Deck 12: Locating the Source of Authority

Question 1

What is the importance of Anyang to Chinese history?

Answer 1

Anyang was the capital of the Late Shang Dynasty (1200-1045 B.C.) and the oldest known city in China. It is distinguished by its fine bronzes and elaborate burials that show ample evidence of social inequality. Huge numbers of inscribed oracle bones found at the site are the earliest record of systematic Chinese writing.

Question 2

What was Chinese society like in the area of Anyang before Anyang?

Answer 2

Before Anyang gained power, the Yi-Lou Valley was an important area. The site of Erlitou may have been the capital of the Xia Dynasty between 1800 and 1600 B.C. The site had two large palaces, and many elite grave goods have been recovered, including bronze ritual vessels and jade. At the same time the site of Shaochia existed, though in a somewhat secondary role to Erlitou. Yanshi is another site in the area that arose after the downfall of Erlitou. Before even Erlitou, Shaochia, and Yanshi, the area had large village settlements that correlated with the Early Longshan period. Archaeologists have identified a four-tier settlement hierarchy from urban centers to villages.

Question 3

How has the Three Gorges Dam project threatened Chinese archaeology?

Answer 3

The project is intended to generate power and to control flooding on the Yangze River. The dam will ultimately displace over 1 million people and will lead to the flooding of hundreds of archaeological sites. This is only one example of the many dam projects around the world that destroy archaeological sites which, by their very nature, are nonrenewable resources.

Question 4

How did the Silk Route influence the development of complex societies in southern Asia?

Question 5

What is the significance of the great city of Angkor?

Question 6

Discuss the rise and fall of Harappan society.

Question 7

What is distinctive about the Harappan script?

Question 8

What is the significance of the mummified remains found in the Tarim Basin?

Question 9

Discuss the collapse of the Harappan civilization.

Question 10

What characterizes Harappan cities?

Question 11

What evidence is there for social inequality in Harappan society?

Question 12

The Harappan civilization developed in the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley in Pakistan.

Question 13

The Southern Silk Route spread ideas as well as commerce throughout southern Asia.

Question 14

State societies in China can trace their roots to pre-Shang Dynasty.

Question 15

The emphasis on feasting during the Shang Dynasty indicates an egalitarian social structure.

Question 16

Harappan cities, while large, show almost no sign of urban planning in their construction.

Question 17

Mass warfare led to Harappan decline.

Question 18

Most Harappan settlements were small villages, not urban centers.

Question 19

The Harappan script has recently been translated and provides a wealth of information concerning trade with Mesopotamia.

Question 20

Harappan elites had elaborate burials with rich grave goods.

Question 21

Shang dynasty settlements are mostly within a few inches of the surface.

Question 22

Palaces in China were built first at Anyang.

Question 23

Bronze vessels from Anyang served as politically all-important ritual symbols.

Question 24

Oracle bones recovered from Anyang may represent the very beginning of Chinese writing.

Question 25

The Chifeng region was located in what is now known as Inner Mongolia.

Question 26

Carefully standardized bricks and weights in Harappan society speak to __________.

A) one specialized factory next to the great bath
B) proof of a religious ceremony
C) a highly militaristic dictator
D) a highly organized bureaucracy

Question 27

What could point to evidence of royalty in Harappan society?

A) the massive palace at Harappa
B) a small steatite sculpture of a ""priest-king"" from Mohenjo-Daro
C) the ""granary"" at Menrgarh
D) the lavishly furnished royal tomb at Mohenjo-Daro

Question 28

Which of these is an early Chinese dynasty that dates to between 2,000 B.C. and 500 B.C.?

A) Ming
B) Zhou
C) Qing
D) Tang

Question 29

A four-tier hierarchy system was inferred for the __________.

A) Yi Lou Valley
B) Knossos region
C) Chifeng area
D) entire Harappan area

Question 30

What is the capital of the Late Shang Dynasty and China's oldest city?

A) Xia
B) Banpo
C) Anyang
D) Beijing

Question 31

A possible second capital of the Shang Dynasty was __________.

A) Banpo
B) Beijing
C) Sanxingdui
D) Pentoushan

Question 32

Which of these was an important feature for establishing the power of rulers in early Chinese states?

A) religion
B) ritual
C) artwork
D) warfare

Question 33

What unique burial monuments appeared in Japan around A.D. 200?

A) keyhole-shaped tombs
B) bronze urns
C) granite headstones
D) slender obelisks

Question 34

Who was discovered in Tomb 15 at Yingpan?

A) the first emperor of Japan
B) a woman decorated in elaborate jewelry
C) a sacrificed child
D) a tall 30-year-old man

Question 35

The ancient city of Angkor was located in what is now the nation of __________.

A) Thailand
B) India
C) Cambodia
D) Malaysia

Question 36

The Harappan script is known mostly from which of the following?

A) small stone seals used to mark vessels and bundles
B) paintings on tomb walls
C) cylinder seals for authenticating documents
D) fired clay tablets

Question 37

At what Harappan site was the Great Bath located?

A) Erlitou
B) Mohenjo-Daro
C) Yingpan
D) Sanxingdui

Question 38

Urban cities developed along this river during the Harappan Period.

A) Nile
B) Ganges
C) Tigris-Euphrates
D) Indus

Question 39

The prowess of the Harappan state is expressed in __________.

A) compulsory public education
B) their true egalitarian society
C) advanced science and mathematics
D) meticulously planned, urban construction

Question 40

Harappan trade networks covered the area from __________.

A) the Arabian Peninsula to Afghanistan
B) North Africa to Mesopotamia
C) the Cyclades to Crete
D) the Yi Lou Valley to Rizhao

Question 41

Which of the following were the largest Harappan cities?

A) Akrotiri and Thera
B) Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
C) Knossos and Mycenae
D) Rizhao and Yanshi

Question 42

The city of Dholavira belongs to the __________.

A) Harappan culture
B) Xia Dynasty
C) Kofun period
D) kingdom of Angkor

Question 43

Which of these sites is located in modern-day Vietnam?

A) Angkor Borei
B) Yingpan
C) Noen U-Loke
D) Oc Eo

Question 44

Feasting associated with elite burials and sacrificial deposits are important feature of which sites?

A) Harappan
B) Mesolithic
C) Early Indus
D) Shang Dynasty