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Chapter 1: Early Civilizations
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. To the peoples of the ancient world, the characteristic manifestations of civilizationgovernment,
literature, science, and artwere necessarily products of:
a. rural life.
b. city life.
c. religious life.
d. the Ice Age.
e. nomadic life.
ANS: B
KEY: I

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 4

OBJ: Applied

2. Human cultures down to the fourth millennium B.C.E. are referred to as belonging to the Stone Age
because they:
a. made most of their tools out of stone.
b. built urban structures primarily with stone.
c. used rocks and stones as weapons.
d. lived in caves.
e. all of these
ANS: A
KEY: II, B

DIF: Easy

REF: page 4

OBJ: Factual

3. Although many prehistoric settlements are known, one of the earliest of these in modern-day Turkey
is:
a. Jericho.
b. Ur.
c. atalhyk.
d. Memphis.
e. Lagash.
ANS: C
KEY: II, A

DIF: Easy

REF: page 4

OBJ: Factual

4. Although hominid existence extends back millennia, human civilization extends back only to
approximately:
a. 13,000 B.C.E.
b. 8000 B.C.E.
c. 5000 B.C.E.
d. 3000 B.C.E.
e. 1000 B.C.E.
ANS: D
KEY: I

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 4

OBJ: Factual

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5. The earliest ancestors of human beings who used stone to make tools originated in Africa
approximately _________ years ago.
a. 7 million
b. 5 million
c. 2 million
d. 750,000
e. 200,000
ANS: B
KEY: II, B, 1

DIF: Easy

REF: page 4

OBJ: Factual

6. Cave paintings, such as those found in Lascaux, France, are evidence of:
a. development of a stratified society.
b. development of permanent settlement.
c. development of language as well as religious and artistic ideas.
d. development of a priestly class.
e. development of an artistic class.
ANS: C
KEY: II, B, 2

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 5

OBJ: Conceptual

7. Before 11,000 B.C.E., virtually all human societies were:

a. engaged in settled agriculture to produce crop surpluses for the gods.
b. able to use metal tools for arts, crafts, and building.
c. using men to do the hunting and women the gathering.
d. nomadic, moving incessantly in search of limited food.
e. settled in agricultural communities.
ANS: D
KEY: II, B, 2

DIF: Easy

REF: page 5

OBJ: Factual

8. Since human beings in the Paleolithic period had no domestic animals:

a. great disparities developed in individual wealth.
b. they could be easily ruled by tribal kings.
c. they practiced a policy of divide, defeat, and conquer.
d. they had no significant wealth beyond what they could carry.
e. they used wild animals as beasts of burden.
ANS: D
KEY: II, B, 2

DIF: Easy

REF: page 5

OBJ: Factual

9. The switch from subsistence by food gathering to food production:

a. required people to give up their faith in storm and wind gods.
b. was a momentous revolution that made stable settlements possible.
c. meant that women were no longer part of the labor force.
d. prohibited raising domestic animals as livestock.
e. all of these
ANS: B
KEY: II, C, 1

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 5

OBJ: Conceptual

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10. Although the Neolithic Revolution occurred over a period of several thousand years, it represents a
revolutionary shift in the way human beings:
a. conceived of and constructed their art.
b. migrated between the Near East and southern Europe.
c. disposed of their dead.
d. built religious shrines and worshiped their gods.
e. acquired the food necessary for their survival.
ANS: E
KEY: II, C, 1

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 5

OBJ: Applied

11. Jericho, one of the worlds oldest villages, emerged as a seasonal settlement around:
a. 11,500 B.C.E.
b. 9500 B.C.E.
c. 7500 B.C.E.
d. 5500 B.C.E.
e. 3500 B.C.E.
ANS: B
KEY: II, C, 2

