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WBCHSE HS Anthropology study materials
WBCHSE HS Anthropology study resources

WBCHSE HS Anthropology practice questions

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Question 1Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

The term 'anthropology' is derived from the Greek words 'anthropos' and 'logos'. What does 'anthropos' mean?

  1. Human being Correct answer.
  2. Study of
  3. Ancient
  4. Culture

Explanation

'Anthropos' is the Greek word for human being, while 'logos' means study, reason or discourse. Combined, anthropology literally means the study of humans. This etymology explains why the discipline is often described as the holistic science of humanity.

Question 2Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which characteristic most clearly distinguishes anthropology from other social sciences such as economics or political science?

  1. Its exclusive reliance on laboratory experiments
  2. Its focus only on contemporary urban societies
  3. Its holistic and comparative study of humanity across space and time Correct answer.
  4. Its rejection of fieldwork as a method

Explanation

Anthropology is distinctive for being holistic, comparative and concerned with the whole range of human societies, past and present. It studies biological, cultural, social and linguistic dimensions together. Other social sciences usually specialise in one institutional sphere.

Question 3Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

The four-field or 'quadripartite' division of general anthropology traditionally includes biological anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology and which other branch?

  1. Political anthropology
  2. Medical anthropology
  3. Applied anthropology
  4. Archaeology Correct answer.

Explanation

The classic four-field approach in American anthropology comprises biological (physical) anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology and sociocultural anthropology. Archaeology contributes the study of past human societies through material remains. The other listed fields are sub-specialities or applications rather than one of the four core fields.

Question 4Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which branch of anthropology is primarily concerned with the study of human fossils and the biological evolution of humans and their primate relatives?

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

Explanation

Biological anthropology, also called physical anthropology, studies human evolution, palaeoanthropology, primatology and human biological variation. Fossils and evolutionary relationships are its central evidence. The other branches deal with culture, language or material remains of past societies.

Question 5Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Anthropology's relationship with history is best described by which statement?

  1. Anthropology rejects all historical evidence as unreliable
  2. Anthropology uses historical records and oral traditions to reconstruct culture change, while history often relies on written sources Correct answer.
  3. History studies only ancient civilisations, while anthropology studies only modern societies
  4. History and anthropology are identical because both study written documents

Explanation

Anthropology and history share an interest in the human past but differ in sources and methods. Historians usually depend on written documents, whereas anthropologists use ethnography, oral traditions, material culture and archaeology. The two disciplines increasingly inform each other in historical anthropology.

Question 6Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

The holistic approach in anthropology is best understood as:

  1. Studying societies through statistical sampling alone
  2. Studying a single institution like kinship in isolation from other aspects of life
  3. Studying human groups by integrating biological, cultural, social and environmental dimensions together Correct answer.
  4. Studying only the physical features of human populations

Explanation

Holism means looking at human life as an integrated whole rather than in isolated fragments. Anthropologists examine how economic, political, religious and biological aspects interrelate. This integrated perspective is a defining feature of the discipline.

Question 7Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which of the following best illustrates the application of anthropological methods outside the academy?

  1. An anthropologist conducting an ethnographic study to advise a public health programme Correct answer.
  2. A physicist measuring the speed of light
  3. A chemist synthesising a new polymer in a laboratory
  4. A historian cataloguing medieval manuscripts in an archive

Explanation

Applied anthropology uses ethnographic methods and cultural understanding to solve practical problems in health, development, business and policy. The public health example shows anthropological fieldwork informing programme design. The other options describe work in unrelated disciplines.

Question 8Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

The concept of 'culture' in anthropology is best defined as:

  1. The learned and shared beliefs, practices, values and material objects transmitted within a society Correct answer.
  2. The genetic variation found among human populations
  3. The biologically inherited instincts common to all humans
  4. The formal educational qualifications held by an individual

Explanation

Anthropology treats culture as learned, shared and transmitted through socialisation rather than biologically inherited. It includes beliefs, values, norms, practices and material culture. This distinguishes cultural transmission from genetic inheritance.

