Class 12 Anthropology Chapter 4 Classification of Prehistoric Cultures Solutions with complete textual questions and answers, important additional exam-oriented questions and answers, and easy-to-understand solutions for effective exam preparation.

Class 12 Anthropology Chapter 4 Classification of Prehistoric Cultures Solutions

Class 12 Anthropology Chapter 4 Classification of Prehistoric Cultures Solutions contains both Textual and Additional questions in easy and comprehensible simple English.

Class 12 Anthropology Chapter 4 Classification of Prehistoric Cultures Solutions

Textual Questions & Solutions

1. Which was the first metal used by man?

Ans: Copper was one of the earliest metals used by humans. Its use preceded the widespread development of bronze and iron metallurgy.

2. Name the tool that was made from the main stone?

Ans: Tools made from a stone core included pebble tools, choppers, handaxes, cleavers, and other core tools.

3. Name the first tool used by man.

Ans: There is no single tool that can be identified with certainty as the first tool used by humans. The earliest known stone-tool technologies include simple cores, hammerstones, and sharp stone flakes. The Oldowan tradition, dating to about 2.6 million years ago, is among the earliest widely recognized stone-tool industries.

4. From which cultural period was the handaxe used?

Ans: Handaxes were characteristic tools of the Lower Palaeolithic, particularly the Acheulean tradition. The earliest widely accepted Acheulean handaxes date to approximately 1.7–1.76 million years ago.

5. The grinding and polishing technique was used in which cultural period?

Ans: The technique of grinding and polishing stone was especially characteristic of the Neolithic period, when polished stone axes, adzes, chisels, and other tools became common.

6. Microliths belong to which cultural period?

Ans: Microliths are particularly characteristic of the Mesolithic period, although microlithic technologies also occurred in some later and earlier archaeological contexts.

7. What are the divisions of prehistory?

Ans: Prehistory is commonly divided into the Stone Age and the Metal Age, although the exact terminology and chronological boundaries vary among regions.

The Stone Age is traditionally divided into:

(i) Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age

(ii) Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age

(iii) Neolithic or New Stone Age

The Metal Age is traditionally divided into:

(i) Copper and Bronze Age

(ii) Iron Age

These divisions are broad archaeological classifications, and their dates differ considerably from one region to another.

8. From which cultural period were bone needles prepared?

Ans: Bone needles are particularly associated with the Upper Palaeolithic, especially the later Upper Palaeolithic traditions of Europe. Bone and antler were increasingly used for specialized tools during this period.

9. Who invented Mousterian culture?

Ans: Mousterian culture was not “invented” by a single known individual. It is a Middle Palaeolithic archaeological tradition strongly associated with Neanderthals in Europe, although the Mousterian technological tradition was not necessarily limited to Neanderthals.

10. Who used the term Neolithic revolution?

Ans: The term “Neolithic Revolution” was introduced and popularized by the archaeologist V. Gordon Childe to describe the major transformation from hunting and gathering to food production, including agriculture and animal domestication.

11. What is the core tool?

Ans: A core tool is a stone tool made by deliberately removing flakes from a stone core so that the remaining core has a useful cutting, chopping, scraping, or other functional edge. Examples include choppers, handaxes, and cleavers.

12. Name two tools belongs to the Mousterian culture.

Ans: Two important tools associated with the Mousterian tradition are:

(i) Side scrapers

(ii) Levallois points

13. What are microliths? How are they used?

Ans: Microliths are very small, carefully shaped stone tools or stone pieces, often made from blades or bladelets. They were frequently inserted into wooden or bone shafts to form composite tools. They could be used as cutting elements, points, or barbs in implements such as arrows, darts, and knives. Their small size also made replacement and repair of composite tools relatively convenient.

14. What do you mean by Palaeolithic tools?

Ans: Palaeolithic tools are stone and other implements made and used by prehistoric humans during the Palaeolithic, or Old Stone Age. They include core tools, flakes, scrapers, points, handaxes, cleavers, blades, and other specialized implements.

