BETWEEN THE RIVERS & ALONG THE NILE
Sumerian scribes pressed wedge-shaped marks into wet clay tablets to create this world's first writing system.
What is cuneiform?
Harappan builders enforced strict standardization by producing every construction brick in this identical dimensional ratio.
What is 1:2:4?
Recognized as Mesoamerica's "Mother Culture," this civilization carved 20-ton portraits of their rulers from monolithic basalt boulders.
Who are the Olmecs?
Serving as the fundamental political unit of Hellenic civilization, this is the Greek term for an independent city-state.
What is a polis?
Developed during the Later Vedic period, this stratified social hierarchy divided society into four primary hereditary groups (Varnas).
What is the Caste System (or Varna system)?
Around 1754 BCE, this Babylonian king codified 282 public laws, establishing an "eye for an eye" system of justice.
Who is Hammurabi?
Mohenjo-Daro featured this massive public structure, sealed with natural bitumen and likely used for ritual purification.
What is the Great Bath?
This primary staple crop provided the caloric engine that allowed urban centers to flourish across Mesoamerica.
What is maize (corn)?
Classical Athens pioneered this form of government, allowing male citizens to directly debate and vote on public laws.
What is direct democracy?
Distressed by the destruction of the Kalinga War, Emperor Ashoka converted to this faith and carved moral edicts on stone pillars.
What is Buddhism?
Derived from a base-60 mathematical system, this Sumerian innovation gave modern society the 60-minute hour and 360-degree circle.
What is sexagesimal math?
The Zhou Dynasty claimed rulers held authority through this divine approval, which could be revoked if a monarch became corrupt.
What is the Mandate of Heaven?
Lacking an alphabetic script, Andean civilizations recorded population numbers and administrative data using this system of knotted strings.
What is a Quipu?
Early Roman society was divided into two main social classes: common citizens called Plebeians, and these wealthy aristocrats.
Who are the Patricians?
Mathematicians like Aryabhata during the Gupta Golden Age pioneered this revolutionary numerical concept alongside decimal place values.
What is zero?
When King Narmer unified Upper and Lower Egypt around 3150 BCE, he created this double crown combining the White and Red crowns.
What is the Pschent?
Shang Dynasty priests inscribed questions onto these animal bones and turtle shells, heating them until they cracked to predict the future.
What are oracle bones?
Existing around 3000 BCE in Peru, this oldest known American civilization built urban pyramids prior to the invention of pottery.
What is Caral-Supe?
Roman legions demonstrated tactical superiority over this rigid, deep Greek infantry formation at the battles of Cynoscephalae and Pydna.
What is the phalanx?
Mesopotamian cuneiform records logged active sea trade in lapis lazuli and timber with this distant Indus Valley region.
What is Meluhha?
During the mummification process, ancient Egyptians preserved extracted bodily organs in these dedicated vessels.
What are Canopic Jars?
Harvested from silkworms fed on mulberry leaves, the production secret of this luxurious textile powered ancient Chinese trade.
What is silk (or sericulture)?
Henry Ford's failed attempt to create an Americanized rubber-cultivation town in the Amazon rainforest was known by this name.
What is Fordlandia?
According to Roman myth, the city was founded in 753 BC by these twin brothers who were raised by a she-wolf.
Who are Romulus and Remus?
This ancient Indo-European language served as the primary medium for composing the sacred Hindu Vedas and classical South Asian epics.
What is Sanskrit?