Question 1

Which invention most affected the food supply in Sumer?

Accepted Answer

the plow

Answer

the chariot

Answer

the arch

Answer

the wheel

Question 2

What did Sumerians believe about the king that helped strengthen the social order?

Accepted Answer

He was chosen by the gods.

Answer

He consulted with wise advisors.

Answer

He wanted everyone to be happy.

Answer

He cared most about the poor.

Question 3

Why were scribes important in Sumerian government?

Accepted Answer

to write down the laws

Answer

to teach the royal children

Answer

to collect people's taxes

Answer

to entertain the rulers

Question 4

The building in the picture was most closely related to which of these features of Sumerian civilization?

Accepted Answer

religion

Answer

food

Answer

government

Answer

writing

Question 5

Read this list of Sumerian items: drums, pipes, lyres.  What was the main use of these items?

Accepted Answer

entertainment

Answer

warfare

Answer

irrigation

Answer

construction

Question 6

Which invention made it possible for Sumerian armies to use chariots?

Accepted Answer

wheels

Answer

swords

Answer

sledges

Answer

horseshoes

Question 7

Which invention added strength and beauty to Sumerian buildings?

Accepted Answer

arches

Answer

concrete

Answer

glass

Answer

paint

Question 8

What evidence found by archaeologists show that Sumerians were not prehistoric?

Accepted Answer

written records

Answer

stone statues

Answer

city walls

Answer

ziggurats

Question 9

What did Sumerians use to produce cuneiform?

Accepted Answer

a wedge-shaped stylus

Answer

feathers from large birds

Answer

poles pulled by oxen

Answer

a net woven from reeds

Question 10

Records of the goods people exchanged were made on

Accepted Answer

clay tablets

Answer

metal coins

Answer

animal hides

Answer

flattened reeds

Question 11

What was the chief purpose of dams and reservoirs?

Accepted Answer

to store water for later use

Answer

to protect villages from attack

Answer

to allow travel by boat

Answer

to make it easier to fish

Question 12

If you were in ancient Sumer, you might see a levee beside a river. Why was the levee built?

Accepted Answer

to prevent floods

Answer

to control workers

Answer

to irrigate crops

Answer

to load barges

Question 13

Why was silt a problem for the people of Sumer?

Accepted Answer

it clogged the irrigation canals

Answer

it ruined the soil for planting

Answer

it dried up the rivers

Answer

it crumbled the city walls

Question 14

Using natural resources found in the environment, Sumerians built strong walls with

Accepted Answer

bricks made of mud

Answer

logs with pointed tips

Answer

rocks shaped into squares

Answer

reeds cut near the rivers

Question 15

The name of Mesopotamia comes from its location, which was

Accepted Answer

between two rivers

Answer

in mountain foothills

Answer

near a region of many conflicts

Answer

at the site of the earliest cities

Question 16

The environment of Sumer was

Accepted Answer

low and flat, with little rain

Answer

high and cold, with sharp mountain peaks

Answer

thickly forested, with heavy storms

Answer

hilly and dry, with many stones

Question 17

One factor that made farming difficult in the area of Sumer was

Accepted Answer

lack of rainfall

Answer

growth of weeds

Answer

steep hillsides

Answer

rocky soil

Question 18

What was most likely the reason that ziggurats were tall?

Accepted Answer

to honor the gods

Answer

so they could be easily seen

Answer

so architects could display their work

Answer

to mark the center of the city

Question 19

Which physical characteristic labeled on the map attracted human settlement in Mesopotamia?

Accepted Answer

the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers

Answer

the Taurus Mountains and the Persian Gulf

Answer

the Zagros Mountains and the Syrian Desert

Answer

Mediterranean Sea and the Fertile Crescent

Question 20

Which of Hammurabi's Code best reflects the inequality of rights of Sumerian citizens?

Accepted Answer

# 199

Answer

# 196

Answer

# 221

Answer

# 197

Question 21

Scribes had power in Sumerian society. What can you conclude from this statement?

Accepted Answer

People who could read and write had power.

Answer

All scribes came from the upper classes.

Answer

Scribes invented pictographs and cuneiform.

Answer

Scribes could rise through the social classes.

Question 22

Which of the following best describes cuneiform?

Accepted Answer

a form of writing using wedge-shaped symbols

Answer

a form of writing using complex ideas such as "joy"

Answer

a form of writing using picture symbols

Answer

a form of writing using proverbs and songs

Question 23

Why were Sumerian communities called "city-states"?

Accepted Answer

Each of them had its own ruler and farmland

Answer

Each of them kept written records

Answer

They were all part of one great empire

Answer

They all depended on each other for water

Question 24

What was Hammurabi's Code?

Accepted Answer

the first written laws

Answer

the first system for espionage

Answer

the first large religion

Answer

the first written language

Question 25

What was the purpose of Hammurabi's Code?

Accepted Answer

to control people's lives and behavior

Answer

to enable the Phoenicians to become great traders

Answer

to allow the Sumerians to communicate with other nations

Answer

to record important events

Question 26

The image was made from a stone seal found in Ancient Sumer.  Which two of the seven characteristics of civilization does this image depict?

Accepted Answer

stable food supply, technology

Answer

social structure, government

Answer

highly developed way of life, religion

Answer

religion, social structure

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