CLEP WESTERN CIVILIZATION 1 EXAM ACTUAL
TEST QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
◉ Cuneiform.
Answer: The earliest form of writing, made by wedge-shaped marks
impressed on clay tables using a stylus. Initially pictographs
(representing objects), but later included ideograms (representing
ideas). Began around 3000 B.C.E.
◉ Ziggurats.
Answer: Multi-level, pyramid-like constructions by the people of
Mesopotamia. Demonstrate practical engineering skills.
◉ Gilgamesh.
Answer: A Sumerian epic poem inscribed around 2000 B.C.E. on
twelve cuneiform tablets. Describes the quest of the hero Gilgamesh,
king of Uruk, in search of immortality. Includes an account of a great
flood.
◉ Enuma Elish.
Answer: A Sumerian epic poem describing the story of creation.
◉ The Egyptian Archaic Period.
,Answer: The first two dynasties of Egypt governed from about 3100-
2700 B.C.E. Unified the Nile Valley. Under centralized government,
the economy was carefully planned and agriculture was efficient.
◉ The Old Kingdom.
Answer: The Old Kingdom in Egypt lasted from about 2700-2200
B.C.E., during the 3rd to the 6th dynasties, when the power of the
pharaohs was supreme. Pharaohs were viewed as gods. The greatest
pyramids were constructed at this time, particularly during the 4th
dynasty. The belief in an afterlife for the pharaohs led to the practice
of embalming, or mummification.
◉ The First Intermediate Period.
Answer: From about 2200-2050 B.C.E., the pharaohs in Egypt failed
to assert their power effectively, and in this way the nobles gained
control of the government. The decentralization of power led to civil
wars between the nobles, or "nomarchs," and to the lack of
coordination in agriculture which resulted in widespread famine.
◉ The Middle Kingdom.
Answer: From about 2050-1700 B.C.E., centralized government was
restored in Egypt under the 11th and 12th dynasties. However, the
period of stability ended when foreigners, known as the Hyksos,
invaded the Nile Delta and conquered the Egyptian army.
,◉ The Second Intermediate Period.
Answer: The Hyksos people dominated Egypt from about 1700-
1550 B.C.E. They were expelled by a nobleman named Ahmose, who
founded the 18th dynasty and began the era known as the New
Kingdom.
◉ The New Kingdom.
Answer: From about 1550-1100 B.C.E., under the 18th to 20th
dynasties, the Egyptian pharaohs reasserted their power. Expanded
into the Levant and Anatolia, and up the Nile River into Africa and
across the Sinai peninsula. Dominated the eastern shoreline of the
Mediterranean, and came into conflict there with the Hittites, who
claimed the same territory.
◉ Megiddo.
Answer: Location of a battle (1457 B.C.E.) between the Egyptians
and the Hittites. So many battles were fought over the centuries in
this location that it became immortalized in the Christian Bible as
the apocalyptic battlefield of "Armageddon".
◉ The Amarna Period.
Answer: Amenhotep IV (1375-1358 B.C.E., approximate), later called
Akhenaton, established a religion in Egypt centered around the sun-
god Aton. He suppressed the worship of all other gods, but his
reforms were resisted. After his death, the pantheistic religious
, traditions of Egypt were resumed. During this period art took on a
more dynamic and naturalistic quality.
◉ Hieroglyphics.
Answer: A form of pictograph writing used in religious architecture,
official documentation and archival purposes. May have predated
Cuneiform.
◉ Papyrus.
Answer: Paper made from reeds that grew along the Nile, and used
by the Egyptians for writing.
◉ Minoans.
Answer: A people who lived on the Island of Crete. Named for King
Minos of that region, a name found in Greek mythology. They had a
strong maritime empire and were generally peaceful and
prosperous. However, natural disasters such as a volcanic eruption
in 1627 B.C.E. soon annihilated most of their culture, and they were
finished off around 1375 B.C.E. by Mycenaean peoples.
◉ Mycenaeans.
Answer: The earliest Greek peoples. They were at the height of their
prosperity from about 1400 to 1200 B.C.E. Mycenae was their
largest city center. By 1150 B.C.E. they had been devastated by the
Sea Peoples.
