Introduction and River Valleys

primary source

first hand account

archaeologist

someone who studies artefacts

anthropologist

someone who studies society (past or present)

secondary source

culmination of primary sources

historical context

the conditions or events that led to the development of the source

point of view

the author’s opinion or view of a subject

bias

opinion/perspective not based on facts

reliability

can a source be used and/or trusted

audience

the individual or group for whom the source was created

purpose

the reason a record, document, or source was produced

geographic context

where a historical development took place and why it happened there

chronological reasoning

understand the order of events, how one event leads to the next

multiple perspectives

two or more points of views (similar or different) on an event or issue

corroborate

to support with evidence, to prove something is true

political geography

nations, capitals, cities, borders

topography

physical features on the earth: mountains, rivers, deserts, lakes, oceans, etc.

demography

study of people and where they live

paleolithic age

nomadic hunters and gatherers in small bands sheltered in caves, fire discovered, primitive stone tools used, migration around the world

neolithic age

change from nomadic to settled lifestyle, invention of farming/domestication of plants and animals, small neolithic farming villages near rivers… later became 1st civilizations

polytheistic

belief in many gods (Mesopotamia except Israelites, Egypt, Yellow River, Indus River)

Middle East

region where earliest civilizations developed (Mesopotamia, Egypt)

Fertile Crescent

AKA Mesopotamia, fertile land (Mesopotamia)

Mediterranean Sea

sea connected to the Nile and provided food and living space (Mesopotamia, Egypt)

arid

hot, dry climate (Mesopotamia, Egypt)

alphabet

letters and sounds (Phoenicians)

“carriers of civilization”

AKA Phoenicians, allowed for trade and travel by transport (Phoenicians)

monsoons

seasonal winds in India that bring flooding in the summer and drought in the winter (Indus River)

annual flooding

flooding from rivers, lead to fertile soil (silt) (Mesopotamia, Egypt)

hieroglyphics

Egypt’s 1st system of writing (Egypt)

papyrus

used as paper for writing in egypt (Egypt)

oracle bones

turtle shells to communicate with ancestors (Yellow River)

rosetta stone

stone that translated hieroglyphics and cuneiform (Egypt)

mummification

the method of preserving a dead body (Egypt)

well planned cities

well organized cities with grid patterns (Indus River)

Book of the Dead

spells and magic formulas placed in tombs for the afterlife (Egypt)

indecipherable writing

not understandable writing (Indus River)

agricultural surplus

extra food (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Yellow River)

ideographs

ideas in writing (Yellow River)

abraham

chosen by God to be the “father” of the Hebrew people (Israelites)

covenant

promise (Israelites)

Middle Kingdom

AKA Chinese nation (Yellow River)

isolation

being seperated by mountains, deserts, and bodies of water (Yellow River)

monotheism

belief in one god (Israelites)

ethnocentrism

view culture as superior to all others (Yellow River)

Nile

river in Egypt that floods predictably —> silt (Egypt)

Torah

the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Israelites)

Sahara

created an arid climate and protection (Egypt)

Kingdom of Israel

Israelite monarchy (Israelites)

irrigation

innovation that allows for control the flow of water (Ex. canals, shadufs) (Sumer)

city states

independent countries (Sumer)

priest king

small sculpture of man believed to be ruler (Sumer, Indus River)

terrace farming

“steps” are built into the slopes of hill (Yellow River)

Ziggurat

built as a temple used by priests/kings to worship many gods (Sumer)

pharaoh

a ruler of ancient Egypt (Egypt)

cuneiform

Sumer’s 1st system of writing with clay (Sumer)

Epic of Gilgamesh

stories of the priest king (Israelites)

Shang Dynasty

Chinese royal dynasty ruled by the Shang family (Yellow River)

Tigris Euphrates

rivers in Mesopotamia that flood yearly —> silt (Sumer)

loesses

yellow mineral rich soil (Ex. in Yellow River) (Yellow River)