Sapiens: Brief History of Humankind

Question 1

1. Coalesce

Answer 1

1. fuse or cause to come together
   eg: About 300,000 years after their appearance, matter and energy started to coalesce into complex structures, called atoms, which then combined into molecules.

Question 2

2. Myriad

Answer 2

2. too numerous to be counted

But for countless generations they did not stand out from the myriad other organisms with which they shared their habitats.

Question 3

3. Chafe

Answer 3

3. feel extreme irritation or anger

Eg: temperamental youths chafing against the dictates of society and weary elders who just wanted to be left in peace

Question 4

4. Inkling

Answer 4

4. a slight knowledge or suspicion; a hint.

eg: “the records give us an inkling of how people saw the world”

Question 5

5. Genus

Answer 5

5. taxonomic group containing one or more species

eg: Lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars are different species within the genus Panthera.

Question 6

6. Banal

Answer 6

6. repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

eg: songs with banal, repeated words

Question 7

7. Extant

Answer 7

7. still in existence; surviving.

eg: “an extant letter”

Question 8

8. Beget

Answer 8

8. • cause; bring about.

- bring (a child) into existence by the process of reproduction.

Question 9

9. Atrophy

Answer 9

9. undergo weakening or degeneration as through lack of use
   eg: Archaic humans paid for their large brains in two ways. Firstly, they spent more time in search of food. Secondly, their muscles atrophied.

Question 10

10. Lofty

Answer 10

10. 1.of imposing height.
    “the elegant square was shaded by lofty palms”
11. 2.
    (of wool and other textiles) thick and resilient.

Question 11

Gait

Answer 11

a person’s manner of walking.

eg: “the easy gait of an athlete”

Question 12

Supple

Answer 12

bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible.

Question 13

Subsist

Answer 13

1. maintain or support oneself, especially at a minimal level.
2. LAW: remain in force or effect.

Question 14

niche

Answer 14

A niche is a focused, targeted area that you serve particularly well. It is small (and the smaller the better). It is specific. It is known to you.

Question 15

tuber

Answer 15

a fleshy underground stem or root, often used as food

eg: Stone Age entrepreneurs could walk through the smoking remains and harvest charcoaled animals, nuts and tubers.

Question 16

Carrion

Answer 16

the dead and rotting body of an animal; unfit for human food
eg: Humans also had a far easier time chewing and digesting old favourites such as fruits, nuts, insects and carrion if they were cooked.

Question 17

Advent

Answer 17

the arrival of a notable person or thing.
eg: The advent of cooking enabled humans to eat more kinds of food, to devote less time to eating, and to make do with smaller teeth and shorter intestines.

Question 18

Constraint

Answer 18

Limitation or restriction

“time constraints make it impossible to do everything”

Question 19

Infirm

Answer 19

not physically or mentally strong, especially through age or illness.
“those who were old or infirm”

Question 20

Epitome

Answer 20

1. a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type.”she looked the epitome of elegance and good taste”
2. a summary of a written work; an abstract.

Question 21

Inclement

Answer 21

1. (of the weather) unpleasantly cold or wet.

eg: “walkers should be prepared for inclement weather”

Question 22

Hitherto

Answer 22

up to this point; until the present time
About 45,000 years ago, they somehow crossed the open sea and landed in Australia—a continent hitherto untouched by humans.

Question 23

Stratification

Answer 23

the act of arranging persons into classes or levels
eg: The first objects that can reliably be called art date from this era, as does the first clear evidence for religion, commerce and social stratification.

Question 24

Unprecedented

Answer 24

never done or known before.
eg: Most researchers believe that these unprecedented accomplishments were the product of a revolution in Sapiens’ cognitive abilities.

Question 25

Prodigious

Answer 25

1.remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.

Question 26

Quark

Answer 26

A quark (/kwɔːrk, kwɑːrk/) is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons

Question 27

Kowtow

Answer 27

bend the knees and bow in a servile manner

Question 28

Overt

Answer 28

Adj:
open and observable; not secret or hidden
eg: “an overt act of aggression”

Question 29

Incur

Answer 29

Verb:
become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) as a result of one’s own behaviour or actions.
“I will pay any expenses incurred”

Question 30

Destitute

Answer 30

Adj:
extremely poor and lacking the means to provide for oneself.
“the charity cares for destitute children”

Question 31

Assiduously

Answer 31

adverb
with great care and perseverance.
“leaders worked assiduously to hammer out an action plan”

Question 32

Consecrate

Answer 32

render holy by means of religious rites
Seeing that the priest had properly and assiduously observed all the procedures, millions of devout French Catholics behaved as if God really existed in the consecrated bread and wine.

Question 33

liturgy

Answer 33

a rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship or Liturgy is the customary public worship performed by a religious group.

Question 34

Charlatan

Answer 34

a person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill OR a flamboyant deceiver

Question 35

Outstrip

Answer 35

Verb:
go far ahead of or exceed
“supply far outstripped demand”

Question 36

Autocrat

Answer 36

a cruel and oppressive dictator

DNA is not an autocrat. Animal behaviour is also influenced by environmental factors and individual quirks.

Question 37

egalitarian

Answer 37

Adj:
believing in or based on the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
2. Noun: a person who advocates or supports the principle of equality for all people.

Question 38

Canon

Answer 38

a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine.

Question 39

Pragamatic

Answer 39

concerned with practical matters, Trade may seem a very pragmatic activity, one that needs no fictive basis

Question 40

Parameter

Answer 40

a limit or boundary which defines the scope of a particular process or activity.
“the parameters within which the media work”

Question 41

Fictive

Answer 41

adjective

created by the imagination.