Early Humans
A group of early humans moves from place to place, following animals and looking for wild plants to eat. What type of lifestyle are they using?
Hunting and gathering; nomadic lifestyle
People begin planting crops and raising animals instead of depending only on hunting and gathering. What major change does this describe?
Neolithic Revolution; Agricultural Revolution
Why did many of the world's first civilizations develop near rivers?
Rivers provided water and fertile soil for farming.
Mesopotamia means “land between rivers.” Which two rivers surround this region?
Tigris and Euphrates
Which river was most important to the development of early Chinese civilization?
Huang He (Yellow River)
You find an early human settlement where people use simple stone tools, hunt animals, gather plants, and have not yet developed farming. Which period does this most likely represent?
Paleolithic Era; Old Stone Age
Farming produces more food than a family needs. This extra food is called a food ________.
Surplus
A farmer lives near a river, but the river sometimes floods and destroys crops. The farmer's community builds canals to move water to their fields. What technology are they using?
Irrigation systems; canals
An archaeologist finds an ancient Egyptian settlement next to a huge river. Which river would they most likely be studying?
Nile River
List the names of the 2 major cities discovered in the Indus Valley civilization?
Harappa & Mohejo-Daro
Why was learning to control fire such an important development for early humans? Name two benefits.
Fire provided warmth, protection, light, and/or helped cook food.
How did farming cause many people to stop moving from place to place?
People could grow food in one location and stay there permanently.
What do Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and Ancient China have in common?
They developed near major rivers and depended on those rivers.
Mesopotamians created cuneiform. Why would a growing civilization need a writing system?
To keep records such as trade, laws, taxes, and other information.
List 2 descriptions of the cities that archaeologists discovered in Harappa or Mohejo-Daro
Archaeologists discovered carefully planned streets, buildings, and advanced drainage systems.
A group of people has to move whenever the animals they hunt leave the area. What is one major limitation of this lifestyle compared with farming?
They cannot easily settle permanently because they must follow food sources.
A village produces so much food that not everyone needs to farm. Some people become builders, merchants, soldiers, or religious leaders. What does this show about the effects of a food surplus?
Division of labor; specialized jobs
A civilization develops near a river. The river provides fertile soil, but unpredictable flooding creates problems. What does this tell us about the relationship between geography and civilization?
Geography can help and hurt; people adapt to their environment
Hammurabi's Code contained written laws and punishments. Why would having written laws be useful to a growing society?
People could know the laws and punishments, creating a more organized system of justice/government.
What was the artifact that archaeologists found in Mesopotamia suggested that people in the Indus Valley traded?
Seals
Imagine two groups: Group A moves regularly to find food. Group B grows crops and stays in one location. Which group is more likely to develop a permanent village, and why?
Group B, because farming provides a more reliable food supply and allows people to stay in one place.
Cause and effect: Explain how farming could eventually lead to the development of cities and civilizations.
Farming → food surplus → permanent settlements → population growth/job specialization → more complex societies/civilizations.
Identify the four river valley civilizations we studied and name the major river(s) connected to each one.
Mesopotamia—Tigris & Euphrates; Egypt—Nile; Indus Valley—Indus; Ancient China—Huang He/Yellow River
Both Mesopotamia and Egypt depended on rivers, but their environments were not exactly the same. Explain one way geography affected life in either civilization.
Geography shaped farming, settlement, transportation, protection, or how people dealt with flooding.
Give one of the theories that archaeologists suggests that the Indus Valley declined?
Lack of weapons could have led to being conquered, they may have evolved, or an earthquake led to their crops being destroyed