Ancient Egypt & Ancient Mesopotamia Study Guide

Papyrus

plant that grows along the banks of the nile- used by the ancient egyptians to make a paperlike material- also used in mesopotamia.

Hammurabis Code

a strict law that united a community- used in mesopotamia.

Levee

built to prevent the overflow of a river- used in Mesopotamia.

Dynasty

ruling family- family of the person in charge.

Monotheism

________- believing in one god- Uncommon in Egypt and Mesopotamia, Mainly the Hebrews and one Pharoah.

Judaism

the monotheistic religion of the jews- also known as the Hebrews.

Irrigation

the supply of water to land or crops to help growth- helped control water during floods and droughts.

Sumerians

the oldest civilization in ancient mesopotamia- between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Scribe

in ancient civilizations, specially trained people who knew how to read and write and kept records- mesopotamia & egypt.

Barter

exchange for other goods or services.

Cuneiform

ancient writing systems for mesopotamia written on clay tablets- mesopotamia.

Phoenicians

sailors who lived on the coast where the land was fertile- created the alphabet that we still use today- mesopotamia.

Silt

rich soil carried by flooding rivers- lots in between tigris and euphrates river- perfect for growing crops.

Mummification

practice of preserving the bodies of the dead- an egyptian practice.

Hieroglyphics

a form of picture writing developed by the ancient egyptians.

Swape Shadouf

it was an irrigation tool used in ancient Egypt- used to take water from canals and spill it onto crops.

Pharaoh

a title of the rulers of ancient egypt- example: King Tutankhamun.

Hebrews

the followers of judaism- founded by Abraham.

Vizier

chief minister who supervised the business of government- in ancient egypt.

Ziggurat

pyramid- temple dedicated to the chief god or goddess of an ancient.

Polytheism

believing in many gods- Common in Egypt & Mesopotamia.

Hieroglyphics

a form of picture writing developed by the ancient egyptians

Ziggurat

pyramid-temple dedicated to the chief god or goddess of an ancient

Barter

exchange for other goods or services