Class 9 Social Science Part 1 Chapter 4 MCQs – Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation – follow the long transition from hunting and gathering to farming communities and early cities. Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation uses tools, fossils, buildings and writing to investigate lives far removed from our own. The 30 questions move from Palaeolithic practices and Neolithic changes to Harappan, Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Chinese achievements. They ask you to connect discoveries with the conclusions historians can reasonably draw. Answer explanations clarify terms such as microlith, city-state and cuneiform. Keep evidence at the centre of your revision, especially when written records are absent or a script remains undeciphered.
Class 9 Social Science Part 1 Chapter 4 MCQs Set 1
Q1. Which evidence is especially important for studying people who lived before writing developed?
[A]. Only printed newspapers from those settlements
[B]. Tools, fossils and other material remains
[C]. Only royal biographies written by those people
[D]. Modern election records from the same region
Q2. Why does an undeciphered script limit our knowledge of a civilisation?
[A]. Its tools provide no evidence of daily life
[B]. Its written messages cannot yet be read with confidence
[C]. Its settlements cannot be located
[D]. None of its buildings can be studied
Q3. Which example best represents cultural evolution?
[A]. The formation of sedimentary rock layers
[B]. A change in a river’s direction after flooding
[C]. People developing new tools and food-producing techniques
[D]. A gradual inherited change in body structure
Q4. Why do archaeologists sometimes make and use replicas of ancient tools?
[A]. To investigate how tools were produced and used
[B]. To prove that every tool had exactly one purpose
[C]. To turn recent objects into ancient fossils
[D]. To replace all excavated evidence with modern objects
Q5. Which early human ancestor is associated in the chapter with handaxes, cleavers and early migration out of Africa?
[A]. The Sumerians
[B]. Homo erectus
[C]. Homo sapiens alone
[D]. The pharaohs
Class 9 Social Science Part 1 Chapter 4 MCQs Set 2
Q6. What is a fossil?
[A]. A written order issued by a modern government
[B]. Any recently manufactured stone ornament
[C]. Preserved remains, traces or impressions of ancient life
[D]. Only a metal tool recovered from a city
Q7. Which activity best characterises a Palaeolithic way of life?
[A]. Hunting animals and gathering wild foods
[B]. Managing a large iron-tool factory
[C]. Recording trade through printed account books
[D]. Operating a city-wide irrigation administration
Q8. What distinguishes microlithic tools?
[A]. They are massive blocks used only to build pyramids
[B]. They are small stone tools, sometimes fitted into handles
[C]. They are tools made exclusively from iron
[D]. They are written records on copper plates
Q9. Which evidence from Bhimbetka helps reveal early human symbolic expression?
[A]. Cuneiform law codes
[B]. Pharaohs’ burial inscriptions
[C]. Printed maps of ancient cities
[D]. Paintings in rock shelters
Q10. What was the central change of the Neolithic Revolution?
[A]. A sudden end to the use of all tools
[B]. The first widespread use of printed money
[C]. The replacement of villages by modern factories
[D]. A transition towards farming and animal domestication
Class 9 Social Science Part 1 Chapter 4 MCQs Set 3
Q11. Which statement about the beginning of agriculture is supported by the chapter?
[A]. It began at different times in different regions
[B]. It began everywhere on the same date
[C]. It was first practised only after iron became widespread
[D]. It immediately ended all hunting and gathering
Q12. Which combination is associated with early Mehrgarh?
[A]. A fully deciphered alphabet printed on paper
[B]. Exclusive dependence on deep-sea fishing
[C]. Wheat and barley cultivation with animal herding
[D]. Large-scale iron production before farming
Q13. What does the term Chalcolithic indicate?
[A]. The use of copper alongside stone tools
[B]. The replacement of all tools by writing
[C]. A period before any stone tools existed
[D]. The exclusive use of iron tools
Q14. Why could surplus food contribute to the growth of towns?
[A]. It could support people engaged in activities beyond farming
[B]. It made every form of craft production unnecessary
[C]. It prevented the exchange of goods between settlements
[D]. It ensured that all social differences disappeared
Q15. How would standard weights help Harappan trade?
[A]. They provide a shared basis for measuring exchanged quantities
[B]. They prevent every disagreement about product quality
[C]. They remove the need to transport goods
[D]. They guarantee that every harvest is equally large
Class 9 Social Science Part 1 Chapter 4 MCQs Set 4
Q16. Which finding at Kalibangan provides evidence of agricultural activity?
[A]. The remains of a ploughed field
[B]. A Greek translation of cuneiform
[C]. An Egyptian royal mummy
[D]. A Chinese oracle bone
Q17. Why were river plains favourable for several early civilisations?
[A]. They never experienced flooding or environmental difficulties
[B]. They provided identical resources in every region
[C]. They eliminated the need for cooperation in farming
[D]. They supplied water and fertile land while supporting movement and exchange
Q18. Mesopotamia developed mainly around which rivers?
[A]. The Ganga and Brahmaputra
[B]. The Huang He and Yangtze
[C]. The Tigris and Euphrates
[D]. The Nile and Congo
Q19. What is a city-state?
