When did Homo sapiens first appear?
200,000 B.C.
Which method for determining the age of artifacts measures the rate of decay in atoms in volcanic rock?
potassium-argon dating
What caused prehistoric people to drastically change the way they lived?
climate change
What did improved farming techniques lead to?
division of labor
Which best defines history?
study of the human past and the story of change over time
Which kind of scholar studies objects left behind by humans?
archaeologist
What does the out of Africa theory maintain?
Modern humans originated in Africa and migrated to other parts of the world.
Which of these characteristics is not true of early hunter-gatherers?
They traded extensively with other communities.
What was the Neolithic Revolution?
a time when humans turned from hunting and gathering to farming
What happened as a result of humans settling down into agricultural villages?
Social roles and work definition began to change.
Why did a division of labor occur when people started to produce a surplus of food?
People were left with time to do other jobs.
Which was one result of the domestication of animals?
new division of labor between men and women
Which describes a characteristic of civilization?
trade and economic activity
Where did Sumerian priests make offerings to the Sumerian gods and goddesses?
ziggurats
What effect did the invention of writing have in the ancient world?
Information and culture spread to new places.
The invention of bronze in ancient Sumer was so significant because it __________.
improved agriculture and gave rulers more power
Which is a reason Sumer declined as a civilization?
Sumerian rulers fought to gain territory.
When the flooding waters of the Nile receded, what did they leave behind?
rich, black soil
Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead?
to preserve the bodies for use in the afterlife
Who united Upper and Lower Egypt?
Menes Narmer
What did scholars study to help them decipher hieroglyphics?
Rosetta Stone
How were scholars able to translate hieroglyphic symbols?
By comparing a message written in both hieroglyphics and Greek, scholars were able to translate the hieroglyphic symbols.
Which was a first step in the development of civilizations in both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies?
development of irrigation
Which river is associated with the settlement of ancient Egypt?
Nile
Who was the most powerful person in Egyptian society and government?
the pharaoh
Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead?
to preserve the bodies for use in the afterlife
What is the Rosetta Stone?
a carved stone that helped decode hieroglyphics
What was the purpose of the Book of the Dead?
to help people in their passage to the afterlife
Which best describes the Indus Valley civilization?
organizing cities well
From where did the soil in the Indus Valley receive its rich silt?
Indus River
Which most likely contributed to the decline of the Indus Valley civilization?
outbreak of disease
Why don't we have more information about the Indus Valley civilization?
Archaeologists and historians have been unable to decipher the Indus Valley writing.
Which was a result of the physical geography of ancient China?
isolation from other early civilizations
Why did the Yellow River flood so frequently?
The river carried enormous amounts of silt.
What is a dynasty?
a ruling family that remains in power for many years
Which legendary dynasty was started by Yu?
Xia
On what did Shang priests write questions for the gods?
bones
Which New Kingdom pharaoh outlawed the worship of many gods and established a new religion with one, all-powerful god?
Amenhotep IV
How were many of the New Kingdom pharaohs able to undertake such enormous building projects?
They used slave labor and the wealth they gained from tribute and trade.
Which is the best definition for empire?
an area or political unit in which formerly independent states are under the control of one ruler
Which was the most common method empire builders used to unite vast territories?
military conquest
How did Sargon raise money to pay his army and buy the loyalty of his supporters?
by controlling trade routes and taxing merchants
What was the significance of the Code of Hammurabi?
The laws were displayed throughout the empire for all to see.
Why did the Hittites migrate from central Asia to Mesopotamia?
They needed more land for growing populations.
Which pharaoh undertook enormous building projects, including Abu Simbel?
Ramses II
Which pharaoh established a new religion with one, new, all-powerful god?
Amenhotep IV
What did an abundant supply of slaves and the wealth from tribute, plunder, and trade allow Egyptian pharaohs and other rulers to do?
build huge monuments and temples and develop infrastructure
Which group of people conquered Egypt's New Kingdom, but kept many Egyptian customs?
Kushites
How did Darius of Persia maintain control over his empire?
He divided it into provinces and assigned satraps to govern them.
Which empire builder used tolerance to help maintain control over his empire?
Cyrus
Why did the Persian Empire decline in power?
Fights for the royal throne broke out and governors stopped following orders.
Which statement about Persian culture is true?
The Persians adopted whatever they found useful from other cultures.
Which were achievements of the Chaldean Empire?
Hanging Gardens of Babylon; Ishtar Gate; precise observations of the stars
In which way were the Assyrian and Persian empires alike?
They were both divided into provinces and had systems of communication.
Most scholars and scientists agree that modern humans originated on which continent?
Africa
When did descendants of modern-day humans first appear?
around 200,000 B.C.
Which scholar studies artifacts objects left behind by humans or human ancestors?
archaeologist
Which method do scientists use to track evolutionary changes over time?
DNA analysis
Which most directly helped early humans develop agriculture?
access to water
Why were the people in early farming communities able to focus on different kinds of work?
Improved farming techniques resulted in food surpluses.
Which best describes a result of division of labor in early farming communities?
Social roles began to change.
What did trade and interaction between villages result in?
greater knowledge
Which is a characteristic of civilization?
trade and economic activity
Why were early clans of hunter-gatherers not considered civilizations?
They did not have division of labor.
Why did the world's first civilizations develop in river valleys?
The land in river valleys supported agriculture.
Which civilization built ziggurats and used cuneiform to record information?
Mesopotamia
Which civilization built pyramids and mummified their rulers?
Egypt
Why is the Code of Hammurabi such an important factor in the development of empires?
Everyone in the empire could see the laws.
Which New Kingdom pharaoh built several large temples and monuments, including Abu Simbel?
Ramses II
What is the New Kingdom pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) known for?
establishing a new, monotheistic religion
Which civilization put home and family at the center of life and produced silk cloth?
China
Which describes accomplishments of the Persian Empire?
using governors and an infrastructure to maintain control
Which empire's accomplishments include the Ishtar Gate, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and a knowledge of astronomy and medicine?
Chaldean
Which empire, forged by Hammurabi, produced the first code of laws available for all to see?
Babylonian
Which was not a method used by early empire builders to gain and maintain power?
building new temples
Which two groups migrated into modern-day Turkey and Iran from what is now southern Russia and later formed empires?
Hittites and Aryans
Which best describes why the Neolithic Revolution was such an important turning point in history?
People began to control their physical environment for the first time.
