WorksheetsEarly Human Civilization Quiz
Total questions: 14
Worksheet time: 7mins
What were the two main routes early humans took out of Africa?
Across the Sahara and into South America
Through the Middle East and into Europe/Asia
Across the Pacific Ocean to North America
Through Australia and into Antarctica
What do archaeologists study to learn about prehistoric people?
Constellations and star maps
Fossils and artifacts
Written documents and books
Cave paintings only
What caused the shift from the Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Age?
The discovery of fire
The invention of writing
The development of agriculture
The migration to North America
What are some ways Paleolithic people adapted in order to survive new environments?
Building skyscrapers
Domesticating plants and animals, making tools, using fire, creating shelters
Inventing cars and airplanes
Trading gold and silver
What are 3 reasons Paleolithic people moved during the Ice Age?
To find better farmland, escape enemies, seek gold
To follow animals, find new food sources, escape harsh climates
To establish cities, build pyramids, develop trade routes
To spread religion, write books, learn new languages
Why was agriculture important to early civilizations?
It gave people free time to watch sports
It allowed people to settle in one place and create surplus food
It made people wealthier instantly
It ended all diseases
What are the types of historical sources? Give an example of each.
Primary (diary), Secondary (textbook)
Primary (fossil), Secondary (movie)
Primary (fiction book), Secondary (artifact)
Primary (comic book), Secondary (oral tradition)
What are 3 things the cultural hearths had in common?
Access to rivers, fertile soil, and mild climate
Mountains, deserts, and harsh winters
Nomadic lifestyles, limited resources, and constant warfare
Hunting-only societies, few tools, and no permanent settlements
How were cultural hearths the foundation of civilization?
They encouraged people to stay nomadic
They provided farming, trade, and permanent settlements that grew into civilizations
They focused only on building large pyramids
They were places where people learned to write novels
How did civilization allow people to have specialized jobs?
Surplus food freed some people from farming so they could focus on other skills and trades
Everyone still hunted and gathered together
Jobs were assigned randomly with no purpose
Only rulers and priests worked, while others had no roles
How could “cities” be considered the most important of the five traits of civilization?
Cities allowed people to gather, share ideas, trade, and organize societies
Cities were places for people to hide from enemies
Cities only existed for kings to show power
Cities had no role in early civilizations
What crops did each cultural hearth domesticate and grow?
Catalhoyuk: Wheat and barley
Banpo: Rice and millet
Faiyum: Wheat and barley
Oaxaca: Corn (maize)
Catalhoyuk: Corn and beans
How has the Sahara changed over time?
It went from a desert to a frozen tundra
It shifted from fertile grasslands to desert
It stayed exactly the same for thousands of years
It was once an ocean and is now farmland
What are the five traits of civilization AND why are they important?
Cities, specialized workers, writing, advanced technology, complex institutions – they helped organize and grow societies
Fire, hunting, farming, rivers, trading – they were used for survival only
Gold, silver, pyramids, kings, temples – they showed off wealth
Tools, travel, caves, fishing, fighting – they helped people migrate
