Deck 11: An Explosion of Complexity: The Indus Valley and China

Question 1

The Neolithic village of Mehrgarh was located in:

A) the Indus Valley
B) the Baluchistan Hills
C) the Ganges Valley
D) southern India

Answer 1

B

Question 2

By about what date is sophisticated architecture and extensive long-distance trade seen at the site of Mehrgarh:

A) 8,000 years ago
B) 6,000 years ago
C) 5,000 years ago
D) 4,000 years ago

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The origins of monumental construction projects in the general region of the Indus Valley can be seen at the site of Kot Diji in the form of:

A) great palaces
B) ziggurats
C) an encompassing village wall
D) irrigation canals

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What made agriculture and habitation along the rich floodplain of the Indus River possible after 6,000 years ago:

A) irrigation
B) the use of animal dung as fertilizer
C) flood control in the form of encompassing village walls
D) deglaciation

Question 5

It has been estimated that each of the major ancient cities located along the Indus River controlled an area between:

A) 25,000 and 50,000 square kilometers
B) 75,000 and 100,000 square kilometers
C) 100,000 and 170,000 square kilometers
D) 220,000 and 340,000 square kilometers

Question 6

The largest of the ancient Indus Valley cities, Mohenjo-daro, controlled a territory about the size of which US state:

A) Rhode Island
B) Massachusetts
C) Washington State
D) California

Question 7

The "mature Harappan period" lasted from:

A) 4,500 B.P. to 4,000 B.P.
B) 5,500 B.P. to 4,500 B.P.
C) 3,350 B.P. to 3,150 B.P.
D) 6,000 B.P. to 5,000 B.P.

Question 8

The major urban centers of the ancient Indus Valley were:

A) Mehrgarh and Kot Diji
B) Nagada and Hierakonpolis
C) Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
D) all of the above

Question 9

A common characteristic of cities large and small in the Indus Valley more than 4,000 years ago was:

A) the location of a raised area or "citadel" dominating the city
B) their precisely planned nature with parallel and perpendicular streets
C) craft specialist neighborhoods
D) all of the above

Question 10

Evidence for warfare in the ancient Indus valley civilization:

A) shows that the circumscription hypothesis applies quite well to its development
B) indicates that the citadels found in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were fortifications
C) is proof of social, economic, and political differentiation
D) is largely absent; warfare seems not to have contributed to its development

Question 11

Raw materials like copper, lapis lazuli, and steatite were obtained by the artisans of Mohenjo Daro were obtained from:

A) local quarries
B) Egypt
C) various sources spread across modern India, Pakstan, Iran, and Afghanistan
D) none of those materials are known to have been used at Mohenjo Daro

Question 12

The primary significance of the Harappan city of Lothal was as a:

A) port
B) a center of agricultural technology
C) a necropolis
D) the place where Buddhism originated

Question 13

The Indus Valley written language consists of about how many distinct symbols:

A) 24
B) 135
C) 290
D) 400

Question 14

Though the Indus Valley written language has not been fully deciphered, its context implies that it mainly concerns:

A) the lineage of the ruler
B) military victories
C) worship of the many gods in the Egyptian pantheon
D) an accounting of commodities

Question 15

What environmental event occurred at about the same time that the Indus Valley civilization suffered a collapse:

A) prolonged drought
B) a series of volcanic eruptions
C) a mini-ice age
D) a devastating tsunami

Question 16

The sedentary east Asian culture with large villages with defensive walls, elaborate graves, and the use of bronze metallurgy is called:

A) Yang-shao
B) Shang
C) Lung-shan
D) Hang-t'u

Question 17

The sites of Ch'eng tzu-yai and T'a-ssu exhibit what feature that reflects a developing system of social stratification:

A) the depiction in artwork of leaders wearing crowns
B) highly differentiated burials
C) highly differentiated family dwellings
D) all of the above

Question 18

Shang is the name given to:

A) an early Neolithic culture in China
B) the first Chinese complex civilization
C) the precursor to the Khmer civilization of Cambodia
D) a mythical hero of ancient China who provided the people with the knowledge of agriculture, writing, and the trappings of civilization

Question 19

The Shang Dynasty began about how long ago:

A) 4,200 years
B) 3,300 years
C) 2,400 years
D) 1,500 years

Question 20

Hang-t'u is the name given to the:

A) first emperor of China
B) capital city of the Shang civilization
C) stamped-earth technique of construction
D) technique of bronze metallurgy of the early Chinese metal makers

Question 21

The earliest evidence for a monumental construction project date to how long ago:

A) 10,000 years ago
B) 7,500-7250 years ago
C) 5,500-4,200 years ago
D) 3,200-2900 years ago

Question 22

The earliest monumental structure in ancient China was a:

