AP World History Time Period 1-2 Practice Test
Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer choice.
1.
Which of the following belief systems emerged
from political disorder, did not worship a deity, and
remained primarily regional beliefs?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Buddhism and Confucianism.
Buddhism and Hinduism.
Confucianism and Islam.
Judaism and Islam.
Confucianism and Daoism
2. Which of the following is true of both the Roman
Empire and the Gupta Empire?
A. Both had centralized governments with established
infrastructures.
B. Both depended on long-distance maritime trade.
C. Both relied heavily on forced labor.
D. Both were followed by centuries of global rule.
E. Both fell to nomadic tribes pushed in their
direction by migratory Huns.
3.
Which of the following statements draws an
accurate similarity between early agricultural
societies in the Americas and those in the Eastern
Hemisphere?
A. American societies were matriarchal, while those
in the Eastern Hemisphere were patriarchal.
B. Agricultural societies in both hemispheres were
polytheistic.
C. Both groups of societies relied on human muscle
rather than on technology to carry out manual
labor.
D. Societies in the Western Hemisphere relied more
on the flooding patterns of rivers than did those in
the Eastern Hemisphere.
E. Societies in the Americas had larger beasts of
burden than societies in the Eastern Hemisphere
did.
4. During classical times
A. individuals did not travel the full extent of the Silk
Roads.
B. Malay merchants sailed from Southeast Asia to
East Africa.
C. central Asians guarded trade routes but did not
participate in trade themselves.
D. there was a favorable balance of trade between
Rome and China.
E. North Africa was bypassed by Silk Roads trade.
5. Hinduism
A. developed many of its ideas from the Vedas.
B. developed the caste system about the time of the
birth of Jesus.
C. believed that reincarnation could move a person to
only a higher caste.
D. allowed wide mobility between castes.
E. developed its caste system based on economic
status.
6. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity share which of the
following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Belief in Jesus as the Messiah.
Acceptance of Muhammad as a prophet.
The requirement of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Monotheism.
Restrictions on the eating of pork.
7. For what period would archaeologists first begin to
find permanent human settlements?
A. The Paleolithic
B. The Classical Era
C. The Bronze Age
D. The Neolithic
E. The Stone Age
8. Identify the statement that best begins an
explanation of the Neolithic Revolution.
a. In Northern Europe, nomadic hunters began
to produce more complex stone tools.
b. In East Asia, early settlers began using
markings on turtle shells and bones as an early
form of record keeping.
c. In the Middle East, people began to settle in
small communities and practice agriculture.
d. In Mesoamerica, agricultural settlements saw
an expansion of their populations and the
beginning of more complex governments.
AP World History Time Period 1-2 Practice Test
9. What statement best explains the presence of Greek
architectural styles throughout the Middle East and
the Mediterranean?
a. Greek trading empires and the conquests of
Alexander the Great spread Hellenic culture
across these areas.
b. The Romans adopted Hellenic culture and
then spread it to all parts of the empire.
c. The Persian conquest of the Greek city- states
allowed for Greek culture to spread into its
empire.
d. The decline of pre- Classical civilizations
made Greek culture the most attractive to
people living in these regions.
e. None of the above
10. What statement offers the most complete analysis of
the decline of the Han dynasty?
a. Migrations of Germanic people from the
north; lack of citizen participation in
government; unemployment due to excessive
numbers of slaves.
b. Attacks by militarily superior horse- mounted
steppe tribesmen equipped with strong bows;
regional political rivalries taking advantage of
a weak central government; diseases/plagues
devastating the populations of major cities.
c. Attacks by militarily superior horse- mounted
steppe tribesmen equipped with strong bows;
internal revolts due to increased taxes and
weakening central authority; weak emperors
and corrupt bureaucracy.
d. Disruption of trade networks by wellequipped tribesmen from the steppes;
exhaustion of local agricultural lands due to
over farming; decline in the available number
of slaves due to military defeats and slave
revolts.
e. None of the above
11. In the eighth century CE, identify the city that
became the center of trade along the Silk Road?
a. Venice
b. Timbuktu
c. Calicut
d. Baghdad
e. Rome
12. Which technologies are generally thought to have
been acquired by Paleolithic societies?
I. fire
II. stone tools
III. iron
IV. Bronze
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
I
I and II
I, II, and III
I, II, and IV
none of the above
13. What feature typical to most advanced civilizations
did Andean societies lack?
a. Organized religion
b. A written script
c. The ability to domestic animals
d. Agricultural skills
e. Organized social hierarchy
14. Scholars from Gupta India are best known for:
a. Inventing the scientific method
b. Rejecting Hinduism in favor of secular
thought
c. Compiling the text of Bhagavad-Gita
d. Devising the concepts of zero and pi
e. Implementing a system of indoor plumbing
15. How were Carthage and Rome most alike during
the years of their Mediterranean rivalry?
a. Both were governed by aristocratic oligarchies
b. Both were theocratically inclined
c. Both were prosperous naval powers
d. Both were loose confederations of city-states
e. None of the above