Hominin exam 2023 questions and answers with complete
solution
What Era was prior to the hominins?
Miocene
How many mya did the Hominini originate?
5-7 mya
What are the groups in the classification chart?
hylobatids(lesser apes), pongids(all great apes), and the hominids(humans and our
bipedal ancestors
What are the hominid subfamilies?
pongines(orangutans), gorillinez(gorillas), and hominines(chimps, bonobos, and
humans)
What are the three orders of the hominids?
Australopithecus, Australopithecines and genus homo
Modern humans behavior
speech, symbolic language, complex material culture, relaxation of the estrous cycle,
concealed ovulation and advanced cognition
cranial capacity(humans)
1300-1400 cc's w/ an average
reduced prognathism
less facial projection
What are muscles used for chewing called?
Mastication
What are the main muscles of mastication?
masseter and temporalis muscles
parabolic dental arch
humans
Why do hominins have thick enamel?
They have a course diet including tough roots and tubers from dry savannah
environments
honing complex/CP3 shearing complex
each time the mouth is closed the back of the canine hones on the front of the premolar,
maintaining a sharp edge on each tooth helpful for for slicing fruits and leaves
Who is the bipedal stride unique to?
Hominins
foramen magnum
posterior in apes/ anterior in bipeds
vertebral column
s-shaped with two spinal curves which include the cervical curve and lumbar curve
pelvic girdle
short and broad in bipedal individuals(center of gravity located in pelvic basin
How is the femur angled in the modern human?
it brings the knees into the midline(each one is angled inward from the hip to the knee)
What are the types of knees and who do they belong to?
solution
What Era was prior to the hominins?
Miocene
How many mya did the Hominini originate?
5-7 mya
What are the groups in the classification chart?
hylobatids(lesser apes), pongids(all great apes), and the hominids(humans and our
bipedal ancestors
What are the hominid subfamilies?
pongines(orangutans), gorillinez(gorillas), and hominines(chimps, bonobos, and
humans)
What are the three orders of the hominids?
Australopithecus, Australopithecines and genus homo
Modern humans behavior
speech, symbolic language, complex material culture, relaxation of the estrous cycle,
concealed ovulation and advanced cognition
cranial capacity(humans)
1300-1400 cc's w/ an average
reduced prognathism
less facial projection
What are muscles used for chewing called?
Mastication
What are the main muscles of mastication?
masseter and temporalis muscles
parabolic dental arch
humans
Why do hominins have thick enamel?
They have a course diet including tough roots and tubers from dry savannah
environments
honing complex/CP3 shearing complex
each time the mouth is closed the back of the canine hones on the front of the premolar,
maintaining a sharp edge on each tooth helpful for for slicing fruits and leaves
Who is the bipedal stride unique to?
Hominins
foramen magnum
posterior in apes/ anterior in bipeds
vertebral column
s-shaped with two spinal curves which include the cervical curve and lumbar curve
pelvic girdle
short and broad in bipedal individuals(center of gravity located in pelvic basin
How is the femur angled in the modern human?
it brings the knees into the midline(each one is angled inward from the hip to the knee)
What are the types of knees and who do they belong to?
