UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Revealed: how humans evolved in the past 10,000 years alone

Q1. The Broad Institute, a lead collaborating body in the 2026 study, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A biomedical and genomic research centre established as a partnership between MIT and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • B. A UK genome-sequencing centre operated under the Wellcome Trust.
  • C. A German institute specialising in evolutionary anthropology.
  • D. An intergovernmental European molecular biology laboratory.

Q2. Specialised ancient-DNA extraction protocols for skeletal remains are designed to recover severely degraded DNA fragments as short as approximately how many base pairs?

  • A. 300 base pairs
  • B. 30 base pairs
  • C. 3,000 base pairs
  • D. 30,000 base pairs

Q3. In paleogenomics, which skeletal element is recognised as yielding the highest quantity of endogenous DNA and is therefore favoured as a standard sampling source?

  • A. The rib
  • B. The femur shaft, the only bone from which usable ancient DNA can be recovered
  • C. The petrous portion of the temporal bone (inner ear region)
  • D. The cranial vault

Q4. The intensification of natural selection on human immune-function and metabolism genes—driven by rising population density, sedentism and close contact with domesticated animals—is most directly attributed to which transition?

  • A. The Industrial Revolution
  • B. The Neolithic (Agricultural) Revolution
  • C. The Out-of-Africa dispersal
  • D. The Upper Palaeolithic transition

Q5. Research indicates that an appreciable frequency of lactase persistence in Europe dates back only to approximately the past how many years?

  • A. 4,000 years
  • B. 10,000 years
  • C. 20,000 years
  • D. 40,000 years

Q6. Which one of the following is characterised as the largest-ever survey of ancient human genomes for the study of natural selection?

  • A. The 2022 '1,000 ancient genomes' study of natural selection in Europe
  • B. The 2015 study of genome-wide selection in 230 ancient Eurasians
  • C. The 2026 study analysing 15,836 ancient West Eurasian genomes
  • D. The 2023 study of the selection landscape of ancient Eurasians

Q7. Which one of the following is described as the most strongly selected monogenic trait to have evolved in humans over the past 10,000 years?

  • A. Lactase persistence
  • B. Lighter skin pigmentation via the SLC24A5 variant
  • C. Resistance to plague
  • D. High-altitude hypoxia tolerance