WTWA Chapter One
Match each cause on the left with its effect on the right.
-Communities built permanent housing close to their fields. Correct label: Farming communities needed to be able to consistently monitor and tend their fields. -New conceptions of "women's work" and "men's work" led to gender inequality. Correct label: Women took on physically difficult, repetitive agricultural tasks. -Agriculturalists developed the specialized skill of making pottery. Correct label: Agriculturalists needed to store their grain and other preservable produce. -People developed specialized skills, and social stratification began to appear. Correct label: Farming led to population increases and the need for specialized tools and labor.
The factual evidence supporting the modern scientific creation narrative relies on several different types of analysis. Match each type of analysis with the kind of evidence it provides about the history of the earth and human evolution.
-DNA Analysis can be used to determine genetic relatedness and human migration over time. -Radiocarbon-Dating can be used to date fossils of once-living material up to 40,000 years old. -Potassium-Argon Dating can be used to determine the age of nonliving objects, like rocks. -Uranium-Thorium Dating can be used to date objects like shells, teeth and bones up to 500,000 years old.
Place the following items in order.
1) Hominid brains began to significantly increase in size. 2) Hominids, such as Homo Habilis, began making tools. 3) Hominids (Homo Erectus) migrated to Asia. 4) Hominids used fire to cook their food. 5) Hominids developed complex spoken language.
Which of the following hominids developed first? a. Homo Erectus b. Homo Habilis c. Australopithecus Afarensis d. Homo Neanderthalis
C, Australopithecus Afarensis. Australopithecus Afarensis was not in the genus homo.
True or False: Though the characters have different names in different cultures, all creation narratives explain that modern humans were created by a single, powerful God.
False. Creation narratives vary significantly. The modern scientific narrative involves no deities, whereas other narratives include impersonal powers (like the Great Oneness of the Huainanzi) or multiple gods (as in the Popul Vuh).
True or False: As human communities developed, they made the active choice between settled agriculture and pastoralism based primarily on their beliefs and values.
False. The foodways of early human communities were largely determined by geography. Available wild plant and animal resources and climate significantly narrowed the options available to any community.
Based on the maps and the chapter text, how were early agriculture and the domestication of animals related to geography? (Maps on pages 30 and 32)
Some geographic regions developed a greater variety of domesticated plants and animals than others because they contained more wild resources than others.
Which of these characteristics differentiated modern humans from all other hominids?
True Statements: - The capacity for complex language. - The production of elaborate artwork in caves and fashioning of musical instruments. False Statements: - Making and using tools. (Homo neanderthalis also made and used tools, so this trait did not make modern humans distinct from all other hominids.) - Making and using fire. (Homo erectus also made and used fire, so this trait did not make modern humans distinct from all other hominids.) - Bipedalism. (Many hominids were bipedal, so this trait did not make modern humans distinct from all other hominids.)
True or False: Areas of dense hunter-gatherer settlements were located near bodies of water, strongly suggesting that bodies of water were important resources for these groups.
True. Areas of dense hunter-gatherer settlement tended to be coastal or along rivers. Note that agricultural settlements followed a similar pattern. (See map on page 39 of WTWA).
True or False: Settled agriculturalists used their labor and tools to grow food on a fixed plot of land for multiple growing seasons.
True. This new fixed living situation gave rise to a host of important cultural changes, including accumulation of wealth and social stratification.
Match each region with the agricultural innovations that characterize it.
- People domesticated rice and millet in extensive fertile river valleys of East Asia. - People of Saharan Africa domesticated sorghum, but environmental change forced them to migrate to new regions, brining their agricultural ideas with them. -People in Mesoamerica developed maize, and used it in combination with beans and squash to provide both a balanced diet and sustainably productive soils. -People in Southwest Asia were the earliest domesticators of plants, and they also domesticated goats sheep, pigs, cattle, and camels.
The narrative of human evolution changes as researchers make new discoveries. Match each discovery to its corresponding effect on the evolution narrative.
- The remains of Homo Sapiens studied in Morocco in 2004 show that Homo Sapiens originated and migrated earlier than once believed. - The remains of Homo Naledi found in South African show that different kinds of hominids lived at the same time, fairly close to one another. - The remains of Orrin Tugenensis found in Kenya in 2000 and remains of Sahelanthropus Tchadensis found in Chad in 2001 show that bipedalism developed earlier and in more species than previously believed.
The following items all address developments from 300,000 to 12,000 years ago. Place them in order from oldest to most recent.
