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CBSE · Class 9 · Social Science

Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation

Standard difficulty · 20 questions · 40 marks

Name: Date: Score: ____ / 40

Write full answers in Sections B and C. Answers are on the last page — try every question first!

Section A — Choose the correct answer8 × 1 = 8 marks
1.
The only human species living today is:
  1. Homo habilis
  2. Homo neanderthalensis
  3. Homo erectus
  4. Homo sapiens
2.
Dholavira is known for:
  1. water reservoirs
  2. a Sumerian city
  3. the Step Pyramid
  4. one of the oldest-dated stone-tool sites in India
3.
The Mesopotamian civilisation grew along:
  1. the Ganga
  2. the Sindhu and Sarasvati
  3. the Tigris and Euphrates
  4. the Amazon
4.
What is a hominin?
  1. modern humans and their early human-like ancestors
  2. a check dam across a stream
  3. copper mixed with tin
  4. a script whose signs stand for words
5.
Sargon is remembered for:
  1. a Babylonian law code
  2. formalising the Brahmi script
  3. Akkadian king who traded with Meluhha
  4. deciphering Egyptian writing
6.
Akkad rose over Sumer in about 2334 BCE; the Shang dynasty began in about 1600 BCE. About how many years apart were these? (In BCE, bigger numbers are earlier.)
  1. 734 years
  2. 744 years
  3. 834 years
  4. 3,934 years
7.
Which stage came right after the Palaeolithic?
  1. Iron Age
  2. Chalcolithic
  3. Mesolithic
  4. Neolithic
8.
Harappan weights went 1, 2, 4, 8, … What is the total of the first 10 weights?
  1. 1023
  2. 1024
  3. 512
  4. 2046
Section B — Short answer8 × 2 = 16 marks
9.
Name the stages of early human history in order.
10.
What is each site known for? (a) Olduvai Gorge (b) Lothal
11.
Along which rivers did each civilisation grow? (a) Chinese (b) Egyptian
12.
Explain each term: (a) mastaba (b) hominin
13.
Which came first, and by about how many years? (a) the Mature Harappan phase began (about 2600 BCE) (b) cuneiform writing began (about 3200 BCE)
14.
Mesopotamians counted in sixties. How many minutes are in 3 hours, and how many degrees are in 10 full circles?
15.
The Egyptian year had 12 months of 30 days plus 5 extra days. (a) How many days are in 5 such years? (b) How many days are in the first 11 months?
16.
Why is each remembered? (a) Ashoka (b) Pierre Bouchard
Section C — Longer answers4 × 4 = 16 marks
17.
How did early humans spread out of Africa?
18.
Match each with its feature: (a) Kalibangan (b) Ur (c) Mehrgarh. Choose from: a ploughed field; a Sumerian city; the earliest farming village.
19.
(a) Put these in order, earliest first: the Zhou dynasty began (about 1046 BCE); the Shang dynasty began (about 1600 BCE); Hammurabi rose to power (about 1792 BCE). (b) About how many years separate the first and the last? (c) Why do BCE dates count down?
20.
Compare the Chinese and Mesopotamian civilisations: where did each grow, and name one achievement of each.
AmbifulWorksheets
Practice that never repeats
CBSE · Class 9 · Social Science

Answer key

Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation · AW-9SS-EHC-2026-V1 · For parents — fold back or tear off before handing the sheet to your child.

QAnswerWorking
1(d) Homo sapiens—
2(a) water reservoirs—
3(c) the Tigris and Euphrates—
4(a) modern humans and their early human-like ancestors—
5(c) Akkadian king who traded with Meluhha—
6(a) 734 years2334 − 1600 = 734
7(c) MesolithicPalaeolithic → Mesolithic → Neolithic → Chalcolithic → Bronze Age → Iron Age
8(a) 10231 + 2 + 4 + … = 1023
9Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age.—
10(a) fossils of Homo habilis (b) a dockyard—
11(a) the Huang He (b) the Nile—
12(a) a structure over a pharaoh’s tomb (b) modern humans and their early human-like ancestors—
13Cuneiform writing began, by about 600 years3200 − 2600
14180 minutes; 3,600 degrees60 × 3; 360 × 10
15(a) 1,825 days (b) 330 days365 × 5; 30 × 11
16(a) formalising the Brahmi script (b) finding the Rosetta Stone—
17Homo erectus left first, about 2 million years ago; early Homo sapiens left later, about 125,000 years ago, and spread across the world, including Australia and the Americas.—
18(a) a ploughed field (b) a Sumerian city (c) the earliest farming village—
19(a) Hammurabi rose to power; the Shang dynasty began; the Zhou dynasty began (b) about 746 years (c) BCE years count backwards from year 1, so bigger numbers are earlier.—
20Chinese: along the Huang He; Mesopotamian: along the Tigris and Euphrates. Achievements from the chapter (e.g. planned towns, cuneiform, pyramids, silk weaving).—