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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Taphonomy is the study of: |
the processes that affect an organism after death.
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A hearth is discovered with bone fragments in it. What method might be used to date the bone? |
amino acid method |
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The time it takes for 50% of an unstable isotope to decay to a stable form is called the: |
half-life.
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Thermoluminescence dating can provide dates when used on which types of materials? |
sediment, stone, and ceramics
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Chemical analysis of the _________ can provide information on diets and habitats. |
bones and teeth
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Most of the fossils discovered in Africa come from the eastern and western parts of the continent. Why is this? |
These areas provided better preservation.
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The three eras that make up earth history are: |
Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.
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During the Holocene artifacts like __________ began to appear. |
ceramics
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For dating hominin fossils that go back 4 million years, what dating methods might be used? |
both a. and b.
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The study of what happens to an organism’s remains after death is: |
taphonomy
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Some of the best information on climate history is based on the study of: |
foraminifera.
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A layer of stratigraphy in one location overwhelmingly represents one species, while the same species is discovered in a similar stratigraphic layer fifty miles away. What method is used to provide an estimate of age for this layer and this species? |
biostratigraphy
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A mummy is discovered whose tomb includes cloth, food, and other organic remains. What dating method might be used to date the tomb? |
carbon 14
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Crucial to creating a fossil record of a species is a: |
representation
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Igneous rock can be dated with which of the following methods? |
radiopotassium dating
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Coinciding with the appearance of early hominins about 5–10 mya, the climate was: |
dry and seasonal.
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Which period saw the proliferation of mammals? |
Cenozoic
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Which of the following is NOT an ideal environment for fossilization? |
acidic soil (as in a jungle)
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Fluorine dating is an example of what type of dating method? |
chemical
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Cultural dating can be used to date: |
ceramics
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What is the basic difference between relative and absolute dating? |
the use of an actual number of years
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The original continent that existed about 200 mya, from which the modern continents ultimately emerged, is called: |
Pangaea
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Based on the molecular clock, geneticists believe the split between chimps and hominins occurred: |
8–10 mya.
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Paleontologists find a fossil ape with long arms. What type of environment can they infer it inhabited? |
woodland
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Stratigraphic correlation is: |
matching strata by chemical composition and color from several sites across distances.
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Electron spin resonance dating can provide dates when used on which type of material? |
teeth
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Fission track dating can provide dates when used on which type of material? |
igneous rock
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The molecular clock has been useful to determine the phylogenetic relationships of species based on the assumption that: |
a species accumulates genetic differences over time at a constant rate.
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Which dating method would be most appropriate for establishing the age of a volcanic ash layer from an early hominid site in eastern Africa? |
potassium-argon dating
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In the 1600s Nicolaus Steno proposed : |
the law of superposition.
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