PRIMATOLOGY
STUDY GUIDE FOR THE QUIZZES AND TESTS
(subject to change)
(Updated April 2019:)
TYPES OF QUESTIONS:

• I don't usually like multiple-choice questions. (One major reason: a student who guesses wrong is likely to leave the exam remembering the wrong answer they gave, which to me is very bad pedagogy.)
• I often give open-response (free-format) questions in which explanations are sought, and I always give many choices with these. Students often call these "essay" questions because the answers are usually in paragraph form, but feel free to use any other format (lists, charts, diagrams, etc.) appropriate to the question, or to mix several formats.
• I always allow unlimited time on my exams.

SPECIFIC THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
(They may show up on any of the exams.)

• Until we get to the Catarrhina, you don't need to worry about the names of particular genera or species.
• You should know the names of all subfamilies and larger groups (higher taxa) as shown here (see also Fleagle p. 5)
• For extinct and living Catarrhina, you should know the names of genera and larger taxa discussed in class, including all genera within the Hominoidea.
  They are all listed here (but you don't need to know all the living monkey genera).
  Species names are important only within the genera Australopithecus and Homo.
• You should also know:
  • Forms of locomotion as shown here
  • Primate characteristics as shown here
  • Differences among major groups as shown here
  • Hockett's design features as shown here (after we get to them; not for Exam 1)
  • A few of the more important place names (e.g. Gombe, Laetoli, Zhokoudian, Olduvai) (only after we get to them; not for Exam 1)
• Enough of the readings in Campbell to give 2-3 sentence answers to the thought questions that introduce each chapter (but not ch. 3, which is introductory background).
• Other terms:  Crepuscular,   Intermembral index,   Kay's threshhold,   Diastema,   Noyau,   and other special terms explained in class.
• Please notice that both textbooks have excellent and extensive glossaries following the last chapter.

FORMAT FOR THE EXAMS:

• Most questions will be free-response questions that you need to answer in your own words. MANY choices will be offered, with at least 3 times as many options as the number you need to choose (e.g., any question requiring 3 choices will give you 9 or more options from which to choose).
• Particularly on the first exam, one set of choices may be distinctions: paired items (such as types of primates, types of locomotion, differing adaptations, etc.) that you must distinguish by explaining the differences between them. Answers may be in the form of parallel lists.
• Some questions may ask terms to be defined or explained (again, from a long list of choices).
• Some questions will emphasize fossils, evolutionary relationships, and the material covered in Fleagle's book.
• Other questions will emphasize behavior and language in experimental settings.
• Still other questions will emphasize the social behavior, ecology, and natural history of primates in natural habitats, as covered in Campbell's book and in the films.
• Some questions will be taken from the thought questions that introduce each assigned chapter in Campbell (but not chapter 3). In this case, at least one choice from each chapter will be offered, so you can concentrate on the chapter that interests you the most.
• Definitions will not be a major focus on the first exam, but definitions or identifications (i.e., recognizing examples discussed in class) may appear on later exams. You may be asked to choose 2-4 terms to define, chosen from a longer list (at least 3 times as many options as you need to choose). These may come from the readings, the films, or from material presented in class.
• The majority of each exam will consist of free-response questions, which can be "essays" in paragraph form, but which can also include lists, diagrams, or any other format (or mixed formats) that may suit the question. Many choices will be offered; some of them will be taken from or based on:
  • the thought questions that introduce each assigned chapter in Campbell;
  • the readings in Fleagle;
  • the films;
  • material presented in class;
• The final exam will avoid material already tested on previous exams, but will include anything listed or assigned since then. Comparisons may be asked between primates discussed early in the course and those discussed more recently.
• More details about each exam may be announced as the examination date nears.
• For the first exam of 2019 (Feb. 14), there will be a total of FOUR questions:
  • The first question (20 points) will ask for distinctions; you will be asked to choose two pairs of items to distinguish, from among four choices; see the second bullet above.
  • The remaining three questions (25 points each) will be free-response (long answer) questions, chosen from a list of more than 15 choices, featuring questions of the various kinds described above.
  • Many of the free-response choices will be taken from Campbell's book (the thought questions that begin each chapter), with at least one question from each of chapters 4-16 in that book.   Therefore, please choose 2-3 chapters in Campbell to read more thoroughly than the rest, and be prepared to answer the thought questions that were asked at the start of the chapter. Good answers do not need to be very long-- you can often give a good, thorough answer in just a few well-chosen sentences.
  • Ten free points will be added to each score, so that the maximum possible score is 20 + 25+25+25 + 10 = 105.
• For the second exam and the final exam, there will be a total of THREE long-answer, free-response questions, chosen from a long list of possibilities.