CHAPTER 1—EARLY HUMANS AND THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS
ESSAY
1. Archeologists and historians have identified several important milestones in the course of human
evolution and societal development. Starting with the emergence of the first human-like creatures
and ending with the invention of writing, identify at least four intermediate milestones and state
their importance.
2. What was the relationship (in terms of contact, geographic and temporal overlap, etc.) between
Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens? Discuss.
3. Two theories have been advanced that explain the spread of the earliest modern humans across
the globe. Their names are: Multiregional and Out-of-Africa. Explain a) their differences and b)
which one is favored by researchers and why.
4. What major economic changes resulted from the Neolithic Revolution? What social and lifestyle
changes did it bring, and for which individuals and which groups in these societies?
5. Define the term civilization, and explain why we do not apply this label to hunter-gatherer
societies.
6. Compare and contrast Neolithic society with the early civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
What changed, and why?
7. Give a definition of civilization, and apply that definition to Sumerian society.
8. How did the development of writing change the societies of ancient Mesopotamia and,
specifically, the lives of their peoples? Could those societies be described as "literate"? Why or
why not? Which groups might have been most affected?
9. "The ancient Egyptians originated nothing of their own; they simply borrowed "civilization" from
the Sumerians." Discus, pro and con.
10. Why does the text say that the social structure and ideas of ancient Egypt were a reflection of the
influence of the Nile? Was this people-river relationship different from that which evolved in the
societies of the Tigris-Euphrates region? Why or why not?
11. What new attitudes and practices developed during the New Kingdom in Egypt? How and why
did they differ from those of the Old and Middle Kingdoms?
12. Explain what facilitated the spread of agricultural techniques from early Mesopotamia to Egypt
and the Indus Valley.
13. "The ancient Hebrews were the most important peoples of the ancient Middle East." Discuss, pro
and con.
14. What were the most significant aspects of the civil and military systems of the Persian Empire?
Were personal or were institutional elements more important in determining its efficiency and
success? What evidence causes you to think as you do?
15. Compare and contrast the ideas of Zoroaster, the Hebrews, and Akhenaten. Were they more alike
than different? How, and why?
SHORT ANSWER
Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
16. hominids
17. Australopithecines
18. homo erectus
19. Homo sapiens
20. Neanderthal
,21. Paleolithic
22. cave paintings
23. Out-of- Africa Theory
24. Multi Regional Theory
25. Neolithic
26. Neolithic Revolution
27. Catal Huyuk
28. Mesopotamia
29. Tigris and Euphrates
30. Sumerians
31. Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash
32. Sargon of Akkad
33. Semitic
34. Hammurabi
35. cuneiform
36. the Nile
37. Black Land and Red Land
38. Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
39. Son of Re
40. Osiris
41. Menes
42. Great Pyramid of Giza
43. ka
44. Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom
45. Hyksos
46. Hatshepsut
47. Akhenaten
48. Rameses II
49. "Sea Peoples"
50. hieroglyphs
51. megaliths
52. Indo-Europeans
53. Hittites and iron
54. Phoenician alphabet
55. Hebrews and Israelites
56. Solomon
57. kingdoms of Judah and Israel
58. Babylonian captivity
59. Yahweh
60. the prophets
61. Assyrian Empire
62. Persia and Cyrus the Great
63. Cambyses and Darius
64. satraps, the Royal Road and the Immortals
65. Zoroaster
66. Zend Avesta
, 67. Ahuramazda and Ahriman
68. Indo-European languages
69. Indo-European Migrations
70. Phoenicians
MULTIPLE CHOICE
71. The earliest hominids
a. lived in Asia.
b. lived in Africa.
c. used iron tools.
d. are known as Homo sapiens.
e. evolved 1,000,000 years ago.
ANS: B REF: p. 3
72. During the Old Stone Age,
a. only Egypt had an advanced agricultural economy.
b. both men and women hunted wild animals.
c. hunting and gathering was the way most people supported themselves.
d. humans lived only in the southernmost parts of Africa.
e. communication was maintained through the use of cuneiform.
ANS: C REF: p. 3
73. Homo sapiens means
a. user of tools.
b. lived in Africa.
c. wise human being.
d. tamer of animals.
