Hunting and the Setting of Inner Eurasia Inner Eurasia refers to the large continental area extending from Russia in the west to the Pacific Ocean, and to the north of Iran, India, and most of China. The first systematic colonization of parts of Inner Eurasia occurred about 80,000 to 90,000 years ago, which is relatively late in human history compared with Africa, Europe, and southern Asia. Why was it difficult to settle? The long, cold, arid winters of this region’s steppes (grass covered plains) poised two distinctive problems for human settlers. The first was hot to keep warm. Humans may have used fire even a million years ago. Presumably their ability to scavenge animal carcasses meant that they could use skins or furs for warmth. However, there are no signs of hearths before about 200,000 years ago. This suggests that humans used fire opportunistically and had not yet domesticated it enough to survive the harsh winters of Ice Age Inner Eurasia. According to paragraph 2, why would it have been difficult for humans to stay warm in Inner Eurasia before 200,000 years ago? •A.Fire had not yet been discovered.•B.Humans did not have access to skins or furs to help keep them warm.•C.Humans had not yet learned how to bring fire into daily use.•D.Lack of fuel made building fires on the steppes almost impossible.The word “harsh” in the passage is closest in meaning to •A.severe•B.lengthy•C.exceptional•D.darkThe second, even trickier problem was getting food during the long winters. It was not that Inner Eurasia lacked sources of food. The problem was that the food was of the wrong kind, and it was not always available. Humans could not exploit the abundant grasses of the steppes, and most of the edible plants died off in winter. So, for long periods of each year, it was necessary to rely mainly on meat. However, hunting is a more difficult, dangerous, and unreliable way of life than gathering. Animals, unlike plants, can evade predators and may even fight back. Hunters must also cover more ground than gatherers. According to paragraph 3, getting food during the long winters was a problem for humans in Inner Eurasia because •A.the area lacked sources of food•B.steppe animals were not suitable for humans to hunt•C.the animals migrated when the edible plants died off each year•D.the lack of edible plants in the winter forced humans to depend onmeatSetting Inner Eurasia meant overcoming these difficulties. Systematic and reliable hunting methods meant more than the development of new technologies, they also demanded new social structures. According to the formulation of archaeologist Lewis Binford, in a typical hunter/collector food-gathering strategy parties of hunters leave camps with very specific goals in mind, based on intimate knowledge of their intended prey. They may by away for days or weeks at a time...
