Q&A Hero

Q: Humans owe their success to biocultural evolution and primate ancestry. a. True b. False

Q: One of the hallmarks of Hohokam society in the American Southwest was the use of __________ to increase agricultural output. a) cow manure b) pesticides c) irrigation d) terraces e) all of the above

Q: The core components of hominin biocultural evolution took a long time to develop. a. True b. False

Q: Which of the following best summarizes the organization of Mississippian mound centers: a) important people lived in suburbs, ordinary people lived in houses on the plaza, and the mounds were considered to be the houses of the dead b) important people lived on the mounds, ordinary people lived in houses that surrounded the plazas, and smaller settlements, which were occupied for shorter periods of time, surrounded the mound center c) important people lived in stone palaces, ordinary people lived in huts, and slaves lived in smaller settlements outside of the mound center d) only important people lived in the mound center itself; everyone who was not elite lived outside the palisade walls e) not sufficient archaeological evidence exists for us to know how mound centers were organized

Q: The population density at the end of the Ice Age was sufficient for some groups to drive local populations of food animals to extinction. a. True b. False

Q: The League of the Iroquois: a) eventually consisted of five nations b) was an alliance formed to lessen tensions in the Eastern US region c) existed during the European colonization of the Northeast d) was the eventual result of over a century of close ties between its constitute groups e) all of the above

Q: Monks Mound at the site of Cahokia, Illinois, dates to the __________ and it is the largest mound constructed by the native people of North America. a) Mississippian Period b) Archaic Period c) Postclassic Period d) Middle Woodland Period e) Classic Period

Q: Domestication and agriculture were not the driving forces of the so-called Neolithic revolution. a. True b. False

Q: Which of the following was a characteristic of the Late Woodland Period: a) a decline in the trade for non-local goods b) an increase in fighting between groups c) the adoption of maize as an essential part of the diet d) all of the above e) a and b only

Q: Many of the practices of Neolithic farmers encouraged the growth of weeds. a. True b. False

Q: Mound centers and distinctions among Late Woodland Period sites in terms of size and layout are thought to mark the emergence of complex societies commonly referred to as _________, which became the dominant form of society in the Mississippian period. a) kingdoms b) states c) chiefdoms d) empires e) moieties

Q: Bioarchaeological studies have shown that overall health quality improved with the development of agriculture. a. True b. False

Q: At the start of the Early Woodland period, changes in cooking and the storage of food were related to the widespread use of: a) herd animals b) metal utensils c) rice d) cooking stones e) pottery

Q: The natural population growth function exemplified in the world population since 1800 is unsustainable, whether speaking of humans or E coli bacteria. a. True b. False

Q: At the famous Middle Woodland Period site of __________ in Ohio, more than 100 obsidian tools were found that were clearly intended for display: they were curiously shaped and had no practical use. a) Hopewell b) Kennewick c) Mesa Verde d) Moundville e) Muscogee

Q: No single factor explains the dangerously accelerating growth of world population over the past few hundred years. a. True b. False

Q: One of the most important changes to take place in the middle part of what is now North America about 2000 years ago was a dramatic increase in the dietary significance of: a) herd animals b) marine resources c) megafauna d) cultivated native plants e) wheat and barley

Q: The majority of countries and their leaders are not in agreement that global climate change is a very serious and urgent problem. a. True b. False

Q: Some individuals held special ritual roles during the Middle Woodland Period, for example, being a __________ involved wearing ceremonial paraphernalia including masks, represented archaeologically by cut carnivore jawbones and full bear hides. a) slave b) sailor c) rancher d) shaman e) long-distance trader

Q: Rapid global climate change has been proven by science to no longer occur and a marked warming of the earth's atmosphere has ceased. a. True b. False

Q: The effects of increasing cultural changes and population growth are inseparably intertwined. a. True b. False

Q: By the Middle Woodland period __________ had become an important part of a rich ceremonial life that included elaborate burials, graveside rituals, and aesthetically pleasing artifacts. a) ballcourts b) stone pyramids c) mounds d) subterranean temples e) sacred trees

Q: It is remarkable that the civilizations of South America achieved what they did since they did not practice agriculture until after the Spanish Conquest.

