Paleolithic
What are historians?
Historians are the people who study and write about humans of the past.
What are the three periods of the Stone Age?
What does Mesopotamia mean?
The Greek word "Mesopotamia" means "land between the rivers".
What are city-states?
City-states are independent towns with their own culture and government.
What is an empire?
An empire is a group of many different lands under one ruler.
What is the early part of human history called when people made tools of stone?
The Stone Age
What is domestication?
Domestication is the taming of animals for everyday human use.
Name at least three modern-day countries that contain the ancient region of Mesopotamia?
Answers may vary. Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon
What is the Sumerian system of writing called?
The Sumerian system of writing is called cuneiform.
Who built the world's first empire?
The world's first empire was ruled by Sargon of Akkad.
What is a nomad?
Nomads are people who travel from place to place in search of food.
What was the farming revolution?
The Farming Revolution was the switch in human culture from nomadic hunting and gathering to settled farming.
What two rivers flow through Mesopotamia?
The two "twin" rivers that flow through Mesopotamia are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The world's oldest extant recorded literary epic is The Epic of Gilgamesh.
What empire was ruled by Hammurabi and his written code of laws?
Hammurabi and his harsh written legal code governed the Babylonian empire.
What was the most important discovery of the Paleolithic era?
Fire was the most important discovery of the Paleolithic period.
What is irrigation?
Irrigation is the channeling of water to crops by artificial means.
The land of Mesopotamia, besides the river valleys, consists of what two major geographic landscapes?
The major landscapes of Mesopotamia are deserts and mountains.
With a steady and abundant food supply, what type of new economic activity did the Sumerians begin?
With the emergence of an abundant food supply, the Sumerians began the economic activity of trade.
What technological advantage made the Assyrian empire so fierce?
The technological advantage that made the Assyrian Empire so fierce was its development of iron weapons and warfare on horseback.
What are long periods of extreme cold and ice called?
Long periods of extreme cold and ice are called Ice Ages.
What is a surplus?
A surplus is an excess or an abundance of food and resources.
What is the name of the moon-shaped region from ancient Iraq to Egypt where rich soil was deposited by the flooding of river valleys?
The name of the moon-shaped region from ancient Iraq to Egypt where rich soil was deposited by the flooding of river valleys is The Fertile Crescent.
What are at least TWO accomplishments of ancient Sumer?
Answers may vary. The wheel, the sailboat, the plow, a 12-month calendar, astrology, counting/number system, the potter's wheel, etc.
What sight in the ancient city of Babylon was on the world's Seven Wonders?
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the ancient world's Seven Wonders.