Fossils of Australopithecus Afarensis Are Particularly Significant Because

question 25

Multiple Choice

Fossils of Australopithecus afarensis are particularly significant because

• A) they show that humans evolved in Asia rather than Africa.
• B) they are the oldest hominin fossils yet found in the New World.
• C) Au. afarensis remains are the oldest to be found in association with evidence of both stone tools and fire use.
• D) they comprise the first fossil evidence to confirm that bipedalism preceded the evolution of a humanlike brain.
• E) they show that the gracile australopithecines were not hominins after all.

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Definitions:

mRNA

Messenger RNA, a type of RNA that is transcribed from DNA and carries instructions for synthesizing proteins to the ribosomes.

Ribosome

Ribosomes are molecular machines within cells that synthesize proteins by translating messenger RNA into polypeptide chains, essential for all cellular functions.

Polypeptide Chain

A long, continuous, and unbranched chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds that forms part of the structure of proteins.

tRNA Molecules

Transfer RNA; small RNA molecules that transport amino acids to the ribosome during protein synthesis, ensuring the correct amino acid sequence is assembled according to the mRNA template.