Ancient Civilizations (Grade 6) Midterm — Semester 1, Form A
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Free printable Ancient Civilizations midterm (Grade 6): 15 multiple-choice questions plus 1 written response covering Early Humans & the Neolithic Revolution, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt. Answer key included — customize it in the Midterm Maker.
Ancient Civilizations (Grade 6) Midterm — Semester 1, Form A
Name: Date: Period:
Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the best answer. Answer the written response in complete sentences.
Covers: Early Humans & the Neolithic Revolution · Mesopotamia · Ancient Egypt
Part 1: Multiple Choice
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How did a food surplus change early farming villages?
- A. Everyone had to return to hunting
- B. Villages stopped trading with neighbors
- C. People no longer needed to live in groups
- D. Some people could do jobs other than farming
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Why did farming allow populations to grow?
- A. It ended sickness in early villages
- B. It required no work from most people
- C. It produced a steady supply of extra food
- D. It made hunting wild animals easier
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Which early skill helped Paleolithic people stay warm, cook food, and scare off animals?
- A. Digging canals
- B. Writing on clay
- C. Controlling fire
- D. Smelting iron
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The cave paintings at Lascaux, France, were made during which period?
- A. The Paleolithic era
- B. The Iron Age
- C. The Neolithic era
- D. The Bronze Age
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What does it mean to domesticate a plant or animal?
- A. To trade it with other groups
- B. To paint pictures of it in caves
- C. To hunt it until it disappears
- D. To tame or raise it for human use
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What was a ziggurat in Sumerian city-states?
- A. A stone marketplace
- B. A wall around the city
- C. A large stepped temple
- D. A royal burial pyramid
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Which invention is often credited to the ancient Sumerians?
- A. The compass
- B. Paper
- C. The wheel
- D. Gunpowder
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What is the Epic of Gilgamesh?
- A. An Egyptian guide to the afterlife
- B. One of the oldest known works of literature
- C. A Greek history of the Persian Wars
- D. An early written code of laws
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What is a city-state?
- A. An independent city that rules nearby land
- B. A group of farms with no leader
- C. A village of traveling herders
- D. A large empire led by one king
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What was the writing system developed by the Sumerians called?
- A. Cuneiform
- B. Sanskrit
- C. Hieroglyphics
- D. The Greek alphabet
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Hatshepsut is best remembered as what?
- A. The priest who invented papyrus
- B. The Greek general who conquered Egypt
- C. The last queen of ancient Egypt
- D. A female pharaoh who expanded trade
-
What were hieroglyphics?
- A. A festival held each harvest
- B. A writing system using pictures and symbols
- C. A type of tomb for royal families
- D. A system of canals for farming
-
What was papyrus?
- A. A sacred animal kept in temples
- B. A grain grown along the Nile
- C. A type of stone used for statues
- D. A paper-like material made from reeds
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The Nile flows from south to north. Where was Upper Egypt located?
- A. In the east
- B. In the south
- C. In the north
- D. In the west
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Why was the Nile River so important to ancient Egypt?
- A. It kept Egypt divided into rival kingdoms
- B. It protected Egypt from all outside trade
- C. It flowed into the Persian Gulf for trade
- D. Its yearly floods left rich soil for farming
Part 2: Written Response
- Explain how the Neolithic Revolution changed the way people lived. Give at least two changes.
Answer Key — Ancient Civilizations (Grade 6) Midterm — Semester 1, Form A
- D — Some people could do jobs other than farming Extra food freed some people to become specialists like potters, weavers, and toolmakers.
- C — It produced a steady supply of extra food A reliable food surplus could feed more people, so villages grew larger.
- C — Controlling fire Learning to control fire gave early humans warmth, light, protection, and cooked food.
- A — The Paleolithic era The Lascaux paintings are about 17,000 years old, from the Old Stone Age.
- D — To tame or raise it for human use Domestication means people control the breeding and growth of plants and animals.
- C — A large stepped temple Ziggurats were tall, stepped temple towers at the center of Sumerian cities.
- C — The wheel Sumerians used wheels for carts and pottery; paper, compass, and gunpowder came from China.
- B — One of the oldest known works of literature The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian story about a hero king.
- A — An independent city that rules nearby land Each Sumerian city-state had its own government and controlled the farmland around it.
- A — Cuneiform Sumerians pressed wedge-shaped marks into clay tablets, a writing system called cuneiform.
- D — A female pharaoh who expanded trade Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh and sent a famous trade expedition to the land of Punt.
- B — A writing system using pictures and symbols Hieroglyphics used picture-symbols for sounds and ideas in Egyptian writing.
- D — A paper-like material made from reeds Egyptians pressed strips of papyrus reeds into sheets for writing.
- B — In the south Upper Egypt was upriver, which is south, since the Nile flows north.
- D — Its yearly floods left rich soil for farming Each flood left fertile silt, letting Egyptians farm in a desert land.
Written Response — Look-Fors
- Shift from nomadic hunting/gathering to farming; permanent villages; food surplus; population growth; job specialization; domesticated plants and animals.