Deck 1: The Ancient Near East: The First Civilizations

Question 1

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Sumerians

Answer 1

Answers will vary.

Question 2

What were the causes and the consequences of the migration of Indo-European speakers into the Near East during the second millennium B.C.E.?

Answer 2

Answers will vary.

Question 3

Compare the development of Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies. In what ways do they develop along similar lines? In what ways is their development markedly different?

Answer 3

Answers will vary.

Question 4

The Code of Hammurabi was one of the first of all ancient legal codes. In what ways was it "modern"? How was it different from modern day Western legal codes? What do you believe constituted "justice" for the inhabitants of Mesopotamian city-states?

Question 5

Define the differences between the terms "society" and "civilization."

Question 6

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Question 7

Please discuss the military and political relations between the Egyptian Empire and the Hittite New Kingdom.

Question 8

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Paleolithic Age

Question 9

Discuss the possible reasons why early Mesopotamia saw so many different civilizations and empires, from the Sumerians to the Akkadians and the Babylonians, while civilization in the Nile Valley remained essentially unchanged for three millennia.

Question 10

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Bronze Age

Question 11

Discuss the importance of rivers and water to the development of civilization in general, and specifically to the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Question 12

Discuss the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms in Egypt. What changes are apparent in each in terms of the role of leaders in relationship to the people?

Question 13

In the modern Western world, we often draw a distinction between religion and secular society. Would this distinction have made sense to the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt? Explain.

Question 14

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Homo sapiens sapiens

Question 15

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Mesopotamia

Question 16

The Code of Hammurabi was one of the first of all ancient legal codes. In what ways was it "modern"? How was it different from modern day Western legal codes? What do you believe constituted "justice" for the inhabitants of Mesopotamian city-states?

Question 17

Discuss some of the similarities and the differences between the religions and religious practices of the Mesopotamian region with those of Egyptian civilization.

Question 18

Why begin the history of Western Civilization with a study of ancient societies in Mesopotamia and Egypt?

Question 19

Compare and contrast the role of women and families in Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies.

Question 20

In what ways would the transition from hunting and gathering to a settled, agricultural society have improved people's lives, and in what ways would the transition have decreased the quality of life?

Question 21

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Ramesses II

Question 22

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
New Kingdom

Question 23

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
The Epic of Gilgamesh

Question 24

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Hatshepsut

Question 25

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Agricultural Revolution

Question 26

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Code of Hammurabi

Question 27

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
cuneiform

Question 28

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
hieroglyphics

Question 29

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
divination

Question 30

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Middle Kingdom

Question 31

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Menes

Question 32

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Hyksos

Question 33

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Eridu, Ur, Uruk, and Lagash

Question 34

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
polytheistic

Question 35

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Sargon of Akkad

Question 36

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Old Kingdom

Question 37

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Civilization

Question 38

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
theocracy

Question 39

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Akhenaten

Question 40

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Ma'at

Question 41

Why did bronze replace copper in ancient civilizations?

A)Bronze was harder and more durable.
B)Bronze was prettier and therefore made prettier jewelry.
C)Bronze took less time to smelt.
D)Bronze ore was easier to find.
E)Copper tools and weapons became too soft because of the hot Middle East climate.

Question 42

Which cave in southern France, discovered in 1994, contains three hundred paintings of animals?

A)Lascaux
B)Chauvet
C)Andalusia
D)Pyrenees
E)Poitiers

Question 43

Which of the following was a development of the Neolithic era?

A)A shift from hunting and gathering to an agricultural society
B)The appearance of cities and urban life
C)The domestication of the horse in ancient Egypt
D)The smelting of iron
E)The invention of the bow and arrow

Question 44

According to the Sumerians, who owned the cities?

A)The kings
B)The nobles and other elites
C)The priests
D)The gods and goddesses
E)The people

Question 45

The vast majority of the population in Sumerian city-states worked as

A)farmers.
B)merchants.
C)textile-makers.
D)royal officials.
E)priests.

Question 46

Which statement best describes the ancient city of Çatal Huyuk?

A)Çatal Huyuk was a farming community located in Greece.
B)Çatal Huyuk was a Neolithic walled community in which people traded with each other.
C)Çatal Huyuk was a large city with an elaborate water and sewer system.
D)Çatal Huyuk was an autocracy in which ruling religious elders exercise all political power.
E)Çatal Huyuk was the capitol of Egypt during the Old Kingdom.

