Deck 18: Early Chinese Civilization

Question 1

By __________ population densities in China rose after agriculture was introduced.

A) 5300 B.C.
B) 2500 B.C.
C) 3200 B.C.
D) 4000 B.C.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The population growth in China coincided with an expansion of __________ in lowland areas and in lush meadows where irrigation was easy.

A) raised field farming
B) millet farming
C) wet rice farming
D) soy bean farming

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The __________ culture of 4000 B.C. marks a period when north and south China became dependent upon one another for trade goods.

A) Longshan
B) Xia
C) Liangzhu
D) Ling

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The text says that the most significant of all Longshan innovations was the appearance of rectangular defensive enclosures, with walls known as hang tu, or __________.

A) pounded dirt
B) rammed earth
C) smashed mud
D) slammed soil

Question 5

The Longshan sites show evidence of the period being rather violent. Which of the following pieces of archaeological evidence was used to determine this?

A) skulls with signs of wounds or scalping
B) the writing of the Longshan peoples
C) the vast amounts of weaponry found
D) the large number of elites present

Question 6

Oracles in ancient China would divine using cracks made in which of the following materials?

A) potsherds
B) ox shoulder blades and tortoiseshells
C) cow femurs
D) chicken feathers and tea leaves

Question 7

It is thought that Chinese writing may have originated from __________.

A) influences from Mesopotamia
B) the need to interpret cracks in ox bones and pictograms
C) cracks in tortoise shells
D) influences from Japanese and Korean languages

Question 8

The archaeological record reveals that __________ -type remains are stratified on top of Longshan occupation levels at many places in northern China and that they represented a dramatic increase in the complexity of material culture and social organization.

A) Qin
B) Xia
C) Shang
D) Li

Question 9

The textbook concentrates on northern Chinese civilization because __________.

A) the people in the southern parts of China did not have agriculture
B) more is known about the archaeology of the Shang than any other early Chinese culture
C) the people in southern China were nomadic and did not leave permanent residences
D) the Shang kings obliterated any evidence of their southern neighbors through warfare

Question 10

A very sketchy outline of the early dynasties and the ways the Shang kings went about their business is revealed from __________.

A) oracle bones and other historical sources
B) pig entrails
C) oral histories
D) tea leaves

Question 11

Which society is largely known from its prestigious burials and black polished wares?

A) Chen
B) Shang
C) Longshan
D) Liangzhu

Question 12

Which was the all-important mark of Longshan elite status?

A) ritual vessels
B) jade figurines
C) mummification
D) bronze pectorals

Question 13

At which site did archaeologists find dozens of cracked ox shoulder blades, which they identified as oracle bones?

A) Shang
B) Longshan
C) Liangzhu
D) Chengziya

Question 14

Which civilization was a loosely unified confederacy of competing small kingdoms that quarreled and warred incessantly?

A) Longshan
B) Chengziyai
C) Shang
D) Liangzhu

Question 15

The Shang rulers lived in at least seven capitals before finally moving their capital to a place named __________ in 1557 B. C.

A) Anyang
B) Ao
C) Henan
D) Zhoukoudian

Question 16

Which structure was NOT located inside the two square miles of earthen wall surrounding the vast precinct of Ao?

A) craft workshops
B) ancestral alters
C) houses of rulers
D) houses of nobles

Question 17

The Shang capital moved to __________ in approximately 1400 B.C., where it remained until the fall of the Shang more than 250 years later.

A) Zhengzhou
B) Anyang
C) Chengziyai
D) Yangzi

Question 18

Which items are found in association with the burials of Shang rulers?

A) stone vessel ornaments
B) no slave sacrifices
C) sacrificed victims
D) thousands of jade statues

Question 19

The prestigious metal for the Shang people was __________.

A) copper
B) bronze
C) gold
D) silver

Question 20

Where do most surviving Shang weapons come from?

A) Shihuangdi burial mound
B) solider burials
C) royal tombs
D) sacrificial chariot burials

Question 21

Which of the following was NOT part of the weaponry carried by every foot soldier?

A) bow and arrows
B) shield
C) spear
D) small knife

Question 22

Which of the following was NOT associated with the burial mound of Emperor Shihuangdi?

A) scale models of palaces and pavilions
B) sacrificed concubines and laborers
C) drawings of the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus
D) a regiment of terra-cotta soldiers

Question 23

Describe the origins of Chinese civilization. Include in your answer some discussion of the Longshan and Liangzhu cultures.

Question 24

Compare and contrast the Xia and Shang dynasties. Include in your answer a brief description of the Shang burial practices.

Question 25

What were ways the warlords maintained power and authority in ancient China?