Chap. 1 Reading Quiz: The Early Complex Societies
Name:
Part A -- ESSAY: WRITE A 3 TO 5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY THAT COMPLETELY ANSWERS THE QUESTION UTILIZING A COMPREHENSIVE
(INCLUDE WRITING POINTS) THESIS TO FOCUS YOUR WRITING. (15 POINTS POSSIBLE)
Richard Leakey wrote, “Humans are unique because they have the capacity to choose what they
do.”What is the significance of this statement? When did humans develop the ability to choose? Is there
a negative side to this capability?
Part B -- MULTIPLE CHOICE & SHORT ANSWER: Circle or give the one BEST answer. (20 POINTS POSSIBLE)
1. The earth came into existence around:
a. five hundred million years ago.
c. four to five billion years ago.
b. one billion years ago.
d. ten billion years ago.
2. The term prehistory refers to the period before:
a. writing.
b. the first hominid.
c. the appearance of Homo sapiens.
d. 1000 B.C.E.
3. From the period four million to one million years ago, which of the following flourished in east Africa?
a. Homo sapiens sapiens
b. Homo erectus
c. Neandertal peoples
d. Australopithecus
4. Which of the following statements about Australopithecus is NOT true?
a. They produced cleavers and hand axes.
b. They traveled deliberately over distances as far as fifteen kilometers.
c. They walked on two legs, thus freeing their arms to work independently.
d. They produced choppers and scrapers and other basic hand tools.
5. The most important development of Homo erectus was:
a. fire.
b. stone tools.
c. walking upright on two legs.
d. their communication skills.
6. Which of the following statements is NOT true of Homo erectus?
a. They knew how to control fire.
b. They developed language skills that enabled them to communicate complex ideas.
c. They had brains roughly the same size as those of modern humans.
d. They produced cleavers and hand axes.
7. Homo sapiens used superior knowledge, sophisticated tools, and language to:
a. build cities.
b. exploit the natural world more efficiently than any other species.
c. establish complex social and political institutions.
d. make tools and fire.
8. Which of the following statements is true of the inhabitants of the paleolithic age?
a. They had mastered writing.
b. They domesticated animals.
c. They were hunters and gatherers.
d. They had discovered agriculture.
9. Most scholars believe that, during the paleolithic age, social organization was characterized by:
a. a relative social equality.
b. a ruling priestly class.
c. a dominant class based on the private ownership of land.
d. a ruling merchant class.
Chap. 1 Reading Quiz: The Early Complex Societies
Name:
10. Many scholars believe that during the paleolithic age the relationship between the sexes was marked by:
a. a female-dominated society based on the importance of gathering edible plants.
b. general social equality.
c. a male-dominated society based on the preeminence of hunting.
d. a male-dominated society based on sheer physical strength.
11. With the development of languages, human beings were able to:
a. produce long cutting edges.
b. accumulate knowledge and transmit it to new generations.
c. begin to fashion sharp tools from animal bones.
d. devise means for catching fish from deep waters.
12. One of the interpretations of the early human cave paintings is that they represent:
a. positive proof of the limited intellectual world of the early human.
b. early worship of the forces of evil.
c. a variety of sympathetic magic.
d. the first conscious development of art for its own sake.
13. What do archeologists now believe is the most fundamental difference between the neolithic and paleolithic
eras?
a. artistry developed in the neolithic era.
b. use of tools and the use of fire
c. reliance on foraging for subsistence
d. reliance on cultivation for subsistence
14. One of the earliest known agricultural techniques was:
a. crop rotation.
b. hunting and gathering.
c. slash and burn.
d. crop substitution.
15. Çatal Hüyük is significant because:
a. it marks the beginning of human civilization.
b. it marks the first human use of tools.
c. it was the site of the first human agriculture.
d. it is one of the best known neolithic settlements.
16. The earliest of the three neolithic craft industries was:
a. textile production.
b. pottery.
c. carpet weaving.
d. metallurgy.
17. The earliest metal worked systematically by humans was:
a. copper.
b. tin.
c. bronze.
d. iron.
18. The ultimate source of wealth in any agricultural society is:
a. gold.
b. copper.
c. land.
d. the accumulation of weapons.
19. Because of the changing nature of agriculture, neolithic worshippers sometimes associated fertility with
animals like:
a. bulls.
b. birds.
c. bears.
d. frogs or butterflies.
20. Cities differed from neolithic villages in two principal ways. First, cities were larger and more complex than
neolithic villages. The second difference was that:
a. cities served the needs of their inhabitants and immediate neighbors.
b. cities decisively influenced the economic, political, and cultural life of large regions.
c. cities were less advanced militarily.
d. cities had populations in the thousands.
Chap. 1 Reading Quiz: The Early Complex Societies
Name:
PART C: Place the letter of each person, idea, or event in its correct point in time.
Some will have more than one (1) letter per box. (15 points)
A
B
C
Malleable clay was fire-hardened
into vessels capable of containing
storing food
Larger brain, use of fire, and more
sophisticated tools made this
species very successful
By this approximate time, wheat
production was spreading from
Southwest Asia
D
Walked upright on two legs; welldeveloped hands; Lucy
E
Development of smelting and
casting copper
H
Deceased laid to rest with flowers
and objects in ritual fashion at
Shanidar
Venus figures indicate concern for
fertility; cave paintings depict
sensitivity and power
Australopithecus displaced by new
species of Homo Erectus
I
Selective breeding of plants allows
development of textile production
J
Homo Erectus spreads throughout
Africa, Asia and Europe
F
G
K
L
M
N
O
Natufians collected wild wheat and
took animals from abundant
antelope herds
Homo Sapiens migrate to North and
South America
Cities emerge as centers of
population and intense
specializations
Jamon settlers harvest wild
buckhorn and develop fishing
economy
Jericho, one of the earliest
neolithic villages came into being at
the site of a freshwater oasis
3 million
BCE
2 million
BCE
1 million
BCE
500,000
BCE
20,000
BCE
9000
BCE
6000
BCE
4000 to 3500
BCE