Agricultural Revolution
What does it mean for a group to be nomadic?
Moving from place to place rather than living in one permanent settlement.
What geographic feature did many early civilizations develop near?
Rivers
What two rivers were central to ancient Mesopotamia?
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
What river was essential to the development of ancient Egypt?
The Nile River.
What is monotheism?
Belief in one God.
What historical era began around 10,000 BCE and saw the spread of agriculture?
The Neolithic Era
What is a food surplus?
Food produced beyond what people immediately need to survive.
What region was home to Sumer and other early Mesopotamian civilizations?
The Fertile Crescent.
What device did ancient Egyptian farmers use to lift water for irrigation?
The shaduf (shadoof).
What two religions share a belief in one God and recognize Moses as an important figure?
udaism and Christianity.
What does sedentary mean?
Living in one permanent settlement.
What is social stratification?
The division of society into social classes with different levels of status, wealth, or power.
What was a Sumerian city-state?
An independent city and its surrounding territory with its own government.
What type of government combines political leadership with religious authority?
A theocracy
What are the Ten Commandments in Judaism?
A set of religious laws believed to have been given by God to Moses
How did agriculture contribute to population growth?
Farming produced a more dependable food supply and food surpluses, allowing populations to grow.
What was one of the earliest purposes of writing in civilizations?
Keeping records of trade, goods, and economic transactions.
What does the Standard of Ur reveal about Sumerian society?
Sumerian society was stratified, with people belonging to different social classes.
How did the Nile River help unify Egypt politically?
The Nile connected Upper and Lower Egypt, helping them become one kingdom.
What is one major difference between Judaism and Christianity concerning Jesus?
Christianity recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, while Judaism does not.
Describe one major difference between Paleolithic hunter-gatherer societies and Neolithic farming societies.
Hunter-gatherers were generally nomadic and often had fewer permanent social divisions, while farming societies became more sedentary and developed more complex social hierarchies.
Explain how a food surplus contributed to the development of specialized workers.
A surplus meant not everyone had to farm. Some people could become scribes, artisans, priests, merchants, or other specialized workers.
How does Hammurabi's Law Code demonstrate social stratification?
The laws established different punishments or compensation depending on a person's social class, such as elite, commoner, or enslaved person.
How did the Nile's predictable flooding influence ancient Egyptian religious beliefs?
Its relatively predictable floods supported a more favorable view of the gods and the idea that divine forces maintained order.
Explain one way Hinduism influenced the social organization of ancient India.
Hindu religious ideas such as dharma and karma became associated with the caste system, which organized people into hereditary social groups with different roles and status.