History Exam

One of the distinguishing features of the human species is the ability to make ____.

tools

The Paleolithic Age is

the period in which humans used simple stone tools.

Who were the first humans to learn to make fires?

Homo erectus

The Paleolithic peoples found shelter in caves, but over time

they created new shelters

The Sumerians believed gods and goddesses ____ the cities.

owned

Farming in ancient Mesopotamia resulted in an abundance of food, which

enabled civilization to emerge.

The first empire in world history was the ____ Empire.

Akkadian

The history of Egypt began around 3100 B.C., when

Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt.

What are the "ten lost tribes"?

scattered groups of Israelites

Unlike other religions of the time, in the Jewish tradition leaders could not claim they alone knew the will of God,

since the Jewish teachings were written down for anyone to read.

Cyrus the Great showed such wisdom and compassion when he conquered Babylon that

everyone accepted him as ruler.

The Assyrians were especially known for

committing atrocities on their captives.

When Cyrus the Great captured Babylon, he

showed remarkable restraint and wisdom.

A unified Persian state was created by the ruler called

Cyrus

In the Chinese culture, priests made these to communicate with the gods.

oracle bones

These are characters that combine two or more pictographs to represent an idea.

ideographs

The Zhou dynasty claimed it ruled China because

it had the Mandate of Heaven.

An important concept that became a crucial part of Chinese history was

the Confucian belief that the government should be open to all men of superior talent.

The Qin dynasty created the censorate, a part of the central bureaucracy that

had inspectors who checked on government officials to make sure they were doing their jobs.

One of the technological advances of the Han dynasty was

the invention of water mills for grinding grain.

The first Han emperor discarded

Legalism and adopted Confucianism

Historians of China have traditionally dated the beginning of Chinese civilization to the

founding of the Xia dynasty, about which little is known.

One element of the Confucian view of the Dao is

the idea of humanity, consisting of a sense of compassion and empathy for others.

The central bureaucracy of the Qin dynasty was divided into

the civil division, the military division, and the censorate

The founder of the Han dynasty was

Liu Pang, a man of peasant origin.

The invention that led to major expansion of trade in the Han period was

the development of fore and aft rigging and rudders on ships.

The period after the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization is called the ____.

Dark Age

The religious center of a Greek city-state was often in a fortified area called an ____.

acropolis

An Athenian family’s primary function was to ____.

have children

Which of the following refers to an organized system of thought?

philosophy

By 750 B.C., the ____, or city-state, became the central focus of Greek life.

polis

Which of the following was the first Greek state?

Mycenae

The government of Sparta was an oligarchy, which means that it was

ruled by the few.

Which of the following happened at Thermopylae?

A Greek force of 7,000 held off the Persian army for 2 days.

According to Plato, individuals could not achieve a good life unless

they lived in a just and rational state.

The conquests of Alexander the Great created the

Hellenistic Era, an age that saw the expansion of the Greek language and Greek ideas to the non-Greek world.

The astronomer Eratosthenes determined that

Earth is round and calculated its circumference to be relatively close to the actual figure.

According to the philosophy of Epicurus,

happiness was the goal of life and could be achieved through the pursuit of pleasure.

As a result of the reforms of Cleisthenes, the government of Athens

laid the foundation for Athenian democracy.

At the pass at Thermopylae, the Spartan troops

were especially brave, even though the Greek army was vastly outnumbered.

Who said that "the unexamined life is not worth living"?

Socrates

Which of the following is considered by many historians today to be the greatest historian of the ancient world?

Thucydides

What was the result of Alexander the Great’s conquests?

Greek language, art, architecture, and literature spread throughout Southeast Asia.

Which four kingdoms emerged following Alexander’s death?

Macedonia, Syria, Pergamum, and Egypt

The mathematician Euclid wrote the Elements, which was a

textbook on plane geometry that has been used up to modern times.

According to the philosophy of Stoicism,

happiness could only be found when people gained inner peace by living in harmony with the will of God.

What impact did the high mountain ranges in Greece have on the development of Greek communities?

The communities developed in isolation from one another, causing them to become fiercely independent.

How did physical geography facilitate trade among the Greek colonies?

Most Greek colonies could be easily reached by water.

Which of the following best describes Greek religion?

polytheistic, believing in many gods

To learn the will of the gods, the ancient Greeks consulted the _____.

oracle