Q: Which of the following has not been the result of the contributions made over millions of years by our ancestors? a. cities b. art c. tripled length of human life span d. increasing population density e. textbooks and exams

Q: When Europeans first encountered native North Americans in the 16th century they found: a) settled communities, some with populations of more than 1,000 people b) large communities of maize growers c) non-agricultural societies that lived in small, mobile groups d) large societies with subsistence strategies based on non-agricultural resources e) all of the above

Q: What can not be said of scientific inquiry used to understand global climate change? a. Science is based on data collection, hypothesis testing, generalization and verification. b. Scientific investigation can be a long process. c. Scientific investigation frequently involves debate regarding alternative approaches and conclusions. d. Science advances based on debates that occur in the pages of scientific journals and organized scientific meetings. e. Much is gained by science from well-intended ideology-driven claims.

Q: The Amazon region was dominated by cultural groups who made the vast majority of their mounds out of megalithic stone masonry.

Q: What is not true of the period from the Industrial Revolution to the present? a. No single factor explains the dangerously accelerating growth rate of world population. b. The growth rate of world population is equally distributed among nations. c. Resources are not distributed equally among all nations. d. It has reached the point where 48 percent of the world population exists on less that $2/day. e. The growth rate is unsustainable.

Q: Which of the following is not associated with the development of food production? a. Measles b. Tuberculosis c. Influenza d. Low populations e. Malnutrition

Q: Hominins had a good environmental record up to the end of the Ice Age because a. there wasn"t very many of them. b. they were natural conservationists. c. they lived in harmony with nature. d. they were not living at their potential as a species. e. biocultural evolution did not enable flexibility in different habitats.

Q: "Amazonian Dark Earths" (ADE) is a term used to describe a particular dark colored style of pottery decoration found in the Central Amazon.

Q: Oral traditions recorded by the Spaniards stretch as far back as the Late Intermediate Period and include stories about the Lambayeque and the Chimor cultures.

Q: The Inca called their realm "Tiwanaku."

Q: In the lower Tigris-Euphrates Valley, __________________poisoned the fields once farmed by Ubaidians and Sumerians. a. the Black Death b. Neolithic herders c. severe soil erosion d. high levels of salts e. animal grazing

Q: Although the iconography of the "Presentation Theme" was once though to be real, the discovery of the tomb of the Lord of Sipn proved that the images were pure fantasy: there was no "warrior priest" and the scenes were never enacted in real life.

Q: The archaeological record indicates Paleolithic individuals were capable of expanding into new habitats, a. but their population density remained low. b. but they did not adapt culturally. c. but they did not adapt biologically. d. but they had a measurable environmental impact. e. but they did not spread out of Africa.

Q: Chavn de Huntar is a late Inca site located in central Ecuador.

Q: The reason we can say humans have caused changes in the climate is a result of a. scientific data manipulation and false reporting. b. claims coming from television commentators and politicians. c. measurements of coal and petroleum resources. d. measurements of carbon dioxide emissions. e. swimming among the coral reefs.

Q: Metallurgical technology during Peru's Middle Horizon included soldering, sweat welding, raised relief, and alloying gold with silver or copper.

Q: Science is an approach based on a. uninformed, ideology-driven claims b. data collection, testing, and verification c. limited debates that do not consider alternative approaches and conclusions d. television commentators and politicians e. partisan disputes

Q: Whether you see the future of humans as rosy or bleak, a. the costs of changes outweigh the benefits. b. the costs of benefits outweigh the costs. c. tool using is soon to be replaced by cognitive reasoning. d. hard work, sacrifices and brilliant insights will not be necessary in the future. e. there's no going back.

Q: Our digestive systems are well adapted to being a. hunter gatherers b. pizza eaters c. couch potatoes d. farmers e. scientists

Q: In the Andes, like other cradles of civilization, urban centers with large temples and elite residences arose long after the invention of pottery.

Q: The vast majority of countries and their leaders a. agree that global climate change is not a very serious and urgent problem. b. agree that scientists have been mistaken in their interpretations of the severity of climate change. c. agree that global climate change is a very serious and urgent problem. d. disagree as to whether greenhouse gasses contribute to climate change. e. disagree as to the future of the coal industry.

Q: Large sedentary communities, expansive settlements encircled by massive earthworks, have been found within the Amazon rainforest.

