Deck 5: Indias Beginnings

Question 1

Describe and explain the major by-products of Indian-Chinese contacts.

Answer 1

Answer not provided.

Question 2

For early adherents, one of the most appealing aspects of Buddhism was

A) its lack of defined rules.
B) its worship of one god, the Buddha.
C) the ability to exist completely outside the caste system.
D) the equality among classes and genders.
E) the set of rules that, if followed strictly, would bring earthly as well as eternal happiness.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The Rig-Veda depicts

A) a backward, agricultural people.
B) a trading society.
C) a fanatically religious community.
D) a people who thrived on warfare.
E) a superior group of invaders.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The two highest orders of the caste system were reserved for

A) royalty, who abstained from involving themselves in military affairs.
B) Aryans and their descendants, who considered the Hindus their inferiors.
C) Jains, who revered all life.
D) pariahs, who evolved into the business class.
E) native Indians, who cooperated with the Aryans..

Question 5

One of the main reasons that India and China failed to develop a strong network of trade between their two regions was ____ in nature.

A) geographic
B) political
C) religious
D) cultural
E) fear of the unknown

Question 6

Which of the following is not a facet of Hinduism?

A) It contains many local variations in both style and action of worship.
B) It is a philosophical system.
C) It has been the foundation of all of India's former political systems
D) It contains a set of doctrines to follow, to achieve eternal life.
E) It is a reflection of the Aryans' patriarchal society.

Question 7

In what manner did the precepts of Hinduism and the concept of Caste operate in Indian society?

Question 8

Describe the background, basic tenets and development of early Buddhism.

Question 9

We know so little at present about the Indus civilization in part because

A) its language is still un-deciphered.
B) of landslides and flooding.
C) of the Aryan invasions.
D) of widespread vandalism in the ruins.
E) its traditions were all oral.

Question 10

Which of these words would be most descriptive of Hinduism?

A) Rigidity
B) Tangible
C) Circular
D) Devoted
E) Accepting

Question 11

The ancient cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

A) contained more than 250,000 people.
B) were built entirely of local stone.
C) were not very impressive or long-lived.
D) were built on the banks of the Indus River.
E) were built in the same style, suggesting that they were part of the same civilization.

Question 12

Indian society under the caste system might be described as

A) flexible and progressive.
B) creative and innovative.
C) changeable and inconsistent.
D) violent and lawless.
E) fixed and rigidly hierarchical.

Question 13

What information have we been able to glean from the excavations of the Indus Valley cities?

Question 14

Buddhism was one of the three new modes of thought that developed in response to

A) the rigidity of Hinduism.
B) a desire for a more personal, individualistic spiritualism.
C) the hierarchy of the Aryan caste system.
D) the concept of reincarnation.
E) the lack of ritual in Hinduism.

Question 15

Overall, life in early Aryan India would best be described as

A) matriarchal.
B) patriarchal.
C) poverty-stricken.
D) equal for all.
E) fairly stable.

Question 16

The Aryans receive credit for introducing metal into India, after which they

A) produced more powerful weapons that defeated their adversaries.
B) conquered the southern half of India, as well as the northern part.
C) were able to cultivate new and better crops.
D) returned to their former nomadic lifestyles.
E) tied the use of the horse and the plow to cultivation.

Question 17

Examine the impact of the Aryan invasions upon Indian culture and history.

Question 18

The only clearly defined cause for the abandonment of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, so far, is

A) a malaria outbreak.
B) a buildup of alkalinity in irrigated farmland.
C) overpopulation.
D) changes in the course of the Indus River.
E) invasions by the Aryans.

Question 19

Some experts believe that the government of the Indus Valley cities was

A) republican.
B) monarchical.
C) theocratic.
D) corrupt.
E) ineffective.

Question 20

The early Indus Valley civilization is noted for

A) its heavy reliance on Mesopotamian culture.
B) the development of an extensive trade network.
C) a tremendous growth in cities during the fourth millennium B.C.E.
D) the extremely high number of merchants it contained.
E) its exclusive use of water routes as avenues of trade.

Question 21

The decline of the Indus Valley civilization was sped up by an invasion of nomads called ____________________.

