Deck 1: The Origins of Western Civilization in the Ancient Near East,3000-1200 B.C.E.

Question 1

Stone Age art devoted to fertility rituals indicate that,in some cases,society may have been

A) organized around gender division of labor.
B) patriarchal.
C) matriarchal.
D) promiscuous.
E) monogamous.

Answer 1

matriarchal.

Question 2

Social differentiation likely occurred because

A) surplus agriculture created wealth for some agricultural communities.
B) settled communities collected wealth.
C) pastoralists had a less stable lifestyle.
D) large groups of people meant that some were destined to be slaves.
E) there was development of warrior and priestly castes.

Answer 2

surplus agriculture created wealth for some agricultural communities.

Question 3

Western civilization began in approximately 8000 B.C.E.in which region?

A) Mesopotamia
B) Africa
C) Asia
D) Latin America
E) Western Europe

Answer 3

Mesopotamia

Question 4

The presence of monoliths such as Stonehenge demonstrate all of the following in Neolithic society except

A) divisions of labor.
B) defined religious ritual space.
C) elementary knowledge of astronomy.
D) social hierarchy.
E) mobilization of manpower.

Question 5

Domestication of animals is primarily found in which area?

A) Africa
B) Western Europe
C) Latin America
D) Middle East and Asia
E) the Russian steppe

Question 6

All of the following technologies were found in river valleys prior to 3000 B.C.E.except

A) wheeled vehicles.
B) wool weaving.
C) multicolored pottery.
D) writing.
E) metal technology.

Question 7

Which of the following was the most important characteristic in allowing humankind to settle in an area?

A) mineral deposits
B) temperate climate
C) proximity to water
D) abundant food supply
E) access to trade routes

Question 8

The first phase of civilization properly began with

A) The Bronze Age.
B) written language.
C) the transition to homo sapiens.
D) organization into city-states.
E) the discovery of fire.

Question 9

The defining characteristics of civilization include all of the following except

A) writing.
B) economies based on agriculture.
C) different social classes.
D) metal technology.
E) fortified cities.

Question 10

The earliest human population in Africa was

A) homo habilis.
B) homo erectus.
C) Austrolepithicans humanis.
D) homo sapiens.
E) Neanderthal.

Question 11

One of the reasons for the spread of agriculture throughout the world is thought to be

A) cultural materialism.
B) cultural assimilation.
C) cultural trade and transmission.
D) material dissemination.
E) divine revelation.

Question 12

Early homo sapiens sapiens began to demonstrate progress through all of the following except

A) using resin to bond pieces of stone for sickles.
B) exploration of religion and supernatural worlds.
C) cave paintings.
D) fertility rituals.
E) human sacrifice.

Question 13

The two major revolutions in food supply circa 8000 B.C.E.included

A) domestication of animals and large-scale fishing.
B) pastoralism and cooking with fire.
C) domestication of agriculture and use of stone tools.
D) domestication of animals and pastoralism.
E) None of these.

Question 14

What caused the disappearance of Neanderthals?

A) assimilation by homo sapiens sapiens
B) evolutionary failure
C) the cause is unknown
D) starvation from lack of adaptation to agricultural methods
E) killed off by clan warfare

Question 15

The varied uses of bronze as a new metal technology were applied to all of the following except

A) jewelry and weapons.
B) household items.
C) farm implements.
D) all of these.
E) b and c.

Question 16

We can study people of the Stone Age by using

A) their written records.
B) material culture.
C) carbon dating.
D) general anthropological theory.
E) educated guesses.

Question 17

Which of the following was NOT considered "women's work" in the gendered division of labor?

A) manufacturing tools
B) childcare
C) preserving or preparing food
D) scraping animal skins
E) gathering agriculture

Question 18

The greatest demonstration of technology among the growing population of Mesopotamia was

A) bronze.
B) pottery wheels.
C) multicolored pottery.
D) weaving of wool for clothing.
E) wheeled vehicles.

Question 19

Early humans believed they could influence supernatural powers through

A) worshipping icons.
B) religious rituals.
C) human sacrifice.
D) building temples.
E) none of these.

Question 20

Early human food supply came from

A) hunting and gathering.
B) domesticated agriculture.
C) organized social labor for procurement.
D) trade with other tribes.
E) conquering areas with greater food production.

Question 21

The gods in Sumeria were characterized by

A) numeric rank.
B) nature elements.
C) alphabetical order.
D) both numeric rank and nature elements.
E) none of these.