15. What are the raw materials used to prepare different types of tools during the palaeolithic period?

Ans: Stone was the principal raw material for Palaeolithic tools. Different types of stone, including flint, chert, quartzite, and other suitable rocks, were selected according to their availability and properties. During the Upper Palaeolithic, people also increasingly used organic materials such as bone, antler, ivory, and wood to make specialized tools. Examples include needles, harpoons, points, awls, and other implements.

16. Name few Neolithic tools.

Ans: Some important Neolithic tools include polished stone axes, adzes, chisels, hoes, sickles, grinding stones, and querns.

17. Name some important tools of the palaeolithic period.

Ans: Some important Palaeolithic tools include handaxes, cleavers, choppers, scrapers, points, blades, borers, and awls.

18. Write briefly on the Middle Palaeolithic culture of Europe.

Ans: The Middle Palaeolithic of Europe is generally associated with the Mousterian technological tradition, which developed after the Lower Palaeolithic and before the Upper Palaeolithic. It is broadly associated with the Neanderthals, although the archaeological record is more complex than a simple one-to-one association.

Flake technology became particularly important during this period, and prepared-core techniques such as the Levallois technique were widely used. Common tools included scrapers, points, denticulates, and other flake tools. Large handaxes became less dominant than in earlier Acheulean industries. The Mousterian tradition takes its name from Le Moustier, a site in southwestern France.

19. What is a handaxe? Show its different parts with a neat diagram.

Ans: A handaxe is a bifacially worked stone tool characteristic of the Acheulean tradition of the Lower Palaeolithic. It was generally shaped by removing flakes from both faces of a stone blank or large flake. Handaxes were versatile tools and may have been used for cutting, chopping, scraping, and processing animal and plant materials.

Handaxes were produced using techniques that included hard-hammer percussion and, in some cases, soft-hammer percussion for more controlled shaping.

20. What are the salient features of Upper Palaeolithic culture?

Ans: The salient features of Upper Palaeolithic culture include:

(i) Tools became more diverse, specialized, and carefully worked.

(ii) Blade technology became increasingly important, with long, relatively narrow blades being struck from prepared cores.

(iii) Blade-based knives and other specialized cutting tools became common.

(iv) Burins or gravers were important tools used for working materials such as bone, antler, and wood.

(v) Bone, antler, and ivory were increasingly used along with stone.

(vi) The Upper Palaeolithic is also associated with important developments in personal ornaments, symbolic expression, and representational art in several regions.

21. What is Neolithic Revolution? What are the changes that occurred in human society in the Neolithic period?

Ans: The Neolithic Revolution, a term associated with V. Gordon Childe, refers to the major transformation from predominantly hunting-and-gathering economies to food-producing economies based on agriculture and animal domestication. The transformation was gradual and occurred at different times in different regions.

The major changes included:

(i) Development of agriculture and plant domestication.

(ii) Domestication and management of animals.

(iii) Increasingly settled or sedentary village life in many regions.

(iv) Development and wider use of ground and polished stone tools.

(v) Growth of pottery-making and food-storage techniques in many Neolithic communities.

(vi) Development of spinning, weaving, basketry, and other crafts in some regions.

(vii) Changes in population size, settlement patterns, social organization, and economic activities.

Thus, the Neolithic period represented a major transformation in human subsistence and settlement patterns, although the process was neither sudden nor identical everywhere.

22. Write the differences between core tool and flake tool.

Ans:

Core Tool	Flake Tool
(i) A tool made by shaping or modifying the remaining stone core after flakes have been removed.	(i) A tool made from a flake that has been detached from a stone core.
(ii) Core tools are often relatively large, although their size varies considerably.	(ii) Flake tools are often smaller than large core tools, although their size also varies.
(iii) Core tools are especially characteristic of many Lower Palaeolithic industries.	(iii) Flake tools became increasingly important during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic.
(iv) Examples include choppers, handaxes, and cleavers.	(iv) Examples include scrapers, points, knives, and other retouched flakes.
(v) The core itself is shaped or modified to produce the functional edge.	(v) The detached flake may be used directly or modified by retouching.