Question 9Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

When an anthropologist compares kinship systems across several unrelated societies to identify general patterns, which approach is being used?

  1. Ethnography
  2. Ethnohistory
  3. Primatology
  4. Comparative method Correct answer.

Explanation

The comparative method involves systematically comparing data from different societies to identify regularities and differences. It complements ethnography, which is the intensive study of a single society. Comparison allows anthropologists to build generalisations about human social organisation.

Question 10Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Anthropology's relationship with psychology is closest in which area of study?

  1. The study of personality formation, cognition and culturally patterned behaviour Correct answer.
  2. The classification of archaeological artefacts
  3. The study of human fossil morphology
  4. The reconstruction of ancient languages

Explanation

Psychological anthropology examines how culture shapes personality, cognition, emotion and behaviour. Both disciplines share an interest in human mental life, though anthropology stresses cultural context. The other options belong to archaeology, linguistics and biological anthropology respectively.

Question 11Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which statement correctly describes ethnography?

  1. It is the statistical analysis of census data only
  2. It is the excavation of archaeological sites layer by layer
  3. It is a quantitative survey conducted using standardised questionnaires
  4. It is the intensive first-hand study of a community, usually through participant observation Correct answer.

Explanation

Ethnography is the core method of sociocultural anthropology, involving long-term first-hand observation and participation in the life of a community. It aims to understand a group's practices from the insider's perspective. It is primarily qualitative rather than purely statistical.

Question 12Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

The study of language in its social and cultural context, including how speech varies between groups, belongs to which branch of anthropology?

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

Explanation

Linguistic anthropology studies language as a cultural practice, including sociolinguistics, language and identity, and language change. It is one of the four traditional branches. The other options focus on biology, material remains or practical applications.

Question 13Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Anthropology's relationship with sociology is best characterised as:

  1. Irrelevance, since sociology ignores social institutions
  2. Identity, since both use exactly the same methods and units of study
  3. Complete opposition, since sociology studies only animals
  4. Substantial overlap, with anthropology emphasising comparative, holistic and ethnographic study of diverse societies Correct answer.

Explanation

Sociology and anthropology share an interest in social structure, institutions and culture. Anthropology is distinguished by its comparative, holistic orientation and its traditional focus on diverse and small-scale societies. The two disciplines overlap and borrow from each other.

Question 14Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which statement best explains why anthropology is described as an 'integrative' discipline?

  1. It integrates religious doctrines into its explanations
  2. It integrates only laboratory techniques from physics
  3. It integrates biological, cultural, linguistic and archaeological perspectives on humanity Correct answer.
  4. It integrates only statistical methods from economics

Explanation

Anthropology integrates multiple perspectives, including biological, cultural, linguistic and archaeological, to understand humanity as a whole. This is the essence of its integrative and holistic character. It does not privilege a single method or doctrine.

Question 15Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

A researcher studying how a community's oral traditions preserve memories of migration is working at the intersection of anthropology and which discipline?

  1. History Correct answer.
  2. Astronomy
  3. Physics
  4. Chemistry

Explanation

Oral traditions as records of past migration connect anthropology with history, especially ethnohistory and historical anthropology. The researcher uses anthropological fieldwork alongside historical reconstruction. The natural sciences listed do not address oral memory.

Question 16Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which of the following is a subfield of biological anthropology?

  1. Ethnobotany
  2. Palaeoanthropology Correct answer.
  3. Sociolinguistics
  4. Ethnomusicology

Explanation

Palaeoanthropology, the study of fossil hominins and human evolution, is a recognised subfield of biological anthropology. Ethnomusicology and ethnobotany belong to cultural anthropology, while sociolinguistics belongs to linguistic anthropology. Recognising these subfields clarifies the internal structure of the discipline.