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 6

OBJ: Factual

12. Why was life expectancy in early cities shorter than among nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples?
a. The carbohydrate-rich diet was less nutritious, and cramped housing in the cities resulted
in increased chance of accident, smoke inhalation from fires, and increased exposure to
infectious diseases.
b. The success of the cities and their stored supplies of food attracted attack from outside,
chiefly by nomadic peoples.
c. The process of in-home burial led to an increase in contagious disease.
d. Food was often portioned out according to social class and sex, resulting in an inadequate
diet for women and the poor.
e. all of these
ANS: A
KEY: II, C, 2

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 7

OBJ: Applied

13. The initial shift from village to city inhabitation took place in Mesopotamia, known to the Greeks as
The Land between Rivers and to modern historians as:
a. Israel.
b. Akkad.
c. Jericho.
d. Egypt.
e. Sumer.
ANS: E
KEY: III, A

DIF: Easy

REF: page 8

OBJ: Factual

14. Why was Sumer an uninviting environment for the first cities?
a. The area has no natural defenses.
b. The soil is infertile and the rivers flood unpredictably.
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c. The marshy land between the rivers was fertile breeding ground for malaria and other
deadly diseases.
d. The rivers are largely unnavigable during long periods of the year, making trade difficult.
e. The region has no forests for timber or usable stone to quarry for building materials.
ANS: B
KEY: III, A

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 8

OBJ: Applied

15. Which of the following was an important element in the development of early settlements?
a. the development of coinage to make the exchange of goods easier
b. the standardization of burial practices throughout the Near and Middle East
c. the discovery made during the last Little Ice Age of freezing to preserve food
d. the establishment of first local, and then long-distance, trade routes throughout the Near
East
e. the emergence of hereditary kingship
ANS: D
KEY: II, C, 3

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 8

OBJ: Applied

16. Although early writing was produced using pointed sticks, Sumerian scribes c. 3100 B.C.E. advanced
writing with durable reeds that:
a. almost anyone could use to produce simple documents.
b. allowed the production of clay tablets without costly baking.
c. were exclusively used by the priest class.
d. produced wedge-like script called cuneiform.
e. could be used to eat with as well as write.
ANS: D
KEY: III, B

DIF: Easy

REF: page 10

OBJ: Factual

17. Tens of thousands of Sumerian clay tablets have survived:

a. but unfortunately the key to the language has not.
b. documenting the United Sumerian empire, which lasted from 2900 to 2500 B.C.E.
c. telling us more about Sumer than we know about any other human society at the time.
d. probably because the Sumerians kept them in special underground archives.
e. but all deal with priestly class and reveal nothing about Sumerian society.
ANS: C
DIF: Moderate
KEY: III, B | III, C

REF: page 10

OBJ: Applied

18. Temples were central to Sumerian city life because:

a. they controlled a large proportion of land.
b. they employed the largest number of men, women, and children.
c. they dominated local and foreign trade.
d. all of these
e. they controlled the economy through ownership of warehouses.
ANS: D
KEY: III, C, 1

DIF: Difficult

REF: page 10

OBJ: Conceptual

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19. The common religion of the Sumerians:
a. was an early form of monotheism that influenced other peoples.
b. required city-states to settle their differences peacefully.
c. guaranteed free food for the poorest members of society.
d. included many gods, with a different god worshiped in each city-state.
e. was the only aspect of Sumerian society which survived the societys collapse.
ANS: D
KEY: III, C, 1

DIF: Difficult

REF: page 10

OBJ: Factual

20. Slavery in Sumerian society was:

a. based on the color of a persons skin.
b. strictly forbidden by the Code of Hammurabi.
c. unknown.
d. perpetual, with no chance for the slaves to gain their freedom.
e. usually the result of capture during war and limited in some ways.
ANS: E
KEY: III, C, 1

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 11

OBJ: Factual

21. An individual who successfully led the city-states army in battles was:
a. known as a tyrant and feared by freedom-loving citizens.
b. able to acquire prestige and power as a lugal (big man).
c. associated with distant countries where the gods supposedly lived.
d. watched by priests to see if he had magical powers of government.
e. allowed by the gods to carouse with the wives and daughters of the nobles.
ANS: B
KEY: III, C, 1

