Chapter One Flashcards
What did the successful operation of large-scale sophisticated irrigation systems depend on?
the emergence of individuals or groups capable of compelling and organizing large numbers of people to work together.
Why did agriculturists produce more material goods and arts than hunters-gathers?
They stayed in one place rather than searching for food, so they had extra time to produce the more specialized material goods.
Why did Mesopotamian states engage in warfare?
they needed to gain access to raw materials by force
Why is so little known about women in Mesopotamia?
They had a very little political role, and they didn’t really have much involvement in the economics or job fields. Male scribes tended to write only about elite males
What is Mesopotamia’s most abundant commodity?
Clay
Why are we able to read ancient Egyptian writing?
Rosetta Stone
What could be linked to the successes of and failures in Egypt?
The ebb and flow rivers
Naturalists first surmised that humans originated in
Asia
Why is the name “stone age” misleading? .
People used tools made out of many things, not just stone
What was fundamental to the success of agriculture?
Good tools, permanent settlements, slash and burn techniques, high yield strains of plants
What is not essential to the modern definition of civilization?
codified legal system
What circumstances led to Egypt becoming a focal point of civilzation?
Climatic change
Egypt’s interests abroad focused primarily on .
maintaing access to valuable resources
Why have the Indus stone seals not provided historians with a clear picture of Indus society?
No one can read them
Indus society can best be described as
Mostly urban
