In an Example of How Microscopic Evidence in Studying the Past

question 24

Multiple Choice

In an example of how microscopic evidence in studying the past can yield surprising results that may overturn long-held assumptions, Williamson's analysis of microscopic residues stuck to the edges of cutting tools found at a cave site in South Africa revealed that

• A) 30 percent of the residues were from human flesh, suggesting cannibalism.
• B) 50 percent of the residues were from plants, contradicting the prevailing assumption that such tools were used mainly to hunt and butcher animals.
• C) all of the residues were from butchered animals, but most of the butchering had been performed by women and not by men.
• D) 30 percent of the residues were from plants, suggesting a slow transition from vegetarian to carnivorous diets.
• E) 50 percent of the residues were from domesticated plants, pushing back the date of plant domestication from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago.

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Definitions:

Neural Transmission

The process by which neurons communicate with each other through electrical impulses and neurotransmitters across synapses.

Action Potential

The process by which neurons communicate through an electrical charge that travels along the neuron's axon, initiated by the movement of ions across the neuron's membrane.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit signals across a synapse from one neuron to another, facilitating communication within the brain.

Mitochondria

Organelles within cells that generate most of the cell's supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), used as a source of chemical energy.