DIF: Easy

REF: page 11

OBJ: Factual

22. The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered the worlds first great literary masterpiece, and:
a. historians have an exact version of the story as it was read in ancient Sumer.
b. the work relates the adventures of a king of Uruk in ancient Sumer.
c. the story tells us more about ancient Persian society than it does about ancient Sumer.
d. the epic is largely derived from stories in the Hebrew Bible.
e. The work tells the story of a simple Akkadian farmer.
ANS: B
KEY: III, C, 1

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 12

OBJ: Factual

23. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the dramatic confrontation between Gilgamesh and Enkidu and its aftermath,
illustrates:
a. that a powerful lugal owes no allegiance to the gods.
b. that rural life is superior to urban life and civilization.
c. that the Sumerians felt a deep distrust toward the natural world.
d. that the Sumerians believed that the gods would reward those who did their bidding.
e. that some Sumerians did not believe in gods and goddesses.
ANS: C
KEY: III, C, 1

DIF: Difficult

REF: page 14

OBJ: Conceptual

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24. Shortly before 3000 B.C.E., people in the Near East discovered that bronze could be produced by:
a. applying advances in Sumerian mathematics and astronomy.
b. heating copper to extremely high temperatures in pottery furnaces.
c. combining copper with iron.
d. combining copper metal with arsenic or tin.
e. combining iron and tin or arsenic.
ANS: D
KEY: III, C, 3

DIF: Easy

REF: page 14

OBJ: Factual

25. The Sumerian rulers may be viewed as the first rulers in history to claim to rule:
a. by force of personality.
b. by common consent of the ruled.
c. by right of conquest.
d. by election.
e. by divine right.
ANS: E
KEY: III, C, 2

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 14

OBJ: Applied

26. Ur grew in power under Shulgi, who expanded all of the following except:
a. continued military conquests.
b. continued development of commerce.
c. increasing the amount of tribute to be paid by newly subject peoples.
d. centralizing governmental functions.
e. the establishment of a center for artistic development in Akkad.
ANS: E
KEY: III, C, 4, b

DIF: Difficult

REF: pages 1617 OBJ: Conceptual

27. Sargon of Akkad (c. 2350 B.C.E.) is significant because he:

a. was the first lugal to conquer neighboring city-states.
b. subdued Sumer and exerted influence from Ethiopia to the Indus Valley.
c. built observatories and introduced the more accurate Akkadian calendar.
d. sent ambassadors to distant lands ranging from Ethiopia to Europe.
e. was the first ruler in history to take the title of emperor.
ANS: B
KEY: III, C, 4

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 17

OBJ: Applied

28. The Akkadian rulers of Sargon and Naram-Sin:

a. presided over the Dark Age, when foreigners dominated Akkad.
b. were glorified bandits who had little interest in culture.
c. wiped out the Sumerian religion and replaced it with their own.
d. led their country to a series of disastrous defeats ending in the destruction of Akkad.
e. ruled from cities and kept their empires through conquest and commerce.
ANS: E
KEY: III, C, 4

DIF: Difficult

REF: page 17

OBJ: Conceptual

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29. Following the decline in Akkad, a new dynasty under the leadership of _________ arose in the
Sumerian city of Ur.
a. Ur-Narmer
b. Ur-Nammu
c. Ur-Engar
d. Ur-Enkidu
e. Gilgamesh
ANS: B
KEY: III, C, 4, b

DIF: Easy

REF: page 17

OBJ: Factual

30. _________ was the first king to launch wars of aggression in the name of his primary god.
a. Sargon
b. Ur-Nammu
c. Hammurabi
d. Djoser
e. Narmer
ANS: C
KEY: III, C, 4, c, i

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 18

OBJ: Applied

REF: page 18

OBJ: Factual

31. Hammurabis empire was founded on:

a. a policy of terror.
b. constant warfare.
c. complex trade networks.
d. political strategy and diplomacy.
e. the loyalty of his blood kin.
ANS: D
KEY: III, C, 4, c, i

