CULTURE II
August 2014 Exam's Questions & Answers
Edited by : Ahmed Hassan El-Bishly
Unit 1 Questions & answers
Complete:
1- ( Humans / early settlers ) set themselves apart from other creatures when they learned
to control ( fire ) and when they picked up ( stones ) for use as ( weapons ) and tools .
2- The period when tools were made mainly of stone is known as the ( Stone Age ) .
3- At this stage farming techniques were ( premature / primitive ) .
4- The most common corps planted were ( wheat ) and ( barley ) .
5- When the early settlers moved from one place to another, the land they left behind
became ( barren ) .
Answer the following questions :
1- What is the main characteristic of the Stone Age ?
- The main characteristic of the Stone Age is that stone was the basic material from which
most tools and weapons were made by man then.
2- Give examples of tools that were used in the old Stone Age.
- Tools used were mainly made of stone such as; axes, hammers, needles and knives .
Unit 2 Questions & answers
Answer the following questions:
1- When did the Bronze Age start?
- The Bronze Age started when immigrants arrived to the British isles from central Europe ,
they enhanced the Britons' skills of refining metal (which was copper then) and made them
mix tin with copper to get a harder metal which is ( Bronze ) .
2- How was Bronze better than Stone?
- Stone is a soft material if compared to Bronze, Bronze doesn't shatter like stone, bronze
blades can be sharpened, bronze can be melted and poured into molds to get the exact
shape you want. You can make armour out of bronze while you can't with stone, Bronze
farming tools is also more appropriate.
3- Give examples of the materials and weapons during the Bronze Age.
- The arrows, swords, spikes, round barrows etc. Pottery tools like pottery jars, buckles, and
brooches made from gold, bronze cups, daggers, adornments made from stones, necklaces
made from precious material etc.
4- How did life change in Britain during the Bronze Age?
- People learned to live with better living standards in the Bronze Age and the community that
existed at the beginning of the Neolithic Age became extinct as the society became more
modern.
Unit 3 Questions & answers
Answer the following questions:
1- How did the eastern peoples arrive to Britain?
- These eastern peoples arrived to Britain in little boats made of a tree cut hollow. They
moved slowly up the rivers and the valleys till they settled.
2- What did they do then?
- They started digging for iron and making iron swords and spears with which they pushed
back the men with bronze. They became proper farmers, turning the earth instead of only
scratching it.
3- Did they make use of their sheep wool?
- Yes, they did. Some of these settlers learned how to make clothes of wool. Raising sheep in
numbers was known for long time ago. Naturally, the inhabitants tended to make use of its
wool as the previously did with animals skin .
4- Did they stop using clay? Justify your answer.
- No, they didn't. Rough pots and plates and bowls were also made. They were shaped with
hand, not with the wheel that potters use today.
5- How did they move their carts while farming?
- There were wooden carts pulled by oxen for farming and for taking things to the next village
to sell. Other carts, pulled by horses, were used in war.
6- What is the name by which the people of the later Iron Age are known?
- They were known as " The Celts " .
7- What do you know about Stonehenge? Write a brief account.
- The Celts had put up great stones, several times their own height, to form circles. They
used these stone circles, which were without roofs, as temples in which to pray to the sun
and stars. One of these stone circles can still be seen today. It is called Stonehenge. The
remains of this temple are still surviving, and people come from all over the world to visit it.
Recently, the remains were chosen to be one of the new world wonders.
Unit 4 Questions & answers
Answer the following questions:
1- What did the Romans bring with them?
- They brought a great civilization and an unmatchable technology to Britain.
2- Give examples of the Roman weapons that surpassed the Celtic ones and formed
their military force.
- The Roman weapons were far better than the Celtic ones, they had a good swords, spears
and several machines to throw missiles such as the Manu-ballista and the Onager. Their
armour was also superior, they had the chain mail armour and the heavy armour which was
made of overlapping iron plates. The Romans brought pre-fabricated forts with them and
reconstructed them on the British isles.
3- How did the Romans move their army force across the hills and mountains of
Britain?
- They moved their army force quickly through tremendous roads. These roads go in
straight lines for miles over the rolling hills. The Romans managed to build their roads in the
right direction by using an instrument called the Groma.
