AP World History Chapter 1 Test Questions

Which of the following is NOT true of the Paleolithic era? a. The first writing systems developed in this period of human history. b. Paleolithic people used stone rather than metal tools. c. Paleolithic people made a living by gathering and hunting, rather than producing food. d. Paleolithic people developed rituals to help them deal with human existence.

All EXCEPT which of the following is a source that modern scholars have used to understand Paleolithic peoples? a. The study of modern Paleolithic peoples for comparison b. The study of written ritual texts c. The study of Paleolithic art, such as cave paintings and engraving d. The study of Paleolithic remains, such as stone tools and fossils

The last Ice Age may have helped early gatherer-hunters in which of the following ways? a. The heavier rainfall of the Ice Age's weather fluctuations made it possible for them to grow crops. b. Ice served as an important preservative for food, making it possible for them to settle in the same place for extended periods. c. The cold weather killed off most large mammals that had been predatory on early human beings. d. The lower sea levels associated with the Ice Age created land bridges, allowing human beings to travel to many regions of the earth.

Which of the following is generally true of Paleolithic peoples? a. Paleolithic societies failed to innovate, stubbornly refusing to change in response to new situations or environments. b. Paleolithic societies regularly relied on trade to secure items needed to survive. c. Paleolithic societies often developed elaborate and complex outlooks on the world. d. Paleolithic societies were technologically complex, relying on a surprisingly wide array of tools and weapons made from both stone and metal.

In what way were the Austronesian migrations to the Pacific Islands NOT distinct from earlier human migrations? a. They had a significant impact on their new environments, unlike earlier migrants. b. They were more recent than other migrants, beginning only about 3,500 years ago. c. They were waterborne, using oceangoing canoes. d. They were already agriculturists when the migration began.

All EXCEPT which of the following was a common feature of early gathering and hunting societies? a. They were small, consisting of bands of 25-50 people. b. They had clearly defined social hierarchies. c. They were seasonally mobile or nomadic. d. Relationships between women and men were far more equal than in later societies.

In which of the following ways did Paleolithic people purposely alter the natural environment? a. They tamed and kept certain species of animals for their meat and wool. b. They built walls to protect themselves from wild animals and their neighbors. c. They cleared fields and planted simple crops. d. They deliberately set fire to encourage the growth of particular plants.

Which of the following was NOT a result of the end of the last Ice Age? a. Humans learned to sew, instead of wearing simple animal skins as clothing. b. Some gathering and hunting communities established permanent settlements. c. Society became more unequal, as some people were able to acquire more goods than others. d. Population grew.

In what way did the settling down of human populations change the way societies were organized? a. People became increasingly unequal, as some proved better or more fortunate at accumulating goods. b. Societies became more complex, as people settled together in larger numbers than before. c. On the whole, people had to work fewer hours per week, and could devote the time they gained to artistic and technological development. d. Both a and b

In which environment is it most likely that a Paleolithic society would have been able to settle down permanently in villages, while continuing to live from gathering and hunting? a. Near the sea, because the sea provided a permanent food supply b. On the edge of a desert, where enemies would be more likely to leave them alone c. In the mountains, where caves were available for storage and shelter d. In a forest region, because of the presence of large mammals

Which of the following is a significant difference between the San and Chumash peoples? a. Unlike the Chumash, the San settled in permanent small communities. b. Unlike the San, the Chumash had no distinctions in rank or class. c. Unlike the San, the Chumash made use of the ocean as an important source of food. d. Unlike the Chumash, the San tended to acquire significant quantities of goods.

All EXCEPT which of the following made the Jomon Paleolithic society of Japan different from most Paleolithic societies? a. The Jomon people relied on a broader range of food sources than most Paleolithic peoples. b. The Jomon people created some of the world's earliest pottery. c. The Jomon people were able to settle down in permanent villages, although they remained gatherers and hunters instead of agriculturalists. d. The Jomon people were the first to invent the bow and arrow.

Which of the following factors made it more likely that hunting and gathering people would turn to agriculture? a. Population pressure that placed a heavy demand on the environment b. Desire to acquire goods c. Living in settled communities, which made heavier demands on the environment than gathering and hunting could supply d. a and c only

Which of the following statements about the San people is FALSE? a. The San make every effort to prevent pride among themselves, using ceremonies such as "insulting the meat." b. The lifestyle of the modern San is markedly different from that of earlier Khoisan-speaking Paleolithic peoples of southern Africa. c. The San have a great deal of leisure time. d. The San have complex social relationships that include special links between people who share the same name.

The reason for San unequal gift exchange is a. to accumulate wealth by making smart choices in what is exchanged. b. to keep from acquiring too many goods that will then have to be carried around in the desert. c. to establish lasting trade relationships. d. to win respect, friendship, and obligation from others.