Question 17Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

An anthropologist argues that a society's economic practices cannot be understood without also examining its kinship, religion and ecology. This argument most directly reflects which principle?

  1. Cultural relativism
  2. Holism Correct answer.
  3. Diffusionism
  4. Ethnocentrism

Explanation

Holism holds that the parts of a society are interconnected and must be studied together. Linking economy, kinship, religion and ecology exemplifies this integrated perspective. The other concepts refer to judging cultures by their own standards, judging by one's own, or explaining change by borrowing.

Question 18Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which pairing of an anthropological subfield with its characteristic focus is correct?

  1. Ethnology - classification and comparison of cultures to identify general principles Correct answer.
  2. Archaeology - the study of contemporary spoken language
  3. Primatology - the study of ancient pottery styles
  4. Ethnography - the statistical modelling of national economies

Explanation

Ethnology involves the comparative analysis of cultures to derive general principles, complementing descriptive ethnography. The other pairings misassign the focus of each subfield. Correct pairing helps distinguish closely related terms within sociocultural anthropology.

Question 19Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Anthropology's relationship with the natural sciences is best illustrated by which example?

  1. Using genetics and osteology to reconstruct human evolutionary history Correct answer.
  2. Using legal statutes to settle court disputes
  3. Using literary criticism to interpret novels
  4. Using accounting standards to audit firms

Explanation

Biological anthropology draws on genetics, osteology, primatology and palaeontology to reconstruct human evolution and variation. This shows a genuine methodological link with the natural sciences. The other examples belong to the humanities, law and commerce.

Question 20Introduction to Anthropology: meaning, scope, branches and relationship with other disciplines

Which statement most accurately captures the scope of anthropology?

  1. It concerns only the study of written historical documents
  2. It is confined to the study of human anatomy in medical schools
  3. It is limited to the study of preliterate tribal societies alone
  4. It covers all human societies, past and present, including their biology, culture, language and material remains Correct answer.

Explanation

The scope of anthropology extends to all human societies and to all dimensions of human existence, from biology and evolution to culture, language and material remains. It is not restricted to tribal or preliterate groups. This breadth is what makes the discipline holistic and comparative.

Question 21Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which primate feature is most closely associated with a diet of insects and small fruits in small-bodied nocturnal prosimians?

  1. A fully opposable hallux with a flat nail
  2. Enlarged, forward-facing orbits with a postorbital bar
  3. A short, broad rib cage with a reduced tail
  4. A dental comb formed by procumbent lower incisors Correct answer.

Explanation

Nocturnal prosimians such as galagos and lorises groom and scrape food with a dental comb, formed by forward-tilted lower incisors and canines. This structure is a defining strepsirrhine feature linked to grooming and small-object feeding.

Question 22Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

In the classification of living primates, tarsiers are placed with anthropoids rather than with lemurs mainly because they share which derived feature?

  1. A claw on the second digit of the foot
  2. A tapetum lucidum reflecting light in the eye
  3. A toothcomb used in grooming
  4. A haplorhine nose with a fused upper lip and reduced olfactory apparatus Correct answer.

Explanation

Haplorhini unites tarsiers and anthropoids on the basis of a dry, hairy nose, a fused upper lip and reduced reliance on olfaction. Molecular evidence also supports this grouping despite the tarsier's nocturnal habits.

Question 23Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

A fossil hominin shows a foramen magnum positioned centrally under the skull and short, laterally flared iliac blades. These features most directly indicate which behavioural adaptation?

  1. Habitual upright bipedal locomotion Correct answer.
  2. Dependence on a hard-object chewing diet
  3. Obligate knuckle-walking on forest floors
  4. Specialised suspensory brachiation

Explanation

A centrally placed foramen magnum signals a vertically oriented head balanced on the vertebral column, and short flared ilia reflect the pelvic mechanics of bipedal stride. Together these are hallmark skeletal correlates of habitual bipedalism.