4- The Romans were smart and intelligent. How did they send messages to distant
areas?
- The Romans had clever signaling systems:
1- An alphabetic system was used based on two groups of five flags, allowed them to send
messages letter by letter, which is similar to the telegraph system that was invented later.
2- A coded system that sends only one of a dozen fixed messages written in a code book.
The book was used with a water clock that both sender and receiver had.
5- Was the Roman technology entirely concerned with military action? Justify.
- The Roman technology was not entirely concerned with military action, because they
brought a whole new way of life with them which included food and bathing customs.
6- Were the Britons happy about this?
- Certainly they were glad to be introduced to a new, modern and luxurious lifestyle.
7- Explain the difference between the Celts and the Romans in taking their daily meal.
- Celtic meal had probably been a one-pot meal, such as a mess to be shared by the
household, but the Romans introduced the three-course meal.
8- Why were the Romans keen on bathing?
- The Romans were keen on bathing, but bathing was for pleasure and recreation, rather than
for keeping clean.
9- What did they use?
- To clean off the dirt they went through a hot room in the baths, like a sauna or a Turkish
bath, and then rubbed oil on their skin, and scraped off the mucky mixture of oil, sweat, and
dirt, using a curved metal scraper called a strigil.
10- Give examples on the Roman wheel.
- The Romans invented the Waterwheel and it was used to pump up water out of the earth.
They also invented the Odometer to measure the distance traveled along a road. It is
sometimes engaged to a cogwheel and a calculus.
Unit 5 Questions & Answers
Complete:
1- The Anglo-Saxons ruled England for ( 600 ) years, forming the basis of its ( culture ) ,
( language ) and ( borders ) .
2- By the ninth century, the country was divided into ( four ) kingdoms : ( Nothumbria ),
( Mercia ), ( Wessex ) and ( East Angelia ) .
3- The term Anglo-Saxons refers to ( settlers ) from the ( German ) regions of ( Angela )
and ( Saxony ) .
4- The roman armies withdrew from Britain early in the ( fifth ) ( century ) .
5- After the departure of the Romans, the ( Jutes ) and the ( Frisians ) from ( Denmark )
were settling in the British isles .
6- The Anglo Saxon rule lasted for ( 600 ) years, from ( 410 ) to ( 1066 ), and in that time
Britain's people political landscape underwent ( many ) ( changes ) .
7- The Anglo-Saxon era is also referred as ( the ) ( Dark ) ( Ages ) .
8- The Anglo-Saxons were ( pagans ) as they worshipped ( Gods ) of ( nature ) .
9- ( Slavery ) was one of the biggest commercial enterprises of Dark Age life .
10- The ( robe ) or ( tunic ) was the common garment for man, meanwhile the ( robe ) or
( dress ) was for woman and the usual materials were ( linen ) and ( wool ) .
11- In war the common weapons were ( spears ) and ( shields ), only the nobility used
( swords ) and ( hilts ) .
12- The favorite past times of the Dark Ages were ( dice ) and ( board ) ( games ) such as
( chess ), ( riddles ) . ( horse racing ) and ( hunting ) were also popular .
13- At feast the most common entertainment were the ( harp ), ( juggling balls ) and (
knives ).
14- Industrial pottery production started to make a come-back in ( later Saxon ) period with
the growth of ( the monasteries ) and the ( settlements ) that accompanied them .
15- The Vikings came mainly from ( Denmark ) and ( Norway ) .
16- ( Thirty ) years of Danish raids on the ( east ) ( coast ) of England preceded the arrival
of a ( great )( army ) in ( 865 ) .
Give reasons for the following :
1- The Roman armies withdrew from Britain. (Two reasons)
- The Roman armies withdrew from Britain early in the fifth century because they were
needed back home to defend the crumbling center of the Empire. Britain was considered a
far outpost of little value.
2- One became a slave in the Dark Ages. (Four reasons)
- One could have the bad luck to be born a slave, of course. Beyond that, war was the most
frequent source of slaves (war prisoners). People could also become slaves if they were
unable to pay a fine or a debt. In some cases a family would sell a child into slavery in time of
famine to ensure the child's survival.
3- Slavery was not necessarily a lifetime sentence. (Three reasons)
- A slave could be ransomed by his or her relatives or granted freedom in an owner's will. If a
person became a slave because they were unable to pay a debt, they might be freed when
the value of their labor reached the value of the original debt.
