1. What may accurately be stated about ancient
agricultural village life?
A. Agriculture was easier than hunting/gathering B. Agriculture facilitated an increased creativity C. It was focused only on agricultural production
CORRECT ANSWER = B
A. Agriculture requires a longer number of hours per year
C. The villages produced many other items in addition to the food supply
2. What was the most pronounced characteristic of
the Neolithic Age?
A. The development of metallurgy B. The incidence of cave paintings C. The genesis of writing
CORRECT ANSWER = D
A. This only occurred after the Neolithic Age
B. Cave paintings had been a previous (Paleolithic Age) development
3. The five river valleys of the eastern hemisphere,
Mexico, and the Andes all share the following
characteristic:
A. Civilization sprang up there simultaneously
B. Innovative primary urbanization occurred there C All developed cities with the help of outside
influences
CORRECT ANSWER = B
A. They sprang up at different times between 3300 B.C.E & 400 C.E.
C. There is no evidence that outside influences were a factor
4. What, in the most far-reaching sense, did the
growth of cities give rise to?
A. The early state B. Slavery
C. The family structure D. Artistic self-expression
CORRECT ANSWER = A
5. What do the earliest excavations of
Mesopotamian pottery reveal?
A. That the Ubaids, not the Sumerians, were the first Mesopotamian inhabitants
B. The Sumerians did build the first irrigation system C. Sargon of Akkad established the original
“world empire”
CORRECT ANSWER = A
B. The Ubaids built the first system
C. This occurred later, and has no connection with the pottery
D. This is not known for sure, and has no connection with the pottery
6. What can be most accurately asserted about
government in Mesopotamia?
A. Centralized authority under one king had been the rule from the beginning
B. The Sumerian city states never united and were constantly warring
C. One can see in it the beginnings of democracy D. The rulers were mainly female
CORRECT ANSWER = B
A. It was not until the time of Sargon that this was true C. It was a class-dominated society, with no democratic
institution
7. What did the canal system bring about as far as
organizational structure was concerned?
A. Limiting the expansion of Sumerian control B. Strengthening the bonds of family kinship C. Disrupting the connection between city and
countryside
D. Bringing about powerful leaders who eventually became kings
CORRECT ANSWER = D
A. It enabled Sumerians to expand southward
B. It extended loyalties to include geographical residence C. To the contrary, these links were strengthened
8. What did the ziggurats most likely signify?
A. The importance of ancient libraries and writing B. The burial places of kings
C. The temporal/supernatural power of the priests D. The city’s military defenses
CORRECT ANSWER = C
A. Libraries seem to have been separate
B. Kings were placed in special tombs, not ziggurats D. Ziggurats had no military function
9. The more sophisticated class structure for
Mesopotamian urban society developed mainly
out of:
A. A military aristocracy B. New specializations C. The largest landowners
CORRECT ANSWER = B
A. This was part of item B
C. They also comprised and element of item B
D. The structures were already in place before these invasions
10. Why is history said to have only begun with the
advent of writing?
A. The ability to think and reason is clearly indicated B. Religious beliefs are first expressed
C. Only through this medium can we directly peoples’ thought & deeds
CORRECT ANSWER = C
A. Ancient artifacts indicate thought processes prior to this
11. The world depicted in the
Epic of Gilgamesh
is
one in which:
A. The gods are seen as kind and nurturing towards humans
B. Misery and sorrow are overcome by happiness and prosperity
C. The hero succeeds in finding everlasting life D. People fear and cringe before their gods
CORRECT ANSWER = D
A. Quite the opposite, the gods are mainly self-centered and callous
B. These are seen as unavoidable in human life C. In the story, he loses his chance
12. What signifies truth, rather than myth, about the
pre-urban agricultural village?
A. The average person enjoyed greater freedoms
B. Without written records, we can be sure of very little C. There were fewer instances of warfare
CORRECT ANSWER = B
A., C. & D cannot be verified because of lack of supporting evidence.
13. The legal
Code of Hammurabi
:
A. Marks the first time that laws were committed to writing
B. Contains penalties for breaking the law that were uniformly applied
C. Prescribes punishments that were relatively mild and easy
CORRECT ANSWER = D
A. Legal codes have been discovered as far back as 21st Century, B.C.E.
B. Severity of penalties depended on the social class of persons involved
C. Many violations carried penalties of death or mutilation
14. One of the negative legacies of the Mesopotamian
city-state was:
A. The inability to forge a system to guarantee unity and peace
B. The inability to initiate economic growth
C. The inability to ignite breakthroughs in art & technology
CORRECT ANSWER = A
B., C. & D. were all significant achievements of the city-states.
15. What, primarily, was the ideal role of a king in
Ancient Mesopotamian society:
A. Keeping written accounts B. Sacrificing to the gods
C. Acting in a dictatorial manner
CORRECT ANSWER = D
A. The scribes mainly undertook this function B. This task was mostly for the priesthood
