Unit 2 Practice
Hieroglyphics
Originated in Egypt
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Story that tells of the adventures of a legendary Sumerian king.
cuneiform
Sumerian writing system made by pressing a wedge-shaped tool (or stylus) into clay tablets
polytheism
a belief in many gods
pyramid
a massive structure with a rectangular base and four triangular sides.
silt
a mixture of rich soil, minerals, and tiny rocks
Indus River Valley
featured cities like Harrappa & Mohenjo-Daro
Nile River
A river in Egypt - Africa (river valley civilization)
Indus River
A river in South Asia that flows from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea., the location of the first river valley civilization of India.
Shang River (Yellow River)
"river of sorrows" floods; located in the north east, very long. Also called the "yellow river". China
Sumer
A region of city-states in southern Mesopotamia that is considered to be the first civilization.
Major theme of Hammurabi's Code
An eye for an eye or punishments equal to the crime
Trade
Exchange of goods and services
Metals used during River valley period
Iron
Earliest form of writings
Pictograms
Most common religious belief of most early civilizations
Polytheism--they believed in many gods
Cradles of Civilization
Refers to the river valley civilizations, which made contributions to social, political and economic progress.
Characteristics of river valley civilizations
Social class
Purpose of the pyramids
They served as tombs for pharaohs
city-state
a city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independent political unit.
pharoah
a king of Ancient Egypt, considered a god as well s a political and military leader.
Hammurabi
a king of Babylon from 1792 B.C. to 1750 B.C. Is famous for creating the first set of written, uniform laws called the Code of Hammurabi. The laws are known for their harsh punishments of crimes ("an eye for an eye").
dynasty
a series of rulers from a single family
hieroglyphics
an ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds
Fertile Crescent
an arc of rich farmland in Southwest Asia, between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea
Harappan Civilization
another name for the Indus River Civilization that arose along the Indus River.
Mandate of Heaven
in Chinese history, the divine approval thought to be the basis of royal authority. A just ruler had the Mandate of Heaven, but a wicked king could lose the Mandate and the right to rule.
Mesopotamia
located between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Iraq) Means "land between the rivers" in Greek. It is also known as The Fertile Crescent.
papyrus
scrolls of reed paper in ancient Egypt
cuneiform
symbol writing on tablets; originated in Mesopotamia
Egypt
the Nile River runs through it
River Valley civilizations
the earliest civilizations that developed around rivers for the fresh water supply and the fertile land ex-: Tigris-Euphrates (Mesopotamia), Nile (Egypt), Indus (India), Huang He or Yellow River, and the Chang Jiang River (China)
dynastic cycle
the historical pattern of the rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties.
Tigris and Euphrates River
the two rivers that surround Mesopotamia. These rivers would flood and provide silt that made the soil fertile.
