Deck 11: Shang China

Question 1

Bronze was ____________________________.

A) possessed by Erligang commoners
B) naturally deposited on the banks of the Yangtze River
C) the most significant ritual metal in Shang China
D) too soft to be used for practical tools

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Qin Shi Huang was the founder of the ________________ Dynasty in 221 BC.

A) Qin
B) Shang
C) Huang He
D) Banpo

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which material provides the best, though indirect, evidence of agricultural surpluses?

A) Animal bone
B) Pottery
C) Chipped stone scrapers
D) Fire-cracked rock.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

_______________________ was not a Neolithic settlement in China.

A) Anyang
B) Xinglonggou
C) Jiahu
D) Bashidong

Question 5

The Yangtze River region was associated with early ________________________.

A) potato farming
B) barley surpluses
C) banana arboriculture
D) rice cultivation

Question 6

Oracle bones were interpreted by _____________________.

A) priestesses
B) diviners
C) the emperor
D) the emperor's royal guards

Question 7

Lady Hao was ________________________.

A) a consort to a Shang king
B) a military commander
C) buried with bronze weaponry
D) All of the above

Question 8

Taosi was _________________________________________.

A) a Confucian painter
B) a Longshan Culture walled site
C) a Shang warlord
D) a Neolithic hilltop site

Question 9

How did China differ from Mesopotamia in terms of political complexity?

A) China had centralized leadership, unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, which were egalitarian.
B) China had the benefit of agricultural surpluses.
C) Egypt and Mesopotamia had divinely ordained leaders.
D) Complex Chinese polities emerged in several regions.

Question 10

What is millet?

A) A domesticated grain
B) A riverine fish, common in the Huang He
C) The ceremonial robe worn by Shang elites
D) A fermented beverage

Question 11

____________________ was the center (literally and figuratively) of the Erlitou Culture.

A) Etowah
B) Erlitou
C) Endor
D) Erligang

Question 12

Kaolin is _________________________.

A) the titled bestowed upon deceased ancestors
B) a flat stone used to process roots and tubers in southern China
C) a type of clay used to make white pottery
D) an artificial sweetener

Question 13

Banpo and ________________ were both Yangshao Culture Neolithic villages.

A) Jiangzhai
B) Beijing
C) Zhengzhou
D) Tsingtao

Question 14

Erlitou featured a 2000-piece turquoise and jade mosaic of a __________________.

A) horse
B) tiger
C) panda
D) dragon

Question 15

Zhengzhou was the main city of the _________________ Culture.

A) Erligang
B) Hohokam
C) Erlitou
D) Nabta Playa

Question 16

The beginning of Shang China is usually designated as ________________________.

A) 2850 BC
B) 1600 BC
C) 220 BC
D) AD 770

Question 17

The morphology of cow ______________ bones is particularly conducive to divination (i.e., they are a good shape to work with).

A) rib
B) shoulder
C) leg
D) jaw

Question 18

Taotie means _______________________.

A) male and female combined
B) the way of the pig
C) two-eyed
D) serpent tongue

Question 19

________________ was not a frequently used ceremonial material in Shang China.

A) Sapphire
B) Bronze
C) Jade
D) Turquoise

Question 20

Shang royals ________________________________.

A) ate only once a week as a form of ritual fasting
B) hunted and gathered food for their families
C) produced and harvested food for their households
D) received food as tribute

Question 21

According to written records, most Shang sacrificial victims were _____________________.

A) war captives
B) male descendants of Shang rulers
C) disgraced elites
D) adulterers and petty thieves

Question 22

There were many uses for bronze in Shang China, but most was formed into _________________.

A) warrior statues
B) ceremonial vessels
C) armor for the kings soldiers
D) nose rings

Question 23

_________________ was a walled settlement of the Longshan Culture.

A) Xibalba
B) Plo Koon
C) Haojiatai
D) Angkor Wat

Question 24

The Shang were conquered by the ________________ Dynasty in 1045 BC.

A) Qin
B) Yangshao
C) Shanghai
D) Western Zhou

Question 25

___________________ was the most important ritual aspect of Shang society.

A) Speaking in tongues
B) Priesthood
C) Ancestor worship
D) Shamanic trance

Question 26

________________ dating to 10,000-5000 BC was discovered at Zengpiyan Cave.

A) Sago palm
B) An avocado pit
C) Zebra bone
D) Taro root

Question 27

Anyang is also referred to as ________________________.

A) Yinxu
B) Bodhidharma
C) Xinglonggou
D) Adena

Question 28

Anyang was _______________________.

A) a Neolithic oasis
B) a mountaintop palace
C) a late Shang capital
D) Erlitou's largest pyramid

Question 29

With the exception of Jiahu, Peiligang Culture sites are usually dominated by ____________.

A) long-grain rice
B) maize
C) chicken wings
D) millet

Question 30

Chinese writing was probably __________________________________.

A) borrowed from Mayan glyphs
B) the result of a long, gradual process
C) not necessary until the Qin Dynasty
D) developed in the Paleolithic

Question 31

In Shang China, elites held control over the distribution of bronze vessels.

Question 32

Imperial China was extremely successful, existing until AD 1911.

Question 33

The region around the Mekong River was critically important for Shang China.

Question 34

Although there is little evidence to support this interpretation, some researchers have proposed that cowrie shells were used as money.

Question 35

Impressions of maize cobs are found on pottery fragments at Xiaohuangshan.

Question 36

Foxtail millet was a type of millet produced in Neolithic China.

Question 37

There is no archaeological evidence of horse sacrifice in China.

Question 38

The Yangshao culture followed Shang culture.

Question 39

In Shang China, the high god was referred to as Ti.

Question 40

The Neolithic Jiahu site featured pottery with fermented rice residue.

Question 41

What are two early domesticated plant crops associated with China?

Question 42

What are three early domesticated animals associated with China?

Question 43

What kinds of defensive elements were incorporated into the design of Longshan Culture (and later) settlements?

Question 44

What is the taotie motif?

Question 45

What is scapulimancy?

Question 46

What were the two main rivers on which early Chinese states depended? Which river does Chapter 11 primarily focus on?

Question 47

Residue analyses of pottery from Jiahu indicated the production of what beverage?

Question 48

Oracle bones were often large bovid scapulae. What other animal part was used for this ritual process?

Question 49

How were archaeologists able to interpret the agricultural production of Jiangzhai village and its distribution between households?

Question 50

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang contained thousands of ____________________________.

Question 51

Discuss the process of oracle bone divination and its role in Shang society.

Question 52

How was bronze produced and utilized in the later Chinese societies covered in Chapter 11?

Question 53

What do the details of the adult male buried at Xishuipo reveal about social divisions in Yangshao Culture? How do you interpret the burial's unusual features?

Question 54

Erlitou Culture set in motion a settlement pattern that would continue, in larger form, into later periods. How was Erlitou Culture centered on the Erlitou site?

Question 55

Briefly describe the events that occurred after the end of the Shang Dynasty. When did China become an Empire? When did it cease to be an Empire?