Deck 3: Farms, Cities, and the New Agrarian Age, 10,000-2000 B.C.E.

Question 1

For most of their history, humans engaged in which of the following activities?

A) the construction of complex civilizations
B) hunting and gathering
C) organized agriculture
D) the building of large and densely populated cities

Answer 1

hunting and gathering

Question 2

Archaeological evidence suggests that which region was the first site of organized agriculture?

A) Southwest Asia
B) the Americas
C) the Island Pacific
D) Eurasia

Answer 2

Southwest Asia

Question 3

The region known as the Fertile Crescent is significant because it is

A) the first known site of a human city.
B) the oldest source of lapis lazuli.
C) one of the first regions in which humans developed farming.
D) a region known for particularly high birth rates.

Answer 3

one of the first regions in which humans developed farming.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the process by which humans developed organized agriculture?

A) Organized agriculture was the result of several highly complex and conscious decisions made by the leaders of early human communities.
B) Organized agriculture arose as the result of a disorganized string of innovations by early human communities.
C) Women were the main drivers and innovators behind the development of early human agriculture.
D) Organized agriculture was the natural outgrowth of hunting and gathering.

Question 5

Holocene refers to which of the following?

A) the era before humans began to engage in farming
B) the global period of cooling that began roughly 10,000 years ago and contributed to the rise of human agriculture
C) the era of global warming that permitted humans to migrate out of Africa
D) the era of global warming, beginning roughly 10,000 years ago, that is connected to the rise of human agriculture

Question 6

Scholars use the term sedentism to describe the process by which early humans

A) transported seeds and grains from one village to another.
B) converted wild grains into bread.
C) founded permanent settlements.
D) domesticated animals.

Question 7

Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between foraging and farming in early human societies?

A) Foraging and farming coexisted for thousands of years.
B) Once communities adopted organized agriculture, farming replaced foraging within a generation or two.
C) Even after farming was developed, most early human communities preferred foraging and engaged in organized agriculture on an infrequent basis.
D) Farming was the inevitable outgrowth of foraging, a notion supported by the fact that several early hominin species developed farming techniques.

Question 8

The domestication of plants differed from the tending of plants in the wild in which significant way?

A) Domesticated plants were tended by women, while wild plants were tended by men.
B) Wild plants tended to be more nutritious and easier to harvest than domesticated plants.
C) Tending wild plants involved far more skilled knowledge and tools than harvesting domesticated plants.
D) The domestication of plants allowed humans to control for factors such as taste and nutrition far more than they could for plants tended in the wild.

Question 9

Which of the following is a likely description of how early humans domesticated plants?

A) After careful observation, early humans began to understand the science behind plant growth, which enabled them to grow crops on a very large scale.
B) As human societies grew larger and more complex, they collectively decided that growing food for themselves would be far more efficient than gathering it from the wild.
C) Humans separated out the seeds of those plants they liked to eat over generations by chance and slowly began to observe that they could coax these plants to grow by placing their seeds in the ground.
D) As global temperatures began to fall roughly 10,000 years ago, humans had to rapidly develop more reliable ways of feeding their communities. The domestication of plants was therefore the outcome of ecological necessity.

Question 10

Humanity's first farmers were most likely

A) young men known for their hunting prowess.
B) women and girls who generally remained close to communal settlements.
C) religious leaders charged with communicating with the spiritual world to protect the soil.
D) skilled artisans who could wield the proper utensils required for farming.

Question 11

The discovery of pig bones near a human settlement in southeastern Turkey dating from approximately 10,000 B.C.E. is evidence of which of the following?

A) a large and thriving city
B) an ancient battle site
C) early domestication of animals
D) the transmission of disease from animals to humans

Question 12

Which of the following is an important similarity between the domestication of animals and the domestication of plants by early human societies?

A) They both arose from careful observations of the natural world by early human communities.
B) They both arose rapidly after their initial introduction.
C) Men were the primary innovators in both.
D) They both arose in a somewhat haphazard fashion and developed over long stretches of time.

