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

Homo erectus is the zoological name of which of the following?

  1. Java ape man

  2. Peking man

  3. Neanderthal man

  4. Both (1) and (2)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Homo erectus fossils were discovered at both Java (Java Man/Trinil) and Zhoukoudian near Beijing (Peking Man). Eugène Dubois discovered Java Man in 1891, and Davidson Black discovered Peking Man in the 1920s. Neanderthal man is a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis).

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct in relation to the Mesolithic Age?

  1. Man began to grow crops.
  2. Man also learnt to draw and paint.
  3. This Age lasted from 4000 B.C - 2500 B.C.

  1. 1, 2 and 3

  2. Only 1 and 3

  3. Only 1 and 2

  4. Only 1
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

During the Mesolithic Age, farming techniques were developed and man began to grow crops. Man also learnt to draw and paint and the evidence is found in the form of cave paintings found in India. The Mesolithic Age lasted from 8000 B.C. - 4000 B.C.; the Neolithic Age lasted from 4000 B.C. - 2500 B.C.

Multiple choice

Which of the following was/were the features of the Neolithic Age?

  1. Domestication of animals
  2. Invention of wheel
  3. Use of tools made of iron, copper and bronze

  1. Only 1 and 2

  2. Only 1 and 3

  3. Only 2

  4. All of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Neolithic Age lasted from 4000 B.C. - 2500 B.C. This age also saw domestication of cows, horses and other poultry and farm animals. The wheel, which was a very important invention, was invented during this age. Shortly after this age around 1800 B.C., tools were made of copper and bronze and were used for many practical purposes. People of Stone Age did not use tools made up of iron.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are incorrect?

  1. The Bronze Age in India is roughly estimated to have begun around 3300 B.C. and it aided in the development of the metallurgy industry.
  2. People living in Indus Valley produced tools using bronze, copper, iron and tin, thus developing new techniques of metallurgy.

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both of these

  4. Neither of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: The Bronze Age is the era when metals were used and improvised for making tools and other weapons. This age came immediately after the Neolithic Age and aided in the development of the metallurgy industry. The Bronze Age in India is roughly estimated to have begun around 3300 B.C. It almost coincided with the beginning of the Indus Valley Civilization. Statement 2 is incorrect: People living in Indus Valley produced bronze, copper and tin, thus developing new techniques of metallurgy. People of Indus Valley Civilization did not use tools made up of iron.

Multiple choice

Read the following facts.

  1. Evidence of burying a dog below the human burial was found here.
  2. An example of rectangular mudbrick chamber was noticed at this site.
  3. It represented five fold cultures - Harappan, PGW, NBP, Kushana - Gupta and Medieval.

To which of the following sites do these pieces of information refer?

  1. Ropar

  2. Balakot

  3. Alamgirpur

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

Ropar is an archaeological site that shows continuous habitation through five cultural phases: Harappan, PGW (Painted Grey Ware), NBP (Northern Black Polished Ware), Kushana-Gupta, and Medieval periods. Excavations at Ropar revealed rectangular mudbrick chambers and unique burial practices including dog burials below human graves, making it the correct answer.

Multiple choice

Extinction of Homo neanderthalensis took place 29,000 years ago. Which of the following statements is correct about them?

  1. Their DNA differed about 90% from modern man.
  2. Skull or neanderthal was discovered from Sri Lanka.
  3. Average cranial capacity of Neanderthals is greater than modern human beings.

  1. Only 1

  2. 1 and 2

  3. Only 3

  4. Only 1 and 3

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

With an average cranial capacity of 1600 cc, Neanderthal's cranial capacity is known to be notably larger than the 1400 cc average for all races of modern humans.

Multiple choice

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.

  1. Show how Dr Leakey's finding could have a big impact on the understanding of human fossils.

  2. Show how Dr Leakey's finding will throw some light on a contentious issue.

  3. Show that Dr Leakey's finding has found a loop hole in the traditional way of thinking.

  4. hat Dr Leakey's finding will give proof about something new.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The last line of the first paragraph says “and now there is evidence that a similar diversity existed earlier in human history.....”. The rest of the passage shows how Dr Leakey made her finding. So the purpose of the author is to show that Dr Leakey made a finding which give evidence about something new (...a similar diversity existed earlier in human history). This answer choice is correct. The purpose of the passage is to tell that Dr Leakey's finding proves something new (there was diversity even earlier in Africa).

Multiple choice

Which of these describes the attitude of the author towards Dr Leakey's finding?

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.

  1. Restrained appreciation

  2. Over enthusiastic optimism

  3. Moderate reverence

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

The author examines Dr Leakey's work in an analytical way and is precise when he talks about her work. He does not use extreme language. He examines her finding and talks about her work in a balanced way. This answer choice is correct. Both the words used in this answer choice are not extreme and correctly reflect the balanced attitude of the author towards Dr Leakey's work. The second paragraph amply illustrates the respect for Dr.Leakey and her work.

Multiple choice

What is the function of the first paragraph 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.

  1. To put forth in short the subordinate ideas which lead up to the main idea of the passage.

  2. To give a brief introduction about what follows in the passage.

  3. To make a point that is extended in the rest of the passage.

  4. To introduce a complex concept in simple terms.

  5. To give an introduction that makes the ideas of the rest of the passage more clear.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The first paragraph talks about the new finding (a similar diversity existed earlier in Africa) and goes on to give details about the finding in the rest of the paragraph. He talks about how Dr Leakey reached her conclusion about the finding. So the first paragraph briefly introduces the ideas in the rest of the passage. This answer choice is correct. The author gives a brief introduction (states what the finding is) about the rest of the passage (about how Dr Leakey came to the conclusion).

Multiple choice

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.

  1. Dr Leakey's findings and their relevance

  2. Analyzing the impact of Dr Leakey's finding

  3. Examining an important finding in human fossil research

  4. Dr Leaky's revolutionary finding
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

A title should succinctly capture what the paragraph talks about. The paragraph talks about a significant finding in human fossil research and investigates it in detail. The paragraph mentions about how the conclusion about the human fossil was reached. This answer choice is correct. The passage examines Dr Leakey's important finding and mentions how she reached her conclusion.