1) 300,000 YA, Homo Sapiens emerged in Africa. 2) 180,000 YA, Homo Sapiens migrated out of Africa and developed complex spoken languages. 3) 40,000 YA, Homo Neanderthalis died out. 4) 25,000 YA, Almost all bipedal cousins of Homo Sapiens were extinct. 5) 16,000 YA, Homo Sapiens migrated to North America. 6) 12,000 YA, Homo Sapiens developed agriculture.
The following events are identified using common conventions for expressing dates. Place the events in order from oldest to most recent.
1) 4.5 BYA- the sun, earth, and solar system are formed. 2) 1.5 MYA- Homo Erectus migrate out of Africa. 3) 300 KA- Homo Sapiens first develop. 4) 16,000 BP- Homo Sapiens migrate into the Americas. 5) 6500 BCE- Agriculture develops in the Yangzi River Valley.
Place the following events in chronological order from the oldest to most recent.
1) 40 MYA, The fourth great ice age began. 2) 1.7 MYA, Hominids began walking upright. 3) 400,000 YA, Peking Man (a Homo Erectus) lived in China. 4) 100,000 YA, All 10,000 Homo Sapiens adults still lived in Africa. 5) 12,000 YA, The fourth great ice age ended.
Place each agricultural development in chronological order, from oldest to most recent.
1) 9000 BCE, People in Southwest Asia start to actively cultivate barley and wheat. 2) 8000 BCE, The inhabitants of Mesoamerica begin the plant experimentation that would eventually produce large ears of maize (corn). 3) 6500 BCE, People in the Yangzi River valley begin cultivating rice. 4) 5500 BCE, The inhabitants of central Europe adopt methods of agricultural production. 5) 2000 BCE, The expansion of the Sahara Desert drives nearby inhabitants to the south and east, dispersing agricultural knowledge in Africa.
When the cave paintings at Bhimbetka, India, were created 30,000 years ago, what was the approximate global population of Homo sapiens? a. 300,000 individuals b. 3 Billion individuals c. 3 Million individuals d. 300 Million individuals
A, 300,000 individuals. 300,000 individuals is less than 1 percent of the current U.S. population.
Why was bipedalism an important trait in early hominids?
Bipedalism enabled early hominids to carry food and looks over long distances, giving them the ability to migrate when they needed to find a more hospitable environment. (This trait is a precursor to many other important traits, such as tool use.)
Which of the following statements might describe the life of a pre-agricultural Homo sapiens woman?
Correct Answers: - She was probably part of a community of women who communally shared child-rearing responsibilities—known as allomothering. -She would have spent about three hours each day foraging for berries, nuts, fruits, and grains, which probably made up the majority of her community's food resources. -She might have worn stitched garments. -She might have crossed the Beringia land bridge from Asia into North America as her community followed big game animals, like mammoths. Incorrect Answers: - She was probably barred from important activities like religious ceremonies, hunting, fishing, and community decision-making. (Modern scholars believe that hunter-gatherer societies were probably more egalitarian than the agricultural societies that arose 12,000 years ago.)
Which of these passages focus on this question: Have human societies always been socially stratified?
Correct Answers: - The Rig-Veda recounts, "[Purusha's] mouth became the brahman; his two arms were made into the rajanya; his two thighs the vaishyas; from his two feet the shudra was born." - The modern scientific narrative finds evidence of social hierarchies in very early human villages, indicating that social stratification is at least as old as our early settlements; but humans lived in relatively egalitarian hunting and gathering bands for hundreds of thousands of years before settling into villages. Incorrect Answers: -The Bible says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... ." -According the Huainanzi, 'This was the Great Oneness. All things issued from this Oneness, but all became different, being divided into various species of fish, birds, and beasts... ."
Consider the excerpts from creation narratives at the end of Chapter One from WTWA. Which excerpts include references to domesticated animals or plants?
Correct Answers: -"The Sacrifice of Purusha" from the Rig-Veda -Popul Vuh -Yoruba Creation Narrative Incorrect Answers: - "The Creation of the Universe" from the Huainanzi (This excerpt from the Huainanzi mentions the emergence of "fish, birds, and beasts" but does not highlight culturally important animals or plants or even mention domestication.)
Which of the following are modern (not extinct) hominids?
Correct Answers: -Chimpanzees -Homo Sapiens -Orangutans Incorrect Answers: -Dogs -Homo Neanderthalis -Sloths -Monkeys
Consider the excerpts from creation narratives at the end of this chapter. Which excerpts describe the creation of human beings as a deliberate act by a deity or deities?
