Human Origins and Colonization

Question 1

Where do the earliest known hominine fossils come from?

Answer 1

The Afar region of Ethiopia

Question 2

How old are the oldest known hominine fossils?

Answer 2

4.5 million years old

Question 3

Name the probable common ancestor of Australopithecines and the genus Homo.

Answer 3

Australopithecus Afarensis

Question 4

What is the name of the most famous Australopithecus Afarensis?

Answer 4

Lucy

Question 5

How big was Australopithecus Afarensis’ brain compared to modern humans?

Answer 5

1/3 the size

Question 6

How long ago did homininae learn to cook their food?

Answer 6

Approximately 1.5 million years ago

Question 7

Meat has been a central part of hominine diet for how long?

Answer 7

Approximately 2.5 million years

Question 8

When did Homo erectus start to emigrate from sub-Saharan Africa?

Answer 8

1.8 million years ago

Question 9

Name a probable common ancestor of Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis.

Answer 9

Homo ergaster

Question 10

When did Homo heidelbergensis reach Northern Europe?

Answer 10

About 500,000 years ago

Question 11

Which now extinct hominine species lived from 400,000 to 40,000 years ago?

Answer 11

The Neanderthals

Homo neanderthalensis

Question 12

When did modern humans develop?

Answer 12

200,000 to 140,000 years ago

Question 13

50,000 years ago, this continent was first reached by boat.

Answer 13

Australia

Question 14

When was Australia first discovered?

Answer 14

50,000 years ago

Question 15

People first came to this area of the world 15,000 years ago.

Answer 15

The Americas

Question 16

When was New Zealand first reached?

Answer 16

1200 years ago, 1000 years before Captain Cook

Question 17

When did humans first expand into the Arctic?

Answer 17

4500 years ago

Question 18

Where are the earliest modern human skulls from?

Answer 18

The Omo basin in Ethiopia and the Klasies River Mouth in southern Africa

Question 19

How old are the earliest modern human skulls that have been found?

Answer 19

130,000 years old

Question 20

When did Homo sapiens sapiens start emigrating out of sub-Saharan Africa?

Answer 20

100,000 years ago

Question 21

How many ice ages have there been in the last 800,000 years?

Answer 21

8

Question 22

How long do the warmer periods of interglacials last?

Answer 22

10,000 years

Question 23

When did the last ice age end?

Answer 23

Around 12,000 years ago

Question 24

Besides Homo sapiens sapiens, which Homo species also lived in East Asia?

Answer 24

Homo erectus

Question 25

Besides Homo sapiens sapiens, which Homo species also lived in Europe and west Asia?

Answer 25

The Neanderthals

Homo neanderthalensis

Question 26

What 3 critical societal developments happened between 10,000 to 4,000 BC?

Answer 26

1. The origins of settled life 2. The first farming 3. The first cities

Question 27

What is the origin of agriculture often referred to as?

Answer 27

The Neolithic Revolution

Question 28

What was the world population in AD 1500?

Answer 28

Between 350 and 540 million

Question 29

What was the world’s population by 1960?

Answer 29

About 3 billion

Question 30

When and where were the earliest semi-permanent villages formed?

Answer 30

10,000 BC in southwest Asia (modern day Turkey and Palestine)

Question 31

What was the first walled community?

Answer 31

Jericho (8000 BC)

Question 32

When were the first cities formed?

Answer 32

Around 3,500 BC