23. Show the differences between Palaeolithic and Neolithic ways of life.

Ans:

Palaeolithic	Neolithic
(i) The Palaeolithic is the Old Stone Age and began roughly 2.6 million years ago in the conventional archaeological framework.	(i) The Neolithic began at different times in different regions, generally with the development of food production and more settled communities.
(ii) Many groups depended primarily on hunting, gathering, fishing, and other forms of food procurement.	(ii) Many Neolithic communities increasingly depended on agriculture, animal domestication, or other forms of food production.
(iii) People were often mobile or semi-mobile, although patterns varied considerably.	(iii) Many communities became increasingly sedentary and established permanent or semi-permanent settlements.
(iv) Chipped stone tools such as handaxes, flakes, scrapers, and points were widely used.	(iv) Ground and polished stone tools, including axes, adzes, hoes, and sickles, became increasingly common.
(v) Pottery and weaving were absent or uncommon in the earlier Palaeolithic.	(v) Pottery, weaving, food storage, and other crafts became important in many Neolithic communities.
(vi) Social and economic organization was generally based on mobile or semi-mobile groups.	(vi) Permanent settlements encouraged changes in population, economic organization, craft specialization, and social life.

24. Write  short notes:

(a) Oldwan culture.

Ans: The Oldowan culture, more commonly called the Oldowan industry or Oldowan technology, is one of the earliest widely recognized stone-tool traditions. It is named after Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where important early examples were discovered.

Oldowan assemblages include stone cores, hammerstones, sharp flakes, and simple core tools. The technology involved striking a stone core with a hammerstone to detach sharp flakes, which could be used for cutting and processing animal and plant materials. The earliest widely accepted Oldowan tools date to approximately 2.6 million years ago.

Oldowan tools have been found at numerous sites in eastern Africa and beyond. Although Homo habilis was historically regarded as an important Oldowan toolmaker, the precise identity of the makers of the earliest tools remains uncertain because several hominin species lived in the same broad regions during this period.

(b) Levalloisian technique.

Ans: The Levallois technique is a prepared-core method of stone-tool production. In this technique, the core is carefully shaped and prepared in advance so that a flake of a predetermined or relatively predictable shape and size can be removed.

The technique is particularly associated with the Middle Palaeolithic and is widely represented in Mousterian assemblages, although Levallois technology has a longer and broader chronological and geographical distribution. It represents an important development in the planning and control of stone-flaking technology.

(c) Azilian culture.

Ans: The Azilian culture is a Late Palaeolithic/Epipalaeolithic cultural tradition of western Europe, particularly associated with the region of the Pyrenees and southern France. It takes its name from the cave site of Mas d’Azil in southern France.

The Azilian tradition developed during the transition from the Late Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic. Its archaeological assemblages include stone tools, bone and antler implements, and distinctive painted or engraved pebbles. The Azilian culture is generally associated with the period following the Magdalenian and reflects important changes in technology and lifeways during the end of the Pleistocene.

(d) Mousterian culture.

Ans: The Mousterian culture is a Middle Palaeolithic archaeological tradition particularly associated with Neanderthals in Europe. It takes its name from Le Moustier, a site in southwestern France.

Mousterian technology is characterized mainly by flake tools, including side scrapers, points, denticulates, and other retouched implements. The Levallois prepared-core technique was an important method of producing flakes in many Mousterian assemblages.

Neanderthals used stone tools for activities such as hunting and processing animal hides and also controlled fire and occupied caves and other shelters. Archaeological evidence also indicates that Neanderthals sometimes deliberately buried their dead.

(e) Kitchen midden.

Ans: A kitchen midden is a deposit containing accumulated food refuse and other domestic waste, often including shells, animal bones, charcoal, broken tools, and other archaeological materials. Some prehistoric coastal and lakeside communities produced large shell middens through repeated consumption and disposal of shellfish.

