Human Prehistory Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mantoux Test

Dendrochronology is the science of dating using tree rings. It's useful for dating some objects as far back as about 9000 B.C. For objects ranging up to about 40,000 years old radiocarbon dating (C-14) is used. Objects between 40,000 and 500,000 years old are difficult to date using current methods, but for objects older than 500,000 years the potassium-argon test is used. The Mantoux text is given to people who are suspected of being immune to tuberculosis.

Answer: Silver Age

C. J. Thomson, a Danish archaeologist, subdivided human prehistory into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, respectively. The Stone Age was further subdivided into the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and Neolithic (New Stone Age).

Answer: Würm

The Würm, or Wisconsin, Glaciation began its retreat about 15,000 years ago, but not before human beings would cross the Bering Strait from Asia into the Americas. During the most recent Ice Age, the Neanderthals, a people especially suited for cold weather, flourished in Europe. The term 'Würm' comes from a river in Switzerland at which the glaciation was first discovered.

Answer: Raymond Dart

Dart was an anatomy professor who, while exploring the Taung limestone quarry in Bechuanaland found a tiny skull which he identified as an early hominid, rather than an ape. After naming the species Autralopithecus africanus, he announced his discovery to the public, but his findings were met with extreme skepticism and derision. Another scholar, Robert Broom, believed Dart and left for Africa where he made his own discoveries that corroborated Dart's claims.

Answer: Olduvai Gorge

It was in the bed of the Olduvai Gorge, in the midst of the Serengeti Plain in northern Tanzania, where the Louis first discovered stone tools in 1931. Louis Leakey also discovered the first sample of Homo habilis in the Olduvai Gorge.

Answer: Koobi Fora

The Koobi Fora has yielded finds that have been dated to about 2.5 million years ago. The tools found at the Koobi Fora, located in eastern Africa, were most likely employed by members of the species Homo habilis. The Leakeys, among many others, have been active at this site for decades.

Answer: Homo habilis

Homo habilis literally means 'handy man', and as described above, was likely the first of the hominid species to employ tools, mostly using stone and wood in constructing simple instruments that could be used for hunting, cooking and other activities related to daily life.

Answer: Java

The discovery of Dubois' 'Javan Man' was originally treated with great skepticism, much as Dart's discovery some years later. Dubois initially believed his discovery to be 'the missing link' between man and ape, but we now know that Homo erectus is but a small piece of a greater puzzle. It was not until the 1920s that the scientific community fully accepted Dubois' discovery, and this only after similar human remains were discovered in China.

Answer: China

Zhoukoudian Cave in northern China is the site where the famous 'Peking Man' was first discovered. It was this discovery that helped convince the world of the veracity of Dubois' claims. The fascinating story of Zhoukoudian, now a World Heritage Site, can be found at the following webpage: http://www.unesco.org/ext/field/beijing/whc/pkm-site.htm.

Answer: Le Moustier

Perhaps the most revealing find in relations to Neanderthal tool-making was the discovery of the Mousterian technology at the Le Moustier cave in the south of France. Remains of the Neanderthals, originally located at a cave in the Neander Valley near Düsseldorf in Germany, have been found across Europe.

The Neanderthals were the first hominid group to bury their dead, and probably developed the first form of systematic spirituality. Thank you for trying this quiz, I hope you enjoyed it and will try some of my other stuff.