Question 24Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

The Laetoli footprint trail is important in the study of human evolution because it provides direct evidence of which behaviour?

  1. Use of fire in an open grassland
  2. Deliberate burial of the dead
  3. Bipedal walking with an adducted big toe Correct answer.
  4. Stone tool manufacture at an early date

Explanation

The Laetoli prints preserve a stride with the hallux in line with the other toes, showing that bipedal gait with a non-divergent big toe was established early. Footprints give direct behavioural evidence that skeletal remains alone cannot.

Question 25Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Compared with a chimpanzee pelvis, the pelvis of Australopithecus afarensis (AL 288-1) shows which combination of features?

  1. A completely cylindrical birth canal with no transverse widening
  2. Longer and narrower iliac blades with a reduced sacral articulation
  3. A pelvis essentially identical in shape to that of a modern human
  4. Shorter and broader iliac blades with a wider sacral articulation Correct answer.

Explanation

Australopithecine pelves are shortened and broadened relative to apes, with a wider sacral articulation that improves transmission of body weight during bipedal stance. They are nevertheless not identical to modern human pelves, retaining a more flared and relatively higher iliac form.

Question 26Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

The Oldowan stone tool industry is best characterised as which of the following?

  1. Ground and polished stone axes hafted to wooden handles
  2. Simple flakes and cores made by hard-hammer percussion Correct answer.
  3. Blades struck from prepared prismatic cores
  4. Symmetrical bifacial handaxes shaped by soft-hammer flaking

Explanation

Oldowan assemblages consist of cores, flakes and retouched pieces produced mainly by direct hard-hammer percussion. The industry is associated with early Homo and predates the more elaborate Acheulean bifaces.

Question 27Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

A hominin cranium has a sagittal crest, very large postcanine teeth with thick enamel, and a forward-placed zygomatic region. These features most strongly suggest adaptation to which diet?

  1. Exclusive carnivory with shearing teeth
  2. Soft fruit and leaves requiring little chewing
  3. Nectar feeding with a long tongue
  4. Heavy mastication of tough or hard plant foods Correct answer.

Explanation

A sagittal crest increases the attachment area for temporalis muscle, while large thick-enamelled postcanine teeth and forward zygomatic placement increase chewing force. This suite is interpreted as an adaptation to mechanically demanding plant foods.

Question 28Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

The term 'robust australopithecines', now usually placed in the genus Paranthropus, refers to hominins distinguished mainly by which set of features?

  1. Very small molars and a gracile mandible
  2. Long hindlimbs and a barrel-shaped thorax
  3. Massive molars, thick enamel and heavy masticatory buttressing Correct answer.
  4. Greatly enlarged brain and reduced dentition

Explanation

Paranthropus species show megadont postcanine teeth, thick enamel, large mandibles and facial buttressing for powerful chewing. Their brain size remains modest, distinguishing them from early Homo.

Question 29Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which statement best explains why the biological species concept is difficult to apply to fossil hominins?

  1. Reproductive isolation cannot be directly observed in extinct populations Correct answer.
  2. Fossil species always interbreed freely in the laboratory
  3. Fossils preserve only soft tissue and no hard parts
  4. Fossils lack DNA in every case and therefore cannot be classified at all

Explanation

The biological species concept defines species by reproductive isolation, a property that cannot be observed directly in extinct organisms. Palaeontologists therefore rely on morphological species concepts while recognising the limits of that approach.

Question 30Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

In human variation studies, the term 'cline' refers to which pattern?

  1. A trait determined entirely by a single dominant allele
  2. A gradual change in allele or trait frequency across geographic space Correct answer.
  3. A sharp discontinuity in gene frequency between two adjacent populations
  4. A single population with no detectable genetic variation

Explanation

A cline is a gradual geographic gradient in the frequency of a gene or phenotypic trait, such as the distribution of the ABO alleles or skin pigmentation. Clines show that human variation is largely continuous rather than partitioned into discrete races.

