Understanding World Societies:
Printed Page 31

Chapter Chronology

> CHAPTER 1 STUDY GUIDE

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Now, take a step back and try to explain the big picture. Remember to use specific examples from the chapter in your answers.

HUMAN EVOLUTION AND MIGRATION

  • What explains the evolution of ever larger brains in successive hominid species?
  • How did geography and climate shape the migration and distribution of early human communities?
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PALEOLITHIC SOCIETY

  • What role did family, kinship, and gender relations play in Paleolithic society?
  • What do we know about the culture and spirituality of Paleolithic peoples? How do we know it?
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THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEOLITHIC SOCIETY

  • Why did some human communities make the transition from foraging to settled agriculture while others did not?
  • How did agriculture contribute to the development of new social, political, and economic institutions in Neolithic communities?
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LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

  • In your opinion, at what point did human history begin? With the first bipedal hominids? Later? Why did you choose the point in the past you did?
  • Argue for or against the following statement. “The Agricultural Revolution should be considered the fundamental turning point in human history, the moment when the foundations of all future social, economic, and political institutions were laid down.”
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