World History Review: Prehistory to 650 CE

1. AP World History Review Prehistory to around 650 CE

2. A characteristic of the human species before the advent of civilization was: • A) the ability to spread to various geographic settings and climate zones. • B) the ability to organize large political units. • C) the inability to communicate about abstractions such as death. • D) that all tasks were shared equally by men and women. • E) land ownership was equal.

3. And the answer is • A) the ability to spread to various geographic settings and climate zones.

4. The Paleolithic Age refers to: • A) the period at which agriculture was developed. • B) the period in which simple stone tools were developed. • C) the period before the full development of the homo sapiens species. • D) the period before people learned how to communicate. • E) the latest of the two stone ages.

5. And the answer is • B) the period in which simple stone tools were developed.

6. 3) Hunting and gathering societies: • A) are not able to produce art. • B) are always warlike. • C) organized rather small groups into political units. • D) could not survive after Middle Eastern people developed agriculture. • E) generally produce a food surplus.

7. And the answer is • C) organized rather small groups into political units.

8. 4) The development of agriculture caused important changes in all of the following EXCEPT: • A) population size and life expectancy. • B) male-female relations. • C) the tendency to believe in many gods. • D) the stability of human settlements. • E) the development of complex social patterns.

9. And the answer is • C) the tendency to believe in many gods.

10. 5) The tenth century B. C. E. refers to: • A) 999–900 years before the birth of Christ. • B) 1099–1000 years before the birth of Christ. • C) 1049–1000 years before the birth of Christ. • D) 1199–1100 years before the birth of Christ. • E) 1299–1200 years before the birth of Christ.

11. And the answer is A) 999–900 years before the birth of Christ.

12. 6) Why did the original inhabitants of Australia not develop agriculture? • A) Australian soil was too barren to grow crops. • B) The Australian climate was too severe. • C) The first Australians were too isolated to learn of developments elsewhere until recently. • D) Australia was too crowded to permit land use for agriculture. • E) They were prevented from doing so by the Neolithic Revolution.

13. And the answer is C) The first Australians were too isolated to learn of developments elsewhere until recently.

14. 7) The Neolithic revolution occurred first in: • A) Egypt. • B) the Middle East. • C) Central America. • D) China. • E) India.

15. And the answer is B) the Middle East.

16. 8) Once developed, metal tools were preferred over stone tools for all of the following reasons EXCEPT: • A) they were easier for ordinary people to make at home. • B) they were sharper and more precise. • C) they permitted more diverse shapes. • D) they made more accurate weapons. • B) they were more durable.

17. And the answer is A) they were easier for ordinary people to make at home.

18. A society is almost certainly a civilization if: • A) it is agricultural. • B) it involves tool use. • C) it has cities. • D) it has some political structure. • E) it gathers food to survive.

19. And the answer is A) it is agricultural.

20. 10) Egypt differed from Mesopotamian civilization by stressing: • A) well-organized, durable empires. • B) extensive trade. • C) firm religious beliefs. • D) greater social equality. • E) more modest building projects.

21. And the answer is A) well-organized, durable empires.

22. 11) Sumerian civilization produced the first: • A) written law code. • B) monotheistic religion. • C) examples of warfare among people. • D) mass literacy. • E) coined money.

23. And the answer is A) written law code.

24. 12) Which river-valley civilization was most completely destroyed by invasion? • A) Hwang Ho • B) Indus • C) Nile • D) Tigris-Euphrates • E) Mekong

25. And the answer is B) Indus

26. 13) The characteristic political organization of the Tigris-Euphrates civilization was: • A) democracy. • B) large, durable empires. • C) village-level government. • D) regional city states. • E) hunting bands.

27. And the answer is D) regional city states.

28. 14) Jewish monotheism: • A) was spread actively by Jewish missionaries throughout the Middle East. • B) emphasized the power and abstraction of God. • C) included worship of various lesser gods. • D) emerged at the high point of Sumerian civilization. • E) influenced no other religions.

29. And the answer is B) emphasized the power and abstraction of God.

30. 15) The development of writing: • A) resulted from new technologies, notably the invention of paper. • B) helps explain why agriculture could develop. • C) helps explain why governments could become more formal and bureaucratic. • D) resulted from the needs of the various river-valley civilizations to communicate with one another. • E) was unusual in an agricultural society.

31. And the answer is C) helps explain why governments could become more formal and bureaucratic.

32. 16) Chinese art featured: • A) frequent shifts in style. • B) careful craftsmanship and detail work. • C) monumental temples and stadiums. • D) emphasis on God and the holy family. • E) images of perfectly proportioned humans.

33. And the answer is B) careful craftsmanship and detail work.

34. India’s political tradition: • A) involved the renunciation of violence and warfare. • B) stressed the importance of regional and local units. • C) emphasized the emperor as Son of Heaven. • D) insisted on religious uniformity. • E) required frequent wars of expansion.

35. And the answer is B) stressed the importance of regional and local units.

36. The Aryan conquerors brought to India: • A) its first civilization. • B) distinctive religious ideas. • C) admiration for India’s earlier inhabitants. • D) new agricultural techniques. • E) political democracy.

37. And the answer is B) distinctive religious ideas.

38. The Mauryan dynasty differed from the Gupta dynasty in that: • A) it was imposed by conquerors from Greece. • B) it ruled a larger territory. • C) it attacked Buddhist beliefs. • D) it refused to develop a strong army. • E) Mauryan rulers opposed the caste system.

39. And the answer is B) it ruled a larger territory.

40. The Indian caste system served to an extent as a political institution by: • A) enforcing rules about social behavior. • B) unifying the subcontinent under a single government. • C) creating widespread interest in constitutional issues. • D) promoting a belief in individual rights. • E) causing unrest and rebellion.

41. And the answer is A) enforcing rules about social behavior.

42. Hindu ethics involved: • A) a detailed set of prohibitions on sexual activity. • B) emphasis on an individual carrying out the obligations of life. • C) attack on all opposing religious faiths. • D) condemnations of money-making. • E) finding ultimate happiness.

43. And the answer is B) emphasis on an individual carrying out the obligations of life.

44. “Nirvana” meant: • A) full union with the divine essence. • B) reincarnation in a higher caste after a good life. • C) the Hindu holy book. • D) obedience to the rules of the caste system. • E) acquiring earthly wealth.

45. And the answer is A) full union with the divine essence.

46. Buddhism differed from Hinduism by not believing: • A) in the caste system. • B) in holy leaders. • C) in nirvana. • D) in the importance of moral obligations. • E) in spreading the faith.

47. And the answer is • A) in the caste system.

48. India’s trading network involved direct contact with all of the following EXCEPT: • A) southeast Asia. • B) the Middle East. • C) China. • D) Russia. • E) central Asia.

49. And the answer is D) Russia.

50. Hinduism urged that: • A) withdrawal from the world was the only path to holiness. • B) Brahmins would automatically gain nirvana after death. • C) all living creatures participated in the divine essence. • D) worship of nature’s spirits and images was blasphemous. • E) monotheism was superior to polytheism.