Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 457
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 457 – PASSAGE – 2
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 457
READING PASSAGE – 2
The Origins of Paleoanthropology
A. Paleoanthropology, a subdiscipline of anthropology, is the study of extinct primates. While the majority of researchers doing this kind of work are anthropologists, paleontologists (within the discipline of geology) may also study fossil primates. The primary method used by paleoanthropologists is the analysis of fossil remains. However, they increasingly rely on other scientific disciplines to gain a better understanding of the environmental forces that played a role in our evolution, as well as the formation of the fossil record.
For example, geologists identify processes of sedimentation and fossilization, and date fossils and their associated sediments using a variety of techniques. A variety of disciplines are involved in helping to reconstruct ancient environments and biological communities. Paleontologists identify ancient floral and faunal fossils. Palynologists analyze particles in ocean and lake cores, as well as pollen in terrestrial sediments to determine the predominant flora in a given area at a particular time. Taphonomists help determine how fossil assemblages were formed.
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B. In the 1920s, Raymond Dart proposed that early hominins (bipedal primates, like ourselves) found in South African caves had inhabited those caves. In addition, he interpreted puncture wounds found in some of the skulls as evidence that those hominins made and used weapons for hunting and male-male aggression. The taphonomist C. K. Brain argued in more recent times that either hominins fell through cracks into subterranean caves after having been cached in trees by leopards, or their bones were dragged in by rodents, such as porcupines, for gnawing. We now realize that while those early members of our tribe likely used simple tools, they were not big-game hunters or warmongers.
C. The most influential fields to have contributed to the science of paleoanthropology are geology, biology, and archaeology. Geologists (even those who were not recognized as such, e.g., Charles Darwin) are primarily responsible for the realizations that (1) the earth is ancient, and it formed via natural processes; (2) the earth was originally covered with water, and life began in that “primordial sea”; (3) life on earth originated with simple forms, with some descendent species becoming more complex over time, as can be seen in the fossil record;
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(4) species change or go extinct in response to environmental change; (5) new species are the result of a portion of a population adapting to new or changed environmental conditions; (6) the same forces, such as volcanic eruptions, that operate today are those that shaped the earth and caused changes in the fossil record via extinctions and speciation events; and (7) layers and deposits are continually developing or eroding so that organisms are buried and fossils come to light, respectively.
The idea that the same forces that operate today are those that shaped the earth and caused changes in the fossil record is termed uniformitarianism. Charles Lyell coined the term and is heralded as the father of modern geology. He greatly influenced Darwin and thus contributed to Darwin’s synthetic view of the evolution of life on earth. Geologists use various methods to date fossils or fossil-containing sediments and have developed a chronology (i.e., a timeline) for the earth as a whole, as well as depositional layers in areas where fossils have been discovered.
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D. Biologists and geneticists have played a role in palaeoanthropology in that they have refined the theory of evolution by means of natural selection by determining how traits are inherited. Scientists from a variety of disciplines have classified the known species of the world based on evolutionary relationships.
E. Archaeology has played and continues to play a strong role in paleoanthropology via the study of the archaeological record, that is, the record of past human activity via cultural remains and anthropogenic (human-induced) changes to the environment. Thomas Jefferson has been referred to as the first archaeologist, in that his methods were more scientific than his fellow antiquarians. Antiquarians tended to be after the “goods,” without regard for careful interpretation of the archaeological record.
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Most would be considered looters by today’s standards. They took items of great cultural and historical significance for personal or museum collections. Some items have been returned to their countries of origin, but the damage is done when the archaeological record is disturbed or destroyed. Once an item has been removed from the area where it was found, scientists can no longer learn from its context, for example, from associated artifacts or the location of the artifact in geographic space and time.
F According to Merriam-Webster Online, the first known use of the term “paleoanthropology” occurred in 1916. However, the earliest paleoanthropologists were not labeled as such and came from a variety of occupations, such as anatomists and physicians. The first hominin fossils discovered were the neanderthals in the 1800s. However, paleoanthropologists disagreed about whether neanderthals were ancestors of humans or were modern humans. Eugène Dubois was the first person to intentionally search for a fossil hominin.
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He went to Asia with the sole purpose of finding evidence that humans evolved there, as was the reigning belief in Western Europe. In 1891, he discovered a skull cap (known as a calotte) and femur on the Solo River in Trinil, Java. This, along with other discoveries made in China and Java during the first half of the 20th century, supported the Asian origin theory until Raymond Dart and his contemporary, Robert Broom, began discovering much more ancient material in South African quarries and caves. Further discoveries by Louis and Mary Leakey in East Africa cemented Africa as the birthplace of humanity, and the race to find human origins and ancestors was on.
Questions 15-19
Passage 2 has six sections labelled A-F.
Choose the correct headings for Sections B-F.
List of Headings
i. Archaeologists versus antiquarians
ii. Early fossil discoveries
iii. Environmental changes
iv. Overview of the subject
v. The discoveries of geology
vi. The human story
vii. The influence of paleoanthropology
viii. The role of evolutionary studies
ix. Two views on how fossils came to be in caves
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15. Section B
16. Section C
17. Section D
18. Section E
19. Section F
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Questions 20-23
Choose the appropriate letters A, B, C or D.
20. The main technique employed by paleoanthropologists is
A. the study of ancient rocks.
B. the examination of fossils.
C. the analysis of environmental forces.
D. the reconstruction of ancient environments.
21. A possible reason for fossils being found in South African caves is that
A. primates lived in the caves.
B. the bones of primates fell into the caves through cracks in their ceilings.
C. the caves were used by leopards to sleep in.
D. early humans were dragged into the caves by rats.
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22. One of the insights of geology is that
A. life on earth started in extremely dry conditions.
B. the extinction of certain animals is due to pollution.
C. volcanoes have destroyed many fossils.
D. the earth is extremely old.
23. Antiquarians
A. often used scientific techniques first introduced by Thomas Jefferson.
B. would frequently steal important objects in order to put them in museums.
C. destroyed objects in order to prevent scientists from discovering them.
D. carefully interpreted the archaeological record.
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Questions 24-27
Look at the information below (Questions 24-27) and the list of people below.
Match each piece of information with the correct person A-H.
Answers A-H can be used more than once.
24. Thought that hominins didn’t inhabit caves.
25. Originated the practice of looking for hominin fossils.
26. Was inspired by the work of Lyell.
27. Made discoveries that supported the view that the birthplace of humanity was Asia.
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List of people
A. Raymond Dart
B. C.K. Brain
C. Charles Darwin
D. Charles Lyell
E. Thomas Jefferson
F. Eugene Dubois
G. Robert Broom
H. Louis and Mary Leakey
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ANSWERS
15. IX
16. V
17. VIII
18. I
19. II
20. B
21. A
22. D
23. B
24. B
25. F
26. C
27. F
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