History · General Awareness

Early Human and Prehistoric Cultures

1,700 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 social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Which of these was not a characteristic of early humans in the Paleolithic Age?

  1. Ability to make and use simple tools

  2. Tendency to live in permanent settlements

  3. Reliance on hunting and gathering techniques

  4. Propensity for creating artistic cave drawings

  5. Mastery of fire for cooking and heating purposes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation
Tendency to live in permanent settlements was not a characteristic of early humans in the Paleolithic Age. During the Paleolithic period, humans grouped together in small societies such as bands and subsisted by gathering plants and fishing, hunting or scavenging wild animals. The Palaeolithic is characterised by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools.
Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Mesolithic tools are primarily ________.

  1. Hand axe and cleavers

  2. Cleavers, choppers and chopping tools

  3. Blades, cores, points and lunates

  4. Chopping tools and flakes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The main tool types of Mesolithic tools  are backed blades, obliquely truncated blades, points, crescents, triangles and trapezes. Some of the microliths were used as components of spearheads, arrowheads, knives, sickles, harpoons and daggers. They were fitted into grooves in bone, wood and reed shafts and joined together by natural adhesives like gum and resin

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Pottery-making as technique emerged first in the _______.

  1. Chalcolithic age

  2. Paleolithic age

  3. Mesolithic age

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

Pottery-making as technique emerged first in the Neolithic age.  It is the craft of making ceramic material into pots or potterywares using mud. It is one of the oldest human inventions, originating before the Neolithic period. Neolithic pottery have been found in places such as Jomon japan, the Russian Far East, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America.

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Which of the following valleys is known for having a continuous succession of Paleolithic painting of different periods?

  1. Buharbulang valley

  2. Bhimbetka

  3. Sohan valley

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

Bhimbetka valleys is know for having a continuous succession of Paleolithic painting of different periods. These are an archaeological site of the Paleolithic, exhibiting the earliest traces of human life on the Indian Subcontinent and thus the beginning of the Indian Stone Age.

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

The development of clay pottery was primarily important because _____________________.

  1. It allowed for artistic expression

  2. It led to increased trade with neighboring communities

  3. It created a division of labor between men and women

  4. Clay was used to build most homes in the Neolithic Period

  5. It enabled early farmers to cook and store large amounts of food
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

After humans transformed from hunters and gatherers to farmers, they cultivated their food crops. Therefore, the development of clay pottery was primarily important because it enabled early farmers to cook and store large amounts of food.

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Burial practices of Neolithic farming communities revealed that ____________________.

  1. People had strong emotional ties to their immediate families

  2. Women were considered superior to men

  3. People were often buried in mass graves

  4. Constant migration was still a reality for most people

  5. Most people were buried in caves
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

During the neolithic age the dead were mostly buried inside their houses or were buried along with items they treasured in life. As the society became more agrarian there was the kinship ties became strong as people were mostly tied with land and there was a general belief for life after death.

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

To survive in different climates, early Homo Sapiens adapted in all of the following ways EXCEPT _________________________.

  1. At times developed pigment changes

  2. Changed the size of their limbs

  3. Changed language patterns

  4. Developed more sophisticated tools

  5. Adopted a more balanced diet of plants and animals
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Early humans adapted through biological changes like skin pigmentation, cultural shifts like tool development, and dietary changes. Changing limb size is a long-term evolutionary process rather than a specific adaptation strategy used by early Homo Sapiens to survive in different climates.

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Not all early humans adopted agriculture. The Aborigines of Australia continued to hunt and gather even though they were exposed to farming.
They probably chose to continue this lifestyle because ______________________________.

  1. They were too primitive to utilize new farming methods

  2. The ecologically diverse regions of Australia provided all their needs

  3. The traditional plants such as wheat and barley would not grow in Australia's dry climate

  4. They did not have domesticated animals to help harvest crops

  5. They did not have large enough communities to sustain agriculture
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The Aborigines of Australia continued to hunt and gather even though they were exposed to farming because agricultural activities required a huge workforce and they did not have large enough communities to sustain it.

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Which of the following statements is accurate of the Olmecs?

  1. They possessed advanced engineering skills

  2. They were excellent swordsmen

  3. They were an insular society without much trade

  4. They were one of the first monotheistic societies

  5. They primarily built simple structures of mud and clay
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
  • The Olmecs were the earliest known major civilization in Mesoamerica following a progressive development in Soconusco. 
  • They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico.
  • The Olmecs were the first great engineers of Mesoamerica. There is an aqueduct at San Lorenzo, carved out of dozens of massive stones then laid side-by side.
  •  The royal compound at La Venta shows engineering as well.
Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

The horse-drawn chariot ________________________.

  1. Was essential to both settled and nomadic people after 2000 B.C.E

  2. Was primarily a piece of equipment used by the lower classes

  3. Facilitated more peaceful interaction between neighboring societies

  4. Didn't significantly alter the nomadic migration speed

  5. Was primarily a ceremonial object
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The earliest known horse drawn chariot is from Mesopotamia, dated back to 1900 BCE. It is Two wheeled and must have been drawn by 2 horses. the invention made transportation and traveling easier. 

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

In early Chinese villages, social stratification is shown through all of the following EXCEPT _________________.

  1. The building of fortification walls

  2. Elaborate burial sites

  3. The development of silk cloth

  4. The types of crops planted in an area

  5. A higher demand for luxury goods
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation
  • Social stratification refers to society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, gender, occupation, and social status, or derived power.
  • Therefore, activities like construction of elaborate burial sites, development of silk cloth, the types of crops planted in an area and a higher demand for luxury goods all show social stratification.
Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

Which of the following statements about the Minoan Cretan culture is inaccurate?

  1. Crete was a crossroad for many trade routes

  2. There were few fortifications in Crete

  3. Due to its geography, Crete was a major shipping port

  4. Crete fell to warring armies from Mesopotamia

  5. The Minoans developed a system of record keeping called Linear A
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation
Crete was invaded by the Mycenaeans around 1400 which along with the eruption of Thera contributed to the end of Minoan civilization.

OPTION D is the correct answer.
Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

The use of metal was significant in the development of early civilizations for all of the following reasons EXCEPT __________________.

  1. It facilitated long-distance trade routes

  2. It led to the creation of better weapons

  3. It produced more efficient tools and techniques for agriculture

  4. It created a spirit of cooperation between early groups

  5. It resulted in a specialized group of artisans
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Development of metallurgy was very significant for the field of agriculture and warfare. Better tools meant better crops and less efforts. Many guilds of skilled workers also developed as a result of this development.

Multiple choice social studies from stone to metal progress in history prehistoric age indus valley civilization

All of the following were characteristic of Mesoamerican civilizations during the postclassical period EXCEPT _____________________.

  1. Complex agricultural systems.

  2. Monotheistic practices.

  3. Large cities with sophisticated political and economic structures.

  4. Written language.

  5. Advances in mathematics and science.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Even though people farmed, but everywhere they needed to supplement their agriculture with hunting and gathering. Hence, there was no complex agricultural systems in Mesoamerican civilizations.