Question 47

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Sea Peoples

Question 48

Paleolithic peoples survived by

A)hunting animals and gathering plants, nuts, and berries for food.
B)raising some animals and gathering nuts, plants and berries.
C)growing some small crops and hunting buffalo and other animals for meat.
D)planting some crops, gathering nuts and berries and fishing.
E)growing crops and raising farm animals.

Question 49

Why were temples important in Sumerian cities?

A)They demonstrated the equality of humans and the gods.
B)Their construction provided numerous opportunities for work.
C)They served as the center of Sumerian political and spiritual life.
D)They provided concrete locations for city-wide entertainment.
E)They helped to create equality among Sumerians.

Question 50

What is one of the features of a human society's "civilization"?

A)An urban focus and a distinct religious structure
B)Art and music
C)Economic support through trading and manufacturing
D)Living in peace with neighbors
E)Giving up religion and adopting rational thinking

Question 51

Which of these developments emerged during the Paleolithic Age?

A)The ability to grow crops
B)The knowledge of how to raise animals for farming
C)The invention of such tools as the spear and bow and arrow
D)The rise of patriarchy
E)The regular production of food through agriculture

Question 52

Historians theorize that early civilizations developed as a result of

A)ongoing wars and the need for unified defense.
B)the rise of food surpluses and labor specialization, which led to the creation of large communities.
C)the emergence of new ideas and systems of equality.
D)the rise of an organized aristocracy and nobility.
E)the development of new technologies such as tools and metalwork.

Question 53

Where did Sumerian kings derive their authority to rule?

A)The will of the people
B)The parliamentary councils of the city-states
C)Success in athletic tournaments
D)The gods
E)Their military victories over the "barbarians"

Question 54

What happened to the Sumerian states and city-states as they expanded?

A)They defeated the Hittites in 2600 B.C.E.
B)They were plagued by wars as they fought for control of land and water.
C)They developed a complicated religion with a sophisticated belief in life after death.
D)They became warriors who instituted totalitarian government.
E)They built damns and irrigation canals along the Indus River.

Question 55

The written script of the Sumerians is known as

A)cuneiform.
B)alphabetic.
C)phonogram.
D)hieroglyphs.
E)Cyrillic.

Question 56

As a result of the Agricultural Revolution, people

A)found food supplies less reliable, more dependent on weather conditions.
B)embraced a nomadic existence.
C)enjoyed a steady source of meat and milk.
D)recognized the inability of humans to control nature.
E)abandoned the cultivation of regional plants.

Question 57

Homo sapiens sapiens

A)first appeared in Africa between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago.
B)developed the bow and arrow.
C)lived mostly in small groups near the sea.
D)mastered the art of making bronze tools and weapons.
E)appeared in Europe about one million years ago.

Question 58

How did the shift to an agricultural society during the Neolithic Age affect relationships between men and women?

A)Farming required both sexes to do the same types of work.
B)Men's work took them further away from home; women's work increasingly confined them to household labor.
C)Women produced small gardens and surplus foods that could be traded; men hunted and raised crops for survival.
D)Men's lives became nomadic; women's lives became sedentary.
E)Women grew and stored food; men hunted for meat and gathered berries and other plants to supplement their diet.

Question 59

When did systematic agriculture most likely develop?

A)Between 10,000 and 4000 B.C.E.
B)Between 9000 and 8000 B.C.E.
C)Between 8000 and 7000 C.E.
D)Between 6000 and 5000 C.E.
E)Between 8000 and 7000 B.C.E.

Question 60

Three to four million years ago, hominids lived in

A)Europe.
B)Asia.
C)Africa.
D)South America.
E)North America.

Question 61

Who was the ruler of Akkad who established the first empire in Sumer ca. 2340 B.C.E.?

A)Cyrus
B)Naram-Sin
C)Hammurabi
D)Uruk
E)Sargon

Question 62

How was punishment viewed under the Code of Hammurabi?

A)Punishments were more severe for the upper classes.
B)The system of justice was based on "an eye for an eye."
C)The goal of punishment was reform, not retribution.
D)The upper class was never punished.
E)Punishments stressed the importance of confession and forgiveness.

Question 63

How did Egyptian society compare to Mesopotamian society?

A)It was more urban.
B)It was less dependent on rivers.
C)It was more rural.
D)It did not have food surpluses.
E)It was more literate.

