Deck 4: Early Societies in South Asia

Question 1

The earliest known urban society in India was the

A) Bantu.
B) Indo-European.
C) Harappan.
D) Sumerian.
E) Hindu.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Based on archaeological evidence from early Indian history,historians believe that

A) Harappa and Mohenjo-daro served as economic and political centers.
B) the Harappan world was one of constant civil war.
C) the Chinese were a constant influence.
D) there was little true culture in India before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans.
E) early Indian cities remained small and unsophisticated by comparison to other ancient cities.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements about the Aryans is NOT true?

A) They made extensive use of domesticate horses,hitching them to carts and wagons.
B) They composed numerous poems and songs.
C) They practiced limited agriculture as they entered India,instead relying on a pastoral culture.
D) They brought the first written language to India.
E) They consumed both dairy products and beef.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Chickens were first domesticated in

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

Question 5

The chief god of the early Aryans was

A) Enlil.
B) a mother goddess.
C) Varuna.
D) Indra.
E) Manu.

Question 6

Evidence relating to trade indicates that Harappan India

A) was isolated and did not trade.
B) traded exclusively with China.
C) traded exclusively with Egypt.
D) imported substantially more than they exported.
E) traded with the Mesopotamians.

Question 7

One of the biggest reasons for the decline of the Harappan society was likely

A) a devastating plague.
B) ecological degradation.
C) a Chinese invasion.
D) a Mesopotamian invasion.
E) a bloody civil war.

Question 8

At its height,the population of Mohenjo-daro may have reached as high as ________.

A) 10,000
B) 20,000
C) 40,000
D) 75,000
E) 100,000

Question 9

After the Aryans and Dravidians mixed and intermingled,

A) Indra still remained the leading god.
B) Indra disappeared completely.
C) Amon-Re replaced Indra as the ruler of the gods.
D) the worship of Indra evolved into a monotheistic religion.
E) Indra receded into the background.

Question 10

The principle measure of wealth in early Aryan society was

A) horses.
B) gold.
C) stores of rice.
D) camels.
E) land.

Question 11

The most prominent of the Indo-Europeans who entered India called themselves Aryans,which means

A) "agents of the lord king."
B) "horse masters."
C) "noble people."
D) "people of Indra."
E) "the pure."

Question 12

Mohenjo-daro was

A) the mother goddess of the earliest Indian society.
B) an important early thinker in the rise of Hinduism.
C) one of the two larger cities of Harappan society.
D) a collection of early Indian religious texts.
E) the combination of two Indian sun gods.

Question 13

Much of early Harappan history remains a mystery because

A) the archaeological remains are under water.
B) they lacked a written language.
C) their records were destroyed by a Mesopotamian invasion.
D) the Aryans undertook a systematic destruction of Harappan written records.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 14

The Aryans were

A) the priestly class of the Harappan society.
B) Chinese merchants.
C) the political remnants of the Harappan kings.
D) Indo-Europeans.
E) Germanic invaders.

Question 15

The Aryans came into India

A) in a centuries-long migration.
B) as part of a violent,organized military campaign.
C) as religious pilgrims.
D) after fleeing persecution in China.
E) as a slave class that eventually rebelled against Harappan repression.

Question 16

If the Greek historian Herodotus had known of the Harappan society,he might have used the phrase "the gift of the ________" to describe it.

A) Nile
B) Tigris
C) Indus
D) Yangtze
E) Euphrates

Question 17

Harappan religion

A) focused on the worship of the sun.
B) was strongly monotheistic.
C) reflected a strong concern for fertility.
D) focused on the worship of the moon.
E) is the same as Hinduism.

Question 18

Some scholars believe that,after the collapse of the Harappan society,Harappan deities

A) disappeared completely.
B) quickly became the only gods of the Indo-Europeans.
C) survived and found a place in the Hindu pantheon.
D) survived in southeast Asia after the Harappan migration.
E) were transformed into destructive dragons by the Aryans.

Question 19

The earliest of the orally transmitted religious and literary works of the Aryans was the

A) Upanishads.
B) Vedas.
C) Dasas.
D) Rajas.
E) Book of Songs.

Question 20

Which statement about Harappan society is FALSE?

A) Most of their houses featured private showers and toilets.
B) They traded with the Mesopotamians.
C) They had social distinctions.
D) Their writings have provided a wealth of information for historians.
E) They produced representational art.

Question 21

The "World of the Fathers"

A) is a term associated with the brahmin caste.
B) is the concept that best expresses the patriarchal nature of Indian society.
C) represents the hierarchical nature of the caste system.
D) was the Aryan heaven.
E) was the goal of adolescent boys as they underwent ritualistic circumcision.

Question 22

A jati is

A) a subcaste.
B) a serf in the caste system.
C) a transmigration of the soul.
D) a priest in the caste system.
E) an untouchable.

Question 23

"Now as a man is like this or like that,according as he acts and according as he behaves,so will he be: a man of good acts will become good,a man of bad acts,bad." This passage from the Upanishads explains what religious concept?

A) dharma
B) samsara
C) varna
D) karma
E) moksha

Question 24

What Aryan god was associated with war and rain?

A) Varuna
B) Indra
C) Agni
D) Krishna
E) Inanna

Question 25

Dasas is the Aryan term for the Dravidians.

Question 26

The task of butchering animals or handling dead bodies usually fell to the

A) untouchables.
B) shudras.
C) vaishyas.
D) jati.
E) kshatriyas.

Question 27

The Aryans referred to social classes by the term

A) karmas.
B) varnas.
C) moksha.
D) samsara.
E) rajas.

Question 28

Indra was the Aryan god who preserved the cosmic order.

