History Exam #1

20 out of 40

Mesozoic

Era from 252 to 66 million years ago.

Burgess Shale

Canadian site with fossils dating to 500 million years.

Clovis culture

Ancient culture known for fluted points across North America.

Enamel Hypoplasia

Defect in tooth enamel from periods of starvation.

Melanin

Pigment affecting skin color and UV protection.

Sahul

Landmass of Australia and Papua New Guinea during ice age.

Skhul Cave

Excavation site for early Homo sapiens remains in Israel.

Pilorection

Hair raising response to fear in animals and humans.

Dunbar Number

Maximum number of stable social relationships, around 150.

Lascaux Cave

Cave with prehistoric art of megafauna, 18,000 years old.

Therapsids

Group of synapsids that evolved into mammals.

Peppered Moth

Example of natural selection due to industrial pollution.

Schöningen spears

Earliest known hunting weapons from the Palaeolithic Age.

Pan troglodytes

Scientific name for common chimpanzees in Central Africa.

Primate

Diverse group including humans, monkeys, and apes.

Domestication

Mutualistic relationship for resource acquisition over generations.

Natufian Culture

Sedentary hunter-gatherers from 15,000 to 11,000 BCE.

Homo neanderthalensis

Neanderthals, existed 200,000 to 40,000 years ago.

Sunghir Burials

Elaborate burials of children with treasures, 34,000 years old.

Ritual

Ceremony performed in a prescribed order.

Australopithecus

Early bipedal hominins existing 4 to 2 million years ago.

Microbial mats

Fossilized layers of microorganisms from 3.5 billion years ago.

Fu Manchu

Orangutan known for escaping enclosure using a wire.

Spinolestes

Tiny nocturnal mammals descended from therapsids.

Tetrapod

Ancestors of land-dwelling vertebrates with limb-like structures.

Grypania

First known multicellular organism with sexual reproduction.

Trilobite shell

Predatory marine arthropods with advanced vision.

Gossip

Casual conversation about others, often unverified.

Bipedalism

Ability to walk on two legs, key human trait.

Paleomagnetism

Study of ancient magnetic fields in geological materials.

Cueva des Cubierta

Cave in Spain with evidence of Neanderthal rituals.

Kota Tampan

Site with ancient human stone tools in Malaysia.

Mesosaurus

Small aquatic reptile from 280 million years ago.

Charles Darwin

Proposed natural selection and evolution in 1859.

Neocortex

Brain region associated with social relationships and memory.

Iridium

Element linked to asteroid impact theory for dinosaur extinction.

Plesiadapis

Early primate ancestor known for climbing abilities.

Mitochondrial Eve

Most recent common matrilineal ancestor of all humans.

Foramen Magnum

Skull opening for spinal cord, indicates bipedalism.

Cambrian Explosion

Rapid diversification of life around 543 million years ago.