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Characteristics of Civilizations

Total questions: 50

Worksheet time: 24mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is an example of specialization?

a)

People having different jobs in a society

b)

Everybody taking turns hunting

c)

Developing new farming methods

d)

Gathering berries as a family

2.

What geographic feature did most civilizations develop near?

a)

Water

b)

Mountains

c)

Deserts

d)

Cities

3.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic that all civilizations share?

a)

Religion

b)

Job Specialization

c)

Technology

d)

Population

4.

Which characteristic of civilization divides society between a Upper Class, Middle Class, and Lower Class.

a)

Social Hierarchy

b)

Job Specialization

c)

Government

d)

Cities

5.

Earliest form of writing ever invented?

a)

Cuniform

b)

Pictographs

c)

Hieroglyphics

d)

Demotic

6.

This feature created laws, collected taxes, and

organized defense of the city.

a)

Writing Systems

b)

Job Specialization

c)

Government

d)

Religion

7.

This characteristic was the result of surplus food,

which drew more and more people to settle in one place.

a)

Writing

b)

Cities

c)

Government

d)

Religion

8.

This characteristic included royalty, priests, merchants,

artisans, workers, and slaves. Status relates to importance or wealth.

a)

Writing

b)

Religion

c)

Social Hierarchy

d)

Government

9.

This feature freed people from doing every task

and allowed them to do the work they were good at.

a)

Job Specialization

b)

Writing System

c)

Religion

d)

Government

10.

"The gods called on me, Hammurabi, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land."

Who gives Hammurabi the power to write his laws?

a)

The prince

b)

The gods

c)

The people

d)

He gave himself the power

11.

"A son strikes his father, his hand shall be cut off. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. If he breaks another man's bone, his shall be broken..."

Based on this quote, what statement best describes Hammurabi's idea of punishment?

a)

Punishment should not cause harm to the person who committed the crime

b)

Harsh punishment should be avoided

c)

A criminal act will have an equal punishment

d)

There was no punishment in Babylon

12.

Which of the following shows evidence of a stable food supply?

a)

Hanging Gardens

b)

Many gods with human personalities

c)

Taxes

d)

An irrigation system with canals and levees

13.

Which of the following is NOT a necessary characteristic of a civilization?

a)

Religion

b)

Writing

c)

Education

d)

Government

14.

The priests were near the top of the social structure. What does this show about the people of ancient Sumer?

a)

They cared about the priests, but not the king.

b)

The people had no interest in religion.

c)

Religion was an important part of their lives.

d)

The people believed in only one god.

15.

What 2 rivers supported civilization in Mesopotamia?

a)

Tigris and Euphrates

b)

Socrates and Euphrates

c)

Tigris and Lioness

d)

Nile and Huang He

16.

What helped control the water flow into each canal in ancient Mesopotamia?

a)

brick walls

b)

rock piles

c)

drawbridges

d)

gates

17.

What is irrigation?

a)

the practice of gathering nuts

b)

the control of water for farming

c)

hunting for large animals

d)

the control of mud for farming

18.
What farming method was a bucket attached to a long pole, used to lift water from the Nile to basins?
a)
dams
b)
sprinkler system
c)
shadoof
d)
ditches
19.

Name the River Valley Civilization shaded in purple on the map

a)

Egypt

b)

Mesopotamia

c)

Indus Valley

d)

China

20.

Name the River Valley Civilization shaded in orange on the map

a)

Egypt

b)

Mesopotamia

c)

Indus Valley

d)

China

21.

Name the River Valley Civilization shaded in pink on the map

a)

Egypt

b)

Mesopotamia

c)

Indus Valley

d)

China

22.

Name the River Valley Civilization shaded in yellow on the map

a)

Egypt

b)

Mesopotamia

c)

Indus Valley

d)

China

23.

Name the civilization:

- Nile River

- Hieroglyphics

- Pyramids

a)

Egypt

b)

Mesopotamia

c)

Indus Valley

d)

China

24.
Name the civilization: 
- Tigris and Euphrates
- Cuneiform
- City-States
a)
Egypt
b)
Mesopotamia/
Sumer
c)
India
d)
China
25.

Name the civilization:

- Indus River

- Harappa

- Mohenjo Daro

a)

Egypt

b)

Mesopotamia

c)

Indus Valley

d)

China

26.
Most early religious traditions can be categorized as -
a)
Monotheistic
b)
Polytheistic
c)
Atheistic
d)
Agnostic
27.

Which action is most closely associated with the early Mesopotamian civilizations?

a)

building floating gardens to grow corn

b)

establishing representative democracies

c)

developing a writing system using cuneiform

d)

constructing Hindu temples

28.

