Humans Walk Through History...

1.

My sister Lea learns her role in our clan from my mother. The women spend a large part of every day gathering food. The main types of food they gather are:

Milk from our goats and wheat from our crops

Bread and pies from the village bakery

Herbs, wild grains, berries, nuts and tubers

There were no domesticated goats until about 10,000 years ago. There were no crops either. People did gather wild wheat, but not cropped wheat. There were also no bakeries! There is however evidence to show that around 12000 years ago there were people in the Middle East who were pounding wheat with mortars and pestles and probably cooking a rough, flat kind of bread.

Explanation

There were no domesticated goats until about 10,000 years ago. There were no crops either. People did gather wild wheat, but not cropped wheat. There were also no bakeries! There is however evidence to show that around 12000 years ago there were people in the Middle East who were pounding wheat with mortars and pestles and probably cooking a rough, flat kind of bread.

2.

One day I tell Lea that the men were going to hunt a mammoth. Mammoths are huge, dangerous animals, but every part of a mammoth is useful. We can eat their meat, use their bones to make tent structures and needles, and tan their skins for warmth. It is very important that all the hunters work together, because...

...careful planning and group strategies are needed to bring down a mammoth.

...they can then share the meat and won't need to take any back to the rest of the clan.

...without meat from the hunters the clan will starve.

Hunting a mammoth is a challenging task due to their size and danger. Bringing down a mammoth requires careful planning and group strategies to ensure the safety of the hunters and increase the chances of success. Working together as a team allows the hunters to coordinate their efforts, surround the mammoth, and effectively take it down. This explanation aligns with the information provided in the passage about the importance of teamwork and cooperation in hunting mammoths.

Explanation

Hunting a mammoth is a challenging task due to their size and danger. Bringing down a mammoth requires careful planning and group strategies to ensure the safety of the hunters and increase the chances of success. Working together as a team allows the hunters to coordinate their efforts, surround the mammoth, and effectively take it down. This explanation aligns with the information provided in the passage about the importance of teamwork and cooperation in hunting mammoths.

3. It is actually very rare to hunt a mammoth. The reason is that

These huge animals are not particularly useful to hunters and gatherers.

We have quite simple weapons and normally hunt smaller, less dangerous animals such as hares and wild goats.

It is impossible to cook such a large animal.

Option A is incorrect because mammoths were actually very useful, though dangerous and daunting to hunt. Option C is incorrect because by perhaps 500,000 years ago humans could use fire to cook meat. Option B is the best answer because the hunters of that time did indeed have basic weapons and a mammoth hunt would have been a huge challenge; smaller animals were a much better bet.

Explanation

Option A is incorrect because mammoths were actually very useful, though dangerous and daunting to hunt. Option C is incorrect because by perhaps 500,000 years ago humans could use fire to cook meat. Option B is the best answer because the hunters of that time did indeed have basic weapons and a mammoth hunt would have been a huge challenge; smaller animals were a much better bet.

4. My name is Keks. I live with a hunter-gatherer band. We use stone tools. People probably started making very simple stone tools around...

2 million years ago

2000 years ago

200 years ago

The first stone tools could have been made about 2 million years ago, perhaps even earlier. At that time, all hominids were hunter-gatherers. That means that they travelled around, collecting wild foods and following the migrating herds of animals that they hunted for meat. The people at that stage did not look like us. They were an earlier species, smaller both in stature and brain size. One species has been called "homo habilis" or "handy man/person" by paleontologists.

Explanation

The first stone tools could have been made about 2 million years ago, perhaps even earlier. At that time, all hominids were hunter-gatherers. That means that they travelled around, collecting wild foods and following the migrating herds of animals that they hunted for meat. The people at that stage did not look like us. They were an earlier species, smaller both in stature and brain size. One species has been called "homo habilis" or "handy man/person" by paleontologists.

5. We travel constantly from place to place. We cannot carry many possessions, because we are constantly on the move. In fact, it is even difficult for the adults to have more than two or three children, because when the children are small they must be carried from place to place. The word for us is ___________.

