Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
https://www.quizsol.com/product/a-history-of-world-societies-combined-volume-10th-edition-by-john-
p-mckay-test-bank-2/
Description
INSTANT DOWNLOAD WITH ANSWERS
A History of World Societies Combined Volume 10th Edition By John P. McKay -Test Bank
SAMPLE TEST
c3- Essay
Answer each of the following questions with an essay. Be sure to include specific examples that
support your thesis and conclusions.
1. India was both protected from invasions and yet open to trade with other civilizations.
Which geographical features provided protection from invasions, and which fostered trade with
other civilizations?
2. What are possible theories about the cause of the Harappan civilization’s collapse?
3. Why might the Aryans have been able to assume authority in northern India?
4. Describe the essential teachings of Buddha. How did Buddhism modify Hinduism? How
can we explain the appeal of Buddhism?
5. In what ways did Indian civilizations interact with those outside India? What impact did
contact with other civilizations have on the development of Indian civilization?
Answer Key
· Oceans to the south surround the subcontinent of India. To the north are the Himalayas and
dense forests or large deserts. These features helped to protect India as a region from invaders.
However, the oceans, long coastlines, and predictable wind patterns also allowed for trade with
other civilizations such as Mesopotamians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. India also occupied a
central location in the trade routes for goods moving from Africa, the Middle East, and China.
· Archaeological evidence indicates that the Harappan urban centers and the port of Lothal
were abandoned or had greatly reduced populations by approximately 2000 B.C.E. Historians
no longer believe powerful invaders brought the decline. Theories about what caused the
decline include environmental disasters such as earthquake or drought, the collapse of
agriculture owing to a buildup of salts from irrigation, the collapse of long-distance trade, a
devastating outbreak of disease, or any combination of these factors.
· Harappan society had been in decline for a number of generations. This, coupled with the
Aryans’ superior military technology, opened the door for a change in leadership. The Aryans
most likely spread into the area over the course of several centuries. Additionally, the Aryans
themselves were willing to make changes, as illustrated by their ready adoption of South Asian
agricultural products and food.
· Buddha offered a solution to the Vedic problem of the wheel of life and the process of rebirth
and re-death. He identified four noble truths: that suffering is inescapable, that suffering is
caused by desires and attachment to worldliness, that people can recognize their attachments
and overcome them, and that following the Eightfold Path of “right” behaviors and conducts
allows one to overcome desire and suffering. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism rejected the caste
system and thus presented a path to salvation open to all people. Also, Buddha did not believe
that the individual’s identity continued to exist after death. The Eightfold Path presented a
“middle way” between extreme asceticism and worldly life. Buddha, too, did not distinguish
between male and female; he argued that each could achieve enlightenment—a policy that
also applied to one’s socioeconomic status. Because his optimistic message was not extreme,
many people were drawn to Buddhism.
· Indian civilizations interacted with other civilizations via conquest and trade. The empires of
both Persia and Alexander the Great both came into contact with the Indian civilization via their
attempts to conquer parts of northern India. Both influenced the north by suggesting new ways
to organize and administer an empire, such as the use of provinces and governors, as well as
methods of taxation. Greek art and culture were also very influential. Trade, particularly in the
south through the port cities located along India’s long coastline, brought in material items
from other cultures (such as coins, silk, and spices).
c3- Matching
Select the word or phrase from the Terms section that best matches the definition or example
provided in the Definitions section.
Terms
Jainism
bodhisattvas
Eightfold Path
Mauryan Empire
samsara
Code of Manu
karma
Aryans
brahman
Harappan
Rig Veda
Four Noble Truths
Mahayana
Brahmins
dharma
caste system
1. The Sanskrit word for moral law, central both to Buddhist and Hindu teachings.
_________________
2. The Indian system of dividing society into hereditary groups whose members interacted
primarily within the group and especially married within the group. _________________
3. Priests of the Aryans; they supported the growth of royal power in return for royal
confirmation of their own religious rights, power, and status. _________________
6. The earliest collection of Indian hymns, ritual texts, and philosophical treatises, it is the
central source of information on early Aryans. _________________
7. The tally of good and bad deeds that determines the status of an individual’s next life.
_________________
8. Indian religion whose followers consider all life sacred and avoid destroying other life.
_________________
11. The codification of early Indian law that lays down family, caste, and commercial law.
_________________
12. Buddhas-to-be who stayed in the world after enlightenment to help others on the path
to salvation. _________________
13. The dominant people in north India after the decline of the Indus Valley civilization; they
spoke an early form of Sanskrit. _________________
16. The code of conduct set forth by the Buddha in his first sermon, beginning with “right
conduct” and ending with “right contemplation.” _________________
Answer Key
1. o. dharma
2. p. caste system
3. n. Brahmins
4. e. samsara
5. j. Harappan
6. k. Rig Veda
7. g. karma
8. a. Jainism
9. m. Mahayana
10. l. Four Noble Truths
11. f. Code of Manu
12. b. bodhisattvas
13. h. Aryans
14. i. brahman
15. d. Mauryan Empire
16. c. Eightfold Path
4. The first Indian civilization—the Harappan civilization—is also known as which of the
following?
