Bihar Board Class 11 Arts History · Ch 1: Writing and City Life

Topics in this test

Difficulty: 3 easy · 9 medium · 18 hard

Sample questions with answers

The first 5 questions of this free test.

1. Q1. Consider the following statements about the earliest cities and writing in Mesopotamia and choose the correct option: 1. The first Mesopotamian tablets, written around 3200 BCE, contained picture-like signs and numbers recording lists of goods such as oxen and fish. 2. Mesopotamian writing developed mainly to record prayers and religious hymns for the temple. 3. Writing began in Mesopotamia because the growth of city life and trade created a need to keep accounts of transactions.

   • A. Only statements 1 and 2 are correct
   • B. Only statements 2 and 3 are correct
   • C. Only statements 1 and 3 are correct
   • D. All three statements are correct
   Solution

   The earliest tablets were used for keeping records of goods and transactions, not religious hymns; so statements 1 and 3 are correct while 2 is wrong.

2. Q2. The famous Mesopotamian literary work remembered for the story of a great flood and a hero's search is the:

   • A. Rigveda
   • B. Epic of Gilgamesh
   • C. Iliad of Homer
   • D. Code of Manu
   Solution

   The Epic of Gilgamesh, written on clay tablets, tells of King Gilgamesh and includes a flood story; it is one of the most important pieces of Mesopotamian literature.

3. Q3. Why did Mesopotamian scribes press signs into clay while it was still wet, and then dry the tablet?

   • A. Dry clay was cheaper than wet clay in the market
   • B. Wet clay was used because it could be eaten later as food
   • C. Wet clay takes marks easily, and once hardened it preserves the record permanently
   • D. The signs could only be erased after the clay dried
   Solution

   Wet clay could be easily marked with the stylus, and once dried it became hard so the record was preserved; thousands of such baked tablets have survived to be read today.

4. Q4. A student lists features of an urban economy in Mesopotamia. Which one is the 'odd one out' because it does NOT belong to city life?

   • A. A family that grows all its own food and depends on no one else
   • B. Specialised craftsmen making seals and tools
   • C. Trade in goods brought from distant lands
   • D. Keeping written records on clay tablets
   Solution

   Trade, written records and specialised crafts are all features of urban economic life; a family growing all its own food and depending on no one is the self-sufficient village feature, not a city one.

5. Q5. Assertion (A): City life in Mesopotamia depended on division of labour. Reason (R): A city economy requires people doing different specialised jobs, not everyone producing their own food. Choose the correct option.

   • A. A is false but R is true
   • B. A is true but R is false
   • C. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
   • D. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
   Solution

   In a city, crafts-persons, traders and scribes do specialised work and depend on others for food, so division of labour is a mark of urban life — R correctly explains A.

Frequently asked questions

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