Deck 5: C: Society and Inequality in Eurasia

Question 1

In which of the following ancient societies did women enjoy the fewest restrictions?

A) Han China
B) Athens
C) Sparta
D) Classical India

Answer 1

Sparta

Question 2

The growth of democracy in classical Athens was accompanied by

A) the simultaneous growth of slavery on a massive scale.
B) the abolition of slavery.
C) harsh criticism from Greek intellectuals like Aristotle.
D) the association of slave status with race.

Answer 2

the simultaneous growth of slavery on a massive scale.

Question 3

In contrast to women in Athens,women in Sparta

A) were more strictly confined to the home.
B) married men close to their age.
C) participated in government.
D) were praised as having superior intelligence.

Answer 3

married men close to their age.

Question 4

Like the First Civilizations,societies of the second-wave era

A) lacked sharp class divisions.
B) were patriarchal in organization.
C) had a small slave population.
D) were based on written constitutions.

Question 5

India and China during the classical era were similar in which of the following respects?

A) Birth had no place in determining the social status of most people.
B) Social prestige was attained primarily through service to the state.
C) It was easy for people to improve their social status through hard work.
D) Sharp distinctions and great inequalities characterized the social order.

Question 6

Which group was at the top of the caste system in India?

A) Scholar-gentry
B) Merchants
C) Brahmin
D) Peasants

Question 7

Which of the following describes women's status in the classical civilizations?

A) Upper-class women had a tendency to live less restricted lives than lower-class women.
B) Women in general experienced fewer restrictions compared to those living in pastoral societies.
C) Public life in general was a male domain,while women's roles took place mostly in domestic settings.
D) Women in general experienced fewer restrictions compared to those who lived in Neolithic agricultural village societies.

Question 8

How was India's social structure different from that of China?

A) India had fewer distinct social groups.
B) Indian social groups were defined more rigidly.
C) Status in India was associated with literary learning.
D) Social distinctions in India were more fluid.

Question 9

During the classical era,slaves comprised more than one-third of the total population in

A) India.
B) China.
C) the Persian Empire.
D) the Greco-Roman world.

Question 10

The combination of natural disasters,high taxes and rents,and state demands for labor and military service often sparked peasant rebellions in

A) India.
B) China.
C) Sparta.
D) Athens.

Question 11

Which of the following philosophical or religious traditions provided a unifying ideology for peasant rebellions in China?

A) Hinduism
B) Confucianism
C) Daoism
D) Legalism

Question 12

Which of the following describes a feature of the jati system in India?

A) Individual jatis were locked into an unchanging hierarchy in relation to other jatis.
B) An individual within a jati could switch to another jati by paying a fee.
C) A jati could raise its standing in relation to other jatis by acquiring land or wealth.
D) The jati system divided Indian society into the aristocracy and the commoners.

Question 13

Slaveholding was least widespread and least central to the economy of

A) Athens.
B) China.
C) Sparta.
D) imperial Rome.

Question 14

The world's first and longest lasting professional civil service emerged in

A) Persia.
B) Athens.
C) India.
D) China.

Question 15

Membership in a jati was based on a person's

A) race.
B) age.
C) birthplace.
D) occupation.

Question 16

Which of the following has been put forward by scholars as a possible factor in the emergence of slavery within the First Civilizations?

A) Long periods of peace
B) The decline of patriarchy
C) The domestication of animals
D) Discrimination based on race

Question 17

How did the centuries of political fragmentation and conflict following the fall of the Han Empire affect the lives of Chinese women?

A) Women found themselves more restricted than ever before.
B) Women were removed from positions as priests,nuns,and reclusive mediators.
C) The strict patriarchy supported by Confucianism was loosened.
D) Women were encouraged to be more assertive in their relationships with men.

Question 18

Which of the following was part of the reform program launched by Wang Mang following his seizure of the Chinese throne in 8 C.E.?

A) The creation of large private estates
B) State protection of the practice of slavery
C) Oversight of officials by landlords
D) Government loans to peasant families

Question 19

Peasants were honored and merchants were looked down upon in the official ideology of

A) China.
B) India.
C) Sparta.
D) the Roman Empire.

Question 20

China was unique in the ancient world in the extent to which

A) the state practice of slaveholding defined the society.
B) its social organization was shaped by the actions of the state.
C) the caste system defined its social structure.
D) women were allowed a role in public life.

Question 21

Although the practice of patriarchy varied in the classical civilizations,they all

A) prohibited women of all classes from entering public spaces.
B) challenged the assumption that female inferiority was natural.
C) conceptualized women's essential nature in terms of ritual purity.
D) defined women's roles in reproductive and kinship terms.

Question 22

In what way were the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Han China and Spartacus's revolt in the Roman Empire similar?

A) Both were large-scale,violent reactions to oppressive conditions.
B) Both featured supernatural healings and collective trances.
C) Both succeeded in persuading the government to implement reforms.
D) Both saw women assuming leadership roles.

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of the "weapons of the weak" used by slaves to resist their enslavement?

A) Varna
B) Manumission
C) Sabotage
D) Obedience

Question 24

Although slaves in the Roman Empire performed all work,from the most prestigious to the most degrading,they were prohibited from

A) serving in the military.
B) practicing medicine.
C) working in government.
D) conducting business.

Question 25

The inequalities of the caste system received support from

A) Hindu notions of karma,dharma,and rebirth.
B) Buddhist notions of nirvana and enlightenment.
C) Confucian notions of propriety and ritual.
D) Daoist notions of the supernatural and immortality.

Question 26

Which of the following was a major source of slaves in the Roman Empire?

A) Untouchables
B) Peasants
C) Soldiers
D) Prisoners of war

Question 27

The Appian Way between Capua and Rome was the path along which

A) runaway slaves traveled on their road to freedom.
B) helots traveled on their way to Sparta.
C) slaves defeated in the Spartacus's revolt were nailed to crosses.
D) prisoners of war were forced to march.

Question 28

In India,the caste system encouraged loyalty to

A) the imperial state.
B) local communities.
C) female ancestors.
D) political officials.

Question 29

In India,the jati to which one belonged determined

A) the language one spoke.
B) the sect of Hinduism one practiced.
C) whom one could marry.
D) how much land one could own.

Question 30

In general,patriarchal systems that restricted women's lives were weakest

A) during long periods of peace and stability.
B) in the early years of a civilization's development.
C) in societies with sharp class distinctions.
D) in urban-based civilizations at the height of their power.