DIF: Easy

32. The Law Code of Hammurabi:

a. used religious language to unite the disparate provinces of Hammurabis empire.
b. included every member of Babylonian society.
c. was propagandistic in purpose.
d. created a classless society in Babylonia, freeing talented people from all walks of life to
advance the economy.
e. was the worlds first codification of commercial law.
ANS: C
DIF: Difficult
KEY: III, C, 4, c, ii

REF: page 18

OBJ: Conceptual

33. The civilization that emerged in ancient Egypt arose:

a. as a part of the Old Babylonian empire.
b. at the same time as that of ancient Sumer.
c. significantly later than that of ancient Sumer.
d. significantly earlier than that of ancient Sumer.
e. as a result of Akkadian colonization.

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ANS: B
KEY: IV, A

DIF: Easy

REF: page 22

OBJ: Factual

34. Historians typically divide ancient Egyptian history into _________ to facilitate the discussion of
Egyptian politics and culture.
a. intermediate eras
b. predynastic societies
c. pharaohs
d. kingdoms and periods
e. primary and secondary eras
ANS: D
KEY: IV, A

DIF: Easy

REF: page 23

OBJ: Factual

35. The Egyptian system of hieroglyphics was:

a. deciphered by Champollion using the Rosetta Stone.
b. a popular version of the more complex cuneiform.
c. used until the invention of printing with movable type.
d. not written on papyrus because it was too expensive.
e. a phonetic system of writing based on the Ubaid language.
ANS: A
KEY: IV, C

DIF: Easy

REF: page 24

OBJ: Factual

36. The method of numbering Egyptian dynasties begins with the _________ Dynasty:
a. Zero
b. First
c. Initial
d. Primary
e. Scorpion
ANS: A
KEY: IV, B

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 24

OBJ: Factual

37. The important administrator of the pharaoh Djoser who initiated pyramid building in the step style
was:
a. Imhotep.
b. Khufu.
c. Cheops.
d. Khafre.
e. Narmer.
ANS: A
KEY: IV, D, 1

DIF: Easy

REF: page 27

OBJ: Factual

38. The great Pyramids of Giza, built in the Fourth Dynasty, were:
a. used for athletic events, concerts, and political rallies.
b. lost in the desert sands and unknown to the Greeks.
c. a good supply of building stone for Rome and Carthage.
d. temples used for worship by the priestly class.
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e. constructed by thousands of peasant workers who were not slaves.
ANS: E
KEY: IV, D, 2

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 27

OBJ: Factual

39. Egyptian society:

a. was highly stratified, with an influential middle class.
b. consisted of a tiny minority of royalty and nobility and a majority class of the poor,
including peasants and artisans.
c. was dependent on a large and heavily oppressed slave class.
d. was a powerful patriarchy in which women had little participation.
e. was a matriarchal society as evidenced by powerful queens.
ANS: B
KEY: IV, D

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 28

OBJ: Factual

40. Which of the following is not true regarding women in Egyptian society during the Pharaonic period?
a. They could assume pharaonic authority.
b. They could own property.
c. They could stand before the courts as individuals without male representation.
d. They could practice sexual freedom.
e. They were recognized as persons in their own right.
ANS: D
KEY: IV, D, 4

DIF: Difficult

REF: page 29

OBJ: Applied

REF: page 29

OBJ: Applied

41. The Egyptians made notable advances in:

a. mathematics.
b. science.
c. military technology.
d. philosophy.
e. measuring time.
ANS: E
KEY: IV, D, 4

DIF: Moderate

42. The two gods most fundamental to Egyptian religious belief were:
a. Seth and Osiris.
b. Isis and Osiris.
c. Seth and Isis.
d. Isis and Anubis.
e. Anubis and Horus.
ANS: B
KEY: IV, D, 6

DIF: Easy

REF: page 29

OBJ: Factual

43. The Egyptians developed elaborate tombs and burial techniques:

a. to preserve their sacred cats in the harsh desert climate.
b. following the example of the Hebrews and other nomadic people.
c. because they believed deceased people would be reincarnated as animals.