What made Hammurabi famous?

a)

He ruled all of Egypt.

b)

He created the first irrigation systems.

c)

He conquered and enslaved the Jewish people.

d)

He created the first written laws.

29.
What was Egypt's writing system called?
a)
cuneiform
b)
hieroglyphics
c)
pictograghs
30.
Which of the following ancient civilizations was the first to develop a writing system, build an empire, and establish a law code?
a)
Egyptian 
b)
Mesopotamian
c)
China
d)
India
31.
One way in which the Huang He, the Indus, and the Nile civilizations were similar is that they each
a)
flourished by trading salt and gold
b)
developed monotheistic religions
c)
suffered repeated invasions
d)
originated in river valleys
32.
The people in the region were able to water their crops by ...
a)
rain
b)
praying
c)
singing
d)
irrigation
33.
Cuneiform is...
a)
a system of government
b)
the world's first system of writing
c)
a type of poem or story
d)
a seal
34.
If a man has knocked out the teeth of a man of the same rank, his own teeth shall be knocked out.  If he has nocked out the teeth of a plebeian (commoner), he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver."
--Code of Hammurabi
Which statement is best supported by this excerpt from Hammurabi's code of laws?
a)
Law sometimes distinguishes between social classes.
b)
All men are equal under the law.
c)
Violence must always be punished with violence.
d)
Fines are preferable to physical punishment.
35.

Who was at the bottom of Egyptian society?

a)

priests

b)

slaves

c)

farmers

d)

pharaoh

36.

Who was the head of Egyptian society?

a)

priests

b)

slaves

c)

government workers

d)

pharaoh

37.

Who did the writing for the pharaohs in ancient Egypt?

a)

farmers

b)

government officials

c)

scribes

d)

merchants

38.

Their role was to trade goods such as grain, rope, jewelry out of Egypt to other countries.

a)

Merchants

b)

Artisans

c)

Scribes

d)

Government Officials

39.

How did scribes contribute to the governments in Sumer?

a)

They were great entertainers

b)

They wrote books for children

c)

They wrote down the laws

d)

They great at farming

40.

What is cuneiform?

a)

cave art made by Sumerians

b)

a written language made of wedge-shape characters

c)

an ancient type of unicorn

41.

Why was cuneiform useful?

a)

People could record and exchange detailed information for trading

b)

It helped people who did not know how to draw

c)

It was not useful

d)

It allowed scribes to have more free time

42.

Producing more goods or crops than needed is called a

a)

Surplus

b)

Merchant

c)

Artisan

d)

Scribe

43.

This person was known for making crafts and other useful objects..

a)

Artisan

b)

Merchants

c)

Scribe

d)

Priests

44.

"The most important gods in Egypt were Re, the sun god and Osiris, the god of the dead."

What does this quote tell you about Egyptian religion?

a)

It was monotheistic

b)

It was polytheistic

c)

It was located in the Americas

d)

It had slaves

45.

Identify the type of writing

a)

Sanskrit from India

b)

Oracle Bone from China

c)

Cuneiform from Mesopotamia

d)

Hieroglyphics from Egypt

e)

Alphabet from Phonecia

46.

"The gods called on me, Hammurabi, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land."

Who gives Hammurabi the power to write his laws?

a)

The prince

b)

The gods

c)

The people

d)

He gave himself the power

47.

"A son strikes his father, his hand shall be cut off. If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. If he breaks another man's bone, his shall be broken..."

Based on this quote, what statement best describes Hammurabi's idea of punishment?

a)

Punishment should not cause harm to the person who committed the crime

b)

Harsh punishment should be avoided

c)

A criminal act will have an equal punishment

d)

There was no punishment in Babylon

48.

Urbanization is the process of...

a)

Turning a rural area (countryside) into a city.

b)

Turning a city into a rural area (countryside).

c)

Bringing water to your crops.

d)

Defeating another empire.

49.

Which classes usually made up the "middle classes" in the social hierarchy of ancient civilization?

a)

Kings and Priests

b)

Merchants and Artisans

c)

Slaves and Peasants

d)

Kings and Slaves

50.

What is one NEGATIVE effect of urbanization?

a)

People were protected by the walls in the city.

b)

They had easier access to the surplus of food due to irrigation.

c)

Cities were often overcrowded and disease spread rapidly.

d)

Everything people needed was in walking distance.