House: Name:

Date:

Period:

Level I

  1. The transformation that was most responsible for moving humans toward civilization was the
  1. Smelting of metals such as copper
  2. Growth of towns and cities
  3. Rise of agriculture
  4. Rise of specialized classes
  1. The emergence of sedentary agriculture
  1. Occurred simultaneously in various places and spread around the world.
  2. Began only in the savannas of West Africa.
  3. Began in the Middle East first, but developed independently in other areas.
  4. Arose in the river valleys of the Huanghe and Yangtze
  1. Which of the following is NOT considered to have developed from or been accelerated by cuneiform and other types of writing?
  1. Facilitation of the keeping of commercial records
  2. The organization of elaborate of political structures
  3. Formalized legal systems
  4. The reduction in social stratification
  1. As early civilizations began to emerge, the creation of agricultural surpluses resulted in
  1. Heightened social inequalities
  2. An industrial revolution
  3. Increased travel among agriculturalists
  4. A lack of social stratification
  1. Most human societies in the Paleolithic Age consisted of
  1. Urbanized civilzations
  2. Small groups of hunters and gatherers
  3. Sedentary agricultural groups
  4. Cave-dwelling bands

Level II

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond argues that the invention of agriculture was the worst thing that ever happened to humanity. What are three arguments that he makes to support his thesis?

Argument 1:

Argument 2:

Argument 3:

In Back of History: The Story of our Own Origins, William Howells argues that the invention of agriculture was a positive development for humanity. What are three arguments that he makes to support his thesis?’’

Argument 1:

Argument 2:

Argument 3:

Level III

  1. All of the following factors may have led to the adoption of sedentary agriculture:
  1. Less labor was required for sedentary agriculture than for hunting and gathering.
  2. Climatic changes leading to changes in the grazing locations of game animals
  3. Climatic changes leading to changes in plant ecology
  4. An increase in human population
  1. In comparison to the position of women in hunting-and-gathering societies, the social status of women in sedentary agricultural communities
  1. Stayed about the same
  2. Allowed them to monopolize the religious and political elites
  3. Declined
  4. Improved
  1. Combinations of the ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction are referred to as
  1. Culture
  2. Society
  3. Civilization
  4. Social stratification
  1. Which of the following was NOT a transformation associated with the 4th millennium B.C.E. (4000 to 3000 B.C.E.)?
  1. Increased use of the plow
  2. Widespread use of chariots
  3. Use of bronze for weapons
  4. The development of writing

Level IV

  1. During the Neolithic Revolution, agriculture was tied to social change in which of the following ways?
  1. agricultural surpluses led to an early form of socialism in which the extra food was allowed equally to each family.
  2. agriculture required more work leaving little time to spare on art and literature.
  3. agricultural productivity encouraged social stratification and the formation of elites based on political and religious groups.
  4. agricultural productivity discouraged occupation specialization.
  1. How did the actions of the Nile River influence some of the distinctive characteristics in Egyptian civilization?
  1. The river’s unpredictable nature encouraged a fatalistic perspective.
  2. Devastating floods forced the creation of dikes and irrigation networks that eventually spread throughout the region, encouraging the creation of a regional empire.
  3. The river’s ecosystem became the primary inspiration for the Egyptian religious pantheon.
  4. Predictable flood surges encouraged an optimistic perspective and facilitated political consolidation.
  1. The legal codes developed during this time period such as the Code of Hammurabi
  1. Dissolved existing social hierarchies
  2. Contained new religious beliefs
  3. Helped unify the region under a central political state
  4. Were considered to be literature and were therefore open to interpretation.
  1. Systems of recordkeeping such as cuneiform, hieroglyphs, pictographs, and alphabets
  1. Arose independently of each other
  2. Provided civilizations with economic and cultural ways to disseminate information
  3. Were only used for a short amount of time
  4. Are relied upon to organize social structure

Level V

Epic of Gilgamesh / Book of Exodus
“who had stood in the place of gods like Anu [King of the gods] and Enlil [God of the sky], stood now like servants to fetch baked meats in the house of dust, to carry cooked meat and cold water from the waterskin.’ / “And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.”
  1. After reading the excerpts from Mesopotamia (Gilgamesh) in 2000 BCE and the Hebrews (Book of Exodus) in 900 BCE what can you infer about the two societies and their belief systems?
  1. Mesopotamian society put more emphasis on the belief in many gods, whereas the Hebrew’s focus was on a single god.
  2. Both societies developed belief systems focused on the worship of one single god.
  3. The Hebrews put more emphasis on the belief in many gods, whereas the Mesopotamian’s focus was on a single god.
  4. Both societies rejected the notion of any spiritual higher power.

C. Mesopotamian society put more emphasis on the belief in many gods, whereas the Hebrew’s focus was on a single god

15. Identify the following civilizations on the map.

  1. Nile Valley
  2. Chinese/Shang Dynasty
  3. Indus Valley
  4. Olmec
  5. Mesopotamia
  1. Which of the following geographical advantages were shared by Egypt and Mesopotamia?
  2. Large deposits of stone
  3. Gradual rise of floodwaters with yearly rise of silt
  4. Access to water for irrigation
  5. Borders protected by natural geographic barriers.

17. What is diffusion?

  1. The spread of foods, trade goods, concepts, norms, practices, and inventions among different peoples.
  2. The assimilation of a minority ethnic group.
  3. The splitting of cultures into multiple parts or varieties
  4. The conquering of one civilization by a much more powerful one

Level VI

18. The development of writing led to all of the following advantages for a more complex society EXCEPT

A. Centralized records of tax payments, land ownership and contracts

B. Centralized rule and enforcement of government regulations

C.Empowered peasant villages

D.Increased body of knowledge passed from one generation to another

19. The earliest known civilization in India was the

  1. Hindu
  2. Bantu
  3. Indo-European
  4. Harrapan

20. One of the main innovative ideas in Hammurabi’s law code was that
A. Anyone who spoke against the king would be executed.
B. The ruler’s will is to be followed at all costs.
C. The lower classes were to have special privileges.
D. A consistent set of regulations should govern society

. Which of the following terms would describe Egyptian religion?

  1. Monotheistic
  2. Polytheistic
  3. Agnostic
  4. Atheistic