World Prehistory
Final Exam Questions
Course Introduction
World Prehistory explores the development of human societies from the origins of humankind to the advent of complex civilizations. The course examines archaeological evidence, major cultural and technological innovations, and the processes of migration, adaptation, and social organization across different regions of the world. Through the study of early human ancestors, the emergence of agriculture, the rise of urban centers, and key transformations in societies, students gain an understanding of the diverse pathways that have shaped the human experience before written records.
Recommended Textbook
Human Evolution and Culture Highlights of Anthropology 8th Edition by Carol R. Ember
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Page 2
Chapter 1: What Is Anthropology?
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Q1) What are the two broad classifications of subject matter within anthropology?
A) biological and cultural
B) contemporary and ancient
C) Western and non-Western
D) theoretical and practical
Answer: A
Q2) Some specialties cross anthropological subfields. What subfields contribute to medical anthropology?
A) ethnology and biological anthropology
B) linguistic anthropology and ethnology
C) archaeology and linguistic anthropology
D) biological anthropology and archaeology
Answer: A
Q3) An anthropologist with a __________ specialization focuses much of his or her research on a particular region of the world.
A) theoretical
B) time period
C) geographical
D) political
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Research Methods in Anthropology
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Q1) Which of these fields focuses on the relationship between a society and its environment?
A) cultural ecology
B) cultural biology
C) social ecology
D) social biology
Answer: A
Q2) Which of the following is true of the archive known as the Human Relations Area Files?
A) Its collections have been indexed to make them easier to consult.
B) It specializes in providing information on social problems in societies around the world.
C) It is available only to qualified researchers.
D) It is available only in a select few universities, and only on paper and microfiche.
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Genetics and Evolution
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Q1) What is the difference between microevolution and macroevolution?
A) Microevolution refers to change within species; macroevolution refers to the production of new species.
B) Microevolution refers to small changes within a species; macroevolution refers to major changes within a species.
C) Microevolution refers to changes in microorganisms; macroevolution refers to changes in bigger species.
D) Microevolution is accepted by evolutionary scholars; macroevolution is accepted by creationists.
Answer: A
Q2) In 1859,Charles Darwin published __________.
A) The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
B) The Descent of Man
C) The Voyage of the Beagle
D) Fauna of the Galapagos Island
Answer: A
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5
Chapter 4: Human Variation and Adaptation
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Q1) Many people treat __________ as the most important indicator of "race."
A) skin color
B) body shape
C) facial features
D) height
Q2) Gloger's rule for skin color holds true __________.
A) for people, as well as for other mammals and birds
B) for people, but not for other mammals
C) for birds and reptiles, but not for people or other mammals
D) for all animals except people
Q3) Why might Native Americans be a general exception to the rule that darker skin is associated with environments with high UV radiation?
A) They are relatively recent migrants to the New World.
B) Native Americans have a unique genetic mutation that makes their skin darker than expected.
C) Dark skin among Native Americans is an acclimatization, and not due to genetics.
D) Dark skin among Native Americans is a culturally induced trait.
Q4) What factors-genetic,cultural,and environmental-account for variations in height?
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Primates: Past and Present
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Q1) Hominins have a division of labor based on __________.
A) gender
B) birth order
C) body size
D) intelligence
Q2) Which of the following is absent among hominoids?
A) a tail
B) thumbs
C) forward-facing eyes
D) toenails
Q3) Hominin females can have sex __________.
A) at any time during the year
B) only when they are likely to conceive
C) only when there is a new male present in the group
D) at any time the males allow it
Q4) Although it was a hominoid,in what way was Proconsul unlike any living ape?
A) It was primarily an arboreal quadruped.
B) It had a tail.
C) It was nocturnal.
D) It had a mostly solitary lifestyle.
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Chapter 6: The First Hominins and the Emergence of Homo
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Q1) The tool tradition identified with Homo erectus is the __________.
A) Acheulian
B) Mousterian
C) Oldowan
D) osteodontokeratic
Q2) One early tool of the Acheulian tradition is known as the hand axe.Scientists think the hand axe was mostly used for __________.
A) butchering large animals
B) cutting down trees
C) digging trenches
D) artistic expression
Q3) What makes Ardipithecus ramidus unique?
A) It combined apelike dentition with bipedalism.
B) It had the modified pelvis and flattened face seen in much later hominin species.
C) It was massive, with body sizes much larger than a modern gorilla.
D) It was neither bipedal nor big-brained, but used tools.
Q4) Discuss how archaeologists know that something is a tool.What information can be determined from which methods? What areas of hominin lifestyles remain speculative?
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Page 8
Chapter 7: The Emergence of Homo sapiens and the Upper
Paleolithic World
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Q1) What is the major principle of the single-origin theory?
A) Neandertals became extinct.
B) Neandertals evolved into modern humans.
C) Neandertals still live among us today.
