World Archeology Exam #3

What was the Chinese technique of stamped or pounded earth that was used in construction of house walls and defensive structures?

Hang-t'u

What is the evidence for trade between Indus Valley cities and the city states of ancient Mesopotamia?

Harappan seals have been found in Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian cylinder seals have been found in the Indus valley..

The population of the Valley of Mexico was supported by means of:

agricultural irrigation, terraces, and artificially raised fields called chinampas..

The peak of Minoan civilization, from 3650 to 3420 B.P., was bracketed by what two events?

an earthquake and a volcanic eruption.

The Egyptian system of hieroglyphics:

appears to have developed suddenly.

The greatest Egyptian pyramids at Giza were built:

as burial monuments for the pharaoh Khufu, Khufu's son Khafre, and Khufu's grandson Menkaure..

The Nazca geoglyphs extend over miles and represent:

ceremonial pathways and effigies of spirits and gods..

The origins of Chinese civilization can be traced to:

chiefdoms and states in numerous regions throughout China..

Unlike most other early civilizations, Minoan culture shows little evidence of:

conspicuous consumption by elites..

Conflict models emphasize the importance of __________ tensions in the development of state societies, while integration models emphasize ____________ tensions.

internal; external.

The death of Qin Dynasty emperor Ying Zheng was marked by what elaborate memorial?

An 8,000-member life-sized terra cotta army..

The attitude of many ancient elites toward the consumption of resources seems to have been:

"if you've got it, flaunt it.".

The pharaoh ruled a population of ________, of which _________ were farmers.

. 3,000,000; 75%.

Mayan art and iconography prominently feature depictions of:

. mutilation and violence..

At its height, only about _______ of the Incan empire was composed of ethnic Inca.

1%

At its peak, the palace at Knossos is thought to have had over _________ rooms.

1,000.

The ancient city of Cahokia contained more than _______ and a population of around _______.

120 earthen mounds; 10,000.

When did the Inca begin their military expansion across South America?

1450 A.D..

When Hernan Cortes entered the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán in A.D. __________, its population was estimated to be _____________.

1519; 200,000

At its peak, the population of the city of Teotihuacán may have reached:

200,000 people..

When did maize-based agriculture replace the traditional foraging subsistence system in the Southwest?

2000 B.P..

The Shang Dynasty laid the foundation for a coherent development of Chinese civilization that lasted well into the:

20th century..

The Yang-shao culture gave way to the Lung-Shan sometime after:

5,000 B.P..

When did the first pharaohs emerge in Egypt?

5100 B.P..

Montezuma ruled over millions of people from the _______ capital of _____.

Aztec; Tenochtitlán..

Which of the following is archaeological evidence of social stratification and inequality?

Burials with exotic grave goods also contain bones indicating that they engaged in less strenuous labor..

The earliest-known use of bronze is found in:

China

Which is true of the origins of Minoan civilization?

Crete was populated by Greeks and others, but Minoan culture was a local development..

Why is the timing of monumental construction at Ceibal significant?

It contradicts the hypothesis that the monumental construction of the Maya was largely inspired by the Olmec..

Based on the analysis of oxygen isotope ratios in the shells of gastropods found in the sediments of an ancient lake, what happened to civilization in the Indus Valley?

It eventually collapsed due to climate change and drought..

The Minoans inhabited the _________ island of Crete.

Mediterranean.

Where did the world's first civilization develop?

Mesopotamia.

What was the required labor service owed to the king in return for the privilege of using property owned by the Incan empire?

Mit'a.

The _______ developed one of the earliest kingdoms in South America, reaching its height at around ________

Moche; AD 400.

Why were the elite of state societies so conspicuous in their consumption?

Monuments and possessions were used as symbols to reinforce the inequalities on which state societies are based..

The Maya derived their writing and mathematics from the:

Olmec..

What is the name of the largest structure at Teotihuacán and around how many platform monuments and pyramids were built there?

Pyramid of the Sun; 600.

Based on archaeological evidence, which of the following is accurate regarding civilization in general?

The concentration of wealth is a common feature..

How were the royal cemeteries of the Moche discovered?

Thieves raiding the tombs were caught by the police..

Interestingly, none of the civilizations of ancient South America appear to have developed:

a written language..

Which of the following was the first city and what was the estimated population?

Uruk, 10,000 people.

Monte Alban is located in the ________ and was built by the _________.

Valley of Oaxaca; Zapotec..

The influence of the Tiwanaku was eclipsed by the _________ culture, to the north and west.

Wari.

By 1900 B.P., the central elements of Mayan culture were in place. These did NOT include:

a sophisticated bronze producing industry..

A state society is:

a stratified society whose rulers have the powers to tax, make laws, and conscript labor..

The spread of a shared religious iconography in ancient civilizations may be an indication of what?

cultural and perhaps political unification.

What is the earliest form of writing in the world and where did it develop?

cuneiform, in Mesopotamia

Early evidence of complexity in Mayan societies is suggested by the appearance, around 2650 B.P., of:

decorated stepped platforms..

Nubian civilization:

developed in response to, but not in imitation of, Egyptian culture..

The belief that all of the characteristics of civilization developed in one place, such as Egypt, and from there spread out to the rest of the world is known as:

diffusionism.

The city of Uruk and the cultures of the Maya and the Moche were all adversely affected by:

drought..

When did Mohenjo-daro develop into a complex urban center?

during the Mature Harappan period, from 4,500 to 4,000 B.P..

