BIO. ANTHR. EXAM #2 – Nonhuman Primates
Most Correct Answers
A. Primates have a number of physical traits that distinguish them from other mammals. List FOUR of these distinguishing
physical traits. (Do NOT list general mammalian traits like fur or warm-bloodedness.) 3-d vision; grasping hands;
fingernails; tactile pads; retention of the clavicle; free rotation of the lower arm; generalized dentition; generalized limb
structure. POINT VALUE: 8
B. Name and describe TWO types of tools that chimps make and/or use. POINT VALUE: 4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
“fishing wands.” Strip leaves from a twig and insert the twig in a termite mound of ant nest to get the insects
“hammers.” Using limbs or stones and an anvil (wood or stone) to crack open nuts.
“bone picks.” Use bone splinters to get marrow out of bones.
“leaf-sponge.” Lightly chew a leaf and then use it like a sponge to get water.
“spears.” Use slender wooden limbs to spear bushbabies.
C. Name and describe at least one type of tool that orangutans make and/or use. POINT VALUE: 2
“honey wand.” Strip leaves from a twig, partially remove bark, lightly bite the end, insert into bees nest to retrieve honey;
“fruit probe.” Use a stick to remove pulp and seeds from hard rind fruits; umbrella: hold a large leaf over their head during
rain.
D. Some Japanese snow monkeys engage in behaviors that can be considered “cultural.” Give TWO examples of this cultural
behavior (do NOT give social behaviors). POINT VALUE: 4
Washing sweet potatoes in either fresh and/or salt water; Winnowing rice grains from sand by throwing the mixture in
water; Using plastic bags to gather fruit from human gardens; Soaking in hot tubs.
E. One of the most profound findings concerning the cognitive (thinking / reasoning) abilities of the primates is that members
of some species can alter the symbolic meanings of their behavior. We learned about chimpanzees’ ability to do this. Give
an example of this ability for chimps. Chimps in this one community would lightly bite a leaf to let others know when
they were going to display. Then over time the meaning changed to mean “I’m taking a nap.” POINT VALUE: 3
F.
Although the DNA of humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos is at least 98% identical, and although all three species have the
same bones, ligaments and tendons in the same locations, there are several anatomical differences between the two species
of Pan and all hominids. Name five anatomical features of humans that are uniquely human. POINT VALUE: 10
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Foramen magnum directly centered under the braincase.
Lazy S-shaped spined
Bowl-shaped pelvis
Knock-kneed (femurs angle in toward midline of body, lower legs parallel to each other.
High fixed arches (one lateral, one front to back) in the foot – toes parallel to each other
G. Name one species for EACH of the following types of primates. POINT VALUE: 6
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Prosimian: lemurs, lorises, bushbabies
American monkeys: howlers, spider, marmoset, capuchin
Leaf-eating monkey: hanuman langur
Cheek-pouched monkey: macaque, baboon
African ape: chimp, bonobo, gorilla
Asian ape: orangutan, siamang, gibbon
H. List THREE physical features that all prosimians have and which are used to distinguish them from anthropoids. Give
very specific examples? POINT VALUE: 6
Wet noses; long snouts; eyes somewhat laterally placed; tactile vibrissa (sensitive whiskers); tooth comb; mobile ears;
immobile faces.
I.
Name at least TWO FUNCTIONS that grooming serves among the primates. POINT VALUE: 4
Social cement; social lubricant; hygiene
533562736
-1-
J.
List TWO FEATURES (physical and/or behavioral) of American monkeys that can be used to distinguish them from
monkeys of Africa and Asia. Laterally pointing nostrils that are widely spaced; some have prehensile tails; an extra
premolar; no bony eartube; mainly arboreal. POINT VALUE: 4
K. How do female bonobos gain entrance into a new group? By engaging in sex with the alpha female after having had sex
with one or more adult females who act as her sponsor. POINT VALUE: 4
.
L. How did the ancestors of modern lemurs get to Madagascar? Floated across from Africa on vegetation rafts. POINTS: 4
M. In what ways does studying the non-human primates, especially the chimpanzees and bonobos, help us understand
ourselves? (Be very specific in your answer). An understanding of chimp / bonobo behavior today may help us understand
how the first hominids behaved since any behaviors shared by modern apes and modern humans was probably in the last
common ancestor and therefore in early humans. POINT VALUE: 6
EXTRA CREDIT. Who were the Carolina Five? A family of black and white ruffed lemurs, raised in America and then sent
to Madagascar and released in a reserve with the idea that they would mate with the local lemurs and increase their genetic
variability.
