Deck 4: A Succession of Civilizations: Ambition and Instability

Question 1

The Hittite Empire was

A) largely isolated from its neighbors.
B) treated as a state of equal power by Egypt.
C) agriculturally rich because of its mild climate.
D) very peaceful and seldom at war.

Answer 1

treated as a state of equal power by Egypt.

Question 2

One of the notable elements of early Andean civilizations is

A) the diversity of cultures within small regions.
B) the long-lasting civilizations that arose in this region.
C) the relative level of peaceful expansion by these early cultures.
D) the sameness of cultures over large regions.

Answer 2

the diversity of cultures within small regions.

Question 3

The attacks on Egypt in the early thirteenth century B.C.E. caused

A) the permanent collapse of Egyptian civilization.
B) a crisis that forced the reform of Egypt's religion.
C) a change in the aesthetic values of Egyptian art.
D) Egyptian civilization to retreat back into its traditional borders.

Answer 3

Egyptian civilization to retreat back into its traditional borders.

Question 4

According to tradition, the Zhou conquered the Shang in a battle fought at Muye in

A) 1045 B.C.E.
B) 1020 B.C.E.
C) 1000 B.C.E.
D) 957 B.C.E.

Question 5

Minoan civilization was influenced by its neighbors in its development of

A) state-regulated trade and agriculture.
B) small-scale family farms.
C) unregulated trade with its neighbors.
D) democracy.

Question 6

The Rig Veda is believed to have been written down around

A) 1500 B.C.E.
B) 1200 B.C.E.
C) 800 B.C.E.
D) 600 B.C.E.

Question 7

The earliest known ceremonial platform in Central America dates to around

A) 1400 B.C.E.
B) 1300 B.C.E.
C) 1200 B.C.E.
D) 1100 B.C.E.

Question 8

Which of the following peoples were the earliest known to have developed iron for weapons and tools?

A) Egypt
B) Minoans
C) Mesopotamians
D) Hittites

Question 9

The ancient peoples living in the town of Chavín de Huantar created a successful civilization by

A) forcing their neighbors into slavery.
B) an environmental quirk that gave them a long period of climatic stability.
C) controlling the cocoa trade.
D) controlling trade and command of diverse environments.

Question 10

El Niño affects the Andean regions by

A) causing drought.
B) causing flooding.
C) causing the seasonal rains to come at the wrong time.
D) causing wind storms.

Question 11

When the Hyksos conquered Egypt, they

A) replaced the Egyptian gods and government with their own.
B) adopted the Egyptian religion and political system.
C) retained Egyptians as rulers and demanded only their tribute.
D) destroyed Egyptian culture and brought in a new language.

Question 12

The root causes of the crisis that many states faced at the end of the second millennium B.C.E. were

A) unstable governments and ecological fragility.
B) natural disasters and external invasions.
C) external invasions and unstable governments.
D) migrations of foreigners and ecological fragility.

Question 13

Much of the direct, written evidence for the early period of the Zhou dynasty comes from inscriptions on

A) oracle bones.
B) cups.
C) the walls of the kings' palaces.
D) bamboo strips.

Question 14

During the final decades of the Shang dynasty,

A) rulers took on more responsibility.
B) the population declined on a large scale.
C) many cities were destroyed.
D) entire regions were abandoned.

Question 15

By what means could rulers gain regular revenue from local trade?

A) raiding
B) leaving merchants alone
C) buying goods from them
D) tolls and taxes

Question 16

One of the most accomplished exports that came out of China during the Shang dynasty was

A) writing.
B) bronze objects.
C) philosophical thought.
D) its system of government.

Question 17

The concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" holds that

A) rulers were gods from paradise.
B) rulers continued to be important diviners of Heaven's mandate.
C) a ruler received his right to rule from a deity.
D) the gods were in constant contact with a ruler.

Question 18

The collapse of Harappan civilization likely occurred primarily because of

A) failures in effective political leadership.
B) revolutions by the poor and dispossessed.
C) ecological changes over time.
D) invasions by foreign peoples.

Question 19

Which of the following civilizations spoke an early form of Greek?