Researchers now believe that the decline of the Maya was caused chiefly by:

ecological degradation resulting from slash-and-burn farming techniques..

Which of the following is NOT one of Joseph Tainter's proposed causes for the collapse of ancient civilizations?

epidemic disease.

Following the classical period, which ended around A.D. 800, Mayan civilization:

fell into decline, moved its center north, resurged, and fell into decline once again..

What was found in some of the burials at the principal Liangzhu site in eastern China that represents elite status?

finely crafted large jade disks called bi.

The development of civilization in Mesopotamia is associated with the _______, during the ______.

first cities; Uruk Period].

Which of the following are four of the characteristics of civilization?

food surpluses, specialists, urban settlements, and a system of record keeping.

Based on the strontium isotope ratios in the teeth of people buried at Copán, who were the rulers?

foreigners from different regions across much of the Maya territory.

Tiwanaku, with its capital at Titicaca, was one of the ___________ kingdoms of the ancient world.

highest.

Archaeological evidence for the collapse of civilizations suggests which of the following is the most important variable?

how societies respond to challenges.

Among the Inca, human sacrifice was preceded by:

improved diet, the use of coca leaves, and consumption of maize beer..

Since the late 1800s, tidal gauges indicate that mean global sea level has ________; there is consensus among scientists that sea level ______.

increased by about 20 centimeters (8 inches); will continue to rise..

Markings found on the mud-bricks of Huaca del Sol are probably:

intended to identify the local group that had produced them..

The record-keeping system used by the Inca in which a series of knotted strings were used as mnemonic devices is called:

khipu..

The Chimu civilization was one of the ___________ kingdoms of the ancient New World.

largest.

The great Mayan king Pacal built temples in the city of Palenque in order to:

legitimize his kingship, since his father was not royal..

The Minoan economy may have been especially vulnerable to natural catastrophe because it relied heavily on:

maritime trade.

The most obvious material symbols of ancient state societies are:

monumental works..

What were the mastaba?

mud-brick structures built over elite tombs that were subsequently developed into pyramids.

Like the urban centers of the Indus Valley, Teotihuacán appears to have been:

planned and built on a grid pattern..

Unlike Mesopotamian writings, the records left by the Maya are principally concerned with:

political and military history

Inca architecture is noted for its:

precise jigsaw-like stone masonry..

Machu Picchu was built in the mountains as a

relaxing getaway for elites..

In periods of great difficulty and stress, it appears that the Minoans __________ in order to appease the gods.

sacrificed adults and occasionally children.

Capacocha was an Incan ritual that involved what?

sacrificing children in order to propitiate the spirits of the mountains.

The Chinese process of divining the future by examining fired animal bones is called:

scapulimancy.

What do the amounts of rainfall in the Maya homeland, as reflected in variations in oxygen isotopes in a stalagmite in Yok Balum Cave in Belize, correspond to?

severe drought and a decline in construction at Maya ceremonial centers.

Mayan city-states were NOT:

similar in their political organization to Egyptian communities..

A pattern of social integration in which individuals are placed into a hierarchy of social levels is called:

social stratification

Upper Egypt is ________ of Lower Egypt.

south

The practice of _________ allowed the Inca to greatly increase the amount of arable land.

terracing.

The name Teotihuacán was given to the city by:

the Aztecs, who continued to make pilgrimages there long after its collapse.

Which of the following ancient civilizations has a written language that is the furthest from being fully deciphered?

the Indus Valley.

What did the Moche build at the heart of their urban center?

the Pyramid of the Sun.

What does the lid of the sarcophagus of Pacal the Great, ruler of Palenque, depict?

the dead king suspended between the Maya earth monster and the Quetzal bird which symbolizes the Maya heaven.

Indus Valley civilization is unmatched in comparison to other early civilizations in terms of what?

the degree of urban planning.

Pizarro was able to subdue the entire Inca empire largely because:

the empire had never won the allegiance of the peoples it had conquered..

The Mayan king Yax Pahsaj symbolized his royalty on a stele that depicts:

the founder of the dynasty "passing him the torch.".

The fact that early excavators of Teotihuacán mistook ordinary housing compounds for palaces suggests:

the general standard of living was high..

Among Inca royalty, what happened following the death of the king?

the king's body was mummified and treated as if it were alive.

All of the following statements are true of the walls of the central complex of Great Zimbabwe EXCEPT:

the mortar that holds them together was made from ground up ocean shells..

What was NOT a deciding factor in the development of Mesopotamian civilization?

the need to concentrate population away from arable lands near rivers.

Part of the Inca political strategy included all of the following EXCEPT:

the ritual sacrifice of captives of war to appease the sun god..

What Mesopotamian institution was set apart and had powers before the advent of social complexity?

the temple.

The reason that archaeologists long suggested that the walls of Great Zimbabwe could not have been built by an indigenous sub-Saharan people was that:

they thought sub-Saharan Africans were incapable of such achievements..

One of the less obvious reasons for the Inca to fight so many wars may have been:

to identify and cultivate talented leaders..

The Aztec Empire was based on the systematic expansion of:

tribute in the form of gold, jade, feathers, cloth, and jewels..

Teotihuacán came to prominence in the Basin of Mexico after its rival, Cuicuilco,

was crippled by a volcanic eruption..

The commoners of the rural Aztec villages of Capilco and Cuexcomate:

were mostly left alone and did fairly well for themselves..