PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY UPDATED
ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
●● Honing canine
Answer: Shed plant material
●● Which of the following are the six key attributes that make humans
unique among primates?
Answer: Bipedalism
nonhoning chewing
complex material culture and tool use
speech
hunting
dependence on domesticated foods
●● How do physical anthropologists know what they know?
Answer: 1) Observation
2) Hypothesis
3) Predictions - Predictions come after a hypothesis because they are
more specific.
, 4) Test- This is the last step in the scientific method, where the
hypothesis is either accepted or rejected. However, it is important to
remember that this does not have to be where the process of scientific
inquiry ends. A test can always lead to more observations and another
hypothesis!
●● What did Charles Darwin hypothesize about the origin of
bipedalism?
Answer: It was caused by the shift from life in the trees to life on the
ground (Darwin based his hypothesis on the anatomical differences
between bipedal humans and quadrupedal apes, the latter presumably
spending more time in rain forests than in open country. His
observations lacked detail about the habitats apes or early hominins
lived in, or the actual behavior of apes in the wild.)
●● Which of the following things do physical anthropologists study?
Answer: Genetic history- Physical anthropologists definitely study the
genetic history of individuals and populations. As you will learn in later
chapters, this genetic history is central to understanding how evolution
takes place.
The origins of language and speech- The origins of language and speech
provide us with information about human evolution.
The social behavior of nonhuman primates- The social behavior of
nonhuman primates can help us understand how the social behavior of
modern humans evolved.
ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
●● Honing canine
Answer: Shed plant material
●● Which of the following are the six key attributes that make humans
unique among primates?
Answer: Bipedalism
nonhoning chewing
complex material culture and tool use
speech
hunting
dependence on domesticated foods
●● How do physical anthropologists know what they know?
Answer: 1) Observation
2) Hypothesis
3) Predictions - Predictions come after a hypothesis because they are
more specific.
, 4) Test- This is the last step in the scientific method, where the
hypothesis is either accepted or rejected. However, it is important to
remember that this does not have to be where the process of scientific
inquiry ends. A test can always lead to more observations and another
hypothesis!
●● What did Charles Darwin hypothesize about the origin of
bipedalism?
Answer: It was caused by the shift from life in the trees to life on the
ground (Darwin based his hypothesis on the anatomical differences
between bipedal humans and quadrupedal apes, the latter presumably
spending more time in rain forests than in open country. His
observations lacked detail about the habitats apes or early hominins
lived in, or the actual behavior of apes in the wild.)
●● Which of the following things do physical anthropologists study?
Answer: Genetic history- Physical anthropologists definitely study the
genetic history of individuals and populations. As you will learn in later
chapters, this genetic history is central to understanding how evolution
takes place.
The origins of language and speech- The origins of language and speech
provide us with information about human evolution.
The social behavior of nonhuman primates- The social behavior of
nonhuman primates can help us understand how the social behavior of
modern humans evolved.
