Question 1

The idea that cranial shape can change within a human population as a result of dietary change is referred to as the:

Accepted Answer

The masticatory-functional hypothesis proposes that changes in cranial shape within a population can occur as a result of differences in diet and chewing behavior. Specifically, the hypothesis suggests that a diet consisting of tough, fibrous foods (such as roots, nuts, and raw meat) requires greater force and duration of mastication, leading to more robust cranial features. On the other hand, a softer, more processed diet (such as cooked grains and processed meats) requires less force and duration of mastication, leading to less robust cranial features.

Question 2

Until about 10,000 yBP,humans acquired virtually all their food through foraging.

Accepted Answer

Until the agricultural revolution, humans were primarily foragers and relied on hunting and gathering for their food. This period is often referred to as the Paleolithic era.

Question 3

The first animal to be domesticated during the Neolithic was the:

Accepted Answer

The dog was the first animal to be domesticated during the Neolithic period, with evidence of domesticated dogs dating back to around 15,000 years ago. The domestication of other animals such as cats, cows, and goats came later.

Question 4

Evidence from China indicates that rice and grapes were fermented for wine as early as 8,000 yBP.

Accepted Answer

Archaeological evidence discovered in China suggests that rice and grapes were being fermented for wine as early as 8,000 years ago.

Question 5

Improper alignment of the upper and lower dentition is called malocclusion.

Accepted Answer

Malocclusion is indeed the improper alignment of the upper and lower teeth. It can occur in several different ways and can cause discomfort, difficulty chewing, and other issues.

Question 6

Biochemist Richard Marlar provided definitive evidence for cannibalism in Cowboy Wash,Colorado,with the discovery of:

Accepted Answer

The presence of human muscle protein in human coprolites indicates that humans were consuming other humans, providing definitive evidence for cannibalism. Cut marks and skull trauma could have been caused by other factors, such as hunting or conflict, and blood on stone tools is not necessarily indicative of cannibalism.

Question 7

Modern humans have existed for over 100,000 years,but only over the last 10,000 years has Earth's population grown three orders of magnitude,from a few million people to over six billion today.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Modern humans have existed for over 100,000 years, but the growth in the global population has been exponential, with the majority of the growth occurring in the last 10,000 years.

Question 8

In the late 1960s,Lee and DeVore argued that South African food-foraging people actually had more leisure time than early farmers.

Accepted Answer

Lee and DeVore's argument was that foraging societies typically spent less time on subsistence activities and had more leisure time than farming societies, including those in South Africa.

Question 9

Greater reduction in jaw size relative to tooth size during the Holocene has led to greater incidence of:

Accepted Answer

As jaw size has reduced over time, there is less space for teeth to emerge into the mouth properly, leading to dental crowding.

Question 10

All of the following regions provide archaeological evidence for local plant domestication EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Archaeological evidence for local plant domestication has not been found in Australia.

Question 11

The stable forms of carbon used in isotopic analyses to reconstruct diet are 12C and 14C.

Accepted Answer

The stable forms of carbon used in isotopic analyses to reconstruct diet are 12C and 13C, not 14C. 14C is a radioactive isotope used in radiocarbon dating.

Question 12

The archeological period between the end of the Upper Paleolithic but prior to the domestication of plants and animals is called the Mesolithic.

Accepted Answer

The Mesolithic period is defined as the period between the end of the Upper Paleolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic, during which humans transitioned from a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle to a more settled way of life based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The Mesolithic is also sometimes referred to as the Middle Stone Age.

Question 13

With modern Homo sapiens' appearance in the late Pleistocene,human biological evolution basically stopped.

Accepted Answer

While human physical appearance has not changed significantly in the last 50,000 years, evolution is an ongoing process and continues to occur at the genetic level. There have been recent adaptations to environments such as high altitude and lactose tolerance. Additionally, environmental pressures such as disease and climate change can also drive evolution.

Question 14

Regarding the Neolithic,which of the following is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

The Neolithic is characterized by the domestication of plants and/or animals that led to the development of small, settled villages. While the exact origins of the Neolithic are still debated by scholars, it is generally believed to have appeared independently in various regions of the world, including the Near East, East Asia, and Mesoamerica, before spreading to other areas. The earliest known evidence of the Neolithic dates back to around 10,000 BCE.

Question 15

More than 20% of all calories consumed by people today comes from:

Accepted Answer

The answer of More than 20% of all calories consumed...

Question 16

Stable carbon isotope analysis reveals that corn domestication became important in eastern North America about:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Stable carbon isotope analysis reveals that corn...

Question 17

Archaeological evidence showing a shift from long and narrow skulls to short and wide skulls,as a result of a change in diet linked to domestication,has been found in:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Archaeological evidence showing a shift from long...

Question 18

Rice was first domesticated in New Guinea,about 6,000 yBP.

Accepted Answer

Rice was first domesticated in the Yangtze River valley in China, around 10,000 years ago, not in New Guinea.

Question 19

The region of the Levant that contains more than fifty archaeological sites documenting the development of early farming villages in the Middle East is called:

Accepted Answer

The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Middle East that stretches from the eastern Mediterranean coast through the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys to the Persian Gulf. It is called the "cradle of civilization" because agriculture was first developed in this region, which led to the rise of early human civilizations. The Levant is a region within the Fertile Crescent that includes modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine, and contains many archaeological sites that document the development of early farming villages.

Question 20

Teosinte is the wild ancestor of modern domesticated wheat.

Accepted Answer

Teosinte is the wild ancestor of modern domesticated maize (corn), not wheat.

Quiz 13: Our Last 10, 000 Years: Agriculture, population, and the Bioarchaeology of a Fundamental Transition