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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. What does Harari NOT list as a factor that prevents "people from realising that the order organising our lives exists only in their imagination" (112)?
(a) The imagined order is subjective.
(b) The imagined order is inter-subjective.
(c) The imagined order is embedded in the material world.
(d) The imagined order shapes our desires.

2. Harari states that throughout the text, he will use the term human to refer to whom?
(a) Creatures with opposable thumbs.
(b) All extant members of the genus Homo.
(c) The ancestors of chimpanzees.
(d) Members of the species Homo sapiens.

3. What is the only creature on Earth who "can speak about things that don't really exist" (24)?
(a) Chimpanzees.
(b) Homo sapiens.
(c) Neanderthals.
(d) Humans.

4. Whom does Harari name as the culprit behind the negative effects of the Agricultural Revolution on Homo sapiens?
(a) Monarchies.
(b) Religion.
(c) A handful of plant species.
(d) The merchant class.

5. What fact does Harari states "used to be one of history's most closely guarded secrets" (4)?
(a) Homo sapiens can survive on other planets.
(b) Homo sapiens evolved from apes.
(c) Homo sapiens belong to a family.
(d) Homo sapiens invented language.

Short Answer Questions

1. The first mega-empires appeared in what part of the world?

2. Harari describes an important moment long ago when "a single female ape had two daughters. One became the ancestor of all chimpanzees, the other is our own grandmother" (5). How long ago did this occur?

3. Humans in what two areas evolved into Homo neanderthalensis?

4. Harari asserts that "Prior to the Cognitive Revolution, humans of all species lived exclusively" (63) where?

5. In what part of the world did the ancient Sumerians live?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the author's definition of the word natural and how does he support his claim?

2. What are two examples of templates for collective action?

3. What is Harari's assessment of the opportunities created by sapiens' use of fictive language?

4. How does the author use the example about insects' wings to make his point about there being no single "natural" (147) way to live?

5. What chain of events does Harari name as eventually leading to the appearance of the species Homo sapiens?

6. What evidence does Harari provide for his conclusion that foragers had been better off than their counterparts living after the dawn of the Agricultural Revolution?

7. What call to action does the author make regarding the hierarchy cycle?

8. How does the author emphasize his view that societal orders are imagined?

9. For what purpose does Harari make particular points about extinction in the final passages of Chapter Four?

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

(see the answer keys)

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