Paleolithic Era
What is a hunter-gatherer?
Someone who survives by hunting animals and gathering wild plants.
What major change defines the Neolithic Revolution?
The development of agriculture.
What is a river valley civilization?
A civilization that develops near a major river.
What is a social hierarchy?
A ranking of people by power, status, or wealth.
What does Mesopotamia mean?
Land between the rivers
What river was central to ancient Egyptian civilization?
The Nile River.
Why were Paleolithic people nomadic?
They moved to find food and follow animal migrations.
What is domestication?
Raising and breeding plants or animals for human use.
Name the two rivers of Mesopotamia.
Tigris and Euphrates.
What is job specialization?
People working in particular occupations.
What was the writing system of ancient Mesopotamia?
Cuneiform
What was the title of ancient Egypt's ruler?
Pharaoh
Name one tool or technology used by Paleolithic people.
Stone tools, fire, needles, or spears.
Why did farming encourage permanent settlements?
People stayed near their crops and livestock.
How did rivers support agriculture in early civilizations?
They provided water and fertile soil.
Name one specialized job in an early civilization.
Scribe, priest, merchant, artisan, or soldier.
What was Hammurabi's Code?
An early written collection of laws and punishments.
How did annual Nile flooding help Egyptian farmers?
It deposited fertile silt on farmland.
How were Paleolithic communities generally different from later agricultural societies?
They were often smaller, more mobile, and had less rigid social hierarchies.
How did a food surplus encourage job specialization?
Some people could work in jobs other than food production.
Why did Egypt face fewer invasions than Mesopotamia?
Deserts and other natural barriers helped protect Egypt.
How could food surpluses lead to social inequality?
Some people controlled more land, food, or wealth than others.
Why did Mesopotamian cities build walls and maintain armies?
They faced competition and threats of invasion.
How did religion support the authority of Egyptian pharaohs?
Pharaohs were regarded as divine or closely connected to the gods.
Explain one reason social inequality generally increased after the Paleolithic Era.
Permanent settlements and accumulated property allowed unequal control of resources.
Explain two ways agriculture contributed to the rise of civilizations.
It supported permanent settlements, population growth, surplus food, specialization, trade, and government.
Explain how geography contributed to Egypt's political stability.
The Nile connected communities and natural barriers offered protection, supporting centralized rule.
Explain one way gender roles changed as early states developed.
Many early states developed patriarchal laws and institutions that gave men greater power.
Explain how written records supported Mesopotamian trade and government.
They helped record contracts, loans, taxes, laws, and transactions.
Explain why Egypt often maintained more centralized rule than Mesopotamia.
The Nile unified settlements, natural barriers reduced invasions, and pharaohs held centralized authority.