Book 1 Shorter, Chapter 1, Set 1

Question 1

How old is the Earth? (page 15)

Answer 1

Approximately 4.5 billion years.

Question 2

When did Homo sapiens first appear? (page 15)

Answer 2

c. 150,000 YA.

Question 3

When did Homo sapiens become the sole remaining human species?

Answer 3

c. 24,000 YA.

Question 4

When did the first settled communities on Earth emerge? (page 17)

Answer 4

c. 6,000 YA.

Question 5

When was the first deliberate use of fire? (page 17)

Answer 5

Anywhere between 1.8 million and 500,000 YA.

Question 6

When did the earliest human ancestors genetically split from chimpanzees? (page 17)

Answer 6

About 6.3 million YA.

Question 7

When was “Lucy”, the earliest Australopithecines to be discovered, found? (page 17)

Answer 7

1974 AD.

Question 8

When did the paleontologists Louis and Mary Leakey find their famous evidence of early hominins? (page 17)

Answer 8

The 1950’s.

Question 9

What period is dubbed “the Paleolithic”? (page 17)

Answer 9

From about 2.5 MYA to the beginning of agriculture around 10,000 BCE.

Question 10

By what time had Homo neanderthalensis evolved in Europe and Asia? (page 19)

Answer 10

c. 200,000 YA.

Question 11

When was “the Great Leap Forward” and what was it? (page 21)

Answer 11

It was a period around 40,000 YA when modern humans developed language of the kind we would recognize today.

Question 12

When did the human race evolve its current level of consciousness and cognitive thought? (page 21)

Answer 12

By at least 40,000 YA.

Question 13

When did the most recent Ice Age begin? (page 22)

Answer 13

c. 1.5 million YA.

Question 14

When did the most recent glacial (icy) period end and usher in abrupt and irregular global warming? (page 23)

Answer 14

Between 10,000 and 15,000 YA.

Question 15

What causes interglacial period of brief, volatile intervals of warmer conditions during the Ice Age? (page 23)

Answer 15

Changes in Earth’s path around the Sun and its rotation on its axis.

Question 16

When did the most recent interglacial period peak? (page 23)

Answer 16

128,000 YA.

Question 17

How long might the current interglacial period last if human-caused global warming is discounted and past interglacials are standard? (page 23)

Answer 17

About 100,000 years.

Question 18

What is the El Nino phenomenon? (page 23)

Answer 18

It is a reversal in the flow of water in the Pacific Ocean that causes dramatic changes in the weather every two to seven years.

Question 19

What is the official definition of an Ice Age? (page 22)

Answer 19

“[A] period of constantly fluctuating climate conditions punctuated by period of intense cold.”

Question 20

What is a glacial period? (page 22)

Answer 20

Part of an Ice Age marked by intense cold.

Question 21

What is an interglacial period? (page 23)

Answer 21

A brief, volatile interval of warmer conditions during the Ice Age between glacial periods.

Question 22

When did small bands of modern humans begin to leave Africa? (page 24)

Answer 22

c. 100,000 YA.

Question 23

When did modern humans first move into Europe and Asia? (page 26)

Answer 23

After about 50,000 YA.

Question 24

Did Neanderthals interbreed with modern humans? (page 26)

Answer 24

Contrary to recent belief, no.

Question 25

Who were the Cro-Magnons? (page 26)

Answer 25

Bands of physically modern humans who formed an array of sophisticated, cold-adapted hunter-gatherer societies in Central and Western Europe.

Question 26

When was the first eyed needle invented and why was it important? (page 26)

Answer 26

By at least 30,000 YA. The needle allowed for the sewing of tailored, multi-layer garments that allowed them to work in very cold environments.

Question 27

What was Sunda and why was it important? (page 29)

Answer 27

A huge landmass now covered by higher sea levels that stretched from mainland Southeast Asia far into the Pacific. It was last uncovered during the late part of the last Ice Age. It was separated from New Guinea and Australia only by short stretches of ocean. This probably was what allowed for colonization of Australia and New Guinea.

Question 28

What was Sahul and why was it important? (page 29)

Answer 28

A landmass now submerged that was uncovered during the late Ice Age and that linked Australia and New Guinea.

Question 29

By when had modern humans reached Southeast Asia? (page 29)

Answer 29

Before 50,000 YA.

Question 30

By when was Australia first colonized? (page 29)

Answer 30

By 45,000 YA.