InQuizitive Chapter 2

Each image depicts evidence of long-distance trade connections during the third millennium. Match each object to the trade connections it suggests.

NECKLACE - This is evidence of a trade network connecting Afghanistan to the Indus River Valley, and points south. PLANT - This is evidence of trade stretching all the way from West Africa to Gujarat, in western India. POTTERY - This is evidence of a trade and culture region extending from modern Spain into the British Isles and central Europe.

In what ways was Europe similar to China during the period from 4000 BCE to 2000 BCE? How was it different?

SIMILAR TO CHINA - Europeans learned about bronze-making techniques (indirectly) from peoples of western Asia. - Interaction between European agricultural communities included both trade and warfare. NOT SIMILAR TO CHINA - European communities cooperated to create megalithic circular stone structures. - The herding of cattle for milk and meat was important to European agricultural practices.

When archaeologists unearth an ancient city, what do differences in the sizes and contents of houses within the city reveal about that ancient society?

Social hierarchies

After reading the text, watch this brief video comparing early civilizations. Which statements are true of Harappan societies, Mesopotamia, and Egypt? (Note: If a statement is true in only one or two of these regions, it should be considered not true of all three regions.)

TRUE OF ALL THREE REGIONS : - Their agricultural productivity depended on the rising and receding waters of local rivers. - Their communities were organized enough to produce large-scale public works and infrastructure. - They engaged in long-distance trade, especially in precious stones and metals. NOT TRUE OF ALL THREE REGIONS : - They built elaborate palaces. - They buried their royalty in large-scale royal tombs.

Which modern small-town institution is most like an ancient Sumerian temple in terms of its social power and economic importance to its hometown?

The local factory; it employs thousands of local people, owns local real estate, donates to charitable functions, and has a strong relationship with the political leaders

Complete this statement about historical understanding of ancient China.

The text states that the Yangshao culture of north central China gave way to the coastal Longshan culture. In particular, the widespread presence of Longshan-style BLACK POTTERY indicates to archaeologists that Longshan knowledge and practices affected multiple regions.

The urban-rural divide refers to the different economic foundations underlying urban and rural societies, with rural residents working the land to produce food and livestock, while urban dwellers developed increasingly specialized skills.

True

To what extent were religious practice and religious belief centralized in ancient Egypt? Identify each characteristic of belief or practice as tending toward centralization or tending toward regionalism and individual expression.

CENTRALIZED : - The pharaoh engaged in ritual worship on behalf of the interests of the whole kingdom. - The priesthood had sole access to the inner sanctuaries of temples and the gods' statues. REGIONAL OR INDIVIDUAL : - Common people acquired personal amulets to protect their health. - Common people worshipped on their own behalf at small local shrines. - Gods were (initially) believed to reside in specific towns, with each city having its own deity.

Match each term to its definition.

CITY : - A well-defined area with a large, dense human population and a high concentration of economic, religious, and political power. CITY - STATE : - A political organization based on the authority of a single, large urban area that controls adjacent rural territories. TERRITORIAL STATE : - A political organization that holds authority over a large population and landmass, including multiple cities and the rural areas between them.

Which statements can be supported using information from this map and the image of a Harappan necklace made with lapis lazuli and carnelian?

CORRECT : - Although the necklace was discovered at a Harappan site, trade routes in the ancient world were such that a necklace made from these materials could have been buried with an Egyptian pharaoh. - The necklace is evidence of specialization and agricultural surplus in Harappan societies. INCORRECT : - The necklace is evidence of the Anatolian practice of building fortified posts along trade routes. - The necklace is proof that maritime trade must have existed in the ancient world.

Identify the accurate statements about nomadic pastoralists and transhumant herders.

CORRECT : - By the mid-second millennium BCE, many pastoralists on the Eurasian steppe lands had stopped farming, instead focusing intensively on animal-breeding and herding. - Some groups of transhumant herders developed into nomadic herders because the environment could not support large-scale farming. INCORRECT : - Transhumant herders spent each year traveling from the Pacific coast of Asia to northern Europe, and back again. - Transhumant herders tended to raise horses and cattle, whereas nomadic pastoralists preferred goats and sheep.

