stone-tool sites were not the result of the death of a large number of animals because a. mass deaths usually involve members of a single species, but the Olduvai sites contain members of different species. b. there is usually evidence of dehydration when mass deaths occur, but there is no such evidence at Olduvai sites. c. mass deaths are very rare among modern animals on the savanna. d. there is little mixing of bones of different species.

Q: Taphonomists believe that the Olduvai bone and stone-tool sites were not deposited by moving water because a. the bones do not contain characteristic water markings. b. the sediments surrounding the bones do not contain water markings. c. the sediments surrounding the bones are inverted, so that the top layers are oldest. d. the sediments surrounding the bones and tools are not graded by size and weight.

Q: Evidence that hominins ate meat includesa. stone-tool marks on prey bones. b. hominin tooth marks on prey bones. c. hominin fingerprints on prey bones.d. the shape of hominin molars.

Q: Taphonomic analysis of stone-tool and bone accumulations shows that a. moving water caused over half of the associations. b. mass deaths of animals caused some of the associations. c. hominins accounted for some of the associations. d. these associations were preserved by volcanic eruptions.

Q: The association of hominin tools and animal bones is more likely to mean that early hominins were responsible for these bone accumulations if a. the bones and stone tools are found at the same archaeological site. b. the bones have carnivore gnaw marks on them. c. the bones have possible stone-tool cut marks on them. d. the bones show evidence of having been moved by water.

Q: Experimental analysis of bone tools from South Africa suggests that they were used toa. dig up plant roots and tubers. b. extract termites from their mounds. c. dig up tree roots.d. bury carcasses.

Q: With food sharing comes increased paternal care. Therefore, what other characteristic do we expect to evolve with this pair of traits?a. Increased sexual dimorphism. b. Decreased sexual dimorphism. c. Increased male"male competition.d. Smaller brains.

Q: Primates with a long juvenile period require a long life span because a. they can reproduce faster. b. they can experience menopause. c. they are less subject to natural selection. d. they need to make up for lost reproductive opportunities.

Q: Compared with humans, after weaning chimpanzees are a. more dependent upon their mothers for food. b. apt to share food more extensively with each other. c. more self-sufficient at food acquisition. d. no different at food acquisition.

Q: Since hunting takes a long time to learn and can be unreliable, it favored the evolution ofa. sexual division of labor. b. juvenile development. c. food sharing.d. a stronger built-in hunting instinct.

Q: Because humans rely on learned skills for many of the foods they eat, natural selection has favoreda. fast development. b. an extended juvenile period. c. strength.d. hunting.

Q: Many food sources used by contemporary foragers are hard to acquire and therefore requirea. learned skills. b. hammers and anvils. c. cooking.d. weapons.

Q: Imagine you are a female chimpanzee that likes to eat termites. This kind of food has to bea. gathered. b. collected. c. hunted.d. extracted.

Q: Meat is worth carrying around because a. it tastes good. b. it provides large amounts of nutrients in a small package, compared with vegetables. c. it causes a sexual division of labor. d. it attracts predators.

Q: Meat eating may require food sharing because a. sharing reduces the risks associated with hunting by averaging returns over time. b. meat is unhealthy, so sharing spreads out the negative effects of consuming it. c. hunting is a way of showing off. d. food sharing reduces levels of cooperation, and hunting is a task best done alone.

Q: Dependence on meat may facilitate a. food sharing. b. a shorter juvenile period. c. increased competition between males. d. increased sexual dimorphism.

Q: Which of the following statements is true concerning human foraging groups? a. Changes in human life history pattern were likely driven by humans' emphasis on collected foods. b. Humans have been shaped by natural selection to be born able to carry out most important foraging tasks. c. Food sharing and division of labor lead to increased competition between males and increased sexual dimorphism. d. Food sharing and division of labor lead to reduced competition between males and reduced sexual dimorphism.

Q: A shift to extractive foraging and hunting would favor a. larger brain size and greater intelligence. b. a shortened juvenile period. c. a shorter overall life span. d. no change in brain size or life history.

Q: Which the following statements is NOT true concerning human foraging groups? a. Children are able to obtain enough food to feed themselves by the age of 10 years. b. Women do not forage enough food to feed themselves until they are in their late 40s. c. Men provide the majority of calories over time in all foraging groups. d. Men frequently share the food they obtain with other group members.

Q: Which of the following is true of the contribution of calories from foraging among contemporary foraging groups? a. Individuals of all ages contribute equally to the group's diet. b. Men contribute a net surplus of food. c. Women contribute a net surplus of food. d. Children contribute nothing at all.

