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ASSEB HS Anthropology study materials
ASSEB HS Anthropology study resources

ASSEB HS Anthropology practice questions

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Question 1Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A researcher spends eighteen months living in a village, learning the local language, and participating in daily work while taking detailed notes. This strategy is best identified as:

  1. Archival historiography
  2. Experimental archaeology
  3. Ethnographic fieldwork Correct answer.
  4. Comparative survey research

Explanation

Ethnography is the core method of cultural anthropology, in which the researcher immerses in a community over an extended period to understand life from insiders' perspectives. The long residence, language learning, and participation described in the stem are the defining features of that approach.

Question 2Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

The principle that anthropologists should consider beliefs and practices within their own cultural context rather than judging them by the researcher's standards is called:

  1. Cultural relativism Correct answer.
  2. Diffusionism
  3. Social Darwinism
  4. Ethnocentrism

Explanation

Cultural relativism holds that a practice must be understood in terms of the meanings it carries for the people concerned. It is a methodological and ethical stance for interpretation, not a claim that all practices are morally equivalent.

Question 3Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Which subfield of anthropology focuses primarily on the study of material remains such as pottery, tools, and settlement patterns?

  1. Linguistic anthropology
  2. Applied anthropology
  3. Biological anthropology
  4. Archaeology Correct answer.

Explanation

Archaeology reconstructs past human behavior from material culture and site evidence. Its data are objects, features, and spatial patterns rather than living informants or texts alone.

Question 4Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An anthropologist studying how speakers shift pronoun forms depending on the social status of their interlocutor is working in which area?

  1. Primatology
  2. Ethnoarchaeology
  3. Paleoanthropology
  4. Sociolinguistics Correct answer.

Explanation

Sociolinguistics examines how language variation correlates with social variables such as status, gender, and setting. Pronoun choice tied to relative status is a classic example of socially conditioned variation.

Question 5Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

In a research proposal, a statement that predicts a specific relationship between variables and can be tested with data is known as a:

  1. Paradigm
  2. Hypothesis Correct answer.
  3. Sampling frame
  4. Ethnography

Explanation

A hypothesis is a testable, falsifiable proposition about how variables relate. It must be framed so that evidence could support or contradict it, which distinguishes it from broad interpretive assumptions.

Question 6Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Which practice is required by informed consent in anthropological fieldwork?

  1. Explaining the study's purpose and risks and allowing people to decline Correct answer.
  2. Obtaining permission only from a national government office
  3. Concealing the researcher's identity to obtain natural behavior
  4. Publishing all raw field notes with participants' names

Explanation

Informed consent requires that participants understand what the research involves and voluntarily agree, with the right to withdraw. It is an ongoing process rather than a single signature.

Question 7Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A researcher who compares the kinship terminology of forty societies to identify recurring patterns is using which approach?

  1. Life history method
  2. Participant observation
  3. Cross-cultural comparison Correct answer.
  4. Excavation

Explanation

Cross-cultural comparison uses systematically coded cases from many societies to test general propositions. It contrasts with intensive single-case fieldwork, which probes meaning and context in one setting.

Question 8Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

The term 'holism' in anthropology refers to the commitment to:

  1. Treating each society as an isolated and unchanging unit
  2. Restricting analysis to measurable observable behavior only
  3. Explaining culture solely through individual psychology
  4. Studying human life by integrating biological, social, cultural, and historical dimensions Correct answer.

Explanation

Holism means that human phenomena are examined as interconnected parts of a larger whole, spanning biology, language, social organization, and history. It is one of the discipline's defining orientations.

Question 9Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An anthropologist writes detailed descriptions of a ceremony, capturing participants' own categories and interpretations. This product is best described as:

  1. Thick description Correct answer.
  2. A sampling error
  3. A null hypothesis
  4. A statistical correlation

Explanation

Thick description, a term associated with interpretive anthropology, records behavior together with the layers of meaning participants attach to it. It differs from thin description, which merely records what happened.

Question 10Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A researcher wants to study undocumented workers who fear exposure. Which sampling strategy is most likely to gain access and trust?

