Final Test Bank Flashcards
According to prevailing scientific accounts, hominids or “human-like” creatures first appeared on the Earth around ________________ years ago.
3-4 million
According to prevailing scientific accounts, hominids or “human-like” creatures first appeared in:
Africa
Until about 40,000 years ago, Homo sapiens sapiens, or “wise human beings,” shared the planet with which human-like species?
Neanderthals
The Paleolithic Age (2,500,000-10,000 BCE) was characterized by
Hunting and Gathering
The Neolithic Revolution (10,000-4,000 BCE) saw
The domestication of animals and the start of agriculture
Around 4,000 to 3,000 BCE, what happened?
First Civilizations
Writing, monumental architecture, urban living, formed religious outlooks, governing institutions and laws are all characteristic of which stage in human development?
Civilization
Çatal Hüyük, one of the world’s oldest permanent human settlements, with walls that enclosed 32 acres, and with a population of around 6,000, is located in the modern nation of:
Turkey
This metal was used for making tools starting after 4000 BCE. It proved harder and more durable than its predecessor, copper. Historians are in the habit of naming an entire age, approximately 3000-1200 BCE, after its use.
Bronze
The Greeks knew this part of the world as “the land between the rivers.” It was the home to some of the oldest civilizations on the planet. Today, much of it is located in the modern-day nation of:
Iraq
Around 2340 BCE, the Sumerian speaking city-states located in the southern reaches of the Tigris-Euphrates River valley were overrun by the Semitic-speaking peoples of this city-state:
Akkad
According to a textbook, this Babylonian monarch “employed a well-disciplined army of foot soldiers who carried axes, spears and copper or bronze daggers. He learned how to divide his opponents and subdue them one by one.” Around 1770 BC, he left an enduring law code that was based on the principle that punishment should fit the crime.
Hammurabi
A system of writing that employed the use of a reed stylus to make wedge-shaped impressions on clay tables was known as:
Cuneiform
Which of the following is true and made ancient Egyptian civilization distinct from its near contemporary counterparts in Mesopotamia?
The Egyptians for most of their history knew political unity.
The pyramids at Giza were built during which period in Egyptian history?
Old Kingdom
Around 1650 BCE, this group of invaders brought the Middle Kingdom period in Egyptian history to an end.
Hyksos
Which of the following does not belong to the Indo-European language family?
Hebrew
These people might best be known historically for their versatile alphabet. They were also sea traders who established commercial contacts as far north as Britain and as far south as the west coast of Africa. The Romans and Greeks knew them as the “purple people” because of their monopoly on a precious dye used to make royal clothing.
Phoenicians
In 587/586 BCE, this city fell to Nebuchadnezzar and its inhabitants were subject to the Babylonian captivity.
Jerusalem
Their capital was Nineveh. They sacked Babylon. They put an end to the Kingdom of Israel. They also conquered Egypt. Their kings seemed to take pride in acts that we would now consider war atrocities. Who were these people?
Assyrians
Ahura-Mazda, Ahriman, the Zend Avesta, and “judgment day” are all features of which religion?
Zoroastrianism
In the context of Hebrew monotheism, transcendent theology meant that
Yahweh stood entirely outside of nature
Why is 586 BCE significant?
a) Judaism as a religion survived even though its temple and national home had been destroyed
b) From this point forward, Jewish teachings would be presented increasingly in ethical terms
c) Both “a” and “b”
In the Hebrew Bible, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Songs are best described as
Wisdom Literature
“Go up to Jerusalem in Judah, build the house of the Lord the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.” According to the Hebrew Bible, who uttered this?
Cyrus the Great
All of the following civilizations emerged BEFORE the archaic/classical period Greeks except
Romans
The earliest civilization in the Aegean Sea was discovered by English archaeologist Arthur Evans on this island at the turn of the twentieth century. Recent DNA evidence, contrary to historical consensus through much of the twentieth century, establishes that they were related to the peoples of the Greek mainland. The civilization was located on the island of
Crete
Inspired by the Homeric epics, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann began to excavate a fortified site on the Greek mainland starting around 1870. The civilization that had existed at this site flourished from around 1400 to 1200 BC. The civilization was defined by powerful monarchies that prided themselves on heroic deeds in battle. Having deciphered its script, historians concluded that this was an early Greek civilization.
Mycenaean
Although they described a much earlier period in Greek history, the Homeric epics were most likely composed during this period:
Late Dark Age
Which of the following does NOT describe the Archaic Period in Greece?
Transition away from hoplite infantry in favor of individualized combat
Which of the following concerning ancient Greek history is not true?
Slavery was unknown in ancient Greece
Which of the following is probably NOT a fair assessment of tyranny during Archaic or Classical Period Greece?
Tyrants were always abusive rulers
All of the following are true about Solon EXCEPT
Solon eliminated the aristocracy as a force in Athenian politics
Socrates
a) was accused of atheism and corrupting the young.
b) was implicated in the actions of a discredited government.
c) had many admirers, including Plato.