Q: Contemporary foragers rely more heavily on ________ than any other primate.a. fruit b. agricultural products c. meatd. domestic animals

Q: In contemporary foraging societies, a. there is a great deal of sexual dimorphism. b. there is increased competition between males for females who are good at extractive foraging. c. males make substantial investments in their offspring by sharing food. d. females are solely responsible for the food needed to feed children.

Q: Contemporary foragers a. have food sharing and a sexual division of labor. b. have permanent settlements. c. raise domestic livestock. d. live in large groups of over 100 adults, most of the time.

Q: Contemporary human foragers a. take years to learn to forage and are usually adults before they are proficient hunters and food extractors. b. collect the majority of their food as ripe fruit or otherwise easily accessed sources. c. rely more on domesticated foods from their gardens than on wild foods. d. have almost identical diets as chimpanzees, plus meat.

Q: Human foragers primarily include ________ foods in their diet.a. raw and unprocessed b. hunted c. scavengedd. extracted and hunted

Q: Chimpanzees primarily include ________ foods in their diet.a. extracted b. hunted c. collectedd. provisioned

Q: ________ include collected, extracted, and hunted foods in their diet.a. Orangutans b. Gorillas c. Chimpanzeesd. Gibbons

Q: Among contemporary foragers, a. food sharing and hunting are closely linked. b. only vegetable matter is shared. c. all types of food are shared. d. almost no food is shared.

Q: Among contemporary foragers, a. men do most of the hunting and women do most of the gathering. b. hunting and gathering are divided up by gender differently in each culture. c. most hunting is done by a combination of men and women, while all gathering is done by women. d. hunting is done in only a small number of known groups.

Q: The term used for the manufacture of chipped stone tools, such as most of the Mode 1 Oldowan tools, isa. coring. b. flaking. c. knapping.d. cracking.

Q: If marks found on fossil animal bones from Dikika were determined conclusively to have been made by stone tools, a. we would conclude that P. boisei was the first toolmaker. b. chipped stone tools were made and used much earlier than previously thought, possibly by A. afarensis. c. A. garhi was hunting animals a million years earlier than previously thought. d. H. habilis was the first toolmaker.

Q: ________ foods come from things that do not move but are protected in some way.a. Hunted b. Extracted c. Collectedd. Provisioned

Q: Which of the following is the most likely description of the "first engineer" of stone tools, based on available data? a. A member of the genus Homo b. A member of the genus Australopithecus or an early member of the genus Homo c. Australopithecus africanus d. The earliest Homo sapiens

Q: Oldowan tools found in East Africa and dated to 2.5 mya could have been made bya. Australopithecus afarensis. b. Proconsul africanus. c. Homo sapiens.d. Homo neanderthalensis.

Q: By becoming proficient at making Oldowan stone tools, scientists were able to demonstrate that a. the original makers must have been modern humans. b. the earliest stone tools were spheroids. c. the original makers were probably right-handed most of the time. d. the original makers were probably left-handed most of the time.

Q: Spheroids were most likely a. used to process plant foods. b. hammer stones that were worn from making tools. c. hunting tools thrown at animals. d. made most often by right-handed toolmakers.

Q: Oldowan flakes a. may have been made to make other tools that were then used to extract resources. b. were primarily the waste product from making the "cores." c. were used to dig up tubers. d. were used to crack open bones to extract marrow.

Q: Scientists have established that Oldowan flakes were a. useful for a wide range of functions, including butchering animals. b. primarily a waste product of making Oldowan tools. c. primarily used for hunting large game like elephants. d. accidental byproducts of using round cobbles for various purposes.

Q: Oldowan tools are quite variable in size and shape. The best explanation for this pattern is thought to be a. the function the tools were made for. b. the particular method used to make them. c. how toolmakers thought their tools should look. d. The particular raw material used to make the tools.

Q: The first use of tools a. was by australopithecine ancestors of humans. b. probably precedes the divergence of humans and apes. c. occurred after the evolution of bipedalism. d. involved distinctly human abilities.

Q: The earliest chipped stone tools in East Africa date to approximately ________ mya.a. 3.7 b. 2.5 c. 4.2d. 1.3

Q: Why might there be uncertainties about the relationship of different hominins to each other?

Q: Discuss three hypotheses concerning the evolution of bipedalism.

Q: Which known member of the genus Australopithecus is most like an ancestor to later australopiths and even of our genus, Homo? Support your suggestion with information about features of the hominins noted in the chapter.