  1. Random digit dialing of the whole city
  2. Snowball sampling through trusted community members Correct answer.
  3. Stratified sampling from a national census
  4. Systematic sampling from a public tax registry

Explanation

Snowball sampling uses referrals from people already known to the community, which builds trust when a population is hidden or stigmatized. Probability methods depend on complete lists and willingness to be identified.

Question 11Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Which statement best distinguishes participant observation from structured interviewing?

  1. Participant observation uses a standardized questionnaire administered to a large sample
  2. Participant observation is conducted only in archives and libraries
  3. Participant observation requires laboratory control of variables
  4. Participant observation relies on sustained co-presence and informal interaction rather than a fixed question schedule Correct answer.

Explanation

Participant observation generates data through long-term involvement in everyday settings, allowing the researcher to observe what people do as well as what they say. Structured interviews instead apply a predetermined set of questions uniformly.

Question 12Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An anthropologist studying a rural clinic discovers that patients and nurses use the word 'stress' to mean very different things. This discovery most directly illustrates the value of:

  1. Attention to emic categories in ethnographic interviewing Correct answer.
  2. Random assignment in controlled trials
  3. Secondary analysis of hospital budgets
  4. Quantitative content analysis of closed questions

Explanation

Emic categories are the distinctions meaningful to insiders, and eliciting them prevents researchers from imposing their own vocabulary. Divergent meanings of a single term are precisely what open-ended ethnographic inquiry is suited to reveal.

Question 13Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

The primary purpose of peer review in anthropological publishing is to:

  1. Guarantee that findings will be replicated by the same author
  2. Replace the need for informed consent in fieldwork
  3. Have independent specialists evaluate the soundness of methods and claims before publication Correct answer.
  4. Ensure that all reviewers share the author's theoretical framework

Explanation

Peer review subjects a manuscript to scrutiny by specialists who assess evidence, method, and argument. It improves quality control but does not guarantee truth or replication.

Question 14Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A researcher studying weaver birds records every occurrence of nest-building behavior in fixed time intervals. This procedure is an example of:

  1. Life history interviewing
  2. A genealogical method
  3. Time sampling in observational research Correct answer.
  4. Cultural relativism

Explanation

Time sampling records behavior within predetermined intervals so that observations are systematic and comparable. It reduces bias compared with ad hoc noting of striking events.

Question 15Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Which of the following best describes the etic perspective?

  1. An insider's account using only local vocabulary
  2. A legal code governing research
  3. An outsider's analytical framework using categories the analyst defines Correct answer.
  4. A statistical test of significance

Explanation

The etic perspective applies the researcher's comparative categories, in contrast to the emic perspective, which reconstructs insiders' own distinctions. Good ethnography typically moves between the two.

Question 16Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An archaeologist wants to know whether a settlement was occupied seasonally. Which evidence would most directly support a seasonal occupation claim?

  1. The presence of a nearby modern road
  2. Growth increments in recovered juvenile animal teeth indicating the season of death Correct answer.
  3. The number of pottery sherds per cubic meter
  4. The total floor area of excavated houses

Explanation

Seasonal indicators such as dental growth increments or migratory species can date the time of year a site was used. Other measures describe intensity or density but not seasonality directly.

Question 17Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Comparing homologous skeletal features across human populations to reconstruct evolutionary relationships is the work of:

  1. Linguistic anthropology
  2. Medical anthropology
  3. Biological anthropology Correct answer.
  4. Cultural anthropology

Explanation

Biological anthropology examines human and primate variation, adaptation, and evolution using skeletal, genetic, and comparative evidence. Homology is a central concept for reconstructing shared ancestry.

Question 18Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Which is the strongest reason anthropologists often use qualitative rather than purely quantitative evidence?

  1. It captures meaning, context, and process that numerical measures may flatten Correct answer.
  2. It eliminates the need for ethical review
  3. It guarantees that findings generalize to all societies
  4. It produces results that cannot be contested

Explanation

Qualitative evidence is suited to questions about interpretation, sequence, and social process. It complements rather than replaces quantification, and it carries the same obligations of rigor and ethics.

Question 19Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An anthropologist studying a factory takes a job on the assembly line. This decision is best justified as:

  1. Gaining experiential access to the embodied routines and constraints of workers' lives Correct answer.
  2. Testing a hypothesis with random assignment
  3. Increasing the sample size of questionnaire responses
  4. Avoiding the need to disclose the research to anyone

Explanation

Working alongside people provides sensory and practical knowledge of labor that interviews alone may not capture. The justification is depth of understanding, not statistical power.

