vocab lesson 3

sholar

a student; a person of much learning

Artsian

a worker who is skilled in crafting goods by hand

Allience

agreement between nations to aid and protect one another

centralized authority

an organization structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management

Polytheistic

belief in more than one god

Merchants

people who buy and sell goods

Laws

society's values and standards that are enforceable in the courts

Mesopotamia/Sumer

the civilization that developed around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers around 3500 BC/BCE

elite

(n.) the choice part of a group of people or things; (adj.) superior

Cuneiform

A form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.

Aristocracy

A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility

Bureaucracy

A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials

Indus River

A river in South Asia that flows from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea.

Yellow River (Huang He)

A river that runs through northern China, "River of Sorrow" becuase of frequent flooding.

Slavery

A system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by other people.

Hieroglyphics

An ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds

conqust

Taking control of a people or place through military force

Intensification

The process of getting more in return for less; for example, growing more food on a smaller plot of land.

Nile River

The river in which early kingdoms in Egypt were centered around.