Deck 2: Mesopotamia

Question 1

The first use of the wheel by the Sumerians was probably for the purpose of

A) helping carry loads.
B) making pottery.
C) aiding in irrigation.
D) transport of people
E) making agriculture easier.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is revealed about the culture and worldview of the early Sumerians through their religion? How important was the development of writing to the Sumerians? In what specific ways?

Answer 2

Answer not provided.

Question 3

Describe and discuss the development of the Sumerian system of writing.

Answer 3

Answer not provided.

Question 4

The main significance of the Akkadian Empire was that

A) Sumerian culture was spread throughout the Middle East.
B) Cuneiform was developed.
C) it outlasted other ancient empires.
D) it first manufactured bronze.
E) the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were finally tamed.

Question 5

Which of the following would best describe early Mesopotamia?

A) More people lived in the towns than in the rural areas.
B) Most urban jobs could be obtained with little or no educational background.
C) While many people were directly or indirectly involved in food production, one of the most important tasks was to obtain a fresh supply of water on a daily basis.
D) Slaves were found in al parts of the Sumerian lands.
E) although livestock was plentiful and vegetables could be easily grown, Mesopotamians had to import their grains.

Question 6

The main reason that the Natufians began to settle down into semi-permanent villages was that

A) western Asia became warmer and wetter.
B) the antelope and gazelle that they had hunted disappeared.
C) sea levels rose, flooding the coastal plains where they had lived previously.
D) a drier landscape meant that they had to be close to fresh water supplies in order to grow food.
E) a series of strong leaders wanted to control them more easily.

Question 7

Sumerian culture spread throughout the Fertile Crescent because of the leadership of Sargon, who triumphed over other rivals in the pursuit of

A) well watered lands.
B) technological advantages.
C) the new capital city of Akkad.
D) the lands of Mesopotamia.
E) the Akkadians.

Question 8

Discuss the importance of the development of Mesopotamian trade, and explain the reasons for Mesopotamia's decline in significance after the Persian conquest. How did life differ for Mesopotamians after the conquest?

Question 9

Describe the principles behind Mesopotamian laws and rules of government. In what ways are they similar to and different from our own?

Question 10

Describe the social class structure of ancient Mesopotamia. How did slavery fit into this picture?

Question 11

One of the most important tasks for Sumerian women and children was

A) following the orders of male family members.
B) tilling the crops.
C) maintaining a supply of fresh water.
D) gathering nuts and berries.
E) keeping the homes clean and dry.

Question 12

Concerning the issue of food in early Mesopotamia, it would be most accurate to assume that

A) about half the people were underfed at any given time.
B) the bounty of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys ensured sufficient caloric intake for all.
C) commerce, rather than a focus on foodstuffs, concentrated primarily on luxury goods.
D) some type of bread was probably a staple of the Mesopotamian diet.
E) grapes and other fruits could not be grown in the Tigris-Euphrates valley.

Question 13

Mesopotamia was located in what is now the modern state of

A) Iraq.
B) Turkey.
C) Saudi Arabia.
D) Syria.
E) Iran.

Question 14

Cuneiform was

A) a pictorial script from which all writing derives.
B) a written language corresponding to oral language.
C) an alphabet.
D) a script written in wedge-shaped characters.
E) the written language of the Egyptians.

Question 15

An aspect of Hammurabi's code of laws that is still important to us today was that it

A) established a theocracy ruled by the gods and their priests.
B) introduced the concept of victim compensation.
C) established equality between the sexes in legal matters, specifically in divorce cases.
D) provided a comprehensive set of rules concerning business matters.
E) excluded the barbaric practices of trial by ordeal and "an eye for an eye" justice.

Question 16

Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the early Sumerian civilization.

Question 17

After being conquered by the Persians, Mesopotamia

A) became the capital of the much-expanded Persian Empire.
B) became an example to the Persians of adapting to the environment via irrigation.
C) never again held sway politically, until the twentieth century.
D) adopted the cultural ideals of their conquerors.
E) was weakened by overuse of the land, and it was also changed by a warmer, drier climate.

Question 18

The development of a system of writing was of greatest importance to the Sumerians for

A) allowing them to record important marriages.
B) helping them develop such writings as the Epic of Gilgamesh .
C) allowing them to have a clear version of past occurrences that various people could agree on.
D) recording the major events of their history.
E) helping them clarify the meanings of their pictographs.

Question 19

The first conqueror of the entire plain of Mesopotamia was

A) Sargon.
B) Gilgamesh.
C) Hammurabi.
D) Akkad.
E) Judea.

Question 20

Which of these statements is the least applicable to the Sumerians?

A) They were the builders of the first large cities.
B) They brought Mesopotamia under united rulers as early as 3000 B.C.E.
C) They developed a sophisticated writing system.
D) Basic geometry is said to stem from them.
E) They probably pioneered the use of the wheel for transportation.

Question 21

Hebrew and Arabic are examples of languages in the ____________________ family of languages.

Question 22

Aside from the invention of writing, perhaps the greatest advance made by the early Mesopotamians was in

A) drainage and irrigation.
B) poetry and art.
C) law and government.
D) mathematics and chronology.
E) religion and art.

