Deck 1: The Birth of Civilization

Question 1

What common characteristic was shared by primal civilizations in Egypt,Sumer,China,and India?

A)They sprang up along flooding rivers.
B)They relied on transportation by sea.
C)Agriculture developed only after large cities developed.
D)The first arose on islands
E)They all arose in areas of mild climate.

Answer 1

They sprang up along flooding rivers.

Question 2

The middle area of the Fertile Crescent differed from Egypt and Mesopotamia because it

A)had enough rainfall to sustain crops.
B)subsisted on fishing.
C)built complex irrigation systems.
D)was an extension of the Sinai Desert.
E)flourished through Mediterranean trade.

Answer 2

had enough rainfall to sustain crops.

Question 3

Study of the Iceman and the materials found with him suggest that he was most likely to have been a

A)hunter or shepherd.
B)soldier.
C)tradesman.
D)farmer or gatherer.
E)homeless nomad.

Answer 3

hunter or shepherd.

Question 4

What material began to be used as the Neolithic gave way to the dawn of civilization?

A)metals
B)fired bronze
C)burnished pottery
D)pressure-chip tools
E)fired pottery

Question 5

What is the species name of modern humans?

A)Homo sapiens sapiens
B)Homo erectus
C)Homo ergaster
D)Homo habilis
E)Neanderthals

Question 6

Historians speculate that the shift from hunting and gathering to farming and herding occurred in the Western world about how many years ago?

A)10,000
B)40,000
C)30,000
D)20,000
E)50,000

Question 7

As shown on Map 1-2,the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is known as

A)Mesopotamia
B)Babylonia
C)the Delta
D)Anatolia.
E)Libya

Question 8

The first farmers in Mesopotamia migrated into the area from

A)the Iranian highlands.
B)Anatolia.
C)the Arabian Desert.
D)the Aegean Sea region.
E)the Mediterranean coast.

Question 9

The axe found with the body of the Iceman had a head made of

A)copper.
B)iron.
C)polished stone.
D)flaked flint.
E)forged steel.

Question 10

Discovered in the Alps in 1991,the Iceman was from what era?

A)Bronze Age
B)Iron Age
C)Neanderthal
D)Paleolithic
E)Neolithic

Question 11

Which archaic states shown in Map 1-2 are described in the text as the first civilizations?

A)Sumerian and Egyptian
B)Egyptian and Iranian
C)Egyptian and Hittite
D)Hittite and Iranian
E)Sumerian and Iranian

Question 12

The legendary king Gilgamesh ruled the city of

A)Uruk.
B)Babylon.
C)Eridu.
D)Kish.
E)Akkad.

Question 13

What critical problem did the first farmers in Mesopotamia have to overcome before enough food could be grown to support a dense population?

A)trapping flood waters for distribution during the growing season
B)defeating barbarian invaders
C)developing sturdy iron tools.
D)conquering the Hittite Kingdom
E)finding water sources in a desert

Question 14

Which metal was used for tools as early as 7500 b.c.e.?

A)copper
B)iron
C)bronze
D)silver
E)lead

Question 15

The triangular indentations used for the script of Sumerians are called

A)cuneiform.
B)lugal.
C)runes.
D)pictographs.
E)hieroglyphics.

Question 16

What was the name of the pharaoh who was credited with setting a style for pyramid construction that lasted for centuries?

A)Djoser
B)Cheops
C)Khufu
D)Narmer
E)Imhotep

Question 17

Which of the following technologies was NOT used by the earliest Western civilizations?

A)forging iron
B)agriculture
C)metal working
D)building
E)irrigation

Question 18

The Great Pyramid was built for which Egyptian pharaoh?

A)Khufu
B)Imhotep
C)Djoser
D)Menkaure
E)Kamerernebti

Question 19

Historians estimate that the existence of Homo sapiens sapiens goes back how many years?

A)150,000
B)300,000
C)50,000
D)100,000
E)200,000

Question 20

Objects made from what material were used much more frequently by Neolithic man than by Paleolithic man?

A)fired clay
B)bronze
C)iron
D)glass
E)wood

Question 21

Which common factor is true of both prehistoric cultures and early civilizations?

A)People altered the natural environment.
B)Societies relied on written records to maintain traditions.
C)Hunting and gathering provided more food than agriculture.
D)Human populations were small and scattered.
E)Cultural change was usually intentional and carefully planned.

Question 22

The main task of the Egyptian pharaoh was to preserve justice,otherwise known as

A)ma'at.
B)nomes.
C)karma.
D)mastaba.
E)lugal.

