Deck 3: Early Societies in South and East Asia

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

Indo-Europeans.

Question 2

The Indo-Europeans who entered India called themselves Aryans,which means

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

Answer 2

"noble ones."

Question 3

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 main cities of the Harappan society.
D)a collection of early Indian religious texts.
E)the combination of two Indian sun gods.

Answer 3

one of the two main cities of the Harappan society.

Question 4

Two especially prominent cities of the first Indian society were Harappa and

A)Mohenjo-daro.
B)Babylon.
C)Calcutta.
D)Uruk.
E)Tyre.

Question 5

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

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

Question 6

Because the Aryans did not have a state or common government but,rather,formed herding community chiefdoms,they

A)sometimes fought ferociously among themselves.
B)often fought the Dravidians,but only with unmounted cavalry.
C)lived quietly among themselves with little conflict.
D)reduced their competition for resources.
E)started forming village fiefdoms.

Question 7

Much of early Harappan history remains a mystery because

A)the archaeological remains are below the existing water table.
B)the Harappans lacked a written language.
C)Harappan records were destroyed in a Mesopotamian invasion.
D)the Aryans undertook a systematic destruction of Harappan written records.
E)the archaeological remains are below the existing water table,and the Harappans lacked a written language.

Question 8

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 9

The Aryans referred to social classes by the term

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

Question 10

Which of the following statements about Harappan society is FALSE?

A)Most of their houses featured private rooms for bathing and toilets.
B)They traded extensively with the Mesopotamians.
C)They had social distinctions.
D)Their writings have provided a wealth of information for historians.
E)Major cities were laid out on a planned grid.

Question 11

Most of our information about the early Aryans comes from the

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

Question 12

At its height,the population of Mohenjo-daro reached

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

Question 13

The chief god of the early Aryans was

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

Question 14

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 15

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.

Question 16

Evidence relating to trade indicates that Harappan India

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

Question 17

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

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

Question 18

The earliest known civilization in India was the

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

Question 19

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)Yangze
E)Euphrates

Question 20

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 21

The legendary founder of the Xia dynasty,who constructed dikes and dams and organized flood control projects,was

A)Confucius.
B)Erlitou.
C)the sage-king Yu.
D)Wu of the Xia dynasty.
E)Prince Shun.

Question 22

The mandate of heaven

A)gave the Chinese emperors unlimited power.
B)created the notion of the Chinese emperors as gods.
C)positioned China as a theocracy ruled by priests.
D)allowed the ruler to serve as a link between the heavens and the earth.
E)originated with the Indo-Europeans before they reached China.

Question 23

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 24

Many of the early Chinese literary works were destroyed by

A)a major fire in the main Zhou library.
B)order of the first Qin emperor.
C)the incompetence of the later Zhou emperors.
D)Mongol raids during the Shang dynasty.
E)the wreck of a ship carrying the emperor's personal library.

Question 25

The Huang He River was given the nickname

A)China's Sorrow.
B)Mandate of Heaven.
C)China's Father.
D)Yellow Terror.
E)Old Man.

Question 26

The Chinese likely copied their chariots from the

A)Egyptians.
B)Harappan Indians.
C)Japanese.
D)Koreans.
E)Indo-Europeans.

Question 27

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 28

Writing during the Shang period was made up of more than

A)twenty-two letters.
B)fifty letters.
C)five hundred characters.
D)two thousand characters.
E)six thousand characters,including an alphabetic component.

Question 29

The authors of the Upanishads sought to

A)follow the Four Noble Truths.
B)escape the cycle of birth and rebirth and attain the state of moksha.
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 30

One of the earliest attempts to organize public life in China on a large scale occurred during the

A)Shang dynasty.
B)Yangshao culture.
C)Xia dynasty.
D)Zhou dynasty.
E)Banpo period.

Question 31

The powerful southern rival to the Zhou were the

A)Xia.
B)Yangzi.
C)Chu.
D)Huang He.
E)Yu.

Question 32

Which dynasty laid the foundation for principles of government and political legitimacy?

A)Xia
B)Zhou
C)Shang
D)Qin
E)Yangshao

Question 33

A very 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 34

The Shang rulers were strengthened by their control over the technological advantage of

A)iron.
B)bronze.
C)tin.
D)copper.
E)steel.

Question 35

The last capital of the Shang dynasty,which featured lavish tombs for the kings,was

A)Yin.
B)Beijing.
C)Erlitou.
D)Banpo.
E)Shun.

Question 36

In ancient China,which group presided at the rites and ceremonies honoring ancestors' spirits?

A)members of the official priesthood
B)women representing the nurturing earth goddess
C)the Buddhist hierarchy
D)the patriarchal heads of the families
E)Shinto priests

Question 37

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 38

Jati is

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

Question 39

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

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

Question 40

The sage-king Yu was famous for founding the

A)Qin dynasty.
B)Chu dynasty.
C)Zhou dynasty.
D)Xia dynasty.
E)Tang dynasty.

Question 41

Preserved oracle bones have helped to reveal the day-to-day concerns of the Shang royal court.

Question 42

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

Question 43

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

Question 44

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

Question 45

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 46

The "mandate of heaven" was the Chinese ideal that expressed the right to govern.

Question 47

The Upanishads are reflections and commentaries on the Vedas.

Question 48

The Huang He provided both extremely fertile soil for agriculture and periodic and unpredictable destruction through major floods.

Question 49

The Zhou dynasty (1766-1122B.C.E. )monopolized the technology of iron metallurgy.

Question 50

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

Question 51

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

Question 52

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

Question 53

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

Question 54

In what ways is Hinduism a combination of Aryan concepts and indigenous beliefs? In what ways is it not? Use examples from the important religious texts.

Question 55

The Book of Songs was a Zhou collection of verses.

Question 56

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

Question 57

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 58

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

Question 59

The legendary first dynasty in Chinese history was the Xia dynasty.

Question 60

The priests were called brahmins.

Question 61

Look at the representation of the evolution of Chinese characters on page 59.How did the characters evolve from the early figures to the later ones? What role did writing play in the advancement of Chinese society?

Question 62

What does the mandate of heaven tell us about the philosophy,religion,and social structure of the ancient Chinese?

Question 63

Discuss the role of women in early Chinese society.Why was China such a strongly patriarchal society? How did the role of women change over the centuries?

Question 64

Examine the role that changing technology played in the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Question 65

Look at the carving of a mother and child on page 51.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 66

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 67

Examine the Xia and Shang dynasties.What influence did these early dynasties have on later Chinese history?

Question 68

In what ways was the Zhou dynasty the foundation for Chinese thought and society?

Question 69

Examine the social structure of early China.Describe the lives of the peasants and slaves.Did the concept of the mandate of heaven help or hurt the plight of the peasants?

Question 70

Look at the aerial view of the city of Mohenjo-daro on page 48.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 71

How important was the development of writing to the ancient Chinese? Trace the evolution of this practice.

Question 72

Early Chinese society has been described as being uniquely secular.Is this a fair assessment? Why or why not? Explain your answer by comparing the importance of religion in China to its importance in other early societies.

Question 73

What could the use of oracle bones tell us about the ancient Chinese Shang dynasty? Was this practice nothing more than superstition? Did other ancient societies attempt to foretell the future?

Question 74

Describe the importance of the family in ancient China.Was there a connection between the structure of the family and the structure of the state?

Question 75

In what fundamental ways was the mandate of heaven different from other governmental systems in the ancient world? What were the limitations of the mandate of heaven?

Question 76

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