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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Harari states that "When complex societies began to appear in the wake of the Agricultural Revolution, a completely new type of information became vital" (121). What was this new type of information?
(a) Letters.
(b) Numbers.
(c) Geographical information.
(d) Topographical information.

2. Harari asserts that "The Agricultural Revolution made" what element of the human condition "more important than it had ever been before" (100)?
(a) The present.
(b) The past.
(c) The future.
(d) Existentialist ideals.

3. The last Ice Age that happened on Earth occurred during what span of time?
(a) From 90,000 years ago to 15,000 years ago.
(b) From 150,000 years ago to 45,000 years ago.
(c) From 60,000 years ago to 5,000 years ago.
(d) From 75,000 years ago to 15,000 years ago.

4. In what part of the world did the ancient Sumerians live?
(a) Southern Mesopotamia.
(b) Northern Mesopotamia.
(c) Eastern Greece.
(d) Northern Rome.

5. More than what percentage of the calories that feed humanity come from plants domesticated by our ancestors between 9,500 and 3,500 BC?
(a) 30.
(b) 60.
(c) 75.
(d) 90.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is NOT a feat mentioned by Harari as an action taken by Sapiens during their reign?

2. Harari states that "the most unique feature of Sapiens language" (24) is that it provides its speakers with what?

3. Harari names Sapiens' first achievement after the dawn of the Cognitive Revolution as what?

4. The Cognitive Revolution occurred how long ago?

5. Before the transition to agriculture, earth was home to about how many nomadic foragers?

Short Essay Questions

1. Analyze Harari's use of the term “curtain of silence” (61) within his discussion of our limited understanding of human history.

2. Discuss the significance of the author's focus on fictive language.

3. For what purpose does the author include a table at the start of the text that presents a timeline of human history?

4. What does the author name as the most important step in convincing people to believe a shared myth?

5. What is the author's claim concerning the luxury trap?

6. What is the function of a template for collective action within a society?

7. What types of examples does Harari provide when he discusses concepts that help to structure order and cooperation, but do not actually exist in tangible form?

8. How does Harari define the term history?

9. What evidence does the author provide for his claim that what is beneficial to the species as a whole is not always beneficial to individuals?

10. What does the author state about the negative effects of agriculture on the human race?

(see the answer keys)

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