Rocks, Sticks, and Other Prehistoric Life Hacks
Early humans in the Paleolithic era survived by doing this—AKA “nature’s free food delivery.”
hunting & gathering
The domestication of plants and animals is known as this practice.
Agriculture
Sumerians built these stepped temples for worship and showing off.
ziggurats
This title referred to the ruler of Egypt, believed to be part human and part divine royalty.
pharaoh
Confucius created this ethical code, which made social order cool again
Confucianism
Persia’s founder, Cyrus the Great, was known for this surprisingly wholesome policy.
Tolerance of Conquered people
Rome began on this peninsula—no, not the one shaped like a boot… oh wait.
Italian Peninsula
The founder of Islam
Muhammed
This Emperor decided Rome wasn’t fabulous enough and moved the capital to Constantinople.
Constantinople
This discovery allowed humans to cook food and scare away predators—multitasking at its finest.
Fire
Specialization of labor emerged because not everyone had to do this job anymore.
farming
This empire, led by Sargon, created one of the world’s first empires.
Akkadian
Egyptians preserved bodies using this process, the original “forever fresh” attempt.
This trade route connected China to the Mediterranean—bring your camel.
Silk Road
This Indus Valley mysterious writing system still refuses to be understood by modern scholars
Indus Script
This form of government allowed citizens to elect officials—ancient democracy 2.0.
Republic
Muslims pray facing this holy city.
Mecca
This law code by Justinian cleaned up Roman laws—basically history’s longest spring-cleaning project.
Justinian's Law Code; Justinian's Corpus of Laws
These people moved from place to place following food sources—AKA the original backpackers.
Nomads
The shift to agriculture led to this type of structured leadership—yay hierarchy
organized government
These waterways helped irrigate crops because surprise! Rivers don’t always behave.
canals
This writing material came from reeds and served as ancient notebook paper
papyrus
The idea that disasters meant the gods were mad at a ruler is part of this concept.
Mandate of Heaven
The Harappan civilization declined around 1700 BCE due to possible climate change or this ancient troublemaker.
shifting rivers
The Romans built these to bring fresh water to cities—engineering win.
aqueducts
Muslim scholars translated ancient works into this language.
Arabic
In 1453, the Byzantine Empire dramatically ended when this empire said, “Nice walls—shame if someone brought cannons.”
Ottoman Empire
The ability to walk upright is called this, freeing hands for important tasks (like carrying snacks).
bipedalism
Neolithic societies traded resources over long distances, forming these early networks.
Double Points if you can name the largest land based trade rout
Trade Routes
The Silk Road
Babylon’s famous king was known for this law code with extremely specific punishments
Hammurabi
These massive structures along the Nile were used as burial tombs for pharaohs
pyramids
This is doing what your parents tell you to do, because they are your parents.
filial piety
The Phoenicians created this alphabetic system that greatly influenced writing.
Phoenician Alphabet
This period of peace lasted 200 years, during which Rome was basically thriving.
Pax Romana
The Islamic Golden Age preserved Greek learning in these institutions
Houses of Wisdom
This religious disagreement over the use of images caused major drama and a whole lot of smashed art.
Iconoclasm
In order to begin the Pillars of Civilization you must have this
Surplus Food
Name the Pillars of Civilization (at least 4 for credit)
-record keeping
-central government
-cities
-monumental buildings
-specialized labor
-organized religion
-social classes
-advanced technology
Assyrians used this advancement in warfare that helped them dominate—hint: not kindness.
Iron weapons
Egypt’s calendar was based on this repeating natural event caused by the Nile.
annual flooding
This dynasty standardized currency, writing, AND weight systems—ancient efficiency.
Qin
This group of sea-travelers spread trade and purple dye across the Mediterranean.
Phoenicians
This invading group contributed to Rome’s fall, proving walls aren’t always enough.
Germanic Tribes
This empire, beginning in 750 CE, oversaw major scientific advancements.
Abbasids
The Byzantines perfected this flaming weapon that worked really well on enemies and terribly on wooden ships.
Greek Fire