Question 20Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A researcher finds that a coded variable for 'ritual complexity' differs between two coders. The most appropriate next step is to:

  1. Discard the variable and publish without methods
  2. Refine the coding definitions and assess inter-coder reliability Correct answer.
  3. Assume the more senior coder is correct
  4. Increase the sample size without changing the codebook

Explanation

Disagreement between coders signals ambiguity in operational definitions. Clarifying the codebook and measuring reliability improves the trustworthiness of the coding scheme.

Question 21Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Anthropologists increasingly use reflexivity in fieldwork. This means:

  1. Recording only the researcher's personal feelings instead of participants' accounts
  2. Removing all interpretation from the final report
  3. Examining how the researcher's own position and presence shape the data produced Correct answer.
  4. Repeating observations until results stabilize

Explanation

Reflexivity is critical attention to the researcher's identity, relationships, and effects on the setting. It strengthens interpretation rather than replacing participants' perspectives with the researcher's own.

Question 22Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A team uses both archaeological excavation and ethnographic interviews with living potters to interpret kiln remains. This combination is best described as:

  1. Experimental archaeology
  2. Ethnoarchaeology Correct answer.
  3. Culture-historical classification
  4. Salvage excavation

Explanation

Ethnoarchaeology uses observations of living communities to build middle-range interpretations of material remains. It differs from experimental replication, which tests techniques rather than observing living practice.

Question 23Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Anthropological researchers must consider that their published work may be read by the communities studied. Which ethical commitment does this most directly reinforce?

  1. The priority of the researcher's career advancement
  2. The need to conceal all findings from participants
  3. Reciprocity and accountability to research participants Correct answer.
  4. The requirement to publish raw identifiable data

Explanation

Accountability to communities means weighing how representations will affect the people described and returning benefits where possible. This commitment extends ethics beyond procedural consent to ongoing relationships.

Question 24Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A researcher argues that a single case study cannot support a universal claim about human kinship. This critique is best framed as a concern about:

  1. Generalizability from a small purposive sample Correct answer.
  2. Informed consent
  3. Instrument validity
  4. Inter-coder reliability

Explanation

Generalizability concerns how far findings from one setting extend to others. A single intensive case can illuminate mechanisms but cannot by itself establish universality.

Question 25Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An anthropologist notes that her presence changed how a ritual was performed. In the final account, the most methodologically sound response is to:

  1. Report the effect of her presence and analyze it as part of the data Correct answer.
  2. Claim the ritual was observed unaffected
  3. Reinterpret the ritual using only published sources
  4. Remove the ritual from the report to avoid bias

Explanation

Observer effects are themselves informative and should be documented and analyzed rather than suppressed. Transparency about the researcher's role strengthens the credibility of the account.

Question 26Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Which statement best describes the relationship between ethnography and ethnology as subfields of cultural anthropology?

  1. Ethnography produces detailed accounts of particular societies, while ethnology compares those accounts to build general theory. Correct answer.
  2. Ethnography is a form of applied anthropology, while ethnology is restricted to museum curation.
  3. Ethnography studies living populations, while ethnology studies only archaeological remains.
  4. Ethnography applies statistical models to cross-cultural data, while ethnology writes descriptive accounts of single communities.

Explanation

Ethnography is the descriptive, fieldwork-based documentation of a particular community, and ethnology is the comparative, generalizing enterprise built on such accounts. The two are complementary rather than separate disciplines, because comparison depends on reliable case descriptions.

Question 27Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

A researcher studying a fishing village wants a sample that deliberately includes boat owners, hired crew, fish traders, and household members who do not fish. Which sampling approach does this illustrate?

  1. Snowball sampling
  2. Maximum variation (purposive) sampling Correct answer.
  3. Convenience sampling
  4. Simple random sampling

Explanation

Purposive sampling selects cases because of their relevant characteristics rather than by chance, and maximum variation purposive sampling deliberately recruits across contrasting positions to capture the range of experiences. Choosing owners, crew, traders, and non-fishing households reflects that deliberate spread of perspectives.