D) The early modern Homo sapiens became extinct.
Q2) Most of the remains that have been excavated from Upper Paleolithic sites have been found in __________.
A) caves and rock shelters
B) canvas tents
C) wood huts
D) mud dwellings
Q3) With all the evidence for Neandertals and humans being different species,why is there still debate about their evolutionary relationship?
A) Neandertal culture has many similarities with early human culture.
B) Their mtDNA suggests that they were very closely related.
C) Many scientists doubt the validity of the genetic evidence.
D) The cultural evidence and the anatomical evidence seem to conflict.
Q4) Evaluate the current theories of migration into the New World.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Food Production and the Rise of States
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Q1) Among archaic peoples of Mesoamerica,__________ were located near seasonally abundant resources.
A) macrobands
B) mesobands
C) microbands
D) broadbands
Q2) __________ has proposed a theory of state origin stressing population growth,circumscription,and war.
A) Robert Carneiro
B) Elman Service
C) Harvey Weiss
D) Gregory Johnson
Q3) In Ali Kosh in southwestern Iran after about 5500 b.c.,__________ were two important innovations.
A) irrigation and the use of domesticated cattle
B) the steel plow and crop rotation
C) intercrop cultivation and fertilizer
D) growth of legumes and artificial fertilizer
Q4) What are the consequences of state formation?
Q5) What is the relationship between states and food production?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Culture and Culture Change
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Q1) The conscious or unconscious pressure for cultural __________ will often produce cultural change.
A) consistency
B) innovation
C) relevance
D) superiority
Q2) While there are many negative consequences to globalization,the United Nations has suggested an improvement in __________.
A) literacy rates
B) the spread of disease
C) workers' wages
D) deforestation rates
Q3) Individuals have __________,but groups share __________.
A) behavior; culture
B) culture; society
C) society; beliefs
D) beliefs; behavior
Q4) Outline the major patterns through which cultures change,providing a definition and example for each.
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Chapter 10: Communication and Language
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Q1) Compared to people in simpler societies,people in complex societies __________.
A) commonly have a larger overall vocabulary due to a greater number of technical specialties
B) commonly have fewer terms for basic colors
C) commonly have the same number of general terms for plants, but more terms for specific plants
D) usually have more names for specific animals, but the same number of general animal terms
Q2) Why might someone code-switch between their own language and the language of a politically more powerful society?
A) The dominant culture's language is seen as a symbol of high status and upward mobility.
B) It is inevitable that the dominant culture's language will soon be taught in schools, so it is easier to adopt it right away.
C) They do not fully understand the dominant language, and revert back to their native language as needed.
D) Only certain members of society are permitted to speak the dominant culture's language.
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12
Chapter 11: Economics
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Q1) Ester Boserup argues that the intensification of agriculture is __________.
A) not likely to develop naturally out of horticulture
B) associated with greater social equality
C) not linked to population growth
D) dependent upon a slow progression from animal husbandry and horticulture
Q2) Studies have shown that many foraging and small-scale horticultural societies work just a few hours a day on subsistence and have much more leisure time than workers in complex societies.Which of the following statements explains this model?
A) Any surplus food these societies collect or produce cannot be stored for long and will rot.
B) These societies value leisure activities as more appropriate pursuits than labor.
C) Members of these societies are lazy and have no interest in work.
D) These groups have political authorities that would collect surpluses for their own use.
Q3) Explain the relationship between the allocation of resources and food production.Show how foragers,horticulturalists,pastoralists,and intensive agriculturalists denote ownership of land,food,and tools.
Q4) What social characteristics are associated with foragers and complex foragers?
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Social Stratification: Class, Ethnicity, and Racism
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Q1) How is chiefly status obtained among the Ifaluk culture?
A) genealogically
B) purchase
C) war
D) popularity
Q2) While it is possible for egalitarian societies to have some wealth differences,the key factor that would transform that group into a rank society is __________.
A) a mechanism for retaining more wealth for some families over time
B) a way of recording the history of each family's wealth
C) to associate wealth with an individual's abilities or skills
D) a shared value of the importance of gaining wealth
Q3) In most ranked societies,chiefs may be called the "owners" of the land. This usually means that __________.
A) others still maintain the right to use the land
B) people may use the land only if given the chief's permission
C) only the chief and his family may use the land
D) the land is sacred and can only be used in appropriate ways
Q4) What is the difference between race and ethnicity? How are each of these classifications related to social inequality?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Sex and Gender
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Q1) Crafts such as making baskets,mats,and pottery are __________.
A) performed by women in noncommercial societies but by men when produced for trade
B) exclusively men's tasks
C) exclusively women's tasks
D) performed by men in noncommercial societies but by women when produced for trade
Q2) Of the following societies,which is the most pro-homosexual?