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE
One of the primary characteristics of ancient Greek philosophy was its
Emphasis on reason as the means of discovering truth
He lived from 429-347 BC. He established a school in Athens called the Academy. In his dialogue entitled, The Republic, he demonstrated a strong distrust of democracy. His ideal state divided its population into three groups, at the top of which served the philosopher-kings.
Plato
He lived from 384-322 BCE. He rejected the theory of ideal forms, meaning that he did not believe there was a reality beyond this world of material things. He wrote extensively on ethics, logic, and politics, among other subjects. In his Politics, he examined the constitutions of 158 states and divided them up into three basic forms of government. He held constitutional government (in which all people, including the rulers, are subject to the law), to be the best.
Aristotle
The primary cause of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) was
the growing domination of Athens over the other city-states
Which of the following was not true concerning Athenian women during the Classical Period of Greek history?
They were prohibited from working in the household
Which of the following is not generally true of male homosexuality in Athens during the Classical Period of Greek history?
Since Athenian society generally saw male homosexuality as a threat, homosexual relationships were nearly always conducted in secret.
Which of the following was not generally true of Spartan society during the Classical Period of Greek history?
Soldiers were expected to tend to the fields and perform manual labor.
He defeated the Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE. He required all Greeks to take an oath of loyalty and join an alliance under his leadership. (He otherwise left them free to run their own affairs.) He insisted that Greeks end their rivalries in preparation for an invasion of Persia.
Philip II
The largest city in the Mediterranean world in the first century BCE. It housed one of the world’s largest libraries, a lighthouse that was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world, and was the home of poets, writers, philosophers and scientists.
Alexandria
Which one of the following statements is both true and explains an important difference between the philosophies of Stoicism and Epicureanism?
Stoicism encouraged engagement with the world, including public service.
Which of the following cultures had the most direct early influence on Rome? They were responsible for much of Rome’s early architecture and urban planning. They played a role in governing Rome until the establishment of the Roman republic in 509 BCE.
Etruscans
Which if the following did NOT contribute to early Roman military successes?
Especially by the standards of antiquity, the Romans treated their conquered subjects harshly and brutally, so as to discourage any thought of rebellion.
The Punic Wars were fought between Rome and
Carthage
Which of the following was NOT true of the Roman constitution in the Republican period?
The Centuriate Assembly ensured that all Roman citizens were represented equally, without regard to class or wealth.
What is typically NOT true of Roman religious practices during the Republic?
Religious belief was ultimately a private affair.
Which of the following is NOT true concerning Roman territorial expansion between 264 and 133 BCE?
a) It generated tremendous wealth and unsettled Rome’s socio-economic balance.
b) It made a significant portion of the Roman population dependent on state grain subsidies.
c) It required Rome to depend more on the full-time professional soldier, rather than the citizen soldier of the earlier period.
d) ALL OF THESE ARE TRUE
Which of the following is NOT true concerning the Gracchi?
They succeeded in defusing Rome’s social and political crisis
In the context of ancient Roman history, what were latifundia?
Vast landed estates typically employing slave labor
He is usually seen as Rome’s first true emperor. He ruled from 31 BCE to 14 CE.
Augustus
The Roman Empire declined most precipitously during:
the Crisis of the Third Century
Which late 3rd Century Roman is credited with rescuing the empire from the chaos of the previous century?
Diocletian
When historians begin the period of the Dominate with the rule of Diocletian, it is because Diocletian
a) called himself “Lord” and physically removed himself from the court
b) defined formal rules for imperial succession
c) imposed rules on the economy, currency and taxation system
d) ALL OF THE ABOVE
A chief difference between the Augustun system (“the Principate”) and the later Dominate was
Augustus preserved the appearance of Rome’s republican institutions
All of the following are typical of Roman governing practice during the Pax Romana except:
the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE
Which most accurately describes this map?
Tetrarchy
At the end of Emperor Diocletian’s rule:
Diocletian retired to Dalmatia
Constantinople was founded as an imperial capital in 324 CE, and remained as such for about
1,100 years
In the last century or so of the Roman Empire in the West, emperors resided at all of the following cities EXCEPT
Rome
“… more populous, more prosperous, and more central to imperial policy…” describes which part of the Roman Empire in the fourth century CE?
the Greek-speaking east
Which of the following legacies of the Roman Empire proved to be the least enduring historically speaking?
The territorial unification of much of Europe
Which of the following statements about the life and career of Jesus Christ proved to be the most controversial to historians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?
Jesus was a historical figure
The Dead Sea Scrolls described a quasi-monastic, ascetic and strictly sectarian group of Jews known as
Essenes
Apostle Paul caused the most controversy among the early Jewish followers of Jesus because
Paul did not believe that adherence to Jewish dietary and other ritual laws was necessary to be a Christian
All of the following Roman emperors supported Christianity EXCEPT
Julian
Which century?
Twelfth