Settlers

City-dwellers

Nomads

The given passage describes a lifestyle of constant travel and the inability to carry many possessions. It also mentions the difficulty of having more than two or three children due to the need to carry them from place to place. This lifestyle aligns with that of nomads, who are known for their constant movement and lack of permanent settlements. Therefore, the word "nomads" is the correct answer.

Explanation

The given passage describes a lifestyle of constant travel and the inability to carry many possessions. It also mentions the difficulty of having more than two or three children due to the need to carry them from place to place. This lifestyle aligns with that of nomads, who are known for their constant movement and lack of permanent settlements. Therefore, the word "nomads" is the correct answer.

6. I carry the following tools and weapons from place to place:

Armour, a steel sword and a helmet

Pieces of flint, bone needles and knife blades

Spades, nylon string and bows and arrows

Flint was a kind of hard but workable stone that was favoured by tool-makers in the Stone Age. It was still used by the common people of ancient Egypt, whose sickles often had flint teeth.

Explanation

Flint was a kind of hard but workable stone that was favoured by tool-makers in the Stone Age. It was still used by the common people of ancient Egypt, whose sickles often had flint teeth.

7. At night time I sleep...

...in a simple wooden bed with pillows and a mattress.

...on the ground with something to soften it, such as moss.

...in a separate room from my family.

In the Stone Age family members generally slept close together for warmth and safety. Although they had no proper beds, they probably had ways of improving on the hard ground. They would also have used animal skins and furs for blankets.

Explanation

In the Stone Age family members generally slept close together for warmth and safety. Although they had no proper beds, they probably had ways of improving on the hard ground. They would also have used animal skins and furs for blankets.

8. My sister and I don't go to school, but we still have to learn. The main things we learn are...

...how to tame bears, hyenas and cave lions.

...how to read, write and paint on cave walls.

...how to make tools, start a fire and collect edible plants.

Nobody could tame bears, hyenas or cave lions. They were some of the most dangerous animals of the Stone Age. No one could learn to read and write either, because no one in the world could write before about 3,500 years BC, when the people of Sumer developed the first kind of writing.

Explanation

Nobody could tame bears, hyenas or cave lions. They were some of the most dangerous animals of the Stone Age. No one could learn to read and write either, because no one in the world could write before about 3,500 years BC, when the people of Sumer developed the first kind of writing.

9. There are advantages to our lifestyle. For one thing,...

...we get to eat lots of sugar, berries and honey.

...since we have no sugar and very rarely eat anything sweet, we hardly ever experience tooth decay.

...our way of life is not at all dangerous.

There was actually no sugar available, which was an advantage for people's dental health. Honey was rare. The way of life was actually quite dangerous. Hunger was not uncommon and hunting often led to fractures, as shown by the bones of people who lived as hunters.

Explanation

There was actually no sugar available, which was an advantage for people's dental health. Honey was rare. The way of life was actually quite dangerous. Hunger was not uncommon and hunting often led to fractures, as shown by the bones of people who lived as hunters.

10. I am proud that I am learning to be a hunter, although I know it is a very dangerous occupation. One of the dangers is that

We might starve if we fail to kill an animal, because there is no other source of food

We might be injured by the wild animals we hunt, for example, fracture a bone

We might get lost and not be able to find our way back to the rest of the clan

Option A is incorrect, because even if the hunters could not kill an animal for meat, the gatherers could generally be relied upon to find wild plant foods. You should have rejected Option C because it is very unlikely that the hunters would have got lost. They would have known the terrain intimately and would have been experts at finding their way around. Option B is the most accurate answer because the archaeological evidence shows that many hunter-gatherers sustained serious bone injuries, mainly through hunting.

Explanation

Option A is incorrect, because even if the hunters could not kill an animal for meat, the gatherers could generally be relied upon to find wild plant foods. You should have rejected Option C because it is very unlikely that the hunters would have got lost. They would have known the terrain intimately and would have been experts at finding their way around. Option B is the most accurate answer because the archaeological evidence shows that many hunter-gatherers sustained serious bone injuries, mainly through hunting.