TEST QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
◉ Cuneiform.
Answer: The earliest form of writing, made by wedge-shaped marks
impressed on clay tables using a stylus. Initially pictographs
(representing objects), but later included ideograms (representing
ideas). Began around 3000 B.C.E.
◉ Ziggurats.
Answer: Multi-level, pyramid-like constructions by the people of
Mesopotamia. Demonstrate practical engineering skills.
◉ Gilgamesh.
Answer: A Sumerian epic poem inscribed around 2000 B.C.E. on
twelve cuneiform tablets. Describes the quest of the hero Gilgamesh,
king of Uruk, in search of immortality. Includes an account of a great
flood.
◉ Enuma Elish.
Answer: A Sumerian epic poem describing the story of creation.
◉ The Egyptian Archaic Period.
,Answer: The first two dynasties of Egypt governed from about 3100-
2700 B.C.E. Unified the Nile Valley. Under centralized government,
the economy was carefully planned and agriculture was efficient.
◉ The Old Kingdom.
Answer: The Old Kingdom in Egypt lasted from about 2700-2200
B.C.E., during the 3rd to the 6th dynasties, when the power of the
pharaohs was supreme. Pharaohs were viewed as gods. The greatest
pyramids were constructed at this time, particularly during the 4th
dynasty. The belief in an afterlife for the pharaohs led to the practice
of embalming, or mummification.
◉ The First Intermediate Period.
Answer: From about 2200-2050 B.C.E., the pharaohs in Egypt failed
to assert their power effectively, and in this way the nobles gained
control of the government. The decentralization of power led to civil
wars between the nobles, or "nomarchs," and to the lack of
coordination in agriculture which resulted in widespread famine.
◉ The Middle Kingdom.
Answer: From about 2050-1700 B.C.E., centralized government was
restored in Egypt under the 11th and 12th dynasties. However, the
period of stability ended when foreigners, known as the Hyksos,
invaded the Nile Delta and conquered the Egyptian army.
,◉ The Second Intermediate Period.
Answer: The Hyksos people dominated Egypt from about 1700-
1550 B.C.E. They were expelled by a nobleman named Ahmose, who
founded the 18th dynasty and began the era known as the New
Kingdom.
◉ The New Kingdom.
Answer: From about 1550-1100 B.C.E., under the 18th to 20th
dynasties, the Egyptian pharaohs reasserted their power. Expanded
into the Levant and Anatolia, and up the Nile River into Africa and
across the Sinai peninsula. Dominated the eastern shoreline of the
Mediterranean, and came into conflict there with the Hittites, who
claimed the same territory.
◉ Megiddo.
Answer: Location of a battle (1457 B.C.E.) between the Egyptians
and the Hittites. So many battles were fought over the centuries in
this location that it became immortalized in the Christian Bible as
the apocalyptic battlefield of "Armageddon".
◉ The Amarna Period.
Answer: Amenhotep IV (1375-1358 B.C.E., approximate), later called
Akhenaton, established a religion in Egypt centered around the sun-
god Aton. He suppressed the worship of all other gods, but his
reforms were resisted. After his death, the pantheistic religious
, traditions of Egypt were resumed. During this period art took on a
more dynamic and naturalistic quality.
◉ Hieroglyphics.
Answer: A form of pictograph writing used in religious architecture,
official documentation and archival purposes. May have predated
Cuneiform.
◉ Papyrus.
Answer: Paper made from reeds that grew along the Nile, and used
by the Egyptians for writing.
◉ Minoans.
Answer: A people who lived on the Island of Crete. Named for King
Minos of that region, a name found in Greek mythology. They had a
strong maritime empire and were generally peaceful and
prosperous. However, natural disasters such as a volcanic eruption
in 1627 B.C.E. soon annihilated most of their culture, and they were
finished off around 1375 B.C.E. by Mycenaean peoples.
◉ Mycenaeans.
Answer: The earliest Greek peoples. They were at the height of their
prosperity from about 1400 to 1200 B.C.E. Mycenae was their
largest city center. By 1150 B.C.E. they had been devastated by the
Sea Peoples.
