Chapter 1 Inquizitive

What does Mesopotamia mean?

"land between the rivers," referring to its location between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

Which of our current common measures is based on Sumerian mathematics?

60 minutes in an hour 360 degrees in a circle

Law #8 from the Code of Hammurabi says: If a man steals an ox, a sheep, a donkey, a pig, or a boat—if it belongs either to the god or to the palace, he shall give thirtyfold; if it belongs to a commoner, he shall replace it tenfold; if the thief does not have anything to give, he shall be killed. What can you deduce from this law?

A crime against the state was more significant than a crime against a fellow subject. The religious and political arms of the state were equally protected by the law.

Enjoy this cool statement:

Although Mesopotamian and Egyptian cities both grew in close proximity to river systems, it was harder to travel throughout the Tigris-Euphrates region than through the Nile valley. Another difference was that the Nile River's pattern of flooding was more predictable than flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Partly as a result of these geographical differences, Egypt enjoyed much longer periods of stability under strong, centralized government.

Which of these imperial developments predated Hammurabi's rule in Mesopotamia?

An earlier imperial leader issued a code of law of his own. Past imperial conquest already united the region linguistically.

How do historians know that some elite Egyptian women could read and write?

Archaeologists have found and deciphered personal notes exchanged between women

Identify the accurate comparisons between the Ziggurat of Ur and the Step Pyramid.

Both are physical evidence of a strong connection between political power and religious institutions. Each is evidence of a powerful leader who could collect taxes in goods and labor.

Which of the following questions are researchers able to definitively answer about human life in the Paleolithic period?

Did people know how to use fire? Did people bury their dead? Did people make art?

Which is the best description of cuneiform, as it is shown in this tablet from around 2600 B.C.E.?

Each symbol represents a syllable in the Sumerian language

True or False: The Code of Hammurabi suggests that the Babylonian role of king was primarily that of spiritual leader and fierce warrior.

False, Hammurabi's political legitimacy came from his role as the creator of a just and orderly society through his use of law

True or False: Even though flooding in the Nile River valley was more predictable than flooding in the Tigris-Euphrates valleys, Egyptians and Mesopotamians developed very similar irrigation infrastructure.

False, different patterns of flooding between the two river systems gave rise to different irrigation infrastructure and water allocation techniques.

True or False: Settled agriculture was a development of the Paleolithic Era, more than 40,000 years ago

False, settled agriculture developed as part of the Neolithic revolution, which began around 11,000 B.C.E.

True or False: Hieroglyphics was the writing system of ancient Mesopotamia, whereas cuneiform was the writing system in ancient Egypt.

False, the opposite is correct

Why was Sargon's influence felt beyond the region of Mesopotamia?

His Akkadian Empire controlled trade routes that linked Mesopotamia to Africa, the Persian Gulf region, and Northern India.

How did the ability to store agricultural surpluses affect societies?

It made it possible for some people to specialize in non-agrarian skills. It promoted social stratification.

Çatalhöyük was an early settlement that had some of the features of later cities, while still retaining characteristics of nomadic societies. Match each characteristic on the left, to the appropriate category on the right.

Like Later Cities: They had ceramic storage vessels and decorated, plaster-covered houses. They engaged in settled agriculture. Like Nomadic Societies: Their society was egalitarian and men and women shared many tasks equally. They engaged in hunting and gathering

Why did the Egyptian historian, Manetho, omit what is now called the Zero Dynasty from his account of ancient Egypt?

Manetho was writing in the third century B.C.E., over 2,000 years before modern archaeologists discovered the Zero Dynasty

Why was Sumerian technological development dependent on trade?

Mesopotamia lacked metal ores, so Sumerians imported copper ore to make tools and weapons

Which of the following occurred when centralized authority broke down at the end of the Egyptian Old Kingdom?

Multiple people each claimed to be the legitimate pharaohs of all of Egypt. The regional division between Upper and Lower Egypt reemerged. Patronage of the arts became more widespread.

How did the role of the Egyptian pharaoh differ from that of the Sumerian lugal?

Pharaoh means "great household" whereas lugal refers to a single charismatic leader whose power was based on personal prowess. In the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh was considered a living god who was reborn to rule repeatedly, not a person favored by the gods to rule for one lifetime.

Most of the surviving written texts from the Old Kingdom in Egypt come from elite tombs. Why does this make it difficult to build an understanding of Old Kingdom life and history?

The records lack information about common people. Because they come from tombs, the records exaggerate Egyptians' focus on death.

How did Sumerians use the wheel?

They built war chariots. They made ceramic pots. They used donkey-drawn work carts.

True or False: Babylonian institutions survived even after Hammurabi died

True, Hammurabi's Old Babylonian Empire persisted for about 200 years after his death, and the city of Babylon retained its fame and prestige even after being invaded

Is it true that historians can learn about the past even when there is no written record?

True, historians use information from archaeology, microbiology, genetics, and more to construct accurate understandings of the past.

Which questions about pharaonic political power are historians currently unable to answer?

What effect did the rise of Nubian states in the south have on the Egyptian economy? How did priests at Nekhen wrest political and religious legitimacy away from the pharaoh?

Did women ever hold powerful positions in Old Kingdom Egypt?

Yes, some women became priestesses and queens were powerful in their own right and sometimes served as regents for their young sons

Which of the following forms of written language were used in Old Kingdom Egypt?

a "cursive" script composed of simplified hieroglyphic characters, a detailed pictographic script in which each symbol represented a word or concept, and a shorthand version of hieroglyphics that scribes used for note-taking

Put these events associated with the Neolithic Revolution into chronological order, beginning with the oldest event.

glaciers went north and the climate warmed, people began to cultivate plants and domesticate animals, women had more children and gender roles were better established, people learned how to store grain and grow food from saved seeds, and lastly, specialization happened as they got smarter

Who managed the community's material wealth and irrigation systems at al-Ubaid?

priests

What kinds of physical infrastructure typified early cities in Mesopotamia?

protective walls temples irrigation systems