Question 13

The irregularity of global warming trends during the early Holocene era resulted in which of the following?

A) a temporary abandonment of farming and reversion to foraging practices
B) an intensification of farming to compensate for cooler temperatures
C) a sharp decline in the world's human population
D) a systematic migration of humans from regions of colder climates to ones of warmer temperatures

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about the neolithic era?

A) The neolithic era was marked by a growth in the size of permanent human settlements.
B) The neolithic era was marked by a series of technological innovations, including finer stone blades and houses made of sun-dried mud bricks.
C) The neolithic era is known for the introduction of copper tools and utensils.
D) The neolithic era is said to have ended around 4500 B.C.E.

Question 15

Farming developed on all of the inhabited continents EXCEPT

A) Australia.
B) the Americas.
C) Europe.
D) Asia.

Question 16

The relative uniformity of climatic conditions from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent resulted in which of the following?

A) Civilizations across the entire region developed farming at roughly the same time.
B) Civilizations across the region competed with one another for resources and were reluctant to share innovations in farming.
C) A uniform culture reigned across the entire region.
D) Innovations in farming and domestication spread rapidly and were easily adapted throughout the region.

Question 17

Innovations in farming spread throughout Afroeurasia chiefly through which of the following mechanisms?

A) exchange
B) trade
C) migration
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 18

Which of the following is an accurate conclusion drawn from the development of farming in parts of Northern China, Southeast Asia, and the Americas?

A) Farming was an inevitable development in all human populations.
B) Farming developed in several regions independently from one another.
C) Inhabitants of these regions must have had contact with civilizations in the fertile crescent.
D) Climatic conditions and farming are unrelated.

Question 19

Ceramic pots were an innovation of which of the following groups?

A) farmers
B) city dwellers
C) foragers
D) early peddlers

Question 20

Copper metallurgy seems to have originated in which region?

A) Anatolia
B) China
C) the Mediterranean
D) the Americas

Question 21

A consequence of the increasing social complexity of early farming settlements was

A) the equal distribution of food among inhabitants of a given community.
B) an inequitable relationship between men and women.
C) the concentration of wealth in the hands of certain individuals and families.
D) a lower birth rate among women.

Question 22

Çatal Hüyük and ancient Jericho are examples of what?

A) early "super villages"
B) the capitol cities of ancient empires
C) religious shrines
D) ancient battle sites

Question 23

The first civilizations developed in which of the following regions?

A) the Americas
B) the Indus, Nile, and Tigris and Euphrates River valleys
C) the Mediterranean and Danube River basins
D) northern China

Question 24

Which of the following modern-day countries occupy the territory of ancient Mesopotamia?

A) Greece and Turkey
B) China and Japan
C) India and Pakistan
D) Iraq and Syria

Question 25

How did the ecological conditions of Mesopotamia contribute to a dramatic rise in population density beginning around 4000 B.C.E.?

A) A series of volcanic eruptions forced villagers on the outskirts to seek safety in larger and more central settlements.
B) An increase in annual rainfall ensured more reliable crop yields.
C) A decrease in rainfall prompted farmers to innovate new ways of storing food and prevented villagers from simply migrating to find new sources of food.
D) An increase in annual rainfall caused massive flooding and drove villagers from their homes toward urban centers.

Question 26

Food surpluses in the first complex civilizations led to which of the following?

A) the need for more farmers who could properly grow and store the excess food
B) the formation of occupational specialization
C) the equitable distribution of food among all inhabitants
D) a decrease in technological innovation, as people no longer had to constantly worry about inconsistent supplies of food

Question 27

Which of the following best describes the relationship between humans and the environment in Mesopotamia?

A) Humans had to constantly innovate ways to alter their environment to accommodate rapid population growth.
B) Religious beliefs prevented humans from tampering with the environment.
C) Periodic environmental disasters led to the frequent social collapse of large settlements.
D) Only farmers had sufficient knowledge to manipulate the surrounding environment.

