1. An anthropologist investigating the principal characteristic that separates “old stone age”
communities of the paleolithic era from communities of Homo sapiens beginning ca. 12,000 B.C.E.
would most likely study which of the following events?
A. the transition from exclusive hunting and gathering of food sources to mixed agriculture
and hunting and foraging as food sources
B. the transition from exclusively fishing in rivers, lakes, and along coastlines to deep sea
whaling as a primary food source
C. the transition from primary reliance on agriculture as a food source to hunting and foraging as
food sources
D. the transition from a primary reliance on fishing and gathering as food sources to dependence on
hunting large animals and occasionally cannibalism
2. Two key differences between neolithic villages and towns and the early cities that began to emerge in
the Euphrates and Tigris River valleys ca. 4000–3500 B.C.E. would include which of the following
factors?
A. Cities were overrun by nomadic bands whose warriors, in turn, enslaved the inhabitants of
the cities and then sold them into slavery in foreign lands.
B. Cities were larger and more complex than neolithic settlements and decisively influenced the
political, cultural, and economic life of large regions.
C. Cities were soon seen as only religious or cult centers, and inhabitants of early cities
dispersed and instead lived again in small villages.
D. Early cities grew so quickly that demands on local food sources and wood for construction and
heating purposes led to overpopulation and forced many city dwellers to abandon the cities and
revert to hunter-foraging lifestyles.
3.
A.
B.
C.
The three most important neolithic craft industries included
iron smelting, wood carvings, and cave paintings to help preserve age-old religious rituals.
basket weaving, and textile and tool production to help fill tombs for the afterlife.
pottery production, textile production, and metalworking to help preserve, use, and create
products for agriculture.
D. basket weaving, animal skin tanning, and obsidian tool production to help butcher animals and
carry berries.
4. A historian researching the origins of core beliefs shared by Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
would most likely use which of the following sources?
A. Commentaries on the stories, traditions, and religious expectations in the epic poems the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana
B. Commentaries on the oral traditions that are the basis for the gender roles and patriarchy found in
the Lawbook of Manu
C. Commentaries on the doctrines of dharma and nirvana as essential to reincarnation to a higher level
D. Commentaries on syncretism, the fusing of different gods into one entity that resulted in a shift from
polytheism to monotheism
5. Which factor did NOT contribute to significant growth in Harappan trade networks ca. 2000 BCE?
A. Artisans in the Harappan city-states produced items like pottery, tools, and decorative items that
where traded throughout the Indus valley.
B. Gold, silver, copper, lead, gems, and semi-precious stones were obtained by trading Harappan goods
to neighboring peoples in Persia and central Asia.
C. Harappan traders offered Indian copper, ivory, beads, and semiprecious stones in exchange for
Sumerian wool, leather, and olive oil, using water and perhaps land trading routes.
D. Harappan city=states were conquered by Aryan migrants who crossed the Himalayas and added the
Harappan lands to the Aryan Empire, trading cattle and horses for Harappan goods.
6. Which of the following BEST characterizes the geography and climate of the Indus River valley ca.
3000-2500 BCE?
A. The valley was a desert and the Indus River itself ran dry every year due to low rainfall amounts,
making any agricultural use of the limited amount of arable land problematic.
B. The Indus River experienced seasonal rises when rain melted in the mountains to the north and west,
causing the river to change course frequently over an extensive flood plain, but rains were infrequent.
C. Glacier melt water from the Himalayas and Hindu Kush Mountains provided a steady, dependable
supply of water all year, and the Indus River seldom flooed or changed course.
D. Lush jungles covered the entire Indus River valley and annual precipitation in the valley was
significant throughout the year, filling a series of lakes in the mountainous terrain.
7. The migration of Chinese people from the Yellow River (Huang He) valley and adjoining lands in the
the Yangzi River valley to the south during the second and first millennia BCE enabled what change
in agricultural practices?
A. The moist, subtropical climate, construction of paddy fields, and the planting of new rice varieties
allowed for the production of two crops of rice per year.
B. The monsoon cycle, domestication of water buffalo, and development of overland trade routes
enabled extensive importation of wheat form the north countryside to large southern Chinese cities.
C. Horses were found to thrive in the plains south of the Yangzi River, so little agriculture developed in
south China, with migrants leading a semi-nomadic lifestyle.
D. The arid, Mediterranean-type climate allowed for the planting of olive groves and importation of
olive press technology form Greece allowed for significant olive oil production.
8. Which of the following would be the least useful source for research regarding the role of patriarchy
in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou cultures?
A. Scrolls explaining how ancient Chinese people believed that the passing of the spirits of their dead
relatives into another plane of existence
B. Accounts of how the absence of organized religion in ancient China demanded that the lead family
member preside over ceremonies of remembrance honoring the departed in the absence of a priest
C. Correspondence between Chinese rulers and the rulers of Korea and Japan regarding shamanism and
how those cultures treated the dead and what beliefs they had about the afterlife.
