Exam One Review

Ch.1

The Stone Age –Time period where weapons & tools were made out of stone. The Earth was 4-6 billion years old. This period contained the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, & Neolithic Eras.

Neolithic Revolution – Period of revolutionary change lasting from 10,000 BCE to 3000 BCE. Warmer temps led to food production and greater populations. People began slash and burn farming, domesticating animals, creating crafts and pottery, and trading with other societies; along with inventing tools and the calendar.

Sumer – This civilization was located on Southern Mesopotamia. It was a complex society with social and political classes. They had a mainly polytheistic religion. They had unpredictable flooding, so they established dams and irrigation channels. They also invented the sail and wheel, # system, cuneiform, umbrellas, arches, and columns. Gilgamesh was written here.

Mesopotamia – “Land between rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates). This region flooded often and left silt which made for good soil. Sumer was located here.

Ziggurat – Terraced temples where rituals were performed by the Sumerian people. The Sumerians gave offerings to their gods

Epic of Gilgamesh – This epic poem was written by Homer. It told of legendary king Gilgamesh or Uruk who was part god and part man and how the gods created his companion Enkidu to balance out his rash disposition. It was written on cuneiform tablets.

Cuneiform – Was the first written language. Few could read/write it and they were called scribes. These scribes went to school. Business records, history, literature, science, and medicine were written. Education and the ability to read became very valuable.

Sargon I – Renaming himself “true king”, this warrior conquered Sumer’s politically independent cities. He came from Akkad—a mountain region north of Sumer in Mesopotamia. His people traveled here and preserved their native language/traditions. This led to a dynamic empire that lasted for more than a century that...