A) the Etoro
B) the United States
C) the Siwans
D) the Papago
Q3) According to the __________ theory,men tend to do more dangerous work because the loss of men is less disadvantageous reproductively than the loss of women.
A) expendability
B) economy-of-effort
C) compatibility-with-child-care
D) strength
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15
Chapter 14: Marriage, Family, and Kinship
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Q1) Most societies __________.
A) disapprove of marriages between first cousins
B) encourage marriages between parallel cousins
C) encourage marriages between first cousins
D) encourage marriages between cross-cousins
Q2) What two major factors do all forms of marriage consider?
A) sexual and economic
B) economic and land-ownership
C) economic and kinship
D) sexual and kinship
Q3) In a unilineal descent system,an individual __________.
A) belongs to only one line of descent
B) belongs to two distinct lines of descent
C) may belong to multiple lines of descent
D) changes his or her line of descent several times throughout his or her life
Q4) Many Westerners view the practices of dowry,bride wealth,and bride service to be about "buying" a wife.Explain why this is an inaccurate description of economic marriage transactions.What is the purpose of such economic exchanges between families?
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Political Life: Social Order and Disorder
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Q1) In the modern world,__________.
A) every society has been incorporated into some larger, centralized political system
B) many societies remain informally organized and are under no higher political authority
C) most societies have developed their own centralized political system
D) foraging bands are becoming more organized but remain politically autonomous
Q2) What is the key distinction between tribes and chiefdoms?
A) A chiefdom has some formal structure that integrates communities into a political unit.
B) A chiefdom has more nomadic communities.
C) A tribe has greater reliance on agriculture and greater economic output.
D) A tribe places a great deal of emphasis on kinship connections.
Q3) Degree of political participation seems to be __________.
A) high in small-scale societies and in modern nation-states, but low in between
B) higher in state-level societies than in small-scale societies
C) higher in small-scale societies than in state-level societies
D) low in small-scale societies and in modern nation-states, but high in between
Q4) Compare and contrast the political life of bands and tribal organizations.
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Religion and Magic
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Q1) What social forces drive a revitalization movement? Give an example of a revitalization movement and explain the social background surrounding the movement.
Q2) Freud believed that early humans lived in groups,each of which was dominated by a
A) tyrannical man who kept all the women for himself
B) a single female deity who was believed to be the mother of all humans
C) group of men who were religious leaders
D) king and queen who were believed to be the parents of all humans
Q3) If a society has only two types of religious practitioners,they are usually a shaman healer and a __________.
A) priest
B) medium
C) witch
D) sorcerer
Q4) What are the two largest world religions?
A) Christianity and Islam
B) Christianity and Judaism
C) Islam and Hinduism
D) Hinduism and Judaism
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Chapter 17: The Arts
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Q1) Who proposed that hero myths resemble initiation rituals?
A) Joseph Campbell
B) Edward Tylor
C) Claude Lévi-Strauss
D) Sigmund Freud
Q2) In Africa,__________ are often used in uncentralized systems,while __________ are common in kingdoms.
A) masks; headdresses
B) gowns; masks
C) headdresses; gowns
D) headdresses; masks
Q3) What evidence is there for ethnocentric attitudes in our viewing of the art of other cultures? What can we learn from this about our definition of art?
Q4) What singing style involves individuals singing independently but within the group,with no single person differentiated from the others?
A) interlocked
B) connected
C) call-and-response
D) choral
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Chapter 18: Global Problems
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Q1) Anthropological studies of corporal punishment indicate a connection between rates of corporal punishment and __________.
A) democracy
B) frequency of warfare
C) homicide rates
D) crime rates
Q2) According to several national studies conducted since 1975,physical violence and serious assaults on __________ decreased,while serious assaults on __________ did not.
A) children and wives; husbands
B) wives and husbands; children
C) husbands; children and wives
D) children; wives and husbands
Q3) Which of these countries has an income inequality most comparable to that of the United States?
A) Cambodia
B) England
C) Sweden
D) Japan
Q4) How is terrorism distinct from other forms of crime or acts of war?
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Practicing and Applying Anthropology
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Q1) In their study of Maya ethnomedicine,Elois Ann Berlin and Brent Berlin have shown that __________.
A) their remedies have properties not that different from biomedical treatments
B) their treatment of disease is based entirely on the concept of balance
C) Western treatments fail to work in the Maya culture and environment
D) Maya women have among the most comprehensive knowledge of medicinal plants
Q2) There is increasing evidence that the __________ of treatment may be as important as the __________ of treatment.
A) form; content
B) delivery; form
C) evidence; delivery
D) content; evidence
Q3) What role have forensic anthropologists played in recent human rights investigations?
A) They locate and identify victims of state-sanctioned killings.
B) They provide a voice for underrepresented cultures in legal matters.
C) They connect indigenous communities with Western medical treatments.
D) They investigate and preserve the lifeways of dying cultures.
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