CBSE SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER
Class 11 – History (Course A)
Chapter 1: Early Societies – Mesopotamia
Maximum Marks: 40
Time: 2 Hours
(Single-chapter sample paper based on your notes)
SECTION A – VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
(1 × 5 = 5 marks)
*Answer each in 1–2 sentences.
Q1. What does the term “Mesopotamia” mean?
Answer:
Mesopotamia means “the land between two rivers”, referring to the region lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Q2. Name any two important cities of ancient Mesopotamia.
Answer:
Uruk and Ur.
Q3. Which script was used in Mesopotamia?
Answer:
The cuneiform script, written on clay tablets with a reed stylus.
Q4. What was the main role of temples in Mesopotamian cities?
Answer:
Temples functioned as religious centers, economic offices, storage units, and administrative hubs for distribution of goods.
Q5. Name the famous legal code associated with Mesopotamia.
Answer:
The Hammurabi Code.
SECTION B – SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
(3 × 4 = 12 marks)
Answer each in 70–80 words.
Q6. Explain any three major geographical features of Mesopotamia that supported urban development.
Answer:
Mesopotamia had fertile alluvial plains created by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, enabling high agricultural productivity. The region’s flat landform made canal irrigation possible, supporting large settlements. Its position between major trade routes connecting Anatolia, Iran, and the Gulf made it a crossroad of exchange, encouraging commerce and urban growth.
Q7. Describe the significance of the development of writing in Mesopotamian society.
Answer:
Writing allowed the recording of taxes, trade, land records, and labour distribution, supporting efficient administration. It helped preserve religious texts, myths, literature like the Epic of Gilgamesh, and legal codes. Writing also strengthened the role of scribes, creating a specialized class. Thus, it became vital for economic management and cultural continuity.
Q8. What were the major functions of Mesopotamian cities?
Answer:
Cities served as administrative centers, housing rulers, officials, and scribes. They were economic hubs, containing workshops, markets, granaries, and temples controlling production and distribution. Cities functioned as cultural and religious centers, with temples, schools, libraries, and priests influencing social life. They also supported craft specialization and long-distance trade.
Q9. Explain the role of irrigation in the growth of southern Mesopotamian towns.
Answer:
Southern Mesopotamia received very little rainfall, so towns relied on artificial irrigation using canals, dykes, and reservoirs. This system increased agricultural output, supported larger populations, and enabled craft specialization. Collective irrigation projects required organized labour and administration, giving rise to early forms of government and large urban centers like Uruk and Ur.
SECTION C – LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
(5 × 2 = 10 marks)
Answer each in 150–200 words.
Q10. Describe the economic organization of Mesopotamian cities. How were goods and labour managed?
Answer:
The economic organization of Mesopotamia was based on a redistributive system led by temples and later by royal palaces. Farmers deposited grain, wool, dates, and oil as tax, which temples stored in large granaries. These goods were redistributed to workers, soldiers, priests, artisans, and labourers in the form of rations. Temples supervised land cultivation, livestock, irrigation, and workshops producing pottery, textiles, and metal tools.
Craft specialization emerged because surplus agricultural production freed many people from farming. Merchants engaged in long-distance trade with regions like Indus Valley (Meluhha), Dilmun (Bahrain), and Magan (Oman). Weights and measurement systems, such as the shekel, allowed standardization. Clay tablet record-keeping ensured accurate accounts of trade, labour, and taxation.
Thus, Mesopotamian economy was highly organized, centrally managed, and dependent on agricultural surplus, craft production, and trade networks.
Q11. Discuss the process of urbanisation in Mesopotamia. What factors led to the rise of the earliest cities?
Answer:
Urbanisation in Mesopotamia was a gradual process driven by environmental, economic, and administrative needs. Abundant fertile soil and river water supported high agricultural yields, leading to population growth. To manage irrigation canals and dykes, collective labour and centralized supervision became necessary. Temples initially acted as administrative centers regulating land, labour, and resources; later palaces strengthened political authority.
Agricultural surplus allowed full-time artisans, creating specialized crafts such as metallurgy, pottery, weaving, seal engraving, and carpentry. Growing trade with neighbouring regions required organized markets, storage systems, and record-keeping, which further encouraged city formation. Villages expanded into towns, eventually developing into large urban centers like Uruk and Ur.
Urbanisation was also linked to the emergence of writing, standardized weights, taxation systems, and legal codes. Together, these factors transformed Mesopotamian settlements into the world’s earliest complex cities.
SECTION D – SOURCE/CASE-BASED QUESTIONS
(5 × 2 = 10 marks)
Read the passage and answer the questions.
PASSAGE:
“Clay tablets discovered in Uruk show lists of workers, grain allocations, and records of temple property. These tablets were prepared by trained scribes and stored in temple archives. They provide evidence of the organized management of labour and resources.”
Q12 (a). What do clay tablets tell us about Mesopotamian administration?
Answer:
They reveal that administration was highly organized, maintaining detailed records of labour, grain distribution, and property.
Q12 (b). Who prepared these records and why were they important?
Answer:
Trained scribes prepared the records. They were essential for tracking economic transactions, controlling labour, and ensuring accountability.
Q12 (c). Why were temple archives significant for historians?
Answer:
Because they preserve some of the earliest written documents, helping historians understand economy, administration, and daily life.
SECTION E – MAP SKILL QUESTION
(3 marks)
Q13. Locate the following on an outline map of West Asia:
- River Tigris
- River Euphrates
- City of Ur