Which factors contributed to the growth of trade in Mesopotamia?

CORRECT : - Communities in the region were well situated for trade because the area was accessible on all sides, rather than hemmed in by mountains or other natural barriers. - People in the region pursued trade because they lacked a variety of natural building materials, metals, and minerals. INCORRECT : - People in the region actually sought to avoid trade since they were not interested in products from outside their own religious community. - People in the region engaged in trade because they had a strong political interest in developments in East Asia and Europe. - People in the region invented trade because they had surplus goods and no place to store them.

How did communities respond to the climate changes in the late third millennium BCE?

CORRECT : - Egypt devolved into social and political chaos when the Nile stopped flooding annually. - People in Shahr-i Sokhta, on the Iranian plateau, left their city for smaller communities. - People on the Gujarat Peninsula (in South Asia) began growing drought-resistant millet instead of wheat, and their population expanded. INCORRECT : - Most of the population of the Yangzi River valley died from famine. - People in the Sahara region learned to grow crops without using water.

Imagine that a Harappan merchant lived in Lothal and engaged in trade (indirectly) with Mesopotamia. What kinds of knowledge would the Harappan importer/exporter have had?

CORRECT : - He would have had indirect knowledge of a variety of Harappan and Mesopotamian cities - He would have been familiar with (or employed a scribe who was familiar with) a system of writing used for seals on containers of trade goods - He would have been familiar with a widely used system of weights and measure to quantify the goods he bought and sold INCORRECT : - He would have had intimate knowledge of navigation techniques for sailing across the Indian Ocean - He would have known how to make jewelry using gold, carnelian, and lapis lazuli

What else might an archaeologist expect to find near a Longshan pot, like the one shown here?

CORRECT : - Human skeletons inside water wells - Potter's wheel - Stamped - earth village wells INCORRECT : - Corded ware pots - Written records

What can historians learn about Mesopotamian culture by examining royal tombs?

CORRECT : - Mesopotamian leaders enjoyed plentiful food and musical entertainment during their lifetimes, as demonstrated by the cooking vessels and instruments buried with them. - Mesopotamian rulers had the power of life and death over their subjects, as demonstrated by the fact that servants and other underlings were sacrificed and buried with their leaders. - Trade items like gold, lapis lazuli, and shell were luxuries that identified the status of the rich and powerful, as demonstrated by the fact that leaders were buried wearing jewelry and clothing made from these objects. INCORRECT : - Mesopotamian people only valued male leaders, as demonstrated by the fact that no women were ever given luxurious royal burials.

Consider this map, Trade and Exchange in the Third Millennium BCE. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the map?

CORRECT : - People in the third millennium BCE had already learned how to build boats and use them for trade, although they remained fairly close to shore in their travels. - People in the third millennium BCE traded building materials, like wood and limestone. INCORRECT : - People in the third millennium BCE divided the world into three major culture areas: cities, zones of urban civilization, and trading hinterlands. - People in the third millennium BCE traded foodstuffs, like bread and vegetables, across long distances.

The oldest papyrus text ever located, dated to about 2550 BCE, was found at Wadi al-Jarf. The text focuses on the resources used to build a pyramid for the pharaoh Khufu. Based on the chapter and this map, which statements about this archaeological find are likely to be true?

CORRECT : - The author was involved in the logistics of constructing a pyramid. - The text was found in a port city. INCORRECT : - The author was probably exporting food to the Sinai peninsula. - The text was found inside Khufu's pyramid.

Based on the chapter text and the map below, which of the following statements about the Nile River are both true and relevant to the development of ancient Egyptian society?

CORRECT : - The flooding of the Nile tended to be predictable. - The Nile floodplain is very narrow, resulting in a thin band of densely settled territory on its banks. - The reliable annual cycle of flooding meant that the dense Egyptian population had periods devoted to agricultural work and periods available for other kinds of work. INCORRECT : - The Nile was easily navigable all the way from Meroe to the Mediterranean. - The southward flow of the Nile encouraged Egyptians to explore southern Africa.

Which groups of people most frequently transmitted knowledge and/or goods between the early river-basin societies?

