Human Evolution Practice Quiz
1. How does the level of genetic variation in humans typically compare to other species?
A. lower than other species
B. higher than other species
C. about the same as other species
D. not sure because we have been unable to accurately measure genetic variation in
humans and other species
2. Where did Homo sapiens evolve?
A. Africa
B. Asia
C. Middle East
D. North America
E. Independently in multiple regions of the world
3. Cultural traits are transmitted horizontally (within generations) and vertically (between
generations) through learning. Which of the examples below shows the horizontal
transmission of culture?
A. A mother teaches her son how to ride a bike.
B. A female chimpanzee teaches her offspring to capture termites using a stick.
C. A son inherits the recessive form of a gene from his father.
D. A teenager teaches her brother how to text.
E. None of a-d is an example of horizontal transmission of culture.
4. Why do we think that male Neanderthals mated with non-African ancestral Homo
sapiens?
A. Because Neanderthal mtDNA sequences are present in the human gene pool, and
Neanderthal nuclear DNA sequences are not.
B. Because Neanderthal nuclear DNA sequences are present in the human gene pool, and
Neanderthal mtDNA sequences are not.
C. Because neither Neanderthal mtDNA sequences nor nuclear DNA sequences are
present in the modern human gene pool.
D. Because both Neanderthal mtDNA sequences and nuclear DNA sequences are present
in the modern human gene pool.
5. What is the definition of neoteny?
A. retention of juvenile characteristics in an adult
B. reaching reproductive maturity in a juvenile
C. the acquisition of complex language skills in an adult
D. acquisition of adult characteristics in a juvenile
E. accelerated aging in the adult
