The Birth of Our Modern Minds Reading Answers

Dec 6, 2022

The Birth of Our Modern Minds Reading Answers requires candidates to answer 13 questions. The time frame to answer these 13 questions is 20 minutes. The Birth of Our Modern Minds Reading Answers quotes the modern tecnhiques and approach of thinking adapted by us. Thus, candidates are required to go through the reading passage very carefully and identfy each case and keywords. This reading passage includes two types of questions: no more than three words, and choose the correct letter. The question are the cue, candidates need to identify rel;ated keywords and then choose the appropriate ooption for the second question type in this IELTS reading passage. or no more than three words to answer, candidates must read the IELTS reading passage, identify keywords, and recognize synonyms to answer the question.

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Reading Passage Questions

When did we begin to use symbols to communicate? Roger Highfield reports on a challenge to prevailing ideas. Anyone who doubts the importance of art needs to do no more than refer to the current account of human evolution, where the emergence of modern people is not so much marked by Stone Age technology as a creative explosion that rocked Europe 40,000 years ago. Our ancestors began to adorn their bodies with beads and pendants, even tattoos; they painted representations of animals, people, and magical hybrids on cave walls in Lascaux, France, and Altamira in Spain. They sculpted voluptuous stone figures, such as the Venus of Willendorf. This cultural Big Bang, which coincided with the period when modern humans reached Europe after they set out, via the Near East, from Africa, marked a decisive point in our story when a man took a critical step beyond the limitations of his hairy ancestors and began to use symbols. The modern mind was born.
Or was it? Britain’s leading archaeologist questions the dogma that the modern human mind originated in Europe and, instead, argues that its birth was much more recent, around 10,000 years ago, and took place in the Middle East. Lord Renfrew, professor of archaeology at Cambridge University, is troubled by what he calls the ‘sapient behaviour paradox’: genetic findings, based on the diversity of modern humans, suggest that our big brains emerged 130,000 years ago when Homo sapiens evolved from Homo Erectus and were fully developed about 60,000 years ago. But this hardware, though necessary, was not sufficient for modern behaviour. Software (culture) is also required to run a mind and for this to be honed took tens of millennia. There is something unsatisfactory about the genetic argument that rests on the ‘potential for change emerging, he argues. Ultimately, little happened — or at least not for another 30,000 years.
Although there is no doubt that genes shaped the hardware of the modern brain, genetics does not tell the whole story. ‘It is doubtful whether molecular sequences will give us any clear insights,’ said Lord Renfrew, adding that the current account of our origins has also become sidetracked by placing too much emphasis on one cultural event. Either side of the boundary between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, 40,000 years ago, people lived much the same way. To the casual observer, the archaeological record for Homo sapiens does not look much different from Homo Erectus’s or even our beetle-browed European cousins, the Neanderthals. ‘There are detailed changes in tools and so on but the only one that really strikes you is cave art.’
And this artistic revolution was patchy: the best examples are in Spain and France, in Britain, the oldest known cave art consists of 12.000-year-old engravings in Creswell Crags. Indeed, was there an artistic revolution 40,000 years ago at all? Two pieces of ochre engraved with geometrical patterns 70,000 years ago were recently found at Blombos Cave, 180 miles east of Cape Town, South Africa. This means people were able to think abstractly and behave as modern humans much earlier than previously thought. Lord Renfrew argues that art, like genetics, does not tell the whole story of our origins. For him, the real revolution occurred 10,000 years ago with the first permanent • lieges. That is when the effects of new software kicked in, allowing our ancestors to work together in a more settled way. That is when plants and animals were domesticated, and agriculture was born.
First, there were nests of skulls and unusual burial practices, cult centers, and shrines. Then you have the first villages, the first towns, like Jericho in Jordan around 8000 BC) and Catalhoyuk in Turkey (est 6500 BC), then the spread of farming to Europe. Before long, you are accelerating towards the first cities in Mesopotamia and then other civilizations in Mexico, China, and beyond.’
Living in timber and mud-brick houses led to a very different engagement between our ancestors and the material world.’1 don’t think it was until settled village communities developed that you had the concept of property, or that “I own these things that have been handed down to me”.’ This, in turn, could have introduced the need for mathematics, to keep a tally of possessions, and written language to describe them. In the Near East, primitive counters date back to the early farming period, and this could have marked the first stages of writing, said Lord Renfrew. ‘We have not solved anything about the origins of modern humans until we understand what happened 10,000 years ago,’ he said. He is excited by excavations now underway in Anatolia, a potential birthplace of the modern mind, in Catalhôyük. one of the earliest places where close-knit communities were born, and Gobekli Tepe, a shrine that predates village life. These spiritual sites may have seeded the first human-settled communities by encouraging the domestication of plants and animals.

