Human beings evolved in 
A. Sub-Saharan Africa 
B. Southeast Asia 
C. The Valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates 
D. Northern Europe 
Answer: 

From its very beginning Western Civilization benefited from trade goods, crops, and animals originating in 
A. Africa 
B. The Middle East 
C. China 
D. All of the above 
Answer: 

The earliest stage of human history is called 
A. The Iron Age 
B. The Neolithic Age 
C. The Paleolithic Age 
D. The Egyptian Age 
Answer: 

The defining elements of civilization include all of the following except 
A. Great stone pyramids 
B. Developed agriculture 
C. Cities 
D. Domesticated animals 
Answer: 

During the Paleolithic Age, the basic lifestyle of human beings was primarily 
A. Farming 
B. Hunting and gathering 
C. Fishing 
D. Raising cattle and sheep 
Answer: 

During the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages, human tools were made primarily of 
A. Stone 
B. Iron 
C. Bronze 
D. Copper 
Answer: 

The most important development of the Neolithic Age was 
A. Iron weapons 
B. Agriculture 
C. Warfare 
D. Fishing 
Answer: 

Agriculture was developed 
A. In the Neolithic Period 
B. In Central Europe 
C. In mountainous regions 
D. None of the above 
Answer: 

The chief rivers of ancient Mesopotamia were 
A. The Nile and the Tigris 
B. The Tigris and the Euphrates 
C. The Nile and the Indus 
D. The Euphrates and the Ganges 
Answer: 

The earliest known civilization of Mesopotamia was 
A. Sumer 
B. Greece 
C. Egypt 
D. Israel 
Answer: 

Which of the following was not true about Sumerian life? 
A. Nomadic wandering, taking care of flocks 
B. Irrigated agriculture 
C. International trade 
D. Temples with priests and priestesses 
Answer: 

Sumerian religion was 
A. Monotheistic 
B. Proclaimed a joyous afterlife 
C. Was noted for its pessimism 
D. All of the above 
Answer: 


The first great conqueror in the history of Mesopotamian civilization was 
A. Cyrus 
B. Sargon of Akkad 
C. Gilgamesh 
D. Alexander the Great 
Answer: 

The great epic poem of ancient Sumer was 
A. The Epic of Gilgamesh 
B. The Iliad 
C. Hamlet 
D. Genesis 
Answer: 

The Sumerian system of writing 
A. Was called heiroglyphics 
B. Was called cuneiform 
C. Was an alphabetic script 
D. None of the above 
Answer: 

Hammurabi of Babylon was known for 
A. Being the first ruler of Sumer and Akkad 
B. His irrigation projects 
C. His authorship of the Epic of Gilgamesh 
D. His code of laws 
Answer: 

Which of the following is not true about Hammurabi's law code? 
A. It opens a window into our understanding of ancient daily life 
B. It prescribes different penalties for each of the three social classes in Babylon 
C. Its stated purpose was to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak 
D. Provided for trial by jury 
Answer: 

The Indo-Europeans 
A. Provided most of the languages for Europe, as well as Hindi in India 
B. Often fought and moved on horseback 
C. Established the Hittite kingdom in what is now modern Turkey 
D. All of the above 
Answer: 

The earliest important Indo-European people in the Near Eastern world were the 
A. Hittites 
B. Babylonians 
C. Sumerians 
D. Assyrians 
Answer: 

The chief river of Egypt is the 
A. Euphrates 
B. Nile 
C. Tigris 
D. Indus 
Answer: 


The Egyptian concept of truth, justice, and order was expressed by the Egyptian word 
A. Pharaoh 
B. Hieroglyphics 
C. Ma'at 
D. Cuneiform 
Answer: 

The term hieroglyphics refers to 
A. An early form of the alphabet 
B. Wedge-shaped writing 
C. The sacred writing of Egypt 
D. Any written inscription on stone 
Answer: 

Nubia was 
A. An Asiatic enemy of Egypt 
B. The legendary home of the Egyptians 
C. A female ruler of Akkad 
D. A kingdom on the upper Nile, south of Egypt, inhabited by Black Africans, and influenced by Egyptian culture.
Answer: 


The great pyramids of Egypt 
A. Were monuments to the Sumerian gods 
B. Were built by colossal numbers of slaves 
C. Were part of the Egyptian belief in the afterlife 
D. Were built toward the end of Egyptian history 
Answer: 

The Middle Kingdom of Egypt 
A. Saw an end to the anarchy of the First Intermediate Period 
B. Saw the erection of the Great Pyramid 
C. Saw the Egyptian conquest of Assyria 
D. Was ended by the invasion of Alexander the Great 
Answer: 

On some occasions the ruler of Egypt was a woman. By far the most powerful of these was 
A. Hatshepsut 
B. Thutmose 
C. Nefertiti 
D. Amenhotep 
Answer: 

