TCAP Review Benchmark Test 1 Mesopotamia Questions 1-35

1 What event ended prehistoric times and started history? A. Fire was invented. B. The wheel was invented. C. Writing was invented. D. People began to migrate to other regions.

2 During the Old Stone Age before early humans knew how to farm, they survived by A. slashing and burning. B. stealing food from each other. C. planting crops on terraces. D. hunting animals and gathering wild plants.

3 What event allowed humans to move to cold climates? A. They invented stone tools and weapons. B. They invented metal tools. C. They learned how to create fire. D. They learned how to make warm clothing.

4 What started the New Stone Age? A. People made stone tools and weapons. B. People learned how to plant crops. C. People stopped being nomads. D. People moved to colder climates.

5 Timelines are useful visual tools because they allow the reader to A. learn which event is most important. B. learn the order of historical events. C. ignore dates and places. D. use oral history skills.

6 During the New Stone Age, food surpluses allowed more people to become A. farmers. B. fishers. C. warriors. D. artisans.

7 A society that has cities, a central government, and specialized workers is known as a A. Civilization. B. Farming village C. cities D. empire

8 The shaded area on the map shows what ancient civilization where rich farmland led to the growth of cities? A. Mesopotamia B. Egypt C. Babylon D. Fertile Crescent

9 Why can it be dangerous to live near a river? A. too much boat traffic B. earthquakes C. bad soil D. floods

10 Mesopotamia was located between what two rivers? A. Tigris and Nile B. Tigris and Mali C. Tigris and Eurasia D. Tigris and Euphrates

11 The Sumerians believed in A. no gods. B. one god. C. many gods. D. Catholicism.

12 Which of the following best explains why oral traditions are important to a culture? A. Oral traditions tell a society how to live and what people consider important. B. Oral traditions tell a society what their laws should be. C. Oral traditions tell who should be in charge. D. Oral traditions keep the history of a group alive for future generations.

13 Hammurabi’s Code was important because A. it was based on oral traditions. B. Babylonia ruled the ancient world. C. the laws treated everyone the same. D. for the first time, laws were written down and penalties were given for breaking them.

14 Which of these was an advantage most early farming communities had over nomadic communities? A. availability of permanent shelter B. smaller population size C. less need for rules and regulations D. more opportunities to explore new lands

15 Which type of community is described by the flow chart? Plant Seeds A. fishing B. hunter-gatherer C. farming D. nomadic Plant Seeds Weed Fields Harvest Crops Store Grain

16 The Phoenician alphabet made it easier for people to A. hire scribes. B. learn cuneiform. C. teach cuneiform. D. learn to read and write.

17 Who first taught the Israelites or Hebrews to practice monotheism? A. Abraham B. Hammurabi C. Saul D. David

18 Judaism had a great influence on A. Christianity. B. Islam. C. Both. D. Neither.

19 The Israelites left Canaan A. to spread Judaism. B. to conquer their enemies. C. to search for gold. D. because of famine.

20 The Jews left Judaea in 135 A.D. A. to explore the rest of the world. B. because the Romans forced them to leave. C. because the Greeks forced them to leave. D. to battle the Phoenicians.

21 A scientist who examines objects such as bones and tools to learn about the past is A. a historian B. an archaeologist C. a geologist D. an anthropologist

22 Why were the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers important to the economy of early civilizations? A. They supplied power to grain mills. B. They had rich soil along their riverbanks making them excellent for farming. C. They were sacred sites of the gods. D. They often flooded causing the deaths of many people.

23 People who have no settled home are known as A. invalids. B. nomads. C. hunter-gatherers. D. travelers.

24 The time period before writing was invented in 4000 B.C. is referred to as A. prehistory. B. the Middle Ages. C. ancient times. D. history.

25 What form of writing uses groups of wedges and lines? A. cuneiform B. hieroglyphs C. scripture D. symbology

26 Ruler has absolute power. Ruler rules for life. Ruler inherits position instead of being elected. All of the following describe: A. a republic B. a democracy C. a monarchy D. a theocracy

27 A city-state is A. a city within a state’s borders. B. a city that is forced to pay tribute to a state. C. a city that is a capital of a state. D. a city and its surrounding land that is politically independent.

28 Which invention made the transportation of goods over long distances easier and faster? A. wheel and axle B. bronze C. stirrups D. saddle

29 Who studies the written records of human life and compares different cultural groups? A. an archaeologist B. a historian C. a geologist D. an anthropologist

30 I will increase your numbers very, very much, and I will make you into nations – kings will be your descendents….I will be a God to you and your people (from the Torah) Which religion is the passage above associated with? A. Islam B. Judaism C. Buddhism D. Hinduism

31 The purpose of Hammurabi’s Code was to establish A. safe travels on roads. B. procedures for religious rituals. C. methods for hunting and gathering food. D. laws and penalties for breaking them.

32 Which field of study compares different cultural groups? A. anthropology B. paleontology C. geology D. psychology

33 Which description is evidence that a society had a barter economy? A. They stored the extra food they produced. B. They went from place to place looking for food. C. They settled on land that was good for growing their food. D. They traded their extra food for goods mad by other people.

34 Which development most contributed to the success of ancient Mesopotamian villages? A. terraced farming B. irrigation methods C. advanced mathematics D. papyrus records

35 Which of these time periods is a decade? A. 1100 to 1200 B. 1899 to 1900 C. 1350 to 1400 D. 1010 to 1020