Category 1
What is a surplus?
Having too much of something or an overabundance of something
What were the 4 civilizations covered in this unit?
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China
What river ran through Egypt?
The Nile
Mesopotamia was found in what region?
The Fertile Crescent
What was the fertile soil called in these regions?
Silt
Why was the Great Wall of China built?
What is a monsoon? What two main countries do these affect?
Large storms. China and India.
What is a theocracy?
Civilization ruled by religious figures
What is it called when a person or group worships multiple gods?
Explain the caste system. Which group used this system?
A system in which people were categorized based on socioeconomic status; the Hindus of India
What is irrigation?
Digging canals that funneled the water from the rivers to the crops
What did the shape of the Egyptian pyramids symbolize?
The upward journey to the afterlife
What was papyrus? Which civilization used and created it?
Course paper used by scribes. Egyptians.
What was Nirvana? What religion believed in Nirvana?
Inner peace. Buddhists.
What was ka, and what special methods did the Egyptians have for it?
The Egyptians believed ka was a person's inner soul, and they believed it remained nearby after one's death. They would leave furniture, clothing, and food for the ka in a dead person's resting place.
What is a social hierarchy? Who was atop the social hierarchy in Egypt? Who is atop the hierarchy today in the U.S.?
The order of importance or wealth of people in a society; pharaoh; President Trump
Who were the nobles?
Wealthy and influential people or families that were a step below royalty, upper-middle class
Name three beliefs of Hinduism discussed in class AND what they mean.
Atman - a person's soul
Reincarnation - a person's soul being reborn
Karma - what goes around comes around
Why was the northern portion of Egypt called Lower Egypt and the southern portion of Egypt called Upper Egypt?
The Nile river flowed from south to north, and the regions were named based on the direction the river flowed.
What is a delta? Which river discussed in the unit had a delta?
Where a river ends and branches off in different directions; the Nile River had a delta near its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea.
Name some reasons why rivers were so important to the life and growth of early civilizations.
Farming, irrigation, bathing, drinking, fishing, transportation, trading, silt, etc.
Name the steps that led to the first division of labor in ancient Mesopotamia.
What were some common characteristics shared by all four ancient civilizations?
Rivers, irrigation, social hierarchy, division of labor, polytheism, silt, etc.
Name every river and the civilization through which it flowed.
Mesopotamia - Tigris and Euphrates
Egypt - Nile
India - Indus and Ganges
China - Huang He and Chang Jiang