D. Descriptions of how ancient Chinese people tended the graves and memories of departed family
members, assuring that their spirits were honored and remembered.
9. Which of the following statements BEST characterizes the 3,000 year relationship between Chinese
cultivators and their nomadic pastoralist neighbors?
A. In good times, nomads and cultivators traded for goods each side needed. In bad times, nomads
attached Chinese cities.
B. Cultivators and nomads created a peaceful symbiotic relationship based on mutual trade
C. There was constant warfare between the nomads and the farmers of China because neither group
saw a need for the other, and both wanted the land of the other.
D. Because of their superior war technologies, the Chinese dynasties routinely subjugated the nomads
until the nomads became relatively powerless fringe groups.
10. Which factor did NOT contribute to issues of land distribution and tillage in ca. 100 BCE Han
China?
A. Debts to moneylenders, high taxes, and unpredictable harvests required small landowners to sell their
land for artificially low prices or even turn the land over to pay off debts, forcing them to become
tenant farmers.
B. Some large landowners brought in slaves to farm their lands, thus cutting their production costs and
forcing small landowners who could not compete to sell their land and become tenants or sometimes
sell themselves or their family members into slavery.
C. The influx of migrants from the modern lands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, who brought
their distinctive culture and agricultural practices to China, resulting in a shortage of arable land to
feed the growing population.
D. Large landowners had accumulated significant political power and government officials were
unwilling to intervene and protect the interest of small landowners for fear of alienating the wealthy
landlord class.
11. Which of the following describes a major change in the settlement and creation of exchange in
Oceania ca. 3000 BCE?
A. Austronesian peoples migrated from central Asia as part of the Indo-Aryan migrations, spreading
that culture to southeast Asia
B. Austronesian peoples colonized Korea, Japan, and parts of Siberia, where their descendants were the
Turkish and Mongol peoples who subsequently created great Eurasian empires.
C. Austronesian peoples developed a civilization similar to that found in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro,
suggesting some connection between the two regions via Indian Ocean trade routes.
D. Austronesian peoples developed superior seafaring skill, with the use of outrigger canoes and
navigation using natural indicators to safely move people and goods from island to island.
12. What factor did NOT contribute to the institution of slavery in ancient Persia?
A. Some slaves in the Persian empires were enemy soldiers captured in warfare or were citizens from
conquered lands.
B. Some slaves were captures by slave traders along the northern steppe froneiters as well as in African
lands south of Egypt – particularly Nubians
C. Some slaves were formerly free people who became indebted to moneylenders when they took out
loans to finance small businesses and, when unable to repay their debts, were enslaved.
D. Some slaves were formerly small farmers who had to borrow money to pay for seeds, tools or food
and were then unable to repay their loans when large-scale cultivators forced them off their lands.
13. An art historian researching the location and time frame for the earliest known development of
pottery would most likely use pottery shards from which of the following as a resource?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
the Olmec society located in modern-day Peru from ca. 10,000 B.C.E.
the Jomon society located in
central Japan from ca. 10,000 B.C.E.
the Zhou society located in modern-day India from ca. 10,000 B.C.E.
the proto Bantu societies located in modern-day Sudan from ca. 10,000 B.C.E.
The information below applies to the questions that follow.
Origins and Early Spread of Agriculture
14. The first cultivation of the food crops taro, yams, coconut, breadfruit, banana, and citrus fruits
occurred in and spread from which of these world areas after 9000 B.C.E.?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Andean South America
Sudanic Africa
southeast Asia
Mesoamerica
15. Why do scholars believe that patriarchy and urbanization are linked?
A. Intensive agriculture required more children for a future labor force, giving women less time and
energy for heavy agricultural work.
B. Land wealth required men to control the reproductive cycle of women in order to ensure the lineage
of family members.
C. Increased militarization of agricultural societies, especially in places that were prone to
D. invasion, led to a decline in women’s status as pregnancy and child rearing kept women from being
soldiers.
E. All of the above
16. How did the growth in trade and industry enhance the caste system?
A. The craft or trade guilds functioned as subcastes, or jati, who organized courts, resolved differences,
and discipline guild members.
B. The Vaishya and Shudra castes became very wealthy as trade and industry brought prosperity
C. Because mandatory donations were expected, Brahmins used offerings to the gods to create wealth,
something that cemented their strong standing in society.
D. Although wealth was frowned upon, members of the higher castes reached a compromise wherein
someone could pay for salvation in order to become reincarnated as higher caste member while still
alive. This ensured that wealth was congregated at the top and that high caste members also
controlled the region’s wealth.
17. Which of the following developments in the Harappan cultural zone in the period ca. 330 BCE
BEST explains why archaeologists have a very limited understanding of gender roles in that time
period?