4- A great army of Danish fighters came after thirty years of Danish raids. (One reason)
- Thirty years of Danish raids on the east coast of England preceded the arrival of a great
army in 865 equipped for a complete conquest rather than quick booty. The Danish invaders
consolidated each year's gains by establishing a secure base from which they could continue
a campaign of harassment - which invariably ended with the settled English buying peace
from their footloose tormentors.
5- An important act was to establish the beginning of an English fleet. (One reason)
- It was an important act because the Danes drew much of their strength from their swift
Viking long ships.
6- Horses and oxen were raised in great numbers. (One reason)
- Horses and oxen were raised for heavy farm labour and transportation.
7- Early Saxon pottery saw a return to pre-Roman technology. (Two reasons)
- Because the potter's wheel is largely abandoned in favor of hand building techniques as
people used only few pots every few weeks, and they tend to make pots for their own use
rather than industrial or economic purposes.
8- The Anglo-Saxon king Alfred was accorded the title " The Great " .
- King Alfred earned this heroic status because of his great efforts resisting Danish
domination. King Alfred's central achievement is the quarter-century of struggle which
followed his victory over the Danes at Ashdown in 871. One of his first acts was to establish
the beginnings of an English fleet in order to face the Danish naval force which represented
in their swift Viking long ships. Moreover, King Alfred ordered the making of the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle. Also he encouraged education and translation, improved his kingdom's legal
system, military structure and his people's quality of life.
Write a brief account on the following:
1- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a year by year account for all the major events of the time of
the Anglo-Saxons. It describes the rise and fall of bishops and kings and the important battles
of the period. It is worth noticing that this account was ordered by king Alfred The Great.
2- The coexistence between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes on the British isles.
- In the 860s, instead of raids, the Danes mounted a full scale invasion on Britain. by 865 an
enlarged army arrived to make a complete conquest. Only the Kingdom of Wessex was able
to survive. In May 878 king Alfred The Great put together an army which defeated the Vikings
in the Battle of Edington. The Vikings retreated to their stronghold, and Alfred laid siege to it.
Ultimately the Danes surrendered and agreed to withdraw from Wessex. There followed a
peace treaty between Alfred and the Danes in 868 (Treaty of Wedmore ) , which set the basis
for coexistence between the Anglo-Saxons in the south and west and Danes in the north and
east of the country.
3- The difference between the Roman and the Anglo-Saxon pottery.
- The Romans introduced the pottery wheel to the British people which was an advanced
pottery technology that enriched the pottery industry and the economy as well. By the time of
the Anglo-Saxons the pottery wheel was largely abandoned in favor of hand building
techniques when only a few pots are required every few weeks. So, people tended to make
pots for their own use rather than industrial and economic purposes. The industrial pottery
production starts to make a comeback in the later Anglo-Saxon period with the growth of the
monasteries and the settlements that accompanied them.
4- King Alfred The Great.
- King Alfred was the only king of England to be accorded the title "The Great". His great
efforts resisting Danish domination is a valid basis for his heroic status. His authority derived
from his successes against the Danes. One of his first acts was to establish the beginnings of
an English fleet in order to face the Danish naval force which represented in their swift Viking
long ships. Moreover, King Alfred ordered the making of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Also he
encouraged education and translation, improved his kingdom's legal system, military
structure and his people's quality of life.
Unit 6 Questions & Answers
Complete:
1- Coins were valued only for their ( weight ) in ( silver ) or ( gold ).
2- Precious metals were also a symbol of ( wealth ) and ( power ).
3- Far and away from the British isles, the most common metal in the economy was ( silver).
4- Silver circulated in the form of ( bars ) as well as in the form of ( jewellery ) and
(ornaments).
5- The Vikings demonstrated their ( wealth ) and ( status ) by wearing ( beautiful jewellery )
or by having expensively ( ornamented weapons ).
6- The main ( Anglo-Saxon ) kingdoms each had their own ( coinage ).
7- The ( wealth ) of the Anglo-Saxon England was probably one of the main causes of the
Viking expansion.
8- Payments continued to be primarily based on the ( total )( weight ) and ( quality ) of the
silver.
