The Ancient World

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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  1. A toolbox from 1000 B.C. would probably have all the following familiar tools except:
    1. Hammers
    2. Saws
    3. Chisels
    4. Axes
    5. Screwdrivers
  2. This island culture of about 500 B.C. had the closest thing in the ancient world to our modern notion of a scientific approach:
    1. Irish
    2. Ionian
    3. Icelandic
    4. Indonesian
    5. Sardinian
  3. The essential building material invented by the Romans
    1. Plywood
    2. Steel
    3. Glass
    4. Concrete
    5. Iron
  4. This material, known to the ancient Egyptians, was the first truly synthetic material
    1. Glass
    2. Paper
    3. Wool
    4. Gold
    5. Copper
  5. Bronze is a great mystery in ancient technology because nobody knows where this ingredient came from or how it was discovered:
    1. Copper
    2. Iron
    3. Lead
    4. Silver
    5. Tin
  6. Campfires and pigments are often mentioned as possible origins, but the most likely place metals were initially discovered was probably:
    1. After forest fires
    2. In volcanic eruptions
    3. In pottery kilns
    4. While baking bricks
    5. While cooking bread
  7. Apart from gold and silver, two metals known in the ancient world were
    1. Aluminum and zinc
    2. Copper and lead
    3. Nickel and cobalt
    4. Lead and magnesium
    5. Gold and Titanium
  8. The New Testament was written in Greek, and Greek science and technology was spread around the eastern Mediterranean because of the conquests of :
    1. Atilla the Hun
    2. Genghis Khan
    3. Julius Caesar
    4. Alexander the Great
    5. Tiberius
  9. The first mechanical power source widely used in Europe was first used late in the Roman Empire and was
    1. Water Power
    2. Windmills
    3. The Tides
    4. Solar Power
    5. Steam
  10. Historian Edward Gibbon cited four main causes for the collapse of the Roman Empire. One of them was:
    1. Inflation
    2. Too much spending on industry
    3. The Rise of Christianity
    4. Climate change
    5. Too much prosperity among the working class
  11. This island on the fringes of the Greco-Roman world was important in safeguarding literacy and returning it to Europe:
    1. Iceland
    2. Cyprus
    3. Ceylon
    4. Corsica
    5. Ireland
  12. The transplanted Greek culture that existed around the eastern end of the Mediterranean was called
    1. Roman
    2. Hellenistic
    3. Ionian
    4. Persian
    5. Pythagorean
  13. The Etruscans 
    1. Spread Greek culture around the Mediterranean
    2. Invented metal smelting
    3. Sent their general Hannibal to invade Rome
    4. Transmitted many Greek ideas to the Romans
    5. Invaded the Roman Emprire around 350 AD
  14. This empire founded by colonists from the Near East challenged Rome for supremacy in the western Mediterranean
    1. Carthage
    2. Ionia
    3. Asia Minor
    4. Gaul
    5. Spain
  15. The way Rome dealt with its arch-rival in the Western Mediterranean was:
    1. Surrender
    2. Form an alliance with it
    3. Provoke the Greeks to invade it
    4. Blockade it and starve it into submission
    5. Destroy it in a series of three wars
  16. Which of the following is least likely to favor domestication of a plant?
    1. Self pollination
    2. Being an annual
    3. Seeds scattered by animals
    4. Desirable mutation controlled by a single gene
  17. This substance is believed to have been important in attracting animals to human habitations:
    1. Water
    2. Salt
    3. Sugar
    4. Iron
    5. Vitamin C
  18. In lecture it was suggested that Rome’s problems may have begun:
    1. When Julius Caesar seized control
    2. After massive slave revolts
    3. When Rome rejected Christianity
    4. When Rome decided to exploit its colonies rather than treat them as equals
    5. After a disastrous climate shift
  19. William F. Buckley once joked “They said if I voted for Barry Goldwater (who ran for President and lost in 1964) we’d have a bigger war in Vietnam. I did and we have.” This is a humorous illustration of what historical fallacy? (Note-you don’t need to know anything about U.S. history here – focus on the reasoning)
    1. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
    2. Ethnocentrism
    3. Oversimplification
    4. Linear view of history
    5. Ethnocentrism
  20. Ethnocentrism is:
    1. Oversimplifying complex events
    2. Assuming that people in the past somehow knew which way the future was headed
    3. Drawing connections between events that aren’t actually connected
    4. Assuming other culures are superior to our own
    5. Judging other cultures by our values
  21. The Etruscans:
    1. Spread Greek culture around the Mediterranean
    2. Invented metal smelting
    3. Sent their general Hannibal to invade Rome
    4. Transmitted many Greek ideas to the Romans
    5. Invaded the Roman Emprire around 350 AD
  22. Among St. Patrick's achievements was:
    1. Introduced literacy to Ireland
    2. Was the first known person in Western history to condemn slavery
    3. Converted Ireland completely without bloodshed