ANS: C REF: p. 3
74. Homo sapiens first evolved in
a. Asia.
b. Africa.
c. Europe.
d. America.
ANS: B REF: p. 3
75. Neanderthal remains have been found on which continent(s)?
a. Asia
b. Africa
c. Europe
d. a and b
e. a and c
ANS: E REF: p. 3
76. Which is not true about Neanderthals?
, a. They buried their dead.
b. They first evolved in Africa.
c. They used tools.
d. They were hunters and gatherers.
ANS: B REF: p. 3
77. The migration patterns of the first modern humans show that people moved beyond their
familiar hunting grounds at a rate of about ____ miles per generation.
a. 2-3
b. 10-20
c. 50-100
d. more than 200
ANS: A REF: p. 3
78. The use of fire may have begun about
a. 2,000,000 years ago.
b. 500,000 years ago.
c. 100,000 years ago.
d. 25,000 years ago.
e. 10,000 years ago.
ANS: B REF: p. 4
79. Paleolithic peoples
a. engaged in artistic activities, as indicated by surviving cave paintings.
b. lacked the use of fire, which significantly retarded their pace of development.
c. perfected techniques that allowed them to hunt very large dinosaurs with total success.
d. lived in brick structures.
e. used bronze for tools and weapons, but not copper.
ANS: A REF: p. 4
80. What was the central aspect of the Neolithic Revolution?
a. The first development of hunter-gatherer cultures.
b. The successful invasion of northwestern Africa by Turkish nomads from central Asia.
c. The emergence of systematic food production through the domestication of plants and
animals.
d. The use of fire and the cooking of food.
e. The development of writing.
ANS: C REF: p. 6
81. Early farming in river flood plains meant a more reliable harvest because of all of the following
except
a. crops were less dependent on rainfall.
b. river sediments deposited nutrients.
c. natural fertilization made a sedentary lifestyle possible.
d. governments were not centralized yet.
ANS: B REF: p. 5
82. Where have scholars found a larger, highly significant Neolithic urban center?
a. Nairobi.
b. Mumbai.
c. Hokkaido.
d. Machu Picchu.
ESSAY
1. Archeologists and historians have identified several important milestones in the course of human
evolution and societal development. Starting with the emergence of the first human-like creatures
and ending with the invention of writing, identify at least four intermediate milestones and state
their importance.
2. What was the relationship (in terms of contact, geographic and temporal overlap, etc.) between
Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens? Discuss.
3. Two theories have been advanced that explain the spread of the earliest modern humans across
the globe. Their names are: Multiregional and Out-of-Africa. Explain a) their differences and b)
which one is favored by researchers and why.
4. What major economic changes resulted from the Neolithic Revolution? What social and lifestyle
changes did it bring, and for which individuals and which groups in these societies?
5. Define the term civilization, and explain why we do not apply this label to hunter-gatherer
societies.
6. Compare and contrast Neolithic society with the early civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
What changed, and why?
7. Give a definition of civilization, and apply that definition to Sumerian society.
8. How did the development of writing change the societies of ancient Mesopotamia and,
specifically, the lives of their peoples? Could those societies be described as "literate"? Why or
why not? Which groups might have been most affected?
9. "The ancient Egyptians originated nothing of their own; they simply borrowed "civilization" from
the Sumerians." Discus, pro and con.
10. Why does the text say that the social structure and ideas of ancient Egypt were a reflection of the
influence of the Nile? Was this people-river relationship different from that which evolved in the
societies of the Tigris-Euphrates region? Why or why not?
11. What new attitudes and practices developed during the New Kingdom in Egypt? How and why
did they differ from those of the Old and Middle Kingdoms?
12. Explain what facilitated the spread of agricultural techniques from early Mesopotamia to Egypt
and the Indus Valley.
13. "The ancient Hebrews were the most important peoples of the ancient Middle East." Discuss, pro
and con.
14. What were the most significant aspects of the civil and military systems of the Persian Empire?
Were personal or were institutional elements more important in determining its efficiency and
success? What evidence causes you to think as you do?
15. Compare and contrast the ideas of Zoroaster, the Hebrews, and Akhenaten. Were they more alike
than different? How, and why?