Question 28Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An anthropologist argues that a practice makes sense only in relation to a society's economy, kinship system, and ritual life taken together. Which commitment of the discipline does this argument express?

  1. Ethnocentrism
  2. Cultural relativism
  3. Holism Correct answer.
  4. Comparative functionalism

Explanation

Holism is the commitment to studying institutions as interconnected parts of a whole rather than in isolation, so that economy, kinship, and ritual are analyzed together. The argument explicitly links several domains to explain one practice, which is the holistic move.

Question 29Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

Two anthropologists independently code the same set of interview transcripts for themes and then compare their codings. Which methodological concern are they primarily addressing?

  1. Reflexivity
  2. Inter-coder reliability Correct answer.
  3. Sampling bias
  4. External validity

Explanation

Inter-coder reliability is the degree to which independent analysts assign the same codes to the same material, and comparing codings directly measures it. High agreement supports the dependability of the coding scheme, while disagreement signals that categories need clarification.

Question 30Nature of Anthropology and Research Methods

An anthropologist claims that a particular ritual always reinforces social hierarchy. A critic replies that the ritual sometimes contests hierarchy and that the anthropologist observed only one performance. Which combination of criticisms does the reply make?

  1. A criticism of informed consent procedures and a claim about statistical power
  2. A criticism of the anthropologist's language competence and a claim about historical accuracy
  3. A criticism of archival sources and a claim about the ritual's antiquity
  4. A sampling criticism and a claim about variability in meaning across performances Correct answer.

Explanation

The critic first challenges the evidential base, since a single observed performance is a thin basis for a general claim, which is a sampling criticism. The critic then asserts that the ritual's meaning varies across performances, so a uniform function cannot be assumed.

Question 31Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which primate trait is most directly associated with a diet of leaves and other fibrous plant material?

  1. High, pointed molar cusps for shearing meat
  2. Complex, deeply folded molar enamel for grinding Correct answer.
  3. Large, forward-facing incisors for piercing fruit skins
  4. Reduced small intestine length for rapid absorption

Explanation

Folivorous primates rely on molars with crests and complex enamel folding that shear and grind tough cellulose-rich leaves, maximizing surface contact with digestive enzymes. Their longer gut and slower passage time further support fermentation of fibrous material.

Question 32Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

A hominin fossil shows a foramen magnum positioned centrally under the skull rather than toward the rear. What does this indicate?

  1. The individual had an enlarged brain
  2. The individual relied primarily on a leaf diet
  3. The individual was a specialized knuckle-walker
  4. The individual was a habitual biped Correct answer.

Explanation

An anteriorly or centrally placed foramen magnum means the spinal column sits beneath the skull, a hallmark of an upright, balanced head posture in habitual bipeds. In quadrupedal apes the opening is positioned more posteriorly because the head is held forward of the spine.

Question 33Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

In the biological species concept, what defines membership in a single species?

  1. Having identical mitochondrial DNA sequences
  2. Sharing a common geographic range
  3. Occupying the same ecological niche
  4. Producing fertile offspring under natural conditions Correct answer.

Explanation

The biological species concept groups populations that interbreed, or can interbreed, to produce viable and fertile offspring and are reproductively isolated from other such groups. Geography, niche, and genetic similarity are supporting clues rather than the defining criterion.

Question 34Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which dating method can be applied directly to volcanic ash layers associated with hominin fossils?

  1. Radiocarbon dating
  2. Amino acid racemization
  3. Dendrochronology
  4. Potassium-argon dating Correct answer.

Explanation

Potassium-argon and argon-argon methods date volcanic rocks and tuffs by measuring the decay of potassium-40 to argon-40 over long timescales. Because ash layers bracket fossil-bearing sediments, they provide reliable ages for many East African hominin sites.

Question 35Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which feature is characteristic of the pelvis of a habitual biped compared with that of a quadrupedal ape?

  1. A long, narrow ilium oriented vertically
  2. A short, broad ilium that is laterally flared Correct answer.
  3. A pelvis with no muscular attachment areas
  4. A pelvis fused directly to the femur without a joint

Explanation

A short, broad, laterally flared ilium repositions the gluteal muscles to stabilize the trunk during single-leg support in walking. This bowl-shaped pelvis contrasts with the tall, narrow iliac blades of apes, which are adapted for climbing and quadrupedal locomotion.