Solution and Explanation
Questions: 1-6
Answer the following questions in not more than 3 words. In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, write:

According to the current view, what does Not indicate the parents of modern humans?

Answer: Stone age Technology
Supporting Sentence: Anyone who doubts the importance of art need do no more than refer to the current account of human evolution, where the emergence of modern people is not so much marked by Stone Age technology as a creative explosion that rocked Europe 40,000 years ago.
Keyword: human evolution, stone age technology
Keyword Location: Paragraph A
Explanation: This answer can be found with reference from Paragraph A. The author in the first sentence highlights the word “current account.” Moroever, it also mentions that the development of modern managers was a resultant of creative explosion that occurred 40000 years ago and not in relevance to the Stone Age Technology.

What type of evidence does Lord Renfrew question in general?

Answer: Genetics
Supporting Sentence: Lord Renfrew, professor of archaeology at Cambridge University, is troubled by what he calls the ‘sapient behaviour paradox’: genetic findings,
Keyword: genetics, sapient behaviour paradox
Keyword location: Paragraph B
Explanation: According to the second paragraph, Lord Renfrew is sceptical of genetic results and believes that the genetic argument is insufficient because people did not yet have sophisticated cultures at the time that genetic evidence implies the modern human mind was completely formed. He believes that genetics do not reveal the entire tale, which is stated at the start of the third paragraph.

Apart from art, what is the development of the creation of 40,000 years ago?

Answer: Tools
Supporting Sentence: ‘There are detailed changes in tools and so on but the only one that really strikes you is cave art.’
Keyword: art cave, tools
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: The supporting statement proves that the chosen response is right. The third paragraph's conclusion claims that the creation of cave art was much more significant than the specific alterations made to tools.

What kind of cave art in Britain is referred to?

Answer: Engravings
Supporting Sentence: And this artistic revolution was patchy: the best examples are in Spain and France, in Britain, the oldest known cave art consists of 12.000 year-old engravings in Creswell Crags.
Keyword: engravings, cave art
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: The fourth paragraph's second sentence makes reference to the artwork in the British Creswell crags. An artistic technique known as engravings involves cutting patterns into solid objects. Engravings, the answer that was chosen, is the right response.

What TWO things does Lord Renfrew believe to have been established 10,000 years ago?

Answer: Permanent Villages, Agriculture
Supporting Sentence: For him, the real revolution occurred 10,000 years ago with the first permanent • lieges.
Keyword: permanent, lieges
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: When permanent villages were established and plants and animals started to be exploited in agriculture, major changes in the modern mind started to have a genuine impact, according to Lord Renfrew's remarks at the conclusion of the fourth paragraph. Then is when it is believed to have been born. Animals and plants were not yet developed, thus they would not be the appropriate response in this case.

What TWO things did the notion of personal possessions lead to?

Answer: Mathematics, Written Language
Supporting Sentence: This, in turn, could have introduced the need for mathematics, to keep a tally of possessions, and written language to describe them.
Keyword: mathematics, written language
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: The idea of owning possessions, which originated in villages, is described in the last paragraph as the concept of property. Due to this, it becomes necessary to use mathematics to keep track of possessions and written language to describe positions.