Question 28

A city can best be defined as

A) any settlement with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
B) a settlement with a distinctive leader and ruling class.
C) a settlement with a multitude of occupations, whose inhabitants relied on food brought in from outside sources.
D) a permanent settlement whose survival depended little on farming or organized agriculture.

Question 29

The lack of natural resources available to the earliest cities of southern Mesopotamia tells us what about these societies?

A) Although these early settlements were large, they lacked many necessities and faced constant shortages of goods and supplies.
B) Ruling elites likely hoarded the limited quantities of available resources.
C) The early cities of the region likely had to engage in constant warfare to compete for the limited quantity of natural resources.
D) These early cities likely developed complex systems of trade and exchange to import the goods not readily available in their region.

Question 30

The largest urban center in ancient Sumer was

A) Jericho.
B) Uruk.
C) Athens.
D) Anatolia.

Question 31

Which of the following constituted one of the major differences between foraging societies and the first states?

A) Foraging societies had a rigid social structure, while states were far more egalitarian in character.
B) Foraging societies were generally peaceful, while states engaged in regular violence.
C) Foraging societies were generally more egalitarian, while states were composed of a much more rigid social hierarchy.
D) Women held little power in foraging societies, while they became prominent leaders in early states.

Question 32

The moon god Nannar is a deity from which early civilization?

A) Sumer
B) Greece
C) Indus valley
D) Egypt

Question 33

Which of the following best describes the relationship between religious leaders and ruling elites in Sumer?

A) Religious leaders and ruling elites were often at odds with one another and frequently vied for power.
B) Rulers were subject to religious leaders.
C) Religious leaders remained largely separate from matters of state and meddled little in the affairs of rulers.
D) Religious leaders took part in the spiritual as well as logistical management of society, and there was a great deal of overlap between rulers and spiritual leaders.

Question 34

Cuneiform is

A) the first known spoken language.
B) the writing system of ancient Sumer.
C) the term used collectively for early cave paintings.
D) an early form of mathematics.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT an example of a logographic language?

A) Chinese
B) cuneiform
C) French
D) hieroglyphs

Question 36

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an example of which of the following?

A) a fantastical tale passed down orally in ancient Sumer
B) one of the first known stories written down in ancient Sumer
C) an early religious text used by Sumerian priests
D) the first historical writing recounting the lives of Sumer's most powerful kings

Question 37

Sargon and his successors are said to be responsible for which of the following?

A) creating the first known empire by conquering several Sumerian cities
B) creating the Sumerian system of writing known as cuneiform
C) establishing the first known city-state in Sumer
D) creating a reliable taxation system in Sumer

Question 38

Which of the following best describes the role of bureaucracy in ancient Sumer?

A) Bureaucracy was an inefficient form of governance that often greatly weakened the authority of Sumerian kings.
B) Sumerians used bureaucrats sparingly and preferred to rule as directly as possible.
C) The use of bureaucrats enabled Sumerian kings to extend their rule over a much larger territory than they could manage alone.
D) Sumerian subjects often transferred their loyalty to the king to local bureaucrats and thereby greatly weakened the power of the supreme ruler.

Question 39

The institution of slavery in complex societies likely resulted from which of the following?

A) Slavery was a regular feature of foraging societies and was easily adapted to more complex civilizations.
B) Slavery was an unfortunate outcome of Sumerian religious beliefs.
C) Slavery was the product of the division of labor common to early cities.
D) Slavery was an outcome of the greater social and class divisions that came with more complex human civilizations.

Question 40

The term patriarchy refers to a society in which

A) women hold more power than men.
B) men hold more power than women.
C) men and women share power equally.
D) men hold military power and women hold religious authority.

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT a technological innovation of Mesopotamian society?

A) the wheel
B) a writing system
C) a mathematical system of accounting
D) the making of ceramic pots

Question 42

Which of the following was a consequence of writing in Sumerian society?