Kitchen-midden sites are particularly important for reconstructing prehistoric diet, settlement, technology, and environmental adaptation. The term does not refer to a single uniform culture; rather, it describes a type of archaeological deposit found in different regions and periods.

(f) Campignian.

Ans: The Campignian is a prehistoric cultural tradition associated particularly with parts of western and northwestern Europe. It is characterized by large, often roughly worked stone implements, including axes, picks, and other heavy tools.

Campignian assemblages have sometimes been interpreted as representing a transitional or early Neolithic tradition, although the chronology and cultural significance of the Campignian are debated and vary according to region and archaeological classification. The term should therefore be used cautiously rather than treating it as a single clearly defined culture throughout northwestern Europe.

Additional Questions & Solutions

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)

1. Prehistory is defined as the period before the invention of—

(i) Fire.

(ii) Writing.

(iii) Agriculture.

(iv) Iron.

Ans: (ii) Writing.

2. The longest period in human history is—

(i) Mesolithic Age.

(ii) Metal Age.

(iii) Palaeolithic Age.

(iv) Neolithic Age.

Ans: (iii) Palaeolithic Age.

3. The Palaeolithic period is part of which geological epoch?

(i) Holocene.

(ii) Cretaceous.

(iii) Pleistocene.

(iv) Mesozoic.

Ans: (iii) Pleistocene.

4. Neanderthal man was associated with—

(i) Natufian Culture.

(ii) Acheulian Culture.

(iii) Mousterian Culture.

(iv) Solutrean Culture.

Ans: (iii) Mousterian Culture.

5. Laurel leaf points were made using which technique?

(i) Grinding.

(ii) Pressure flaking.

(iii) Bipolar.

(iv) Block-on-block.

Ans: (ii) Pressure flaking.

6. The earliest evidence of domesticated animals was found in—

(i) India.

(ii) Western Asia.

(iii) Europe.

(iv) Africa.

Ans: (ii) Western Asia.

7. The term ‘Neolithic Revolution’ was coined by—

(i) D.K. Bhattacharya.

(ii) V. Gordon Childe.

(iii) L.H. Morgan.

(iv) K.P. Oakley.

Ans: (ii) V. Gordon Childe.

8. Hand axe tools are associated with—

(i) Mesolithic.

(ii) Lower Palaeolithic.

(iii) Upper Palaeolithic.

(iv) Middle Palaeolithic.

Ans: (ii) Lower Palaeolithic.

9. The main tool type of Upper Palaeolithic is—

(i) Cleavers.

(ii) Microliths.

(iii) Blade tools.

(iv) Handaxe.

Ans: (iii) Blade tools.

10. Tools like scraper, borer, and point are—

(i) Bone tools.

(ii) Flake tools.

(iii) Core tools.

(iv) Blade tools.

Ans: (ii) Flake tools.

11. Which of the following is a Neolithic site?

(i) Levalloise.

(ii) Jericho.

(iii) Olduvai.

(iv) La Solutre.

Ans: (ii) Jericho.

12. Grinding and polishing technique was introduced in—

(i) Chalcolithic Age.

(ii) Neolithic Age.

(iii) Upper Palaeolithic.

(iv) Middle Palaeolithic.

Ans: (ii) Neolithic Age.

13. First burial of dead is observed among—

(i) Australopithecus.

(ii) Neanderthal.

(iii) Cro-Magnon.

(iv) Homo habilis.

Ans: (ii) Neanderthal.

14. Catal Huyuk is famous for—

(i) Iron smelting.

(ii) Weaving and cattle worship.

(iii) Bronze weapons.

(iv) Stone statues.

Ans: (ii) Weaving and cattle worship.

15. Levalloisian technique is advanced because—

(i) It involves grinding.

(ii) Core is shaped before flake removal.

(iii) It uses bone only.

(iv) It polishes all flakes.

Ans: (ii) Core is shaped before flake removal.

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