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The Western Experience, 8/e

Mortimer Chambers, University of California - Los Angeles
Barbara Hanawalt, Ohio State University
Theodore Rabb, Princeton University
Isser Woloch, Columbia University
Raymond Grew, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The First Civilizations

Multiple Choice


1	The earliest ancestors of humans probably appeared in Africa around
		A)	2,000,000 years ago.
		B)	1,250,000 years ago.
		C)	400,000 years ago.
		D)	40,000 years ago.


2	Early (Old Stone Age) humans did all of the following EXCEPT
		A)	get their food by hunting and gathering.
		B)	divide some types of work between women and men.
		C)	develop pottery and weaving.
		D)	make paintings of wild animals.


3	The agricultural revolution, planting crops and herding animals, had all of the following effects EXCEPT
		A)	supporting a larger population.
		B)	encouraging new skills and specialties.
		C)	necessitating long term planning.
		D)	promoting the concept of male "father" deities.


4	The first agricultural villages appeared in the hills of the Near East because
		A)	the humans with sufficiently advanced brains were only found here.
		B)	the region offered the necessary combination of animals for domestication and vegetables and cereals.
		C)	the area's dry climate necessitated large-scale irrigation projects.
		D)	the hills provided protection from less developed hunting and gathering peoples.


5	The appearance of civilization brought all of the following EXCEPT
		A)	the end to the period of extensive reliance on slavery.
		B)	the creations of laws and legal codes.
		C)	complex social organization based on occupational specialization.
		D)	establishment of priesthoods.


6	The geography of Mesopotamia influenced Sumerian civilization in all the following ways EXCEPT
		A)	the rich alluvial plain supported an abundant agriculture.
		B)	the lack of timber and stone forced it to develop trading to obtain these necessary materials.
		C)	the region's isolation led Sumerians to see themselves as unique.
		D)	vulnerability to floods and invasions created a strain of pessimism in Sumerian thought.


7	After around 2000 b.c., the Babylonian Kingdom established its control over lower Mesopotamia, subduing or destroying the Sumerian city states. The greatest of the Babylonian kings was:
		A)	Sargon the Great.
		B)	Hammurabi.
		C)	Ur-Nammu.
		D)	Amorites.


8	The early Mesopotamians developed all of the following EXCEPT:
		A)	writing.
		B)	mathematics.
		C)	astronomy.
		D)	monotheism.


9	The geography of Egypt influenced Egyptian civilization in all the following ways EXCEPT
		A)	the dependability of the Nile's annual floods and the equability of the climate contributed to Egyptians' optimistic attitudes toward life and death.
		B)	the looming presence of mountains inspired the Egyptians to build great pyramids.
		C)	the narrowness of the Nile valley and the presence of the river running through it contributed to early and strong political centralization.
		D)	Egypt's isolation from other peoples allowed a long, generally unbroken development.


10	All of the following characterized Egypt during the Old Kingdom EXCEPT
		A)	domination of both the government and the economy by a god-king.
		B)	notable political and social stability.
		C)	concept of "right order" reflecting the will of Aton, the supreme sun god.
		D)	a rich literature including religious myths, instructions on how to get ahead, fables, and love poems.


11	The Egyptian New Kingdom, or Empire, strengthened its control over the nobles in order to create a powerful military state that extended its power beyond the Nile Valley into Palestine and Syria. The New Kingdom arose in response to the rule of which people:
		A)	the Hyksos.
		B)	the Hittites.
		C)	the Hebrews.
		D)	the Hellenes.


12	The Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II concluded the first known non-aggression pact with
		A)	the Hittites.
		B)	the Babylonians.
		C)	the Assyrians.
		D)	the Mitanni.


13	All of the following characterized Egyptian society EXCEPT:
		A)	education offered the chance to rise through service in the government hierarchy.
		B)	women had the right to own property, initiate legal action, and enter the priesthood.
		C)	children were valued as security for the future.
		D)	the economic difference between free citizens and slaves was vast.


14	The Phoenicians accomplished all of the following EXCEPT
		A)	establishing a centralized, sea-based colonial empire.
		B)	reportedly sailing around Africa for the first time.
		C)	creating the first phonetic alphabet.
		D)	creating a sophisticate urban civilization.


15	The chief legacies of the Hebrews to Western Civilization were
		A)	traditions of strong tribal monarchy and national unity.
		B)	belief in a single God and ethical laws.
		C)	prophetic traditions of social criticism and moral reform.
		D)	the ideas of women's equality and the rights of children.


16	The Assyrians accomplished all of the following EXCEPT
		A)	unifying the Near East and Egypt for the first time.
		B)	troducing Aramaic as a common language throughout their empire.
		C)	creating magnificent works of art.
		D)	eliminating rebelliousness among subject peoples.


17	The Chaldeans and the Medes
		A)	shared the glory of conquering the Persians.
		B)	left voluminous records of their daily life.
		C)	divided the Mesopotamian territories of the Assyrians.
		D)	cooperated in mammoth astronomical projects.


18	"Indo-European" refers to
		A)	a location in the Indian sub-continent.
		B)	a language group.
		C)	a civilization.
		D)	a racial group.


19	The primary accomplishment of the Persian Empire was to
		A)	promote an expansion of trade amounting to a "commercial revolution."
		B)	unify the Nile, Mesopotamian, and Indus valleys into a single state.
		C)	create the most highly centralized state since the Old Kingdom of Egypt.
		D)	subdue the Greek city-states around the Aegean Sea.

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