Download Mesopotamia Common Assessment

Mesopotamia Common Assessment
Multiple Choice:
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1) Which sequence of events shows how Mesopotamia developed?
A
People formed divisions of labor. The population grew. Agriculture was the basis of the
society.
B
People built cities. People grew crops. People built canals.
C
People made laws. People moved to villages and cities. People lived where crops could
grow.
D
People settled where crops could grow. The population grew. Villages and cities formed.
2) Compared to the laws of the United States, Hammurabi’s code seems to have very harsh punishments, which
of the following would be a logical explanation for this?
A
Hammurabi was a King who wanted to maintain order in society
B
Mesopotamians were not as intelligent as modern Americans
C
Hammurabi needed to have harsh punishments to keep the population from attacking him.
D
Hammurabi had prisons in which to put prisoners in
3) Which of the following best describes cuneiform?
A
a form of writing using hieroglyphics
B
a form of writing using wedge-shaped symbols
C
a form of writing using complex ideas such as “joy
D
a form of writing using proverbs and songs
4)
Sumerians enjoyed music. Kings and temples hired musicians to play on special occasions. Music
and dance provided entertainment in marketplaces and homes.
What can you infer from this text?
A
Playing instruments was common in Sumerian society.
B
Music performances were common in Sumerian society.
C
Only dance was done by royalty.
D
Sumerian civilization included leisure activities such as enjoying music.
5) Hammurabi’s code of laws is similar to the U.S Constitution because
A
C
All people have basic rights
Written by the king/president
B
D
Written in the same language
Written to protect upper class citizens
6) Why were Sumerian settlements known as city-states?
A
C
Each settlement served the Sumerian
Each settlement had their own irrigation
Empire
system
B
D
Each settlement had its own ruler and
Each settlement recorded the empire’s
farmland
history
7) Crops grew well in Mesopotamia because
A
farmland was fertile and water was nearby.
B
the land was in mountainous areas.
C
the area was near the ocean water supply.
D
the area received adequate rainfall.
8) Which of the following is an invention created by Mesopotamians that allowed for our modern Agricultural
system to develop?
A
Organized Armies
B
Irrigation
C
Music
D
The Sailboat
9) Which of the following would be an appropriate punishment for kicking another student at our school if we
followed Hammurabi’s examples for punishments?
A
Expulsion from school forever
B
A fine of $50 for the student
C
Throw the student in the school jail for 3 months
D
Cut the students foot off
10) The early Mesopotamian economy was one in which goods and services are exchanged without money being
involved, what is this type of economy called?
A
selling
B
exchanging
C
Bartering
D
Trade
11) Who served as a role between the Sumerians and the gods?
A
C
farmers
warriors
B
D
merchants
Kings/Priests
12) Which two land features gave Mesopotamia its name?
A
the Fertile Crescent and the Mediterranean Sea
B
the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea
C
the northern plateau and the southern plateau
D
the Tigris River and the Euphrates River
13) You are a farmer in ancient Mesopotamia and you grow 500 bushels a year. Your family uses 300 bushels a
year. What do you have?
A
C
a surplus of 200 bushels
a surplus of 500 bushels
B
D
a surplus of 300 bushels
a surplus of 800 bushels
14) Which statement best represents the development of a civilization?
A
People rely on hunting and gathering because it is the only way to survive.
B
The development of cities led to inventions like irrigation.
C
People prefer government jobs to life as a farmer.
D
If there is a stable food supply, people can develop a complex civilization.
15) Which is an inference about why city-states fought each other over complex irrigation systems?
A
Each city-state owned crops that had been destroyed by natural causes.
B
Each city-state had only one skill, which was farming.
C
Each city-state wanted to build walls around its farms.
D
Each city-state wanted to have enough resources to grow a surplus amount of food.
16) What purpose did the wall around a city serve?
A
to protect inhabitants of the city-state from attack
B
to collect water that could be used to irrigate farmland
C
to keep the poor out of the city
D
to keep people from moving to another city-state
17) The Mesopotamians plow is most like the modern-day
A
C
chariot
tractor.
B
D
car.
tire.
18) Our modern transportation system in the United States could not have been created without which of the
following Mesopotamian advancements or inventions?
A
C
the sailboat
the wheel
B
D
mathematics
the plow
19) What was the relationship between trade and the spread of the Cuneiform alphabet?
A
C
They traded their knowledge of the
Cuneiform was spread along their trade
alphabet for goods and services they
routes.
needed.
B
D
Trade increased in places where the
They would trade only with people who
alphabet was not used.
could write in cuneiform.
20) What was the purpose of the ziggurat?
A
so architects could display their work
B
to serve as a government building
C
D
so they could be easily found
to honor their gods
21) Scribes had power in Sumerian society. What can you conclude from this?
A
C
People who could read and write were
All scribes came from the lower class.
important.
B
D
Scribes invented Hieroglyphics
All scribes came from the middle class.
22) Sumerians used levees to
A
keep water away from neighboring citystates.
B
control the flooding in the valley.
C
D
make ponds where they could wash
clothes.
create waterfalls so they had water power.
23) What happened when people from many villages use Sumerian irrigation systems?
A
Cities had to have moats for storing water C People in the villages had to develop a
outside their walls.
language they could all speak.
B
D
Cities had to limit the number of people
People in the villages had to work together
who could have farms.
to take care of the system.
24) What made it harder to live in Sumer than in the Zagros foothills?
A
Sumer lacked natural barriers to keep out C Sumer had many stones that needed to be
enemies.
cleared from farmland.
B
Sumer had many hills that made farming D Sumer lacked strong people to build
difficult.
canals.
25) Ancient Sumerians invented irrigation systems and plows. What did these 2 inventions help provide?
A
C
a system of government
a stable food supply
B
D
a partner with whom to trade
an honor for the gods
26) What evidence shows that Sumerian society developed after the Stone Age?
A
C
mud houses
wooden plows
B
D
painted pottery
copper blades
27) Which statement shows how Sumerian religion and government were connected?
A
C
Sumerians believed that merchants sold
Sumerians recorded their prayers on clay
goods for the king.
tablets.
B
Sumerians believed that the king got their D Sumerians recorded the movements of the
powers from the gods.
planets.
28) What evidence shows that the Mesopotamians were not prehistoric?
A
C
ziggurats
irrigation ditches
B
D
statues
Hammurabi’s Code
29) What change, caused by farming in the Zagros Mountains, led people to move South?
A
C
population increase and there wasn’t
climate changed and it got too dry to keep
enough food available
living there
B
people fought & needed to find new place D soil got overused, and plants could no
to live
longer grow there
30) Whose duty was it to do these jobs: build temples, lead the army, enforce laws and maintain the irrigation
system?
A
C
king’s
scribes’
B
D
priests’
governors’
31) What solution did people in the Zagros foothills find to fix the problem of food shortages?
A
B
built terraces
moved to river valley
C
D
constructed reservoirs
Joined villages together
32) Why did rivers flood in the spring?
A
B
heavy rains fell in the area
strong winds blew in from the Persian
Gulf
C
D
ice in river broke into bits
snow and ice melted in the mountains
33) A blue stone called lapis lazuli, used on the Standard of Ur, came from far beyond the Zagros Mountains.
This shows that the city-states of Sumer engaged in
A
B
trade
mining
C
D
agriculture
jewelry-making
34) Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?
A
B
it dries up rivers
it crumbled city walls
C
D
it ruined the soil for planting
it clogged irrigation canals
35) What was the purpose of dams and reservoirs
A
B
To allow travel by boat
To make it easier to fish
C
D
To store water for later use
To protect villages from attack