,OpenStax World History, Volume 1, to 1500 Student Answer Guide
OpenStax World History: Volume
1, to 1500 Student Answer Guide
Chapter 1: Understanding the Past.................................................................................................2
Chapter 2: Early Humans.................................................................................................................4
Chapter 3: Early Civilizations and Urban Societies..........................................................................6
Chapter 4: The Near East.................................................................................................................9
Chapter 5: Asia in Ancient Times...................................................................................................12
Chapter 6: Mediterranean Peoples...............................................................................................15
Chapter 7: Experiencing the Roman Empire..................................................................................18
Chapter 8: The Americas in Ancient Times....................................................................................21
Chapter 9: Africa in Ancient Times................................................................................................23
Chapter 10: Empires of Faith.........................................................................................................26
Chapter 11: The Rise of Islam and the Caliphates.........................................................................28
Chapter 12: India, the Indian Ocean Basin, and East Asia.............................................................30
Chapter 13: The Post-Roman West and the Crusading Movement..............................................33
Chapter 14: Pax Mongolica: The Steppe Empire of the Mongols..................................................36
Chapter 15: States and Societies in Sub-Saharan Africa................................................................39
Chapter 16: Climate Change and Plague in the Fourteenth Century............................................41
Chapter 17: The Ottomans, the Mamluks, and the Ming..............................................................44
Chapter 1: Understanding the Past
Review Questions
1. What is an example of a primary source?
a. a diary entry by a person who lived in the period under discussion
b. a modern biography of a person in the period under discussion
c. an account of a nineteenth-century battle in a twenty-first century textbook
d. an article in an academic journal
[Answer: A]
3. What interpretation of history assumes that history can be viewed primarily through the
lives and choices of leaders?
a. great man theory
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4/20/2026 2
,OpenStax World History, Volume 1, to 1500 Instructor Answer Guide
b. progressive interpretation
c. gender interpretation
d. Marxist interpretation
[Answer: A]
5. What is the most immediate motivator of a historical event?
a. the tertiary cause
b. the primary cause
c. the action of a great man
d. the social construct
[Answer: B]
Check Your Understanding Questions
1. What does it mean to be a global citizen?
[Answer: A global citizen sees themselves as a member of, and responsible to, a world
community rather than a single nation.]
3. What is a primary source, and what are some examples of primary sources?
[Answer: A primary source is evidence from the era under discussion. It might be a letter, a
diary, a photograph, a song, a painting or other work of art, or a speech.]
5. Define causation as it is used in the study of history.
[Answer: Causation is the “why” behind events, that is, the immediate contributing factors and
long-term reasons why an event occurred. Causation helps historians make sense of the past.]
3
, OpenStax World History, Volume 1, to 1500 Student Answer Guide
Chapter 2: Early Humans
Review Questions
1. Which human species is likely the earliest member of the genus Homo?
a. Homo sapiens
b. Homo erectus
c. Homo habilis
d. Homo neanderthalensis
[Answer: C]
3. Which statement best describes the multiregional evolution model?
a. Fully evolved modern humans left Africa about 100,000 years ago.
b. All modern humans evolved from a population of Homo erectus in Asia.
c. Modern humans evolved in many places in a piecemeal fashion.
d. Fully evolved modern humans descended directly from Australopithecus.
[Answer: C]
5. Which phrase best describes Acheulean tools?
a. hand-axes made by careful chipping of stones
b. stone blades attached to handles
c. stone spearheads attached to wooden shafts
d. stone cores with a sharp edge for cutting
[Answer: A]
7. Why were small groups of humans better suited to survival in the Paleolithic Age?
a. It was hard to feed larger groups of people.
b. Large groups were more likely to settle.
c. Small groups created more sophisticated tools.
d. Small groups tended to get along better than larger ones.
