Deck 10: Complexity Without the State

Question 1

What was the function of Pueblo Bonito?

Answer 1

The site took many years to build and probably changed its function over time. The initial occupation of the site (A.D. 800-1000) indicates the site was a residence of an elite group, as the population seems to have been fewer than 100 people. In A.D. 1000 the site expanded and the function became more ceremonial in nature. The connection between the two functions indicates that the power of the elites was based on their role in religious ceremonies and over massive feasting activities. Though the Pueblo may have developed based on food stress or food surplus, the power of the elites was not based on any force.

Question 2

How have archaeologists interpreted Chaco Canyon?

Answer 2

Beginning around A.D. 800, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, became the center of a regional settlement network and the site of the construction of large multi-storied structures known as Great Houses. The canyon may have come about due to environmental stress on the food supply or due to food surplus. Elites would have controlled goods and resources based on some kind of religious power. The network survived till A.D. 1130 when a severe, prolonged drought ended intensive occupation of the canyon.

Question 3

Great Zimbabwe is __________.

A) evidence of local development of complexity in southeast Africa
B) the site of the palace of the Queen of Sheba
C) a Phoenician trading port
D) the site of King Solomon's mines

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following best describes Mound 72 at Cahokia?

A) It was constructed in the shape of an eagle.
B) It has yet to be excavated.
C) It yielded a burial that was vivid evidence of social inequality.
D) It was the site of a ceremonial temple.

Question 5

Which of the following best characterizes the site of Cahokia?

A) It was a fortified city-state.
B) It incorporated a series of dispersed living areas around a ceremonial core.
C) It was a vacant center.
D) It was a teeming metropolis.

Question 6

The large earthwork that occupies the core of Cahokia is known as __________.

A) El Grande
B) Monk's Mound
C) Spiro Mound
D) Pueblo Bonito

Question 7

Which of the following phrases best describes dendrochronology?

A) It uses tree ring growth to measure time.
B) It uses animal dens to map storage pits.
C) It can only be used in arid environments.
D) It is a method of remote sensing.

Question 8

The intensive occupation of Chaco Canyon came to an end in A.D. 1130 as the result of a(n) __________.

A) devastating drought
B) catastrophic flood
C) attack from the south
D) plague

Question 9

What method of remote sensing has been used to discover sites and orient exploration?

A) multispectral satellite imagery
B) hyperspectral imaging
C) ground-penetrating radar
D) resistivity

Question 10

Archaeological evidence for social inequality at Pueblo Bonito consists of __________.

A) the burials in Room 33
B) the mural on the wall of Room 24
C) a cache of silver ingots in Room 50
D) sacred Kachina dolls in Room 14

Question 11

How have archaeologists interpreted Cahokia?

Question 12

What have excavations at Mound 51 at Cahokia revealed?

Question 13

How has the archaeological interpretation of Great Zimbabwe changed over time?

Question 14

What was Stonehenge?

Question 15

What was Karl Wittfogel's theory of early state formation?

Question 16

How do Morton Fried and Elman Service view the development of political complexity?

Question 17

What is the basis for the power of the elites at Great Zimbabwe?

Question 18

How does the function of the site of Cahokia compare with that of Pueblo Bonito?

Question 19

Compare and contrast the elite of Chaco Canyon with the elite of Cahokia.

Question 20

Discuss the stages of the development of Stonehenge. How have archaeologists interpreted the increasing complexity of the site?

Question 21

Compare and contrast Fried's system for classifying societies with Service's system. What are the implications for archaeological interpretation?

Question 22

How does the trade in antiquities affect archaeology?

Question 23

What were the functions of the stone enclosures at Great Zimbabwe?

Question 24

Pueblo Bonito functioned as both an elite residence and a __________.

A) temporary hunting camp
B) ceremonial center
C) fortress
D) long-distance trade depot

Question 25

What is the largest Great House in Chaco Canyon?

A) Casa Grande
B) Chetso Ketl
C) Pueblo Bonito
D) Casa Rinconada

Question 26

The site of Cahokia consists of 22 mounds, including the huge Monkʹs Mound.

Question 27

Cahokia was the largest settlement of the Mississippian Period.

Question 28

It has been suggested that social power flowed from the centrality of Chaco Canyon in raiding and pillaging.

Question 29

The Chacoan Network links Chaco canyon with sites in the surrounding region through a system of roads.

Question 30

Pueblo Grande is the largest Great House in Chaco Canyon.

Question 31

Stonehenge was constructed by a state-level society.

Question 32

For logistical reasons, all the materials used to build Stonehenge came from a distance of no more than three kilometers.

Question 33

Stonehenge was built relatively rapidly, over the span of 100 years.

Question 34

Stonehenge, Pueblo Bonito, Cahokia, and Great Zimbabwe were what Elman Service would describe as chiefdoms.

Question 35

Robert Carneiro's model of state formation emphasizes the importance of large-scale irrigation projects.

Question 36

Many archaeologists see Cahokia as a society on the verge of becoming a state.

Question 37

Great Zimbabwe was a Phoenician trading post in Shona-speaking South Africa.

Question 38

The elite of Great Zimbabwe lived within great enclosures that symbolized their power and status.

Question 39

Chaco Canyon was the site of the construction of spectacular multi-storied structures known as __________.

A) cliff-dwellings
B) kivas
C) pueblos
D) Great Houses

Question 40

The discovery of __________ suggests that the people who built Stonehenge had a society that included elites.

A) a cache of gold amulets
B) the iceman
C) the Amesbury Archer
D) seven partially completed Moai

Question 41

Colin Renfrew has argued that the people who built Stonehenge were organized in __________.

A) states
B) chiefdoms
C) tribes
D) bands

Question 42

Which of the following statements is true about the construction of Stonehenge?

A) It was originally part of a brick-built temple structure.
B) It was built entirely from local materials.
C) It was built over a period of more than 1,000 years.
D) It was built by aliens.

Question 43

Archaeologists suggest that the large stone heads (Moai) of Easter Island were __________.

A) built by competing chiefs during periods of prosperity
B) portraits of past rulers
C) boundary markers for different factions on the island
D) offerings to the gods

Question 44

According to Karl Wittfogel, early state formation was the result of __________.

A) response to foreign aggression
B) population growth
C) large-scale irrigation processes
D) geographical circumscription

Question 45

Which is the following is one of V. Gordon Childe's criteria for defining urban centers?

A) pastoralism
B) universal literacy
C) monotheism
D) taxes

Question 46

Elman Service divides human societies into which of the following categories?

A) savages, barbarians, and civilizations
B) bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states
C) egalitarian, ranked, and stratified
D) foragers, pastoralists, horticulturalists, and agriculturalists

Question 47

Which of the following is a type within Morton Fried's classification of societies?

A) hierarchical
B) communal
C) ranked
D) socialist

Question 48

The tower at Great Zimbabwe is called a dhaka.

Question 49

In egalitarian societies, absolutely no differences are recognised between people.