ANTH 101 Exam 1 Study Guide

Question 1

What is anthropology?

Answer 1

The study of humans, their behavior, and societies

Question 2

What are the four sub-fields of anthropology?

Answer 2

• Cultural Anthropology
• Archaeological Anthropology
• Biological Anthropology
• Linguistic Anthropology

Question 3

What is culture?

Answer 3

The shared beliefs, values, and practices of a group

Question 4

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 4

The belief that one’s own culture is superior to others

Question 5

What is cultural relativity?

Answer 5

The principle of understanding another culture based on its own values and beliefs

Question 6

What are the four pieces of the barrel metaphor for culture?

Answer 6

• Material culture
• Social structure
• Ideology
• Superstructure

Question 7

Who has culture?

Answer 7

All human societies

Question 8

What is the winkiness of culture?

Answer 8

The idea that culture can change rapidly and unexpectedly

Question 9

What are the three domains or categories of culture?

Answer 9

• Norms
• Values
• Symbols

Question 10

What are the six characteristics of culture?

Answer 10

• Learned
• Shared
• Symbolic
• Integrated
• Dynamic
• Adaptive

Question 11

What are the four paradoxes of culture?

Answer 11

• Culture is both stable and changing
• Culture is both universal and unique
• Culture is both conscious and unconscious
• Culture is both material and non-material

Question 12

What is evolution?

Answer 12

The change in the genetic composition of a population over time

Question 13

What is natural selection?

Answer 13

The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring

Question 14

How are evolution and natural selection different?

Answer 14

Evolution is the process; natural selection is a mechanism of evolution

Question 15

What are the three components of natural selection?

Answer 15

• Variation
• Inheritance
• Differential survival and reproduction

Question 16

Who was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck?

Answer 16

A scientist who proposed an early theory of evolution based on inheritance of acquired characteristics

Question 17

What was Lamarck’s idea of evolution?

Answer 17

Organisms can pass on traits acquired during their lifetime to their offspring

Question 18

What are the three types of selection?

Answer 18

• Directional selection
• Stabilizing selection
• Disruptive selection

Question 19

What are the four forces of evolution?

Answer 19

• Natural selection
• Mutation
• Gene flow
• Genetic drift

Question 20

What is uniformitarianism?

Answer 20

The theory that geological processes have remained constant over time

Question 21

What is catastrophism?

Answer 21

The theory that Earth’s features are shaped by sudden, short-lived, and violent events

Question 22

What types of tools do we see chimpanzees make and use in the wild?

Answer 22

Tools made from sticks and stones for foraging and cracking nuts

Question 23

What are the five primate evolutionary trends?

Answer 23

• Increased brain size
• Reduced reliance on smell
• Enhanced vision
• Greater flexibility in behavior
• Social complexity

Question 24

What is the primate adaptive niche?

Answer 24

The ecological role and adaptations of primates within their environments

Question 25

What is the difference between New and Old World primates?

Answer 25

* New World primates: Found in the Americas, often have prehensile tails * Old World primates: Found in Africa and Asia, typically do not have prehensile tails

Question 26

What is a hominin?

Answer 26

A member of the human lineage after the split from the common ancestor with chimpanzees

Question 27

What is a hominid?

Answer 27

A member of the biological family Hominidae, which includes humans and their ancestors

Question 28

What is the difference between hominin and hominid?

Answer 28

Hominins are a subset of hominids that includes only humans and their direct ancestors

Question 29

What are the three main tool complexes we see human ancestors making and using?

Answer 29

* Oldowan * Acheulean * Mousterian

Question 30

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 30

Sahelanthropus tchadensis, present around 7 million years ago, characterized by a small brain and a mix of ape-like and human-like features

Question 31

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 31

Orrorin tugenensis, present around 6 million years ago, characterized by bipedalism and small teeth

Question 32

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 32

Ardipithecus ramidus, present around 4.4 million years ago, characterized by a mix of arboreal and bipedal traits

Question 33

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 33

Australopithecus afarensis, present around 3.9 to 2.9 million years ago, characterized by a small brain and bipedalism

Question 34

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 34

Paranthropus robustus, present around 2 million years ago, characterized by large teeth and a robust skull

Question 35

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 35

Homo habilis, present around 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago, characterized by larger brain size and use of tools

Question 36

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 36

Homo erectus, present around 1.9 million years ago to as recently as 110,000 years ago, characterized by a more modern body structure and use of fire

Question 37

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 37

Homo neanderthalensis, present around 400,000 to 40,000 years ago, characterized by robust build and use of complex tools

Question 38

Who are _________, when were they present, and what are some defining characteristics about them?

Answer 38

Homo sapiens, present from about 300,000 years ago to present, characterized by advanced cognitive abilities and cultural complexity

Question 39

Who was Lucy?

Answer 39

A famous Australopithecus afarensis fossil discovered in 1974

Question 40

What was the first hominin to leave Africa?

Answer 40

Homo erectus

Question 41

What was the first hominin to use fire?

Answer 41

Homo erectus

Question 42

What was the first hominin to hunt?

Answer 42

Homo habilis

Question 43

What is the defining characteristic of all hominins?

Answer 43

Bipedalism

Question 44

What is the defining characteristic of the genus Homo?

Answer 44

Increased brain size and the use of tools

Question 45

What is the Out of Africa Hypothesis?

Answer 45

The theory that modern humans originated in Africa and migrated to other regions

Question 46

What is the Multiregional Hypothesis?

Answer 46

The theory that modern humans evolved simultaneously in different regions of the world

Question 47

How are the Out of Africa Hypothesis and Multiregional Hypothesis different?

Answer 47

Out of Africa suggests a single origin while Multiregional suggests multiple origins

Question 48

What hominin species does DNA suggest interbred?

Answer 48

Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens

Question 49

What is behavioral modernity?

Answer 49

The range of behaviors exhibited by modern humans that differentiate them from other hominins

Question 50

What is the degree of human biological diversity?

Answer 50

Variability in physical and genetic traits among human populations

Question 51

Give examples of human biological diversity.

Answer 51

* Skin color * Blood types * Genetic diseases

Question 52

What is race as a social construct?

Answer 52

The idea that race is defined by social perceptions rather than biological differences