Question 31Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Sickle-cell trait reaches high frequencies in parts of sub-Saharan Africa primarily because of which process?

  1. Heterozygote advantage against severe falciparum malaria Correct answer.
  2. Genetic drift in small founder populations
  3. Relaxed selection against the homozygous genotype
  4. Assortative mating among affected individuals

Explanation

Heterozygotes for the sickle-cell allele have greater resistance to severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, so balancing selection maintains the allele at high frequency where malaria is endemic. The high frequency is therefore an adaptation to the disease environment rather than a founder effect.

Question 32Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Bergmann's rule predicts which relationship between body form and climate in human populations?

  1. Body mass increases in colder environments because larger bodies conserve heat Correct answer.
  2. Body proportions are unrelated to mean annual temperature
  3. Body mass decreases in colder environments because small bodies retain heat
  4. Limb length increases in colder environments to increase heat loss

Explanation

Bergmann's rule states that within a broadly distributed species, populations in colder climates tend to have larger body mass, which reduces surface area relative to volume and limits heat loss. Human populations show a general trend consistent with this principle.

Question 33Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Allen's rule, applied to human populations, predicts which pattern in limb proportions?

  1. Shorter limbs relative to trunk in hot climates
  2. Longer limbs relative to trunk in cold climates
  3. Limb proportions fixed regardless of climate
  4. Longer limbs relative to trunk in hot climates Correct answer.

Explanation

Allen's rule predicts that populations in hot climates have longer limbs relative to trunk length, increasing surface area for heat dissipation. Populations in cold climates tend to have shorter limbs that reduce heat loss.

Question 34Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Dark skin pigmentation in populations living near the equator is best explained as an adaptation that protects against which specific consequence of ultraviolet radiation?

  1. Photodegradation of circulating folate Correct answer.
  2. Loss of sweat gland function
  3. Reduced cutaneous synthesis of melanin
  4. Increased synthesis of vitamin D

Explanation

Eumelanin absorbs UV radiation and protects circulating folate from photodegradation, which is important for early development and reproduction. At high latitudes, lighter pigmentation permits adequate vitamin D synthesis under weaker UV exposure.

Question 35Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which observation best demonstrates that human 'racial' categories do not correspond to discrete biological units?

  1. Skin colour is inherited and therefore has a genetic basis
  2. Every population contains exactly the same allele frequencies
  3. Populations differ in the frequency of some alleles
  4. Allele frequencies vary gradually across geography and traits are discordant within populations Correct answer.

Explanation

Human genetic variation is largely continuous, and traits such as skin colour, hair form and blood group show discordant geographic distributions. Any attempt to divide humans into a few discrete races therefore misrepresents the underlying pattern of variation.

Question 36Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

A population living at high altitude in the Andes shows elevated haemoglobin concentration and higher oxygen-carrying capacity. This is best described as which type of adaptation?

  1. A genetically fixed trait with no developmental flexibility
  2. A cultural practice of breath-holding
  3. A physiological acclimatisation to chronic hypoxia Correct answer.
  4. A pathological condition with no adaptive value

Explanation

Increased haemoglobin concentration at high altitude is a physiological acclimatisation that improves oxygen transport under chronic hypoxia. It develops in response to the environment and is distinct from long-term genetic adaptation seen in some highland populations.

Question 37Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which feature of the human dentition is most commonly cited as evidence of reduced reliance on a tough plant diet compared with earlier hominins?

  1. Enlargement of the postcanine tooth row
  2. Thickening of molar enamel
  3. Reduction in canine and postcanine tooth size Correct answer.
  4. Development of a pronounced sagittal crest

Explanation

Reduction in canine and postcanine tooth size, together with a more gracile jaw, is associated with the genus Homo and interpreted as reduced demands on heavy chewing. Enlarged teeth and crests characterise the robust hominins instead.

