Name: _____________________________
MEDIEVAL HISTORY BENCHMARK EXAMINATION STUDY GUIDE
Using the glossary in the rear of the textbook (pages 282+), please define the following words:
1. oral history:_________________________________________________________________________
2. hieroglyphics: _______________________________________________________________________
3. Incas: ________________________________________________________________________________
4. schism: ______________________________________________________________________________
5. maize: _______________________________________________________________________________
6. pueblos: _____________________________________________________________________________
7. quipu: ________________________________________________________________________________
8. Ghana: _______________________________________________________________________________
9. census: ______________________________________________________________________________
10. kiva: _________________________________________________________________________________
11. migration: ___________________________________________________________________________
12. caliph: ________________________________________________________________________________
13. savanna: _____________________________________________________________________________
Please respond in a detailed fashion to each question. You may use your textbook or the chapter notes to help you. The book’s index will be particularly helpful. The pages provide only a range. The answer will be found somewhere within the pages given.
14. Why did Constantinople prosper? (pages 10-15) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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15. Describe the Bedouins’ way of life. (pages 19, 24-25)
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16. Who are the modern descendants of the Pueblo peoples? (pages 81-83)
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17. What were the two main purposes of the Incan roads? (page 65)
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18. Out of what primary material did the Incans build roads, walls, and buildings? (pages 65-66)
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19. How did the Mayas honor their gods? (pages 71-72) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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20. Describe the Mayas system of writing. (pages 71-72) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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21. How were the social classes in Aztec society structured? (pages 73-75)
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22. Describe the Mississippian city of Cahokia. (pages 79-81) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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23. The Anasazi lived in a very difficult climate. How did they change their environment to make it more suitable for habitation? (pages 81-83) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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24. Describe the religion of the Pueblo peoples. (pages 81-83) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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25. What powers did the Inca ruler have? (pages 64-65 ) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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26. Around what year did Mayan civilization decline? Why do scholars believe it declined? Give three reasons. (pages 71-72) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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27. How did the Incas increase farmland? (pages 65-66) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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28. For what reason did the Aztec Empire expand? (pages 70, 73-75) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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29. How did the Aztecs grow so wealthy? (pages 73-75) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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30. Describe the Mississippians. Where was their culture located? (pages 79-81) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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31. What were the characteristics of the structures built by the Anasazi and Pueblo peoples? (pages 81-83) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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32. Describe Anasazi farming methods. (pages 81-83) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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33. Describe the Incas’ recordkeeping style. (pages 64-65) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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34. Describe the Iroquois League. Which tribes were members and why was it formed? (pages 83-84) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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35. Why did the Anasazi abandon their major pueblos? (pages 81-83) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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36. Discuss Bantu migration. How long did it last? How do we study it? Where did they come from and where did they go? (pages 36-41) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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37. Where are Africa’s rain forests located? (page 37) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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38. What were the two most important products that were traded in West Africa? (pages 44-47) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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39. What did Muslim scholars in the empire of Mali teach their students? (pages 46-47) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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40. Describe two of the most important kingdoms of the West African forest. (pages 48-49) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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41. With whom did the port cities of East Africa trade? What goods were traded? (pages 52-56) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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42. Who finally drove the rulers of Aksum from the coast of Africa? (pages 53-54) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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43. The Ethiopians were cut off from the rest of the world. As a result they developed a different culture than the rest of the region. What was especially unique about their culture? (pages 53-54) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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44. Describe Africa’s physical geography. (page 37) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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45. How do many Bantu clans trace their ancestry? (pages 36-41) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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46. Where was Aksum located? (pages 53-54) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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47. What specialized form of knowledge did the Bantu carry with them as they migrated? (pages 36-41) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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48. What two things did foreign merchants bring to Aksum? (pages 53-54) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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49. How were the Inca able to farm on steep mountain slopes? (pages 65-66) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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50. On what was Mayan life based? (pages 71-72) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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51. What did the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippians have in common? (pages 78-81) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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52. How were the Anaszi able to deal with the hot, dry summers and harsh winters? (pages 81-83) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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53. In what four ways did the arrival of Europeans affect Native Americans? (pages 81-84) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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54. Why was the eastern part of the Roman Empire able to survive after the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D.? Provide at least two reasons.
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Once you have complete your study guide, please do the following:
-make sure your answers are complete
-begin to memorize the information contained in the study guide
-reread chapters 1-3 in the text