A. Quipu, a mnemonic memory aid system that used bundles of different colors, lengths, and widths of
cord to help bureaucratic recall census and tax information
B. A pictographic writing system that used illustrations and written symbols that has not been
deciphered by modern linguists
C. An alphabet, a writing system that used glyphs to represent sounds and phrases
D. Hieroglyphics, a writing system that was based on wedged shaped graphics that were recorded on
papyrus rolls
18. The development of fire technology by Homo erectus had which cultural results that separate Homo
erectusfrom earlier hominids?
A. Fire was used to clear prairies to prepare for organized early agriculture and to smoke fish
and game.
B. Fire was used to harden glazed pottery, make it watertight, and more resistant to rodents.
C. Fire was used to cook food, fend off predatory animals, and provide heat in cold environments.
D. Fire was used to smelt metal that was then fashioned into more sophisticated iron tools and
weapons.
19.
A.
B.
C.
D.
The Upanishads are most similar to which of the following?
Analects
Sharia
Ten Commandments
New Testament
20. Which of the BEST characterizes a central element in the diversification of the Indian economy ca.
600 BCE?
A. The invasion of India by the armies of Alexander of Macedon who brought a variety of new crops
and domesticated animals to the continent
B. Indo-Aryan settlement patterns fused with those of earlier inhabitants, resulting in a growth of many
cities producing specialized goods to be exchanged along extensive trade networks.
C. The efforts of Emperor Ashoka to support Buddhism, as many of the early adherents of that religion
were merchants who visited foreign lands and built networks of exchange
D. Expansion of the Kushan empire from Central Asia into northern India, bringing large herds of
horses that were fitted with specialized collars to maximize their use for farming
21. Patriarchy in India
A. Was developed by the Aryans as a response or reaction to the Dravidians.
B. Had already developed in Aryan society ty the time they arrived in India; and as time passed,
patriarchy stood alongside the caste system as a prominent feature of society.
C. Was flexible so that other people were incorporated into the upper levels of society.
D. Allowed for female participation in religious rituals and ceremonies, particularly those having to
do with the fertility cults
22. Early Jainism and early Buddhism were similar in approaches to monasticism in all of the following
ways EXCEPT which of these?
A. Both Buddhist and Jain monasteries offered an established, formal curriculum and educational
institutions, unlike the earlier informal education method of a sage and his followers following
less established rules.
B. At some of the Buddhist and Jain monasteries, not only were sectarian beliefs studied, but Vedas,
logic, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine were also explored.
C. Some of the monasteries became so famous that they attracted students and travelers from lands
outside of India to study the Buddhist doctrine and practices.
D. Monastic institutions were exclusively inhabited by high caste converted to either Jainism or
Buddhism form Hinduism Nestroian hcristianity, or Islam and lower caste convers were
excluded from monastic life.
23. Why were people in the Indian subcontinent drawn to Buddhism and Jainism?
A. They offered a more serene and removed reality. Men and women could choose to become monks
and nuns and live in peaceful solitude.
B. They offered lower castes religious traditions that did not recognize the importance of social
hierarchies
C. Nonviolence appealed to both Buddhists and Jains, with Buddhists sometimes sweeping the ground
before walking on it so not to injure living thing.
D. They offered salvation to people who were poor and lonely.
24. All of the following influenced Harappan society and may have contributed to its decline EXCEPT
A. Topsoil erosion that made some lands less productive in the Nile valley in Egypt, the Euphrates and
Tigris river valleys in Mesopotamia, and the Indus valley inhabited by the Harappan.
B. Deforestation of the Nile valley in Egypt, the Euphrates and Tigris river valleys in Mesopotamia, and
the Indus valley inhabited by the Harappan.
C. Possible earth quakes in the Nile valley in Egypt, the Euphrates and Tigris river valleys in
Mesopotamia, and the Indus valley inhabited by the Harappan.
D. Nomadic invasions by maritime raiders, possibly decimating the inhabitants of the Nile valley in
Egypt, the Euphrates and Tigris river valleys in Mesopotamia, and the Indus valley inhabited by the
Harappan.
25. Each of the following influenced Han imperial expansion into northern Vietnam and Korea ca 125
BCE during the reign of Emperor Han Wudi EXCEPT
A. Both Korea and northern Vietnam soon were absorbed into Han culture, with the populations soon
adopting Chinese as their national languages.
B. Both Korea and northern Vietnam were ruled through a Chinese-style bureaucracy.
C. In both Korea and northern Vietnam, Confucian social values were adopted under the eye of
occupying troops.
D. In the following centuries, both Koreas and northern Vietnamese people were schooled under a
Confucian-influenced educational system.
26. Which of the following did NOT contribute to Emperor Han Wudi’s eventual defeat of the Xiongnu
people, situating them in a tributary relationship with the Han?