    4. Was the first missionary in 300 years to travel widely
    5. All the above
  23. The Church in the late Roman Empire:
    1. Had its power base in rural areas among the peasants
    2. Was distributed among urban and rural areas
    3. Was mostly confined to Rome and its environs
    4. Had spread widely into northern Europe
    5. Was largely confined to the cities
  24. In Day the Universe Changed, Burke describes the work of a Roman official named Martianus Capella, who:
    1. Raised an army to repel invaders
    2. Adopted Christianity
    3. Defined the basis for the sort of education people needed in a changing world
    4. Persecuted Christianity
    5. Attempted to restore the former boundaries of the Empire
  25. In Day the Universe Changed, Burke describes the thinking of Saint Augustine, who merged Christian thinking with the ideas of::
    1. Plato
    2. Confucius
    3. Aristotle
    4. Mohammed
    5. Marcus Aurelius
  26. In Day the Universe Changed, Burke describes the importance of Augustine's thinking as:
    1. It stressed the need for accurate observation
    2. It emphasized obedience to civil authority
    3. It demanded rebellion against civil authority
    4. It stressed an ideal spiritual world in opposition to the imperfect material world
    5. It mobilized the people to resist invaders
  27. Mediterranean climates are thought to be important in plant domestication because they:
    1. Have long growing seasons
    2. Get lots of rain in the winter
    3. Are warm and pleasant places to live
    4. Have abundant legumes that fertilize the soil
    5. Favor plants with seeds that can remain dry for long periods
  28. Annual plants are most favorable for domestication because:
    1. They have more seeds
    2. They offer rapid selection of desirable traits
    3. They tend to have fewer natural toxins
    4. They grow faster
    5. They are eaten by few other species
  29. Coins appeared late in ancient times because
    1. They are hard to make
    2. They are easily counterfeited
    3. People didn't understand them
    4. There was insufficient precious metal around
    5. It was hard to guarantee the purity of the metals
  30. Jared Diamond feels that east-west continental orientation is important because:
    1. It means more favorable climate
    2. The winds blow in that direction
    3. Humans are psychologically attuned to the sun's movements
    4. East-west landmasses get more rainfall
    5. There are no climatic barriers to cross
  31. In addition to the need for organization and record-keeping, another possible link between agriculture and complex societies is:
    1. Watching plants grow inspires people to investigate natural phenomena
    2. Grain stores are susceptible to raiding and require group protection
    3. People begin trading grain for other goods
    4. With stored food, people can go on exploring trips
    5. It takes a lot of people to chase away animals from the fields
  32. The conversion of Ireland to Christianity was characterized by:
    1. Persecution of Christians by practitioners of the native religion.
    2. Persecution of practitioners of the native religion by Christians.
    3. Violent conflict on both sides.
    4. No bloodshed at all.
    5. Believers in the native religion fleeing.
  33. These are all reasons why the history of technology is less well studied than other kinds of history, except one. Which is not a reason?
    1. It is a comparatively recent branch of history
    2. Most historians were members of the elite and ignored manual tasks
    3. Ancient technologists were so well rewarded they didn't feel the need to write anything down
    4. Ancient inventors frequently kept their methods secret
    5. People tend to take the mundane for granted
  34. The brilliant literacy of Ireland came to an end due to attacks by the
    1. Vikings
    2. Romans
    3. Arabs
    4. Mongols
    5. Spanish
  35. The frontiers of the Roman Empire were partially defined by this river:
    1. Rhine
    2. Po
    3. Nile
    4. Vistula
    5. Elbe
  36. The Romans actively explored this region:
    1. Ireland
    2. The Baltic
    3. Russia
    4. Arabia
    5. None of the above
  37. The emperor Marcus Aurelius was:
    1. a philosopher
    2. emperor during the peak of Rome's power
    3. last of a century-long string of competent emperors
    4. succeeded by his dissolute son
    5. all of the above
  38. This British writer's Outline of History gives an unconventional and highly unflattering portrait of Rome:
    1. H. G. Wells
    2. Conan Doyle
    3. C. S. Lewis
    4. George Bernard Shaw
    5. T. S. Eliot
  39. In modern terms, we'd call Julius Caesar's seizure of power a:
    1. hostile takeover
    2. coup d'etat
    3. terrorist campaign
    4. rogue regime
    5. puppet regime
  40. The only other large power that shared a frontier with the Roman Empire was:
    1. Persia
    2. China
    3. Russia
    4. India
    5. None of the above

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Created January 3, 1997; Last Update 05 October 2006

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