Deck 3: New Civilizations in East Asia, Africa, and Europe

Question 1

Two Chinese philosophies that emerged from the Warring States Period are

A) Confucianism and Buddhism.
B) Confucianism and Hinduism.
C) Confucianism and Jainism.
D) Confucianism and Daoism.
E) Confucianism and Judaism.

Answer 1

Confucianism and Daoism.

Question 2

The Chinese acquired silk by

A) raiding merchant ships from Japan.
B) importing raw silk from Europe.
C) reading ancient texts from India on silk production.
D) conquering Mesopotamia.
E) raising silkworms and pioneering silk cloth production.

Answer 2

raising silkworms and pioneering silk cloth production.

Question 3

Early cultural connections developed between Nubia and

A) Egypt.
B) Mesopotamia.
C) maritime kingdoms.
D) Indus cities.
E) the Shang Dynasty.

Answer 3

Egypt.

Question 4

By 300 B.C.E., Celtic people were found in what regions?

A) Hungary and Turkey
B) Italy and Greece
C) Britain and France
D) Spain and Ireland
E) All of these

Question 5

The concept of yin and yang represented the complementary nature of

A) religion and the state in Chinese society.
B) good and evil in Chinese morality.
C) male and female roles in the natural order.
D) the wisdom of age and the strength of youth.
E) warrior and emperor in times of trouble.

Question 6

The Chinese political system that relied primarily on strict laws and punishments to compel people to behave is called

A) Daoism.
B) Confucianism.
C) Legalism.
D) Monism.
E) Rationalism.

Question 7

What is a distinctive feature of Celtic military activity?

A) Warriors fought naked and took the heads of enemies.
B) Warriors fought with special armor.
C) Warriors used military bands to set the tempo for marching and to keep up morale.
D) Warriors engaged in symbolic warfare, which obviated injuries.
E) Warriors fought only as a last resort after diplomacy failed.

Question 8

Nubia's primary form of transportation for trade was

A) chariots across the Sahara Desert.
B) the Nile River.
C) a thoroughfare of roads connecting Nubia to Egypt.
D) nonexitent; isolationism kept the Nubians from contact with anyone.
E) letting trade-seekers come to them.

Question 9

Which of the following is not one of the ways that Confucian philosophy attempts to create social societal harmony?

A) By emphasizing the idea that the country is parallel to the family
B) By expanding the traditional feelings of benevolence toward family so that they apply to all of humanity
C) By avoiding violence and promoting justice, loyalty, and dignity
D) By emphasizing the goodness of human nature and seeking to promote it through education, particularly of public officials
E) By emphasizing individual freedoms

Question 10

The fundamental idea of Daoism can be summarized as

A) accepting the world as you find it, avoiding useless struggles, and adhering to the "path" of nature.
B) unquestioning obedience to authority and reverence for structure brings success.
C) emphasizing aggressive action and radical change.
D) emphasizing communal action to promote the betterment of society.
E) technological and social progress can solve all social ills.

Question 11

The Celtic language is part of which language group?

A) Indo-European
B) Altaic
C) Semitic
D) Bantu
E) Sino-Tibetan

Question 12

Loess was

A) dust from gold ore, which was used for paint.
B) a kind of moss used for fuel.
C) a leafy green vegetable used for food.
D) a method of spinning silk cocoons.
E) a fine silt deposited by wind and water.

Question 13

Celtic women

A) never contributed property to a marriage.
B) had no freedom in their sexual relations.
C) could inherit their husbands' estates.
D) were regular combatants on the battlefield.
E) were considered more royal than men.

Question 14

The Mandate of Heaven meant that the ruler retained the right to rule as long as he or she

A) remained the strongest in the kingdom.
B) remained a wise and principled guardian of his or her people.
C) performed the correct ritual sacrifices.
D) produced a male heir.
E) kept the loyalty of the military.

Question 15

Why di d the Nubian center of pow er shift to Meroë in the fourth century B.C.E.?

A) There was a plague epidemic in the north.
B) It was a better location for agriculture and trade
C) Nubia allied militarily with peoples in sub-Saharan Africa
D) It was where the last pharaoh of the Nubian dynasty retreated after his defeat by Assyria.
E) It was closer to Nubian allies in Syria/Palestine.

Question 16

Why was the Nubian offer to aid Palestine a mistake?

