First Civilizations: Cities, States, and Unequal Societies, 3500 B.C.E.

Chapter 2 Summative Quiz

Question

1. Which of the following has been advanced as a possible explanation for the origins of the First Civilizations?

The absence of limits on the amount of land that could be cultivated

The end of the practice of slavery in a region

The emergence of regions where no military elite took shape

The need to organize large-scale irrigation projects

Question

2. The rulers of which First Civilization based their authority on the Mandate of Heaven?

Egypt

China

Olmec

Norte Chico

Question

3. Which of the following is a feature found in some cities in the First Civilizations?

Libraries

Large farms

Sewage system

Theaters

Question

4. Which of the following have scholars advanced as a possible explanation for the emergence of patriarchy in the First Civilizations?

Participation of women in animal-drawn plow-based agriculture

Increased role of women outside the home

Decline in birthrates that accompanied civilization

Emergence of large-scale warfare with professionally led armies

Question

5. Which of the following represents a way that class distinctions were displayed in the First Civilizations?

Naming practices

Manner of a person’s burial

Kinship relations

Women’s submission to men

Question

6. Which of the following is an example of how social class affected gender roles?

Women from the upper classes were expected to stay at home, while women from the lower classes had to go out in public to work.

Women married to wealthy men were forbidden to wear veils, while slaves and prostitutes were required to veil themselves when they went out in public.

Only women from the upper classes worshipped Inanna, a goddess of love, sexuality and war.

Female rulers were portrayed dressed in male clothing and wearing false beards.

Question

7. Which of the following human accomplishments emerged with the First Civilizations?

Agriculture

Village life

Writing

Art

Question

8. Which of the following statements about ancient Egypt is true?

The state was ruled by pharaohs who were believed to be gods in human form.

Cities were more important in Egypt than in Mesopotamia.

The Nile was an unpredictable river whose erratic floods regularly destroyed crops.

Women in Egypt were afforded fewer opportunities than in Mesopotamia.

Question

9. Which of the following is an example of a way that the rulers in the First Civilizations displayed their power?

Writing poetry

Freeing slaves

Constructing temples

Engaging in farmwork

Question

10. Which of the following best describes the Mesopotamian outlook on life and death?

People are caught in an inherently disorderly world without much hope of a blessed life beyond.

The afterlife was accessible to all who followed proper procedures and lived a morally upright life.

Life is full of pain and suffering, but the afterlife will offer eternal happiness and tranquility.

God has already determined those will go to heaven, and nothing people do during their lifetime can change their divinely ordained fate.

Question

11. Which of the following contributed to the declining power of the Egyptian pharaohs by 2400 b.c.e.?

Rivalry over land and water created a number of warring city-states.

Egypt was defeated in a series of wars with invaders from the east.

Egyptian pharaohs adopted a policy of seclusion.

Local officials and nobles assumed greater authority.

Question

12. Which of the following provides evidence of interaction and exchange among the First Civilizations and surrounding regions in the ancient world?

Gunpowder

Horse-drawn chariots

Abacus

Tea