Q: At the global level, the biggest environmental problem we currently face concerns a. multicropping different crops in a single agricultural plot b. diseases attacking domesticated fowl and mammals c. increasing population growth among developing countries d. climate change e. so-called "environmentally friendly" but destructive technological approaches to meeting food demands

Q: When Europeans arrived in the southern peripheries of Amazonia in central Brazil and eastern Bolivia they found: a) nothing: the area was uninhabited b) only small hunter-gatherer groups c) the capital of the Inca Empire d) large, complex, sedentary chiefdoms e) the lost city of El Dorado

Q: Rectangular __________, which are found at some Taino sites in the Caribbean, are a clear indication of contact with Maya kingdoms. a) tombs b) temples c) high platform mounds d) ballcourts e) large palatial complexes

Q: Because of their relative genetic similarity, a. domesticated species of grasses are susceptible to disease, drought, and pests. b. several roots crops are no longer able to sustain populations. c. scientists are trying to prevent reestablishing genetic diversity in grasses and several root crops through limiting introduction of heterogeneous strains. d. domesticated species of grasses are better than domesticated species of fowl and animals. e. domesticated species of plants are never interspersed with different species of plants.

Q: By the year 1800, the Industrial Revolution was well under way and there were about __________persons per square mile; two centuries later there were __________persons per square mile. a. 250; 500 b. 30; 10 c. 7; 24 d. 10; 1000 e. 18; 105

Q: Because the archaeology of the region has been under-investigated, reconstructions of the past cultural groups of the Amazon have been largely based on: a) historical linguistics b) Inca records c) guesswork d) the iconography on Moche pottery e) geological survey

Q: Bioarchaeological studies have shown that overall health quality a. declined with the development of agriculture. b. improved with the development of agriculture. c. declined in great part due to the lack of mosquito control. d. improved with the lifestyles related to domesticated animals. e. among farmers was better than among hunter-gatherers.

Q: Deceased Inca rulers: a) were mummified b) were venerated as religious objects or deities c) "resided" in their former residences or in temples d) were displayed during important ceremonies e) all of the above

Q: Hunter-gatherers extracted their livelihood from available natural resources and Neolithic farmers a. maintained the environment by planting native plants and domesticating only native animals. b. plowed, terraced, and cut forests in ways to prevent severe soil erosion and decline of plant and animal species. c. used practices that discouraged the growth of weeds. d. used practices that replenished depleted potassium. e. altered the environment by substituting domesticated plants and animals for native species.

Q: The site of Cuzco is associated with: a) the Wari Empire b) the Chimor Empire c) the Lambayeque culture d) the Inca Empire e) the Chavn state

Q: Runa Simi: a) was the "lingua franca" of the Inca Empire b) was the mythological founder of the Lambayeque culture c) was the capital of the Inca Empire d) was the first Inca king e) is the term used to describe the system of knotted rope accounting used by the Inca

Q: As agricultural techniques and resulting harvests improved, a. surplus production was still difficult to achieve. b. surplus production was at the discretion of the individual farmer. c. surplus production served as a kind of capital, or wealth that stimulated new kinds of socioeconomic interactions. d. farmers could stop producing full time and become religious leaders. e. a social and economic hierarchy emerged in all Neolithic societies.

Q: At the site of Chan Chan, the term ciudadelas or citadels has been applied to the enormous enclosures where: a) large llama herds were kept b) the pan-Andean ballgame was played c) ritualized warfare and sacrifices occurred d) the commoners and craftspeople lived e) the paramount rulers and their kin held court and were buried

Q: Some researchers argue that human population growth initiated the agricultural response at the end of the last Ice Age; others see it happening the other way around. But there's no question that a. population size and density both tended to decrease as farming produced smaller and less predictable yields. b. population size and density both tended to increase as farming produced larger and more predictable yields. c. population size tended to increase and density decrease as farming produced larger and more predictable yields. d. population size tended to decrease and density increase as farming produced larger and more predictable yields. e. population size and density both tended to increase as farming produced larger but less predictable yields.

Q: Extensive looting of the Lambayeque site of __________ has produced much of the Andean goldwork in international museums and private collections; the site now resembles the cratered surface of the moon. a) Cuzco b) Batn Grande c) Kuraka d) the Nazca Lines e) Boca Grande

Q: By the end of the Ice Age, there may have been___________ humans, or _________________. a. 10 million, one person for every 5 square miles of land surface. b. 100 million, one person for every 100 square miles of land surface. c. 5 million, one person for every 10 square miles of land surface. d. 1 million, five persons for every 1 square mile of land surface. e. 1000 people, one person for every 10 square miles of land surface.

Q: Which of the following Andean civilizations dates to the Middle Horizon: a) the Inca b) Wari c) Tiwanaku d) all of the above e) b and c only

Q: For most of hominin history a. our ancestors' reproductive capacity was much different from our ape cousins. b. a woman gave birth every three or four years. c. women gave birth every two years, then a few thousand years ago began to give birth every three or four years. d. infant mortality rates were different than those of early farmers and some communities today. e. had a relatively worse environmental record before the end of the Ice Age.