A) Palestine lost.
B) Nubia had nothing to offer militarily.
C) The Palestinians misconstrued the offer and attacked the Nubians.
D) The Assyrians invaded Egypt in retaliation, driving the Nubians southward.
E) Egypt invaded Nubia because it was angered by Nubia's siding against its ally, Assyria.

Question 17

In the Nubian kingdom's matrilineal system, the monarch who usually inherited the throne was the

A) daughter of the dead queen.
B) son of the dead king's sister.
C) niece of the dead queen.
D) first-born son of the monarch.
E) first-born child of the monarch, male or female.

Question 18

Which of the following is not true of Egyptian cultural influence on Nubia?

A) Nubian child hostages learned the Egyptian culture, religion, and language.
B) Nubians served as archers in the Egyptian armed forces and so learned Egyptian culture.
C) Nubians traded for Egyptian goods.
D) Nubians built Egyptian-style towns and temples to Egyptian gods and goddesses.
E) Nubians built massive pyramids, larger than those of Egypt.

Question 19

The political organization of the Celts was

A) a centralized authoritarian structure in Germany.
B) an organized hierarchy based on clan affiliation throughout Europe.
C) based on small, loosely organized kinship groups.
D) subordinated to Roman authority.
E) led by Druid leaders appointed by a king.

Question 20

What does the practice of feng shui accomplish?

A) It is part of the process of silk production.
B) It orients buildings in harmony with the heavens.
C) It scares away ghosts of the ancestors.
D) It is a treatment in traditional Chinese medicine.
E) It is a term for "Divine Judgment" from Yahweh.

Question 21

Due to the challenges its climate and geography posed, the ____ witnessed the birth of Chinese civilization.

A) southern coast
B) Tibetan border
C) northern plains
D) western border
E) Gobi desert

Question 22

For Egypt, the most important resource in Nubia was

A) myrrh.
B) iron.
C) gold.
D) silver.
E) slaves.

Question 23

Southern China was more populous than northern China because:

A) The harsh conditions of the north
B) better trade relations existed in the south
C) rice was cultivated in the south.
D) nomads frequently decimated the north.
E) the south had access to the sea

Question 24

The principle ingredients of bronze are:

A) copper and carbon
B) copper and tin
C) tin and gold
D) tin and silver
E) tin and iron

Question 25

Unlike other ancient cultures in Europe and western Asia, Celts believed in

A) the afterlife for everyone, rather than just for the elite.
B) human sacrifice.
C) more than 400 nature-based gods and goddesses.
D) fertility cults, with an emphasis on feminine religious power.
E) reincarnation.

Question 26

Which of the following was not true of early Chinese writing?

A) It was based on pictograms and phonetic symbols.
B) It was crucial for effective government administration.
C) Its simplicity meant that literacy was widespread.
D) It provided the fundamental principles of present-day Chinese writing.
E) It involved hundreds of signs.

Question 27

Men in Zhou society did all the following except

A) conduct the rituals involved in ancestor worship.
B) arrange marriages.
C) take concubines.
D) sell the labor of family members.
E) take multiple wives.

Question 28

Apedemak was:

A) a Meroitic king.
B) a great Nubian warrior.
C) a Nubian lion-god.
D) the center of Nubian religious life.
E) the last Nubian queen.

Question 29

Which of these is an advantage and a disadvantage of rice as a staple crop?

A) It is does not need much water, but is difficult to preserve.
B) It does not require carefully-timed irrigation, but can only grow on hillsides.
C) It is labor-intensive, but cannot be made into flour.
D) It feeds many people per acre, but is labor-intensive.
E) It is requires less labor than other grains, but cannot be transported over long distances.

Question 30

The Celtic god Lug was revered as:

A) The god of the day sky.
B) The god of fire.
C) The god of light, crafts, and inventions.
D) The god of scholars
E) The god of the harvest

Question 31

That portion of Chinese history between 771 and 481 B.C.E. is known as:

A) the "Southern Zhou Period."
B) the "Time of Troubles."
C) the "Years without Mandate."
D) the "Lost Centuries."
E) the "Spring and Autumn Period"

Question 32

The five-hundred-year Eastern Zhou era was initiated by:

A) the establishment of a new capital near Luoyang.
B) the death of the last Shang heir.
C) an earthquake that disrupted trade routes to the west
D) a brilliant comet signifying divine favor.
E) a six-decade long drought.

