Deck 2: Ancient Societies in Mesopotamia, India, and Central Asia, 5000-600 B.C.E.

Question 1

What does the far reach of the Epic of Gilgamesh suggest?

A) The impact of literature on human societies
B) The necessity of a strong distribution network
C) The human mind's desire to read science fiction

Answer 1

The impact of literature on human societies

Question 2

How did the geographical expanse of the Indus culture of South Asia compare to that of Mesopotamia and Egypt?

A) The Indus culture covered an area larger than that of Mesopotamia, but far less than Egypt.
B) The Indus culture covered an area larger than that of Mesopotamia and Egypt combined.
C) The Indus culture covered an area larger than that of Egypt, but far less than Mesopotamia.

Answer 2

The Indus culture covered an area larger than that of Mesopotamia and Egypt combined.

Question 3

Most Harappan cities existed in the Punjab and Sind provinces, which are located in which modern country?

A) India
B) Pakistan
C) Iran

Answer 3

Pakistan

Question 4

Which of the following rulers ordered the construction of Babylon's storied "hanging gardens"?

A) Tiglath-pileser
B) Hammurabi
C) Nebuchadnezzar

Question 5

Mesopotamians believed in numerous gods and goddesses which means their religion could best be described as what?

A) Dogmatic
B) Polytheistic
C) Deistic

Question 6

Though the Assyrians made several important contributions to human society-such as in architecture and communications-their rule over Mesopotamian peoples is most notably remembered as what?

A) Utopian
B) Benevolent
C) Brutal

Question 7

Which of the following rivers did not contribute to the fertile arable lands of Mesopotamia?

A) Nile
B) Tigris
C) Euphrates

Question 8

Which of the following did urban Harappans of the ancient world enjoy?

A) The first skyscrapers
B) A robust public transportation system
C) An advanced water sanitation system

Question 9

Where did the Harappan cultures develop and thrive?

A) Around the Indus River Valley
B) Along the Tigris River
C) At the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

Question 10

The name "Mesopotamia," meaning "land between the rivers," comes from what language?

A) Assyrian
B) Sumerian
C) Greek

Question 11

Though considerably more complex when analyzing the nearly 300 laws that comprise it, Hammurabi's Code could be described in a word as what?

A) Harsh
B) Lenient
C) Toothless

Question 12

The law of retaliation that reads, in part, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" is just one of which body of laws?

A) The Hebrew laws
B) Hammurabi's Code
C) The Assyrian laws

Question 13

Which city-state did Hammurabi rule?

A) Bahrain
B) Baghdad
C) Babylon

Question 14

Which of the following texts do scholars believe exerted powerful influence over the writing of the book of Genesis?

A) The Epic of Gilgamesh
B) Hammurabi's Code
C) The Bhagavad Gita

Question 15

When did the earliest cuneiform writing emerge?

A) 800 BCE
B) 1600 BCE
C) 3200 BCE

Question 16

When the Hittites sent plague victims into enemy territories, what tactic did they engage in?

A) Biological warfare
B) Humanitarian intervention
C) Psychological warfare

Question 17

In contrast to Mesopotamian society, Harappan men moved into the households of their wives, suggesting which of the following types of social systems?

A) Patriarchy
B) Matriarchy
C) Triarchy

Question 18

Which of the following factors likely led to the decline of Harappan cities by 1700 BCE?

A) Climate change
B) An asteroid
C) The wrath of Shiva

Question 19

Tiglath-pileser administered a large empire controlled by which of the following groups?

A) Hittites
B) Babylonians
C) Assyrians

Question 20

What function did Bahrain Island serve for Mesopotamian societies?

A) As a vacation destination for hard-working Mesopotamians
B) As a hub for trade with western Asian and Indian societies
C) As a neutral space between warring societies

Question 21

What are the Aryan "books of knowledge" called?

A) The Bhagavad Gita
B) The Vedas
C) The Epic of Gilgamesh

Question 22

Why did early cities form near rivers?

Question 23

The Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, the Vaisyas, and the Sudras were part of an Indo-Aryan class structure known as what?

A) The caste system
B) An egalitarian society
C) A four-tiered hierarchy

Question 24

Why were rivers so important to early Mesopotamian settlement?

Question 25

Which modern city is located along the Tigris River?

A) Babylon
B) Baghdad
C) Babel

Question 26

Archaeological evidence uncovered at sites occupied by Harappan peoples revealed toys made of wood and clay, which suggests what possible conclusion?

A) The Harappan peoples did not engage in any productive pursuits.
B) The Harappan peoples embraced leisure time for children.
C) The Harappan peoples pioneered leisure objects for children.

Question 27

What was the relationship between the natural environment and Mesopotamian religion?

Question 28

The Aryans arrived in northwestern India from the present-day countries of Iran, Kazakhstan, and

A) Kurdistan.
B) Pakistan.
C) Turkestan.

Question 29

What is the Mahabharata?

A) The "books of knowledge" that formed the basis of Aryan government.
B) A collection of Aryan oral histories that constitute the world's longest poem.
C) The equivalent of the Christian religion's New Testament in Aryan societies.