Among the San people, the spiritual potency called n/um is important because a. it counteracts evil influences from the world of the gods and ancestors. b. it establishes communion with the supernatural. c. it brings blessings to the San people. d. it gives special authority to those who can tap into it.

All EXCEPT which of the following was a result of the Chumash invention of the planked canoe known as a tomol? a. The tomol made it possible for the Chumash to support a much larger population through fishing. b. The tomol brought great prestige and power to the people who built and owned them. c. Because its use was controlled by women, the tomol led to women gaining a superior position in Chumash society. d. The creation of the tomol stimulated trade.

Which of the following Paleolithic societies lived in substantial permanent houses, developed a market economy, and had an elite craft guild? a. Jomon b. San c. Ju/'hoansi d. Chumash

Which of the following is NOT true of political leadership among the Chumash? a. Political leadership made peaceful resolution of disputes much more possible. b. Political leaders drew their power and prestige exclusively from their role as war leaders. c. Political leaders were owners of seagoing canoes (tomol). d. Some political leaders were women.

In recent decades, some people have celebrated Paleolithic life, on the grounds that a. Paleolithic peoples enjoyed much greater gender equality. b. Paleolithic people had an ideal diet of wild plants and animals that is well-suited to human physiology. c. Paleolithic societies valued sharing and equality rather than competition and materialism. d. All of the above

Scholars call people who forage for food instead of producing it ______________ or Paleolithic peoples. a. pastoralists b. roving peoples c. gathering and hunting peoples d. Neolithic peoples e. Both a and c

Agriculture began about _____________ years ago. a. 12,000 b. 5,000 c. 60,000 d. 2,000 e. 30,000

Humans first developed in _______________. a. Asia b. Europe c. Australia d. Africa e. North America

About 100,000 years ago, human beings began _____________. a. to use fire b. to experiment with agriculture c. to use boats d. to live in caves e. to migrate from Africa

Paleolithic carved female figures, often with exaggerated breasts and hips, are known as _________________. a. Ishtar idols b. Venus figurines c. Aphrodite puppets d. Junoesque figures e. mother goddesses

In the Australian Aboriginal concept of __________, everything in the present day is a vibration or echo of ancient happenings. a. Walkabout b. Ancestor Worship c. Dreamtime d. Primal Connection e. Shamanism

Members of the Paleolithic ________________ in North America spread widely across the continent perhaps in their pursuit of the large mammals that were a major source of their food. a. Chumash culture b. Neanderthal culture c. Aboriginal culture d. Clovis culture e. Lascaux culture

Speakers of __________ languages began migrating to the Pacific islands about 3500 years ago. a. Austronesian b. Semitic c. Finno-Ugric d. Micronesian e. Indo-European

Paleolithic society in general consisted of bands of _____________ people. a. 200-300 b. 5-10 c. 1,000-2,000 d. 100-150 e. 25-50

Occurring between 16,000 and 10,000 years ago, ________________ was the most significant factor in changing Paleolithic life. a. the extinction of the dinosaurs b. the end of the last Ice Age c. emigration from Africa d. the beginning of the last Ice Age e. the invention of stone tools

The Paleolithic societies in Japan known as _________ settled in permanent seaside villages, where they invented some of the world's earliest pottery. a. Xia b. Chumash c. San d. Jomon e. Clovis

The San people lived on the fringe of the _____________. a. Kalahari Desert b. Baltic Sea c. Pacific Ocean d. Sahara Desert e. Central African rainforest

Most of the Khoisan-speaking Paleolithic cultures of South Africa were absorbed or displaced by agricultural ___________-speaking peoples. a. Arabic b. Bantu c. Indo-European d. Austronesian e. San

San society included a denigration of good hunting called ___________, intended to keep successful hunters from boasting about their skill. a. "chewing the fat" b. "the antelope's revenge" c. "insulting the meat" d. "taunting the meat" e. "heckling the hunter"

The San believed that the most serious threat to human welfare was the gauwasi, which means ______________. a. the puff adder b. the creator god c. the crocodile d. excessive pride e. the ghosts of dead ancestors

The Chumash people established a sedentary Paleolithic society in what is now ___________. a. the Japanese islands b. the Kalahari desert c. western Washington d. the coast of Peru e. southern California

The ______________ society was transformed by the creation of an ocean-going canoe known as the tomol. a. Jomon b. Chumash c. Clovis d. San e. Austronesian

The first hominid species to use fire in a controlled fashion was _____________. a. Australopithecus b. Homo neanderthalensis c. Homo sapiens d. Homo erectus e. Homo habilis

The early human settlers in what are now southern France and northern Spain left a record of the world in the form of hundreds of ____________. a. cave paintings b. Venus figurines c. animal figurines d. ritual burials e. stone carvings

The dying out of many large animal species, known as the ____________, came at about the end of the Ice Age, either because of climate change or because humans hunted them to extinction. a. great extinction b. mammothicide c. megafaunal extinction d. great hunger e. Permian extinction