Question 36Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which statement best describes the pattern of human evolution as currently understood?

  1. A branching bush with multiple coexisting hominin lineages Correct answer.
  2. A linear progression in which each species is larger-brained than the last
  3. A rapid origin of all hominins within the last 100,000 years
  4. A single unbranched ladder leading from one ancestor to modern humans

Explanation

The fossil record shows a branching, bushy pattern in which several hominin species coexisted and some lineages went extinct without contributing to modern humans. This replaced older ladder-like models of steady progressive ascent.

Question 37Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

What is the principal advantage of bipedalism proposed by the thermoregulatory hypothesis?

  1. It allows faster sprinting than quadrupedalism
  2. It eliminates the need for sweat glands
  3. It permits climbing trees more efficiently
  4. It reduces the surface area exposed to solar radiation at midday Correct answer.

Explanation

The thermoregulatory hypothesis argues that an upright posture reduces the body area exposed to direct overhead sun while increasing convective cooling, which is advantageous in open savanna habitats. It does not claim that bipeds are faster sprinters or that sweating becomes unnecessary.

Question 38Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

A fossil primate has a dental formula of 2-1-2-3 in each quadrant. Which dental formula is this?

  1. 2.1.2.3/2.1.2.3 Correct answer.
  2. 1.2.2.3/1.2.2.3
  3. 2.1.3.2/2.1.3.2
  4. 2.2.1.3/2.2.1.3

Explanation

The dental formula records the number of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars on one side of the jaw, and the same sequence applies to the upper and lower arcades. A count of 2-1-2-3 therefore matches 2.1.2.3/2.1.2.3, the ancestral anthropoid pattern.

Question 39Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Why are molecular clocks useful for estimating divergence dates between hominin lineages?

  1. They measure the age of fossils directly from bone chemistry
  2. They assume a roughly constant rate of genetic change over time Correct answer.
  3. They rely on the number of teeth in a fossil jaw
  4. They compare brain size between species

Explanation

Molecular clocks estimate divergence times by assuming that mutations accumulate at a roughly steady rate, so the number of genetic differences between lineages indicates how long they have been separated. Calibration with fossil dates or known events refines the estimate.

Question 40Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

What does the term 'mosaic evolution' describe in hominin evolution?

  1. Evolution proceeds only through hybridization between species
  2. All traits change simultaneously in a single coordinated step
  3. Fossils are preserved only in cave deposits
  4. Different anatomical traits evolve at different rates within a lineage Correct answer.

Explanation

Mosaic evolution means that features such as bipedal limbs, dental reduction, and brain enlargement changed at different times and rates rather than as a single package. Early hominins with bipedal legs but ape-like braincases are classic examples.

Question 41Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

A hominin cranium has a sagittal crest and very large molars with thick enamel. Which interpretation is most consistent with these features?

  1. A reliance on tools rather than teeth for processing food
  2. An adaptation to diving for aquatic foods
  3. A diet consisting almost entirely of insects
  4. A diet requiring heavy chewing of tough vegetation Correct answer.

Explanation

A sagittal crest provides attachment area for large temporalis muscles, and megadont molars with thick enamel resist wear from powerful grinding. Together these indicate a diet of tough, fibrous vegetation requiring heavy mastication, as seen in robust australopiths.

Question 42Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which of the following best characterizes the Oldowan tool industry?

  1. Simple flakes and cores made by striking one stone with another Correct answer.
  2. Finely shaped symmetrical handaxes with bifacial flaking
  3. Blades struck from prepared prismatic cores
  4. Ground and polished stone axes hafted to wooden handles

Explanation

The Oldowan, the earliest well-documented stone industry, consists of simple cores and sharp flakes produced by direct percussion. More elaborate bifaces, blades, and ground stone tools appear in later industries.

Question 43Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which anatomical feature of the human larynx contributes to the capacity for spoken language?

