West Civ Midterm

True or False. An archeologist might analyze animal remains on stone weapons to learn about prehistoric hunting.

true

True or False. C-14 dating reveals the age of an object because living things slowly rain radioactive carbon over time.

false

The best way to describe Paleolithic peoples and their way of life is by calling them

nomads

What is the study of past societies through an analysis of what people have left behind?

archeology

What is the period of time before written history?

prehistory

The Neolithic Revolution was the shift from hunting and gathering to ___ in various parts of the world.

systematic agriculture

A reliable source of meat, milk, and wool resulted from the ___ of animals.

domestication

The first civilization developed in ___.

river valleys

___ brought new civilizations in contact with one another.

Trading

The change that led to all other changes in the Neolithic Revolution was the

change in the method of obtaining food

The Neolithic Revolution was followed by the

Bronze Age

Which of the following is the most complete definition of a civilization?

a. Any culture that uses written records and whose people practice a religion.

b. The gathering of human groups in farms, villages, and settlements.

c. A complex culture in which a large number of humans share elements in common.

d. Any social structure based on economic power.

c. A complex culture in which a large number of humans share elements in common.

True or False. Some historians believe that systematic revolution is the single most important development.

true

Explain the relationship between culture and a civilization.

Culture is the way of a people and a civilization is a complex culture.

theocracy

A government by divine authority

ziggurat

A religious and political power center of the city-state

cuneiform

A Sumerian innovation used for recordkeeping

bronze

A Sumerian innovation used to create finely crafted metalwork

silt

Rich soil deposited by rivers during a flood

Which statement is most accurate?

a. The flooding of the Tigris and the Euphrates was the main factor that led to civilization in Mesopotamia.

b. The melting of snows in the upland mountains was the main factor that led to civilization in Mesopotamia.

c. The flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates and the ability to control flooding were the main factors that led to civilization in Mesopotamia.

c. The flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates and the ability to control flooding were the main factors that led to civilization in Mesopotamia.

The Sumerian city-states had primarily a ___ economy.

metalworking

True or False. Fertile river valleys could support many people in permanent settlements.

true

hieroglyphics

Complex system of writing, meaning “sacred writings”, that is made up of pictures and more abstract forms

pyramids

Part of a larger complex of buildings dedicated to the dead

mummification

Way in which dead bodies of wealthy Egyptians were preserved from the time of the Old Kingdom

pharaoh

Title of Egyptian monarch who possessed absolute power

bureaucracy

Administrative organization with officials and regular procedures that helped run the government

Egyptian history is divided into three major periods, known as the

Old, Middle, and New Kingdom

The development of Egyptian civilization was influenced most powerfully by

the Nile River

During the Old Kingdom, a government ___ - an administrative organization with officials and regular procedures - developed in time because Egypt divided into 42 provinces.

bureaucracy

Significant nomadic peoples who spoke a language derived from a single parent tongue were the

Indo-Europeans

The Hittites were the first Indo-Europeans to

use iron weapons

What were the cultural and economic accomplishments of the Phoenicians?

The Phoenicians established a 22 character alphabet and developed new trading routes.

True or False. Indo-Europeans were one of the most significant nomadic peoples.

true

Israelites were descendants of the patriarch ___.

Abraham

What was the lasting effects of the Israelites?

a monotheistic religion and they played an important role in Christianity and Islam

Rich soil to grow wheat, parley, and peas in the Indus Valley resulted from

the annual flooding of the Indus River

Public wells for supplying water to city residents, an advanced drainage system, and a system of garbage disposal in Indus Valley cities are indications of

an organized government

What are the most important factors in the establishment and continued existence of a civilization?

1. geography
2. climate

On their northern and western frontiers, the Chinese people were isolated from people in other parts of Asia by

mountains and deserts

The basic economic and social unit in ancient China was the

family

Roads, canals, and bridges is referred to as a country’s ___.

infrastructure

Another name for the “rubber people” who grew rubber trees along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico south of Veracruz was the

Olmec

Teotihuacan was a busy trade center known for objects made of

obsidian

In what ways was the Olmec civilization similar to the ancient Egyptians?

