TEST BANK
Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind
Craig Stanford, John S. Allen, and Susan C. Anton
5th Edition
,Table of Contents
Introduction: What Is Biological Anthropology? 1
Chapter 01 Origins of Evolutionary Thought 20
Chapter 02 Genetics: Cells and Molecules 41
Chapter 03 Genetics: From Genotype to Phenotype 63
Chapter 04 The Forces of Evolution and the Formation of Species 84
Chapter 05 Human Variation: Evolution, Adaptation and Adaptability 104
Chapter 06 The Nonhuman Primates 131
Chapter 07 Primate Behavior 156
Chapter 08 Fossils in Geological Context 180
Chapter 09 Origin of Primates 201
Chapter 10 Early Hominins 222
Chapter 11 Origin and Evolution of the Genus Homo 244
Chapter 12 Neandertals, Denisovans, and Other Homo in the Middle and Late Pleistocene 265
Chapter 13 The Emergence and Dispersal of Homo sapiens 285
Chapter 14 Evolution of the Brain and Language 305
Chapter 15 Biomedical Anthropology 326
Chapter 16 The Evolution of Human Behavior 347
Chapter 17 Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology 368
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Introduction: What Is Biological
Anthropology?
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Anthropologists study which of the following?
a. Contemporary cultures
b. All living forms on Earth
c. Humankind in all its forms across all time
d. Fossil human forms
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
2. Which of the following best defines anthropology?
a. The study of nonhuman primates, their anatomy, and their evolution.
b. The study of ancient humans
c. A study of humanity focusing on its biological and genetic aspects
d. The study of humankind in all its forms across all time
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
3. Anthropology is unique because of its
a. focus on biology
b. focus on race and disease
c. cultural and biological perspective
d. social focus
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
4. Which of the following is a subfield of anthropology?
a. Anthropometry
b. Ethnography
c. Sociology
d. Archaeology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
5. __________ is sometimes considered a fifth anthropological subfield.
a. Archaeology
b. Molecular biochemistry
c. Economic anthropology
d. Applied anthropology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
6. The majority of practicing anthropologists in the United States today are
a. cultural anthropologists
b. archaeologists
c. biological anthropologists
d. linguistic anthropologists
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
7. What is culture?
a. The learned traditions of a group of people
b. The study of human societies and the behavior of people living in those societies
c. Only the physical objects left by earlier generations of people
d. Genetic change in a population over time
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
2|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
8. Cultural anthropology is the study of
a. human societies in a cross-cultural perspective
b. the form and function of language
c. cultures that did not leave any written history
d. how people used to live
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
9. Which of the following is most likely to be conducted by a cultural anthropologist?
a. A study of gorilla behavior
b. A comparison of wedding rituals
c. A study of ancient artifacts
d. An analysis of hominin fossils
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
10. Ethnology is a subfield of cultural anthropology. What do ethnologists study?
a. Language
b. Human societies
c. The artifacts of past human societies
d. Genetic change
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
11. Linguistic anthropologists examine evolution by comparing what?
a. The root forms of different languages
b. Varying dialects in a given region
c. Only spoken language
d. Only written language
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
12. If you are interested in studying the role that language plays in shaping culture, you may consult what
type of anthropologist?
a. Molecular
b. Biomedical
c. Cultural
d. Linguistic
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
13. In what way do prehistoric archaeologists differ from historical archaeologists?
a. Prehistoric archaeologists study civilizations with no recorded history whereas historical archaeologists
study past civilizations that left a written record
b. Prehistoric archaeologists study Western civilizations whereas historical archaeologists study Eastern
civilizations
c. Prehistoric archaeologists only study stone tools whereas historical archaeologists only study fossil
hominins
d. Prehistoric archaeologists study recently deceased humans whereas historical archaeologists study
long deceased humans
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
14. The artifacts and implements of our daily lives are collectively referred to as
a. ethnological culture
b. material culture
c. cultural resource preservation
d. nonmaterial culture
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
______________________________________________________________________________________________
4|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
15. Archaeology examines changes in ______________ via the examination of artifacts.
a. human behavior
b. fossil hominins
c. language
d. biology
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
16. Which of the following would an archaeologist be likely to study?
a. Cause of death in a recently deceased human
b. Anatomical changes in the human skeleton over time
c. Ancient tools
d. The languages of the past
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
17. Which of the following archaeologists is most likely to be at the excavation of a 2-million-year-old site?
a. A salvage archaeologist
b. A prehistoric archaeologist
c. A historical archaeologist
d. A bioarchaeologist
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
18. __________ anthropology is the study of humans as biological organisms, considered in an
evolutionary framework.
