Archaeology and Humanity’s Story:

A Brief Introduction to World Prehistory

Chapter 10 Test Bank—Pharaonic State and Old Kingdom Egypt

Multiple-Choice Questions (30)

1. Seasonal, shallow lakes like the Nabta are called _______________.

A) arroyos

B) playas

C) cricks

D) lagoons

2. Many ancient civilizations relied on major rivers as their lifeblood. The ____________ River was Egypt’s major river.

A) Urubamba

B) Mediterranean

C) Bantu

D) Nile

3. The term “Intermediate Periods” is applied to times when _________________________.

A) female pharaohs were in power

B) the Nile was at its lowest level

C) Egypt was ruled by outsiders

D) climate change prevented floodplain agriculture

4. The pharaoh _______________ was associated with a stepped pyramid.

A) Djoser

B) Tutankhamun

C) Ramesses II

D) Khafre

5. The Egyptian god Horus is depicted as a ______________-headed man.

A) serpent

B) falcon

C) crocodile

D) lion

6. The Egyptian sun-god was known as ______________ and often depicted with a sun disk.

A) Ur

B) Sekhmet

C) Kali

D) Ra

7. Cattle may have been domesticated in Egypt as early as _______________.

A) 332 BC

B) 1069 BC

C) 5500 BC

D) 9000 BC

8. The site ________________ contained a Late Neolithic cemetery in Upper Egypt.

A) Cahokia

B) Göbekli Tepe

C) Uruk

D) Gebel Ramlah

9. Which period preceded the Pharaonic State in Egypt?

A) Predynastic

B) Old Kingdom

C) Middle Kingdom

D) New Kingdom

10. The Umm al-Qa’ab Royal Cemetery was located at _____________________.

A) Star Carr

B) Abydos

C) Chetro Ketl

D) Jakku

11. The pharaoh Khafre was responsible for the construction of one of the Giza pyramids and also _________________.

A) Tutankhamun’s tomb

B) the “Bent” Pyramid at Dahshur

C) the Staff of Ra

D) the Sphinx

12. The pharaoh Akhenaten was responsible for a short-term switch to __________________.

A) maize agriculture

B) monotheism

C) vegetarianism

D) democracy

13. In Old Kingdom Egypt, deceased people were envisioned as traveling in _______________.

A) golden chariots

B) solar boats

C) dog sleds

D) falcon’s wings

14. The ancient Egyptians referred to the region of modern northern Sudan as ____________.

A) Nimrod

B) Sahul

C) Nubia

D) Sunda

15. _______________ was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt.

A) Alexander the Great

B) Cleopatra

C) Queen of Sheba

D) Solutrean

16. The Predynastic site __________________ in Upper Egypt included numerous pithouses.

A) Hemamieh

B) Harappa

C) Herto

D) Jericho

17. The site of Buto was situated in the __________________, allowing its residents easy access to hippos, tortoise, fish, wild pigs, and a trade network.

A) Lake Victoria region

B) Nabta Playa

C) tropical lowlands

D) Nile Delta

18. Which of these ideas best fits the pharaoh’s conceptions of an afterlife?

A) They must be weighted with stones and sunk to the bottom of the Nile to meet Isis.

B) Magnificent riches were waiting for them in the afterlife.

C) They were required to take their possessions with them.

D) They believed they would be reborn as the next pharaoh.

20. Which deity did Amenhotep IV attempt to establish as the single god of Egypt?

A) Aten

B) Narmer

C) Hyksos

D) Caesar

21. After the Old Kingdom, local Egyptian rulers called _______________ temporarily seized power over their regions.

A) ueeqs

B) lurers

C) nomarchs

D) knicks

22. The flow of the Nile is why northern Egypt is (somewhat confusingly) called _____________.

A) Eden

B) South Africa

C) Lower Egypt

D) Nubia

23. Neolithic oasis settlements were made possible by the warmer, wetter conditions of the early __________________.

A) Holocene

B) Pleistocene

C) Miocene

D) Oligocene

24. Egypt became part of the Roman Empire about _________________.

A) AD 500

B) 30 BC

C) 3500 BC

D) 332 BC

25. The major Egyptian pyramids were built by pharaohs of the ____________ Dynasties.

A) Ming

B) Ptolemaic

C) 3rd and 4th

D) 00 and 0

26. ________________ was the domesticated plant food most closely linked to the rise of Egyptian civilization.

A) Emmer wheat

B) Plantains

C) Long-grain rice

D) Sunflower

27. The ____________________ was a location of early Egyptian settlements in the Neolithic.

A) Nabta Playa

B) Indus Valley

C) Olduvai Gorge

D) Sea of Tranquility

28. The Egyptian “Kingdom” periods are classified as ____________________.

A) Early, Middle, and Late

B) Paleo, Meso, and Neo

C) Old, Middle, and New

D) Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary

29. The famous pharaoh Tutankhamun was a son of __________________.

A) the Sun

B) Cleopatra

C) Ramesses II

D) Akhenaten

30. During the Predynastic period, pithouses were immediately followed by ______________ dwellings.

A) jacal

B) obsidian

C) mudbrick

D) monumental

/Questions (10)

1. Domesticated cattle in Egypt were likely imported from Mesopotamia. (

2. Saqqara was a major site in Lower Egypt. (

3. Lower Egypt is located in the northern part of the region. (

4. The pyramid of Tutankhamen is the second largest in Egypt. (

5. The Egyptian writing system of hieroglyphics was built on the basis of cuneiform. (

6. The Giza pyramids’ polished limestone facing was removed and used to build other structures in Cairo after AD 1300. (

7. The city of Memphis in Tennessee was named for the city of Memphis in Egypt. (

8. The Nile river runs toward the south. (

9. The pharaoh Narmer was also known as the Scorpion King. (

10. The wealth of ancient Egypt was sustained by floodplain agriculture. (

1. How is Narmer’s unification of Egypt symbolized in Egyptian art?

2. Briefly describe the relationship between humans and cattle in Egyptian Early Neolithic.

3. Briefly describe three Egyptian deities and their depictions in art.

4. After the Old Kingdom, were Egyptians polytheistic or monotheistic during the 18th Dynasty (kind of a trick question)?

5. Pharaohs were very concerned with being remembered for their deeds. Can you remember the pharaohs responsible for the construction of the three large Giza pyramids?

6. What is the significance of Djoser’s pyramid at Saqqara?

7. What are three domesticated animals used by the people of the Late Neolithic Nabta Playa.

8. What is one proposed explanations for the alignment of megalithic structures of the Nabta Playa?

9. On which side of the Nile River were pyramid complexes located? What was the reason for this choice?

10. Who was the last Ptolemaic ruler and last pharaoh of Egypt? Who controlled Egypt after this ruler’s death?

1. The Nile River and Egyptian civilization are inseparable. Describe the significance of this river in ancient Egypt, providing as many details as possible.

2. Describe the process of mummification. What initially prompted Egyptians to begin this practice? How did it differ between wealthy and poorer individuals? What was its ritual purpose?

3. What are some significant ways that Egyptian hieroglyphs differed from Mesopotamian cuneiform?

4. Describe gender roles in Old Kingdom Egypt. What roles were available to women in this cultural context?

5. We commonly say things like “Khufu built the largest of the Giza pyramids” as a shorthand way of phrasing the actual events. What would be a more accurate description of the logistics of pyramid building?