A) defensive wall of earth
B) church building
C) palace
D) mortuary complex

Question 23

The earliest evidence for the development of a number of elements of complexity-including status-differentiated burials, metallurgy, and scapulimancy-can be dated to what period of Chinese prehistory:

A) 4,000-5,000 years ago
B) 3,000-4,000 years ago
C) 2,000-3,000 years ago
D) 1,000-2,000 years ago

Question 24

The first Shang emperor ascended to the throne about how many years ago:

A) 3,400
B) 3,000
C) 2,400
D) 2,000

Question 25

The Shang Dynasty is marked by a succession of how many kings:

A) 900
B) 200
C) 50
D) 12

Question 26

The precious material that was commonly used in various regions of ancient China to signify the status of the emerging elite classes was:

A) gold
B) silver
C) turquoise
D) jade

Question 27

The cty of Xibeigang appears to have been a:

A) port city
B) center of agricultural technology
C) colony from Mohenjo Daro
D) necropolis

Question 28

For conflict theorists, civilization develops:

A) as an organization solution to conflicts between social classes
B) as a result of warfare
C) when the need develops to mobilize and coordinate the labor of a large group
D) only in regions where resources are clustered, leading to territorial conflicts among those with access to those resources and those geographically isolated from those resources

Question 29

The elites of complex societies seem to have as their motto:

A) a stitch in time saves nine
B) a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
C) man fears time but time fears the pyramids
D) if you've got it, flaunt it

Question 30

In archaeologist V. Gordon Childe's view, class societies developed:

A) where groups outgrew their territories and waged war against their neighbors
B) everywhere writing was developed
C) first in Mesopotamian city-states and diffused from there to other world cultures
D) where trade concentrated wealth in the hands of a few

Question 31

For integration theorists, civilization develops:

A) as an organization solution to conflicts between social classes
B) as a result of warfare
C) when the need develops to mobilize and coordinate the labor of a large group
D) only in regions where resources are clustered, leading to territorial conflicts among those with access to those resources and those geographically isolated from those resources

Question 32

Karl Wittfogel traced the origins of civilization to:

A) the need to coordinate the labor of people to construct irrigation canals
B) warfare
C) the desire of a religious elite to solidify its power
D) trade and the wealth it could produce in resource-rich territories

Question 33

Robert Carniero traced the origins of civilization to:

A) the need to coordinate the labor of people to construct irrigation canals
B) warfare
C) the desire of a religious elite to solidify its power
D) trade and the wealth it could produce in resource-rich territories

Question 34

Like Narmer in Egypt, Ying Zheng in China is credited with:

A) constructing the first pyramids
B) uniting an array of separate city-states into a single nation
C) conscripting the first national army
D) mandating the literacy of his people

Question 35

Ying Zheng's burial included about how many slightly-larger-than-life-size warriors and horses:

A) 500
B) 2,000
C) 5,000
D) 8,000

Question 36

Ying Zheng consolidated the Chinese state of Qin about how many years ago:

A) 4,250
B) 3,250
C) 2,250
D) 1,250

Question 37

Describe the development of Indus Valley civilization. Provide a chronology and description of sites.

Question 38

What was the significance of flood control in the development of the Indus Valley civilization?

Question 39

Discuss the early development of a written language in the Indus Valley civilization. What was writing first used for in the Indus civilization, and where did the script originate?

Question 40

What was the significance of "cultural convergence" in the development of Indus Valley civilization?

Question 41

Discuss the sources from where the artisans at Mohenjo Daro obtained raw materials like copper, lapis lazuli, shells, carnelian, and steatite?

Question 42

Archaeologist Jane McIntosh calls the Indus civilization a "peaceful realm." What does she mean by this, and what does this signify in terms of the development of civilization both there and elsewhere?

Question 43

The Harapans are said to have possessed "modest elite." Explain what is meant by that phrase.

Question 44

What role may local climate change have played in the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization?

Question 45

Describe the development of Chinese civilization. Provide a chronology and description of sites.

Question 46

How do the cemeteries at Ch'eng-tzu-yai and T'a-ssu show the emergence of a socially stratified society in ancient China?

Question 47

Discuss conflict theories for the evolution of ancient state societies.

Question 48

Discuss integration theories for the evolution of ancient state societies.

Question 49

Why and how did state societies develop?

Question 50

What possible reasons are there for the conspicuous consumption of the elites of state societies?

Question 51

What was the terra cotta army of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty? What does it tell us about the nature of economic, social, and political inequality in ancient Chinese civilization?

Question 52

Using the Messages from the Past section of this chapter as a jumping off point, how did the diffusionist school deny the abilities of the ancient people of South and East Asia, as well as the Americas? What does the archaeological record for the development of complex societies worldwide show: independent invention or diffusion?