Question 29

The most important aspect of the Aryan religion during the early Vedic times was

A) the proper performance of ritual sacrifices.
B) an ethical code of conduct.
C) a tightly-structured monotheism.
D) the acceptance of Indra as the redeemer.
E) the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Question 30

The Aryans believed that Varuna

A) was the founder of India.
B) represented war and rain.
C) oversaw the behavior of mortals and preserved the cosmic order.
D) determined the caste that souls entered into as part of transmigration.
E) wrote the Lawbook of Manu.

Question 31

Severing all ties with the physical world and identifying oneself with the ultimate reality of the world spirit is moksha.

Question 32

Vedic society was

A) strongly matriarchal.
B) marked by equality of the sexes.
C) strongly patriarchal.
D) alternately patriarchal and matriarchal,depending upon which god was in power.
E) strongly patriarchal until the creation of the Lawbook of Manu changed gender rules.

Question 33

In early Vedic times the Aryans based social distinctions-and thus the early forms of the caste system-on

A) Aryan or Dravidian ancestry.
B) religious belief.
C) language.
D) wealth measured by cattle and horses.
E) European ancestry.

Question 34

The Upanishads were

A) the priestly class from the caste system.
B) a branch of the Indo-Europeans who settled in northern India.
C) commentaries and reflections on the Vedas.
D) warriors.
E) the untouchables.

Question 35

The two principal means to achieve the goal of moksha are

A) righteous battle and conquest.
B) asceticism and meditation.
C) intellectual stimulation and hedonistic pleasure.
D) artistic expression and logical intellectual progression.
E) blood-letting and human sacrifice.

Question 36

The hallucinogenic concoction drunk by Aryans during ritual sacrifices was known as

A) Varuna.
B) soma.
C) agni.
D) sati.
E) dasa.

Question 37

The authors of the Upanishads believed that the highest goal of the individual soul was to

A) follow the Four Noble Truths.
B) escape the cycle of birth and rebirth and enter into permanent union with Brahman.
C) enter into permanent union with Indra and thus escape the cycle of permanent rebirth.
D) fulfill the individual's special destiny as spelled out in the process of predestination.
E) perform sati.

Question 38

When a Hindu widow voluntarily threw herself on her dead husband's funeral pyre it was known as

A) jati.
B) manu.
C) samsara.
D) sati.
E) dasa.

Question 39

Aryans used the term varnas to refer to the major social classes.

Question 40

Which of the following social classes in the late Vedic Age caste system is associated with warriors and aristocrats?

A) shudras
B) kshatriyas
C) vaishyas
D) brahmins
E) dasas

Question 41

Look at the aerial view of the city of Mohenjo-daro on page 78.What features of the city are most noticeable? What can the remains of a city such as this one tell the modern viewer about the political or social world of its builders?

Question 42

What were the advantages and disadvantages of the caste system? How did the caste system reflect Indian society?

Question 43

Examine the changing social structure of ancient India.How did Aryan and Vedic Age religion mirror the social complexity of India? What role did the caste system play?

Question 44

How are the Upanishads different from the Vedas? What might these differences tell us about the evolution of Indian religious thought?

Question 45

The Upanishads are reflections and commentaries on the Vedas.

Question 46

Discuss the nature of Harappan society.What makes this society so unique? Compare it to other contemporary ancient societies.

Question 47

Based on the Mundaka Upanishad (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: The Mundaka Upanishad on the Nature of Brahman),describe Brahman.

Question 48

In the Rig Veda,the following lines relate to the sacrifice of the primeval being Purusha: "The brahmin was his mouth,of both his arms was the kshatriya made.His thighs became the vaishya,from his feet the shudra was produced." What do these words mean? What is the significance of the association with the various body parts? What does the preeminence of a god such as Indra say about the Aryans at the time of their arrival in India? What happened to the view of Indra as India evolved?

Question 49

Varuna was the chief god of the Aryans,associated with rain and war.

Question 50

The Rig Veda is a collection of hymns,songs,and prayers that provides a great deal of information on the values of the Aryans.

Question 51

Moksha is the transmigration of the soul.

Question 52

The sum of good and evil in a life is known as karma.

Question 53

Look at the carving of a mother and child on page 84.What can the carving tell us about the status of women in ancient India? How does the Lawbook of Manu relate to the carving?

Question 54

Compare and contrast the political,religious,and social characteristics of Harappan society to those of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Question 55

Look at the statue and carving from Mohenjo-daro on page 79.What can this artwork tell you about the political and social structures of the Harappans? What unique traits of Harappan society can be related to these works of art?

Question 56

Examine the changing role of women in ancient India.How does the Lawbook of Manu reflect this transformation?

Question 57

Examine the political world of ancient India.Why was India politically fragmented? How did this lack of political unity influence the course of Indian history?

Question 58

The priests were called brahmins.

Question 59

Examine the journeys and nature of the Indo-Europeans.How did they influence India? How did they influence the rest of the ancient world?

Question 60

Examine the section from the Rig Veda on the division of Purusha (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: The Rig Veda on the Origin of the Castes).What does this tell us about the creation and nature of the different castes? How does the excerpt from the Rig Veda reflect the importance of the caste system in ancient India? How did this original concept change over the centuries?

Question 61

What are the Vedas and what do they teach us about early Aryan society?

Question 62

How did the religious beliefs as expressed in the Upanishads dovetail with the social order during the Vedic age?

Question 63

In what ways did the religion of the Upanishads include an ethical system?

Question 64

How did the Dravidian and Aryan cultures blend during this period?

Question 65

Trace the origins of the caste system,making sure to include a discussion of varna and jati.

Question 66

What are the fundamental religious teachings of the Upanishads?

Question 67

Describe the Aryans and their society as they migrated into India.Were they warlike? What was the basis of their food production and economy? How did they use language and writing?