Ancient Civilizations - Final Exam Study Guide FORMAT OF FINAL EXAM: 155 Multiple Choice, Matching, True/False, and chronological order. The Honors Ancient Civilizations course focuses primarily on six ancient civilizations. The common final exam addresses a variety of characteristics and cultural elements associated with these civilizations by separating them into different sections. Each test item is worth one point. VERY IMPORTANT: You will be required to know the GRAPES acronym for the test. You will also be asked which category various terms fall under. Make sure to answer questions 1 and 2 in each section THOROUGHLY using the 2 charts on this page. The Elements of Culture - GRAPES Geography Religion/Beliefs Achievements (Arts/Literature/Technology/Inventions) Political Systems Economic Systems Five Characteristics of Civilization Division of Labor Surplus of Crops Form of Writing Bureaucratic Government Lunar Calendar Social Systems/Organization Ancient Egypt Important Terms and People to Know: Agriculture in the Nile Valley Upper Egypt vs. Lower Egypt Amenhotep IV/Akhenaton Story of Horus & Osiris Gift of the Nile Hieroglyphics Rosetta Stone Pyramid building Nile Delta Mummification Egyptian religion Menes Pharaoh Monarchy Dynasty Hatshepsut Book of the Dead Nile River valley Cataracts
EGYPT Review Questions: 1. Identify and explain the elements of culture (GRAPES) (on page 1) as they relate to Egypt. Geography Religion Achievements Political system Economic system Social structure 2. Identify and explain the characteristics of civilization (on page 1) as they relate to Egyptian civilization. 3. What factors allowed Egyptian farmers to grow two or three crops a year? 4. What did Herodotus mean when he called Egypt the Gift of the Nile? Give some examples of those gifts. 5. What factors enabled transportation on the Nile River? What factors made transportation on the Nile more difficult? 6. How did Amenhotep IV s attempt to make Egypt monotheistic. Why? 7. What did the Egyptians believe would help guide them and protect their soul in the afterlife?
8. What process was essential to keeping a person s ka intact for the next life? 9. Please order (Ramses, Menes, Building of the Pyramids, Akhenaton, Invasion of the Hyksos) Ancient Mesopotamia Important Terms and People to Know Fertile Crescent as crossroads of the world Mesopotamia Cuneiform Yahweh Tigris & Euphrates River valley Ziggurats Code of Hammurabi Cyrus Moses and the Ten Commandments Abraham Ethical Monotheism Torah the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Persian roads Nebuchadnezzar Mesopotamian Empires: List details about each. Sumerians Akkadians Babylonians Hittites Assyrians Chaldeans/ Neo-Babylonians Persians Phoenicians Lydians Hebrews 1. Identify and explain the elements of culture (GRAPES) as they relate to the Mesopotamian empires. Geography Religion Achievements Political system Economic system Social structure
2. Identify and explain the characteristics of civilization (page 1) as they relate to the Mesopotamian empires. 3. Why is the Fertile Crescent referred to as the crossroads of the world? 4. What changes occurred due to the movement of peoples across the Fertile Crescent? 5. What were the geographic advantages of the Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys? 6. What was the most important Phoenician contribution to the world? 7. How did the Lydians revolutionize the economy of the ancient world? 8. Who was the Persians famous first king who gained independence from the Medes? 9. Who was the Father of Judaism? 10. Which civilization was known for great tolerance of their conquered peoples in the areas or religion and culture, and for having the largest empire? 11. What was the Sumerian form of writing called? 12. Who is credited for Babylon s earliest law codes? 13. What was the main military contribution of the Hittites? 14. Which empire was known for its strong military and cruelty to others? 15. Please order the following: Hittites, Sumer, Persians, Assyrians, Babylonians Important Terms and People to Know Ancient India Caste system, jati Monism Brahman Ramayana Agriculture & planting of crops Khyber Pass Monsoons Sacredness of the Ganges River Hinduism in India Buddhism in India Reincarnation Indo-Aryans Chandragupta Maurya Suttee Asoka Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
1. Identify and explain the elements of culture (GRAPES) as they relate to Ancient India. Geography Religion Achievements Political system Economic system Social structure 2. Identify and explain the characteristics of civilization as they relate Ancient India. 3. What was the river valley in Ancient India that was the site of the earliest Indian civilizations, as well as the lands that the Indo-Aryans fought for and is still the most populous region in India today? 4. What river is considered holy and capable of purifying a soul by washing in it? 5. What two cities ruins have provided information about in the Indus Valley Civilization? 6. What religion was begun by Siddhartha Gautama? 7. Which Mauryan ruler conquered almost all of India and then converted to Buddhism? 8. What are some examples of how women were treated as second-class citizens in Ancient India? 9. What was the ultimate goal of Buddhism? 10. Who were the Indo-Aryans and what were their main contributions?