[Answer: A]
9. What was an advantage of adopting agriculture?
a. greater mobility
b. a more reliable food supply
c. greater food variety
d. more leisure time
[Answer: B]
11. What Neolithic settlements were the first to develop rice agriculture?
a. those in the Yangtze River valley
b. those in the Danube River valley
c. those in the Fertile Crescent
d. those in northeastern Mexico
[Answer: A]
13. What tasks were commonly done by men in agricultural communities?
a. preparing food
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
4/20/2026 4
OpenStax World History: Volume
1, to 1500 Student Answer Guide
Chapter 1: Understanding the Past.................................................................................................2
Chapter 2: Early Humans.................................................................................................................4
Chapter 3: Early Civilizations and Urban Societies..........................................................................6
Chapter 4: The Near East.................................................................................................................9
Chapter 5: Asia in Ancient Times...................................................................................................12
Chapter 6: Mediterranean Peoples...............................................................................................15
Chapter 7: Experiencing the Roman Empire..................................................................................18
Chapter 8: The Americas in Ancient Times....................................................................................21
Chapter 9: Africa in Ancient Times................................................................................................23
Chapter 10: Empires of Faith.........................................................................................................26
Chapter 11: The Rise of Islam and the Caliphates.........................................................................28
Chapter 12: India, the Indian Ocean Basin, and East Asia.............................................................30
Chapter 13: The Post-Roman West and the Crusading Movement..............................................33
Chapter 14: Pax Mongolica: The Steppe Empire of the Mongols..................................................36
Chapter 15: States and Societies in Sub-Saharan Africa................................................................39
Chapter 16: Climate Change and Plague in the Fourteenth Century............................................41
Chapter 17: The Ottomans, the Mamluks, and the Ming..............................................................44
Chapter 1: Understanding the Past
Review Questions
1. What is an example of a primary source?
a. a diary entry by a person who lived in the period under discussion
b. a modern biography of a person in the period under discussion
c. an account of a nineteenth-century battle in a twenty-first century textbook
d. an article in an academic journal
[Answer: A]
3. What interpretation of history assumes that history can be viewed primarily through the
lives and choices of leaders?
a. great man theory
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
4/20/2026 2
,OpenStax World History, Volume 1, to 1500 Instructor Answer Guide
b. progressive interpretation
c. gender interpretation
d. Marxist interpretation
[Answer: A]
5. What is the most immediate motivator of a historical event?
a. the tertiary cause
b. the primary cause
c. the action of a great man
d. the social construct
[Answer: B]
Check Your Understanding Questions
1. What does it mean to be a global citizen?
[Answer: A global citizen sees themselves as a member of, and responsible to, a world
community rather than a single nation.]
3. What is a primary source, and what are some examples of primary sources?
[Answer: A primary source is evidence from the era under discussion. It might be a letter, a
diary, a photograph, a song, a painting or other work of art, or a speech.]
5. Define causation as it is used in the study of history.
[Answer: Causation is the “why” behind events, that is, the immediate contributing factors and
long-term reasons why an event occurred. Causation helps historians make sense of the past.]
3
, OpenStax World History, Volume 1, to 1500 Student Answer Guide
Chapter 2: Early Humans
Review Questions
1. Which human species is likely the earliest member of the genus Homo?
a. Homo sapiens
b. Homo erectus
c. Homo habilis
d. Homo neanderthalensis
[Answer: C]
3. Which statement best describes the multiregional evolution model?
a. Fully evolved modern humans left Africa about 100,000 years ago.
b. All modern humans evolved from a population of Homo erectus in Asia.
c. Modern humans evolved in many places in a piecemeal fashion.
d. Fully evolved modern humans descended directly from Australopithecus.
[Answer: C]
5. Which phrase best describes Acheulean tools?
a. hand-axes made by careful chipping of stones
b. stone blades attached to handles
c. stone spearheads attached to wooden shafts
d. stone cores with a sharp edge for cutting
[Answer: A]
7. Why were small groups of humans better suited to survival in the Paleolithic Age?
a. It was hard to feed larger groups of people.
b. Large groups were more likely to settle.
c. Small groups created more sophisticated tools.
d. Small groups tended to get along better than larger ones.
[Answer: A]
9. What was an advantage of adopting agriculture?
a. greater mobility
b. a more reliable food supply
c. greater food variety
d. more leisure time
[Answer: B]
11. What Neolithic settlements were the first to develop rice agriculture?
a. those in the Yangtze River valley
b. those in the Danube River valley
c. those in the Fertile Crescent
d. those in northeastern Mexico
[Answer: A]
13. What tasks were commonly done by men in agricultural communities?
a. preparing food
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
4/20/2026 4