a. Physical
b. Biological
c. Molecular
d. Osteological
Correct Answer: a
______________________________________________________________________________________________
5|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Chapter Opener
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
19. Which of the following subfields of biological anthropology studies the human fossil record?
a. Human Biology
b. Osteology
c. Forensic Anthropology
d. Paleoanthropology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
20. A paleoanthropologist is likely to study
a. modern human populations
b. disease prevalence in ancient human populations
c. the interrelationship of diet, culture, and evolution
d. the fossil remains of human ancestors
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
21. Paleoanthropology includes the study of fossils belonging to which groups?
a. Amphibians
b. Humans and nonhuman primates
c. Marsupials
d. Dinosaurs
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
22. In which way are osteologists and skeletal biologists similar?
a. They both only study recently deceased humans
b. They both study patterns of human growth
c. They both study material culture
d. They both study the human skeleton
______________________________________________________________________________________________
6|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
23. Which of the following typifies the work of an osteologist?
a. A scientist who studies the relationship of culture, medicine, and evolution
b. A researcher observing western lowland gorillas
c. A scientist piecing together tiny fragments of a human skeleton
d. A scientist researching the cultures of living peoples
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
24. __________ may use their expertise in human variation in body form to help ascertain the ethnic
affinities of skeletons.
a. Osteologists
b. Nutritional anthropologists
c. Molecular anthropologists
d. Archaeologists
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
25. Skeletal biology is the study of the human skeleton in relation to
a. diet
b. other tissues, such as muscles and tendons
c. cultural practices such as medicine
d. pathology
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
26. Because the bones of the body develop along with other tissues, such as muscles and tendons, it is
necessary to study the interrelationship of the skeleton and its surrounding tissue. This study is known as
a. paleopathology
b. forensic anthropology
______________________________________________________________________________________________
7|Page
, ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
c. human biology
d. skeletal biology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
27. You have uncovered some human skeletal remains that have abnormal growths. What type of
biological anthropologist should you consult to determine more about this individual?
a. Paleopathologist
b. Osteologist
c. Paleoanthropologist
d. Primatologist
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
28. A bioarchaeologist studies ancient skeletons for signs of
a. aging
b. rapid growth
c. trauma, nutritional deficiencies, and disease
d. an evolutionary relationship to present-day humans
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
29. A scientist is examining an ancient skeleton for signs of vitamin deficiency. The scientist is engaging
in which of the following?
a. Paleopathology
b. Cultural resource management
c. Ethnology
d. Archaeology
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
30. You would contact a paleopathologist if the skeleton you just found
______________________________________________________________________________________________
8|Page
Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind
Craig Stanford, John S. Allen, and Susan C. Anton
5th Edition
,Table of Contents
Introduction: What Is Biological Anthropology? 1
Chapter 01 Origins of Evolutionary Thought 20
Chapter 02 Genetics: Cells and Molecules 41
Chapter 03 Genetics: From Genotype to Phenotype 63
Chapter 04 The Forces of Evolution and the Formation of Species 84
Chapter 05 Human Variation: Evolution, Adaptation and Adaptability 104
Chapter 06 The Nonhuman Primates 131
Chapter 07 Primate Behavior 156
Chapter 08 Fossils in Geological Context 180
Chapter 09 Origin of Primates 201
Chapter 10 Early Hominins 222
Chapter 11 Origin and Evolution of the Genus Homo 244
Chapter 12 Neandertals, Denisovans, and Other Homo in the Middle and Late Pleistocene 265
Chapter 13 The Emergence and Dispersal of Homo sapiens 285
Chapter 14 Evolution of the Brain and Language 305
Chapter 15 Biomedical Anthropology 326
Chapter 16 The Evolution of Human Behavior 347
Chapter 17 Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology 368
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Introduction: What Is Biological
Anthropology?
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Anthropologists study which of the following?
a. Contemporary cultures
b. All living forms on Earth
c. Humankind in all its forms across all time
d. Fossil human forms
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
2. Which of the following best defines anthropology?
a. The study of nonhuman primates, their anatomy, and their evolution.
b. The study of ancient humans
c. A study of humanity focusing on its biological and genetic aspects
d. The study of humankind in all its forms across all time
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
3. Anthropology is unique because of its
a. focus on biology
b. focus on race and disease
c. cultural and biological perspective
d. social focus
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
4. Which of the following is a subfield of anthropology?
a. Anthropometry
b. Ethnography
c. Sociology
d. Archaeology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
5. __________ is sometimes considered a fifth anthropological subfield.
a. Archaeology
b. Molecular biochemistry
c. Economic anthropology
d. Applied anthropology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
6. The majority of practicing anthropologists in the United States today are
a. cultural anthropologists
b. archaeologists
c. biological anthropologists
d. linguistic anthropologists
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
7. What is culture?
a. The learned traditions of a group of people
b. The study of human societies and the behavior of people living in those societies
c. Only the physical objects left by earlier generations of people
d. Genetic change in a population over time
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
2|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
8. Cultural anthropology is the study of
a. human societies in a cross-cultural perspective
b. the form and function of language
c. cultures that did not leave any written history
d. how people used to live
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
9. Which of the following is most likely to be conducted by a cultural anthropologist?
a. A study of gorilla behavior
b. A comparison of wedding rituals
c. A study of ancient artifacts
d. An analysis of hominin fossils
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
10. Ethnology is a subfield of cultural anthropology. What do ethnologists study?
a. Language
b. Human societies
c. The artifacts of past human societies
d. Genetic change
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
11. Linguistic anthropologists examine evolution by comparing what?
a. The root forms of different languages
b. Varying dialects in a given region
c. Only spoken language
d. Only written language
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
12. If you are interested in studying the role that language plays in shaping culture, you may consult what
type of anthropologist?
