Social Studies 20

1. How did scholars learn that the Shang dynasty was real and not just a myth?

They read old books

They found artifacts

They learned the language

They asked Chinese elders

2. Shang weapons were especially strong because skilled artisians made objects from...

Iron

Stone

Bones

Bronze

3. What most helped Shang kings stay in power?

Use of a powerful army

Belief in magical dragons

Kindness to ordinary people

Marriage into leading families

4. What often happened to people the Shang captured in wars?

They married into the royal family

They worked on construction, as slaves

They were given land to start new farms

They learned the skills to be artisans

5. In the Shang civilization, Anyang was the...

Chief ruler

Capital city

Royal army

State religion

6. What led archeologists to conclude that the Shang believed in life after death?

Finding food and weapons buried with kings

Figuring out the characters carved into bones

Seeing pots used for ceremonies in the temples

Studying the position in which bodies were laid out

7. What have scholars conclueded from the large number of wild animal bones found at Shang sites?

The Shang kept livestock

The Shang rode elephants

The Shang were active hunters

The Shang feared animal attacks

8. Which of these Shang people had the lowest social status?

Merchants

Jade carvers

Stonemasons

Grain farmers

9. The modern Chinese word for "merchant" is shang ren, which means "Shang man." What does this suggest about Shang culture?

The Shang traded a great deal

Most Shang could read and write

Most Shang bartered for their goods

The Shang used cowrie shells as money

10. What technology did the Shang use to make strong helmets?

Soaking wood in salt water

Letting pottery harden in a mold

Weaving bamboo strips into a mat

Shaping a mixture of copper and tin

11. How may the Shang king and and his nobles have weakened their economy?

They bought more and more land

They spent too much time on their palaces

They rarely paid artisans for their work

They discouraged trade with other reigons

12. For what purpose would a Shang leader most likely use and oracle bone made from turtle shell?

To serve a ceremonial meal

To make music for his family

To send messages to the nobles

To ask advice from his ancestors

13. If two nobles from distant parts of China met during the Shang dynasty, what would be the best way for them to communicate with each other?

By speaking, because they spoke the same language

By trading, because they have the same type of money

By writing, because they wrote with the same characters

By fighting, because they fought with the same weapons

14. How did Zhou, a fronteir state, most affect the Shang dynasty?

Rebels from Zhou overthrew the king

Warriors from Zhou led the royal army

Jade mines in Zhou made the king wealthy

Travelers through Zhou promoted foreign trade