Ancient Societies and Empires

World Tour: Ancient Societies and Empires

Name: Teacher, Period: Date: Toward Civilization:

Beginnings of Civilization (p. 4-5)

Historians define eight basic features common to most early civilizations:

1. ______

Why did some of the first cities in Africa and Asia emerge in river valleys?

2. ______

What is a bureaucracy, and how did the challenges of farming in river valleys help to create a need for bureaucratic government systems?

3. ______

What group was it that probably developed writing in many societies?

4. ______

Look the word “specialize” up in the dictionary. What might “job specialization” mean?

5. ______

Name some social classes that existed in many ancient societies:

6. ______

Who were “artisans?”

7. ______

What kinds of public works did well-organized governments help to manage?

8. ______

What are “pictographs?” First Civilizations: Africa and Asia

1. Find and Label: Nile River, Tigris River, Euphrates River, Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia

2. Read pp. 6-7, and write down definitions for each of the following terms. Look through your folders to find visuals and facts about each term.

Vocab Word and Picture Definition Interesting Fact Pharaoh

Cultural Diffusion

City-State

Ziggurat Hierarchy

Cuneiform

Scribe

Hebrews

Monotheistic

Prophet

Ethics

Diaspora Early Civilizations in India and China

1. Find and label: Indus River, Ganges River, Himalayan Mountains, Gobi Desert, Pacific Ocean, Huang He River

2. Read pp. 8-9, and write down what changes each of the following brought to the development of human civilization:

Mohenjo-Daro

Aryans

Shang Dynasty

Zhou Dynasty 3. Read pp. 8-9, and write down definitions for each of the following terms. Look through your folders to find visuals and facts about each term.

Vocab Word and Picture Definition Interesting Fact Caste

Polytheistic

Brahman

Mystic

Dynasty

Dynastic Cycle