History · General Awareness

Early Human and Prehistoric Cultures

1,788 Questions

Early human and prehistoric cultures focus on the lifestyle and evolution of humans before written records. This includes the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, focusing on inventions, agriculture, and migration patterns. These questions are a core part of ancient history in civil services exams.

Paleolithic eraNeolithic revolutionEarly human migrationInvention of agriculturePrehistoric social structuresMesolithic societies

Early Human and Prehistoric Cultures Questions

Multiple choice

Which of the following is the correct sequence of stages in evolution of modern man?

  1. Australopithecus, Cromagnon man, Homo erectus, Neanderthal man, Modern man

  2. Homo erectus, Australopithecus, Neanderthal man, Cromagnon man, Modern man

  3. Home erectus, Neanderthal man, Australopithecus, Cromagnon man, Modern man

  4. Australopithecus, Homo erectus, Neanderthal man, Cromagnon man, Modern man

  5. Australopithecus, Neanderthal man, Cro-magnon man, Homo-erectus and Modern man
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The correct sequence in human evolution is: Australopithecus, Homo erectus, Neanderthal man, Cro-magnon man, Modern man.

Multiple choice

Primitive man first learnt

  1. to make fire

  2. to tame animals

  3. to make a wheel

  4. to grow grain
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The discovery and control of fire was indeed one of the most fundamental early human achievements, predating agriculture, animal domestication, and wheeled transport. Fire provided warmth, protection from predators, a way to cook food (improving nutrition), and became central to human social life, making it the most basic and essential technological breakthrough in human evolution.

Multiple choice

The first thing that primitive man learnt was

  1. to make a wheel

  2. to domesticate animals

  3. to lead a settled life

  4. to light fire
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Fire-making was likely the first major technological skill learned by early humans, dating back at least 1 million years. Before the wheel, agriculture, or settled life, control of fire provided warmth, protection from predators, a way to cook food (improving nutrition), and a social focus. The discovery marked a crucial step in human evolution and cognitive development.

Multiple choice

The main occupation of the earliest Mesolithic people was I. Agriculture II Hunting and food gathering III Fishing IV Domestication of animals

  1. II and III

  2. I and II

  3. II and IV

  4. III and IV
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Mesolithic people were primarily hunter-gatherers who relied on hunting, fishing, and collecting wild food for survival. Agriculture (I) and animal domestication (IV) emerged later during the Neolithic Revolution, marking the transition to settled farming communities. Fishing (III) was an important subsistence activity, especially for Mesolithic communities near water bodies.

Multiple choice

The hostile Sentinelese tribe, the world's only Palaeolithic people surviving today, but cut off from the modern civilization are the inhabitants of

  1. Java and Sumatra

  2. New Zealand

  3. Bermuda Triangle

  4. Andaman and Nicobar
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Sentinelese tribe inhabits the North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. They are among the world's last uncontacted peoples, maintaining a Paleolithic lifestyle and actively rejecting outside contact.

Multiple choice

The sole representative of hominidae is ____________.

  1. heleinthus

  2. human

  3. herbaria

  4. anthropolis
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Humans are the only living species in the family Hominidae. All other great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans) are in different families. The other options appear to be made-up terms not used in biological classification.

Multiple choice

Directions: For this question, select the best of the answer choices given.

Archaeologists have found wheeled ceramic toys made by the Toltec, twelfth-century inhabitants of what is now Veracruz. Although there is no archaeological evidence that the Toltec used wheels for anything but toys, some anthropologists hypothesize that wheeled utility vehicles were used to carry materials needed for the monumental structures the Toltec produced. Which of the following, if true, would most help the anthropologists explain the lack of evidence noted above?

  1. The Toltec sometimes incorporated into their toys representations of utensils or other devices that served some practical purpose.

  2. Any wheeled utility vehicles used by the Toltec could have been made entirely of wood, and unlike ceramic, wood decays rapidly in the humid climate of Veracruz.

  3. Carvings in monument walls suggest that the Toltec's wheeled ceramic toys sometimes had ritual uses in addition to being used by both children and adults as decorations and playthings.

  4. Wheeled utility vehicles were used during the twelfth century in many areas of the world, but during this time wheeled toys were not very common in areas outside Veracruz.

  5. Some of the wheeled ceramic toys were found near the remains of monumental structures.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The anthropologists need to explain why no archaeological evidence of wheeled utility vehicles exists despite wheeled toys being found. Option B provides this explanation: wheeled utility vehicles could have been made entirely of wood, which decays rapidly in Veracruz's humid climate, unlike ceramic which survives. This perfectly explains the lack of archaeological evidence while allowing for the hypothesis to be true. Options A, C, and E discuss toys but don't explain the lack of utility vehicle evidence. Option D discusses wheel use elsewhere but doesn't address the local evidence gap.

Multiple choice

The first animal tamed by man of middle stone age was

  1. Dog

  2. Bullock

  3. Horse

  4. Camel
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Dogs were the first animals domesticated by humans during the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic period), dating back approximately 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence shows dogs were domesticated from wolves long before other animals. Bullocks (B), horses (C), and camels (D) were domesticated later during the Neolithic period for agriculture and transport.

Multiple choice

Directions: The following question presents a sentence, part of which or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.

For almost five thousand years after its beginning 2.5 million years ago, Homo habilis roamed the earth, lived in semi-permanent camps, gathered food and shared their economy.

  1. For almost five thousand years after its beginning 2.5 million years ago,

  2. Beginning 2.5 million years ago for a period of almost five thousand years,

  3. Beginning a period of almost five thousand years 2.5 million years ago,

  4. During five thousand years, a period beginning 2.5 million years ago,

  5. Over a period of five thousand years beginning 2.5 million years ago,
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The best answer is (5). Choice (5) is precise and idiomatically phrased. Choice (1) is illogical because it refers grammatically to Homo habilis. Choice (2) is less clear and direct.

Multiple choice

The Indus Valley Civilization corresponds to which age?

  1. Paleolithic

  2. Neolithic

  3. Mesolithic

  4. Chalcolithic
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Indus Valley Civilization (3300-1300 BCE) flourished during the Chalcolithic age, which is characterized by the use of stone tools along with copper. This period bridges the Neolithic (stone tools only) and Bronze Age (bronze implements). Paleolithic and Mesolithic are earlier Stone Age periods, while the Indus Valley had not yet entered the full Bronze Age stage.

Multiple choice

Who is the successor of 'Neanderthal Man' in the evolutionary hierarchy of man?

  1. Java Man

  2. Cro-magnon Man

  3. Peking Man

  4. Australopithecus
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Cro-Magnon Man (Homo sapiens) succeeded Neanderthals in the evolutionary timeline, appearing around 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals went extinct approximately 30,000 years ago, while Cro-Magnons represented early modern humans. Java Man and Peking Man are Homo erectus fossils, and Australopithecus is a much earlier hominid ancestor.

Multiple choice

In which age did man first cultivated crops and domesticated animals?

  1. Paleolithic age

  2. Bronze age

  3. Iron age

  4. Neolithic age
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Neolithic Age, also known as the New Stone Age (approximately 10,000-4,500 BCE), marked the fundamental transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and animal domestication. The Paleolithic Age was characterized by nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, while the Bronze and Iron Ages came after the agricultural revolution had already begun.

Multiple choice

The cranial capacity of Java ape man was about

  1. 440 C.C

  2. 900 C.C

  3. 1075 C.C

  4. 1400 C.C
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Java man (Homo erectus erectus) had a cranial capacity of approximately 900 cc, intermediate between earlier hominids and modern humans (1400 cc average). This measurement reflects evolutionary brain expansion in the human lineage.