A) The Mauryan Empire
B) The Indus Valley civilization
C) The Indo-Aryan civilization
D) Mesopotamia
5. What is unusual about the written language of the Harappan people?
A) It consisted of only four hundred letters.
B) It was very similar to Sumerian cuneiform.
C) No one has yet deciphered it.
D) It was written on papyrus and silk.
6. Compared to ancient Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations, what makes the Indus
civilization unique?
A) It was nearly twice as large in territory.
B) It lasted less than three hundred years.
C) Its people did not grow cotton.
D) It was not a literate society.
10. On which of the following did the prosperity of the Indus (Harappan) civilization
depend?
A) Extensive trade with China
B) Intensive cultivation of the fertile river valley
C) The religious toleration shown to conquered peoples
D) Their skill in making and trading jewelry
11. Like early Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization, Harappan civilization depended on
what annually?
A) Visitation from the gods to provide for abundance during harvest
B) A short but wet growing season
C) Attending the Tigris River Valley seed market
D) Floods and irrigation to sustain agriculture
12. The remnants of Harappan script have been preserved on what material?
A) Clay tablets
B) Linen paper
C) Bronze discs
D) Wood tablets
19. How was Indian slavery in the Vedic Age similar to slavery in Mesopotamia?
A) Only men captured in warfare were enslaved.
B) Men in the nobility were the only ones who could own slaves.
C) Men might sell themselves and their families into slavery to pay debts.
D) Slaves were the only people who could serve as butchers.
20. Who were the “untouchables” in the varna system?
A) Women who belonged to the lowest caste
B) Outsiders who were considered “impure”
C) The nobility
D) Child slaves
21. Which of the following statements is true about women in ancient Aryan society?
A) Women could never remarry if widowed.
B) Almost all females were married while they were still children.
C) Women lived in patrilineal and patriarchal tribal groups.
D) Women were economically equal to men and could hold property.
22. Who commonly performed the important ritual sacrifice of animals in Brahmanism?
A) Untouchables
B) Teenagers, because they were considered pure
C) Male rulers only
D) The priestly caste
23. With what sacred text did the Aryan religion shift to a more ascetic and philosophical
religion?
A) Rig Veda
B) Sutras
C) Upanishads
D) Mahabharata
31. Buddha preached his sermons in what language, so as to reach the wisest possible
audience?
A) Sanskrit
B) Tamil
C) Magadhi
D) Tamil
32. Buddha taught that individuals could triumph over human weakness by
A) following an ascetic lifestyle.
B) following the Eightfold Path.
C) entering a monastery.
D) properly observing the rituals of Hinduism.
40. What enabled India to make contact with the outside world in the sixth century B.C.E.?
A) Alexander the Great’s conquest brought knowledge of the Mediterranean world.
B) As the Persian Empire expanded, it made territorial conquests in the Indus
Valley.
C) Great expansion of overseas trade by Indian merchants and a new merchant
fleet led to outside contact.
D) Significant technological improvements in sailing led to greater communication
and travel.
41. Contact with Persia brought many innovations into India, including what new economic
technique?
A) Printing paper money
B) Minting silver coins
C) Bank transfers
D) Putting dates on coins
45. How did Chandragupta control the outlying areas of his empire?
A) He trusted local kings to continue on if they took a pledge of loyalty.
B) He sent agents to the provinces to oversee government and keep him informed.
C) He forced the migration of loyal supporters to distant realms.
D) He did not try to control the areas but instead collected taxes.
46. What personal change did Ashoka make following the conquest of Kalinga?
A) He converted to Jainism and became an ascetic monk.
B) He divorced his wife and married a Kalingan princess.
C) He became a paranoid, reclusive emperor.
D) He converted to Buddhism after witnessing the horror of war.
49. After the fall of the Mauryans, what new empire was founded by Buddhist king
Kanishka?