Question 22

Karma is a word meaning

A) the soul.
B) release from earthly cycles.
C) the uppermost caste in Hindu society.
D) the tally of good and bad acts in a person's life.
E) the code of morals for one's caste.

Question 23

The ancient epics of the Aryans were the ____________________.

Question 24

According to the Buddha, all suffering is caused by

A) sin.
B) desires for power and happiness.
C) covetousness of his neighbor's goods.
D) disobedience to Buddha's teachings.
E) unconcern for others.

Question 25

The Buddhist equivalent of moksha is ____________________.

Question 26

The Laws of Manu show a society in which

A) there were no essential differences between male and female.
B) there was a strong sense of social justice.
C) children were not valued.
D) women were considered a source of temptation.
E) slaves were afforded some measure of protection.

Question 27

India's eventual success in developing trade with distant lands was aided most by

A) the development of the Silk Road.
B) the seizure of control of the Ganges River port of Tamluk.
C) schools of foreign language which prepared traders for interaction with other peoples.
D) the discovery of how to best make use of the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean.
E) the spread of Buddhism.

Question 28

The major cities of the Indus Valley culture were ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 29

The Hindu Kush's greatest significance lies in the fact that

A) Ashoka won a decisive battle there.
B) the Buddha was born and Buddhism was founded there.
C) they have provided significant protection for India.
D) most invasions of India have entered through these mountains.
E) India's earliest culture was uncovered there.

Question 30

What is the main difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism?

A) Mahayana Buddhists reject the belief that there are many acceptable paths to salvation.
B) The world contains more Theravada than Mahayana adherents.
C) Theravada Buddhism is stronger in Vietnam, China, Japan, and Korea.
D) Mahayana Buddhists believe that many other Buddhas will appear in time.
E) Theravada Buddhism is the more literal of the two groups.

Question 31

In Buddhism, nirvana, or the release from suffering, is achieved through

A) obeying the will of the gods.
B) experiencing multiple reincarnations.
C) striving for better karma.
D) self-taught mastery of one's self and soul.
E) death and resurrection.

Question 32

____________________ ____________________, an Indian aristocrat, later became known as the Buddha.

Question 33

In India, "purdah" refers to

A) a woman's isolation from nonfamily males.
B) a widow's ritual suicide.
C) woman's subservient role.
D) marital sexual relations.
E) women's high status within their families.

Question 34

In Hinduism, the individual is finally incorporated into a world-soul by achieving a release known as

A) Samsara.
B) Moksha.
C) Dharma.
D) Karma.
E) Jati.

Question 35

Many Indians became alienated from the early Hindu faith because of its excessive

A) violent ways.
B) empty rituals.
C) exclusive nature.
D) Both a and b
E) Both b and c

Question 36

The earliest archaeological excavations in Indus Valley farming sites found evidence of

A) flood control systems.
B) Grid-like streets.
C) monotheism.
D) flood control systems as well as a monotheistic faith.
E) grid-like streets and flood control systems.

Question 37

Before Buddha became the teacher who gave the world Buddhism, he was

A) a teacher.
B) wealthy.
C) poor.
D) a solver of problems.
E) a merchant-seaman.

Question 38

King Ashoka's signal contribution was the introduction into public and private life of

A) organized religion.
B) social equality.
C) religious toleration.
D) codified laws.
E) caste divisions.

Question 39

The divine mortals known as bodhisattvas

A) are direct descendants of the Buddha.
B) are denied existence in Theravada Buddhism.
C) make no claim to be willing to help humans here on earth.
D) deny the existence of supernatural beings.
E) were selected by the Buddha before his death.

Question 40

Which of the following religions of India emphasizes above all the sacred nature of all life?

A) Jainism
B) Buddhism
C) Hinduism
D) Mithraism
E) Zoroastrianism

Question 41

____________________ is India's ancient, classical language.

Question 42

____________________, a small religion/philosophy among high-caste Indians, emphasizes the sacredness of all life.

Question 43

The ____________________ ____________________ Mountains contain a route that invaders have used again and again to try to conquer India.

Question 44

The great dynasty of early India is the ____________________ whose greatest emperor was

Question 45

The two major branches of Buddhism are ____________________ and ____________________.