Mesopotamia and Egypt
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- What was the purpose of Egyptian pyramids?
- burial for the kings to ensure a peaceful afterlife
- What was the first form of writing?
- cuneiform
- Which civilization developed cuneiform?
- Sumer
- What does Mesopotamia mean?
- land between 2 rivers
- What are the two rivers of Mesopotamia?
- Tigris and Euphrates
- Why did early people settle along river valleys?
- They offered fertile soil
- What does nomadic mean?
- wander
- Why were early hunter-gatherers nomadic?
- wander in search of food, water, shelter
- During what era was fire invented?
- Paleolithic
- What were the characteristics of hunter-gatherer societies?
- they invented the first tools, including simple weapons, learned how to make fire, lived in clans, developed oral language, and created cave art
- What was the Neolithic Revolution?
- People became food producers as they learned to farm and herd
- How did the beginning of agriculture change lives?
- advanced tools, pottery, specialization of labor, increased importance of government
- What is carbon dating used for?
- to date and analyze fossils and other remains
- Along what river did Egyptian civilization emerge?
- Nile
- Along what river did Sumerian civilization emerge?
- Tigris and Euphrates
- What is the Fertile Crescent?
-
area of fertile soil from the Persian Gulf, through Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean sea
frequently invaded and ruled by many different civilizations over its history - Irrigation
- to supply dry land with water through channels, ditches and other man-made construction
- Surplus
- Extra
- Dynasty
- family of rulers
- Monarch
- king or queen who inherits power
- Pharaoh
- Egyptian ruler/king or queen
- centralized government
- to have the power in one person's control
- polytheistic
- belief in many gods
- codify
- to arrange or organize, especially in reference to laws
- cultural diffusion
- to spread goods and ideas frequently through trade
- Following the Stone Age, was this metallic age
- Bronze
- What metal replaced bronze for construction of tools and weapons
- iron
- Who was the Babylonian king who increased the power of his kingdom but is best known for his code of laws?
- Hammurabi
- Upon what principle were Hammurabi's code of laws built?
- an eye for an eye
- What are hieroglyphics?
- Egyptian form of writing
- Why was the Rosetta Stone an important archaeological find?
- it contributed greatly to our ability to decipher heiroglyphics
- The Old Stone Age is also known as--
- the Paleolithic Age
- The New Stone Age is also known as the--
- Neolithic Age
- What is a ziggurat?
- religious temple that was at the center of Mesoptomian city-states
- Which civilization built the Great Pyramids?
- Egypt
- Kush
- civilization in present-day Sudan along the Upper Nile that traded with Egypt and adopted a lot of Egyptian culture
- Delta
- fan-shaped area of fertile soil where a river empties into a larger body of water
- Sargon
- king of Akkad who conquered people of Mesopotamia building what many consider to be the first empire
- Narmer/Menes
- Egyptian king who united the Upper and Lower Kingdoms of Egypt marking the beginning of Egypt as a nation
- Why did governments begin in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia?
- to control the flow of the rivers (irrigation), offer protection, land distribution
- Kemet
- black land; what Egyptians referred to their nation as
- What was the major economic activity of the people of ancient river valleys like Egypt and Mesopotamia
- farmers
- Howard Carter
- discovered the tomb of King Tut
- Jean Fracois Champollion
- decoded the Rosetta Stone
- Why was Egypt called the Gift of the Nile?
- Without the Nile the people wouldn't have settled in this region...it provided them with fertile soil, food, transportation...in essence life.
- artisan
- a skilled craftsperson in a particular field
- city-state
- a city and its surrounding territories that functions as its own independent government (sovereign)
- agriculture
- cultivation of soil to produce crops, and raising livestock; farming.
- economy
- system production and distribution and consumption of a good, product or service
- political
- dealing with government