Unit 1 Test

Question 1

Preliterate societies transmitted their culture by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. stone art
b. cave paintings
c. oral traditions
d. detailed genealogies
e. creation myths

Answer 1

d. detailed genealogies

Question 2

What is not meant by culture?

a. shared religious beliefs
b. learned patterns of expression and action
c. material objects such as dwellings, clothing and tools.
d. shared biological characteristics
e. similar values

Answer 2

d. shared biological characteristics

Question 3

The Neolithic era is associated with which of the following?

a. making tools out of materials including metal.
b. making large rock formations like Stonehenge for religious purposes.
c. an agricultural hallmark when people lived in buildings instead of caves.
d. the rise of agriculture.
e. the start of a bilateral trade system.

Answer 3

d. the rise of agriculture

Question 4

Most early human activity centered on

a. gathering food
b. acquiring wealth
c. construction projects
d. entertainment
e. warfare with encroaching clans

Answer 4

a. gathering food

Question 5

The agricultural revolution first occurred in which region?

a. East Asia
b. North America
c. Middle East
d. South Africa
e. Western Europe

Answer 5

a. Middle East

Question 6

The earliest transition to agriculture what characterized by?
A. The advent of specialized tools
B. An increase in tribal warfare between foraging clans.
C. A decrease in desertification in the Sahara in Africa.
D. Increased seed hybridization in the Americas.
E. Increased trade routes in the Mediterranean

Answer 6

A. The advent of specialized tools.

Question 7

Most early agricultural communities had a staple crop based on:
A. Grain or rice
B. Sheep and goats
C. Pumpkins, squash, or gourds
D. Oranges and mushrooms
E. Berries and nuts

Answer 7

A. Grain or rice

Question 8

The religions of farming communities tended to focus on:
A. A sky god or male deity
B. An earth mother or female deity
C. A variety of important gods
D. Nature spirits
E. Moon worship

Answer 8

B. An earth mother or female deity

Question 9

Mesopotamian gods were anthropomorphic; that is, they:
A. Took form as the elements of nature
B. Were imagined to be human like in form and conduct
C. Appeared in the bodies of kings while on earth
D. Were divine and perfect beings
E. Were omniscient

Answer 9

B. Were imagined to be humanlike in form and conduct

Question 10

Cuneiform writing was accomplished by:
A. Incising written symbols in clay
B. Alphabetical arrangement of phonemes
C. Mathematical calculations on the outside of a clay envelope
D. Learning the cuneiform language
E. Implanting reed tips and tokens in clay tablets to make patterns

Answer 10

A. Incising written symbols in clay

Question 11

The culture that developed in Egypt was unique largely because of:
A. Egypt’s interaction with other civilizations
B. Egypt’s natural isolation and essential self-sufficiency
C. Egyptian dominance in metalworking
D. Egypt’s surplus agricultural production and trade
E. Egypt’s large population

Answer 11

B. Egypt’s natural isolation and essential self-sufficiency

Question 12

Fundamental concepts of Egyptian religion were based on:
A. The desires of pharaohs
B. Extending Egyptian control over competing cultures
C. The vision of cosmic order that the physical environment of the Nile Valley evoked.
D. Ideas brought to Egypt from Mesopotamia.
E. Each person’s individual reflection of what god is like

Answer 12

C. The vision of a cosmic order that the physical environment of the Nile Valley evoked.

Question 13

Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley civilizations were all:
A. Based on fertile flood plains and river valleys
B. Made possible by large agricultural surpluses.
C. Derived from an earlier, as yet undiscovered “watershed” civilization
D. Based on beer brewing and female labor
E. Wiped out by a huge drought

Answer 13

A. Based on fertile floodplains and river valleys

Question 14

The region of modern Pakistan which gave birth to the earliest know civilization in the Indian subcontinent is centered on which river?
A. Oxus
B. Ganges
C. Indus
D. Nile

