GMAT Reading Comprehension - Anthropologists Once Thought that the Ancestors of Modern Humans

Reading Passage Question

Anthropologists once thought that the ancestors of modern humans began to walk upright because it freed their hands to use stone tools, which they had begun to make as the species evolved a brain of (5) increased size and mental capacity. But discoveries of the three-million-year-old fossilized remains of our hominid ancestor Australopithecus have yielded substantial anatomical evidence that upright walking appeared prior to the dramatic enlargement of the (10) brain and the development of stone tools.

Walking on two legs in an upright posture (bipedal locomotion) is a less efficient proposition than walking on all fours (quadrupedal locomotion) because several muscle groups that the quadruped uses for propulsion (15) must instead provide the biped with stability and control. The shape and configuration of various bones must likewise be modified to allow the muscles to perform these functions in upright walking. Reconstruction of the pelvis (hip bones) and (20) femur (thighbone) of “Lucy”, a three-million-year-old skeleton that is the most complete fossilized skeleton from the australopithecine era, has shown that they are much more like the corresponding bones of the modern human than like those of the most closely (25) related living primate, the quadrupedal chimpanzee. Lucy’s wide, shallow pelvis is actually better suited to bipedal walking than is the rounder, bowl-like pelvis of the modern human, which evolved to form the larger birth canal needed to accommodate the head of a (30) large-brained human infant. By contrast, the head of Lucy’s baby could have been no larger than that of a baby chimpanzee.

If the small-brained australopithecines were not toolmakers, what evolutionary advantage did they (35) gain by walking upright? One theory is that bipedality evolved in conjunction with the nuclear family: monogamous parents cooperating to care for their offspring. Walking upright permitted the father to use his hands to gather food and carry it to his mate (40) from a distance, allowing the mother to devote more time and energy to nurturing and protecting their children. According to this view, the transition to bipedal walking may have occurred as long as ten million years ago, at the time of the earliest hominids, (45) making it a crucial initiating event in human evolution.

“Anthropologists once thought that the ancestors of modern humans began to walk upright because it freed their hands to use stone tools''- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 5 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. present an interpretation of the chronological relationship between bipedal locomotion and certain other key aspects of human evolution
2. compare the evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of bipedal locomotion to those of quadrupedal locomotion
3. argue that the transition to a nuclear family structure was a more crucial step in human evolution than was the development of stone tools
4. analyze anatomical evidence of bipedal locomotion to show that the large brain of modern humans developed at a later stage of evolution than was previously believed
5. use examples of muscle and bone structure to illustrate the evolutionary differences between modern humans, australopithecines, and chimpanzees

2. The passage suggests that proponents of the theory mentioned in lines 35–38 assume that which of the following steps in human evolution occurred most recently?

1. Development of a nuclear family structure
2. Transition from walking on all fours to walking upright
3. Dramatic enlargement of the brain
4. Use of the hands to gather and carry food
5. Modification of propulsive muscles to provide stability and control in locomotion

3. According to the passage, the hominid australopithecine most closely resembled a modern human with respect to which of the following characteristics?

1. Brain size
2. Tool-making ability
3. Shape of the pelvis
4. Method of locomotion
5. Preference for certain foods

4. The passage suggests that, in comparison with the hominid australopithecines, modern humans are

1. less well adapted to large group cooperation
2. less well adapted to walking upright
3. more agile in running and climbing
4. more well suited to a nuclear family structure
5. more well suited to cooperative caring for their offspring

5. The theory mentioned in lines 35–38 suggests that which of the following was true for the hominid ancestors of modern humans before they made the transition to walking upright?

1. Their brains were smaller than the brains of present-day chimpanzees.
2. They competed rather than cooperated in searching for food.
3. Their mating patterns and family structure were closer to those of present-day chimpanzees than to those of modern humans.
4. Males played a more significant role in child rearing than they played after the transition to walking upright.
5. Females' ability to nurture and protect their offspring was limited by the need to find food for themselves.

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