A) Hittite
B) Minoan
C) Mycenaean
D) Egyptian

Question 20

The Rig Veda is

A) a narrative of the invasion of peoples from Central Asia into the Indus Valley.
B) written in an early form of Greek.
C) a collection of hymns and poems.
D) an epic story of war against a fabled city of gold.

Question 21

A key factor in Egypt's decline around 1300 B.C.E. was

A) attacks by the Nubians in the south.
B) failure of the Nile to flood adequately in successive years.
C) invasions by the "Sea Peoples."
D) invasions by the Hyksos.

Question 22

What fundamental problems led to the collapse of Harappan civilization?

Question 23

Olmec civilization in Mesoamerica had declined by

A) 1000 B.C.E.
B) 700 B.C.E.
C) 300 B.C.E.
D) 100 B.C.E.

Question 24

Olmec religious practice is known to have included

A) bloodletting rituals.
B) devotional songs.
C) human sacrifice.
D) building temples.

Question 25

What elements do civilizations in the Andes and Mesoamerica share with early Eurasian civilizations? What differences are there?

Question 26

What are the similarities and differences between the collapse of the Shang and the collapse of the Hittites?

Question 27

How did the Zhou dynasty continue traditions that had been a part of the Shang dynasty? What new innovations were introduced?

Question 28

Why did the Hittite civilization in Anatolia collapse so completely while civilization in the Nile River Valley continued?

Question 29

What elements are common to the early civilizations of the Andes and Mesoamerica?

Question 30

When early civilizations collapsed, the result was often:

A) a "dark age."
B) a new civilization immediately replaced the older one.
C) new civilizations that immediately outdid the older ones.
D) a very brief period of decline with new civilizations that maintained a clear continuity with the past.

Question 31

What factors contributed to the end of the Shang dynasty?

Question 32

Despite the collapse of its state, the same form of writing continued to be used by people in

A) China.
B) Mainland Greece.
C) Northern Anatolia.
D) India.

Question 33

Early river valley civilizations faced the following common, critical problems, EXCEPT:

A) population growth.
B) foreign invaders.
C) illiteracy.
D) communication.

Question 34

Elements in the archaeological evidence suggesting that the Olmec were shamanistic are

A) depictions of captives.
B) figurines of were-jaguars.
C) inscriptions describing religious observances.
D) records of their mythology.

Question 35

What resources made the Minoans and Mycenaeans successful in developing complex states?

Question 36

Egypt became interested in Nubia because of its trade in

A) gold, ivory, and incense.
B) agricultural goods, gold, and copper.
C) ivory, agricultural goods, and timber.
D) gold, incense, and basalt.

Question 37

What caused the weakening and collapase of major states in the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of the second millennium B.C.E.?

Question 38

For what reasons did civilizations first arise in the Andes and in Central America?

Question 39

Compare the role of technology in the rise of complex states among the Minoans, Mycenaeans, and Hittites.

Question 40

Earthquake activity played a role in the collapse of all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Mycenaean civilization.
B) Harappan civilization.
C) Minoan civilization.
D) Egyptian civilization.

Question 41

What role did external invasion and attack play in the collapse of civilizations in the Aegean World, Northern Anatolia, and Egypt? Why did Egyptian civilization survive these attacks, while the others were almost entirely wiped out?

Question 42

What role did environment play in the collapse of civilization in Harappa and China? Why was the degree and timing of the collapse of these civilizations so different?

Question 43

Compare the transformations of Chinese and Egyptian civilizations. What common elements characterize their successful responses to change?
In Perspective

Question 44

Why is the millenium between 2000 and 1000 B.C.E. a critical period of change in global history?

Question 45

Discuss and compare the role of climate change in the decline of the Harappan and Andean civilizations between 1500 and 1000 B.C.E.

Question 46

As ancient societies grew in size and number, many of them also became more fragile. Explain the collapse of Hittite, Cretan and Mycenean society in contrast to the survival of Egyptian society by 1000 B.C.E.

Question 47

For what reasons did Egyptian civilization survive the general collapse of civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean?

Question 48

Why did Chinese civilization continue after collapse of the Shang dynasty?