Stone Age Humans: Origins, Tools, Culture, and Fossil Evidence

Stone Age Questions and Answers

Short Questions and Answers

• Which describes one way that early hunter-gatherers got food? They used tools to kill animals.
• What was the main unit of Stone Age culture? A small group or band of people.
• Which is a kind of technology used by Stone Age humans? Fire.
• How do nomads live? They travel from place to place with the seasons.
• Which group was the first to bury its dead? Neanderthals.
• What is the term for the belief that spirits fill the natural world? Animism.
• What happens during a migration? People move from their homeland to a new place.
• What is a clan? A group of families with a common ancestor.
• Why did modern humans have to adapt? They had to adjust to new environments.
• How did the world change when modern humans populated it? There were humans in every region.

True or False Statements

• Lucy was discovered by Mary and Louis Leakey? False.
• Ardi was named by the fossil hunter Donald Johanson? False.
• Fossils include plants, feathers, bones, and even footprints? True.
• Radioactive dating is not a method to date fossils? False.
• Genetic evidence has uncovered new information about early people? True.
• In 1970 the Leakeys discovered Homo habilis in Olduvai Gorge? False.
• The fossils of Lucy were found in Ethiopia? True.
• Discoveries such as Lucy and Ardi have led scientists to conclude that humankind evolved in Africa? True.
• The latest discovery was made by Michael Brunet in the country of Chad? True.
• The fossils of a woman were named Ardi for a song of the Beatles? False.

Key Terms and Definitions

• Artifact: An object made by a human being.
• Archaeologist: A scientist who studies life in the past.
• Prehistory: The period of time before written language was invented.
• Fossil: Preserved remains of ancient humans, animals, or plants.
• Nomad: Someone who moves from place to place searching for food.
• Anthropologist: Someone who studies how human beings behave.
• Technology: Tools, techniques, and skills people use to meet their needs.
• Culture: Many different elements that make up the way of life of people.
• Hunter-gatherer: People who lived by hunting and gathering food.
• Geologists: Scientists who study the physical materials of Earth.
• Populate: To become inhabitants of a place.
• Environment: Surroundings.
• Adapt: To change one's way of life to suit a new environment.
• Migration: When people leave their homeland to live somewhere else.
• Revolution: A complete change in ways of thinking, working, or living.
• Clans: Groups of families with a common ancestor.
• Animism: The belief that things in nature have spirits.
• Lascaux Caves: A place in France where four teenagers found ancient paintings.
• Domesticate: To tame animals or plants.
• Surplus: More than people needed to feed themselves.

Review Questions

• Mention the elements that make up a culture? Social and family organization, beliefs and values, technology, shelter, and clothing.
• What do archaeologists do? Discover and study objects used by past civilizations.
• What are two signs that show early people developed a more complex culture? (Open question for reflection or class discussion.)