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d. to provide the dead with all they would need in the afterlife.
e. to demonstrate their great respect for their ancestors.
ANS: D
KEY: IV, D, 1

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 30

OBJ: Factual

44. Before entering an enjoyable afterlife, the deceased Egyptian supposedly:

a. would be judged by Osiris and other divine judges.
b. confessed all sins.
c. had to buy access to heaven with offerings to the gods.
d. had to build a pyramid, large or small, according to social status.
e. all of these
ANS: A
KEY: IV, D, 5

DIF: Easy

REF: page 30

OBJ: Applied

45. The Egyptian Book of the Dead contains:

a. lists of prominent persons who died each year.
b. funeral regulations for members of the royal family.
c. evidence of the cultures obsession with gloom and doom and death.
d. magic spells, formulae, and incantations needed in the afterlife.
e. lamentations and consoling writings to aid the bereaved in their time of sorrow.
ANS: D
KEY: IV, D, 5

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 30

OBJ: Applied

46. The Egyptian concept of maat:

a. or size, meant that temples and palaces had to be very large.
b. is equivalent to the English human rights.
c. was a male god who made the universe move forward in time.
d. includes ideas of harmony, order, justice, and truth.
e. referred to the Egyptian belief in reincarnation.
ANS: D
KEY: IV, D, 6

DIF: Difficult

REF: page 30

OBJ: Conceptual

47. The Egyptian book, _________, is an example of wisdom literature.

a. The Instruction of Ptah-Hotep
b. Instruction of Amenemhet
c. The Prince
d. The Prophecies of Neferty
e. The Coffin Book
ANS: A
KEY: IV, D, 3

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 31

OBJ: Factual

48. By 3100 B.C.E., the rivalry in Egypt between _________ had become extreme, and each area had its
own political organizations and religious preferences.
a. city and country
b. ocean and desert

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c. Egypt and Nubia
d. Egypt and Sumer
e. upper and lower kingdoms
ANS: E
KEY: IV, A

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 32

OBJ: Factual

49. Which period saw Egypt expand its borders, abandon its isolationism, and change its ideal of pharaoh
from a god to a good shepherd?
a. the Old Kingdom
b. the Middle Kingdom
c. the First Intermediate Period
d. the Second Intermediate Period
e. the New Kingdom
ANS: B
KEY: IV, E, 1

DIF: Easy

REF: page 34

OBJ: Applied

50. Which comparison between Egypt and Mesopotamian civilizations is false?

a. Both underwent a melding of religious and political leadership.
b. Both engaged in massive building projects.
c. Both enjoyed significant political and cultural interactions.
d. Both civilizations developed an inward focus, resulting in relative isolation.
e. all of these
ANS: C
KEY: IV, E, 2

DIF: Moderate

REF: page 35

OBJ: Applied

TRUE/FALSE
1. Hierarchical structures of leadership were uncommon in early societies.
ANS: T
DIF: Easy
REF: page 5
KEY: II, B, 2
NOT: These societies may have been highly organized, but lack of personal wealth and attendant
distinctions in rank and status was unlikely.
2. Labor among Paleolithic peoples was strictly divided along gender lines as men did the hunting and
women the gathering.
ANS: F
DIF: Easy
REF: page 5
KEY: II, B, 2
NOT: Such gendered assumptions do not reflect the complex realities of hunter-gatherer societies. It
is more likely that all members of the group were engaged to some extent in all the basic activities.
3. Agricultural surplus made it possible for early societies to become more stable and to expand in
population, yet also kept early societies socially stagnant as all labor was focused on the land and the
cultivation of more grain.
ANS: F
DIF: Moderate
REF: page 5
KEY: II, C, 2
NOT: Agricultural surplus made it possible for members of society to devote at least a portion of their

