Chapters 1+2

Nomad

Someone without a permanent home, a wanderer

Hunter-gatherer

A food supply that depends on hunting and collecting plants

Technological Revolution

A time when humans developed new tools or methods that greatly changed how they lived.

Agricultural Revolution

A shift from hunting and gathering to farming and domesticating animals

Slash-and-burn-farming

Cutting down trees and plants, burning them, and using the ashes to fertilize the soil

Otzi

Well-preserved mummy frozen in the Alps, the Neolithic Iceman, gave us insight into ancient times

Domestication

Taming and breeding animals or plants for human use

Jarmo, Iraq

One of the earliest farming villages, showing evidence of agriculture, laid the foundation for modern life.

Fertile River Valleys

Areas near rivers with rich soil where farming civilizations began.

Catal Huyu

“Forked Mound”, an agricultural village located in South-Central Turkey. Showed early farming, organized society, and settled living.

Civilization

Complex society

5 Characteristics of Civilizations

Advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology

Advanced Cities

Large population centers that were hubs of trade, government, and culture.

Specialized Workers

People were trained in specific jobs, rather than farming.

Artisan

Skilled workers who made goods by hand helped cities become trade centers.

Institutions

Long-lasting pattern of organization in a society

Complex Institution

Advanced organizations; such as formal governments, organized religions, or legal systems.

Record Keeping

Keeping writing accounts of laws, trade, and important events.

Scribe

Professional record keepers trained in reading and writing, invented cuneiform.

Cuneiform

The world’s first writing system, developed by the Sumerians using “wedge-shaped” marks in clay.

What does the word Cuneiform mean?

“wedge-shaped”

Advanced Technology

New tools or methods that solved problems.

Bronze Age

A period in time when people began using bronze instead of stone for weapons and tools.

Barter

Trading goods and services without using money.

Ziggurat

A pyramid-shaped temple built in Mesopotamia to honor the gods.

Fertile Crescent

A crescent-shaped area of rich farmland in the Middle East where civilizations first developed.

Mesopotamia

Land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, site of the first civilizations, part of the Fertile Crescent.

Mesopotamia meaning

“land between rivers”

City-State

A city and its surrounding land that functioned as an individual political unit.

Dynasty

A ruling family where power is passed down through generations, a series of rulers from one single family.

Cultural Diffusion

The spreading of ideas, beliefs, and products from one culture to another.

Polytheism

Belief in more than one god.

Empire

A large political unit in which one ruler controls several peoples, nations, or states.

Hammurabi’s Code

The first written law code, created by Babylonian King Hammurabi, based on “eye for eye”.