[A]. A province controlled entirely by another city’s merchants
[B]. A temporary camp used only during harvest
[C]. A settlement with no system of government
[D]. A sovereign political unit centred on a city and its surrounding territory
Q20. What was a ziggurat in Sumerian society?
[A]. A system of weights used only at harbours
[B]. A large stepped temple associated with a city’s chief god
[C]. A rectangular Egyptian burial structure
[D]. A stone tool used to scrape animal skins
Class 9 Social Science Part 1 Chapter 4 MCQs Set 5
Q21. How was cuneiform commonly written?
[A]. By printing movable metal letters on paper
[B]. By pressing a wedge-shaped stylus into soft clay
[C]. By weaving marks into silk using a loom
[D]. By arranging polished stones only on cave floors
Q22. Why could the same cuneiform script serve different communities?
[A]. Different languages could be written using the script
[B]. It represented only numbers and never words
[C]. It could be read only by people outside Mesopotamia
[D]. All its users necessarily spoke one identical language
Q23. What does the identification of Meluhha with the Harappan region help explain?
[A]. A complete lack of contact between early cities
[B]. The absence of exchange across the Arabian Sea
[C]. The origin of all Chinese dynasties in Egypt
[D]. Trade links between Mesopotamia and the Sindhu–Sarasvati civilisation
Q24. For which contribution is Hammurabi especially remembered in the chapter?
[A]. Deciphering the Harappan script
[B]. Inventing the first microlithic tools
[C]. Constructing the Great Wall of China
[D]. Compiling a code of rules for civil and social conduct
Q25. How did the Rosetta Stone assist the decipherment of Egyptian writing?
[A]. It listed every Harappan symbol with its modern meaning
[B]. It included a readable Greek version alongside other scripts
[C]. It contained only unmarked pictures of pyramids
[D]. It proved that ancient Egyptians never used writing
Class 9 Social Science Part 1 Chapter 4 MCQs Set 6
Q26. Why did annual Nile flooding benefit Egyptian agriculture?
[A]. It made irrigation and water storage impossible
[B]. It prevented people from settling near the river
[C]. It replenished river-bank land with fertile mud
[D]. It permanently removed every mineral from the soil
Q27. What belief was connected with Egyptian mummification?
[A]. Only written records could preserve a ruler’s authority
[B]. Preserving the body was important for existence after death
[C]. The body had to be destroyed before any burial
[D]. Every dead person immediately became a living pharaoh
Q28. What were Chinese oracle bones used for?
[A]. Recording trade through printed banknotes
[B]. Making agricultural blades from iron ore
[C]. Divination through interpreting cracks in heated bones or shells
[D]. Measuring rainfall in modern weather stations
Q29. What does it mean to describe the Chinese script as logographic?
[A]. Every character represents only one modern alphabetic letter
[B]. All characters are pictures of complete historical events
[C]. The script can express numbers but no other meanings
[D]. Characters represent words or meaningful units of language
Q30. Why did the trade network called the Silk Route receive that name?
[A]. Its roads were physically covered with silk cloth
[B]. It connected only settlements that grew cotton
[C]. Silk became a major commodity carried through it
[D]. It carried no goods other than stone tools
How to Study Early Humans and Civilisations through Evidence
- Identify the object or trace before deciding what it may reveal.
- Connect tools and food remains with the activities of the community.
- Compare settlements to understand changes in farming, storage and specialised work.
- Recognise the limits of an interpretation when written evidence cannot be read.
- Place developments such as farming and metal use in their regional context rather than assuming identical dates everywhere.
- Distinguish a writing system from the language it records.
- Use a named site or discovery to support a comparison between civilisations.
- Explain how surplus food, exchange and specialised occupations could support larger settlements.
Early Human Life and Civilisation: Key Facts to Review
- Mehrgarh provides evidence of early cultivation and animal herding.
- Harappan standard weights supported consistent measurement in exchange.
- Mesopotamian cuneiform records were commonly impressed on clay tablets.
- Egyptian and Chinese remains reveal distinctive writing traditions and religious practices.
- Palaeolithic communities depended mainly on hunting animals and gathering wild foods.
- Microliths are small stone implements that could be combined with handles.
- The Neolithic transition involved cultivation and animal domestication.
- The Chalcolithic period is associated with copper alongside continued use of stone tools.
Build Historical Explanations from Tools, Settlements and Writing
Early history requires careful reasoning because the available evidence is often incomplete. A tool suggests possible activities, a granary points towards storage and a written record may reveal exchange or administration when its script can be read. These sources answer different questions and become more useful when considered together. After the quiz, compare two civilisations under headings such as food production, settlement, writing and trade. Include one specific piece of evidence for each comparison. Avoid assuming that every community developed in the same sequence or that one discovery explains all aspects of its society. This method turns names and dates into an account of changing human life.
NCERT Solutions for Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation
Explore NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science Chapter 4 to practise questions about early communities and ancient civilisations. Organise a written response around the development being discussed, such as food production or the growth of cities, and add evidence from a relevant site. When comparing societies, use the same features for both so that the comparison remains clear. Check whether your conclusion goes beyond what the evidence can support. This is particularly important when the chapter discusses material remains or writing that has not been deciphered.