A. Repeated outbreaks of bubonic plague killed large numbers of the nomadic Xiongnu and disease
broke the power of the steppe peoples foever.
B. Settlements of Han Chinese people were dispated to oasis communities in central Asia, providing
food for occupying military forces.
C. Large armies of Han Chinese were dispatched into central Asia and the northern borderlands to
punish the Xiongnu for raids on Chinese farms and towns.
D. Permanent fortified settlements were established along a long, narrow strip of central Asia, separating
the Xiongnu from trade netowrks that reached into India, perisa, and southwest Asia.
27. Which factor did NOT contribute to the Shang destruction of the Xia dynasty and their allies ca.
1765 BCE?
A. The Shang leaders had access to horses and horse-drawn chariots that gave them an advantage of
the Xi and their allies, who did not successfully implement chariot technology.
B. An alliance was formed with Korea and Japanese leaders who supplied mercenary armies to
assist the Shang in their war against the Xia and their allies.
C. Shang rulers maintained a monopoly over sources of the ally bronze, thus controlling the
production of bronze weapon; potential rebels had no access to these new, desirable weapons.
D. Bronze metallurgy techniques were improve d by the Shang, who mass-produced bronze
weapons to fight the Xia and their allies who only had bone, wood, and stone weapons.
28. Why was metallurgy considered a critical craft that rulers sought to extend exclusive control over?
A. Bronze and iron technology could yield important farming tools which kings wanted to monopolize
in order to stay in the peasants’ good graces
B. Monopolization over bronze and iron ensured that only the ruler had strong weapons needed to
control the population
C. Control over bronze and iron was critical to maintain a strong centralized government because
innovatiosn could only originate from one place – the ruler ?????? 7.3 #6
D. Control over bronze and iron technology allowed rulers to give valuable gifts to their vassals, thus
ensuring their continued loyalty
29. All of the following were factors contributing to the expansion in Greek colonization ca. 800–500
B.C.E. in the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins EXCEPT
A. the mountainous terrain on the Greek mainland and on many Aegean islands made communication
and trade between city-states difficult.
B. the soil quality on the Greek mainland and Aegean islands was rocky and generally quite infertile, and
rainfall was unpredictable, making it difficult to produce sufficient food supplies.
C. the population of the Greek lands was increasing quickly, outstripping the ability of the city-states to
find enough jobs for all residents.
D. inhabitants of the Greek mainland and Aegean islands found it impossible to produce enough olives
and olive oil to meet their needs.
30. A historian researching the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle would be most likely to utilize
biographies of
A. Greek philosophers.
B. Greek dramatists.
C. Greek architects.
D. Greek generals.
31. The Athenian leader Solon left a lasting impression on his city-state by
A. forging a compromise between aristocrats and commoners that gave both a voice in governing the
polis.
B. urging Athenians to go to war against Sparta, thus launching the Peloponnesian War.
C. creating a system of public education that ensured that Athens became the educator of Greece.
D. creating a system of military service that all members of society adopted.
32. All of the following statements are true of territory held by the Achaemenid and Seleucid empires
EXCEPT
A. both empires had land borders with Indian kingdoms that demanded deployment of military
forces to protect that frontier.
B. both empires were able to control the Greek city-states and exploit their resources, as well as
those of their Mediterranean and Black Sea colonies.
C. both empires enjoyed access to Indian Ocean and Red Sea ports, providing maritime Silk Road
routes for networks of exchange
D. both empires were able to dominate Mesopotamia and control the agricultural and
manufacturing resources of that region.
33.
A.
B.
C.
D.
IN ancient Greece, all of the following are true EXCEPT that
Some slaves were Greeks forced to sell themselves into slavery in order to settle their debts
Some slaves were low-caste Indians who arrived at Greek markets wia the Achaemenid empire
Some slaves were Nubians enslaved by Egyptians and sold to Greek purchasers
Some slaves were other Greeks or foreigners captured during wartime
34.
A.
B.
C.
D.
The term prehistory refers to the period before
Writing
The first hominid
The appearance of Homo sapiens
1000 BCE
35. Which of the following changes BEST justifies the claim that the period 431–404 B.C.E. marked a
turning point in Athenian history?
A. The Emperor Darius occupied parts of the Greek mainland after having bribed some Athenian
leaders to support his expansion of the Achaemenid empire.
B. The Persian Wars were fought between Sparta (serving as an ally of the Achaemenid empire) and the
Athenians (supported by Etruscan mercenaries).
C. When the Peloponnesian War occurred, Athens’s reputation as the intellectual and moral leader of
Greeks everywhere was damaged by tactics used by the Athenian leaders in their quest to defeat the
Spartans.
D. The invasion of Athens by the Macedonian King Phillip reduced the Athenians to tributaries of his
expanding kingdom.