Answer 14

C. Indus

Question 15

Which of the following was probably not one of the components of the “systems failure” that brought down the Indus Valley cities?
A. That the Hakra River system dried up
B. That invaders from the north and east drove out the inhabitants
C. Massive flooring
D. Salinization of farmland
R. Increased erosion

Answer 15

B. That invaders from the north and east drove out the inhabitants

Question 16

The Hyksos were able to conquer Egypt because they had:
A. Horse-drawn chariots carrying archers with composite bows
B. Iron weapons
C. Control of the Nile Delta region, so they could restrict irrigation to Egyptian agriculture
D. Massive armed forces from a consolidated army of the Near east
E. Superior administrative organization

Answer 16

A. Horse-drawn chariots carrying archers with composite bows.

Question 17

Transportation in Western Asia was revolutionized in the Later Bronze Age by the introduction of:
A. Zebra
B. Ox
C. Horses
D. Elephants
E. Wheel

Answer 17

C. Horses

Question 18

The location of the first European civilization to have complex political and social structures was: 
A. southern Greece
B. southwestern Macedonia
C. Island of Crete
D. the island of Malta
E. the hills of Anatolia

Answer 18

C. the island of Crete

Question 19

Although Minoan writing is undeciphered, Minoan artifacts indicate that:
A. they were completely isolated from the Mediterranean world
B. they had widespread trade connections
C. they disliked goods from other lands
D. most Minoans were illiterate
E. they came from Anatolia

Answer 19

B. They had widespread trade connections.

Question 20

The epic poem of Homer, The Iliad, related the story of a war between the Greeks and the hittites, based on the ten year siege and eventual destruction of the city of: 
A. Athens
B. Lydia
C. Hattusha
D. Catal Huyuk
E. Troy

Answer 20

E. Troy

Question 21

The basic tenets of Jewish belief and practice prohibit:
A. Murder, adultery, theft, and lying
B. Banking, trading, and traveling
C. Alcohol consumption, meat eating, and violence
D. Facial hair, pastoralism, and mercantile trade
E. Gambling, moneylending, and begging

Answer 21

A. Murder, adultery, theft, and lying

Question 22

Diaspora refers to the Jews being taken from their homeland to: 
A. Egypt
B. Jordan
C. Syria
D. Anatolia
E. Babylon

Answer 22

E. Babylon

Question 23

The chief opponents of Carthaginian power in the Mediterranean Sea were: 
A. Romans and Greeks
B. Moroccans and Spaniards
C. Israelites and Egyptians
D. Greeks and Persians
E. Tunisians and Libyans

Answer 23

A. Romans and Greeks

Question 24

Loess was:
A. Dust from gold ore, which was used for paint
B. A kind of moss used for fuel
C. A leafy green vegetable used for food
D. A method of spinning silk cocoons
E. A rich dust blown in from Central Asia

Answer 24

E. A rich dust blown in from Central Asia

Question 25

The first writing in China that has survived was: 
A. Etched in animal "oracle" bones
B. Etched in clay tablets
C. Written on paper
D. Inscribed on buildings
E. Etched on a stele

Answer 25

A. Etched in animal “oracle” bones

Question 26

Which of the following is not one of the ways that Confucian philosophy attempts to create societal harmony?
A. By emphasizing the idea that the country is parallel to the family
B. By expanding the traditional feelings of benevolence toward family so that they apply to all of humanity
C. By avoiding violence and promoting justice, loyalty, and integrity
D. By emphasizing the goodness of human nature and seeking to promote it through education, particularly of public officials
E. By emphasizing individual freedoms

Answer 26

E. By emphasizing individual freedoms

Question 27

The concept of yin and yang represented the complementary nature of:
A. Religion and the state in Chinese society
B. Good and evil in Chinese morality
C. Male and female roles in the natural order
D. The wisdom of age and the strength of youth
E. Warrior and emperor in times of trouble