  1. A permanently high larynx positioned like that of an infant
  2. A descended larynx that lengthens the vocal tract above the vocal folds Correct answer.
  3. The complete absence of a hyoid bone
  4. A vocal tract with no pharyngeal section

Explanation

In adult humans the larynx sits lower in the neck, creating a longer supralaryngeal vocal tract with a pharyngeal portion that enables a wider range of vowel sounds. The hyoid bone remains essential for tongue and laryngeal muscle attachment.

Question 44Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

A researcher compares carbon isotope ratios in the enamel of two hominin species from the same site. One shows values consistent with tropical grasses and sedges, the other with trees and shrubs. What does this indicate?

  1. The two species differed in their dietary reliance on C4 versus C3 plants Correct answer.
  2. The two species lived in different geological periods
  3. The two species differed in brain size
  4. The two species had identical diets but different body sizes

Explanation

Carbon isotope ratios in tooth enamel reflect the photosynthetic pathway of the plants eaten, with C4 grasses and sedges producing distinct values from C3 trees and shrubs. Differing ratios therefore indicate dietary differences in the consumption of these plant types, often mediated by eating grazers versus browsers.

Question 45Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which feature distinguishes Homo habilis from earlier australopiths in the fossil record?

  1. A larger cranial capacity and reduced molar size relative to body size Correct answer.
  2. A sagittal crest larger than that of robust australopiths
  3. A completely ape-like foot with an opposable big toe
  4. A foramen magnum positioned far to the rear of the skull

Explanation

Homo habilis is distinguished by an expanded braincase and somewhat reduced postcanine dentition compared with australopiths, alongside evidence of tool use. It retains a more primitive body plan than later Homo but shows a clear shift in cranial and dental proportions.

Question 46Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

How does the anatomy of the Neanderthal thorax differ from that of modern humans?

  1. A flat, narrow thorax with a reduced rib cage
  2. A barrel-shaped thorax with a wider upper rib cage Correct answer.
  3. A thorax with ribs fused into a solid plate
  4. A thorax with no sternum

Explanation

Neanderthals show a barrel-shaped thorax with a relatively wide upper rib cage and a large thoracic volume, which some researchers link to high energy demands and cold adaptation. Modern human thoraces taper more toward the top.

Question 47Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

What is the significance of the Dmanisi hominin fossils from Georgia?

  1. They represent the earliest known stone tools in Africa
  2. They provide the oldest evidence of controlled fire
  3. They show that early Homo had already dispersed out of Africa by about 1.8 million years ago Correct answer.
  4. They demonstrate that Neanderthals reached East Asia

Explanation

The Dmanisi crania date to roughly 1.8 million years ago and show that early Homo had spread beyond Africa far earlier than once thought, with relatively small brains and primitive features. This has implications for the timing and nature of early dispersals.

Question 48Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which of the following is an example of a homoplasy that complicates phylogenetic reconstruction?

  1. A trait present only in a single species with no relatives
  2. Two unrelated lineages independently evolving similar molar morphology Correct answer.
  3. A trait lost in all members of a lineage
  4. Two sister species sharing a trait inherited from a common ancestor

Explanation

Homoplasy is the independent evolution of similar traits in separate lineages, which can make unrelated species appear closely related. Distinguishing homoplasy from shared ancestry requires comparing many independent characters.

Question 49Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

A hominin hand fossil shows a long, robust thumb and short, straight fingers. Which interpretation is most defensible?

  1. The hand was adapted primarily for digging
  2. The hand lacked the ability to oppose the thumb
  3. The hand was well suited to forceful precision grips Correct answer.
  4. The hand was specialized for suspensory brachiation

Explanation

A long, robust thumb relative to the fingers and relatively short, straight phalanges are associated with the ability to apply forceful precision grips, as used in toolmaking. Suspensory apes tend to have long curved fingers and a reduced thumb.

Question 50Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution

Which statement about the genus Australopithecus is most accurate?

  1. It is the earliest known genus of the Homo lineage
  2. It is characterized by cranial capacities above 1,400 cubic centimeters
  3. It includes only quadrupedal apes with no bipedal features
  4. It includes bipedal hominins with relatively small brains and large molars Correct answer.

Explanation

Australopithecus species combine clear skeletal evidence of bipedalism with small brains and large postcanine teeth, showing that bipedalism preceded major brain enlargement. The genus is not the earliest Homo and does not have modern-sized brains.