Artifacts
Human made objects, such as tools and jewelry
Art
Jewelry, cave painting and pottery are examples.
Hominids
Humans and other creatures that walk upright, such as australopithecines.
Hominid remains found in Ethiopia by Donald Johanson
Who was Lucy?
culture
Unique way of life of a group of people
Hammurabi
Ruler famous for a uniform code of laws
barding
Trading goods and services without money
ziggurat
Pyramid shaped monument found in Ur, means "mountain of god
Fertile Crescent
Nickname for this region due to its curved shape and the richness of its land
dynasty
a series of rulers from one family
empire
brings together several peoples, nations, or previously independent states under the control of one ruler
iraq, syria, and turkey
Where is Mesopotamia today?
Tigres and Euphrates
What were the 2 rivers in Mesopotamia
unpredictable flooding, no natural protection, and limited natural resources
What were the 3 problems the Mesopotamian people faced in their environment?
caused there to be little water supply; to provide water, they dug irrigation ditches that carried river water to their crops
Why was unpredictable flooding a problem in Mesopotamia and how did they fix that problem?
they built city walls with mud bricks
How did the sumerians fix the problem of having little natural protection?
traded grain, cloth, and tools with others in exchange for raw materials.
How did the sumerians fix the problem of limited natural resources?
yes
Did the Sumerians live in Mesopotamia?
temple priests
Who was at the top of the class structure in Ancient Mesopotamia?
polythesitic, temple was at the heart of the city, believed in the afterlife, and performed rituals.
Describe the religious beliefs of Sumerians/Mesopotamia
sumerians
What were the first people to migrate to Mesopotamia called?
they were one of the first civilizations
What set Sumer apart from other ancient societies ?
advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technologies
Characteristics of Civilizations
invented the wheel and plow; first to use bronze, arithmetic
What were some of the advanced technologies in Mesopotamia?
cuniform
System of writing that Sumerian scribes created
Ur
Where did bartering develop?
had social classes, life revolved around temple and gods large scale irriagtion
Describe the life and agriculture in Ancient Ur
Ur
Ancient city found on the banks of the Euphrates River
Ur and sumer
What civilizations are included in Mesopotamia?
delta
a marshy region formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of a river
pharaoh
a king of ancien Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader
theocracy
a government controlled by religious leaders
the nile
What was the major river in ancient egypt?
Nile river; deserts on both sides of the nile
describe the geography of Egypt
provided a system of transportation, gave irrigation for crops
Pros to the Nile River
considered gods, they were at the center of their religion, their responsibility was to watch over the kingdom
Describe the importance of pharaohs in Egypt
Egyptian rulers were gods and Mesopotamian were only able to communicate with the gods
Difference between Mesopotamian and Egyptian rulers
polytheistic, believed in afterlife, Pharaohs were considered gods, honored the dead,
Describe the Egyptians religious beliefs
Pharaohs were at the top, slaves were at the bottom, women had many of the same rights as men,
Describe the Class Structure in Egypt
rosetta stone
Stone inscribed with 3 different languages (hieroglyphics, simpler form of hieroglyphics, and greek)
hieroglyphics, rosetta stone, papyrus, and pyramids
Name some of Egypt's technological advancements
theocracy
What type of government was Egypt?
silt
Black fertile mud
papyrus
Writing surface made from reeds found in the marshy delta
Narmer
Who united Egypt?
2 rivers called the ganges and indus rivers, mountains and deserts, deccan plateau, many monsoons,
Describe the geography of the Indus Valley
deccan plateau
the high plateau in the center of the indus valley peninsula.
India
Where is the Indus Valley today?
monsoons
What type of weather dominated the Indus Valley's climate?
unpredictable floods, rivers sometimes changed course, and wet/dry seasons were unpredicable
Environmental challenges of Indus Valley
First Indian civilization and largest of the ancient civilizations
Significance of the Indus Valley Civilization
Harappan civilzation
What is the Indus Valley Civilization also known as?
advanced city planning
What was one of the Indus Valley's most significant achievements?
cities were laid out on a tight grid system; had sophisticated plumbing sewage systems,
Describe the Indus Valley's cities
the indus people had a strong central government
What does the uniformity in the Harappan Civilizations cities' planning suggest?
agriculture
What was the Harappan culture based on?
yes
Did the Indus Valley have good trade?
strong central government; theocracy,
Describe the Indus Valley/Harappan government
Most fair class structure
Describe the Class structure in the Indus Valley
animals were extremely important, believed to be a precursor to hinduism
Describe the Religious Beliefs of the Harappan Civilization
language with over 400 symbols, advanced cities and plumbing systems, put stamps on traded goods
What were some technological advancements of the Indus Valley/ Harappan Civilization?
Indus and ganges
What rivers were in India?
Harappan
Indus valley civilization is sometimes called this because many archaeological discoveries at this site.
deccan plateau
Center of the peninsula is a high plateau framed by low mountain ranges.
their language has never been deciphered
What is the reason why we know so little about the Indus Valley Civilization
tectonic plate shifts
Reason most historians believe the Indus River Valley civilization disappeared.
oracle bone
one of the animal bones or tortoise shells used by Ancient Chinese preists to communicate with the gods
mandate of heaven
the divine approval thought to be the basis of royal authority
feudalism
political system in which nobles are granted the use of
lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty,
military service, and protection of the people who live on the land
Natural barriers separate them; 2/3 of landmass are mountains and deserts; 2 rivers named the yangtze and yellow river; only 10% of land is suitable for farming; isolated by mountains and prone to floods
Describe China's geography
yangtze and yellow river
What are the 2 rivers in China?
danger of floods, early settlers had to supply their own supplies rather than trade because of china's isolation, and invasions still occurred despite their natural barriers
China's environmental problems
women were at the bottom, centered around family, Shang dynasty was divided between Nobles and peasants
Describe China's class structure
family was closely linked to religion, Sacrifices were made to father's family ancestors, Shang dynasty was Polythesitic, they consulted the gods through oracle bones
Describe China's religious beliefs
respect
What was the most important virtue in chinese culture?
no links between the written and spoken language; Major advantage was that all people in china could learn the same system of writing, even if their spoken languages were different. The disadvantage was there was an enormous amount of written characters t
Describe China's system of writing
Zhou dynasty
Dynasty that overthrew the Shang dynasty and introduced the ideas of Mandate of Heaven and Feudalism
Mandate of heaven
ruler had to have divine approval
mandate of heaven
Divine approval, that gave the rulers the authority to rule.
Feudalism
Political system in which nobles or lords are granted the use of lands that legally belong to the king
language, coin money, silk, road system
China's technological advancements
Neolithic revolution
Far reaching change in human life caused by the discovery of farming
homo erectus
Early species of hominids to first use fire, migrate, use tools and develop the beginning of spoken language.
pre history
Historians refer to the time before the invention of writing
Neanderthals
Not the ancestors of modern humans
Powerfully built
Developed religious beliefs and rituals
Resourceful (survived Ice Age winters)
Old stone age
Invention of tools, mastery of fire, and development of language occurred then.
Occurred during the Ice Age
New stone age
Also called Neolithic Age
People learned to polish stone tools, make pottery, grow crops,
change in climate and as temperature grew, hunters felt pressure to find new food sources
Causes of Agricultural Revolution
Anthropologist
studies fossils
archeologists
Excavate and study early settlements
nomads
a member of a group that has no permanent home, wandering from place to place in search of food and water
Deities
Gods or Goddesses
subcontinent
The landmass that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangledesh
no inscriptions are bilingual
Why has it been impossible for linguists to decipher the Harappan language?
Deities
gods or goddesses