Deck 1: The Ancient Near East: the First Civilizations

Question 1

The early Neolithic era saw

A)a slow transition from hunting and gathering to an agricultural society.
B)the appearance of cities and urban life.
C)the domestication of the horse in ancient Egypt.
D)the smelting of iron.
E)All of these are correct.

Answer 1

a slow transition from hunting and gathering to an agricultural society.

Question 2

In ancient civilizations, bronze would replace copper because

A)bronze was harder and more durable.
B)it was prettier and therefore made prettier jewelry.
C)bronze took less time to smelt.
D)bronze ore was easier to find.
E)copper tools and weapons became too soft because of the hot weather of the Middle East.

Answer 2

bronze was harder and more durable.

Question 3

The ancient city of Çatal Hüyük was

A)a farming community located in Greece.
B)a Neolithic walled community sustained by food surpluses.
C)a large city with an elaborate water and sewer system.
D)an autocracy in which ruling religious elders exercised all political power.
E)the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom.

Answer 3

a Neolithic walled community sustained by food surpluses.

Question 4

All of the following are believed to be developments of the Paleolithic Age EXCEPT

A)the utilization of tools.
B)origins of religious and decorative art.
C)a social system with rough equality between the sexes.
D)the controlled use of fire.
E)the regular production of food through agriculture.

Question 5

The first anatomically modern humans, known as Homo sapiens sapiens,

A)first appeared in Africa between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago.
B)were skilled hunters who had mastered the bow and arrow.
C)lived mostly in small groups near the sea.
D)mastered the art of making bronze tools and weapons.
E)appeared in Europe about one million years ago.

Question 6

What historians refer to as an agricultural revolution

A)occurred prior to 10,000 B.C.E.
B)began in Asia and then spread to other regions.
C)developed independently in seven different areas of the world.
D)encouraged the continuation of a nomadic way of life in the Near East.
E)included the growing of crops and the taming of food-producing animals.

Question 7

The word "Paleolithic" means "old stone."

Question 8

The word "theocracy" means "rule by the strongest."

Question 9

Like the peoples of Mesopotamia, the Egyptians had a very negative attitude toward daily life.

Question 10

The first hominid to leave Africa and move into Europe and Asia was Homo sapiens .

Question 11

The earliest of the Mesopotamian empires was founded by Gilgamesh.

Question 12

Hieroglyphs were the sole form of writing in ancient Egypt.

Question 13

The term Indo-European refers to people whose language derived from a single parent tongue.

Question 14

​The Egyptians fought the Sea Peoples at the Battle of Kadesh.

Question 15

The most prominent structure in a Sumerian city was a temple called a ziggurat.

Question 16

Hominids existed as long as 3 to 4 million years ago in

A)Europe.
B)Asia.
C)Africa.
D)South America.
E)North America.

Question 17

A number of Sumerian agricultural and craft terms are not Sumerian in origin, indicating that the Sumerians were not the first peoples in ancient Mesopotamia.

Question 18

The cave in southern France, discovered in 1994 and that contains three hundred paintings of animals, is known as the ____ cave.

A)Lascaux
B)Chauvet
C)Andalusia
D)Pyrenees
E)Poitiers

Question 19

The great literary epic of the ancient Sumerians was known as the Book of the Dead .

Question 20

The term "civilization" refers to human societies which, amongst other features,

A)have an urban focus and a distinct religious structure.
B)have art and music.
C)support themselves mainly by trading and manufacturing.
D)have learned to live in peace with their neighbors.
E)have given up religion and adopted rational thinking.

Question 21

The written script of the Sumerians is known as

A)cuneiform.
B)alphabetic.
C)phonogram.
D)hieroglyphs.
E)Cyrillic.

Question 22

All of the following are consequences of the Neolithic revolution EXCEPT

A)the building of structures for housing and storage.
B)the development of towns and villages dominated by women.
C)the division of labor between men and women.
D)the specialization of labor in certain crafts.
E)the practice of patriarchy.

Question 23

Punishments for crimes under the Code of Hammurabi

A)were more severe for the lower classes.
B)did not apply to domestic family concerns.
C)stressed reform rather than retribution.
D)were not for the upper class at all.
E)stressed the importance of confession and forgiveness.

Question 24

The term Ma'at expresses the Egyptian belief in

A)the inevitability of human suffering and sorrow.
B)steady progress toward a better future.
C)the redemption promised to those who believe in the gods.
D)truth, justice, and order in the universe.
E)unremitting chaos.

Question 25

Unlike the rivers in Mesopotamia, the Nile River

A)never rises or falls, but flows steadily year-round.
B)frequently goes dry, leaving the land barren.
C)is subject to violent, unpredictable floods.
D)floods predictably at the same time every year.
E)was a dry shell for ten months of the year.