Question 30

Why did people move to early cities?

Question 31

Harappan peoples enjoyed a great deal of social, cultural, and political similarities due to what?

A) A single effective ruler who successfully united all peoples
B) Shared appreciation for water and dairy products
C) The easily navigable Indus River and its tributaries

Question 32

Which of the following most accurately describes the origin of Sanskrit?

A) It emerged as a written language in south India.
B) It emerged as a local dialect in Aryan cities.
C) It emerged as a spoken language in north India.

Question 33

Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are important deities in which of the following religions?

A) Hinduism
B) Jainism
C) Buddhism

Question 34

Archaeological evidence uncovered at sites occupied by Harappan peoples revealed few weapons, which suggests what possible conclusion?

A) The Harappan peoples did not rely on hunting for sustenance.
B) The Harappan peoples lacked the necessary technology to make weapons.
C) The Harappan peoples likely engaged in fewer violent confrontations.

Question 35

Which of the following statements is true about the ancient Indians?

A) They celebrated and maintained their culture through a rich historiography.
B) They did not develop a tradition of writing a history of their cultures.
C) They created a rich historiography, which is no longer decipherable.

Question 36

Prior to the writing of the Vedas, how did Aryans preserve their past?

A) Oral tradition
B) Cave paintings
C) Individual memories

Question 37

Which of the following materials did the Harappans export that greatly impacted societies far and wide?

A) Tin
B) Turquoise
C) Cotton

Question 38

In Aryan societies, who was the raja?

A) The keepers of oral histories
B) A tribe's autocratic ruler
C) Democratically elected heads of state

Question 39

What did the Brahmanas and the Upanishads build upon in Hindu literature?

A) The Bhagavad Gita
B) The Hebrew book of Genesis
C) The Vedas

Question 40

Which of the following is true of the frequent flooding that occurred in Mesopotamia?

A) It convinced other cultures to avoid settling in Mesopotamia after other societies vanished.
B) It is directly responsible for the rapid decline of Mesopotamian societies.
C) It provided for the growth of Mesopotamian culture.

Question 41

Why did agriculture allow for greater population density among early societies as compared to hunting and gathering?

A) It totally eradicated the possibility of food shortages.
B) Growing crops provided more protein than hunting.
C) It allowed for more yield per acre than food collected in the wild.

Question 42

How did early cities organize themselves?

Question 43

Why did Hittites develop a legal code?

Question 44

How did Mesopotamian law treat men and women comparatively?

Question 45

What was the most important factor in Assyrian decline?

Question 46

What was the role of trade in the Akkadian empire?

Question 47

How did writing influence early city life?

Question 48

What was the role of women in ancient Sumerian society?

Question 49

How did neo-Babylonian rulers show their power and might?

Question 50

Describe the political geography of ancient Palestine.

Question 51

Why is the Chaldean empire called the "neo-Babylonian" empire?

Question 52

Describe Mesopotamian ideas of justice.

Question 53

What differences were there between the Akkadian empire and other ancient empires?

Question 54

How was the Assyrian army different to and similar to other armies in ancient Mesopotamia?

Question 55

What was the result of new technologies the Hittites developed?

Question 56

The earliest urban civilizations were most often built near what?

A) Coastlines
B) River systems
C) Defensible mountains

Question 57

How did Assyrians govern their empire?

Question 58

What key beliefs underpinned Mesopotamians' worldview?

Question 59

Why was the postal system so important to maintaining the Assyrian empire?

Question 60

How did Hittites govern their territory?

Question 61

Though women enjoyed some rights and privileges, Sumerian society pioneered and followed a social system known as what?

A) Matriarchy
B) Oligarchy
C) Patriarchy

Question 62

What effect did Aryan migration have on ancient South Asians?

Question 63

What importance do the Vedas have in Hindu religions?

Question 64

Describe a typical Harappan city.

Question 65

What are the key principles of Hindu religions?

Question 66

For what purpose did human communities in South Asia interact with one another?

Question 67

How was ancient Hebrew religion similar or different to Mesopotamian religion?

Question 68

Why do scholars refer to "Hindu religions" instead of simply "Hinduism"?

Question 69

How did geography affect human settlement in South Asia?

Question 70

Describe the main story of the Ramayana.

Question 71

Describe the main story of the Mahabharata.

Question 72

How did geography affect human food supplies in ancient South Asia?

Question 73

Sumerians built urban centers surrounded by agricultural lands used to support their populations known as what?

A) Nations
B) City-states
C) Fiefdoms

Question 74

Describe the importance of the Vedas.

Question 75

Could urban life have been possible without rivers? Why or why not?

Question 76

Why do we not know very much about ancient Harappan society and its demise?

Question 77

How did the Indus River affect Harappan communities?

Question 78

Which are the most commonly worshiped gods in Hindu religions?

Question 79

What does archaeological evidence suggest about Harappan technologies?

Question 80

How much do we know about ancient South Asian life and how do we know it?