9- Most of the early Viking coin types were ( imitation ) of ( Anglo-Saxon ) ones.
10- The Vikings were not just ( raiders ) but ( farmers ),( traders ) and ( settlers ).
11- The standard Viking Age house was ( rectangular ) and had ( one )( room ) in which
everything took place around a ( central hearth ).
12- The Viking house was the same type in both ( rural )( settlements ) and ( towns ).
13- Some women made their ( mark ) through ( exceptional ) status or achievement.
14- The ( keys ) with which many women were buried symbolize their ( responsibility for )
and ( control over ) the household.
15- A ( fisherman ) might bring fish for his family.( Herring ) and ( Cod ) from the nets are
handed over along with some ( Shellfish ).
16- In Scandinavia, the Vikings used to sacrifice ( horses ) to the ( old )( Gods ).
( horsemeat ) was roasted like kebab and served as usual evening feast meal.
17- ( Horns ) were used instead of cups for drinks.
18- Spoons were made from ( wood ), ( horn ), or ( animal )( bones ).
19- The Viking children listens to their father's ( stories of heroism ) and ( legends ) as
bedtime stories.
20- History tells of ( events ), ( places ) and ( important )( people ) . But for the details of
everyday life, we depend on ( archeological )( evidence ) from ( excavations ).
21- Men were usually buried with their ( weapons ) such as ( swords ),( spears ),( shields )
and sometimes ( blacksmith )( tools ) such as ( hammers ).
22- Meanwhile women were usually buried with ( iron )( sickles ) with which they harvested
the ( flax ) for making ( linen ) ; ( iron )( heckles ) or ( combs ) with which they straightened
the ( fibers ), and ( stone )( discs ) or ( whorls ) that weighted the wooden spindle for
( spinning ) the fibers into ( threads ).
23- Typical Scandinavian artifacts like ( oval brooches ) and ( whalebone )( plaques ) and
( ornate swords ) can be found throughout the Viking world.
Give reasons for the following:
1- Some foreign coins came to the British isles.
- Some foreign coins came to the British isles as a result of trading contacts both with
Western Europe and the Islamic world to the east.
2- It was possible to have a precise system of trade and exchange even without a
regular coinage.
- Because traders carried small scales which could measure precious metals' weight very
accurately.
3- Both in England and on the Continent, native rulers paid the Viking raiders.
- Thy paid the Viking raiders to leave them in peace. The idea of "Danes geld" is a policy of
paying the Vikings rather than fighting them. "Making peace" was a polite expression for
'paying them to go away'.
4- Adopting coinage.
- The reasons for adopting coinage were probably political and cultural as much as
economic. First for political reasons; they wanted their kings to be remembered on coins.
Second for cultural reasons; the Vikings looked at the more civilized peoples they had
invaded, and wanted to be like them. Finally for economic reasons because coinage is a
system of trade and exchange in which the coins were valued for their weight and purity,
what is known as "bullion economy". Issuing coins was one of the established rights
associated with Christian kingship in Europe in the early Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxons
themselves had adopted coinage as soon as they converted to Christianity, and the Vikings
did just the same.
5- The Viking took their families with them when they moved from Scandinavia.
- Because they weren't just raiders, but farmers, traders and settlers.
6- The Viking women were not dressed alike.
- Because they belonged to three different social classes. The slave class, the yeoman class
and the aristocratic class.
7- The Viking pagan graves are particularly useful for archaeologists.
- Because the bodies were fully dressed and accompanied by personal belongings, some of
which indicate important activities of the living. Pagan graves provide plentiful archaeological
evidence for early Scandinavian settlements in England and Scotland.
Write a brief account on the following:
1- The bullion economy.
- A bullion economy is a system in which the weight and the purity of the precious metal are
what is important, not what form the metal takes. Traders carried small scales which could
measure weight very accurately, so it was possible to have a very precise system of trade
and exchange even without a regular coinage.
2- The Dane Geld.
- The Dane geld was a payment made by the English to the Danes to keep them from
invading rather than fighting them. The payment was raised through a Dane geld tax.
Although the Danes had been bought off before, the Dane geld was a special agreement
made by Ethelred II; payments began in 991 and continued until 1016.
3- The link between issuing coins and Christian kingship.
