ANTH 161 Final Exam Questions and Answers Latest Update 2025-2026
What are three events made Africa the center of human evolution research? - Answers The discovery of
1.)The Taung Child
2.) Olduvai Gorge
3.) Lucy
What two epochs did human evolution take place in? - Answers Pliocene, Pleistocene
Define prognathism - Answers Bulging of the lower jaw
What were the Laetoli footprints? - Answers Footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzania preserved in volcanic
ash-most likely belonging to A afarensis
-Suggested males and females were sexually dimorphic and bipedal
-Showed their gait (how they walked)
Define postorbital constriction - Answers the narrowing of the cranium just behind the eye sockets
found in most non-human primates and early hominins
Who was the first family? - Answers Group of fragmented bones found, mainly jaws and teeth some
cranial
Who are the australopiths and Paranthropus? - Answers Australopiths: bipedal, brain slightly larger than
chimp, increase in size of molars, reduction in size of front teeth
Paranthropus: "robust" australopithecines with slightly larger brain
How do australopiths differ from Paranthropus? - Answers Main difference- robusticity of the skull.
Paranthropus has a much larger face and jaw to support massive chewing muscles.
Define stratigraphy - Answers the branch of geology concerned with the order and relative position of
strata and their relationship to the geological time scale
Define biostratigraphy - Answers the branch of stratigraphy concerned with fossils and their use in
dating rock formations
What is the significance of the Olduvai Gorge? - Answers Old lake bed in Great Rift Valley of Tanzania.
Volcanic sediments preserved dead animals. Goldmine of early hominins.
What are some problems with studying human origins? - Answers Human brains did not enlarge
significantly until very late in evolution, therefore brain size cannot be a criterion for distinguishing early
human ancestors from other primate ancestors
, What two features distinguish humans from other primates? - Answers 1.) Bipedal walking
2.) Diastema- apes and early hominins have a diastema, later hominins (humans) do not
What are the differences between robust and gracile australopiths? - Answers Robust australopiths have
a much larger face and jaw to support massive chewing muscles
What is the significance of the Taung child? - Answers First time researchers saw evidence of bipedal
walking. Evidence- position of the foramen magnum, directly under skull(hole through which the spinal
cord connects to the brain)
What is the importance of Gona, Bouri, and Dikika, Ethiopia? - Answers All produced tools made by
hominins
What are the advantages of stone tools? - Answers Less susceptible to destruction than bones, easily
manufactured and sharpened, plentiful in supply
What are examples of Oldowan tools and who are they associated with? - Answers Ex. pebbles with
flakes struck off to make sharp edge (chopper)
Associated with Homo Habilis
How do you know something is a stone tool? - Answers They are the only ones that can be identified
because they are preserved in the archeological record. Most were used for striking.
What are the benefits of meat, and how might it have affected members of the genus homo? - Answers
Benefits- high quality protein, easy to digest, stay full longer.
Affect- reduced the need for huge dentition, possibly reduced the amount of time early hominins had to
spend finding food and eating
How can you tell if bones were scavenged versus hunted? - Answers Stone tools leave V-shaped marks
in bones, while teeth leave U-shaped marks
Define competitive exclusion - Answers proposition that two species which compete for the same
limited resource cannot coexist at constant population values
Define retouching - Answers chipping off little flakes to change the shape of an edge or make it stronger
Define Biface
Define Uniface - Answers Biface: stone tools flaked on both sides
Uniface: stone tools only flaked on one side
What are Acheulean tools and who are they associated with? - Answers Acheulean tools are
characterized by the oval and pear-shaped hand axes. Associated with Archaic H. sapiens
What are three events made Africa the center of human evolution research? - Answers The discovery of
1.)The Taung Child
2.) Olduvai Gorge
3.) Lucy
What two epochs did human evolution take place in? - Answers Pliocene, Pleistocene
Define prognathism - Answers Bulging of the lower jaw
What were the Laetoli footprints? - Answers Footprints found in Laetoli, Tanzania preserved in volcanic
ash-most likely belonging to A afarensis
-Suggested males and females were sexually dimorphic and bipedal
-Showed their gait (how they walked)
Define postorbital constriction - Answers the narrowing of the cranium just behind the eye sockets
found in most non-human primates and early hominins
Who was the first family? - Answers Group of fragmented bones found, mainly jaws and teeth some
cranial
Who are the australopiths and Paranthropus? - Answers Australopiths: bipedal, brain slightly larger than
chimp, increase in size of molars, reduction in size of front teeth
Paranthropus: "robust" australopithecines with slightly larger brain
How do australopiths differ from Paranthropus? - Answers Main difference- robusticity of the skull.
Paranthropus has a much larger face and jaw to support massive chewing muscles.
Define stratigraphy - Answers the branch of geology concerned with the order and relative position of
strata and their relationship to the geological time scale
Define biostratigraphy - Answers the branch of stratigraphy concerned with fossils and their use in
dating rock formations
What is the significance of the Olduvai Gorge? - Answers Old lake bed in Great Rift Valley of Tanzania.
Volcanic sediments preserved dead animals. Goldmine of early hominins.
What are some problems with studying human origins? - Answers Human brains did not enlarge
significantly until very late in evolution, therefore brain size cannot be a criterion for distinguishing early
human ancestors from other primate ancestors
, What two features distinguish humans from other primates? - Answers 1.) Bipedal walking
2.) Diastema- apes and early hominins have a diastema, later hominins (humans) do not
What are the differences between robust and gracile australopiths? - Answers Robust australopiths have
a much larger face and jaw to support massive chewing muscles
What is the significance of the Taung child? - Answers First time researchers saw evidence of bipedal
walking. Evidence- position of the foramen magnum, directly under skull(hole through which the spinal
cord connects to the brain)
What is the importance of Gona, Bouri, and Dikika, Ethiopia? - Answers All produced tools made by
hominins
What are the advantages of stone tools? - Answers Less susceptible to destruction than bones, easily
manufactured and sharpened, plentiful in supply
What are examples of Oldowan tools and who are they associated with? - Answers Ex. pebbles with
flakes struck off to make sharp edge (chopper)
Associated with Homo Habilis
How do you know something is a stone tool? - Answers They are the only ones that can be identified
because they are preserved in the archeological record. Most were used for striking.
What are the benefits of meat, and how might it have affected members of the genus homo? - Answers
Benefits- high quality protein, easy to digest, stay full longer.
Affect- reduced the need for huge dentition, possibly reduced the amount of time early hominins had to
spend finding food and eating
How can you tell if bones were scavenged versus hunted? - Answers Stone tools leave V-shaped marks
in bones, while teeth leave U-shaped marks
Define competitive exclusion - Answers proposition that two species which compete for the same
limited resource cannot coexist at constant population values
Define retouching - Answers chipping off little flakes to change the shape of an edge or make it stronger
Define Biface
Define Uniface - Answers Biface: stone tools flaked on both sides
Uniface: stone tools only flaked on one side
What are Acheulean tools and who are they associated with? - Answers Acheulean tools are
characterized by the oval and pear-shaped hand axes. Associated with Archaic H. sapiens