A) Taxila
B) Cholas
C) Kushan
D) Magadha
50. During the Kushan period, Indian art was strongly influenced by the art of what society?
A) Egyptian
B) Greek
C) Chinese
D) Turkish
Answer Key
1. D
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. C
6. A
7. C
8. D
9. D
10. B
11. D
12. A
13. D
14. A
15. C
16. A
17. B
18. A
19. C
20. B
21. C
22. D
23. C
24. B
25. C
26. D
27. A
28. B
29. D
30. B
31. C
32. B
33. A
34. C
35. D
36. A
37. C
38. D
39. D
40. B
41. B
42. C
43. C
44. C
45. B
46. D
47. B
48. B
49. C
50. B
2. What gave the Aryans military advantages over the people they defeated in India?
3. Describe the caste system’s effect on the social and economic aspects of Indian life.
5. How do the personal stories and ideas of Mahavira and Siddhartha compare, and how
did their experiences influence their respective religions?
8. What role did Kautilya play in the formation of the Mauryan Empire?
Answer Key
1. Answer would ideally include:
· Archaeological evidence indicates that the Harappan cities and villages had uniform size bricks,
similar figurines of pregnant women, and seals and tablets with consistent symbols. This
evidence indicates a homogeneous culture. Furthermore, all of the cities have a similar planned
layout of streets.
· Aryans had advantages of both technology and culture. They had two-wheeled chariots,
horses, and superior weapons, including bronze swords and spears. In addition to advanced
weapons, Aryans also had a society that privileged military culture and chose its leaders (a
chief, or raja) from the warrior class; in religious epics, military leaders were described as
godlike heroes.
· The caste system was a rigid, hierarchically arranged class system with four primary classes:
Brahmin (priests), Kshatriya (warriors and officials), Vaishya (merchants), and Shudra (peasants
and laborers). Those without places in the four varnas—that is, newly conquered peoples and
those who had lost their caste status through violations of ritual—were outcastes, some of
whom became known as “untouchables” because they were seen as impure. These classes
divided Indian society into economic groups but also established social rules for how the classes
interacted with one another.
· Both came from the noble warrior class, and both left home to travel as wandering ascetics. In
their travels, they came to enlightenment and believed that they had found the solution to the
cycle of rebirth and re-death. Although the religions they founded were different, they had a
few commonalities: an emphasis on nonviolence and a rejection of the caste system.
· In the third century B.C.E., Hinduism added the concept of personal devotion to the gods to
the ritualized worship described in the Vedas. The goal was to find ways to worship brahman on
the path to union. The pantheon of gods in Hinduism is large, offering many different gods
(male and female). Believers would choose one god or goddess in particular (without denying
the existence of the other deities) and make offerings of food, flowers, or recitation of prayers
to that god or goddess, without using priests as intermediaries.
· Chandragupta borrowed the Persian system of dividing his empire into provinces, each ruled
by a governor he appointed, many of them members of his family. Chandragupta also created a
Persian-style bureaucracy, which oversaw the collections of taxes, and created a standing army.
Public services (including the army) were funded by the tax system. For the first time, one man
governed the subcontinent.
· Kautilya was a minister and advisor to Chandragupta, founder of the Mauryan Empire. Kautilya
wrote a treatise (Arthashastra) on how Chandragupta could acquire and hold on to power. He
advised the king to use propaganda to inform his subjects of his achievements, to use traveling
agents to keep him informed of what was happening in his empire, and to make alliances with
the enemies of his enemies. By following Kautilya’s advice, Chandragupta was able to create a
large and profitable empire.
· Ashoka incorporated Buddhist principles of moral conduct into his law codes, and he banned
animal sacrifices and took up pilgrimages to holy sites. Ashoka also insisted that his officials
govern humanely and encouraged compassion and nonviolence throughout his empire. He also
dedicated many resources to promoting the spread of Buddhism throughout his empire and
beyond, through the building of pillars and the copying of prayer texts. He envisioned Buddhism
as a moral system that could unite the diverse peoples of his empire. He codified Buddhist texts
and warned monks he would not tolerate schism. However, he also honored India’s other
religions.
· Greek culture had a great influence on Indian art during the Kushan period. Ideas on coin
production were also transmitted from the west to India. The first representations of the
Buddha, for instance, were modeled on the statues of Apollo. Roman traders from Egypt
followed routes to India established by Arab traders. The presence of Roman coins in India
reveals the extent of trade between India and Europe. A Greek merchant involved in trade with
India reported on the vast array of goods available from Indian traders.