Question 38Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

The term 'encephalisation quotient' (EQ) in hominin studies expresses which relationship?

  1. Brain mass relative to body mass compared with an expected value Correct answer.
  2. Tooth size relative to jaw length
  3. Limb length relative to trunk length
  4. Body mass relative to stature

Explanation

The encephalisation quotient compares observed brain mass with the brain mass expected for an animal of that body mass. Values above one indicate a brain larger than the body-size expectation, as seen in modern humans.

Question 39Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which statement about the primate order is correct with respect to the distribution of the postorbital bar and postorbital closure?

  1. Postorbital structures are absent in all primates
  2. Only strepsirrhines show any postorbital structure
  3. All primates possess full postorbital closure
  4. Strepsirrhines typically have a postorbital bar, while haplorhines show closure Correct answer.

Explanation

Most strepsirrhines have a bony postorbital bar but an open orbit behind it, whereas haplorhines such as anthropoids have a fully closed orbit. The bar and closure are therefore useful in distinguishing major primate groups.

Question 40Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

The 'Out of Africa' model of modern human origins is supported by which pattern of evidence?

  1. Greatest genetic diversity in the Americas
  2. Absence of any genetic relationship among continental populations
  3. Uniform genetic diversity across all continents
  4. Greatest genetic diversity within African populations with decreasing diversity along migration routes Correct answer.

Explanation

African populations show the highest genetic diversity, with diversity declining in populations farther from Africa along the routes of dispersal. This pattern, together with fossil and archaeological evidence, supports a recent African origin with subsequent migration.

Question 41Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which of the following is a correct contrast between the locomotion of a typical Old World monkey and that of a gibbon?

  1. The monkey is a specialised brachiator, while the gibbon is a terrestrial quadruped
  2. The monkey is a vertical clinger, while the gibbon is a knuckle-walker
  3. The monkey is generally a quadrupedal walker or runner, while the gibbon is a suspensory brachiator Correct answer.
  4. Both are obligate bipeds with similar limb proportions

Explanation

Most Old World monkeys are quadrupedal, using either arboreal or terrestrial walking and running. Gibbons are specialised suspensory apes that move by brachiation using very long forelimbs and highly mobile shoulder joints.

Question 42Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which feature of the Homo erectus skeleton, as seen in the Nariokotome (Turkana Boy) specimen, contrasts with the australopithecine pattern?

  1. Longer lower limbs and a more modern body proportion with a narrow trunk Correct answer.
  2. A pelvis with extremely long, narrow iliac blades
  3. An entirely ape-like shoulder and forelimb build throughout
  4. Very short lower limbs and a broad funnel-shaped thorax

Explanation

The Nariokotome skeleton shows longer lower limbs and a body build closer to modern human proportions, indicating efficient striding bipedalism. Australopithecines retain relatively shorter legs and a broader, more funnel-shaped trunk.

Question 43Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Why is the concept of a 'living fossil' problematic when applied to modern primates such as tarsiers or lorises?

  1. They are unrelated to any fossil primate
  2. They lack any genetic variation
  3. They are extinct and known only from fossils
  4. These lineages have continued to evolve and are not unchanged relics of the past Correct answer.

Explanation

Calling a living species a living fossil wrongly implies that its lineage has stopped evolving since its fossil relatives. All extant lineages have accumulated change, and their morphology reflects their own derived adaptations rather than an ancestral state.

Question 44Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

The 'expensive tissue hypothesis' proposed to explain the evolution of a large brain in Homo argues that enlargement of the brain was facilitated by which change?

  1. A reduction in brain metabolic cost to match gut cost
  2. An increase in body size alone with no change in diet
  3. A reduction in the relative size of the gut associated with a higher-quality diet Correct answer.
  4. An increase in the size of the masticatory apparatus

Explanation

The hypothesis proposes a trade-off between the metabolically expensive brain and the gut, so a higher-quality, more easily digested diet allowed gut size to decrease while brain size increased. It links encephalisation to dietary and foraging change rather than to body size alone.

