UNIT 9 INITIAL ASSESSMENT

Name: .................................................................................................. Course: ..................................

1. Answer the following questions:

– Which event is considered to mark the end of Prehistory? ................................................................................

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– What ages can Prehistory be divided into? ........................................................................................................

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– What kinds of material remains allow us to study Prehistory? ...........................................................................

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2. Indicate if the following sentences are true (T) o false (F):

A The Palaeolithic age is divided into three stages: Lower, Middle and Upper.

B Agriculture developed in the Neolithic age.

C The Metal Ages is divided into: the Copper Age, the Bronze Age and the Gold age.

D Archaeology is the science of the recovery and analysis of material remains from the past.

3. Put the following dates in chronological order:

4000 BC 7th millennium BC 10000 years ago 2300 BC 2nd millennium BC 1900000 years ago

1. ........................................... 2. ........................................... 3. ...........................................

4. ........................................... 5. ........................................... 6. ...........................................

4. Define the following words:

– Nomadic: ............................................................................................................................................................

– Sedentary: ..........................................................................................................................................................

– Megalith: ............................................................................................................................................................

– Metalworking: .....................................................................................................................................................

– Cave art: ............................................................................................................................................................

5. Write an essential feature for each of the time periods that Prehistory is divided
into:

Palaeolithic: …………………………………………………………………...………...................................................

Neolithic..................................................................................................................................................................

The Metal Ages: …………………………………………............................................................................................

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 UNIT 9 LEARNING STANDARDS: FINAL ASSESSMENT

Name: .................................................................................................. Course: ..................................

In 1974, the skeleton of a female hominid of the

Australopithecus afarensis species was found in Ethiopia
(Africa). It was the oldest hominid remains that had ever
been found at that time.
They named it “Lucy”, after the Beatles' song “Lucy in
the Sky with diamonds”, which the archaeologists were
listening to when they discovered the remains.
Lucy measured one metre in height and her skull was
the size of a chimpanzees'. The difference being that she
could walk upright; a trait attributed to humans. She was
therefore considered to be the first hominid in history.

1. Lucy was a Australopithecus afarensis, which are considered to be direct

ancestors of the genus Homo. Between them there were different types of
hominids. Mark the correct answer:

A The Homo erectus appeared in Europe 50 000 years ago.

B The Homo habilis were the first to make tools and instruments.

C The Homo neanderthalensis were the tallest hominids.

D The predecessors of Homo sapiens were the Homo erectus, who could walk upright.

2. The human being is the result of a slow process of human evolution, that
lasted for millions of years. Explain, in order, the physical changes
experienced during this process.

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3. With the appearance of humans, the Palaeolithic period began. Indicate the
main characteristics of human society at that time:

A It was a nomadic society and they lived off vegetable gathering.

B It was a sedentary society dedicated to agriculture and breeding livestock.

C It was a nomadic, hunting society and they made hunting tools.

D It was a sedentary, hunting society and they made tools for agricultural use.

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 UNIT 9 LEARNING STANDARDS: FINAL ASSESSMENT

Name: .................................................................................................. Course: ..................................

V. Gordon Childe was an influential anthropologist and

archaeologist who studied the Neolithic age. After his research,
he decided to name this period the “Neolithic Revolution”.

He used the term "revolution" because he considered that

there had been a radical transformation in the life of humanity.
It went from being a nomadic life of hunter-gatherers to a
sedentary life, with the creation of the first settlements and the
development of agriculture and livestock farming.

This process has been linked to the end of the last ice age.
The climate totally changed and this forced societies to adapt
to the new conditions.

4. Gordon Childe was one of the first scientists to provide a wealth of information
on the Neolithic period and the changes that occurred then. Mark the correct
answer:

A The ice age caused humans to become sedentary.

B Neolithic villages survived by trading goods with other villages.

C Observing the behaviour of animals led to the domestication of animals.

D Neolithic villages were located on flat land close to the sea or big lakes.

5. The development of agriculture and livestock farming was a decisive factor in

the creation of Neolithic villages. Explain the relationship between the two.

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6. During the Metal Ages, society was diversified and transformed. Answer the
below questions.

– Why did artisans appear? ..................................................................................................................................

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– What consequences did the need to defend land and property have? ..............................................................

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 UNIT 9 LEARNING STANDARDS: FINAL ASSESSMENT

Name: .................................................................................................. Course: ..................................

7. Megaliths were big monuments made from stone slabs. Write the name of
each megalith next to its description and then match them to the correct
picture.

1. …………..……………. A large standing stone.

2. ………………..………. A chamber with large standing stones and a flat stone roof.

3. ..................…..………. Made up of upright stones and vertical slabs put in a circle.

One day, in 1868, a sharecropper named Modesto

Cubillas went out hunting with his dog close to the
village of Santillana del Mar. The dog, while following
the scent of his prey, fell into a gap in the mountain and
got trapped there.
His owner went to rescue him and while doing so he
discovered the entrance to a large cave behind some
bushes.
This was how the Caves of Altamira were
discovered and they display some of the world's most
important examples of Palaeolithic cave paintings.

8. In the Caves of Altamira (Cantabria) cave paintings with different drawings

symbolising animal figures were found. However, there were different types and
models of cave paintings. Mark the correct answer:

A They were always painted with feathers and were only in colour.

B The oldest cave paintings are 30 000 years old.

C The paintings always had a naturalistic theme, depicting animals.

D Cave paintings were simply decorative works, seeking to represent aesthetic beauty.

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 UNIT 9 LEARNING STANDARDS: FINAL ASSESSMENT

Name: .................................................................................................. Course: ..................................

9. On the Iberian Peninsula there are different types of Palaeolithic cave paintings.
They can be classified into two different types. Explain what each type of painting
depicts and its style:

Paintings from the Cantabrian area: ................................................................................................................................

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Paintings from the Mediterranean and Levantine areas: ...............................................................................................

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10. As well as cave paintings, different artistic techniques evolved during

Prehistory, which are known as "rock art". Mark the correct answer:

A There are different theories to explain the reasons for rock art.

B The geometric signs represent the objects that they wanted to build.

C The scenes of everyday life represented the family ideal of that period.

D Paintings were done in the darkest parts of the cave to avoid them being destroyed.

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