The New Kingdom pharaoh, Ahknaten 
A. Was the last pharaoh of Egypt 
B. Overthrew his stepmother, Hatshepsut 
C. Conquered Israel 
D. Introduced new ideas in art and religion 
Answer: 

The major cities of Phoenicia were 
A. Uruk, Akkad, and Ur 
B. Sidon, Tyre, and Biblos 
C. Memphis, Cairo, and Thebes 
D. Sparta, Athens, and Corinth 
Answer: 


The most important contribution of the Phoenicians to Western Civilization was 
A. The development of monotheism 
B. The development of irrigated agriculture 
C. The alphabet 
D. The art of building great stone monuments 
Answer: 

Which of the following statements about the Hebrews prior to the reign of Saul is not true? 
A. There are Egyptian secular records that refer to Israel 
B. Early Israel was ruled by charismatic leaders known as Judges 
C. The Scriptures give a precise historical, rather than religious, record of the time 
D. Archaeological investigation of this period has been unable to shed any important light on this ancient phase of Hebrew religion 
Answer: 

The kingdom of Israel reached its peak under the temple-building king 
A. Solomon 
B. David 
C. Saul 
D. Ahab 
Answer: 

After the death of Solomon 
A. Israel was destroyed by the Phoenicians 
B. The Judges again ruled Israel 
C. His kingdom split in two, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.
D. The prophet Isaiah seized the throne 
Answer: 

In addition to preaching monotheism, the Jewish prophets also 
A. Declared that the essence of faith was making the proper sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem 
B. Preached that religion was not merely ritual, but also ethical behavior 
C. Argued that all Jews should abandon Jerusalem for Babylon 
D. Announced that God was indifferent to human behavior 
Answer: 

Among the Hebrew beliefs that have had an important impact on Western Civilization was 
A. The creation of the world at a specific time 
B. The concept of ethical monotheism 
C. That history was a purposeful, morally significant event 
D. All of the above 
Answer: 

The new metal that transformed ancient warfare after 1200 B.C. was 
A. Tin 
B. Bronze 
C. Iron 
D. Copper 
Answer: 

The great empire that dominated the Middle East through a combination of iron weapons and ruthless terror was the 
A. Assyrian 
B. Persian 
C. Roman 
D. Phoenician 
Answer: 


The success of the Assyrian empire was based on 
A. The use of Iron weaponry and systematic brutality 
B. Skilled administration and the spread of the Aramaic language 
C. Skilled military engineers and a trained officer corps 
D. All of the above 
Answer: 

The great ruler of the neo-Babylonian empire was 
A. Sargon 
B. Nebuchadrezzar 
C. Alexander 
D. Cyrus 
Answer: 

The neo-Babylonian Empire 
A. Was ruled by Alexander the Great 
B. Repudiated the Assyrian idea of bloody conquests 
C. Saw the decline of Mesopotamian astronomy 
D. None of the above 
Answer: 

The Persian Empire under Cyrus was held together by 
A. A policy of terror exceeding that of the Assyrians 
B. The mandatory worship of Ahura Mazda by all peoples 
C. An administrative system which curbed the abuse of power by officials 
D. All of the above 
Answer: 

The great Persian religious prophet was 
A. Moses 
B. Cyrus 
C. Akhnaten 
D. Zoroaster 
Answer: 

The text argues that the Persians adopted many things from older civilizations, but the adoption that had the greatest long-term impact was 
A. The reassertion of religious polytheism 
B. The mandatory veiling of women 
C. Coinage, a Lydian invention 
D. The use of bronze weapons 
Answer: 

Zoroaster's religious beliefs had a similarity to Jewish ideas in all the following areas except 
A. The need to live an ethical life 
B. The need to observe strict dietary laws 
C. The ultimate prevalence of the forces of good over the forces of evil 
D. The revelation of the will of god to man 
Answer: 

In the Paleolithic Period, humans lived in small bands of about 20-30 people.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

The ancient Middle East had fewer domesticatable grains and animals than the Americas.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Sumerians viewed their gods as benign, predictable beings who always worked for their city's welfare.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

The earliest known writing evolved at Sumer 
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh triumphs over death.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Hammurabi's law code included "eye for an eye" types of punishments.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Indo-European languages included such diverse languages as English, Armenian, and Hindi.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Ma'at for ancient Egyptians meant a divinely ordered concept of truth and justice.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

The Great Pyramid was built in the New Kingdom by Amenhotep IV.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Akhnaten was the last powerful pharaoh of Egypt.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

The ancient Phoenicians sailed the Mediterranean from the Near East to Spain.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

The Hebrews invented the alphabet.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

The great Temple of Jerusalem was erected by Solomon, the son of David.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Assurbanipal, king of Assyria, was contemptuous of Sumerian culture.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

The Assyrians used skilled administrators as well as terror to maintain their empire.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

During the neo-Babylonian era, its scholars rejected astrology as superstition.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Ahura Mazda was the great prophet of the Persian religion.
A. True
B. False
C. 
D. 
Answer: 

Test Bank 	Chapter 1   | 12