1.
The basic social unit among all primate species is
A. a core group of related females
B. a pair-bonded male and female
C. a core group of related males
D. a female and her dependent offspring
2.
Which scientist was the first to suggest that Africa was the original homeland of humans and apes?
A. Darwin
C. Lamarck
B. Linnaeus
D. Mendel
3.
You observe a primate community in which 1) relationships between females and males are on an equal footing and 2)
females are frequently the group’s dominant individuals, you would most likely be observing
A. chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
C. gorillas (Gorilla gorilla)
B. snow monkeys (Macacca fuscata)
D. bonobos (Pan paniscus)
4.
Studies of chimpanzee groups across Africa indicate that chimps show:
A. variation in tool use and hunting techniques
C. no behavioral variation from group to group
B. little affection between mothers and children
D. communication abilities similar to humans
5.
You are planning on giving a paper at the American Association of Biological Anthropologists on your 2 1/2 years of
fieldwork among a community of primates in their natural habitat. While much of your paper deals with their human-like
sexual behavior, you also stress that these primates spend an equal amount of time in knuckle-walking and opportunistic
bipedalism. Which of the following titles would most likely be that of your paper? [THINK about this]
A. Hot-tubing Primates: The Macaques of Japan
C. Gentle Giants: Among the Gorillas
B. Primoridal Humans: The Wild Chimpanzees
D. The Sexiest Primates: The Bonobos of the Congo
6.
After a conflict, bonobos often immediately begin to restore harmony within the group. How do they do this?
A. share food
C. groom each other
B. engage in sexual behaviors
D. all of these
7.
A major difference between Old World and New World monkeys is that Old World monkeys
A. have grasping tails; American monkeys have non-grasping tails
B. are terrestrial and arboreal; New World monkeys are strictly arboreal
C. eat only leaves and sometimes fruit; New World monkeys eat many different kinds of foods
D. use sex to diffuse potentially violent situations; New World monkeys never do.
8.
Which of the following is a TRUE statement?
A. ring tailed lemurs are rarely found on the ground
B. chimps relate to one another as individuals
9.
C. gorillas are highly aggressive
D. all of these are true statements
Chimpanzees exhibit several behaviors in the wild that your instructor has suggested can be considered “cultural.” These
behaviors include:
A. grooming
C. caring for infants
B. making simple tools
D. inter-group aggression
533562736
-2-
10. Tool manufacture and use has been observed among several primate species, including
A. humans and chimpanzees
C. humans, chimps and gorillas
B. humans, chimps and hanuman langurs
D. humans, chimps and bonobos
11. Reciprocal grooming among the primates functions in a number of ways including
A. showing readiness to eat
C. establishing and maintaining social bonds
B. initiating sexual activity
D. all of these
12. Which of the following traits clearly distinguishes American monkeys from all other monkeys?
A. color vision
C. wet noses
B. grasping hands
D. none of these distinguish one group from the other
13. Which of the following primates is characterized by having ears like a bat, teeth like a beaver, a tail like a fox, and the
body of a microwaved cat?
A. Japanese snow monkeys
C. Aye-ayes
B. Hanuman langurs
D. Sifakas
14. Which of the following primates would most like have a grasping tail?
A. gibbons, siamangs and macaques
C. monkeys from the Americas
B. your anthropology instructor
D. monkeys from Africa
15. The order Primates can be subdivided into a number of smaller groups. Which of the following smaller primate groupings
is correct?
A. Howlers, black-&-white ruffed lemurs
C. lemurs, lorises and American monkeys
B. ringtail lemurs, slow lorises, macaques
D. hominids and apes
16. Which one of the following primate species is nocturnal?
A. chimpanzees
C. ringtail lemurs
B. hanuman langurs
D. aye-aye
17. If you're walking in the woods of Madagascar, which of the following primates would you most likely encounter?
A. ringtailed lemurs and indriis
C. macaques and gibbons
B. tarsiers, gibbons and baboons
D. chimps, gorillas and baboons
18. In general, monkeys and apes can be differentiated from lemurs because most lemurs
A. eat insects - most anthropoids don't
C. have color vision - most anthropoids don't
B. are arboreal - most anthropoids aren't
D. depend on smell - few anthropoids do
19. Which of the following features clearly distinguishes prosimians from all the other primates?
A. Prosimians have wet noses
C. Prosimians eat only leaves
B. Prosimians are strictly arboreal
D. Prosimians have highly mobile faces
20. You’re walking down a trail in a forest when you come upon two primates engaged in a stink fight. Where are you and
what species are you watching?
