Chapter 2: Complex Societies in Southwest Asia and the Nile Valley

Question 1

Where were most civilizations started?

Answer 1

In Mesopotamia

Question 2

What does Mesopotamia mean

Answer 2

Land between 2 rivers. The Tigris and Euphrates

Question 3

What does Fertile Crescent mean and why was Mesopotamia called this?

Answer 3

It means healthy and full of goodness. They had rich soil that was good for farming due to the close rivers.

Question 4

What was important aspects in Mesopotamia

Answer 4

Religious beliefs
Legal Structure (law)
Literature

Question 5

Mesopotamia was the first to do what

Answer 5

Make laws

Question 6

What is Cuneiform

Answer 6

Written language

Question 7

How was Mesopotamia’s writing preserved.

Answer 7

With clay tablets that still exist to today.

Question 8

How did Mesopotamians write

Answer 8

With symbols in certain orders to make words

Question 9

All languages do what over time?

Answer 9

Evolve

Question 10

What was most cuneiform about

Answer 10

Legal transactions, laws, and other business transactions

Question 11

What were the 3 kingdoms during ancient Egyptian times.

Answer 11

Old, Middle, and New Kingdom

Question 12

What is a pyramid used for

Answer 12

It is a halfway house that the king, who is seen as a direct descendant to a god, is buried here. This is so that his physical body can rest while his spiritual one ascends to be with the gods.

Question 13

Old Kingdoms qualities

Answer 13

Prosperous, stable, lasted 800 years.

Question 14

Why did the old kingdom fall

Answer 14

Was more than likely internal problems such as political, famine, or that the pharaohs were products of incest and were just bred to basically nothing.

Question 15

What are the two reasons why a kingdom will fall?

Answer 15

Internal or external issues.

Question 16

What did the fall of the Old Kingdom cause

Answer 16

Civil unrest, political problems, and there were no written records of this time mostly because people were busy with other things.

Question 17

The Middle Kingdom was called what, and what were its qualities

Answer 17

The Golden Age, it was wealthy, prosperous, influential, they have also done away with pyramid building.

Question 18

What did the Middle Kingdom build instead of pyramids

Answer 18

Temples, all of the structures ever built were not near the nile in case of flooding

Question 19

In the age of the Middle Kingdom you will find examples of what

Answer 19

Trade

Question 20

Why does the Middle Kingdom collapse

Answer 20

External invasion by the Hyksos people. They won because they used war chariots and bronze weapons. The Egyptians were using copper (which was soft and weak)

Question 21

From 1786 to 1570 Egypt was under the control by the Hyksos, after they defeated them in 1570 what began?

Answer 21

The New Kingdom

Question 22

How did this change the Egyptian’s point of view

Answer 22

They know understand the importance of territory and the expansion of it. They expanded into the fertile crescent and became very aggressive.

Question 23

Who was Akhenaten and why was he important

Answer 23

This king tried to give a new monotheistic religious revolution. The god was Aten. The people did not like this at all, and the priest went on to kill him.

Question 24

What is the importance of Akhenaten’s son, King Tut?

Answer 24

Tut was not a strong, influential ruler. Ruled as a young teen and died as a teen. But his temple was found full of jewels and gold. So researchers can infer that other stronger rulers had so so so much more in their tombs.

Question 25

How did the New Kingdom end?

Answer 25

This is when ancient Egypt ended. External enemies, internal problems and now foreign powers would rule it.