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labor to pursuits other than agriculture and to begin to specialize in crafts such as pottery or cloth
making. It also contributed to a rise in social elites who exploited the labor of others to gain power and
become rulers.
4. The Egyptians were the first historical, as opposed to prehistoric, society.
ANS: F
DIF: Difficult
REF: page 10
KEY: III, A
NOT: The Sumerians were the first historical society, as they were the first to use writing to document
their religion, economic transactions, and political relationships.
5. Sumerian pessimism, as illustrated in their religion, was paralyzing to their culture as they lacked
motivation to make significant advances in science, technology, and trade.
ANS: F
DIF: Moderate
REF: page 14
KEY: III, C, 3
NOT: Sumerian pessimism contributed to a sense of self-reliance and ingenuity as seen in their
metallurgic advances and use of the wheel in art, manufacturing, and warfare.
6. While both Egypt and Mesopotamia use the wheel in pottery making, in the Early Bronze Age, only
Mesopotamia used the wheel for transport and war chariots.
ANS: T
DIF: Easy
REF: page 15
KEY: III, C, 3
NOT: Egypt did not use the wheel for transport until 1700 B.C.E.
.
7. Although the Akkadians were the predominant people of central Mesopotamia, they adopted Sumerian
script, culture, war techniques, and language.
ANS: F
DIF: Moderate
REF: page 16
KEY: III, C, 4, a
NOT: The Akkadians retained their Semitic language and were not bound by conventions of Sumerian
warfare.
8. Hammurabis Code is the first law code that exacted equal punishment for crimes across the social
spectrum.
ANS: F
DIF: Moderate
REF: page 19
KEY: III, C, 4, c, ii
NOT: The Law Code is evidence of a highly stratified society with strict class divisions. Crimes
committed against the nobility were punished more heavily than those committed against the lower
classes.
9. Early pharaohs had difficulty establishing their rule over all Egypt due to the power of local civic and
religious authorities.
ANS: T
DIF: Easy
REF: page 24
KEY: IV, B
NOT: Legitimating their rule over all Egypt was difficult. Local civic and religious loyalties remained
strong, and for centuries Lower Egyptians would continue to see themselves as distinct in some
respects from their neighbors to the south.

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10. Egyptian and Mesopotamian hieroglyphic writing developed independently of one another.
ANS: T
DIF: Moderate
REF: page 24
KEY: III, B | IV, C
NOT: The development of hieroglyphic writing in Egypt dates to around 3200 B.C.E., when
pictographs began to appear in Mesopotamia. But the two scripts are so different that they probably
developed independently | and the uses of writing for government and administration developed far
more quickly in Egypt than in Sumer.
11. Egypt in the Old and Middle Kingdoms was maintained chiefly through conquest.
ANS: F
DIF: Difficult
REF: page 24
KEY: IV, D-E
NOT: Egypt in the Old and Middle Kingdoms was maintained through trade, shared culture, religion,
and language.
12. By the First and Second Dynasties, the pharaoh was regarded as the earthly manifestation of Ra.
ANS: F
DIF: Difficult
REF: page 25
KEY: IV, B
NOT: The pharaoh was considered to be the manifestation of Horus.
.
13. Literacy in Old Kingdom Egypt was not widespread, but rested primarily in the hands of the priestly
class.
ANS: F
DIF: Moderate
REF: page 27
KEY: IV, C
NOT: Scribal literacy was widespread in the period because writing was critical to the kingdom's
management and wealth.
14. Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian society relied heavily on slave labor for agricultural and building
work.
ANS: F
DIF: Difficult
REF: page 27
NOT: Peasants were the largest source of labor in Egypt.

KEY: IV, D, 4
.