Question 23

The leaders of Sumerian city-states

A)benefited their subjects but were also oppressive.
B)spared their subjects hardship by using foreign slave labor.
C)had little effect on the state of the physical environment.
D)provided few benefits or services to their subjects.
E)were aware of the responsibilities and duties of power.

Question 24

Which of the following was a result of Ur-Nammu becoming aware of the antiquity of Sumerian civilization?

A)the archiving of ancient documents
B)updates to the road system
C)the reconstruction of the palace
D)the reinforcement of religious practices
E)the securing of Sumerian borders

Question 25

In which global area did the transition to civilization happen last?

A)Mesoamerica
B)China
C)Egypt
D)Indus River valley
E)Mesopotamia

Question 26

One of the earliest works of literature was the epic story of what Sumerian king?

A)Gilgamesh
B)Enmerbaragesi
C)Sargon
D)Menes
E)Enlil

Question 27

Scientific study of the Iceman has shown that

A)human remains can provide information about an era without written records.
B)people lived in Mesopotamia much earlier than historians had suspected.
C)Bronze Age people lived simple lives with few possessions.
D)the Alps formed a barrier that Bronze Age people could not cross.
E)the inability to adapt to the environment greatly limited early human culture.

Question 28

The Neolithic era was considered revolutionary because it was the first period when Western mankind began to

A)consciously transform the environment.
B)harvest what nature produces.
C)learn about the life cycles of plants and animals.
D)increase its reliance on hunting and gathering.
E)sow seeds to produce crops.

Question 29

Which of the following developments marked man's evolution from prehistory to history?

A)development of writing systems
B)development of fired pottery
C)development of city-states
D)ornamentation of utilitarian objects
E)use of bronze

Question 30

Old Kingdom Egyptian governors' efforts to train their sons to succeed them may also have had what result?

A)It weakened royal authority,leading to the end of the Old Kingdom.
B)It increased the pharaoh's power throughout Egypt.
C)It maintained the Old Kingdom longer than it deserved.
D)It opened Egypt to foreign invasion.
E)It encouraged daughters,excluded from power,to rebel against the pharaoh.

Question 31

How would you characterize the organization of societies and governments in the Old Kingdom in Egypt?

A)little urbanization,much centralization
B)much urbanization,little centralization
C)few villages,many large cities
D)few villages,many large city-states
E)grassroots power,little overall organization

Question 32

Historians now believe that the centrality of religious life in Sumer

A)may be illusory because most surviving documents come from temple archives.
B)is proven by the centrality of religion and faith in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
C)is supported by the extensive archives of royal documents.
D)was much greater than they had originally suspected.
E)was based primarily on the king's claims to be a god on earth..

Question 33

The Ubaid period of Sumerian history was characterized by

A)villages sustained by hunting,fishing,and farming.
B)complex city-states with large populations.
C)the strict separation of church and state.
D)a complicated,centralized bureaucracy.
E)the fact that religion played a small role in people's lives.

Question 34

The Iceman's trappings were not just utilitarian.What decorative element distinguished him?

A)tattoos
B)pattern in his woven cloak
C)nose ring
D)finger ring
E)feathers in his hair

Question 35

Which of the following best explains the fact that ancient Egypt left no written law codes?

A)The pharaoh was a god on earth and thus the source of all law and justice.
B)Egyptian society was so unsophisticated that laws were not needed.
C)Ancient Egyptians had no means of writing down their laws.
D)Egyptians were expected to care for themselves without government oversight.
E)Families-not the pharaoh or abstract laws-held final power.

Question 36

As a result of the Amorite invasions and the founding of Babylon,Sumerian civilization

A)was assimilated and preserved by its conquerors.
B)disappeared without a trace.
C)spread into the Nile River valley.
D)had little influence on later Mesopotamian cultures.
E)was united into a single state for the first time.

Question 37

Early Sumerian cities would be best described as

A)uncomfortable and unhealthy.
B)built to last out of stone and fired brick.
C)much less prone to disease than the surrounding countryside.
D)well planned and carefully laid out.
E)small and uncomplicated.

Question 38

The first true city to arise in Mesopotamia,in the fourth millennium B.C.E. ,was

A)Uruk.
B)Akkad.
C)Babylon.
D)Kish.
E)Nippur.

Question 39

The Iceman provided an unusual amount of information about Neolithic man because he

A)was frozen.
B)had been embalmed.
C)was mummified using Egyptian methods.
D)carried documents that were decipherable.
E)had tattooed identification.

