Deck 13: Origins of Cities and States

Question 1

_________called the period from about 5000 to 3500 B.C. the formative era in southern Iraq.

A) V. Gordon Childe
B) Elman Service
C) Melville Herskovits
D) Franz Boas

Answer 1

Elman Service

Question 2

The Old Kingdom of Egypt began about __________ B.C.

A) 3100
B) 4500
C) 5000
D) 7000

Answer 2

3100

Question 3

Axum is in present-day

A) Sudan.
B) South Africa.
C) Ethiopia.
D) Nigeria.

Answer 3

Ethiopia.

Question 4

Most archaeologists agree that the key criterion for a state is

A) hierarchical and centralized decision making affecting a substantial population.
B) large buildings.
C) sports stadiums.
D) at least 50 settlements governed by a central government.

Question 5

One way states change the lifestyles of people is

A) by allowing for larger populations.
B) by encouraging hunting.
C) by providing more leisure.
D) by improving health.

Question 6

Which of the following is part of the state's infrastructure?

A) farming
B) hunting
C) irrigation systems
D) pastoralism

Question 7

The earliest city-state in Mesoamerica was probably

A) Mexico City.
B) Teotihuacan.
C) Juarez.
D) Monte Alban.

Question 8

By A.D. 500, there were over ____________ people in Teotihuacan.

A) 1,000,000
B) 2,000,000
C) 500,000
D) 100,000

Question 9

Sumerian writing is called

A) spiral form.
B) cuneiform.
C) hieroglyphics.
D) alphabetic.

Question 10

____________theorized that long-distance trade led to the state.

A) Ember and Ember
B) Wright and Johnson
C) Sapir and Whorf
D) Carneiro and Wittfogel

Question 11

By about __________ B.C., archaeologists had found most of the major characteristics of civilizations.

A) 5500
B) 4500
C) 3500
D) 2500

Question 12

The formative period in the area around Teotihuacan was during ________ B.C.

A) 2000-1000
B) 1000-300
C) 300-100
D) 100-0

Question 13

The first evidence of writing in Sumer is found about __________ B.C.

A) 6000
B) 3000
C) 1500
D) 1000

Question 14

Around ___________ we get evidence of difference in status among households.

A) 1200 B.C.
B) 10,000 B.C.
C) 6000 B.C.
D) 2000 B.C.

Question 15

In the state, many people are relieved of the need for

A) making a living.
B) being a specialist of some sort.
C) food production.
D) food consumption.

Question 16

_________ has proposed a theory of state origin stressing population growth, circumscription, and war.

A) Karl Wittfogel
B) Kent Flannery
C) Robert Carneiro
D) V. Gordon Childe

Question 17

The earliest Neolithic societies were

A) hierarchical.
B) egalitarian.
C) rank.
D) none of the above

Question 18

From the time agriculture developed in the Near East to about 6000 B.C., people in the Near East lived in

A) big cities.
B) caves.
C) tents.
D) small villages.

Question 19

Some archaeologists suggest that states first evolved in

A) Africa.
B) China.
C) Arabia.
D) Mesopotamia.

Question 20

The Harappan civilization was found in the _________ Valley.

A) Nile
B) Yangtse
C) Indus
D) Niger

Question 21

What are the consequences of state formation?

Question 22

A negative result of the development of states is

A) the use of force to govern.
B) class stratification.
C) health issues due to concentration of people in cities.
D) all of the above

Question 23

The development of states had many consequences. One of the more dramatic consequences was

A) everyone had to be responsible for growing food.
B) larger and denser population.
C) states had a tendency to shrink over time.
D) class stratification broke down and everyone was equal.

Question 24

_________ is often given as a reason for the decline of the Roman Empire.

A) Overextension
B) Taxes
C) Artistic involvement
D) Extension of citizenship

Question 25

The city of Teotihuacan in Mesoamerica was very influential at its peak. Why?

A) though very small, the city provided a great deal of resources for its people
B) at the height of its power the city occupied an area larger than imperial Rome
C) no one knows for sure, it is argued about a great deal
D) the population decreased over time and people moved into the agricultural areas

Question 26

A major reason for the decline of states appears to be

A) environmental degradation.
B) love of the simple life.
C) expansion of art.
D) taxes.

Question 27

An interesting point to the early creation of states is

A) the states emerged without colonization or conquest by other states.
B) almost every state was forced into being.
C) none of them lasted more than a couple of years.
D) they all started in the exact year.

Question 28

Many anthropologists are interested in the reasons ancient civilizations collapsed because

A) they like to study "failures."
B) then you can get a complete idea of what that civilization was like.
C) they may give hints as to what could happen in our present world.
D) all of the above.

Question 29

What does current research tell us about the connection between imperialism, colonialism and the state?

Question 30

In North America, a settlement with over 100 earthen mounds developed near present day St. Louis and represented

A) a large and powerful chiefdom.
B) a very small community tht did not last long.
C) a settlement that became the most powerful city in the world.
D) a way station as populations moved North.

Question 31

List and discuss archaeological inferences about civilization.

Question 32

There are numerous explanations as to why states would decline and collapse over time. They include

A) environmental degradation.
B) incidences of disease increasing with more denser population.
C) overextension in more and more territory.
D) all the above.

Question 33

Archaeologists can determine if an ancient society had different socioeconomic classes of people by

A) the differences in house size and furnishings.
B) how small the society was.
C) how extensive agriculture was used to produce food.
D) how animals were domesticated.

Question 34

Archaeologists do not always agree on how to define a state, but most think the characteristics include

A) little or no control over it's population.
B) no police force of any kind is necessary.
C) hierarchal and centralized decision-making.
D) common areas or parks for recreation.

Question 35

All states appear to be

A) expansionistic.
B) imperialistic.
C) belligerent.
D) all of the above

Question 36

Cahokia collapsed due to

A) disease.
B) over population.
C) environmental degradation.
D) the over use of wood.

Question 37

Evaluate the various theories of state formation.

Question 38

A number of theories have been proposed as to why states developed in many parts of the world. They include

A) the creation of irrigation.
B) population growth, leading to competition, and warfare.
C) the development of long distance trade routes.
D) all of the above.

Question 39

Cities and states emerged in Mesoamerica later than the Near East because

A) the population in Mesoamerica were not interested at first.
B) Mesoamerica is much further North than areas of the Near East.
C) it was easier to domesticate large animals like cattle and horses.
D) agriculture stated later in the New World.

Question 40

What are some of the various theories of the decline of states? Which appears most
likely to you? Why?

Question 41

Compare city-states in Mesopotamia with those in Mesoamerica.

Question 42

What impact did the state have on gender relations and the role of women?

Question 43

What is the relationship between states and food production?

Question 44

Discuss state formation in areas other than the Near East.

Question 45

Considering the advantages and disadvantages of the state, has the state been a gain or loss for human beings?