Q: Which of the following does not describe the lives of hominin ancestors and their predecessors? a. They suffered periodic food shortages that sometimes ended in starvation. b. They suffered from traumatic injury and infectious disease. c. Their populations were small and mobile. d. Their reproductive capacity was much different from the apes. e. Infant mortality rates were high.

Q: According to the text, the game changer for our ancestors, whether they were australopiths or early Homo, was a. their first rudimentary attempts at language. b. their first rudimentary attempts at technological solutions to problems. c. their ability to manage their own lives. d. their capabilities to expand into new habitats. e. their bipedal locomotion.

Q: The site of Chan Chan was the capital of __________, South America's second largest native empire. a) Chimor b) Chavn c) Wari d) Paracas e) Nazca

Q: The site of Tiwanaku is located: a) only about 10 miles from the site of Wari in Peru b) deep in Bolivia's jungle lowlands near a major tropical river c) at well over 10,500 feet above sea level on the plains of Lake Titicaca d) on Peru's dry north coast e) at the site of what later became the city of Lima, Peru

Q: The Nazca lines, which are terrestrial depictions of animals, lines, and geometric shapes, are referred to as: a) archeometry b) geoarchaeology c) paleoglyphs d) geoglyphs e) hieroglyphs

Q: The term Anthropocene implies that a. we were the major force of nature prior to 10,000 years ago. b. our global impact has accelerated greatly during the past couple of centuries. c. millions of years from now the record of human life will be eradicated. d. no other species can be acclaimed to be responsible for the global effects that humans have already achieved. e. there are more humans than bacteria.

Q: Given the data collected by a recent Australian government study on the Great Barrier reef we recognize a. humans have protected the reef and it is now a model for restoration projects, worldwide. b. humans are killing the reef through acts of violence so discrete they are unable to be quelled by even military forces. c. humans are indifferent to the status of the reef. d. humans are destroying the reef through their own generated pollution. e. it is a relatively easy task to restore the world landmark.

Q: The "Presentation Theme," the "Warrior Narrative," and the "Warrior Priest" are all: a) indigenous Peruvian dances that date to before the Spanish Conquest b) images seen on megalithic wall at Cerro Sechn c) rituals conducted during Inca sacrifice ceremonies d) iconographic themes seen in Moche pottery e) associated with the Preceramic period site of Caral

Q: Detail the development of civilization in Mesoamerica in ecologically diverse locations, including the Olmec and the Aztec.

Q: Archaeologists are unsure whether Moche sites represent a centrally organized state or a series of loosely confederated principalities. However, all Moche sites clearly display a shared: a) king as recorded on the Lord of Sipn king list b) hatred of their rivals, the Nazca c) origin in the earlier Inca culture d) writing system e) ideology, as seen through the iconography on Moche artifacts

Q: Compare and contrast New and Old World Civilizations in terms of the lifeways of the residents. What are the major similarities, and what are some of the substantial differences?

Q: By the Early Intermediate Period in the sierra highlands and along the desert coast, governance was in the hands of an elite class of individuals, whom the Spaniards later called the: a) kuraka class b) ayllu class c) suyu class d) Inca e) quipucamayoc

Q: What factors account for the rise and fall of early civilizations in Mesopotamia? What aspects of the social, political, and economic organization?

Q: In the Early Horizon cemeteries of Paracas, bodies were interred as: a) "ice mummies" in high caves in the mountains that, effectively, freeze dried the corpses b) cremation burials in elaborate urns depicting mythological scenes c) individuals placed in wooden coffins with tombstones d) "mummy bundles," wrapped in layers of finely woven and embroidered textiles e) all of the above

Q: Compare and contrast the environmental and cultural explanations used to explain the development of civilization. What are the central principles of each approach? How have these theories been applied to the development of civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China?

Q: The principal deity of Chavn de Huntar is now called __________; this deity is seen depicted throughout the Andes for over a millennium at sites such as Tiwanaku. a) Quetzalcoatl b) The Lord of Sipn c) The Gateway God d) Chavinl e) The Staff God

Q: The bas-relief carvings on the megalithic mosaic wall at the Initial Period site of Cerro Sechn depict: a) a central staff god flanked by winged attendants b) portraits of a succession of named kings of the ruling dynasty c) warriors with trophy heads, hinting at conflict during that period d) a rare portrayal of the Spanish Conquest in indigenous art. e) the earliest hieroglyphic writing in the Andes