Was history your favorite subject in school, or were you sleeping through it? Whatever the case might be, you should take our quiz to test your knowledge about world history. I wonder what your score will be? Hopefully, you will have fun answering these questions.
Does history really repeat itself, or are we able to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors? History is a chronological, statistical, and cultural record of the events, people, and movements that have had an impact on humanity and the world over time.
It would take us a long time to go through the whole timeline of human history. So, let’s just focus on several of the most important events that influenced the way we are today.
One of the most crucial events in human history was The First Agricultural Revolution, which began around 10,000 B.C. It was when humans shifted from being hunters and gatherers to farmers and herders who domesticated plants and animals. Until that point, humans mostly foraged for wild plants and hunted animals for food. During this revolution, humans began planting small gardens and domesticating animals to use for food. Archeologists have found evidence of the first farms at different sites around the world. Moving away from a nomadic lifestyle and settling into place allowed humans to observe and experiment with the plants, learning how they grew and developed. It was this new knowledge that led to the domestication of plants into crops.
There were two other agricultural revolutions in human history. The Second Agricultural Revolution, or the British Agricultural Revolution, began in the 18th century around 300 years ago. Selective breeding of livestock and systematic crop rotation were two major changes in farming techniques. The Third Agricultural Revolution, also known as the Green Revolution, occurred in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Plant technology advancements enabled much higher crop yields.
Another major event was the first cities emerging. Those first cities popped up thousands of years ago in fertile areas, such as the cities founded around 7500 B.C.E. in the historic region known as Mesopotamia, which included Eridu, Uruk, and Ur. These cities were among the numerous settlements located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the area called Fertile Crescent.
For a long time, the urban settlements in Mesopotamia and Egypt were considered to be the first cities. However, we now know those complex societies developed in other parts of the world, too. For example, the Indus valley in South Asia became increasingly urbanized between 6000 and 5000 years ago.
The invention of early writing systems was a big step for humanity. Humans have been speaking for a couple hundred thousand years before they created the first writing system.
The earliest writing system in the world was the Sumerian script, also called cuneiform. The origin of this writing is dated roughly 3,300 B.C.E. Archaeologists discovered over 700 symbols with various meanings that evolved with each city-state and over time. It was used to write with a stylus on a clay tablet and used symbols for sounds.
Did you know who invented gunpowder? This particular invention had a profound effect on human history, yet its discovery in China was an accident.
Alchemists in ancient China spent hundreds of years trying to find an elixir of life that would make the user immortal. Saltpeter, also known as potassium nitrate, was a key ingredient in many of the failed elixirs.
Around 850 A.D., during the Tang Dynasty, an adventurous alchemist (name unknown) combined 75 parts saltpeter, 15 parts charcoal, and 10 parts sulfur. This mixture surely couldn’t make anyone immortal, but when exposed to an open flame, it exploded with a flash and a bang.
Many Western history books claimed that the Chinese used gunpowder only for fireworks, but it’s not entirely true. The discovery was put to military use from the very beginning, and later the secret weapon spread to the rest of the world.
Do you know what was the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history? It was The Black Death, also called the Pestilence, the Great Mortality, or simply The Plague. It was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. Bubonic plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis spread by fleas, but it can also spread from person to person.
The pandemic originated somewhere in Asia, but its first definite appearance was recorded in 1347. From Crimea, it was most likely carried by fleas living on the black rats that traveled on merchant ships, spreading through the Mediterraneans and reaching North Africa, Western Asia, and the rest of Europe through Constantinople, Sicily, and the Italian Peninsula.
The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30 to 60 percent of the European population. The trade greatly suffered at the time, and wars were temporarily abandoned. Many laborers died, which devastated families through lost means of survival and caused personal suffering. The art during those was mostly focused on death and the afterlife. Anti-Semitism greatly intensified throughout Europe, as Jews were blamed for the spread of the Black Death.
There are so many fascinating events in human history. Are you ready to test your historical knowledge? Take our quiz and get your score!