ESSAY
1. What innovations characterize the Neolithic Revolution, and how did these impact Neolithic society?
ANS:

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Substantial numbers of humans began to domesticate animals and raise crops, making possible
permanence and stability in settlement patterns. Increased food supply made a larger population
sustainable. The managed production of agriculture required storage to preserve grain for the large
population between harvests. Storage allowed a constant food supply and seed for sowing. Sowing
allowed for higher yields that could support even larger populations. People could also compensate for
natural disasters, such as flooding or fire. A larger supply of grain also made it possible for large
animals to be domesticated and used for labor purposes. Protection of these stores resulted in early
walled or protected dwellings or buildings and some of the first cities. The ability to grow a surplus of
grain made it possible for some members of society to spend some of their labor on specialized crafts,
resulting in a more stratified society.
DIF: Moderate

REF: pages 57

KEY: II, C

2. How did the Ubaid culture contribute to the development of urban civilization in Mesopotamia?
ANS:
The Ubaids brought their village culture with them when they moved into Sumer in the sixth
millennium B.C.E. They developed irrigation systems consisting of sophisticated canals and pools
lined with stone so they would last from season to season. They constructed dikes and levees to control
seasonal flooding. Their sophisticated agricultural technologies resulted in large harvests and the
ability of many members of society to specialize in other crafts such as weaving, pottery making,
metalwork, and construction. They also built religious structures that quickly evolved from humble
shrines to massive temple complexes that controlled trade and much of the economy.
DIF: Easy

REF: page 8

KEY: III, A

3. How did the geography of Mesopotamia and Egypt shape their cultures?
ANS:
MesopotamiaUnpredictability of weather, irregular flooding of rivers, and inhospitable soil cultured
a gloomy and pessimistic religion and view. High population and competition for land/water made
warfare inevitable and contributed to the rise of the lugal or a warrior-king.
EgyptThe desert made a natural protective border, isolating Egypt from much trade and
technologies with Mesopotamian cultures. The predictable nature of the Nile gave a cyclical nature to
life, religion, events, and understanding of history. Regular and abundant harvests due to the flooding
of the Nile yielded a large food supply and therefore a large population. The lack of contact and
invasion produced an ethnically homogeneous people and an ethnocentric worldview in which peoples
were grouped as Egyptian or non-Egyptian.
DIF: Moderate

REF: page 8 | page 22

KEY: III, A & C

4. What role did the temples play in Sumerian society?

ANS:

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They were the largest landowners; employed the largest amount of the population, including
specialized proto-factories in which women and children worked; determined much of the economy
based on their demand for certain goods, such as livestock for sacrifice; most local trade went through
the temple as the chief producer of goods, especially grain; and checked the authority of the king.
DIF: Easy

REF: page 10

KEY: III, C, 2

5. Is the concept of maat exclusive to Egyptian ideals of rulership?

ANS:
No. The lugals of Mesopotamia saw themselves as a gods representative on earth whose job it was to
lead the gods armies. Kings bore special responsibilities to the gods and were obliged to serve and
honor the gods through offerings, sacrifices, festivals, and massive building projects. Kings who
neglected their obligations or who exalted their own power at the expense of the gods were likely to
bring down disaster on themselves and their people.
DIF: Moderate

REF: pages 1112 | page 30

KEY: III, C, 4 | IV, D, 7

6. How can the Epic of Gilgamesh help historians better understand Sumerian society?
ANS:
It shows the impact the office of the lugal made on Sumerian culture and the power of the office. It
illustrates the conflict between the city peoples and barbarians as well as the discomfort and fear city
peoples felt about the wilderness as illustrated by the fight with the giant Humbaba who guards the
precious natural resource of the cedar grove. The naturalness of Enkidu is not respected, nor was it
admired by the city peoples. It reveals the use of female temple prostitutes in the society and their
sexual role in religious services and interestingly promotes the position of women as civilizing agents.
Enkidus loss of innocence allows him to become a member of society. The story reveals much about
the gods as well, casting them in very human terms and revealing them to be capable of irrational acts
as well as fear and hunger. The pessimism of the society is pervasive throughout the book, but
especially in the end as Gilgamesh comes quite close but is unable to attain the magical plant that will
give him immortality.
DIF: Easy