Question 23

In early Sumeria, kings seem to have functioned mainly as figureheads for the ____________________.

Question 24

The theme of the Epic of Gilgamesh might best be described as

A) the quest for immortality.
B) the development of writing.
C) the creation of a great empire.
D) the civilizing of the barbarians.
E) an attempt to understand the gods.

Question 25

Which of the following statements is true of Sumerian religion?

A) The Epic of Gilgamesh deals with a people who decide to build a tower to the heavens.
B) Most Sumerian gods desired a close, loving relationship with their people.
C) Mesopotamians considered themselves slaves to their unpredictable god-creators.
D) The people had a strong sense of the afterlife and often consulted their departed ancestors for guidance.
E) It was up to the people themselves, as well as to professionally trained priests, to appease the gods.

Question 26

Which of the following would be most descriptive of Sumerian religion?

A) Their many gods were all male.
B) All gods were free of human characteristics.
C) Sumerian gods existed within a human imposed hierarchy.
D) Sumerian gods existed without intervening at all in human lives.
E) Sumerian religion has been described as paternalistic.

Question 27

A written language where the signs have a direct connection with the oral language is termed ____________________.

Question 28

An important feature of Mesopotamian religion was

A) the need to appease the gods by ritual sacrifice.
B) an ethical system that overarched all aspects of the faith.
C) that unlike Christianity, Mesopotamian religion dealt with nature rather than with sin.
D) that in a condition unusual for its time, the religion was centered around the worship of one god.
E) that one form of punishment often "used" by Mesopotamian gods was various forms of illness.

Question 29

The Sumerians succeeded in

A) turning Mesopotamia into a major city-state similar to those of the Greeks.
B) establishing a long-lasting and very influential system of writing.
C) exhibiting such a high degree of cultural awareness that the Greeks ceased to call them "barbarians."
D) expanding their empire over the entire area of Mesopotamia.
E) expanding their empire into the Indus Valley of today's Pakistan.

Question 30

The best description of women's status in the earliest stage of civilization was that

A) women gained status as the heavy plow made it necessary for them to cease field work.
B) women and men were about equal in social power and prestige.
C) the overall trend was toward a matriarchal society.
D) as early as 2000 B.C.E., females were completely ruled by males.
E) women had more control over the family than did men.

Question 31

It could be most accurately stated of Hammurabi's Code that

A) it was the first code of law ever drafted.
B) it did not deal extensively with family and social matters.
C) punishment depended upon the violator's rank in society.
D) it attempted to outlaw slavery.
E) it dealt exclusively with business matters.

Question 32

The group known in the Bible as the Chaldees was the

A) Amorites.
B) Hittites.
C) New Babylonians.
D) Assyrians.
E) Persians.

Question 33

After the Persian conquest,

A) Mesopotamian religion became even more pessimistic.
B) Mesopotamia declined as a factor in the history of civilization.
C) the Persians placed their capital at Babylon.
D) the Semites were made to adopt Mesopotamian culture.
E) Mesopotamian gods were adopted by the Persians.

Question 34

After the rise to power of Sargon the Great,

A) Sumerian religion became much more optimistic.
B) the priests became the true rulers of the land.
C) the royal throne, along with the military, became the true center of power.
D) the people began to present offerings to the gods in hopes of maintaining strong leadership.
E) the priests were all removed from power.

Question 35

The Tigris and Euphrates rivers were important to Mesopotamians primarily because

A) they kept out potential raiders.
B) they made irrigation possible.
C) they drained off the water from the frequent storms.
D) they brought the people together.
E) they provided transportation to the sea.

Question 36

Sumerian builders employed, as the basic structure of support, the ____________________ and ____________________ system.

Question 37

Which is the least important characteristic of Mesopotamian religion?

A) cruel, unpredictable gods
B) a rewarding afterlife
C) obeying the gods as best one could
D) a powerful priesthood
E) catastrophes delivered as divine punishment

Question 38

Most slaves in Mesopotamia seem to have been

A) criminals.
B) debtors.
C) women.
D) children.
E) Africans.

Question 39

Mesopotamian priests usually obtained their positions through

A) purchase.
B) bribery.
C) competitive testing.
D) government appointment.
E) inheritance.

Question 40

In Sumerian and later government in Mesopotamia,

A) theocracy succeeded the rule of kings.
B) a warrior aristocracy was the rule from the beginning.
C) a monarchy succeeded the rule of priests.
D) the common people always had the last word.
E) kings and priests usually worked together to create laws.

Question 41

People who speak a foreign tongue and are often viewed as inferior by their more civilized neighbors are termed ____________________.

Question 42

Perhaps the most important Sumerian accomplishment was the gradual invention of a system of ____________________

Question 43

The Sumerian language, as set down in written, wedge-shaped character form, is known as ____________________.

Question 44

King Hammurabi established ____________________ as his imperial capital.

Question 45

A biblical example of a ziggurat might be the ____________________.

Question 46

____________________ is the first epic hero in world literature.