CORRECT : - nomads who lived on central Asian steppe lands - overland and maritime merchants INCORRECT : - expansionist armies, such as the Egyptian kingdom's army - religious missionaries

Which of the following facts do the grave sites across all of Afro-Eurasia illustrate about the ancient world?

CORRECT : - Exotic items, obtained through long-distance trade, were markers of wealth and power in every community. - River-basin communities and smaller settlements alike engaged in long-distance trade. INCORRET : - Heads of families were almost always buried with wives, servants, or slaves. - Only urbanized river-basin communities were able to construct public works.

What do the ruins of buildings and infrastructure in Mohenjo Daro demonstrate about the cultures of the Indus River valley?

CORRECT : - The inhabitants of Mohenjo Daro engaged in specialized tasks, including brickmaking, construction, engineering, and agriculture. - The inhabitants of Mohenjo Daro engaged in urban planning and community-wide cooperation. INCORRECT : - For spiritual reasons, the inhabitants of Mohenjo Daro preferred to live in buildings with rectangular rooms, rather than round rooms. - The inhabitants of Mohenjo Daro used a system of canals to transport trade goods. - The inhabitants of Mohenjo Daro valued men significantly more than they valued women.

In sub-Saharan Africa, cultural ideas spread and long-distance trade networks were developed in response to which of the following?

Climate changes that forced people to migrate many hundreds of miles from their original settlements on the southern edges of the Sahara Desert

Complete this sentence about historians' attempts to understand the past.

In contrast to findings about Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China, historians are unable to trace the POLITICAL HISTORY of Harappan peoples because no one has yet deciphered their WRITING SYSTEM

What is the meaning of the phrase division of labor?

It means that rather than each household producing the same food and goods as its neighbors, people specialized in the production of a single type of item, like ceramic dishes or textiles

Early writing was often used to record quantities of items, which means societies also needed to have ways to measure different things. The list below is part of a Sumerian list of items needed to build boats. Inferring from context, select all the words that most likely measure weight. (Hint: first figure out what is being measured, then think about whether you would expect to measure that item by length, weight, or volume). 32 large acacia(?)-trees 10 tamarisk trees, each 3 cubits 276 talents of palm fibre rope 34 talents of palm leaf rope 418 talents of reeds ... 753(?) ox hides 44 talents, 48 minas of goat hair

276 TALENTS of palm fibre rope 44 talents, 48 MINAS of goat hair

Match each piece of evidence from Longshan archaeological sites with specific, direct conclusions historians can draw about Longshan societies.

VILLAGES PROTECTED BY DEFENSIVE WALLS MADE OF COMPACTED EARTH - Longshan societies were politically organized enough to build public works WATER WELLS FILLED WITH DECAPITATED HUMAN REMAINS - Longshan communities engaged in violent conflict with one another JADE AXES, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, COPPER BELLS - Longshan cultures produced agricultural surpluses that enabled some people to specialize in nonagricultural professions, such as artisans and priests SOME BURIAL SITES CONTAINING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, COPPER BELLS, AND PAINTED MURALS, WHILE MOST DID NOT - Longshan culture was hierarchical, with some people wielding more wealth and power than others

How did droughts affect Egypt and contribute to the demise of the Egyptian Old Kingdom?

When droughts created water shortages, local leaders claimed personal control over their home territories and fought with one another over access to the scarce Nile water

In ancient Egypt, the knowledge and practice of writing were always kept secret, and only scribes learned how to write.

False

The Egyptian Old Kingdom was a city-state.

False

Complete this passage comparing river-basin societies to other agricultural societies.

Agricultural societies also arose outside of the river basins, but they tended to have different values and practices than river-basin societies. For example, their social hierarchies were topped by WARRIORS rather than priests and scribes, their most valued knowledge involved MAKING WEAPONRY rather than writing, and their engineers focused on the construction of FORTS rather than the building of opulent palaces.

Consider what you have read about cultural and political unification between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River valley, and China. Place these four regions in order from most politically centralized to least politically centralized. (Hint: Consider evidence of strong leaders in each place and also ask yourself how far their power extended.)

Egypt Mesopotamia Indus River Valley China