a. Molecular
b. Biomedical
c. Cultural
d. Linguistic
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
13. In what way do prehistoric archaeologists differ from historical archaeologists?
a. Prehistoric archaeologists study civilizations with no recorded history whereas historical archaeologists
study past civilizations that left a written record
b. Prehistoric archaeologists study Western civilizations whereas historical archaeologists study Eastern
civilizations
c. Prehistoric archaeologists only study stone tools whereas historical archaeologists only study fossil
hominins
d. Prehistoric archaeologists study recently deceased humans whereas historical archaeologists study
long deceased humans
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
14. The artifacts and implements of our daily lives are collectively referred to as
a. ethnological culture
b. material culture
c. cultural resource preservation
d. nonmaterial culture
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
______________________________________________________________________________________________
4|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
15. Archaeology examines changes in ______________ via the examination of artifacts.
a. human behavior
b. fossil hominins
c. language
d. biology
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
16. Which of the following would an archaeologist be likely to study?
a. Cause of death in a recently deceased human
b. Anatomical changes in the human skeleton over time
c. Ancient tools
d. The languages of the past
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
17. Which of the following archaeologists is most likely to be at the excavation of a 2-million-year-old site?
a. A salvage archaeologist
b. A prehistoric archaeologist
c. A historical archaeologist
d. A bioarchaeologist
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
18. __________ anthropology is the study of humans as biological organisms, considered in an
evolutionary framework.
a. Physical
b. Biological
c. Molecular
d. Osteological
Correct Answer: a
______________________________________________________________________________________________
5|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Chapter Opener
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
19. Which of the following subfields of biological anthropology studies the human fossil record?
a. Human Biology
b. Osteology
c. Forensic Anthropology
d. Paleoanthropology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.1: Describe the subfields of anthropology and the role of biological anthropology
in them.
Topic: Anthropology and Its Subfields
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
20. A paleoanthropologist is likely to study
a. modern human populations
b. disease prevalence in ancient human populations
c. the interrelationship of diet, culture, and evolution
d. the fossil remains of human ancestors
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
21. Paleoanthropology includes the study of fossils belonging to which groups?
a. Amphibians
b. Humans and nonhuman primates
c. Marsupials
d. Dinosaurs
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
22. In which way are osteologists and skeletal biologists similar?
a. They both only study recently deceased humans
b. They both study patterns of human growth
c. They both study material culture
d. They both study the human skeleton
______________________________________________________________________________________________
6|Page
,______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
23. Which of the following typifies the work of an osteologist?
a. A scientist who studies the relationship of culture, medicine, and evolution
b. A researcher observing western lowland gorillas
c. A scientist piecing together tiny fragments of a human skeleton
d. A scientist researching the cultures of living peoples
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
24. __________ may use their expertise in human variation in body form to help ascertain the ethnic
affinities of skeletons.
a. Osteologists
b. Nutritional anthropologists
c. Molecular anthropologists
d. Archaeologists
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
25. Skeletal biology is the study of the human skeleton in relation to
a. diet
b. other tissues, such as muscles and tendons
c. cultural practices such as medicine
d. pathology
Correct Answer: b
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
26. Because the bones of the body develop along with other tissues, such as muscles and tendons, it is
necessary to study the interrelationship of the skeleton and its surrounding tissue. This study is known as
a. paleopathology
b. forensic anthropology
______________________________________________________________________________________________
7|Page
, ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Test Bank - Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind, 5th Edition (Stanford, 2025)
c. human biology
d. skeletal biology
Correct Answer: d
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
27. You have uncovered some human skeletal remains that have abnormal growths. What type of
biological anthropologist should you consult to determine more about this individual?
a. Paleopathologist
b. Osteologist
c. Paleoanthropologist
d. Primatologist
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
28. A bioarchaeologist studies ancient skeletons for signs of
a. aging
b. rapid growth
c. trauma, nutritional deficiencies, and disease
d. an evolutionary relationship to present-day humans
Correct Answer: c
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
29. A scientist is examining an ancient skeleton for signs of vitamin deficiency. The scientist is engaging
in which of the following?
a. Paleopathology
b. Cultural resource management
c. Ethnology
d. Archaeology
Correct Answer: a
Learning Objective: LO 0.2: Describe the subfields within biological anthropology.
Topic: The Scope of Biological Anthropology
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analyze It
30. You would contact a paleopathologist if the skeleton you just found
______________________________________________________________________________________________
8|Page
