Deck 3: The Great River Valleys: Accelerating Change and Developing States

Question 1

The earliest evidence for the domestication of the horse comes from

A) Rudna Glava, Serbia.
B) Varna, Bulgaria.
C) Malta.
D) Sredny Stog, Ukraine.

Answer 1

Sredny Stog, Ukraine.

Question 2

The earliest cities in Mesopotamia arose about

A) 4000 B.C.E.
B) 3000 B.C.E.
C) 2500 B.C.E.
D) 2000 B.C.E.

Answer 2

3000 B.C.E.

Question 3

The ancient Egyptians regarded their kings as
a. divine, but not gods.
b. powerful rulers, but not divine.
c. strong rulers only in times of crisis or war.
d. living gods.

Answer 3

d

Question 4

Egyptian expeditions such as Queen Hatshepsut's mission to Punt reveal all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Despite the phenomenal wealth enjoyed by the people of Punt, they could not produce food in quantities large enough to export it to others.
B) Egyptian society produced such an abundance of grain that its Pharaoh could use it to purchase rare and expensive luxuries from other regions.
C) Egyptian naval technology was so immature that it required five vessels to transport a few incense trees back to Egypt.
D) Queen Hatshepsut ruled effectively as a Pharaoh aware of Egypt's power and position in relation to its neighbors.

Question 5

A civilization is defined as a society that

A) is superior to all others.
B) seeks to dominate its neighbors.
C) seeks to remodel nature to suit human purposes.
D) possesses a complex government and a written language.

Question 6

In most river civilizations, one area of production that women tended to dominate was

A) pottery.
B) agriculture.
C) making textiles.
D) painted decoration.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT commonly found as archaeological evidence for early civilizations?

A) monumental architecture
B) writing
C) mining of precious metals
D) grave goods

Question 8

A characteristic of early Chinese cities was

A) the building of temples only in the center of the city.
B) the building of larger houses for the ruler.
C) that the ruler's house was about the same as other houses.
D) the lack of marketplaces for the exchange of goods.

Question 9

In ancient Egyptian depictions of the weighing of the souls of the dead, the human soul is weighed against

A) a lump of gold.
B) a feather.
C) the soul of a good man.
D) a loaf of bread.

Question 10

In the Indus Valley, cities

A) were large, but few in number.
B) were many in number and had similar layouts.
C) were many, but had very different layouts.
D) were few in number and were built on grid plans.

Question 11

In terms of climate and ecology, the Yellow River can be characterized as

A) mild in climate and unpredictable in its flooding.
B) harsh in climate and predictable in its flooding.
C) mild in climate and predictable in its flooding.
D) harsh in climate and unpredictable in its flooding.

Question 12

Most surviving art from the Harappan civilization is preserved on

A) wall paintings.
B) seals.
C) papyrus rolls.
D) mosaics.

Question 13

What environmental features were shared by the early river valley civilizations?

A) warm and dry climate, dry soils, seasonal flooding, and irrigation
B) cool and wet climate, dry soils, seasonal flooding, and irrigation
C) warm and dry climate, wet soils, seasonal flooding, and irrigation
D) warm and wet climate, wet soils, seasonal flooding, and irrigation

Question 14

The earliest large states appeared in Central America around

A) 6,000 years ago.
B) 5,000 years ago.
C) 4,000 years ago.
D) 3,000 years ago.

Question 15

Which of the following is not a shared characteristic of all of the early river valley civilizations?

A) participation by citizens in decision-making
B) sacred kingship
C) social hierarchies
D) inhabitants at the disposal of the state

Question 16

The traditional Great River Valley civilizations were located in

A) Egypt, China, Central America, and Iraq.
B) Egypt, Central America, Europe, and China.
C) Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and Pakistan.
D) Egypt, Pakistan, Europe, and China.

Question 17

When we say that people in early agricultural societies tended to be linked "vertically" rather than "horizontally," we mean that

A) they were organized in groups linked by some form of common allegiance.
B) they were organized in groups ranked with one above the other.
C) they were organized in groups linked by their class in society.
D) they were organized in groups ranked according to political and economic power.

Question 18

A key change brought on by the introduction of agriculture is

A) the development of leaders in a community.
B) the development of religion.
C) the development of technology.
D) the development of greater social and economic differences.

Question 19

The Nile River provides Egypt with its rich agriculture by

A) limiting upstream boat traffic.
B) never flooding.
C) providing easy transport for crops.
D) flooding its banks.

Question 20

Mesopotamian ziggurats are best characterized as

A) pyramids.
B) circular structures.
C) surrounded by columns supporting a roof.
D) terraced mounds.

Question 21

How did the cultural developments brought on by the adoption of agriculture differ in the Americas from similar developments in Eurasia?

