CHAPTER 4: MODERN HUMAN VARIATION AND ADAPTATION

Questions included in web quizzing are marked in bold

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Categorizing people on the basis of skin color
a. is mostly a twentieth century phenomenon
b. has been practiced only by Western Europeans
c. is a valid approach to racial taxonomy
d. has a long history and has been practiced by many peoples
e. began with Christopher Columbus

ANS: d REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

2. Deterministic (or racist) views concerning human variation were once or presently held by
all of the following except
a. Benjamin Franklin
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Oliver Wendell Holmes
d. Abraham Lincoln
e. biologists

ANS: e REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

3. What is the false belief that there is a relationship between physical traits and certain
behavioral traits such as intelligence and morality?
a. eugenics
b. monogenism
c. polygenism
d. biological determinism
e. homeostasis

ANS: d REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

4. What is the term for the philosophy of “race improvement” through the forced
sterilization of some groups and the encouraged reproduction of others?
a. eugenics
b. genetics
c. monogenism
d. polygenism
e. polytpyic

ANS: a REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

5. Who was responsible for popularizing eugenics among 19th century Europeans?
a. Charles Darwin
b. Francis Galton
c. Georges Cuvier
d. Charles Lyell
e. Thomas Jefferson
 ANS: b REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

6. The eugenics movement

a. formed the basis for notions of racial equality in Nazi Germany
b. was popular throughout the 1970s.
c. is a now discredited view of racial purity
d. was begun by Charles Darwin
e. is supported in biological data

ANS: c REF: p. 312-313 SOURCE: PICKUP

7. A polytypic species
a. is one that has no phenotypic variability
b. has never been observed in nature
c. is one composed of local populations that differ from one another with regard to the
expression of no more than three traits
d. is one composed of local populations that differ from one another with regard to the
expression of one or more traits
e. is composed of widely dispersed populations

ANS: d REF: p. 313 SOURCE: PICKUP

8. The application of evolutionary principles to the study of human variation

a. reinforced traditional views of races as fixed biological entities that do not change
b. allowed scientists to ignore the adaptive significance of most traits
c. helped replace earlier views based solely on observed phenotypes
d. allowed scientists to divide the human species precisely into well-defined races
e. has been of little value for understanding human variation

ANS: c REF: p. 314

9. In its most common biological usage, the term race

a. has precise definitions agreed upon all anthropologists
b. refers to the geographically patterned phenotypic variation within a species
c. refers only to skin color
d. refers only to IQ
e. refers to a person’s nationality

ANS: b REF: p. 313 SOURCE: PICKUP

10. The evolutionary development of the species H. sapiens

a. is determined solely by genetic factors
b. is determined solely by environmental factors
c. can be accurately measured by IQ tests
d. is a Mendelian trait
e. is the result of both genetic and environmental factors

ANS: e REF: p. 319 SOURCE: NEW

11. The ABO system is interesting from an anthropological perspective because it

a. illustrates that allele frequencies do NOT vary among populations
 b. illustrates that some allele frequencies DO vary among populations
c. demonstrates that natural selection does not alter allele frequencies
d. has never been convincingly demonstrated for any allele
e. is no longer present in human populations

ANS: b REF: p. 317 SOURCE: NEW

12. The frequency of the O allele is almost 100 percent in indigenous

a. Northern Europeans
b. Chinese
c. Eurasians
d. Africans
e. South Americans

ANS: e REF: p. 317 SOURCE: PICKUP

13. What is significant about areas in the DNA that contain repeated segments?
a. They are termed SNPs
b. They are the basis for DNA fingerprinting
c. They are the same from person to person
d. They cannot be mapped
e. They disprove the belief that there are variations of the human genome

ANS: b REF: p. 318 SOURCE: NEW

14. Lactose intolerance can be characterized by all of the following except

a. results from the lack of lactase
b. has a genetic basis
c. is a good example of biocultural evolution
d. can be influenced by the environment
e. does not involve a person’s ability to digest milk

ANS: e REF: p. 319 SOURCE: PICKUP

15. Which factors do not influence mate choice?

a. geographical
b. ecological
c. social
d. biological
e. isolation from other vicinities

ANS: d REF: p. 321 SOURCE: NEW

16. Population geneticists use the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation to determine

a. whether evolution is occurring at all loci throughout the genome simultaneously
b. whether allele frequencies in a population are changing
c. the mode of inheritance of Mendelian traits
d. whether a particular trait is polygenic
e. if human populations are operating on evolutionary forces

