AP World History
Multiple Choice Questions
8000-600 C.E.
Cities differed from Neolithic villages in two
principal ways. Firstly, cities were larger and
more complex than Neolithic villages. Secondly,
__________________________________.
A. cities served the needs of their inhabitants
and immediate neighbors
B. cities decisively influenced the economic,
political and cultural life of large regions
C. cities were less advanced militarily
D. cities had populations in the thousands
E. cities had protective deities
Answer: B
Which of the following was not true of
nomadic groups?
A) Nomadic societies were patriarchal
B) They had some social hierarchy
C) Most of the themes of nomadic art
centered on their animals
D) Nomadic societies had little positive
influence on settled peoples
E) Nomadic societies engaged in peaceful
trade.
Answer: D
What happened in western Europe after the fall of
the Roman Empire was similar to what
occurred in (sorry about the syntax)
a) Byzantium after the end of the Eastern Empire
b) China after the fall of the Han
c) Japan after the end of the Tokugawa
Shogunate
d) The Holy Land after the unsuccessful
Crusades ended
e) The Andes when the Spanish ousted the Inca
Answer: B
A major influence on the development of
western Europe was
a) The movement of the Mongols
b) Attila’s advance against Rome
c) The spread of Islam into Spain by the
Moors
d) The pressure put on Germanic peoples
by the movement of the Huns
e) The emergence of a unified Frankish
kingdom.
Answer: D
Which of the following statements is an accurate
description of both Buddhism and Hinduism?
a) The caste system was an outgrowth of
Hinduism but became identified also with
Buddhism.
b) Neither religion placed importance on the
individual’s efforts to seek release from rebirth.
c) Nirvana was a major aspect of the belief
system of both Buddhism and Hinduism.
d) Both religions taught the importance of karma
in affecting a person’s fate.
e) Buddhism made use of formal rituals, but
Hinduism did not.
Answer: D
The Mandate of Heaven governed the
relationship between the ruler and the
ruled in
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
China
Japan
France
Ghana
Russia
Answer: A
Monasticism was an important aspect of
which two of the following religions?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Islam and Buddhism
Buddhism and Christianity
Daoism and Shintoism
Hinduism and Buddhism
Christianity and Hinduism
Answer: B
Which of the following was not a characteristic of
early settled agricultural communities?
a) A fertility goddess as an important element in
religious worship
b) The division of labor and the development of
specialized skills
c) Cooperative public works projects
d) Equal status for men and women
e) The development of immunity to contagious
diseases over time.
Answer: D
“And what, O priests, is the noble truth of the path leading
to the cessation of misery? It is…right belief, right
resolve, right speech, right behavior, right occupation,
right effort, right contemplation, right concentration.”
These words describe a teaching of which religion?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Judaism
Hinduism
Christianity
Buddhism
Islam
Answer: D
A characteristic that the Shang Chinese
shared with Egyptian civilization was the
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Principle of the mandate of heaven
Lack of a social hierarchy
Development of a writing system
Ancestor worship
Development of walled settlements to
defend against invaders.
Answer: C
Which of the following is true of both the Han
Empire and the Gupta Empire?
a) Both empires had long-established traditions of
dynastic rule.
b) Both were overrun by Germanic tribes in their
declining years.
c) Both empires were characterized by religious
unity.
d) Both saw a number of technological advances
e) Both chose administrators on the basis of
extensive examination systems.
Answer: D
The Buddhist social order included
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Strict adherence to patriarchal authority
Opposition to caste systems
Well-defined gender-role distinctions
Emphasis on well-educated rulers
Veneration for one’s ancestors
Answer: B
Which of the following lived after the other
four?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Confucius
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
Jesus Christ
Aristotle
Laozi (Lao-Tzu)
Answer: C
Which of the following pairs of religions uses
images to represent its deity?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Hinduism and Christianity
Judaism and Christianity
Confucianism and Buddhism
Islam and Christianity
Islam and Hinduism
Answer: A
Which major language family arose as a
result of migrations beginning in central
Asia and spreading to Europe?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Indo-European
Romance
Germanic
Sino-Tibetan
Semitic
Answer: A
Which of the great religious systems below
were characterized by monotheism
combined with a sacred text and a strong
missionary thrust?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Buddhism and Christianity
Buddhism and Hinduism
Christianity and Judaism
Christianity and Islam
Islam and Judaism
Answer: D
Which of the following is true of both the Roman Empire
and the Han Empire?
a)
b)
Both empires were heavily dependent on slave labor.
Both empires were characterized by long periods of
effective centralized government.
c) In both empires extensive maritime trade was
important.
d) In both empires administrative officials were selected
by an elaborate system of competitive examinations.
e) Both empires were ruled by wealthy merchant elites.
