Download Mesopotamian Test

Mesopotamian Test
1. What value was placed on their religion by the Sumerians?
a. They were not extremely religious
b. They worshiped on Saturday and preformed individual prayer
c. Their worship involved animal sacrifice
d. Their religion was central to their lives
2. What present-day country is most of Ancient Mesopotamia part of?
a. Iran
b. Afghanistan
c. Iraq
d. Egypt
3. Why is Ancient Mesopotamia considered the ‘Cradle of Civilization’?
a. It is home to the first ever civilization
b. The Akkadian Empire overthrew the Sumerians
c. It was a river valley civilization, using the water to survive
d. It culturally joined the four river valley civilizations together
4. What are some things that the Sumerians of Ancient Mesopotamia credited with inventing?
a. Silt, plants that produce seeds, irrigation
b. The wheel, the metal plow, a writing system
c. Trading, bronze spears, better hunting techniques
d. Expanding lifespan to 60, life after death, burial methods
5. What building material was most commonly used, especially in southern Mesopotamia?
a. Mud bricks
b. Stone
c. Wood – timber
d. Lapis lazuli
6. Why did ancient civilizations develop in Mesopotamia along the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates?
a. The rivers aided in the exploration of new territories
b. The rivers provided power for industries
c. The river valleys provided areas for recreation
d. The rivers provided a source of fresh water and good farmland
7. Which feature of geography was the most important in the development of the river valley
civilizations?
a. Fertile soil from the rivers
b. High mountains
c. Vast deserts
d. Smooth coastlines
8. How did calendars contribute to growth in cities and agriculture in ancient Mesopotamia?
a. They notified more people of important feast days, which brought visitors and increased
wealth to the cities
b. They helped farmers plan their crops to avoid floods, which allowed them to grow more
food and to feed more people in the cities
c. They caused people who believed that the astronomers who created calendars could predict
the future to move closer to the cities to hear the predictions
d. They helped leaders to predict when neighboring armies would attack, and defend the
cities, allowing them to grow
9. Cuneiform writing provided the basis for the development of what?
a. Subsistence farming (farming just enough for you and your family, no surplus food)
b. Painting and sculpture
c. Oral traditions (telling stories about your history)
d. Recorded history
10. Which is the best explanation for why Mesopotamians built canals?
a. They needed a way to control the river’s flow to prevent flooding and increase farming
b. They needed a way to control water so people could wash their clothes
c. They needed a way to control low water levels
d. They needed a way to control the food surpluses
11. How did the metal plow help to increase Mesopotamian trade with other civilizations?
a. Many farmers who had learned metalworking to make plows also made other medal goods
and took them along trade routes for sell
b. Farmers could plant faster, so they had more free time to go to markets and buy from
traders
c. Farmers could plant faster, helping them plant larger areas and grow extra grain for traders
to sell
d. Farmers who bought plows from traders found their new tools so helpful that they later
bought many other goods from trade
12. Which of the following facts serves as evidence that the Mesopotamians were polytheistic?
a. Mesopotamian government was centered on the city-state
b. Goods made in India and Egypt were brought to Mesopotamia by traders
c. The Sumerian story of the Great Flood is similar to the Bible story about Noah’s Ark
d. The city of Ur had temples dedicated to worshipping the goddess Ishtar and the god Enki
13. Who was the ancient Babylonian king who created the earliest known code of laws which
focused on harsh punishments to keep order in society?
a. Sargon
b. Hammurabi
c. Eannatum
d. Nebuchadnezzar
14. High crop yields in ancient Mesopotamia contributed most directly to the development of what?
a. Metal tools
b. Irrigation systems
c. A division of labor, specialization of jobs
d. A network of roads
15. Ancient Mesopotamian traders had connections with traders in what other civilizations?
a. India and Egypt
b. Russia and China
c. Japan and Australia
d. Greece and West Africa
Some of the first writing was developed in Mesopotamia. Many social scientists credit the Sumerian
people for this writing. The writing looked like symbols and was called cuneiform. The Sumerians wrote
on clay tablets. Later, th4e Phoenicians, while still using cuneiform, began to produce their own 22letter alphabet. This development made it easier for people of the ancient world to learn to read and
write. In some ways, their alphabet looked like Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Greeks and Romans adapted
the Phoenician writing form to create their own alphabet.
Writing was used in commerce. It was esoecially important communicating the history of people. It was
also a powerful way of letting people know the laws. The first written set of laws was called the Code of
Hammurabi.
16. What is the name of the Sumerian writing system?
a. Hieroglyphics
b. Cuneiform
c. Roman numerals
d. Hammurabi’s Code
17. The reading discusses that writing was used in commerce. In this passage, what does the word
commerce refer to?
a. Agriculture
b. Trading
c. Building
d. Religious ceremonies
18. What was the result of the development of an alphabet in ancient times?
a. Trade routes opened up from Rome to the cities of China
b. The Code of Hammurabi was declared useless for the average person
c. No one ever used cuneiform again
d. It was easier for people to read and write
19. What is a city-state?
a. A city that is similar to other cities, under the same laws
b. Land and cities that has been taken over by a single strong leader
c. A city and the surrounding countryside that it controls
d. An alliance of three or more small cities
20. What was the most common way for the king of each Sumerian city-state to gain his power?
a. A strong man rises to help defend the city-state in wars, then becomes king
b. Citizens of each city-state come together and vote as a king is needed
c. Potential leaders must win at certain contest that show who would be best
d. Most Sumerian city-states were ruled by an oligarchy – a small group of powerful people
21. What was the importance of the ‘division of labor’ in the early river valley civilization?
a. It forced society into strict caste – social groups
b. It helped everyone become better farmers – growing better crops
c. It allowed people to do other jobs instead of farming – growing other industries
d. Certain people in society became lazy, and did not work
22. What is an empire – as opposed to a civilization?
a. A group of people who are similar, with similar culture, living together in society
b. A ruthless leader overthrowing a city-state
c. Citizens electing their leader and other law-makers
d. Land with different peoples being ruled by a single military leader
23. Which empire was the first to control a lot of Mesopotamia, including Sumer?
a. Assyria
b. Babylonia
c. Akkadian
d. Sumer
24. Which empire was known for their ruthless warrior tactics, and became the third, and largest
empire to control Mesopotamia up to that point?
a. Assyria
b. Babylonia
c. Akkadian
d. Sumer
25. Would you have wanted to live in Babylon under the Code of Hammurabi? Why or why not?
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