Question 26

Ancient Egyptian history is divided into ____ major periods.

A)two
B)three
C)four
D)six
E)eight

Question 27

The Epic of Gilgamesh teaches that

A)the gods are benevolent and care greatly for their people.
B)a wish fulfilled is not always a good thing.
C)human life is difficult and immortality is only for the gods.
D)a periodic flood is necessary to cleanse the world.
E)immortality is guaranteed for the believing worshippers.

Question 28

The Sumerians

A)defeated the Hittites in 2600 B.C.E.
B)were plagued by incessant warfare between their many city-states.
C)had a complicated religion with a sophisticated belief in life after death.
D)were warriors who instituted totalitarian government.
E)built damns and irrigation canals along the Indus River.

Question 29

The Sumerian government

A)came to view kings as agents of their gods.
B)saw the various city-states erect different types of governments.
C)was a theocracy in which the priest ruled.
D)was a type of aristocracy where nobles were appointed by an assembly.
E)was controlled by the merchant and artisan class.

Question 30

Mesopotamia means the land "between the ____."

A)valleys
B)mountains
C)rivers
D)deserts
E)plains

Question 31

Which of the following statements best applies to the status of women in Mesopotamian society?

A)Women exclusively controlled offices in the priesthood.
B)Divorce laws applied equally to men and women.
C)Punishments for adultery were light compared to those for men.
D)Woman had political but no religious rights.
E)The woman's role was to be in the home and subservient to her husband.

Question 32

According to Egyptian theology, the pharaoh derived his authority from

A)democratic elections.
B)the assent of local governors.
C)the fact that he was perceived as a divine instrument of order and harmony.
D)hereditary descent.
E)military conquest.

Question 33

The physical environment of the Mesopotamians generally led to

A)an optimistic outlook emphasizing the secular life.
B)a pessimistic outlook and loathing of religion.
C)a pessimistic outlook with an emphasis on satisfying their angry gods.
D)an optimistic outlook with a belief in providing for benevolent gods.
E)profound apathy and lack of any material accomplishments.

Question 34

Mesopotamian religion was

A)monotheistic.
B)very simple with few rules and tenets.
C)severely critical of cultures that practiced divination.
D)one in which no one god reigned supreme and deities were closely related to cities.
E)abstract and metaphorical.

Question 35

The ruler of Akkad, who established the first empire in Sumeria ca. 2340 B.C.E., was

A)Cyrus.
B)Naram-Sin.
C)Hammurabi.
D)Uruk.
E)Sargon.

Question 36

The focal points and sources of life for the ancient Egyptians were the

A)Nile River and the pharaohs.
B)herd animals and the temples.
C)Nile River and the military.
D)pharaoh and the stars.
E)pyramids and the sphinx.

Question 37

Gilgamesh was

A)a thick barley porridge eaten by peasants.
B)the hero of a Sumerian epic poem.
C)the Sumerian god of storms.
D)the dwelling-place of the Sumerian gods.
E)the first ruler to unite Mesopotamia.

Question 38

Sumerian kings derived their authority from

A)the will of the people.
B)the parliamentary councils of the city-states.
C)success in athletic tournaments.
D)the gods.
E)their military victories over the "barbarians."

Question 39

In comparison to Mesopotamian society, Egyptian society was

A)more urban.
B)less dependent on rivers.
C)more rural.
D)without food surpluses.
E)more literate.

Question 40

The vast majority of the population in Sumerian city-states worked as

A)farmers.
B)merchants.
C)textile-makers.
D)royal officials.
E)priests.

Question 41

Growing appreciation of astronomy among European peoples after 4000 B.C.E. is best seen in

A)cuneiform star charts.
B)wall paintings of galaxies.
C)megalithic observatories.
D)epic poems about the cosmos.
E)use of the astrolabe.

Question 42

In general, during the imperialistic New Kingdom, Egyptian government changed by

A)a gradual lessening in the power of pharaohs over their neighbors.
B)a decrease in the size of the royal bureaucracy.
C)the growing poverty and powerlessness of priesthoods.
D)the growing weakness of army commanders.
E)the increasing influence of the peasant class.

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT true of Egyptian art?

A)It was largely individually expressive, illustrated by many identifiable artists.
B)It was primarily functional and not intended to add beauty.
C)It was highly stylized.
D)It followed strict formulas governing form and presentation.
E)It often glorified the pharaohs.

Question 44

All of the following is true of Egyptian serfs EXCEPT

A)they were common people bound to the land.
B)they paid taxes to the king, nobles, and priests.
C)they provided military service.
D)they lived exclusively in Egyptian cities.
E)they provided labor for building projects.