Answer: B
All of the following were part of the
Confucian social order except
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Loyalty to the ruler
Filial obedience to one’s father
Respect for the old
Chastity by wives
Chastity by husbands
Answer: E
Which of the following lived about one
thousand years after the other four?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Socrates
Confucius
Muhammad
Laozi (Lao-Tzu)
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
Answer: C
Which of the following characterizes trade
between the Roman Empire and India
during the first two centuries C.E.?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Rome to India
Silver and gold
Tools and weapons
Horses
Textiles
Tools and weapons
India to Rome
Pepper
Silver and gold
Wheat
Silver and gold
Wine and olive oil
Answer: A
Judaism, Christianity and Islam share which of the
following?
a) They are polytheistic religions
b) They recognize the divine nature of certain
prophets.
c) They revere both Mecca and Jerusalem as
pilgrimage sites
d) They recognize the existence of Adam and
Moses.
e) They share the Talmud and the Gospels as
sacred texts.
Answer: D
The lessons of the late Han China and the late
Roman empires are that the decline of a
civilization, whether temporary or permanent,
A. is not simply the result of attack by outside
invaders.
B. follows inevitably from centralized,
unrepresentative government
C. results from undue dependence on slavery
D. results from social rebellion in which the poor
attack the rich and tear down their institutions
E. results from a lack of religious conviction
Answer: A
With the collapse in political order after the fall of
the Han empire
A. Confucianism became much more popular
B. Christianity became one of the most important
religions in China
C. Daoism and Buddhism became much more
popular
D. Hindu thought began to have a profoundly
important influence in China
E. religions of every variety were persecuted and
suppressed
Answer: C
The phrase pater familias refers to
A. the patriarchal nature of the Roman family
B. the prolonged period of peace and stability
beginning with the reign of Augustus
C. the concept of Jesus of Nazareth's
relationship to his god
D. the position of Jupiter as the king of the
Roman gods
E. the central role of the Roman emperor in
running the state
Answer: A
The school of philosophical thought which
was in the end responsible for the
unification of China was
A. Confucianism
B. Draconianism
C. Daoism
D. Legalism
E. Neo-Confucianism
Answer: D
The fundamental doctrine of Buddhism was
known as the
A. Second Triad
B. Ahimsa Path
C. Four Noble Truths
D. Three Principles of the People
E. Path of Reincarnation
Answer: C
The Greeks used the word polis to refer to
A. the concept of excessive pride
B. the city-state
C. the notion of loyalty to the central
government
D. the pursuit of truth
E. barbarians
Answer: B
The political world of the ancient Greeks
A. achieved unification under Pericles
B. was a history of early, long-lasting
centralized government
C. stabilized after the conquest by Persia
D. was very similar to that of Egypt
E. usually consisted of independent,
autonomous city-states
Answer: E
The first society of Mesoamerica, which
founded traditions followed by all later
societies, were the
A. Maya
B. Olmecs
C. Teotihuacan
D. Mochica
E. Aztecs
Answer: B
By 5000 B.C.E. the Mesoamericans had
discovered the agricultural potential of
__________, which ultimately became the
staple food of the region.
A. maize
B. squash
C. beans
D. wheat
E. barley
Answer: A
In regards to family structure, the
__________ retained much more
influence in China than in other lands.
A. extended family
B. nuclear family
C. matriarchal structure
D. cult of Isis
E. slaves
Answer: A
In Hinduism the highest goal of the individual soul
was
A. to follow the Four Noble Truths
B. to escape the cycle of birth and rebirth and
enter into permanent union with Brahman
C. to enter into permanent union with Indra and
thus escape the cycle of permanent rebirth
D. to fulfill the individual's special destiny as
spelled out in the process of predestination
E. to perform sati
Answer: B
The earliest known civilization in India was
the
A. Bantu
B. Indo-European
C. Harappan
D. Sumerian
E. Hindu
Answer: C
All of the following statements are true in
relation to the Harappan society EXCEPT
A. most of their houses featured private
showers and toilets
B. they traded extensively with the
Mesopotamians
C. they had social distinctions
D. their writings have provided a wealth of
information for historians
E. they produced representational art
Answer: D
The Bantu originally came from around
A. the Swahili area
B. modern day Nigeria
C. far southern Africa
D. Egypt
E. modern day Algeria
Answer: B
The Bantu probably began their migrations
because of
A. invasions from the Mediterranean basin
B. a conscious desire for conquest
C. the threat of epidemic disease
D. a desire to spread their monotheistic
faith
E. population pressures
Answer: E
In which of the following societies did
women enjoy the most freedom and
opportunity?
A. Mesopotamia
B. Egypt
C. Hebrews
D. Assyria
E. India
Answer: B
The first simplified alphabet, containing only
22 letters, was created by the
A. Mesopotamians
B. Assyrians
C. Hebrews
D. Phoenicians
E. Babylonians
Answer: D
Ethical monotheism was in the tradition of
the
A. Mesopotamians
B. Egyptians
C. Assyrians
D. Hebrews
E. Phoenicians
Answer: D
The Mesopotamian style of writing was
known as
A. demotic
B. cuneiform
C. hieroglyphics
D. Coptic
E. alphabetic
Answer: B
In Mesopotamia, prisoners of war, convicted
criminals, and heavily indebted individuals
were the three main sources for
A. slaves
B. indentured servants
C. dependent clients
D. mercenary soldiers
E. indentured priests
Answer: A