Question 22

Women in Egyptian society had all of the following rights except

A) arranging her marriage.
B) owning property.
C) divorce.
D) inheritance.
E) asserting legal rights in court.

Question 23

One reason that the Egyptians had a more optimistic outlook than the Sumerians was

A) They had more gold than Sumeria.
B) They developed writing earlier than the Sumerians.
C) Their afterlife was open to all Egyptians, even slaves.
D) The weather was extremely predictable.
E) Their agriculture was more extensive.

Question 24

Which term best describes Sumerian social organization?

A) hierarchical
B) matriarchal
C) patriarchal
D) oligarchical
E) monarchical

Question 25

The political factor that Mesopotamian city-states shared was

A) a bond based on adherence to the same god.
B) use of the same language.
C) life built around a ziggurat.
D) unification against the Anatolians.
E) none of these because they had no political unification.

Question 26

The infant set adrift in a basket in the river by his mother,who went on to form an empire,was

A) Sargon.
B) Moses.
C) Ramses II.
D) Ashurbanipal.
E) Hammurabi.

Question 27

Sumerian writing uses which form?

A) hieroglyphics
B) cuneiform tablets
C) the Phoenician alphabet
D) etchings on tortoise shells
E) calligraphy

Question 28

The first Indo-Europeans to invade Mesopotamia were the

A) Hittites.
B) Hyksos.
C) Aryans.
D) Balkans.
E) Minoans.

Question 29

In Sumerian representations,men with shaved heads were

A) lugals.
B) priests.
C) warriors.
D) viziers.
E) slaves.

Question 30

Organization of work forces in Sumeria was the responsibility of

A) priest-kings.
B) viziers.
C) civil administrators.
D) military commanders.
E) slave owners.

Question 31

The first woman to rule in Egypt was

A) Hatshepsut.
B) Innana.
C) Nitocris.
D) Cleopatra.
E) Nefertiti.

Question 32

The most common punishment for breaking the Law Code of Hammurabi was

A) paying a fine.
B) being sent to jail.
C) having a body part cut off.
D) being exiled.
E) death.

Question 33

The growth in importance of the nobility in Old Kingdom Egypt was a problem because

A) it signified a decrease in the importance of the pharaoh.
B) its members were exempt from taxes, leaving the burden on free citizens.
C) the priestly castes were jealous of the influence of its members on the pharaoh.
D) its members demanded special benefits and trade rights.
E) its members raised armed revolts and overthrew pharaohs they didn't like.

Question 34

The practice of interpreting the intentions of the gods by reading signs was called

A) soothsaying.
B) prophecy.
C) oracle reading.
D) divination.
E) dreamquesting.

Question 35

The most significant accomplishment of Hammurabi's reign was

A) his law code.
B) the implementation of weights and measures.
C) religious tolerance throughout his empire.
D) the use of horses and iron weapons in his army.
E) the advancement in Babylonian math and science.

Question 36

The most visible building in Mesopotamian cities was the

A) Temple of An.
B) marketplace.
C) palace of the king.
D) ziggurat.
E) stele of justice.

Question 37

The Sumerians settled by which rivers?

A) Nile and Victoria
B) Amazon and Indus
C) Indus and Dnieper
D) Tigris and Euphrates
E) Tiber and Po

Question 38

The first leader to unify Mesopotamia as an empire was

A) Gilgamesh of Uruk.
B) Ur-Nammu of Ur.
C) Sargon the Akkadian.
D) Hammurabi of Babylon.
E) Amen-hotep IV.

Question 39

Semitic people of the coastal regions of the near East were bound to a sense of shared identity by which factor?

A) religion
B) trade
C) language
D) geopolitical organization
E) being enemies of Sumeria

Question 40

Which of the following did the Egyptians not have in common with Mesopotamians?

A) writing
B) metallurgy
C) hierarchical organization
D) polytheism
E) rulers who were living gods

Question 41

Which form of writing was found in Crete until approximately 1400 B.C.E.?

A) linear B
B) linear A
C) ogan
D) hieroglyphics
E) cuneiform

Question 42

What is the importance of geographic conditioning in establishing civilizations?

Question 43

Minoan religion differs from Mesopotamian by its use of

A) human sacrifice.
B) cult objects.
C) strict separation of church and state.
D) anthropomorphic gods.
E) public rituals expected of all society.

