Social science section 2

Question 1

How many years ago did the holocene begin?

Answer 1

11,700 years ago

Question 2

The earliest fossil record of homo sapiens dates back to

Answer 2

300,000 years ago

Question 3

Approximately what was the human population before the holocene?

Answer 3

Less than ten million

Question 4

Which epoch preceded the holocene?

Answer 4

The pleistocene epoch, characterized by cycles of glaciers growing and receding, and at times covering vast portions of the Earth.

Question 5

The last glacial maximum (LGM)

Answer 5

Occurred around 20,000 years ago. In this time period, much of Europe, North America, and Asia were covered in ice.

Question 6

Younger Dryas period (12,900-11,700 years ago)

Answer 6

Warming caused by solar cycles created a massive glacial meltwater event, cooling ocean temperatures and reversing global warming trends for roughly a millennium.

Question 7

Interglacial period

Answer 7

A warm period between ice ages. The holocene is an interglacial period.

Question 8

The middle holocene is also known as

Answer 8

the northgrippian stage/age

Question 9

The early holocene is also known as

Answer 9

the greenlandian stage/age

Question 10

the late holocene is also known as

Answer 10

meghalayan stage/age

Question 11

The classification of the early holocene as the “Greenlandian stage” refers to

Answer 11

An ice core in Greenland, NGRIP2, which bears evidence of the onset of the holocene.

Question 12

What event marks the end of the early holocene and the beginning of the middle holocene?

Answer 12

A meltwater event in Canada caused the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet

Question 13

What was the beginning and end date of the middle holocene?

Answer 13

Began around 8,236 years ago and ended 4,250 years ago

Question 14

Which two ages of human history are included in the middle holocene?

Answer 14

the stone age and the bronze age

Question 15

Which notable human civilization emerged in the middle holocene?

Answer 15

Mesopotamia

Question 16

The classification of the late holocene as the “Meghalayan stage” refers to

Answer 16

a cave in India where mineral deposits gave evidence of the beginning of the late holocene

Question 17

Holocene turnover

Answer 17

changes in the atmosphere and ocean led to sudden changes in the weather around the world. Occurred during the late holocene.

Question 18

What is the approximate starting date of the late holocene?

Answer 18

2250 BCE

Question 19

Which organization rejected a proposal to formally adopt the anthropocene as the current epoch?

Answer 19

the International union of geographical sciences

Question 20

In what way did climatic conditions impact Mesopotamia?

Answer 20

The transition from middle to late Holocene resulted in cooler and dryer conditions. At the same time, the Akkadian Empire of Mesopotamia collapsed. Some scholars argue this was due to climate change and drought.

Question 21

In what way did climatic conditions impact early Egypt?

Answer 21

• The onset of drought in 2250 BCE is often linked to the collapse of the Old Kingdom (c.2700−2200 bce) in Egypt.
• Egyptians did a great job documenting their irrigation practices and manipulations of the Nile River, so scholars often study them as an example of early human effort to farm sustainably.

Question 22

Nile Delta

Answer 22

A region near the Middle East where early Egyptian society emerged.

Question 23

The Indus civilization of early India

Answer 23

Located in Modern Pakistan. It was one of the most developed societies in the world. Scholars have divided the civilization into three periods: The Early Harappan phase, The Mature Harappan phase, and The Late Harappan phase.

Question 24

In what way did climatic conditions impact early India?

Answer 24

In what is known as the Late Harappan phase, populations moved out of urban centers to smaller villages. Some scholars speculate this was due to climatic factors.

Question 25

In what way did climatic conditions impact early America?

Answer 25

Climatologists suspect that the Americas experienced the same fluctuating climatic conditions as the Eastern Hemisphere during the Holocene.

Question 26

Climate in the Roman empire

Answer 26

During the eighth to fifth centuries, the climate was colder and wetter, providing favorable conditions which might be linked to the growth of Roman city-states.

Question 27

Climate in early China

Answer 27

China is unique for its remarkable collection of human records that date back to the Shang dynasty. Scholars have analyzed these records and found that warming periods have coincided with population growth.

Question 28

The mandate of heaven

Answer 28

a cultural idea under the Zhou dynasty which suggested that prosperity in the land and favorable weather validated the authority of the current ruler.

Question 29

According to historian Michael McCormick, which year was “the worst year to be alive” and why?

Answer 29

536 CE. In this year, volcanic eruptions ushered in a cold year “without summer”, and several of the coldest summers on record for the next decade and a half.

Question 30

The little ice age (LIA)

Answer 30

Typically dated around 1300−1850 ce. A period of cooler global temperatures on average.

Question 31

Which two major events in world history took place during the Little Ice Age?

Answer 31

• The Black Death in Europe
• Christopher Columbus making contact with the Western Hemisphere in 1492

Question 32

What were the leading causes of the Little Ice Age?

Answer 32

volcanic forcings and periods of lower solar activity

Question 33

solar minima

Answer 33

a period of low solar activity

Question 34

Name the three distinct cooling periods of the Little Ice Age and (roughly) when they occured.

Answer 34

The Wolf minimum (1280-1350), the Maunder minimum (1654-1715), the Dalton minimum (1790-1820).

Question 35

How did the Little Ice Age impact Africa?

Answer 35

In parts of Africa, the LIA caused a decrease in rainfall and a rise in drought conditions. The Sahel Region experienced drying events around 1600 as well as from 1800 to 1850.

Question 36

How did the Little Ice Age impact Asia?

Answer 36

The LIA caused a period of weak monsoon rains in South Asia.

Question 37

How did the Little Ice Age impact North America?

Answer 37

Colonial navies were often hampered by the weather itself. In this way, the LIA slowed colonization, but it also increased violence against the indigenous population: when harsh weather limited available resources, colonists sought to forcibly take food from the natives.

Question 38

How did the Little Ice Age affect religious beliefs about the weather?

Answer 38

The Little Ice Age put a strain on the belief that good weather was an indication of God’s favor. Later, during the Enlightenment, people fully rejected antiquated ideas about the weather in favor of scientific observations.

Question 39

Which two factors do scholars believe mitigated the impacts of the Little Ice Age?

Answer 39

Advancing infrastructure and stabilizing governments.

Question 40

Quaternary period

Answer 40

Began 2.6 million years ago and included both the pleistocene and the holocene. The major climatic pattern was ice growing and receding in cycles.