Deck 12: The First Civilizations

Question 1

Who coined the phrases "agricultural revolution" and "urban revolution"?

A)Mary Leakey
B)Vere Gordon Childe
C)Edward Taylor
D)Brian Fagan

Answer 1

Vere Gordon Childe

Question 2

The early Mesopotamian city of Uruk included satellite villages, each with its own

A)political system.
B)trade routes.
C)irrigation system.
D)religion.

Answer 2

irrigation system.

Question 3

The earliest literature in the world comes from

A)Egypt.
B)China.
C)Africa.
D)Sumeria.

Answer 3

Sumeria.

Question 4

A new era in human experience that included economic, political, and social mechanisms that affected the lives of people in cities located hundreds of kilometers apart begins with the emergence of the Sumerian civilization about

A)6500 B.C.
B)3100 B.C.
C)2500 B.C.
D)2000 B.C.

Question 5

Each early state in the Mesopotamian delta raised an army to defend its

A)water rights.
B)trade routes.
C)city walls.
D)all of these are correct.

Question 6

The death of Rameses III marks the beginning of the

A)Middle Kingdom.
B)New Kingdom.
C)Late period.
D)Archaic period.

Question 7

In his capacity as French consul in Mosul in northern Iraq, Paul-Émile Botta discovered

A)Nineveh.
B)King Sargon's palace.
C)Khufu's funerary boat.
D)the temple at Eridu.

Question 8

Define the elements of a state-organized society.

Question 9

Explain the reasons why civilizations collapse. Can we avoid these problems? Are we avoiding them?

Question 10

Discuss how Sumerian civilization came into being. Mention at least two Sumerian leaders in your discussion.

Question 11

Outline the periods of ancient Egyptian civilization. Mention noteworthy accomplishments of each major period.

Question 12

Most archaeologists agree that urban life and preindustrial civilization came into existence

A)gradually.
B)during a period of social and economic stability.
C)as a direct result of the introduction of irrigation technology.
D)all of these are correct.

Question 13

Maya religious ceremonies justified

A)social inequality.
B)human sacrifice.
C)conquest of enemies.
D)building of megaliths.

Question 14

Which of the following undermined the absolute power of the Old Kingdom's rulers in Ancient Egypt?

A)an earthquake.
B)a flood.
C)a prolonged drought.
D)long-term war with neighbors.

Question 15

Archaeologists often refer to urbanized, state-level civilization as preindustrial civilizations, because they relied on

A)manual labor rather than fossil fuels.
B)fossil fuels rather than manual labor.
C)accumulation of capital rather than social status through tribute.
D)social status through tribute rather than accumulation of capital.

Question 16

All of the following are attributes that define a city EXCEPT

A)a lower limit of 5,000 people.
B)economic and organizational complexity.
C)marketplaces and monumental architecture.
D)a central authority whose power extends beyond kinship bonds.

Question 17

Modern scholars recognize as having great importance in the development of all the world's early civilizations large food supplies, diversified farming economies, and

A)a well-defined religious tradition.
B)a form of written communication.
C)irrigation agriculture.
D)widespread public art and architecture.

Question 18

Social power means ideological power, and comes from

A)the creation or modification of symbols of cultural and political commonality.
B)access to the spirit world.
C)the ability to organize more specialized production and th tasks of food storage and distribution.
D)the hierarchical organization of decision making.

Question 19

Which of the following is believed to be the world's first city, flourishing from 4500 B.C. for more than 2000 years?

A)Palenque, Mexico
B)Uruk, Iraq
C)Girsu, Mesopotamia
D)Nekhen, Egypt

Question 20

Artifacts that include cuneiform tablets indicate that villagers in Mesopotamia were keeping careful written records as early as

A)3000 B.C.
B)4000 B.C.
C)5000 B.C.
D)6000 B.C.

Question 21

The longest lived early world preindustrial civilization, which endured for more than 3,000 years, is

A)Ancient Egypt.
B)Sumaria.
C)Mesopotamia.
D)Urbaid culture.

Question 22

For thousands of years, Egyptians were concerned with the potential of a world torn between chaos and order. They believed that disorder, or disequilibrium, could be contained by

A)a prosperous state and plentiful financial reserves.
B)the rule of kings and the benign force of the power of the Sun.
C)elaborate public ceremonies conducted in lavish public buildings.
D)a combination of deft political alliance and continual warfare with neighboring states.

Question 23

The pharaoh Khufu built the Great Pyramids during the

A)Old Kingdom.
B)Middle Kingdom.
C)New Kingdom.
D)Ptolemaic period.

Question 24

Eight-year-old Tutankhamun succeeded to the throne during the

A)Old Kingdom.
B)Middle Kingdom.
C)New Kingdom.
D)Ptolemaic period.

Question 25

Discuss the symbolic importance of the Sphinx at Giza. By whom was it built, and why?