SHORT ANSWER
Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
16. hominids
17. Australopithecines
18. homo erectus
19. Homo sapiens
20. Neanderthal
,21. Paleolithic
22. cave paintings
23. Out-of- Africa Theory
24. Multi Regional Theory
25. Neolithic
26. Neolithic Revolution
27. Catal Huyuk
28. Mesopotamia
29. Tigris and Euphrates
30. Sumerians
31. Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash
32. Sargon of Akkad
33. Semitic
34. Hammurabi
35. cuneiform
36. the Nile
37. Black Land and Red Land
38. Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
39. Son of Re
40. Osiris
41. Menes
42. Great Pyramid of Giza
43. ka
44. Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom
45. Hyksos
46. Hatshepsut
47. Akhenaten
48. Rameses II
49. "Sea Peoples"
50. hieroglyphs
51. megaliths
52. Indo-Europeans
53. Hittites and iron
54. Phoenician alphabet
55. Hebrews and Israelites
56. Solomon
57. kingdoms of Judah and Israel
58. Babylonian captivity
59. Yahweh
60. the prophets
61. Assyrian Empire
62. Persia and Cyrus the Great
63. Cambyses and Darius
64. satraps, the Royal Road and the Immortals
65. Zoroaster
66. Zend Avesta
, 67. Ahuramazda and Ahriman
68. Indo-European languages
69. Indo-European Migrations
70. Phoenicians
MULTIPLE CHOICE
71. The earliest hominids
a. lived in Asia.
b. lived in Africa.
c. used iron tools.
d. are known as Homo sapiens.
e. evolved 1,000,000 years ago.
ANS: B REF: p. 3
72. During the Old Stone Age,
a. only Egypt had an advanced agricultural economy.
b. both men and women hunted wild animals.
c. hunting and gathering was the way most people supported themselves.
d. humans lived only in the southernmost parts of Africa.
e. communication was maintained through the use of cuneiform.
ANS: C REF: p. 3
73. Homo sapiens means
a. user of tools.
b. lived in Africa.
c. wise human being.
d. tamer of animals.
ANS: C REF: p. 3
74. Homo sapiens first evolved in
a. Asia.
b. Africa.
c. Europe.
d. America.
ANS: B REF: p. 3
75. Neanderthal remains have been found on which continent(s)?
a. Asia
b. Africa
c. Europe
d. a and b
e. a and c
ANS: E REF: p. 3
76. Which is not true about Neanderthals?
, a. They buried their dead.
b. They first evolved in Africa.
c. They used tools.
d. They were hunters and gatherers.
ANS: B REF: p. 3
77. The migration patterns of the first modern humans show that people moved beyond their
familiar hunting grounds at a rate of about ____ miles per generation.
a. 2-3
b. 10-20
c. 50-100
d. more than 200
ANS: A REF: p. 3
78. The use of fire may have begun about
a. 2,000,000 years ago.
b. 500,000 years ago.
c. 100,000 years ago.
d. 25,000 years ago.
e. 10,000 years ago.
ANS: B REF: p. 4
79. Paleolithic peoples
a. engaged in artistic activities, as indicated by surviving cave paintings.
b. lacked the use of fire, which significantly retarded their pace of development.
c. perfected techniques that allowed them to hunt very large dinosaurs with total success.
d. lived in brick structures.
e. used bronze for tools and weapons, but not copper.
ANS: A REF: p. 4
80. What was the central aspect of the Neolithic Revolution?
a. The first development of hunter-gatherer cultures.
b. The successful invasion of northwestern Africa by Turkish nomads from central Asia.
c. The emergence of systematic food production through the domestication of plants and
animals.
d. The use of fire and the cooking of food.
e. The development of writing.
ANS: C REF: p. 6
81. Early farming in river flood plains meant a more reliable harvest because of all of the following
except
a. crops were less dependent on rainfall.
b. river sediments deposited nutrients.
c. natural fertilization made a sedentary lifestyle possible.
d. governments were not centralized yet.
ANS: B REF: p. 5
82. Where have scholars found a larger, highly significant Neolithic urban center?
a. Nairobi.
b. Mumbai.
c. Hokkaido.
d. Machu Picchu.