- The link between issuing coins and Christian kingship is clear in the coinage of Viking rulers
in England. The coins struck in Viking held England, called 'the Danelaw, The designs were
not all exclusively Christian, however, which suggests some religious toleration. Many have
the Christian cross, and some carry Christian inscriptions.
4- The Viking food and preservation techniques.
- Without freezers the Viking family has to take special measures to stop their food going
bad. Meat and fish can be smoked or rubbed with salt. Fruit can be dried; grains are made
into bread or ale. Dairy produce such as milk is made into cheese. Cooking the meat will
make it last a little longer, making sausages will make it last longer still.
5- The Vikings styles of settlement.
- There is a contrast between the essentially rural pattern of Norwegian settlement in
Scotland, with its individual farms and family estates. Timber buildings set in plots of equal
size suggest a degree of town planning, while the debris from workshops tells of urban
industries. The standard Viking Age house was rectangular and had just one room, in which
everything took place around a central hearth.
Unit 7 Questions & Answers
Complete:
1- The ( Dark )( Ages ) preceded the Middle Ages.
2- The Middle Ages are so called as it covers the period between the ( fall ) of the Roman
empire and the ( Renaissance ).
3- The Middle Ages are also referred to as the ( Medieval )( Era ).
4- The life of all classes was dominated by the ( Feudal )( System ) in the Middle Ages.
5- ( Jobs ) and ( occupations ) dedicated the quality of life during the Middle Ages.
6- A ( Troubadour ) is a writer or singer of lyric in Europe in the times between the 11th and
13th centuries.
7- A ( Minstrel ) is the singer, musician or reciter who traveled around to give performances.
8- ( Christianity ) and ( Church ) played an important role in the society of the Medieval Era.
9- The pilgrimages are ( journeys ) to ( sacred places ).
10- The ( Knight Templar ), the ( Teutonic Knights ) and the ( Hospitallers ) emerged
during the crusades and got a special training .
11- Two types of armed men appeared in Medieval times these are; ( Knights ) and ( foot )
( soldiers ).
12- An ( archer ) is someone who uses the bow and the arrow.
13- The ( Broadsword ), ( Falchion ), ( Great Sword ) and ( Long Sword ) are types of
Medieval weapons.
14- The ( Ballista ), ( Catapult ), ( Mangonel ) and ( Battering ram ) are types of Medieval
machine weapons.
15- Architecture is about ( evolution ) not ( revolution ).
16- The Romano-British culture included ( architecture ) along with ( language ),
( religion ),( political )( organization ) and ( arts ).
17- The Anglo-Saxon buildings were made of ( wood ).
18- The underlying ethos of Medieval architecture was ( fitness ) for ( purpose ).
19- Castles were ( functional ) buildings rather than ( ornament ).
20- Clothing and fashion like everything else were dictated by the ( Feudal )( System ).
21- Dressing indicated the ( status ) of the person wearing them.
Give reasons for the following:
1- Since the Norman conquest in 1066 till 1485 the times were referred to as
the Middle Ages.
- The Middle Ages are so called as the middle period between the decline of the Roman
Empire and the Renaissance. The Middle Ages are also referred to as the Medieval era.
2- The Anglo-Saxon buildings style didn't survive for long.
- The Anglo-Saxon building style didn't survive for long because the vast majority of AngloSaxon buildings were made of wood.
3- The period from 1066 to 1485 marks a flourishing era in the British architecture.
- Because the underlying ethos of medieval architecture was 'fitness for purpose'. The great
cathedrals and parish churches were not only acts of devotion in stone; they were also
fiercely functional buildings. Castles served their particular purpose and their battlements and
turrets were for use rather than ornament. The rambling manor houses of the later Middle
Ages, however, were primarily homes, their owners achieving respect and maintaining status
by their hospitality and good lordship rather than the grandeur of their buildings.
4- The pyramid of power shaped the British society of the Middle Ages.
- The life of all the classes was dominated by the Feudal System. It affected the general daily
Life; the daily life of a noble lord, a knight, a noblewoman, a peasant, a peasant woman, a
monk and a nun. Middle Ages clothing and fashion like everything else was dictated by the
Pyramid of Power which was the Middle Ages Feudal System. Medieval clothes provided
information about the status of the person wearing them.