Question 64

In Mesopotamian society, women had the right to

A)control some of the offices in the priesthood.
B)engage in sexual relationships outside of marriage.
C)decide whether to have children or not.
D)decide which of her sons would receive an inheritance.
E)refuse to do housework if her husband engaged in an adulterous affair.

Question 65

What was the significance of the Nile River for ancient Egyptian society?

A)It helped Egypt became prosperous thanks to agricultural surpluses.
B)It provided a means for Egypt's enemies to constantly invade and wage war.
C)Its treacherous waters made travel difficult.
D)It fueled rapid urbanization.
E)It limited the development of trade.

Question 66

Which statement best describes Mesopotamian religion?

A)Mesopotamian religion was monotheistic.
B)Mesopotamian religion was simple with few rules and tenets.
C)Mesopotamian religion was severely critical of cultures that practiced divination.
D)Mesopotamian religion had many gods and people were created to do manual labor for the gods.
E)Mesopotamian religion stressed the power of humans over supernatural forces. .

Question 67

How many major periods comprise Ancient Egyptian history?

A)Two
B)Three
C)Four
D)Six
E)Eight

Question 68

Which river runs through the valley in Mesopotamia?

A)Indus River
B)Danube River
C)Tigris River
D)Nile River
E)Po River

Question 69

What made Sumerians feel a deep sense of despair?

A)The conquest of Sargon and the end of his empire
B)Religious beliefs that focused on the anger of the gods
C)Ongoing wars and the burning of cities
D)Flooding of nearby rivers that put food supplies at risk
E)Harshness of the legal code established by Hammurabi

Question 70

What was the basic unit of early Mesopotamian civilization?

A)City-state
B)Village
C)County
D)Land one man could plough in a day
E)Empire

Question 71

Why didn't the ancient Egyptians have a word for "religion"?

A)Language was still new and not all words had been invented yet.
B)They used the word "worship" instead.
C)They didn't see religion as separate from the rest of human experience.
D)They focused on the names of individual gods.
E)All Egyptians shared the same beliefs, so they didn't need a separate word to describe different faiths.

Question 72

Punishments for crimes under the Code of Hammurabi

A)were more severe for the lower classes.
B)did not apply to domestic family concerns.
C)stressed reform rather than retribution.
D)were not for the upper class at all.
E)stressed the importance of confession and forgiveness.

Question 73

Mesopotamia means the land "between the ____."

A)valleys
B)mountains
C)rivers
D)deserts
E)plains

Question 74

What role did the vizier play in Egyptian government?

A)He served as a liaison between the king and the people.
B)He was a diplomat who negotiated with other rulers on the king's behalf.
C)He was the supreme justice of the legal system, ensuring that people observed the laws and punishing those who did not.
D)He oversaw various government departments, such as public works and justice.
E)He was the military attaché for the king.

Question 75

How is the Nile River different from the rivers in Mesopotamia?

A)It never rises or falls, but flows steadily year-round.
B)It frequently goes dry, leaving the land barren.
C)It is subject to violent, unpredictable floods.
D)It floods predictably at the same time every year.
E)It was a dry shell for ten months of the year.

Question 76

How many laws does the Code of Hammurabi contain?

A)50
B)282
C)1,232
D)745
E)123

Question 77

Once systems of writing developed, the Mesopotamians used writing largely for

A)creating treaties and contracts between rulers.
B)keeping records and creating documents that might endure.
C)authoring religious doctrine.
D)creating texts and schools to educate all people.
E)designing buildings, legal codes, and outlining farming techniques.

Question 78

What was the focus of most laws in the Code of Hammurabi?

A)Holding the upper classes accountable to the lower classes
B)Holding the lower classes accountable to the upper classes
C)The management of the economy
D)Marriage and family
E)The behavior of local officials

Question 79

What did The Epic of Gilgamesh teach?

A)The gods are benevolent and care greatly for their people.
B)A wish fulfilled is not always a good thing.
C)Human life is fleeting; people are powerless against the supernatural.
D)A periodic flood is necessary to cleanse the world.
E)Immortality is guaranteed for the believing worshippers.

Question 80

According to Egyptian theology, from what source did a king - or pharaoh -- derive his authority?

A)Democratic elections
B)The assent of local governors
C)The fact that he was perceived as a divine instrument of order and harmony
D)Hereditary descent
E)Military conquest