Ways of the World Chapter 2 Multiple Choice

1. In which of the following areas did agriculture not develop separately and independently?

(A) The Andes

(B) Mesoamerica

(C) New Guinea

(D) India

(E) Mesopotamia

(D) India

2. In which of the following regions were animals domesticated before crops?

(A) Northeast Africa

(B) The Fertile Crescent

(C) West Africa

(D) Mesoamerica

(E) China

(A) Northeast Africa

3. The end of the last Ice Age laid the foundation for the Agricultural Revolution by

(A) breaking the land bridge that connected the Americas to Siberia.

(B) creating a warmer wetter, and more stable climate.

(C) increasing population density by forcing humans to move toward the equator.

(D) contributing to the flourishing of large mammals upon which Paleolithic peoples depended.

(E) leading to a sharp decline in the human population, thereby decreasing pressures on the environment.

(B) creating a warmer wetter, and more stable climate.

4. Which of the following was a greater challenge to the establishment of agriculture in Eurasia as compared to the Americas?

(A) The lack of rich cereal grains to domesticate in Eurasia

(B) The east/west orientation of Eurasia as opposed to the north/south orientation of the Americas

(C) The threat of deadly diseases caught from domesticated animals because Eurasia domesticated more animals than their American counterparts

(D) The lack of large mammals suitable for domestication in Eurasia

(E) The lack of animal-drawn plows in Eurasia

(C) The threat of deadly diseases caught from domesticated animals because Eurasia domesticated more animals than their American counterparts

5. The spread of agriculture through diffusion and migration

(A) resulted in the spread of language groups.

(B) always benefited the gather-hunter peoples with whom migrants came into contact.

(C) resulted in India receiving crops only from Southwest Asia.

(D) resulted in the widespread dissemination of crops from New Guinea.

(E) led to the decline and ultimate disappearance of pastoral societies.

(A) resulted in the spread of language groups.

6. New Guinea and sub-Saharan Africa were similar in that both

(A) failed to domesticate any large animals.

(B) had crops that spread to other regions of Eurasia.

(C) adopted their crops from other regions rather than domesticating their own.

(D) relied heavily on rice cultivation.

(E) developed agriculture separately and independently.

(E) developed agriculture separately and independently.

7. Crops spread more slowly in the Americas as compared to Eurasia in part because

(A) of the north/south orientation of the American continents.

(B) the successful domestication of large mammals by the Americans made crop domestication less important.

(C) warfare was more endemic in the Americas.

(D) farmers in the Americas developed no grain crop that could sustain large populations.

(E) farmers in the Americas were considerably less talented.

(A) of the north/south orientation of the American continents.

8. Which of the following distinguishes the development of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent from the development of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa?

(A) Only in the Fertile Crescent was a grain crop domesticated.

(B) Only in the Fertile Crescent did humans domesticate a large mammal.

(C) Only in sub-Saharan Africa did several widely scattered farming practices emerge.

(D) Only the crops of sub-Saharan Africa spread far beyond the area of their original domestication.

(E) Only in Mesopotamia did humans domesticate animals before domesticating plants.

(C) Only in sub-Saharan Africa did several widely scattered farming practices emerge.

9. Diffusion refers to the

(A) taming and changing of plants and animals by humans.

(B) securing of more food and resources from a smaller area of land than was possible with a gathering and hunting technology.

(C) slow colonization of new lands by agricultural peoples as growing populations and pressures to expand pushed them outward.

(D) gradual spread of the techniques of agriculture and perhaps the plants and animals themselves, without the extensive movement of agricultural people.

(E) growing power of chiefdoms over agricultural villages.

(D) gradual spread of the techniques of agriculture and perhaps the plants and animals themselves, without the extensive movement of agricultural people.

10. The unique feature of the chiefdom (as compared to a stateless agricultural village) that was replicated elaborated, and assumed to be natural in all later states and civilizations was the distinction between elite and commoner based on

(A) charisma.

(B) achievement.

(C) birth.

(D) gender.

(E) artistic ability.

(C) birth.

[[INSERT MAP 2.2"The Global Spread of Agriculture," HERE]]

11. This map supports the assertion that

(A) agriculture spread in the Americas primarily from west to east.

(B) agriculture never developed independently near the equator.

(C) agriculture always spread from regions where it originally developed.

(D) agriculture never spread north or south because of changing climatic zones.

(E) areas that developed agriculture independently sometimes also came into contact with crops and techniques from other regions.

(E) areas that developed agriculture independently sometimes also came into contact with crops and techniques from other regions.

12. Pastoral societies emerged in all of the following regions except

(A) the Americas.

(B) sub-Saharan Africa.

(C) Central Asia.

(D) the Arabian Peninsula.

(E) the Saharan Desert.

(A) the Americas.

13. Early agricultural people

(A) uniformly enjoyed a greater life expectancy than gathering and hunting peoples.

(B) did not suffer from famines.

(C) sometimes suffered from deadly diseases caught from domesticated animals.

(D) had more leisure time than their gathering and hunting counterparts.

(E) were only able to support smaller populations than their gathering and hunting counterparts.

(C) sometimes suffered from deadly diseases caught from domesticated animals.

14. Pastoral societies differed from agricultural village societies in which of the following ways?

(A) Pastoral societies relied less heavily on animals.

(B) Pastoral societies benefited from exchanges with agricultural societies but agricultural societies did not benefit from exchanges with their pastoral counterparts.

(C) Pastoral societies were more prevalent in the Americas than agricultural village societies.

(D) Pastoral societies were more mobile than agricultural societies.

(E) Pastoral societies never organized into powerful military confederations, whereas agricultural societies regularly organized into such confederations.

(D) Pastoral societies were more mobile than agricultural societies.

15. Chiefdoms and agricultural village societies were similar in that

(A) both social structures were based on complete equality amongst adults both male and female.

(B) both were based around permanent agricultural settlements.

(C) neither possessed mechanisms for resolving internal disputes, but were useful for defense against outside threats.

(D) both were more nomadic than pastoral societies.

(E) neither type of society took shape among Neolithic Polynesian societies of the Pacific Islands.

(B) both were based around permanent agricultural settlements.