Early Human and Prehistoric Cultures

What is the main intention of the author in the passage?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

One of the oddest things about Homo sapiens is that he is alone. Though storytellers have filled the world with imaginary hominids—from woodland pixies to mountain giants—no sign of the real thing has ever been seen. But that was not true in the past. As recently as 40,000 years ago there were three other species of human on Earth: Neanderthals in Europe, the “hobbits” of Flores, in Indonesia, and a recently discovered and still mysterious group of creatures called the Denisovans, who lived in Central Asia. And now there is evidence that similar diversity existed earlier in human history, a little under 2m years ago, in Africa.
This evidence, just published in Nature, has been provided by a team led by Meave Leakey of the Turkana Basin Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr Leakey is a member of an illustrious palaeontological clan. Her husband, Richard, discovered in 1967 that the area around Lake Turkana is a good place to look for human fossils and made many important finds there; Richard’s parents, Louis and Mary, had earlier been responsible for showing the same was true of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania; and in 1999 Dr Leakey herself found a new species of hominid, called Kenyanthropus platyops. At 3.5m years old Kenyanthropus predates Homo, the genus to which modern humans belong. Her latest discoveries, however, add to that genus, too.
The problem with studying humanity’s fossil record is that it is so sparse: a jawbone here; a braincase there. Often, it is difficult to know if different bones have come from the same species or not. Even multiple examples of the same type of bone can mislead. What looks like two species might actually be the male and the female of one.
Such confusion has bedevilled the interpretation of the human fossils found near Lake Turkana. Some palaeontologists see a single, variable species called Homo habilis. Others add a second, Homo rudolfensis. The new fossils found by Dr Leakey and her team (which includes a third Leakey generation in the form of her daughter, Louise) may, however, help clear up what is going on.
One of the new specimens, known as KMN-ER 62000, has a face like the type specimen of Homo rudolfensis (the fossil that defines the species, if species it turns out to be), though it seems to be from an adolescent, whereas the type specimen is an adult. Crucially, 62000 has a reasonably well-preserved upper jaw, which the type specimen lacks. A computer reconstruction suggests this upper jaw meshes well with the second of Dr Leakey’s discoveries, a lower jaw (KMN-ER 60000). She is not suggesting they are from the same individual, since they are of different ages, but they seem to come from the same species, namely Homo rudolfensis.

Which of the following could be the title of the passage?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

One of the oddest things about Homo sapiens is that he is alone. Though storytellers have filled the world with imaginary hominids—from woodland pixies to mountain giants—no sign of the real thing has ever been seen. But that was not true in the past. As recently as 40,000 years ago there were three other species of human on Earth: Neanderthals in Europe, the “hobbits” of Flores, in Indonesia, and a recently discovered and still mysterious group of creatures called the Denisovans, who lived in Central Asia. And now there is evidence that similar diversity existed earlier in human history, a little under 2m years ago, in Africa.
This evidence, just published in Nature, has been provided by a team led by Meave Leakey of the Turkana Basin Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr Leakey is a member of an illustrious palaeontological clan. Her husband, Richard, discovered in 1967 that the area around Lake Turkana is a good place to look for human fossils and made many important finds there; Richard’s parents, Louis and Mary, had earlier been responsible for showing the same was true of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania; and in 1999 Dr Leakey herself found a new species of hominid, called Kenyanthropus platyops. At 3.5m years old Kenyanthropus predates Homo, the genus to which modern humans belong. Her latest discoveries, however, add to that genus, too.
The problem with studying humanity’s fossil record is that it is so sparse: a jawbone here; a braincase there. Often, it is difficult to know if different bones have come from the same species or not. Even multiple examples of the same type of bone can mislead. What looks like two species might actually be the male and the female of one.
Such confusion has bedevilled the interpretation of the human fossils found near Lake Turkana. Some palaeontologists see a single, variable species called Homo habilis. Others add a second, Homo rudolfensis. The new fossils found by Dr Leakey and her team (which includes a third Leakey generation in the form of her daughter, Louise) may, however, help clear up what is going on.
One of the new specimens, known as KMN-ER 62000, has a face like the type specimen of Homo rudolfensis (the fossil that defines the species, if species it turns out to be), though it seems to be from an adolescent, whereas the type specimen is an adult. Crucially, 62000 has a reasonably well-preserved upper jaw, which the type specimen lacks. A computer reconstruction suggests this upper jaw meshes well with the second of Dr Leakey’s discoveries, a lower jaw (KMN-ER 60000). She is not suggesting they are from the same individual, since they are of different ages, but they seem to come from the same species, namely Homo rudolfensis.

Identify the given statements as True (T) or False (F). (1) Major sites of Indus valley civilisation are now in Pakistan. (2) John Marshall followed the stratigraphy of the mound. (3) A linga is worshipped as a symbol of Shiva. (4) Steatite was an example of hard-stone for cutting beads. (5) Every house in lower town at Mohenjodaro had a well in a room meant for the passers-by.

Which of the following statements are incorrect? (1) Indus Valley Civilisation was contemporaneous with Mesopotamia. (2) Steatite (used for making beads) was sourced from Bharuch. (3) Weights used in those times were made of iron and had hexagonal shape. (4) Chinese pilgrims visited ‘Harappa’. (5) The study of earth’s layers is called stratigraphy.