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CLEP Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East

Subjects : clep, history
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The smaller size of the pyramids during the 5th and 6th dynasties is reflective of the declining power of the Pharaoh and the rise in power of ____________ in an economy of increasing size.






2. First common language used for trading amongst people of different groups - replaced Hebrew in religious texts - and was probably spoken by Jesus and his disciples.






3. Located at the center of each Sumerian city-state - this was a massive stepped tower upon which a temple dedicated to the chief god or goddess of the city-state.






4. First foreigners to conquer and rule Egypt during the 15th and 16th dynasties. Later defeated by Egyptian Soldiers opening the door for the New Kingdom.






5. Successor to Ra as the king of the gods of Ancient Egypt - ______ is credited with teaching men to be civilized and to farm - and for teaching mankind to worship the gods and to build temples. Isis was also a wise and good ruler who taught men how to






6. Pre-agricultural culture located in present day Israel - Jordan and Lebanon. Collected naturally present barley and wheat to supplement game. Characterized by large settlements.






7. City built by the Israelite King David in order to honor God.






8. Early Sumerian kingdoms began as theocracies - their kings established their authority through ____________.






9. First Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom.






10. Cunning woman who became Pharaoh during the New Kingdom. She relied heavily on propoganda claimed to be the daughter of the God Amen - often presented herself with a male body and false beard in statues and imagery. Her stepson - whom she had usurped






11. A nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.






12. Capital of Ancient Egypt during most of the New Kingdom.






13. The first economic class not responsible for producing their own food and shelter.






14. Ruler of Akkad - he established the first empire in Mesopotamian civilization conquering and uniting the Sumerian city-states under a centralized bureaucratic government. Installed himself as the mediator between the gods and man - above the priests.






15. Intermediate form of ecological adaptation in which temporary forms of cultivation are carried out with little impact on the natural ecology; typical of rainforest cultivators.






16. Three main rivers of the Fertile Crescent.






17. Wife of Akenhaten - died during his celebration. After which Akenhaten became intolerant of any other gods - obsessively erasing them from history and neglecting his kingdom in the process.






18. The practice of seeking to foretell future events by interpreting divine signs - which could appear in various forms - such as in entrails of animals - in patterns in smoke - or in dreams.






19. Ancient Egyptians used ___________ for writing on.






20. Period of Ancient Egyptian history during which the Pharaohs regained powers over the priests but with somewhat less authority during which laws began to be written down.






21. A religious outlook that see god in many aspects of nature and propitiates them to help control and explain nature; typical of Mesopotamian religions.






22. Unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 BC - collapsed due to foreign invasian.






23. The end of the Bronze Age saw the rise of great __________ power.






24. Passive - Stable - Predictable - and Conformist are adjectives that the describe the _____________ people and explain why their civilization was able to survive for an extraordinary 3 -000 years.






25. Achievements of the ___________ civilization include the construction of irrigation ditches - introduction of the plow - and wheel made pottery.






26. A sea-faring civilization located on the shores on the Eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean and devised a simplified alphabet that greatly influenced the Greek and Latin writing systems.






27. Following the Bronze Age - in the 2nd Millenium - crafters began to smelt tools from _______.






28. Ancient Sumerian economies were ___________ with Priests charged with caring for the gods and goddesses and then providing for the community.






29. Name for the Hebrew god.






30. Tapered pillars carved of a single piece of granite 70 - 100 feet tall symbolizing man's aspirations to immortality.






31. In contrast to the isolated Egyptians - these people were warriors and traders - they were highly unpredictable and abstract thinkers.






32. Sumerian relationship with their gods was ___________. Humans were created to do the manual labor for the gods.






33. The first civilizations - they created a basic set of tools - intellectual concepts such as writing and mathematics - and political forms that would persist and spread to other parts of Europe - Asia - and Africa. Most were in decline by 1000 BC.






34. A cultural practice in which young men upon marriage must live with their bride's family.






35. Beginning of the Neolithic Period or 'New Stone Age'. Saw the adaptation of sedentary agriculture and the domestication of plants and animals.






36. The period from 12 -000 BC to 8 -000 BC characterized by the gradual shift from hunter-gather societies to sedentary agricultural societies.






37. The most important gods of Ancient Egypt - ________ was the sun and the begetter of the gods themselves. The myth that he was the first king on earth is the foundation on which the Pharoahs stake their claim of divinity.






38. Recent archeological studies show that there were at least _____ early civilizations.






39. The two Hebrew kingdoms of Canaan.






40. Brother to the Ancient Egyptian god - Osiris - and credited with his death - _______ stands for all things unpleasant - disorder and warfare.






41. Major contributor to the spread of culture.






42. The moral code divined to Moses by the Hebrew god. Unlike the Code of Hammurabi - rich and poor were treated equally.






43. Born a commoner - this Pharaoh rose to power at the age of 15 on the coat tails of his family's military prowess and reigned until his death at age 93. As one of Egypt's greatest kings - he relied heavily on propaganda and diplomacy - building temple






44. Period from 4 -000 BC to 1 -500 BC (3rd Millenium) when bronze tools were first introduced in the Middle East.






45. As the most influential of the smaller Middle Eastern regional cultures - the Jews were characterized most by ______________.






46. The most important ruler in Babylonian history. Responsible for the codification of law. Ruled over public and private life; business - financial - and criminal law. Judgements were often harsh.






47. The early degree of organization of communities in the Fertile Crescent and primarily in Egypt can be attributed to the need for ________.






48. The position of _________ was less free and equal in agricultural societies than in hunting societies.






49. The African state that developed along the upper reached of the Nile circa 1000 BC; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.






50. Prior to the Bronze Age - during the 4th Millenium - crafters smelted tools from ___________.