Name ______Date ______
Assessment: Early Hominins
Mastering the Content Select the letter next to the best answer.
1. A paleoanthropologist specializes in the study of the
A. kings and queens of the earliest modern humans. B. development and culture of the earliest hominins. CORRECT C. communication and social systems of early apes. D. trade and barter systems among modern humans.
2. How did the Leakeys discover the Homo habilis (Handy Man) hominin group?
A. They found remains in Africa. CORRECT B. They found ancient documents. C. They found a complete male skeleton. D. They found cave paintings.
3. Which statement about Homo habilis (Handy Man) describes a capability that helped their group survive?
A. They knew how to make tools. CORRECT B. They came before Neanderthals. C. They lived 50,000 years ago. D. They could not walk on two feet.
4. Which of these helped Homo habilis survive against animal attacks?
A. building shelters B. burying their dead C. using bows and arrows D. living together in groups CORRECT
Map: Use this map to answer the next four items.
5. Where were Homo habilis (Handy Man) bones first found?
A. continent 2 B. continent 4 CORRECT C. continent 5 D. continent 6
6. Which group is believed to be the first to live on continent 3?
A. Homo habilis (Handy Man) B. Homo erectus (Upright Man) CORRECT C. Homo sapiens neanderthalensis D. Homo sapiens (Wise Man)
7. Which new capability enabled hominins to survive in the colder climate of continent 3?
A. building fire and shelters CORRECT B. drawing art on cave walls C. gathering food from plants D. making tools out of bones
8. How do scientists think hominins first migrated to continent 1?
A. down rivers on bamboo rafts B. in boats made out of hollow logs C. over land that is now under water CORRECT D. by riding animals that could swim
9. Homo habilis (Handy Man) is known for being
A. the biped. B. the toolmaker. CORRECT C. the language user. D. the cave painter. 10. The bones of a number of hominins were found in one location. Using this evidence, scientists concluded that this type of hominin probably
A. made tools. B. died in wars. C. had language. D. lived in groups. CORRECT
11. What trait made Homo erectus well suited for traveling?
A. short, stocky build B. ridge above the eyes C. long, strong leg bones CORRECT D. round, smooth foreheads
12. Homo erectus was the first hominin to use
A. fire. CORRECT B. hands. C. fish hooks. D. stone tools.
13. Large brains helped Homo neanderthalensis survive, giving them the ability to
A. run much faster. B. bend farther forward. C. design better tools. CORRECT D. plant crops for food.
14. At Neanderthal sites, evidence from burial mounds, showing signs that people cared for the sick and injured, has led scientists to believe that Neanderthals had
A. creative minds. B. a complex religion. C. a desire to make art. D. a sense of community. CORRECT
15. What advantage over previous hominin groups did the invention of the spear thrower give to early modern humans?
A. to cook animals for food B. to injure animals with knives C. to kill animals from a distance CORRECT D. to hunt animals in organized groups 16. Who made cave paintings, carvings, and musical instruments?
A. Homo erectus B. Homo sapiens CORRECT C. Homo habilis D. Homo neanderthalensis
Applying Social Studies Skills Use the passage and your knowledge of history to complete the sentences. Write the word or phrase in the space provided.
Mary Leakey looked for hominin bones with her husband, Louis Leakey. In 1994, she told an interviewer for Scientific American, ''For me it was the sheer instinctive joy of collecting, or indeed one could say treasure hunting: it seemed that this whole area abounded in objects of beauty and great intrinsic interest that could be taken from the ground.''
She found a hominin skull from about 1.8 million years ago. She said,
''For some reason, that skull caught the imagination. But what it also did... it caught the imagination of the National Geographic Society, and as a result they funded us for years. ''
One of her most important discoveries was the footprints of three hominins. They were from about 3.6 million years ago. They proved that very early hominins walked on two feet. She told the interviewer,
''It was not as exciting as some of the other discoveries, because we did not know what we had. of course, when we realized what they [footprints] were, then it was really exciting.''
She talked about how hard it is to know the meaning of things she found.
''There is so much we do not know, and the more we do know, the more we realize that early interpretations were completely wrong.''
17. Who paid for much of the Leakeys’ work?
ANSWER: the National Geographic Society
18. What evidence did Mary Leakey make based on her findings of footprints?
ANSWER: proved that early hominins walked on two feet
19. What have new findings shown about the early interpretations of hominin remains?
ANSWER: early interpretations were completely wrong
Exploring the Essential Question: What capabilities helped hominins survive? Follow the directions to complete the item below.
20. Write a short story about a Neanderthal individual or family. Your story should • show how Neanderthal capabilities such as skilled toolmaking, hunting in an organized group, and caring for each other help them survive in their environment. • establish and develop a plot and setting, and present a point of view that is appropriate to the story. • include sensory details and concrete language that develop plot and character. • use several different narrative devices such as dialogue and suspense.
ANSWER: