Deck 1: The Ancestors of the West

Question 1

Define the following terms: patriarchy

Answer 1

Answer not provided.

Question 2

Define the following terms: papyrus

Answer 2

Answer not provided.

Question 3

Define the following terms: Mesopotamia

Answer 3

Answer not provided.

Question 4

Define the following terms: hominids

Question 5

Define the following terms: Upper Paleolithic

Question 6

Define the following terms: Upper Egypt

Question 7

Define the following terms: syncretism

Question 8

Define the following terms: Homo sapiens sapiens

Question 9

Define the following terms: pharaoh

Question 10

Define the following terms: Lower Egypt

Question 11

Define the following terms: Iceman

Question 12

Define the following terms: ma'at

Question 13

Define the following terms: Europe

Question 14

Define the following terms: Epic of Gilgamesh

Question 15

Define the following terms: Sumerians

Question 16

Define the following terms: hunter-gatherers

Question 17

Define the following terms: cuneiform

Question 18

Define the following terms: Neolithic Revolution

Question 19

Define the following terms: Western civilization

Question 20

Define the following terms: matriarchy

Question 21

In which of the earliest civilizations discussed in the chapter would you have preferred to live, and why?

Question 22

Modern science indicates that the first human beings

A) appeared in Africa.
B) lived millions of years ago.
C) developed stone tools.
D) developed a complex language.
E) All of these

Question 23

How did the course of ancient Egyptian history differ from that of Mesopotamia? How did this difference affect the mentality of the two civilizations? What role did geography play in the history of each area?

Question 24

Uru-inim-gina was

A) an Akkadian-speaking conqueror of the Sumerians.
B) the reforming king of Lagash who sought to "protect the mother that is in distress."
C) the first known woman poet.
D) the Sumerian goddess of love and war.
E) the Sumerian king who is referred to as the first royal lawgiver.

Question 25

Look at paintings from the Chauvet or Lascaux caves in books or on the Internet. What do they represent? What do they indicate about Stone Age people?

Question 26

Upon finding the remains of the Iceman, what physical and material remains gave scientists clues to his personal life as well as the environment that he lived in?

Question 27

The term prehistory refers to

A) time periods before 1900.
B) the period before the invention of writing.
C) the earliest civilizations.
D) only the civilization of Mesopotamia.
E) the era prior to homo erectus.

Question 28

Define the following terms: Hammurabi's Code

Question 29

Discuss the religious ideas and practices of the peoples featured in Chapter 1, particularly the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians. How did their beliefs affect their culture? Could any of the early civilizations be described as atheistic?

Question 30

How would you go about formulating a definition of civilization ? What elements are essential to civilized life and what sort of things would you consider desirable but not essential for your definition? Can warlike peoples be considered civilized? Give historical examples to illustrate your point.

Question 31

Define the following terms: Hittites

Question 32

Sumerian cities were all of the following except

A) interconnected webs of culture, commerce, and competition.
B) economically and politically organized.
C) culturally creative.
D) characterized by large temples to their gods.
E) peaceful and sparsely populated.

Question 33

What features were common to all the political structures of the civilizations surveyed in the chapter? Give examples of the major similarities, and point out two or three of the main differences found among the various regimes. Are any of the points you mentioned still characteristic of political life today?

Question 34

The Neolithic Revolution was

A) a major tribal revolt.
B) a major change in tool-making.
C) the dawn of the Ice Age.
D) the change from hunter-gatherer to farming life.
E) an uneven and slowly spreading era.

Question 35

The new civilized states were characterized by

A) hunting and farming.
B) complex urban organization.
C) the use of stone implements.
D) oral recordkeeping but no writing.
E) dynasties based on matriarchal descent.

Question 36

The revolution in human culture between 70,000 and 10,000 B.C. included all of the following except

A) improved manipulation of the environment through technology and/or organization.
B) cave paintings and notations on bones.
C) a dramatic increase in information being communicated.
D) carefully worked bone tools.
E) the establishment of cities.

Question 37

The earliest civilizations developed about

A) 3,500,000 B.C.
B) 50,000 B.C.
C) 3500-3000 B.C.
D) 1000 B.C.
E) 70,000 B.C.

Question 38

All of the following accurately refer to cuneiform except it

A) initially developed for economic purposes.
B) consisted of wedge-shaped impressions on clay.
C) developed in Mesopotamia.
D) inspired Egyptian writing.
E) developed into an abstract collection of symbols.

Question 39

Analyze some of the consequences of the Neolithic Revolution. How did it affect social, political, cultural, and economic life? Why was it a necessary condition for the emergence of civilization?

Question 40

Define the following terms: Amarna reform

Question 41

The Mesopotamian religion is characterized by

A) the belief in one god.
B) anthropomorphic gods who inspire awe and fear.
C) a covenant between the gods and people.
D) a belief in an afterlife as a reward or punishment.
E) goddesses who sit in assemblies.

Question 42

The Sea Peoples were

A) the peaceful inhabitants of Egypt's coastal areas.
B) mysterious raiders of eastern Mediterranean states.
C) the founders of the Hattian state.
D) the first settlers of Crete.
E) pirates out of Africa.

Question 43

In arts and sciences, the Egyptians developed all of the following except

A) irrigation works.
B) abstract sculpture.
C) literature.
D) various written treatises in hieroglyphics.
E) astronomy and the calendar.

Question 44

The monotheism of the Amarna Reform

A) permitted universal, direct worship of a "solar disk" god.
B) permanently replaced the worship of Amun-Re.
C) introduced the concept of an all-powerful, jealous god.
D) died along with its founder, the pharaoh Akhenaton.
E) increased the power of temple priests.

Question 45

Egyptian doctors

A) had poor reputations in antiquity.
B) had no medical treatises to rely on.
C) were popular practitioners of a variety of techniques.
D) believed that only the gods could heal injuries and illnesses.
E) relied totally on magic and use of temple priest's charms.

Question 46

The Epic of Gilgamesh teaches all of the following except

A) the need for a tyrannical government.
B) the value of deep friendships.
C) a philosophy of fatalism.
D) a "biblical" Flood.
E) the inevitability of death.

Question 47

The Semitic Hyksos did all of the following except they

A) invaded from Canaan and occupied Egypt.
B) ended the humane attitudes of the Middle Kingdom.
C) introduced advanced military technology to Egypt.
D) made the world's first peace treaty between equals.
E) helped bring modern warfare to Egypt.

Question 48

A distinctive feature of Egyptian religion was

A) its emphasis on the afterlife.
B) monotheism.
C) a consistent, analytical mythology.
D) a small number of gods.
E) a lack of priests and temples of worship.

Question 49

Ancient Egypt owed its fertile soil to

A) irrigation.
B) chemical fertilizer.
C) use of animal waste.
D) crop rotation.
E) the Nile.

Question 50

In which way was Ancient Egypt the product of the Nile River?

A) It provided for a prosperous culture.
B) Yearly floods were generally destructive.
C) Fear of the river created a dark and pessimistic society.
D) The river and its marshes created a clear political, economic, and social division between Upper and Lower Egypt.
E) The Nile isolated Egypt from the peoples around them.

Question 51

Which of the following statements is not true?

A) All humans are descended from a single African ancestor.
B) The earliest humans lived in hunter-gatherer societies.
C) Africa is the cradle of humanity.
D) Scientists theorize that human language appeared with the hominids.
E) Scientists have a very clear theory as to the disappearance of the Neanderthals.

Question 52

The treaty between the pharaoh and the king of Hatti provided for all of the following except

A) eternal peace between Egypt and the Hittites.
B) the promise of mutual aid if one was attacked.
C) the return of refugees.
D) reparations for losses incurred at the Battle of Qadesh.
E) both Egypt and the Hittites to worship Amon.

Question 53

The first Indo-European civilization in Western Asia was that of the

A) Israelites.
B) Hittites.
C) Chaldeans.
D) Greeks.
E) Assyrians.

Question 54

Which of the following statements is not true?

A) The years from 1450 to about 1300 B.C. mark a period of peace among the powers of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
B) The Amarna Archives was written in Sumerian cuneiform and was a formal treaty among states.
C) War was unlikely because of the equality of power among the leading states.
D) The era was marked by a period of dynastic marriages, commerce, and alliances.
E) Kings addressed each other as equals.

Question 55

The Egyptians viewed the pharaoh as

A) a cruel tyrant.
B) a leader who received power from the people.
C) an unimportant figurehead.
D) a benevolent god.
E) the Nile God.

Question 56

The Mesopotamians developed

A) two systems of numbers: decimal and sexagesimal.
B) the Pythagorean Theorem.
C) a simple pregnancy test of moderate accuracy.
D) charts on the movement of the planets.
E) All of these

Question 57

Which of the following are characteristics of the emergence of human civilization?

A) A large and specialized labor force
B) Complex political systems
C) Clear class stratification
D) Development of city-states
E) All of these

Question 58

Hammurabi's Code provided for each of the following except

A) ownership of property by women.
B) the principle of an eye for an eye.
C) justice dependent on a person's social class.
D) the elimination of mutilation, drowning, and impaling.
E) a detailed portrait of Mesopotamian society.

Question 59

All of the following can be attributed to the Hittites except

A) a strong nobility competing for power with the king.
B) mastery of chariot warfare.
C) a number of powerful queens and queen mothers.
D) a loose and chaotic government.
E) a strong empire in Anatolia in the late Bronze Age.

Question 60

The Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom included all of the following except

A) a warrior-pharaoh who expanded Egyptian control over neighboring countries.
B) an important female pharaoh.
C) the building of the Great Pyramids at Giza.
D) a pharaoh who undertook a bold attempt at religious innovation.
E) the era known as the First International System, an era of peace and prosperity.

Question 61

Which of the following is the correct chronological order in human development?

A) Hunter-gatherers, invention of agriculture, food producers, development of towns
B) Hunter-gatherers, development of towns, food producers, invention of agriculture
C) Invention of agriculture, hunter-gatherers, food producers, development of towns
D) Food producers, invention of agriculture, hunter-gatherers, development of towns
E) Development of towns, hunter-gatherers, invention of agriculture, food producers

Question 62

Use the map (or maps) referenced in each question for your answer. Locate each civilization discussed in the chapter. On a contemporary map, find the modern names of the countries in which those civilizations emerged. Which modern state contains the most ancient sites mentioned in the chapter?

Question 63

Use the map (or maps) referenced in each question for your answer. By comparing the map of Egypt (Map 1.2) with the Mesopotamian area shown on Map 1.1, make a list of features the two regions had in common as well as topographical differences. What geographical features tended to make Egypt more secure and Mesopotamia more vulnerable to both fragmentation and invasion?

Question 64

What do ancient sculptural pieces tell the modern world about the history of the past?

A) They often represent a religious theme.
B) They illustrate an abstract theme.
C) They illustrate the importance and rank of civil, religious, and military leaders.
D) They display various aspects of military life.
E) All of these

Question 65

The collapse of the international system between 1200 and 1150 B.C.

A) resulted in the disappearance of the ancient cultures.
B) is thoroughly understood.
C) seems to have occurred because of foreign invasion, domestic problems, and possibly other factors.
D) resulted in a universal empire ruled by the Sea Peoples.
E) was caused most likely by a climatic catastrophe.

Question 66

Use the map (or maps) referenced in each question for your answer. What conclusions can you draw about the international system as shown in Map 1.3? You should be able to mention three or four points.

Question 67

Which of the following statements about Neanderthals is true?

A) They lived primarily in Northern Africa and the Mid East.
B) They were unable to adapt to the steamy forestlands of Africa
C) They were sensitive to loss, especially death.
D) They were not considered to belong to a human group.
E) They were not tool makers.