WHAP: Early Civilizations

What is a quipu?

Colored string used to track goods that were trading

Who built aqueducts?

The Olmec

Which civilization had a plumbing system?

the Indus

Which gender held most of the power in these early civilizations?

Men (women had some power in Egypt and Mesopotamia)

What happened to social and gender hierarchies as the cities expanded and multiplied?

There seemed to be more of a line between the different classes

What was the importance and the wheel and plow in early civilizations?

These technologies would improve agricultural production, trade and transportation

What is a theocracy?

The ruler is a divine figure (in early civilizations, many of the rulers were priests and believed their power derived from gods and past rulers)

What was the Mandate of Heaven and the Dynastic Cycle?

Mandate of Heaven: the idea that royal authority came from the heavens

Dynastic Cycle: the patterns of rise, decline, and replacement of the dynasties

What was the earliest form of writing?

Cuneiform

What are some examples of monumental architecture?

pyramids, citadels, aqueducts, stone columns, and temples/shrines

How did the Olmec prove power over their subjects?

They produced massive stone heads

Who developed the alphabet?

the Phoenicians

Which legal codes were found in early civilizations and used to unify diverse groups?

the Code of Ur Nammu and the Code of Hammurabi

Which civilization started off as a place of worship?

The Chavin (an Andean Civilization)

What religious ritual was commonly found in the Americas?

Human sacrifice to the gods and maintaining shrines

How did Hinduism begin?

Vedas, the original Sanskrit texts of India, tell much about ancient spiritual culture and became the basis to Hinduism

In which society were elders shown great respect?

China

How did the Aryans utilize the Caste System?

The made class restrictions more rigid in order to control and regulate contacts with Non-Aryans (mainly the Indus)

Why did different civilizations develop farming independently?

Each colony lived in different geographical environments with different climates