Question 33

During the ____ the expansionist Egyptian forces made their way south and established dominance over Kush and exploited the gold mines of Nubia.

A) Middle kingdom
B) First Intermediate Period
C) Second Intermediate Period
D) Third Intermediate Period
E) New Kingdom

Question 34

The Shang state was

A) highly centralized under the king's authority.
B) governed by the king in conjunction with aristocrats.
C) known for its harmonious relations with nomads.
D) disrespectful of ancestors.
E) governed by kings who never traveled.

Question 35

The primary building material of the ancient Chinese was:

A) bricks made with straw.
B) pounded earth
C) stone
D) bamboo
E) an early form of cement

Question 36

The ancient Celtic holiday of Beltaine is preserved in the present-day celebration of:

A) Arbor Day
B) Halloween
C) May Day
D) Easter
E) Yuletide

Question 37

The Confucian term ren initially signified:

A) basic human nature.
B) harmonious existence.
C) the absolute authority of the government.
D) feelings between family members.
E) the inner emptiness of the unenlightened.

Question 38

The greatest source of information about Celtic society was penned by:

A) Herodotus
B) Augustine of Hippo
C) Saxo Grammaticus
D) Julius Caesar
E) Pliny

Question 39

The last, and most important, of the Shang capitals was located near modern:

A) Beijing
B) Shanghai
C) Hong Kong
D) Anyang
E) Gansu

Question 40

The Nubian Kingdom of Kush served as an important cultural and economic point of contact between

A) Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa.
B) Egypt and China.
C) Meroë and the Phoenicians.
D) China and sub-Saharan Africa.
E) Egypt and the civilizations of Mesopotamia.

Question 41

While normally just a nuisance to large states like Persia or China, steppe nomads could pose a serious military threat when

A) they needed more captives to sacrifice.
B) they ran out of food.
C) they traveled too far from their usual migratory routes.
D) they joined together under a charismatic leader.
E) their horses were well-rested.

Question 42

In Shang tradition, the stability of the land depended on the relationship of the king to the Sky God. What was the importance of the Mandate of Heaven in the transition from the Shang to the Zhou period?

Question 43

Why did the Romans attempt to stamp out the Druids?

A) They practiced human sacrifice.
B) They refused to learn Latin.
C) Their social role allowed them to rally Celtic opposition to Roman rule.
D) A and C.
E) B and C.

Question 44

Steppe nomads were different from early pastoralists because

A) They kept domestic cattle.
B) They dressed in hides.
C) They migrated long distances.
D) They had few possessions.
E) They depended on supplies obtained from settled farming communities.

Question 45

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Meroë

Question 46

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Shang

Question 47

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Daoism

Question 48

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Confucius

Question 49

When the Greek historian Herodotus emphasized the brutal and warlike aspects of Scythian culture, it is possible he

A) was trying to persuade Greek leaders to spend more on defense.
B) was giving an accurate account of what he had heard.
C) was trying to demonstrate the refinement of Greek culture by drawing a contrast.
D) Both B and C
E) Both A and B

Question 50

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
loess

Question 51

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Legalis m

Question 52

The prominent role of women in Meroitic political life is a sign of

A) Egyptian cultural influence.
B) Mesopotamian cultural influence.
C) Sub-Saharan African cultural influence.
D) the continued importance of foraging as a source of food in Mero ë .
E) a lack of sufficiently qualified men.

Question 53

Burial ceremonies were very important to all of the cultures described in this chapter. Compare the burial practices of different regions, and explain how burial monuments help us interpret early civilizations.

Question 54

The Warring States Period was a time of political and social change in China. How do Daoism and Confucianism reflect the diverse attitudes of the time?

Question 55

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Mandate of Heaven

Question 56

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Druids

Question 57

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Celts

Question 58

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Kush

Question 59

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Zhou

Question 60

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
yin/yang

Question 61

In contrast to the civilizations discussed in previous chapters, what do the civilizations in China, Nubia, and Celtic Europe have in common? How were they shaped by long-distance trade?

Question 62

If you were a Roman traveler, how would you describe Celtic society and explain the Celts' lack of state building?

Question 63

What was the importance of trade to the native civilizations that emerged along the Nile south of Egypt?

Question 64

What are the characteristics of nomads that the early historians Herodotus and Sima Qian claimed made them "barbaric"?  What do these historians' decisions about what is "barbaric" tell us about how they saw themselves?