Question 1

Evidence supporting the idea of Unilineal Evolution includes the adoption of agriculture; ethnographic data show that once hunter-gatherers become aware of agricultural techniques, they adopt them quickly.

Accepted Answer

Unilineal Evolution, a theory suggesting societies progress through a series of stages in a specific order, is not universally supported by evidence of the adoption of agriculture. Many hunter-gatherer societies did not adopt agriculture quickly or at all, due to various cultural, environmental, and social reasons. The transition to agriculture was complex and varied significantly across different regions and societies.

Question 2

Prior to about 12,000 years ago, all humans lived in chiefdoms.

Accepted Answer

Prior to about 12,000 years ago, humans primarily lived as hunter-gatherers in small bands or tribes, not in organized chiefdoms. Chiefdoms developed later as agriculture and settled life allowed for more complex social structures.

Question 3

John Lubbock's influential archaeology textbook Prehistoric Times (1865) led to the belief that contemporary "primitives" were living relics of prehistory; therefore questions about the past could be answered simply by observing a living culture that approximated the archaeological culture in question.

Accepted Answer

John Lubbock's work, including "Prehistoric Times," indeed contributed to the notion that contemporary indigenous or "primitive" societies could serve as direct analogues for understanding prehistoric human societies. This perspective influenced early archaeological and anthropological thought by suggesting that studying these living cultures could provide insights into the human past.

Question 4

Ideology is a set of cultural, religious, or cosmological beliefs that rationalizes exploitative relations between classes or social groups, masking the fact that one group is exploiting another.

Accepted Answer

Ideology often serves to justify and naturalize the power of dominant groups, obscuring the exploitative dynamics at play between different classes or social groups by presenting the social order as just, natural, or inevitable.

Question 5

The comparative method of 19th century social science took diversity in the world's cultures and put them in an evolutionary sequence. Those with "simple" technology were at the bottom of the scale, and those with the most complex technology were at the top.

Accepted Answer

The comparative method in 19th-century social science indeed aimed to categorize the world's cultures based on their technological complexity, placing those with simpler technologies at a lower level of development and those with more complex technologies at a higher level, reflecting an evolutionary perspective on cultural progress.

Question 6

Agriculture developed only once roughly 10,000 years ago in the Near East, and from there spread rapidly throughout much of the world.

Accepted Answer

Agriculture developed independently in multiple regions of the world, including the Near East, China, New Guinea, Mesoamerica, and the Andes, at different times starting from around 12,000 years ago.

Question 7

To an archaeologist, "civilization" refers only to those cultures with writing systems, public performance in the form of plays, and full-time musicians.

Accepted Answer

To an archaeologist, "civilization" typically refers to complex societies with characteristics such as cities, a social hierarchy, and often, but not exclusively, writing systems. The definition does not strictly require public performances in the form of plays or full-time musicians.

Question 8

Archaic state formation did not occur anywhere until roughly AD 500; archaic states then spread rapidly from their birthplace in the Near East throughout much of the world.

Accepted Answer

Archaic state formation began well before AD 500, with early states emerging in regions such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China by the third millennium BC, not from a single "birthplace" in the Near East.

Question 9

A basic knowledge of plant reproduction is necessary for an agriculturalist, but such knowledge is not sufficient to inspire all foragers to transform themselves into agriculturalists.

Accepted Answer

While understanding plant reproduction is crucial for agriculture, it doesn't necessarily motivate foragers to become agriculturalists, as the decision to transition involves various other factors including cultural, economic, and environmental considerations.

Question 10

Although unilineal cultural evolution collapsed under the assault by Boas and his students and is still rejected by anthropology today, archaeological data do show strong regularities in human cultural evolution.

Accepted Answer

While the concept of unilineal cultural evolution has been largely discredited and abandoned due to its oversimplified view of cultural development, archaeological evidence does indeed reveal patterns and regularities in how cultures evolve over time. These patterns, however, are understood within a framework that recognizes multiple pathways of evolution rather than a single, linear trajectory.

Question 11

The density equilibrium model argues that people will adopt domesticated plants and agriculture whenever they are exposed to them because of the superior productivity of agriculture.

Accepted Answer

The density equilibrium model suggests that the adoption of agriculture is influenced by population density rather than the inherent superiority of agricultural productivity. It posits that hunter-gatherer populations will adopt agriculture when their densities reach a level where the benefits of farming outweigh those of foraging, not simply because they are exposed to domesticated plants and agriculture.

Question 12

Optimal foraging theory operates on the principle that humans will select foods that offer high return rates, or the most calories for the amount of time invested in procurement and processing.

Accepted Answer

Optimal foraging theory suggests that animals, including humans, will evolve strategies that maximize their net energy intake per unit of foraging time. Thus, they will prefer foods that offer the highest energy return for the least effort.

Quiz 13: Understanding Key Transitions In World Prehistory