11. How did Hinduism come to be the main religion of India? 12. Please order : (Aryan Invasion, Mauryan Empire, Gupta Empire, Vedic Age, Mohenjo-Daro) Ancient China Important Terms and People to Know Civil service system Calligraphy Leveling Wu Di Loess Gobi Desert Oracle Bones Dynastic Cycle Shi Huang Di Laozi CHINA REVIEW QUESTIONS: 1. Identify and explain the elements of culture (GRAPES) as they relate to Ancient China. Geography Religion/philosophies Achievements Political system Economic system Social structure 2. Identify and explain the characteristics of civilization as they relate Ancient China. 3. Describe the importance of the Huang He to China? 4. What mountain range forms a natural border with India?
5. Which natural barrier in the north separates China from Mongolia? 6. What was used to foretell the future in Ancient China? 7. Founder of Daoism? 8. Explain what patriarchal means and how it applies to Ancient China. 9. How did people gain civil service positions in Ancient China? 10. Describe the components/characteristics of Chinese religion during the Shang dynasty. 11. Why was the establishment of agriculture along the Huang He a challenge? 12. How did the Himalayas affect life in China? 13. How did the Chinese expect family life to be organized? 14. Explain the main teachings for the four Chinese philosophies: Buddhism: Confucianism: Daoism: Legalism: 15. How did the dynastic cycle influence the political history of Ancient China? 16. Detail and discuss the main personalities and contributions of the Qin dynasty. 17. How did China s geography encourage/discourage cultural diffusion? 18. Detail and discuss the main personalities and contributions of the Han dynasty. 19. Chronology - Please order: Han, Shang, Qin, Zhou
Important Terms and People to Know Ancient Greece Minoan civilization Linear A/ Linear B Olympian gods/goddesses Solon Draco Peisistratus Pericles Athens vs. Sparta Homer Herodotus Pericles Alexander the Great Philosopher Olympics Peninsula Balkan Peninsula Cleisthenes GREECE REVIEW QUESTIONS: 1. What form of writing was utilized by the Minoans? 2. What contributions did each of these make toward the evolution of Greek Democracy? Solon Cleisthenes Draco Pericles Peisistratus 3. Explain the social structure of life in Ancient Sparta. Explain the roles of the equals, the halfcitizens and the helots. 4. Why did the Greeks need to import food from outside of Greece? 5. Why did the Greeks live in small, isolated city-states? 6. Why did Greece (and Rome) develop into a trading nation? 7. What early civilization occupied the island of Crete? 8. What epics are attributed to Homer? 9. Who was the father of History? 10. Compare and contrast life in Athens and Sparta. 11. What were the main teachings of the great philosophers of Ancient Greece Socrates: Plato:
Aristotle: 12. Describe the religion of the Ancient Greeks. Who was their main god? 13. What purposes did myths play in the lives of the Ancient Greeks? 14. How did Pericles help to launch Athens into a golden age? 15. Describe how Alexander the Great spread Hellenistic culture throughout much of the known world? 16. How was Ancient Greece an example of a direct democracy? 17. Geographically, Rome and Greece are both peninsulas. What is a peninsula? 18. In which city did the people of Greece begin holding athletic games every four years? 19. Please order: Alexander the Great conquers Persia, Minoan civilization, Persian Wars, Homeric Age, Peloponnesian War Important Terms and People to Know Ancient Rome Paterfamilias First Triumvirate Pax Romana Persecution of Christians Republic Spartacus Direct democracy Constantine ROME REVIEW QUESTIONS: 1. What role did the patricians and the plebeians play in the social structure of Ancient Rome? 2. What type of building projects did the Romans create? What purposes did these new structures serve? What element of culture does this best relate to? 3. How did the concept of paterfamilias relate to the social structure of Ancient Rome? 4. Describe the rise of Christianity during the period of Ancient Rome. 5. What economic factors led to the fall of Ancient Rome? 6. What did the citizens of the Roman Empire find appealing about Christianity?
7. How did Rome expand as a result of the Punic Wars? 8. Who were the members of the First Triumvirate? 9. How did the early Etruscans affect Roman culture and civilization? 10. Whose teachings were instrumental to the beliefs of Christianity? 11. From the time of Augustus through the death of Marcus Aurelius, there was an extended period of peace and prosperity. What was this called? 12. How were early Christians treated in the Roman Empire? 13. Describe the effects of Constantine s rule. 14. How did the Roman gods reflect cultural diffusion from the Greeks? 15. What new governmental structure was utilized by the Romans? 16. Which gladiator lead a massive slave revolt and was later caught and crucified with his followers? 17. What geographic obstacles did Hannibal have to overcome to attack Rome? 18. What geographic features helped to protect Rome from invasion? 19. Chronology? (Please order: Augustus Caesar/Octavian becomes first emperor, Christianity becomes the official religion, unification of the Roman Republic in Italy, sack and fall of Rome, Rise of the Latins)