Chapter 2: Chariots

Question 1

What were horses used for before their domestication?

Answer 1

Food

Question 2

When and where did horses start to be domesticated and ridden with a bridle and bit?

Answer 2

Kazakhstan around mid 3000s BCE

Question 3

What were the effects of the domestication of horses? (3)

Answer 3

• larger herds
• transportation
• military uses

Question 4

Where were 2 to 4 wheeled carts led by donkeys developped?

Answer 4

Mesopotamia

Question 5

Which of the two cultures helped spread carts to steppe people in the mid 3000’s BCE?
a) Mesopotamian
b) Maikop

Answer 5

Maikop

Question 6

Around when was the cart turned into a spoke wheeled chariot?

Answer 6

2100 BCE

Question 7

Where did chariots begin to spread from?

Answer 7

Sintashta

Question 8

How did the chariot spread? (2)

Answer 8

• conquest by Indo-Aryans
• transmission of ideas by merchants and traders

Question 9

True or false: war chariots were seen as an indication of prestige

Answer 9

True

Question 10

What adaptations of chariots were featured in images from Syria and Anatolia?

Answer 10

The use of archers/bows with chariots

Question 11

True or False: the Hittites and Hurrians adopted the chariots due to being conquered by steppe nomads

Answer 11

False

Question 12

True or False: displaced peoples such as Palestine’s Hyksos, spread chariots further

Answer 12

True

Question 13

Around what time did semi-stable state systems emerge? (hint: it’s BCE)

Answer 13

1500

Question 14

What characterized warfare around 1500?

Answer 14

Sieges

Question 15

True or false: chariots were centrepieces of military prestige despite not always being useful

Answer 15

True

Question 16

What were the uses/symbolism of chariots? (2)

Answer 16

• signifier of wealth and power
• scaring the enemy with sound, size, and speed

Question 17

What were the advantages of fighting with chariots? (2)

Answer 17

Height and mobility

Question 18

What were the disadvantages of fighting with chariots? (4)

Answer 18

• Terrain
• Horses
• Vulnerability
• Cost

Question 19

What is the use of chariots in a siege?

Answer 19

Only useful to intercept enemies on their way to relieve the besieged

Question 20

How can chariots fight against infantry?

Answer 20

Approaching, pausing, shooting and moving back when infantry approaches

Question 21

True or false: the best way to counter enemy chariots is with your own

Answer 21

True

Question 22

What is the social appeal of fighting chariot on chariot?

Answer 22

The enemy in a chariot is likely an elite and thus by fighting and killing them, one could earn more renown, the appeal is elite vs. elite

Question 23

What is the fighting method with the highest effectiveness?

Answer 23

Combined-arms force

Question 24

What does “combined-arms force” mean?

Answer 24

The use of distinct types of weapons/forces in cooperation with one another to achieve the greatest possible effect

Question 25

True or false: the chariots importance decreased in the Bronze Age?

Answer 25

False

Question 26

What factors made chariots so expensive to build and maintain? (4)

Answer 26

- Men to operate and maintain - Craftsmen and material to build - Horses to drive + replacements - Weapons (esp. recurve bows)

Question 27

True or false: chariots were invented on the steppe but only sedentary states were able to build and use them for war

Answer 27

True

Question 28

In what era did chariots arrive in China?

Answer 28

Shang era, 1200 BCE

Question 29

What influenced the design of chariots in China? (3)

Answer 29

- intensive fortification - rougher terrain - cultural celebration of archery

Question 30

What changes were brought to chariots in China? (3)

Answer 30

- bigger chariot boxes - more wheel spokes - axle is moved under cart making the body stronger

Question 31

What happens in China in 1045 BCE?

Answer 31

Zhou dynasty defeats Shang dynasty

Question 32

What could've led to the defeat of the Shang and what archaeological evidence supports it?

Answer 32

The cause was likely the Zhou having larger chariot forces, the evidence is supported by the fact that there are more chariots in Zhou-era graves

Question 33

Who introduced chariots to the Indus and Ganges ares and when did it occur?

Answer 33

Indo-Aryans mid 1000s BCE

Question 34

What is debated about the introduction of the chariot to the Indus and Ganges areas?

Answer 34

Whether it was brought about by conquest or introduction

Question 35

What is the symbolic importance of chariots in India? (2 elements)

Answer 35

1. Major god Indra was a charioteer 2. Sacred Veda texts describe chariots as being essential to conquest

Question 36

True or false: chariots were already prominent military structures by Alexander the Great's arrival in 326 BCE

Answer 36

True

Question 37

What influenced Greek use of chariots?

Answer 37

Eastern culture

Question 38

What cause chariot use to disappear in Greece?

Answer 38

The Mycenaean collapse

Question 39

True or false: according to descriptions by Caesar and gravesites, we have proof that chariots were used in Iron Age Britain?

Answer 39

True

Question 40

What great event occured around 1200 BCE in the near east?

Answer 40

Some sort of catastrophe

Question 41

What followed the "catastrophe"?

Answer 41

The weakening or collapse of states in the near east, a "dark age" for nearly 300 years with few written records

Question 42

True or False: when records resume after the "Dark Age", the importance of chariots is even greater

Answer 42

False

Question 43

What are the possible factors of the decrease in chariot importance? (3)

Answer 43

1. loss of state capacity and expertise for building chariots 2. the emergence of iron weapons and new infantry tactics 3. larger breeds of horses leading to more practical and effective horseback riding

Question 44

True or false: the social significance of chariots spread them into areas where they may not have been useful

Answer 44

True

Question 45

True or False: the emergence of the chariot illustrates a disconnect in the ancient world

Answer 45

False

Question 46

True or false: chariots show the importance of military usefulness and cultural interpretation

Answer 46

True