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Where was the tomb of Queen Puabi found?
a. Lagash
b. Uruk
c. Ur
Queen Puabi's tomb was discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley in the Royal Cemetery of Ur (southern Mesopotamia, present-day Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq) during excavations in the 1920s–1930s. It’s one of the richest and most famous burials from ancient Mesopotamia.
According to Karl Wittfogel and Julian Steward, what was the key factor in the rise of the Sumerian state?
a. management of labor for large-scale irrigation
b. trade with Egypt
c. the biblical flood
d. environmental degradation due to large-scale irrigation
a. management of labor for large-scale irrigation
Karl Wittfogel and Julian Steward proposed the Hydraulic (or Irrigation) Hypothesis, which argues that the rise of early states, like Sumer in Mesopotamia, was driven by the need to organize and manage labor for large-scale irrigation systems. These massive irrigation projects required coordinated planning, administration, and leadership, leading to the development of bureaucratic governments and centralized authority, key features of the Sumerian state.
Which of the following was not a cultural development of the Jemdet Nasr Period (3100-2900 B.C.)?
a. population growth
b. large-scale irrigation projects
c. expansion of long-distance trade
d. Memphis becomes the largest site in Southwest Asia
d. Memphis becomes the largest site in Southwest Asia
Which of the following is not characteristic of both Sumer and Egypt at about 2500 B.C.?
a. writing
b. elaborate burials of nobles
c. a single unified state polity
d. monumental buildings like ziggurats and pyramids
A single unified state polity
- Egypt was a single unified state under the Pharaohs.
- Sumer, by contrast, was divided into independent city-states (like Ur, Uruk, and Lagash), each with its own ruler.
- The political organization of the Harappan and Sumerian states.
- What are the archaeological evidence for differences in political organization (e.g., corporate versus network), inequality, and the presence of powerful rulers.
- How do Jericho and Catal Huyuk contradict gradual models of Neolithic cultural evolution?
An Early Dynastic Period Egyptian structure combining a temple and tomb.
a. Ziggurat
b. Great Bath
c. Mastaba
Mastaba
A mastaba is an Early Dynastic Period Egyptian structure that functioned as both a tomb and a temple-like chapel for offerings. It had a rectangular shape, sloping sides, and a flat roof. Mastabas were precursors to pyramids and served as the burial places of elite Egyptians before pyramid construction developed.
Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s Aryan Invasion theory relied on which of the following sources of evidence?
a. Rig Veda
b. Artifacts associated with Ziggurats
c. Cuneiform tablets
d. the Epic of Gilgamesh
a. Rig Veda
Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s Aryan Invasion Theory was based largely on textual evidence from the Rig Veda, one of the oldest sacred texts of ancient India. The Rig Veda describes conflicts between the Aryans and the Dasas (or Dasyus), which Wheeler interpreted as evidence of an Aryan invasion that contributed to
Kathleen Kenyon excavated Jericho. T/F
true
T / F The earliest T-shaped temples in Mesopotamia were found at Jericho.
False
Jericho is an early Neolithic settlement famous for its stone tower and walls, not T-shaped temples.
What was the Egyptian capital of Lower Egypt?
a. Abydos
b. Tell Hassuna
c. Memphis
Memphis
was the capital of Lower Egypt, located near the apex of the Nile Delta. It served as a major political and administrative center, especially during the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods.
George Dales and Robert Raikes argue that tectonic uplift in the lower Indus valley resulted in...
a. the creation of a lake in the lower Indus valley
b. the flooding of Mohenjo-daro
c. disruption of the Harappan states
d. all of the above
All of the above
George Dales and Robert Raikes proposed a geological explanation for the decline of the Harappan Civilization. They argued that tectonic uplift in the lower Indus Valley:
Created a large lake by altering river courses,
Caused flooding in major cities such as Mohenjo-daro, and
Ultimately disrupted trade, agriculture, and settlement patterns, leading to the collapse of Harappan urban centers.
Uruk period writing in lower Mesopotamia focused on this topic.
the economic transactions of the state
T / F Complex societies developed earlier in Mesopotamia than in Egypt.
True
In Mesopotamia, early city-states such as Uruk and Eridu emerged by around 3500–3200 B.C., with the development of writing (cuneiform), monumental architecture, and bureaucratic administration. In Egypt, political unification and complex state formation occurred slightly later, around 3100 B.C., under King Narmer (Menes).
A small village site in northern (upper) Mesopotamia dating to about 6000 B.C.
a. Uruk
b. Catal Huyuk
c. Tell Hassuna
d. Jericho
Tell Hassuna
is a small Neolithic village site located in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), dating to around 6000 B.C. It represents one of the earliest farming communities in the region and gave its name to the Hassuna culture, characterized by handmade pottery, mudbrick architecture, and early agriculture.
In the article "A Scientist looks at the Pyramids," Kurt Mendelssohn argues that the last (Menkaure) pyramid at Giza was smaller because...
a. once a bureaucracy was formed to manage the building of the large pyramids, workers were redirected to other state projects
b. the architects did not want to risk another disaster like the collapse of the Meidum pyramid,
so they built the Menkaure pyramid at a smaller scale
c. the workers got tired
d. it was the pyramid of a politically weak Pharaoh
a. once a bureaucracy was formed to manage the building of the large pyramids, workers were redirected to other state projects
In Kurt Mendelssohn’s proposed that the smaller size of the Menkaure Pyramid (the last of the three major Giza pyramids) was not due to lack of resources or a weak pharaoh, but because the massive pyramid-building projects had already achieved their primary social and political purpose.
Which of the following was an important feature of Harappan ceremonial centers (i.e., citadels)?
a. pyramids b. a great bath c. Ziggurats
b. a great bath at Mohenjo-daro
T / F The people of Jericho exported obsidian they obtained from local sources to other settlements.
False
The people of Jericho did trade in obsidian, but they did not obtain it from local sources. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, where no natural obsidian deposits exist.
Which of the following was not a Harappan city? a. Mohenjo-daro b. Harappa c. Lothal d. Memphis
Memphis
Mohenjo-daro: Major urban center in present-day Pakistan.
Harappa: The type site of the Harappan Civilization.
Lothal:Important coastal city in present-day India, known for its dockyard.
20. Robert Braidwood developed the Nuclear Zone Theory for the origins of agriculture based on his work at this site.
a. Catal Huyuk
b. Uruk
c. Jarmo
d. Mohenjo-daro
20. Robert Braidwood developed the Nuclear Zone Theory for the origins of agriculture based on his work at this site.
a. Jarmo
b. Mohenjo-daro
a. Jarmo
what practice changed lower Mesopotamia from a hot, arid wasteland to the fertile breadbasket of the Sumerian state.
irrigation
T / F Lothal was a Harappan city that was involved in long-distance trade.
True
Lothal was an important Harappan (Indus Valley Civilization) city located in present-day Gujarat, India, and it was deeply involved in long-distance trade.