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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Biologists classify organisms into what?

2. Sapiens populated East Africa how long ago?

3. Harari asserts that "The Agricultural Revolution made" what element of the human condition "more important than it had ever been before" (100)?

4. Harari states that "for nearly the entire history of our species, Sapiens lived as" (40) what?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Harari uses his observation about foraging sapiens versus agricultural sapiens to support what larger claim within the book?

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

3. 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?

4. How does Harari define the term history?

5. Discuss Harari's suggestions regarding the use of humility when considering human history.

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

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

8. 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?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Read the interview with the author included in the back of Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens. Write an essay explaining the connection between one of the author’s answers and a major theme presented within the text.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the messages sent about the theme of appearance versus reality within Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens.

Essay Topic 3

How does the author's use of the first and second person point of view serve the text’s purposes over the course of Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens? Discuss how the author's choice of point of view helps to advance the treatment of at least three particular themes within the text.

(see the answer keys)

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