The Olmec civilization was similar to the ancient Egyptians because they were both river valley civilizations, built pyramids, and worshipped gods.

Why are artifacts particularly important in learning about Teotihuacan?

Artifacts are important because they didn’t have a written language.

True or False. In establishing his empire, Sargon executed the ruler of every Sumerian city-state he conquered.

false

True or False. Hammurabi established his imperial capital in Babylon.

true

The term for a large political unit or state, usually under a single leader, controlling many peoples or territories is

an empire

True or False. Sargon set up the first empire in world history.

true

dynasty

a succession of people from the same family who play a prominent role in business and politics

monarchy

a system of government ruled by a king/queen

civilization

an advanced state of human society with shared common elements

What term refers to the exchange of ideas and technologies between two separate cultures?

cultural diffusion

The king of the Chaldeans who rebuilt Babylon was

Nebuchadnezzar

The prophet Zoroaster taught that

humans had free choice

Cyrus was called “the Great” because he

showed wisdom and compassion

What words might describe the rule of Assyrian leaders?

terrifying

Infrastructure refers to an empire’s

roads, bridges, and canals

The poet who wrote the Iliad was named

Homer

The ancient Greeks strove for a kind of ___ that they called arete.

excellence

The Iliad and the Odyssey are examples of

epic poems

During the eighth century B.C., the Greeks adopted a new system of writing based on the

Phoenician alphabet

About 80 percent of the geography of Greece is

mountains

Greek history was influenced by Greece’s

mountains and seacoast

The teachings of Homer promoted

the values of courage, honor, and excellence

movement

During the Dark Ages, many Greeks left the mainland and sailed across the Aegean Sea to various islands.

region

About 80 percent of Greece is mountainous.

place

The term Mycenaean comes from Mycenae, a fortified site on the Greek mainland.

human/environment interaction

There was some revival of agriculture during the Dark Ages.

absolute location

35 degrees N latitude, 25 degrees E longitude

polis

another word for city-state

acropolis

a fortified area on a hill in the center of most city-states

oligarchy

a government by a few

democracy

a government by many

heplite

heavily armed foot soldiers

ephor

elected members of Spartan oligarchy

True or False. The independence of Greek city-states worked against them because it led to rivalries, conflicts, or even war.

true

Order the events leading to Athens having the foundation of a democracy.

1. unified polis on the peninsula of Attica
2. control of aristocrats ‘oligarchy’
3. Cleisthenes reforms
4. Athens becomes a democracy

The tyrants of ancient Greece were

rulers who seized power by force

What were the results of Greek colonization?

Greek ideas and culture spread throughout the Mediterranean, trade and industry grew, and a new group of wealthy citizens was created

The reforms of Cleisthenes

laid the foundation of democracy

In Athens, during the Age of Pericles, every male citizen

was eligible to vote on major issues

Age of Pericles

period between 461 B.C. and 429 B.C.

direct democracy

people participate directly in government

ostracism

practice to protect against ambitious politicians

Classical Greece

period of Greek history from around 500 B.C. to 338 B.C.

What was the key feature of the Greek landscape?

mountains

Why was trade important to the Athenian population?

Trade allowed the Athenians to get crops and resources they couldn’t grow because of their mountainous landscape.

The major gods and goddesses of the Greeks were believed to live on

Olympus

Socrates’ most famous student was names

Plato

The most famous building on the Acropolis in Athens is the

Parthenon

One of the subjects that Aristotle wrote about was ___, or the study of moral principles.

ethics

The god associated with the most famous oracle in ancient Greece was

Apollo

The ancient Greeks considered religion

necessary to the well-being of the state

Which Greek playwright wrote Oedipus Rex?

Sophocles

According to Plato, a good life can only be achieved if a person

lives in a just and rational state

True or False. Religion affected every aspect of Greek life.

true

What are the universal themes of Greek culture?

1. the nature of good and evil
2. the rights of the individual
3. the nature of divine forces
4. the nature of human beings

Socrates

improve the individual