Question 40

In 1897 a palette was discovered at Hierakonpolis that

A)provided clues on how Egypt was unified.
B)pictured Narmer as the ruler of a totally unified state.
C)recorded the names of the major Egyptian gods.
D)explained the divisions of the empire.
E)commemorated the victories of Upper Egypt.

Question 41

Which of the following was most influential in drawing early settlers to Mesopotamia?

A)rich soil for cultivation along riverbanks
B)climate featuring heavy rainfall
C)temperate climate throughout the year
D)abundance of minerals for mining
E)plentiful forests for lumbering

Question 42

The domestication of wheat early in history is evidence that

A)humans reshaped the environment by accident as well as intention.
B)plants that were most prolific in the wild were best suited for domestication.
C)humans had little ability to shape their environments.
D)early agriculture had little impact on human culture..
E)agricultural societies change more slowly than hunter-gatherer societies..

Question 43

Sumerian cuneiform was used for writing long after Sumer disappeared because

A)it could be adapted to write almost any language.
B)most Near Eastern peoples,like the Sumerians,spoke Semitic languages.
C)it was a simple and easily learned system.
D)Sumerian papyrus texts were nearly indestructible.
E)Sumerian texts had been written with future generations in mind.

Question 44

What advantage did Egypt have over Sumer as shown by Map 1-2?

A)Egypt was more isolated from invading neighbors.
B)The Nile accessed the Mediterranean whereas Sumer's rivers accessed the Caspian Sea.
C)Egypt had fewer major cities than Sumer.
D)The Nile was longer than the Tigris and Euphrates.
E)Egypt comprised city-states whereas Sumer was unified.

Question 45

What factor helps to explain Egypt becoming politically unified earlier than Mesopotamia?

A)Egypt's climate and geography
B)lack of Mesopotamian natural resources
C)Egyptians' greater religious devotion
D)earlier domestication of plants and animals in Egypt
E)Egypt's lack of natural frontiers

Question 46

Which of the following developments of the Uruk period remained in use throughout the Middle East for centuries?

A)the writing system and cylinder seals
B)literary style
C)hieroglyphics
D)paper-like writing surfaces
E)papyrus and ink

Question 47

Only three rivers are shown on Map 1-1 because

A)Egypt and Sumer would not have developed so early without them.
B)these rivers are no longer part of important areas of human settlement.
C)the other rivers did not have names in antiquity.
D)the other rivers on the map were not navigable.
E)they are the only rivers that ran through deserts.

Question 48

The permanence of the pyramids and the poor state of preservation of ziggurats could be interpreted as evidence of

A)Egyptians' more positive outlook on life and death.
B)Egyptians' superior building skills.
C)Egypt developing as a civilization much later than Sumer.
D)the differences between the Egyptian and Mesopotamian environments.
E)archaeologists' lack of interest in Sumer and attention to Egypt.

Question 49

Which of the following is one reason for undertaking pyramid construction projects?

A)The pyramids demonstrated the pharaoh's power and sophistication.
B)They housed and protected the remains of common people.
C)Conquered peoples and slaves provided cheap labor.
D)The societies used the pyramids for the center of religious ceremonies.
E)The pyramids demarcated pathways through the desert.

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT one of the impacts that primitive societies had on their natural environment?

A)They upset the balance of the waters so that their rivers flooded.
B)They disturbed the state of nature when they began to farm.
C)They drove some species of animals towards extinction.
D)They changed their surroundings by hunting and gathering.
E)They encouraged the proliferation of some animal and plant species.

Question 51

What were scientists NOT able to determine about the Iceman?

A)the use of the items in his pouch
B)the reason for his death
C)his approximate age
D)where he came from
E)what he was wearing

Question 52

Sumerian gods and goddesses would best be described as

A)superhuman in power but very human in personality.
B)the source of Sumerians' strong personal ethics.
C)distant,mysterious and impossible to influence.
D)outside and uninvolved in the natural world.
E)a reflection of Mesopotamia's timeless stability.

Question 53

The variety of materials available to Sumerian artisans is evidence of

A)the importance of long-distance trade to the Sumerian economy.
B)the rich array of natural resources found in Mesopotamia.
C)the strong influence of Egypt over Sumerian culture.
D)how Sumerians made the most of the resources close at hand.
E)the lack of innovation in Sumerian society.

Question 54

What part of the Iceman's equipment is most similar to what a modern Alpine traveler might use?

A)his snowshoes
B)his weapons
C)his clothing
D)his food
E)his first-aid kit