Correct Answers: -Genesis 1:1-31 from the Bible -Popul Vuh -"The Sacrifice of Purusha" from the Rig-Veda Incorrect Answers: -"The Creation of the Universe" from the Huainanzi
True or False: This map (page 24 of WTWA) reflects the fact that Homo erectus and Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa at different times, branching off into different hominid species. For example, Indo-Hittite was the language group of Homo neanderthalis, while Miao-Yao was most likely the language spoken by Peking Man.
False. Homo sapiens began to develop language 100,000 years ago. There is no evidence that other hominids ever developed spoken languages. (Peking Man was a Homo Erectus). Different language families emerged as groups lived in isolation from one another and developed words to express their cultural ideas and knowledge.
True or False: Through natural selection, biological evolution results in progress to better, higher forms of life.
False. Natural selection does involve animals that are better suited to their environment reproducing more successfully, but scientists do not see evolution as progress toward "higher" forms of life. Gradual evolutionary changes are simply changes in response to an environment.
True or False: The Americas were completely populated by the descendants of a single group of people who walked across Beringia (from Siberia to Alaska) about 16,000 years ago.
False. The first migrations happened about 16,000 years ago, but there is also evidence for later migrations about 8,000 years ago.
The chapter text notes that more than 50,000 works of cave art have been discovered in different locations around the world. Which statement best explains scholars' conclusions about these artworks?
The art was probably not for decorative purposes; the drawings have to be viewed by artificial light, and there is no evidence that the caves were homes.
How could one use the images of a hand axe and a cave wall painting of lions to argue, as the text (WTWA) does, that Homo Sapiens developed culture?
The paintings of the lions suggests that the artist wanted to capture and convey specific ideas about the nature and behavior of lions. By contrast, the hand axe is primarily practical.
The following statements all focus on how researchers might answer different questions about Çatal Hüyük. Complete the statements below about building a narrative of the past based on evidence.
To determine when Çatal Hüyük was occupied, scientists could use thermoluminescence methods to measure the age of sediment from fire pits or bits of old ceramic vessels found within the structure. If the archaeologists also discovered a nearby burial ground that contained human remains, they might be able to determine the genetic relationships of the people who lived there by using DNA analysis. To learn about the climate at the time the houses were built and inhabited, scholars could use information about the temperature of the earth, which is based on analysis of marine isotope stages
The physical development of hominids influenced their emerging cultures. Which of the following causal statements are true?
True Statements: -As the size of hominid brains increased, natural selection favored babies that were born earlier, with smaller heads. This altered family dynamics so that hominids beginning with Homo erectus devoted years to childcare. -As the size of hominid brains increased, Homo sapiens developed the cognitive ability to connect sounds to ideas: complex speech. This ability was the foundation of both art and spiritual ideas. -As the size of hominid brains increased, Homo erectus were able to learn, remember, and teach their young how to use fire to cook food. False Statements: -As the size of hominid brains increased, Australopithecus afarensis began to live in small, cooperative communities. This increased population density caused Australopithecus afarensis to migrate out of Africa into Asia. (Australopithecus afarensis did live in social groups, but migration out of Africa did not happen until the emergence of Homo erectus more than 1 million years later.) -As the size of hominid brains increased, Homo habilis developed the ability to build housing structures and ceramic pots. The existence of these goods led to social stratification based on material wealth. (Homo habilis only created very simple tools.)
Even though different regions domesticated different plants and animals, the agricultural revolutions that occurred across the world had much in common. What were these commonalities?
True Statements: -Increased food supplies led to population growth and the development of more complex societies. -Agriculture and pastoralism existed side-by-side with hunting and gathering for thousands of years. -Climate changes facilitated the beginnings of agriculture in multiple places and later caused migration, spreading knowledge of agriculture and new crops. False Statements: - Just as agriculture developed independently in multiple regions, goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, and camels were each domesticated separately in multiple regions. (All of the animals listed here were domesticated in Southwest Asia.) -Farming began in different regions around the world at nearly the same time. (There were differences of thousands of years from one region to another.)
Imagine that your goal is to find out about social stratification in an early agricultural community through a pot. Which questions would work best to meet your goal?
Who owned the pot and its contents? Did everyone in the settlement have pots like this?(This set of questions could tell you about individual or communal ownership, power within family groups (if, for example, only the head of household owns it), and the relative power of people over one another.)
