The First Civilizations Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards based on key concepts from the lecture notes about the first civilizations, including definitions of terms related to society, government, religion, and culture.

Civilization

A complex society having clear cultures, governments, technologies, arts, and social groups.

Governments

Leaders and decision makers of a community who maintain law and order.

Religions

Belief systems focusing on gods or the supernatural that are followed by groups of people.

City-state

A city that is independent and has its own government. It is not part of a larger territory or country.

Culture

The set of beliefs, behaviors, and traits, or special qualities, shared by a group. It describes 'the way of life' for a group.

Technology

The use of tools or methods to solve problems and do work.

Empire

A group of many different lands brought under the rule of one leader. The leader uses violence to gain land and control it.

Climate

What the weather is like in a place over time.

Resources

Things that people need to live like food, water, or fuel.

River Valley

The low area around a river where floods make the ground fertile.

Fertile

Good for growing and farming.

Silt

Fertile mud that is left behind after a flood.

Irrigation

The use of ditches or pipes to move water from a water source to dry land.

Mesopotamia

The land between the rivers where the first civilization began.

Sumer

The first civilization in Mesopotamia.

Patriarchy

A society run by men, where women have little or no power.

Polytheism

The religious belief in many gods.

Ziggurat

The large stepped pyramid that was a temple to the gods.

Cuneiform

The world’s first writing system, carved on wet clay, invented by the Sumerians.

Scribes

People who wrote records for a living in ancient Sumer.