Question 45Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which is the best example of a cultural adaptation that buffers human populations against a cold environment?

  1. A naturally stockier body build
  2. Higher sweat rate in response to heat
  3. Increased basal metabolic rate inherited in the population
  4. Wearing insulated clothing and building heated shelters Correct answer.

Explanation

Clothing and heated shelters are cultural adaptations that modify the environment and reduce heat loss without requiring genetic change. They can be adopted rapidly and are not inherited biological traits.

Question 46Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

In hominin evolutionary studies, the term 'mosaic evolution' refers to which pattern?

  1. The parallel evolution of identical traits in unrelated lineages living in similar habitats
  2. Different anatomical regions and behavioural traits evolving at different rates and times within a lineage Correct answer.
  3. All traits of a lineage changing simultaneously as a single coordinated package
  4. The blending of traits from two separate species through repeated hybridisation

Explanation

Mosaic evolution describes the piecemeal tempo of change: bipedal pelvis and foot may appear before brain expansion, while brain size increases later. Different systems respond to different selective pressures, so a fossil can combine advanced and primitive features. This pattern is documented in Australopithecus and early Homo.

Question 47Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which dental formula is characteristic of catarrhine primates, including humans?

  1. 2.1.4.2
  2. 2.1.3.2
  3. 2.1.2.3
  4. 2.1.3.3 Correct answer.

Explanation

Catarrhines (Old World monkeys, apes and humans) retain two premolars in each jaw quadrant, giving the formula 2.1.3.3 per side or 32 teeth in the full adult human set. The dental formula records incisors, canines, premolars and molars per half-jaw. Platyrrhines differ, typically having three premolars.

Question 48Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

A fossil primate shows a full postorbital closure, a fused mandibular symphysis and nostrils placed close together facing downward. These features place it most securely within which group?

  1. Tarsiiformes
  2. Catarrhini Correct answer.
  3. Platyrrhini
  4. Strepsirrhini

Explanation

Bony postorbital closure, a fused mandibular symphysis and narrow, downward-facing nostrils are derived features of catarrhine primates. Platyrrhines have broadly spaced, sideways-facing nostrils and usually an unfused symphysis. Strepsirrhines and tarsiers lack full postorbital closure.

Question 49Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which statement best distinguishes the pelvic anatomy of a habitual biped from that of a quadrupedal ape?

  1. The bipedal pelvis has a single elongated ischium that acts as a counterweight to the trunk
  2. The bipedal pelvis is long and narrow with iliac blades oriented in the sagittal plane
  3. The bipedal pelvis lacks a sacroiliac joint and transmits weight only through the ischium
  4. The bipedal pelvis is short and broad with laterally flared iliac blades that stabilise the trunk over the hip Correct answer.

Explanation

A short, broad ilium with lateral flare repositions the gluteal abductors so they can prevent the trunk from dropping during single-leg support in walking. This configuration is seen in Australopithecus and later hominins. Apes have taller, narrower blades oriented more sagittally, suiting climbing and quadrupedal posture.

Question 50Biological/Physical Anthropology: human evolution, primates, human variation and adaptation

Which of the following best describes the locomotor repertoire of a typical cercopithecoid such as a macaque?

  1. Suspensory brachiation with highly mobile shoulder joints and elongated forelimbs
  2. Obligate bipedalism with a valgus knee and longitudinal foot arch
  3. Vertical clinging and leaping with very elongated hind limbs
  4. Predominantly quadrupedal walking and running on branches and on the ground Correct answer.

Explanation

Most cercopithecoids are quadrupedal, with forelimbs and hindlimbs of similar length and a body held roughly parallel to the substrate. They move both arboreally and terrestrially. Brachiation, vertical clinging and bipedalism describe other groups.