A. Madagascar / ringtailed lemurs
C. Madagascar / aye-ayes
B. India / hanuman langurs
D. Costa Rica / howler monkeys
21. The most frequent makers and users of tools among chimpanzees are
A. juvenile males
C. adult males
B. adult females
D. juvenile females
22. What primate species is characterized by a lack of estrus controlled behavior?
A. Bonobos and chimpanzees
C. humans and bonobos
B. Macaques and baboons
D. Bonobos, chimpanzees and humans
23. In the primates' evolutionary history, one of the most important developments was
A. evolution of 3-D vision and grasping hands
B. adaptation to increasingly open grasslands
C. the reduction in the number of fingers and toes from the ancestral condition
D. the evolution of hair and mammary glands
533562736
-3-
24. The ability to touch the thumb with the tips of the other fingers is called
A. prehensility
C. opposability
B. grasping
D. dexterity
25. During a visit to the zoo, you're trying to impress your date by demonstrating your broad knowledge of the primates.
Stopping at one of the primate enclosures, you start rattling off about the primates before you, ending with the statement
that they are a prime example of the platyrrhini. Your date asks you how you know that and you respond by saying "It's
elementary my dear, just look at that platyyrrhini's ______." To what did you direct your date's view?
A. wet nose
C. ability to use tools
B. prehensile tail
D. grasping feet
26. Some chimps have been observed eating a substance that is said to act as a medicine. What is the substance and what
ailment are the chimps trying to control?
A. clay / bleeding
C. leaves / worms
B. stinging termites / upset stomach
D. roots / diarrhea
27. Which of the following traits distinguishes apes from monkeys?
A. apes invent new forms of behavior – monkeys never do
B. apes are opportunistic bipeds – monkeys never are
C. apes alter symbolic meanings – monkeys never do
D. none of these distinguish apes from monkeys
28. Egalitarian (meaning fairly equal in power) relationships between the sexes are extremely rare among the primates.
However, there is at least one species in which egalitarian relationships are the norm - the
A. bonobos (Pan paniscus)
C. chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
B. hanuman langurs
D. modern humans (Homo sapiens)
29. A female in which of the following species is most likely to accept a male's sexual advances regardless of whether she is
ovulating or not?
A. snow monkeys
C. humans and chimpanzees
B. snow monkeys and hanuman langurs
D. bonobos and humans
30. You're walking through the forest and come upon a group of primates cracking open nuts by using stones as hammers.
You're most likely looking at a group of
A. snow monkeys (Macaca fuscata)
C. chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
B. ring tailed lemurs
D. orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)
31. You've been asked to carry out an extended field study of cooperative hunting among the non-human primates. Which
primates would you most likely choose and where would you choose to work?
A. Macacca fuscata / Japan
C. Pongo pygmaeus / Sumatra
B. Pan troglodytes / Tanzania
C. Gorilla gorilla / west Africa
32. There are two features of the primates that mark the primates off from most other mammals and have contributed to the
primates’ success. What are those two features
A. intelligence and child care practices
C. 3-D vision and tool making
B. grasping hands and 3-D vision
D. large body size and lack of estrus
33. During the winter months, Japanese snow monkeys survive by
A. moving to lower elevations to escape the snow
C. eating bark and relying on their stored body fat
B. digging beneath the snow to get at roots
D. all of these
34. If there’s one feature of the hominids that makes us immediately recognizable today and in our evolutionary past, it's our
A. ability to make and use tools
C. habitual upright bipedalism
B. extremely large brains
D. language and cultural abilities
35. You're walking through the forest and come upon a group of primates. You whip out your camcorder and record their
locomotor patterns. Later, you show this video to your anthropology students as a nearly perfect example of vertical
clinging and leaping. What animals are shown in your video and where were you when you filmed them?
A. sifakas / Madagascar
C. gibbons / Southeast Asian
B. chimpanzees / Africa
D. hanuman langurs / highlands of India
533562736
-4-