Question 22

Of the four major river valley civilizations, the one that had the least contact with the others was

A) China.
B) India.
C) Egypt.
D) Mesopotamia.

Question 23

Hammurabi was king of Babylon around

A) 2050 B.C.E.
B) 1950 B.C.E.
C) 1850 B.C.E.
D) 1750 B.C.E.

Question 24

For the ancient Chinese, the term "Heaven" (as in "Mandate of Heaven") is best described as

A) an impersonal deity.
B) a paradise.
C) a place in the clouds.
D) a place in the stars.

Question 25

The most basic resource available to all the early river valley civilizations was the

A) close interaction with others.
B) constant availability of fish and game animals.
C) large areas of fertile soil.
D) abundance of gold.

Question 26

How did the development of agriculture affect cultural developments in different river civilizations?

Question 27

How did the development of civilization in Egypt compare with the development of civilization in the Indus River Valley?

Question 28

How did the ecology of the Nile River Valley civilization compare with the Mesopotamian?

Question 29

What was most significant about the conquest of the Yangtze River Valley during the period of the Shang dynasty for the resilience of Chinese culture?

A) The additional population was key to China's power.
B) It provided complementary environments to the state.
C) The Yangtze was richer than the Yellow River Valley.
D) It had little influence on the resilience of Chinese culture.

Question 30

The Harappan writing that survives mainly

A) cannot be deciphered.
B) relates stories of heroes.
C) was used for religious texts.
D) records law codes.

Question 31

A technology that was common to ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China is

A) indoor plumbing.
B) codified law.
C) irrigation.
D) standardized measurements.

Question 32

Of the following Mesopotamian kings, who is the earliest?

A) Sargon
B) Hammurabi
C) Gilgamesh
D) Enlil

Question 33

In what manner were oracle bones read to foretell the future?

A) The shape and quality of the bones were interpreted by experts.
B) The bones were submerged in water until they changed shape. These changes were then interpreted.
C) The bones were tossed onto the ground, and their arrangement was then interpreted.
D) The bones were heated until cracks formed that were then read.

Question 34

Chinese writing is best described by the term

A) cuneiform.
B) hieroglyph.
C) logogram.
D) alphabet.

Question 35

Which of the following are roles that Mesopotamian kings were expected to play?

A) war leaders, religious leaders, and enforcers of public morals
B) interpreters of prophecy, redistributors of food, and irrigation organizers
C) religious leaders, temple builders, and living gods
D) redistributors of food, men destined for eternal life, and mediators with the gods

Question 36

What new tools of cultural expression did agriculture make possible? Who tended to control these tools, and what was the result?

Question 37

What ecological factors were common to all of the major river valley civilizations? How did these factors influence the emergence of these societies?

Question 38

How did the ecology of the Indus River Valley civilization compare with the Chinese?

Question 39

Which of the following were not used for oracles?

A) livers
B) stars
C) tea leaves
D) birds

Question 40

Ancient Mesopotamia was

A) a united kingdom under a single ruler.
B) a collection of city-states.
C) a confederation of states with a single ruler only in times of war.
D) a feudal state.

Question 41

What is the connection between the development of writing and trade in Mesopotamia?

Question 42

What are the earliest uses of writing known in China, Egypt, and the Indus Valley?

Question 43

Write an essay that contrasts Egyptian and Harrapan civilizations. In what important ways did each society draw on the resources of its river valley? What surviving evidence indicates the success and complexity of these cultures?

Question 44

How did the development of government and religion in Mesopotamia compare with a similar development in the Indus River Valley?

Question 45

What is the connection between the development of writing in the river valley civilizations and our interest in and knowledge of them?
In Perspective

Question 46

Why are the ways a civilization thought, felt, and behaved not adequately conveyed by labels such as "Bronze Age"?

Question 47

How did the development of civilization in China compare with the development of civilization in Mesopotamia?

Question 48

How did the development of government and religion in China compare with a similar development in the Egypt?

Question 49

What unique features of each river valley civilization were influenced by specific features of the natural environment? What common features do these civilizations share, and how do these features relate to the environment?

Question 50

What are the common features of government and religion across all the river valley civilizations? Why were they common?

Question 51

How did the ability of ancient Mesopotamia and China to interact with other civilizations affect their development?

Question 52

What environmental factors gave the early river valley civilizations of Egypt and India advantages?

Question 53

What was the central purpose of the sophisticated writing systems used by each of major river valley civilizations in Egypt, China, the Indus river valley, and Mesopotamia? How can these writings illuminate the economies, religious traditions and internal politics of each society?

Question 54

Discuss the different methods of social and political control used by early Mesopotamian kings and Chinese emperors. Consider the central role of water, religion, and law in both societies.