Hominid Family Names Trivia Quiz

Answer: Homo sapiens

From a strictly morphologic perspective, Cro-magnon was the same as a modern human or a Homo sapiens. Homo erectus is a much more ancient "Human" than Cro-magnon. The so-called "Piltdown Man" was proved conclusively to be a fraud in the 1950's. Homo neanderthalensis existed in Europe at the same time as Cro-magnon humans. Neanderthals are a different species from modern humans.

Answer: Homo erectus

Paranthropus robustus is actually a much more primitive hominid. They inhabited southern Africa 2 to 1.2 million years ago.

Ramapithecus is an extinct primate that lived 14 to 12 million years ago. This creature is considered to be an ancestor of the orangutan. Thus, it is not a hominid.

"Gigantopithecus" refers to an extinct group of giant apes that lived about 1 million to as recently as 300 thousand years ago. Not part of the human evolutionary lineage.

Answer: Homo erectus

Sahelanthropus tchadensis was discovered in Chad. It is estimated to be between 6 and 7 million years old. There is some doubt as to it actually being fully bipedal.

Neanderthal man or "Homo neanderthalensis" is a good guess...but it was actually first discovered in Germany in 1856.

Homo sapiens is the scientific name of modern humans. The shape of a Homo erectus skull is obviously different from modern humans.

Answer: Australopithecus africanus

"Homo ergaster" refers to a lineage of the genus Homo that appeared in Africa about 1.9 million years ago. Considered to be very similar to Homo erectus. Many researchers consider Homo ergaster to be an earlier and more primitive version of Homo erectus. The general scientific consensus is that Homo ergaster is a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens.

Actually, "Eoanthropus dawsonii" refers to the so-called Piltdown Man. This was proven in the 1950's to be a deliberate fraud.

Answer: Australopithecus afarensis

"Lucy" is an incredible find. Enough of her skeleton was found to show that she is a true bipedal creature (walked on two legs). Thus, she is a very ancient member of the human evolutionary family. At the same time, she is extremely primitive and clearly exhibits cranial features similar to our common lineage with ancient ape species. (Forward protruding face, a U-shaped palate, etc.) Australopithecus afarensis can be seen as a true transitional species.

Answer: Homo erectus (or Homo ergaster)

Turkana Boy is the most complete skeleton of a Homo erectus ever found. It is approximately 1.6 million years old. Australopithecus afarensis is much more primitive hominid .... having lived about 3.5 million years ago. Finally, Homo floresiensis is a good guess because it is considered to be a descendant of Homo erectus.

However, from an evolutionary standpoint it became extinct only "yesterday" - - about 14,000 to 18,000 years ago.

Answer: Homo floresiensis

No one could have imagined that such creatures could have existed as recently as 18,000 years ago. This is NOT a Neanderthal - their bone structures are very different. Also, Neanderthals appeared to have died off about 28,000 years ago.

Pan troglodytes is the scientific name for the chimpanzee.

At first it was thought by some anthropologists, that "the Hobbits" were a diminutive form of Homo sapiens. This turned out not to be true. Instead, they appear to have descended from Homo erectus.

Answer: Australopithecus boisei

Homo habilis is considered the most ancient species of the genus Homo, having existed from about 2.2 to 1.6 million years ago. Creationists have absolutely no consensus as to whether Homo habilis is an "ape" or a "normal" human being. For a revealing look at their confusion, go to this web address:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/a_habilis.html

Answer: Sahelanthropus tchadensis

The initial discovery was made on July 19,2001. An intact skull with the jawbone and some teeth have been dated between six to seven million years old. This extremely ancient primate may have evolved at the very time, about seven million years ago, when bifurcation took place ... that is, the hominid family began to diverge from the simian (apes and monkeys) family.

There is some reason to believe this: "Detailed study of the fossil shows a braincase that is ape-like, while the face is short and the teeth look like those of a human." For more information on this subject, refer to this web address: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/07/10/ancient.skull/

Answer: False

The term "missing link" is very antiquated. To begin with, there have been many transitional forms, not just one special "missing link". In fact, the concept of just one "missing link" implies a highly simplistic, almost cartoon-like view of evolutionary dynamics.

In truth, there have been several transitional species that appear to echo both hominid and simian characteristics. The most relevant ones have been highlighted in this quiz.