ANS: b REF: p. 322 SOURCE: PICKUP

17. Biological systems are balanced systems maintained by the interaction of physiological
mechanisms that compensate for both external and internal changes. Such a balanced system is in
a. hypoxia
b. homeostasis
c. heterostasis
d. acclimatization
e. polystasis

ANS: b REF: p. 322 SOURCE: PICKUP

18. Acclimatization refers to which of the following?

a. long-term adaptations of species to certain environmental conditions
b. an individual’s short-term physiological responses to the environment
c. the appearance of a new species
d. slow genetic changes in populations
e. changes in climate

ANS: b REF: p. 322 SOURCE: PICKUP

19. Adaptations are

a. seen only in nonhuman animals
b. the same as acclimatization responses
c. always temporary
d. long term evolutionary changes
e. short-term evolutionary changes

ANS: d REF: p. 322 SOURCE: PICKUP

20. Which of the following contributes most to skin color?

a. hemoglobin
b. melanin
c. carotene
d. vitamin D
e. short-term acclimatization

ANS: b REF: p. 323 SOURCE: PICKUP

21. Which of following protects from ultraviolet radiation?

a. carotene
b. hemoglobin
c. vitamin D
d. melanin
e. melanocytes

ANS: d REF: p. 324 SOURCE: NEW

22. Melanocytes
a. are cells that produce carotene
b. are found in the dermis
c. only occur in dark-skinned individuals
 d. produce melanin
e. cause cancer

ANS: d REF: p. 324 SOURCE: PICKUP

23. Light-skinned people, when compared to dark skinned people

a. produce too much melanin
b. have rickets
c. lack melanin
d. have no melanocytes
e. are not found in African populations

ANS: c REF: p. 326 SOURCE: NEW

24. Dark skin is found in populations near the equator. Why?

a. It protects from frostbite.
b. It protects from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.
c. It helps prevent rickets.
d. It protects from the damaging effects of UV radiation on folate.
e. It increases the skin’s exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

ANS: d REF: p. 325 SOURCE: PICKUP

25. Ultraviolet radiation can be an important factor in selection for increased melanin production
because UV radiation can cause which of the following?
a. rickets
b. albinism
c. skin cancer
d. the rebuilding of folate
e. spina bifida

ANS: c REF: p. 325 SOURCE: PICKUP

26. What causes rickets?

a. overexposure to ultraviolet radiation
b. too much vitamin D
c. an insufficient amount of melanin
d. too few melanocytes
e. an insufficient amount of vitamin D

ANS: e REF: p. 326 SOURCE: PICKUP

27. Studies have shown that UV radiation rapidly depletes ______, which plays a crucial role in
neural tube development of the embryo.
a. melanin
b. melanocytes
c. carotene
d. folate
e. vitamin C

ANS: d REF: p. 325 SOURCE: PICKUP

28. Sweating
a. is a uniquely human response to heat
b. has no detrimental physiological effects
c. is not an effective means of dissipating heat
d. permits cooling through evaporation
e. is an ability that varies from one human population to another

ANS: d REF: p. 328 SOURCE: PICKUP

29. Mechanisms for radiating body heat include which of the following?
a. increased production of red blood cells
b. vasodilation
c. vasoconstriction
d. increased activity levels
e. increased metabolic rate

ANS: b REF: p. 328 SOURCE: PICKUP

30. Bergmann’s rule

a. states that a linear body with long arms and legs is optimal for cold climates
b. concerns the relationship between climate and shape and size of appendages
c. states that bodies with increased mass or volume to surface area are optimal for cold
climates
d. is based upon the principle that as arms increase in length, there is a corresponding
increase in surface area
e. is based on the principle that heat is retained at the body surface

ANS: c REF: p. 329 SOURCE: PICKUP

31. Hypoxia
a. is the reduced availability of oxygen
b. occurs at higher altitudes because the atmosphere contains less oxygen than at sea level
c. exerts no stress on humans
d. is a problem for people living at sea level
e. is not a concern for humans

ANS: a REF: p. 331 SOURCE: PICKUP

32. Developmental acclimatization occurs in those individuals who

a. have recently moved to a high altitude environment
b. have spent their adult life at high altitude
c. were born in a high altitude environment, but who grew up in a low altitude environment
d. grow up in high altitude environments
e. live at high altitude and are lactose intolerant