Question 44

What facilitated interactions between Bronze Age civilizations,for good or bad? Discuss where you might see these interactions.

Question 45

What are the earliest examples of comprehensive law in the Near East?

Question 46

Compare early human perspectives on death and the afterlife.Include preliterate societies,Egypt,and Mesopotamia.How do these civilizations demonstrate the importance of death?

Question 47

The main emphasis of Minoan economy was

A) conquest.
B) trade.
C) hiring out their ships.
D) pastoralism.
E) agriculture.

Question 48

Most of the Minoan records in Linear A are what type of documents?

A) inventories.
B) law codes
C) religious texts
D) poetry
E) genealogies.

Question 49

Homer's epic poem The Iliad describes

A) the fall of Pharaoh Ramses II of Egypt at the hands of the Mycenaeans.
B) a battle between Crete and Mycenaea.
C) Gilgamesh's journey to find the secret of eternal life in Uruk.
D) a war between the Trojans and the Greeks.
E) the defeat of the Hittite Empire by the Sea Peoples.

Question 50

Which is not characteristic of Mycenaean civilization?

A) linear B
B) fortified cities
C) limited agriculture because of geographic conditioning
D) economy based on trade
E) iron metal technology

Question 51

Which of the following is not characteristic of Middle Kingdom Egypt?

A) The afterlife was available to everyone, not just pharaohs.
B) There was a new god, Amon, as well as Ra.
C) There was an invasion by the Hyksos that pushed them into the second intermediate period.
D) The Egyptian Book of the Dead was written.
E) There was a switch to monotheism under Akhenaton.

Question 52

The Sea Peoples were originally from

A) Troy.
B) Germany.
C) Egypte
D) Crete.
E) the central Asian steppes.

Question 53

In your opinion,what is the most important characteristic necessary for civilization? Support your answer by comparing several civilizations and weighing their importance.

Question 54

What was Akhenaton's most significant contribution to the New Kingdom in Egypt?

A) surrendering to the Hyksos.
B) forming an alliance with Assyria.
C) capturing Nubia and integrating it into the Egyptian Empire.
D) revising the religion of Egypt to focus only on one god.
E) declaring war on Sumeria.

Question 55

What technical and cultural hallmarks were contributed by civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East?

Question 56

Discuss the significance of the revolution in agriculture as a factor in civilization.

Question 57

How does the historian put together the picture of early civilizations in the absence of writing/written history?

Question 58

According to historical sources,the Sea Peoples were defeated by

A) King Minos of Crete.
B) Ramses II of Egypt.
C) King Ammurapi of the Hittite Empire.
D) the Aryan king of Iran.
E) King Zardoz of the Pyrenees.

Question 59

The most significant feature of the New Kingdom was

A) militarization and empire.
B) isolation and introspection.
C) conquest of Nubia.
D) a female ruler for the first time, Hatshepsut.
E) widespread use of diplomacy with Asia and Africa.

Question 60

Minoan civilization was destroyed around 1400 B.C.E.by

A) volcanic activity.
B) a tidal wave that swallowed the island, giving rise to the Atlantis legend.
C) an invasion by the Sea Peoples.
D) probable conquest by the mainland Greeks.
E) the plague.

Question 61

Which civilization of the Bronze Age was the "most advanced" among those you've read about? Support your answer with tangible examples and evidence.

Question 62

Each major early civilization formed in river valleys.

Question 63

Both the Egyptian and Sumerian calendar of 360 days was based on a lunar calendar.

Question 64

Urbanization was the main focus of Egyptian living arrangements.

Question 65

Sea Peoples were defeated by the Dorians.

Question 66

Minoans developed the first alphabet demonstrated in Linear A.

Question 67

How was religion demonstrated among the earliest peoples? Use specific examples to show how archeology has revealed this.How does this compare with later emerging religions for which we have written records?

Question 68

People of the Old Stone Age left no written records.

Question 69

What were the advantages and disadvantages of pastoralism as a way of sustaining life?

Question 70

The lowest ranked member of Sumerian society was the farmer.

Question 71

How did the religious life of Egypt change under the Middle Kingdom?

Question 72

Sargon defeated the Hyksos.

Question 73

Mycenaeans were better defended than Minoans.

Question 74

Sumerians developed a very optimistic view of their civilization because of geographic stability and wealth of resources.

Question 75

How did the trade-based economy of the Minoans of Crete differ from agriculturally oriented civilizations?