None of the Middle or Late Miocene apes seem to be particularly good candidates for the ancestor of the hominins. What evidence would you need to identify a possible ancestral ape for our lineage?
What will be an ideal response?
1. Note the paucity of the fossil record for the late Miocene
2. Discuss the geographic distribution of Miocene apes and early hominins
3. Mention key skeletal features that would characterize the earliest hominins
You might also like to view...
Seriation uses what principle to determine the ages of materials?
a. patterned changes in material culture b. material similarity c. faunal correlation d. the principle of superposition e. radiocarbon decay
A. Peter Castro uses his training as a cultural anthropologist to understand which of the following?
A. the intersection of archaeology and ethnic identity among Native Americans B. gender discrimination through language C. the universal aspects of religion and human cognition D. conflicts over access to and use of the environment
In an example of how microscopic evidence in studying the past can yield surprising results that may overturn long-held assumptions, Williamson's analysis of microscopic residues stuck to the edges of cutting tools found at a cave site in South Africa revealed that
A. 30 percent of the residues were from plants, suggesting a slow transition from vegetarian to carnivorous diets. B. all of the residues were from butchered animals, but most of the butchering had been performed by women and not by men. C. 50 percent of the residues were from domesticated plants, pushing back the date of plant domestication from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago. D. 30 percent of the residues were from human flesh, suggesting cannibalism. E. 50 percent of the residues were from plants, contradicting the prevailing assumption that such tools were used mainly to hunt and butcher animals.
The analysis of the Herto remains indicates they are
a. most similar to Australopithecus b. indistinguishable from modern Homo sapiens c. most similar to late Homo erectus from China d. not specifically similar to modern Homo sapiens e. none of these