ANS: d REF: p. 332 SOURCE: PICKUP

33. What are disease-causing organisms such as bacteria and viruses called?
a. pathogens
b. vectors
 c. pandemics
d. endemics.
e. antigens

ANS: a REF: p. 333 SOURCE: PICKUP

34. What is AIDS caused by?

a. mosquito bites
b. a bacterium
c. a mutation on a cell’s receptor site
d. a virus
e. bad meat

ANS: d REF: p. 335 SOURCE: PICKUP

35. When a disease is continuously present in a population it is said to be

a. pandemic
b. chronic
c. epidemic
d. lethal
e. endemic

ANS: e REF: p. 333 SOURCE: PICKUP

36. What is an extensive outbreak of disease affecting large numbers of people over a wide area
called?
a. pandemic
b. epidemic
c. vector
d. endemic
e. pathogen

ANS: a REF: p. 336 SOURCE: PICKUP

37. The World Heath Organization lists ______ as the world’s leading killer of adults.
a. car crashes
b. reality show stunts
c. tuberculosis
d. cholera
e. AIDS

ANS: c REF: p. 337 SOURCE: PICKUP

True/False Questions
1. Anders Retzius was the first European scientist to classify humans into races.

ANS: False REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

2. Francis Galton, Darwin’s cousin, originated the eugenics approach to “race improvement.”
 ANS: True REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

3. The term race currently has only biological connotations and is without any social significance.

ANS: False REF: p. 313 SOURCE: PICKUP

4. The term ethnicity was originally proposed in order to avoid the emotional baggage associated with
the term race.

ANS: True REF: p. 313 SOURCE: PICKUP

5. Forensic anthropologists must deal with the race concept because they are asked by law enforcement
agencies to identify an individual’s race from skeletal remains.

ANS: True REF: p. 316 SOURCE: PICKUP

6. The majority of modern anthropologists regard biological determinism as a valid mode of explaining
human racial differences.

ANS: False REF: p. 312 SOURCE: PICKUP

7. The most interesting fact about human skin color is that there appears to be no adaptive significance
whatsoever to population-level variations in skin color.

ANS: False REF: p. 323-327 SOURCE: PICKUP

8. Developmental acclimatization occurs in high-altitude natives during growth and development.

ANS: True REF: p. 332 SOURCE: PICKUP

9. Thanks to the modern medicine, many infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and cholera are no
longer a threat to human populations.

ANS: False REF: p. 337 SOURCE: PICKUP

10. Infectious diseases have exerted enormous selective pressures on our species.

ANS: True REF: p. 333 SOURCE: NEW

Short Answer Questions

1. Explain the historical views on human variation.
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 311-313 SOURCE: PICKUP

2. What does it mean when one states that humans are members of the same polytypic species?
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 313 SOURCE: PICKUP

3. What polymorphisms exist at the DNA level?

ANS: Will vary REF: p. 317 SOURCE: PICKUP
4. What is the physiological mechanism of lactose intolerance? Why is the ability to digest milk sugars
an example of biocultural evolution?
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 319-320 SOURCE: PICKUP

5. Define vasodilation and describe its role in the human physiological response to heat.
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 328-329 SOURCE: PICKUP

6. Define vasoconstriction and describe its role in the human physiological response to cold.
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 330 SOURCE: PICKUP

7. Discuss developmental acclimatization to high altitude.

ANS: Will vary REF: p. 330-333 SOURCE: PICKUP

8. Explain what HIV is and the hypothesis of its origin. Describe why it is seen as the best example of
evolution and adaptation in a pathogen.
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 335 SOURCE: PICKUP

Essay Questions
1. Define the term race. How does the modern use of race differ from the 19 th century use of race?
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 311-313 SOURCE: PICKUP

2. What is the adaptive value of dark skin tones in equatorial regions such as Africa? If all humans are
ultimately from Africa, what hypotheses might explain why skin tones lightened as humans came to
occupy more northern latitudes?
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 323-326 SOURCE: PICKUP

3. Outline the general principles of Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules. Can we use these rules to explain
human phenotypic variation at the level of the population?
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 329 SOURCE: PICKUP

4. How did the adoption of a settled lifestyle affect patterns of infectious disease in human populations?
ANS: Will vary REF: p. 333-334 SOURCE: PICKUP

5. Discuss the factors that are contributing to the reemergence of infectious diseases that used to be
close to extinction.
ANS: Will vary REF: p.334-337 SOURCE: PICKUP