World Civ.

Objectives for Finals: EARLY CIVILIZATIONS

Civilization (Characteristics of): complex culture with five characteristics: 1) Advanced cities 2) Specialized workers 3) Complex Institutions 4) Record Keeping 5) Advanced technology Specialization: the development of skills in a particular kind of work, such as trading or record keeping. Food surpluses gave opportunities of specialization. Artisan: a skilled worker, such as a weaver or a potter, who makes goods by hand. Specialization helped artisans develop their skill at designing jewelry, fashioning metal tools and weapons. Scribe: One of the professional record keepers in early civilizations. Complicated trade requires scribes. Institution: a long lasting pattern of organization in a community. Barter: A form of trade in which people exchange goods and services without the used of money. Cuneiform: System of writing with wedge shaped letters. Bronze Age: Time when people began using bronze, rather than copper and stone, to fashion tools and weapons. Started in Sumer around 3000 B.C. Ziggurat: like a city within a city, a heavy wall surrounds the temple. Within the temple gate, a massive, tiered structure towers over the city. Means mountain of god Pyramid shaped monument Ur/ Sumer: Silt: fine sand, clay, or other material carried by running water and deposited as sediment. As the floodwater receded it left a thick bed of mud called silt. Irrigation: Created irrigation systems to expand planting areas. Dynasty: a series of rulers from a single family. Usually passed power to the son. Polytheism: belief of more than one god. Empire: a political unit in which a number of peoples or countries are controlled by a single ruler. Sargon created worlds first empire. Hammurabi (ruler and code): Pharaoh: Egyptian god-kings called pharaoh. Were thought to be almost as splendid and powerful as the gods of the heavens. Theocracy: type of government in which rule is based on religious authority Pyramid: a massive structure with a rectangular base and four triangular sides, like those that were built in Egypt as burial places for Old Kingdom pharaohs. For the kings of the Old Kingdom, the resting place after death was an immense structure called pyramid. Hieroglyphics: scribes quickly developed a more flexible writing system called hieroglyphics A picture standing for an idea. Nile River: Papyrus: Egyptians invented a better writing surface of papyrus reeds. Torah: the first five books of the Hebrew Bible- the most sacred writings in the Jewish tradition. Abraham: Monotheism: a belief in a single god Hebrews believed Yahweh as the one and only god Covenant: Mutual promise between god and he founder of the Hebrew people is called a covenant. Moses: The Torah says that the man who led the Hebrews out of slavery was named Moses. Tribute: peace money paid by a weaker power to a stronger

New Kingdom: pharaohs of the new kingdom sought to strengthen Egypt by building an empire. Hatshepusut: who declared herself pharaoh around 1472 B.C was unique. Stepson was too young so she took over. Nubia: a region of Africa that straddled the upper Nile River. Ramses II: and Hittite king made a treaty that promised peace and brotherhood between us forever. Their alliance lasted for the rest of the century. Nebuchadnezzar: Chaldean king restored the city of Babylon- the hanging gardens. Assyrians: Persians: Darius: a noble of the ruling dynasty, had begun his career as a member of the kings bodyguard. Cyrus: Persias king began to conquer several neighboring kingdoms. He was a military genius, leading his army from victory to victory. Controlled an empire that spanned 2,000 miles. Satrap: Darius installed a governor called a satrap who ruled locally.