Questions: 7-14
Write the correct letter A-D.
Write your answer in boxes 7-14 on your answer sheet.

10,000 years ago
40,000 years ago
60,000 years ago
70,000 years ago
The brain was completely formed physically but was not capable of all functions of the modern mind.

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Lord Renfrew, professor of archaeology at Cambridge University, is troubled by what he calls the ‘sapient behaviour paradox’: genetic findings, based on the diversity of modern humans, suggest that our big brains emerged 130,000 years ago when Homo sapiens evolved from Homo Erectus and were fully developed about 60,000 years ago.
Keyword: sapient behaviour
Keyword Location: Paragraph B
Explanation: The second paragraph implies that genetic evidence demonstrated the completion of the brain's development 60000 years ago, yet Renfrew claims that humans did not have culture at that time.

There was a major change in the attitude of humans to each other

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: For him, the real revolution occurred 10,000 years ago with the first permanent • lieges.
Keyword: revolution
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: A few points in the fourth paragraph suggest that the real revolution occurred 10,000 years ago, when people started cooperating more firmly.

A huge amount of Art in different forms begin to appear

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Anyone who doubts the importance of art need do no more than refer to the current account of human evolution, where the emergence of modern people is not so much marked by Stone Age technology as a creative explosion that rocked Europe 40,000 years ago.
Keyword: creative explosion, 40, 000 years ago
Keyword Location: Paragraph A
Explanation: According to the first paragraph, there were likely a variety of art forms that could have emerged at the time of the explosion 40,000 years ago. An explosion in this context refers to a significant increase, and the art forms included were body art, paintings, and sculptures.

The development of the human mind occurred at the same time as a migration

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Anyone who doubts the importance of art need do no more than refer to the current account of human evolution, where the emergence of modern people is not so much marked by Stone Age technology as a creative explosion that rocked Europe 40,000 years ago.
Keyword: human evolution, stone age technology
Keyword Location: Paragraph A
Explanation: The creative explosion indicated earlier in the first paragraph, which occurred 40,000 years ago, is referred to as the cultural big bang. This also took place at the same time as individuals arrived in your area after travelling from Africa. There was a migration to Europe.

Art from the period cast doubt on the conventional view of the development of the human mind.

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: Two pieces of ochre engraved with geometrical patterns 70,000 years ago were recently found at Blombos Cave, 180 miles east of Cape Town, South Africa.
Keyword: Blombos cave
Keyword Location: Paragraph D
Explanation: The art created 70000 years ago and discovered in South Africa, as mentioned in the fourth paragraph, shows that people were capable of abstract thought and modern behaviour at a time earlier than had previously been believed to be the case. The 8 raises questions about what is generally accepted and argues that it may not be true.

Tire modern mind developed in a different location from the one normally assumed

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: Britain’s leading archaeologist questions the dogma that the modern human mind originated in Europe and, instead, argues that its birth was much more recent, around 10,000 years ago, and took place in the Middle East.
Keyword: human mind
Keyword Location: Paragraph B
Explanation: According to the second paragraph, the modern mind is widely believed to have originated in Europe 40,000 years ago, but Renfrew contends that it actually did so in the Middle East 10,000 years ago. Therefore, his opinions about the place are different from what is widely held.

The only significant change in the development of a man is shown in the art produced.

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: Either side of the boundary between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, 40,000 years ago, people lived much the same way.
Keyword: palaeolithic, 40, 000 years
Keyword Location: Paragraph C
Explanation: The only change that is discernible is the art produced, it is stated in the third paragraph, as physical change was not a priority 40,000 years ago.

Further research into the period is essential for an accurate conclusion to be drawn on Human development.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: ‘We have not solved anything about the origins of modern humans until we understand what happened 10,000 years ago,’ he said.
Keyword: modern humans
Keyword Location: Paragraph F
Explanation: Lord Renfrew claims in the final paragraph that precise knowledge of what occurred 10,000 years ago is necessary before people can come to any firm conclusions about how modern humans evolved. Three locations are mentioned where research is being conducted to learn more about this.

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