A) Sumerian society was relatively culturally uniform.
B) Women rose to great power as scribes and scholars.
C) All of Sumer's inhabitants were literate.
D) The tradition of passing down stories orally all but disappeared.

Question 43

Ancient Egypt differed from Mesopotamia in which important aspect?

A) Ancient Egypt was largely matriarchal.
B) Ancient Egypt did not have a reliable source of water such as the Tigris and Euphrates.
C) Ancient Egypt was one unified territory as opposed to a collection of strong city-states.
D) Ancient Egyptians never formed their own system of writing.

Question 44

Unlike Mesopotamia's rulers, Egyptian pharaohs were

A) considered to be agents of the gods.
B) considered to be incarnations of the gods.
C) mostly women.
D) priests and spiritual leaders.

Question 45

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom governed from which main center of power?

A) Cairo
B) Uruk
C) Memphis
D) Alexandria

Question 46

Which of the following best summarizes how pharaohs ruled and maintained power?

A) The pharaoh ruled by collecting and redistributing wealth more equally among his subjects.
B) The pharaohs ruled by sending loyal representatives throughout the countryside to collect taxes and maintain order.
C) The pharaohs ruled by perpetual displays of military prowess.
D) The pharaoh had a direct hand in the everyday operation of his or her kingdom.

Question 47

The great pyramids of Giza are examples of which of the following?

A) a palace complex
B) a religious temple
C) an ancient library
D) an ancient tomb

Question 48

Cities of the Indus valley were characterized by

A) a disorganized jumble of streets.
B) an organized grid of streets.
C) the absence of any sewage system.
D) no permanent houses or structures.

Question 49

The relative uniformity in the size of Harappan dwellings suggests what about this society?

A) Inhabitants of these cities were not wealthy enough to construct large and ornate structures.
B) Harappan society did not possess the technology capable to construct large architectural structures.
C) Harappan society might have been more egalitarian and less socially divided than other ancient societies.
D) Harappan society had no ruling elites and was governed by democratic principles.

Question 50

The rise of complex civilizations in the Nile, Indus, and Tigris and Euphrates River valleys led to which of the following?

A) a rise in the spread of disease and a series of ecological disasters resulting from over-farming and human efforts to reshape their landscapes
B) a decrease in the incidence of disease as humans invented better technologies and medicines
C) the development of cultural uniformity among the three river civilizations as they came into increased contact with one another
D) the disappearance of all foraging societies, as they could not compete with the successes of organized agriculture and urban complexes

Question 51

Describe the processes by which humans ultimately developed farming. What innovations and circumstances of foraging societies enabled humans to domesticate plants and animals?

Question 52

Discuss how farming transformed early human societies. How did the advent of farming affect the structure and size of early human communities, the relationships between men and women, and the types of labor people engaged in?

Question 53

Explain the development of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. What ecological factors contributed to the rise of complex civilizations along the Tigris and Euphrates? What were some of the critical innovations of the Mesopotamian civilization, and how did they contribute to the rise of the first complex human society?

Question 54

Discuss the character of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Describe the structure of Egyptian society. How were Egyptian pharaohs able to maintain rule over a relatively large territory? What are some of the qualities of ancient Egypt that distinguish it from other early civilizations?

Question 55

Examine the structure and character of the Harappan civilization. What have scholars been able to learn about this early civilization based on archaeological evidence? What are some of the limitations scholars face in interpreting artifacts unearthed in the Indus valley?

Question 56

Discuss some of the major similarities and differences among the first three complex human civilizations. Describe the relationship that the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Harappan civilizations shared with one another. How did these three civilizations interact with one another, and how did these interactions affect the growth and development of complex civilization?

Question 57

Explain how the rise of complex civilizations affected the relationship between humans and the natural world. What types of technologies and innovations did humans develop to alter nature and to maximize agricultural output? What were some of the long-term consequences of the ways in which humans interacted with their environments as they formed more complex societies?