1. Antarctic
   Roman
2. United States

The Roman Empire was, for many centuries, one of the most impressive civilizations ever. But the Empire eventually fell, in part due to (cough) overspending on military conquests.

1. volcano
   hurricane
2. smited by God

In AD 79, a powerful volcanic eruption quickly buried Pompeii under tons of ash. The city was wiped out ... but preserved to a stunning degree of detail, which thrilled researchers who found it in the 1700s.

1. Philippines
   Russia
2. Egypt

The famous pyramids of Egypt are some of the most impressive ancient structures on Earth. Construction of the pyramids, which were meant as tombs for royalty, began around 2600 BC.

1. Indonesia
   United States
2. China

Around 210 BC, about 8,000 terracotta soldiers were created to protect the Chinese emperor after his death. The huge "army" even includes chariots and horses.

1. attacked by a lion
   drank too much wine
2. murdered

As dictator of the Roman Empire, Caesar made a lot of enemies — too many, in fact. He was assassinated by Roman senators who tried, and later failed, to restore the great Roman republic.

1. Eskimo
   Aztec
2. Japanese

The Aztecs populated the area of modern-day Mexico with some truly stunning feats of architecture. Their huge capital city, Tenochtitlan, dominated the region in the 15th century.

1. Italy
   New York City
2. Iraq

Rome grew to great power on the Italian peninsula beginning in 753 BC. It became the seat of power in the Roman Empire, which dominated the world and included tens of millions of inhabitants.

1. Joan of Arc
   Alexander the Great
2. Muhammad Ali

For 30 centuries, Egypt was the center of the ancient world. Then Alexander the Great came along and crashed the party, demolishing the empire with his mighty army.

1. Guatemala
   Uganda
2. Greenland

Around the sixth century, the Mayans were a sophisticated society in the area that’s now Guatemala. For centuries, they thrived, and then one day their population began to plummet and researchers still aren’t sure why.

1. human sacrifice
   surfing
2. waterboarding

The Aztecs had elaborate ceremonies in which they sacrificed. The gruesome displays were meant to please the gods.

1. dead slaves
   diamonds
2. white limestone

White limestone adorned most of the exterior of the pyramids. Even from a distance, the reflected light from the limestone would have been dazzling to behold.

1. Laos
   Los Angeles
2. Rome

The Colosseum is the massive ancient ampitheatre in Rome, capable of seating perhaps 80,000 spectators who came to witness gladiator combat and other dramatic performances.

1. gladiator games
   chariot races
2. writing

The Mayans were curious and intelligent people who developed a sophisticated writing system. They’re also renowned for their intricate structures and architecture.

1. birthing center
   a sacrificial altar
2. No one knows.

Stonehenge features huge standing stones which were put into place around 2400 BC. The monument is located near large burial grounds, but archaeologists can only guess as to the purpose of the amazing structure.

1. France
   Canada
2. Egypt

Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemic Kingdom of Egypt. Her empire fell to the Romans and she committed suicide rather than bear the weight of the defeat.

1. around 40 tons
   4,000 pounds
2. 500 pounds

Some of the stones in Stonehenge are about 13 feet tall and weigh 40 tons. It’s incredible that ancient people were able to move such massive stones without modern construction equipment.

1. Pontius Pilate
   Julius Caesar
2. Tutankhamen

English archaeologist Howard Carter spent years of his life exploring the ruins of ancient Egypt. In 1922, he found the mostly intact tomb of King Tutankhamen, or King Tut. It was one of the greatest finds of the 20th century.

1. water wheels
   race cars
2. cliff dwellings

In the Southwest of America, the Puebloans constructed fantastic cliff dwellings, many of which still stand today. The dwellings, high above valleys, were excellent places to defend family units from intruders.

1. Alloy Age
   Iron Age
2. Paper Age

After the collapse of the Bronze Age, humans continued tinkering with metallurgy, eventually mastering iron. Iron became a vital component for weapons and tools.

1. Aztecs
   Greeks
2. Romans

In the early 1500s, Spanish explorer Hernan Cortez began his explorations of the New World. Using political cleverness and just a few hundred soldiers, he helped bring down the Aztec Empire.

1. true
2. false

False. Roman historians produced heaps of documentation ... but the majority of those records were lost or destroyed over time. So researchers have to make educated guesses about the missing information regarding Roman society.

1. writing
   war
2. gunpowder

Mesopotamia, in the area of modern-day Iraq, was a birthplace of writing in about the 4th millennium. Writing, of course, caused drastic shifts in the ways human beings communicated with one another.

1. “cradle of civilization"
   “Moses’ birthplace"
2. “the first mental ward"

The Fertile Crescent is an area of the Middle East where agriculture flourished in ancient times due to the proximity of major rivers. It is one of several "cradles of civilization" where societies first formed.

1. 23
   230
2. 2,300

After decades of research, some scientists believe the pyramid builders used some basic tricks (like wetting sand to reduce friction) to move huge stones used to make the Great Pyramid. That kind of cleverness meant the job was done in just 23 years.

1. old newspapers
   tree bark
2. human skin

Their tree bark paper was primitive but effective. Scientists have discovered numerous written documents from the days of the Mayans and hope that eventually they’ll better understand this ancient society.

1. finding the road to the center of the Earth
   creating gold temples
2. mining knowledge

The Greeks placed enormous value on knowledge, hungry to understand the world around them. Their philosophies and curious inquiries shaped much of modern Western society.

1. about 1200
   about 90 BC
2. about 3300 BC

Humans began to understand metalworking thousands of years ago, around 3300 BC. Bronze was fabulously useful for all aspects of daily living, a big step up from rocks and stones.

1. fighting
   history
2. chemistry

Herodotus was a thinker. He created a paradigm shift in the way humans approached the idea of history, and to this day we’re still affected by his insights.

1. The Steel Age emerged.
   Many civilizations collapsed.
2. Europeans discovered the New World.

At around 1200 BC, violence and disarray and abandonment affected many societies that had flourished during the Bronze Age. The collapse of the Bronze Age marked a dark turn in human history.

1. 900 miles
   1,500 miles
2. 13,000 miles

They don’t call it "great" for nothin’. The Great Wall is about 13,000 miles long. Some areas are very primitive and run down. Others are constantly maintained, more to impress tourists than to repel invaders.