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A Brief History of Australopithecines

Created by alliefarrell

Fun Trivia : Quizzes : Paleontology
A Brief History of Australopithecines game quiz
"Australopithecines are our earliest human ancestors. How much do you know about the nearly one hundred years since their first discovery?"

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  



1. Dr. Raymond Dart, a professor of anatomy at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, identified the first australopithecine in 1924. What kind was it?
    Australopithecus boisei
    Australopithecus robustus
    Australopithecus africanus
    Australopithecus anamensis


2. What are the major differences between the two South African types of australopithecines - Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus robustus?
    Australopithecus robustus has a more massive jaw and larger molars than Australopithecus africanus; it also has a prominent bony ridge on the top of the skull.
    Although Australopithecus robustus' jaw and teeth are smaller than those of Australopithecus africanus, A. robustus is characterized by a prominent bony ridge on the top of the skull and by heavy eyebrow ridges.
    Australopithecus robustus' skull is larger generally, with a more massive jaw and a larger brain capacity than Australopithecus africanus; it also has heavy eyebrow ridges and a sloping forehead.
    Australopithecus robustus' jaws are far closer to the shape of Homo sapiens' [man's] jaws, while Australopithecus africanus' jaws are much more primitive and resemble ape or chimpanzee jaws more closely.


3. Where and by whom was the first australopithecine found outside of southern Africa?
    At Koobi Fora, Kenya, by Meave Leakey
    At Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by Louis Leakey
    At Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, by Mary Leakey
    At Koobi Fora, Kenya, by Richard Leakey


4. What important find did Donald Johanson make in the Afar valley of Ethiopia in 1974?
    The first juvenile Australopithecus robustus skeleton
    The skeleton of a Homo erectus, more northerly than any discovered previously
    A nearly-complete skeleton of a new australopithecine species
    Fossil evidence showing Australopithecus africanus and Homo erectus living at the same time


5. Donald Johanson and his team decided to call the skeleton "Lucy". Why?
    After the team member who had first found her skeleton
    After a Beatles song
    After Donald Johanson's wife
    After the woman in Cleveland who was sponsoring their field work


6. Paranthropus aethiopicus was a species that did not evolve into modern man. However, it lived alongside one of the australopithecines, who are human ancestors. With which australopithecus did Paranthropus aethiopicus share time and space?
    Australopithecus afarensis
    Australopithecus africanus
    Australopithecus boisei
    Australopithecus robustus


7. With australopithecine may have been the earliest stone tool user?
    Australopithecus bahrelghazali
    Australopithecus robustus
    Australopithecus afarensis
    Australopithecus garhi


8. A recent discovery is provisionally named Australopithecus bahrelghazali by the team that found it. However, most scientists believe that the fossils are a variant of Australopithecus afarensis. The site where the dig took place is in an African country where A. afarensis remains have never been discovered. Which African country is it?
    Chad
    Uganda
    Sudan
    Niger


9. The oldest bipedal [can walk on two feet] fossils on record were found by Meave Leakey and her team near an East African lake. Which one?
    Victoria
    Turkana
    Natron
    Tana


10. What was unearthed in 2005 in the Dikika region of Ethiopia?
    Evidence that may support that Australopithecus afarensis used stone tools
    A juvenile Australopithecus afarenis skeleton
    Thirteen individual Australopithecus afarensis skeletons
    A new species of australopithecus


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Compiled Jun 28 12