REF: pages 1213 KEY: III, C, 1

7. How did Sumerian advances in technology help shape society in the Fertile Crescent?
ANS:

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The pessimism of the Sumerian religion made them a self-reliant people whose several important
technological advances made possible trade, booming economies, specialized goods, and empires in an
otherwise desolate area. The constant warfare in the area promoted military technology such as
metallurgy, especially the making of bronze. These new bronze weapons were more easily produced
and more effective in battle. Another advance that enabled the militaries of the area to be both fast and
effective was the wheel. Though not invented in the Fertile Crescent, the Sumerians made great use of
this new technology. Wheeled chariots were used in warfare and were extremely effective against the
largely infantry armies of the ancient world. The wheel also increased the productivity of the Sumerian
work force as more goods could be carried longer distances. The wheel for pottery also allowed the
Sumerians to capitalize on their one great natural resource: clay. They produced high-quality clay
vessels in great quantity with the potters wheel. Technologies in mathematics made possible better
irrigation systems and surveying techniques as well as the building of the first domes and arches. Other
resources had to be imported to the valley which expanded the trade and contact with other peoples
and societies as far away as the Indus Valley, but quite regularly with the peoples of the Persian Gulf.
They carried their ideas with them and spread the idea of civilization with them throughout the Near
Eastern world.
DIF: Moderate

REF: page 14

KEY: III, C, 3

8. In what ways can Hammurabis rule be described as innovative?

ANS:
He used political strategy and his understanding of his neighbors to fan their hatred for each other,
ruining their economies and weakening them militarily. Thus he was able to incorporate his weary
neighbors into his empire. He also used religion to unify the people by elevating his patron deity,
Marduk, to ruler-god status. This legitimated his rule and gave his wars of aggression justification in
Marduks name. To ensure fertility of the land, he developed a rite in which the king would have
sexual relations with Marduks priestess inside the temple. Thus he made his own role in the harvest,
in society, and religion, indispensable. He issued a law code that portrayed him as devoted to justice
and his peoples welfare. He used this law to reform his administration, adding to his image as a just
ruler.
DIF: Moderate

REF: page 18

KEY: III, C, 4, c, ii

9. How did the image of the pharaoh change from the Archaic Period through the Middle Kingdom?
ANS:
The Archaic Period was ruled by strongmen such as King Scorpion who made their names as
conquerors. The early pharaohs were associated with divinity, and by the Second Dynasty the pharaoh
was regarded as the earthly manifestation of Horus. This claim to divinity may have been a tool in
uniting Upper and Lower Egypt.
The Old Kingdoms administration and religion focused on the glorification of the pharaoh. He
was Egypt. All trade was entirely controlled by him, and his government was made up of family
members he appointed. This was the great pyramid-building era in which much of the economy and
labor force was dedicated to building these grand, palatial tombs that not only added to the pharaohs
prestige in life but ensured that he lived in the same lavish lifestyle after death.

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The Middle Kingdom focused on conquest of new lands and peoples. The pharaoh was a
warrior. This kingdom portrayed the pharaoh as a good shepherd, independent from maat. He was a
protector from a hostile outside world. He had to be ruthless in the treatment of the nobility and expect
dangers and challenges.
DIF: Difficult
REF: page 24 | pages 2627 | pages 3334
KEY: IV, B | IV, C, 1-3 | IV, D, 1
10. What factors contributed to the fall of the Old Kingdom?
ANS:
Increase in the power of the priestly class at the expense of the pharaohs; increase in the power of the
nobles, especially as hereditary, local authority; costly building efforts of the previous Fourth Dynasty;
climate changes that resulted in famine; the rise in the power of Nubian states that may have restricted
Egyptian access to mineral deposits, thus crippling the economy; lack of maat, which contributed to a
lack of power and support in the pharaohs.
DIF: Moderate

REF: pages 3132 KEY: IV, D, 8

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