Question 45

Originally the Osiris cult was reserved for

A)the wealthy who could afford preservation of the body.
B)priests who knew religious secrets.
C)the poor who lived by the Nile.
D)the pharaohs alone.
E)all free men but no slaves nor serfs.

Question 46

In the first century B.C.E., Egypt became a province of

A)Rome.
B)Persia.
C)Babylonia.
D)Mohenjo-Daro.
E)Greece.

Question 47

Invasions in the twelfth century by which of the following people ended Egyptian power in Canaan?

A)Sumerians
B)"Sea Peoples"
C)Babylonians
D)Hyksos
E)Assyrians

Question 48

For administrative purposes in the Old Kingdom, Egypt was

A)divided into provinces called nomes and governed by nomarchs.
B)totally ruled by the pharaoh in all facets of government.
C)divided into military districts directly responsible to an army commander.
D)a parliamentary government with representatives from each district.
E)ruled by hereditary governors.

Question 49

Akhenaten is best known for his unsuccessful attempt to lessen the power of the

A)army.
B)nobles.
C)merchants.
D)priesthood.
E)scribes.

Question 50

The Hittites played an important role in the history of the Middle East because they

A)defeated the Egyptians, thus ending Egypt's New Kingdom.
B)were conquered by the Assyrians, paving the way for the Assyrian Empire.
C)invented the alphabet.
D)drove the Sea Peoples back into the sea.
E)transmitted Mesopotamian culture to the west, especially to the Mycenaean Greeks.

Question 51

Egypt's Old Kingdom ended for all of the following EXCEPT

A)foreign invasion.
B)a drought caused by low levels of the Nile.
C)a decline in rainfall.
D)economic troubles.
E)decline of centralized authority.

Question 52

The Egyptian pyramids were

A)built during the period of the New Kingdom.
B)part of a large spiritual complex near Alexandria.
C)conceived and built as tombs for a city of the dead.
D)all dedicated to the god Aten.
E)the final resting places of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom.

Question 53

Amenhotep IV is best known for

A)the temporary installation of the god of the sun disk in Egyptian culture.
B)expelling the Hyksos and leading Egypt along an imperialistic path.
C)increasing the power of the Amon-Re priesthood.
D)combating the invasion of the Sea Peoples.
E)establishing the worship of Osiris.

Question 54

The most famous of the megalithic constructions of Europe is

A)Avebury.
B)Woodhenge.
C)Stonehenge.
D)Lascaux.
E)Altimira.

Question 55

The Hyksos

A)were a Semitic-speaking people who infiltrated Egypt in the seventeenth century B.C.
B)were Indo-European peoples who were recruited into the Egyptian military.
C)were priests/astronomers in Egypt during the Old Kingdom.
D)fought and defeated the Egyptians in the ninth century B.C.
E)expelled the Jews from Egypt.

Question 56

The original Indo-Europeans possibly came from

A)Mesopotamia.
B)the steppe region north of the Black Sea.
C)the Indus Valley.
D)the Aegean basin.
E)India.

Question 57

Which of the following is NOT true of Egyptian social life?

A)Women had many equal legal rights with men.
B)Marriages were based on love and personal attraction.
C)The upper classes devoted much time to entertainment.
D)The wife's primary role in the family was to produce children.
E)Polygamy was the rule.

Question 58

The Hittites

A)were an Indo-European speaking people.
B)a Semitic speaking people.
C)defeated and destroyed the Egyptians.
D)conquered Greece.
E)are also known as "Sea Peoples."

Question 59

One of the few female pharaohs was

A)Ramses.
B)Hatshepsut.
C)Menes.
D)Amenhotep.
E)Isis.

Question 60

Which of the following Egyptian gods was most closely associated with the mummification of the dead?

A)Horus
B)Re
C)Osiris
D)Isis
E)Aten

Question 61

Talk about:
Mesopotamia

Question 62

Talk about:
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Question 63

Talk about:
Neanderthals

Question 64

Talk about:
Neolithic Revolution

Question 65

Talk about:
Australopithecine

Question 66

Talk about:
Çatal Hüyük

Question 67

Talk about:
Homo erectus

Question 68

Talk about:
cave paintings at Chauvet

Question 69

Talk about:
Hominids

Question 70

Talk about:
Paleolithic Age

Question 71

Talk about:
Indus and Yellow Rivers

Question 72

Which of the following is NOT an Indo-European language?

A)Sanskrit
B)Babylonian
C)German
D)Latin
E)Greek

Question 73

Talk about:
​Caral

Question 74

Talk about:
patriarchy

Question 75

Talk about:
Eridu, Ur, Uruk, and Lagash

Question 76

Talk about:
Sargon of Akkad

Question 77

Talk about:
civilization​

Question 78

Talk about:
Sumerians

Question 79

Talk about:
Homo sapiens sapiens

Question 80

Talk about:
Agricultural Revolution