Answer 27

C. Male and female roles in the natural order.

Question 28

The earliest political and economic influence on Nubia was: 
A. Egypt
B. the Sudan
C. Mali
D. Kush
E. Meroe

Answer 28

A. Egypt

Question 29

Which of the following is not a tenet of Zoroastrianism?
A. Belief in one supreme deity
B. Belief that humans would be rewarded or punished in the afterlife for their deeds
C. Belief that the world was created by Ahuramazda
D. The triumph of good over evil
E. Belief in reincarnation of the dead

Answer 29

E. Belief in reincarnation of the dead

Question 30

Although Greece is described as “resource poor” in the chapter, it economically prospered:
A. Through a brisk trade in slaves
B. Because of successful manufacturing
C. By using a large population as a large “service” sector
D. Through access to foreign resources, markets, and ideas
E. By frequently raiding its neighbors

Answer 30

D. Through access to foreign resources, markets, and ideas

Question 31

Which of the following best describes the geography and resources of Ancient Greece? 
A. Numerous islands
B. Limited arable land
C. Many natural harbors
D. Plentiful olives, grapes, and barley
E. All of the above

Answer 31

E. All of the above

Question 32

The emerging middle classes in Greece were constituted by which group of people? 
A. Debt slaves and peasant farmers
B. Craftsmen and merchants
C. Hoplites and teachers
D. Slave traders and fisherman
E. NONE of these!

Answer 32

B. Craftsmen and merchants

You didn’t fall for E, did you?!

Question 33

An oligarchy is a society in which:
A. All landowners participate politically
B. All adult males are allowed to vote
C. A hereditary elite controls the power
D. A monarch has total control
E. The wealthy members of a society have political power

Answer 33

E. the wealthy members of society have political power

Question 34

The Greeks believed that their gods gave advice through:
A. Their sacred literary texts
B. Oracles
C. The king who was directly related to God
D. Shamans
E. Movements of the stars and planets

Answer 34

B. Oracles

Question 35

One of the primary internal rivals to Athenian power in the Greek Empire was: 
A. Sparta
B. Persia
C. Rome
D. Carthage
E. Egypt

Answer 35

A. Sparta

Question 36

The Greek leader who led Athens to a full participatory democracy for all males was: 
A. Pisistratus
B. Pericles
C. Solon
D. Cyrus
E. Draco

Answer 36

B. Pericles

Question 37

Phillip II planned to invade which area before his untimely death? 
A. Carthage
B. Assyria
C. Israel
D. Persia
E. Rome

Answer 37

D. Persia

Question 38

Which of the following is not among the policies used by Alexander the Great to control his vast empire?
A. He encouraged intermarriage to foreign women
B. He maintained the framework of Persian administration
C. He adopted persian customs
D. He established Greek-style cities
E. He promoted local militias

Answer 38

E. He promoted local militias

Question 39

The term Hellenistic Age refers to the:
A. Influence of Asian culture on Greece
B. Political and cultural influence of Greece over foreign subjects in North Africa and western Asia
C. Macedonian Empire during Alexander’s reign
D. Peaceful period within Greece itself
E. Successful rule of Helen of Troy

Answer 39

B. Political and cultural influence of Greece over foreign subjects in North Africa and western Asia

Question 40

Scholars refer to the period 1500 BCE to 200 CE in Mesoamerica as the preclassical period. The most important civilization in this period was the: 
A. Olmec
B. Maya
C. Aztec
D. Anasazi

Answer 40

A. Olmec

Question 41

The Chavin dominated a densely populated region between 900 BCE and 250 BCE that included large areas of : 
A. The Peruvian coastal plain
B. The Andean foothills
C. The southern Brazilian coast
D. a and b
E. b and c

Answer 41

D. A and B

Question 42

Religion in Teotihaucan was: 
A. Polytheistic
B. Monotheistic
C. Christian
D. Secular
E. Atheist

Answer 42

A. Polytheistic