CLEP Western Civilization 1 UPDATED
ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORRECT
Answers
The Fertile Crescent - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- An area of river valleys in the Near East
where conditions are optimum for crop production.
The Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The age in which humans
lived as nomads in small communities, hunting and gathering fruits for food and using fire
and crude stone implements.
The Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The age in which stone
tools were refined, animals were domesticated, and agriculture was developed as people
transitioned from a nomadic to a more settled way of life.
The Bronze Age - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The age in which cities were developed, and
tools were increasingly made out of metal alloys rather than stone. Irrigation and writing
began to be developed during this time.
Sumer (Mesopotamia) - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- The area within the Tigris-Euphrates
river valley.
Akkadians - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A semi-nomadic people, who spoke a Semitic
language. Migrated from the deserts west of Mesopotamia and settled in the Tigris-Euphrates
valley during the 4th millennium B.C.E.
King Sargon - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- An Akkadian king (2371-2316 B.C.E.,
approximate) who led the Akkadians in conquering Sumerian city-states. Established an
empire that unified Mesopotamia and reached beyond it into the Iranian plateau and as far
west as Lebanon. His dynasty ruled Akkad and Sumer for about 200 years.
The Third Dynasty of Ur - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Around 2100 B.C.E., the Sumerian
city of Ur rose up in revolt against the Akkadian rule. The attained control of Mesopotamia
and ruled for about 100 years.
,Amorites - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Re-unified Mesopotamia, and established their capital
at Babylon, on the Euphrates. The Amorites (Old Babylonian Dynasty) ruled for about 300
years, from around 1900-1600 B.C.E.
Hammurabi - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- (1792-1750 B.C.E., approximate) The greatest
king of the Old Babylonian Dynasty. Famous for his law code. Claimed to be a representative
of the gods.
Hammurabi's Code - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A law code that attempted to stabilize the
hierarchical society. Presented like a pyramid: the slaves at the bottom, freemen such as
peasants and merchants next, warrior aristocracy and priesthood, and the king at the top.
Known for, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." Dealt with legislation regarding the
family, ownership of land, and commercial transactions.
Hittites - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- From Anatolia (Asia Minor). Attacked the Old
Babylonian Empire around 1600 B.C.E. and plundered them.
Kassites - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- From the region that is now Iran. Attacked the Old
Babylonian Empire around 1600 B.C.E. and established themselves as rulers for 300 years.
Hurrians - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Established the kingdom of Mitanni in the upper
Tigris-Euphrates valley around 1500 B.C.E. which lasted for 100 years, until they were
conquered by the Hittites.
Cuneiform - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- Multi-level, pyramid-like constructions by the people
of Mesopotamia. Demonstrate practical engineering skills.
Gilgamesh - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- A Sumerian epic poem describing the story of
creation.
The Egyptian Archaic Period - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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".
