TSES/CLCV 2305 Assignment 1
Due May 22, 2017
Part 1 (½ mark per question)
1. Which of the following was not included in the Roman Empire?
a. England
b. France
c. Denmark
d. Palestine
2. Dried fish was a staple food in the city of Rome. Where did they get the fish?
a. From the Adriatic Sea.
b. From the Atlantic Ocean.
c. From the Black Sea.
d. From the Nile Delta.
3. How long have stone tools been in use?
a. 10,000 years
b. 80,000 years
c. 1,000,000 years
d. 2,500,000 years
4. Which of the following methods for making stone tools requires the most skill?
a. percussion flaking
b. pressure flaking
c. pulverizing
d. fire flaking
5. Sumerian writing evolved through several forms. What was its final form in
Sumeria?
a. pictographs
b. syllabary
c. alphabet without vowels
d. alphabet with vowels
6. What is the disadvantage of arsenic bronze compared to ordinary tin bronze?
a. arsenic is scarce
b. arsenic is poisonous
c. arsenic bronze was not known in antiquity
d. arsenic bronze has less desirable physical properties
7. What is the pyramid at Meidum notable for?
a. less steep sides than previous pyramids
b. first burial chamber above ground
c. first smooth sides
d. bigger than other pyramids
8. Which of the following was not used to preserve food in antiquity?
a. cooling with ice
b. pickling with vinegar
c. drying in sunshine
d. infusing with spices
Part 2 (1 mark per question)
9. Document 1 from Pliny the Elder Natural History, book 36, 1st century
AD
“16. We must make some mention, too, however cursorily, of the Pyramids of
Egypt, so many idle and frivolous pieces of ostentation of their resources, on the
part of the monarchs of that country. Indeed, it is asserted by most persons, that
the only motive for constructing them, was either a determination not to leave
their treasures to their successors or to rivals that might be plotting to supplant
them, or to prevent the lower classes from remaining unoccupied. There was
great vanity displayed by these men in constructions of this description, and
there are still the remains of many of them in an unfinished state. There is one to
be seen in the Nome of Arsinoïtes; two in that of Memphites, not far from the
Labyrinth, of which we shall shortly have to speak; and two in the place where
Lake Mœris was excavated, an immense artificial piece of water, cited by the
Egyptians among their wondrous and memorable works: the summits of the
pyramids, it is said, are to be seen above the water.”
What is Pliny’s attitude to the construction of pyramids?
a. It was inspiring.
b. It was wasteful.
c. It was a useful contribution to humankind.
d. It was justified at the time.
10. According to this passage, were all the pyramids finished?
a. Yes.
b. No.
11. What reason does Pliny not suggest for building the pyramids?
a. religious zeal
b. vanity
c. greed
d. a make-work scheme
12. Herodotus says the pyramids at Lake Moeris were built in an existing lake.
However Pliny is more impressed by the idea that Lake Moeris is what?
a. salty
b. navigable
c. artificial
d. seasonal
13. Document 1 continued
“The other three pyramids, the renown of which has filled the whole earth, and
which are conspicuous from every quarter to persons navigating the river, are
situate on the Western side of it, upon a rocky sterile elevation. They lie between
the city of Memphis and what we have mentioned as the Delta, within four miles
of the river, and seven miles and a-half from Memphis, near a village known as
Busiris, the people of which are in the habit of ascending them.”
[Note: this passage describes the 3 pyramids at Giza.]
From this passage we can deduce why the pyramids at Giza were built where
they were. What was the reason?
a. So the people of Busiris could ascend them.
b. So they were accessible from both Memphis and the Delta.
c. Because they were famous the world over.
d. So they were conspicuous to anyone travelling on that part of the Nile river.
14. Pliny says that the outcrop of rock that the pyramids stand on is “sterile”.
What does this tell us about the surrounding area in Pliny’s time?
a. It was fertile.
b. It was desert.
c. It was urbanized.
d. It was wasteland.
15. One of the questions about Pliny’s life is whether he travelled to Egypt. In
this passage does he claim to have actually seen these famous pyramids?
a. yes
b. no
16. Why do you think the people of Busiris were in the habit of ascending the
pyramids? (Short answer: one sentence is plenty.)
