Paleoanthropologist Christopher Stringer once noted that "absence of evidence does not necessarily prove evidence of absence." Why is this important to keep in mind when assessing the use of fossils to study the past?

A. Taphonomy is not a true science, because it lacks accuracy.
B. The fields of paleontology and paleoanthropology have established a chronology of the evolution of life.
C. The failure to find a fossil species in a particular place does not necessarily mean that it did not live there.
D. Paleontology and paleoanthropology are humanistic disciplines.
E. The fossil record is a complete sample of all the plants and animals that ever lived.


Answer: C

Anthropology & Archaeology

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