First Civilizations

Question 1

Code of Hammurabi

Answer 1

A series of laws publicized at the order of King Hammurabi of Babylon (d. 1750 b.c.e.). Not actually a code, but a number of laws that proclaim the king’s commitment to social order.

Question 2

cradle of civilization

Answer 2

Commonly used term for southern Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq).

Question 3

cuneiform

Answer 3

Wedge-shaped writing in the form of symbols incised into clay tablets; used in Mesopotamia from around 3100 b.c.e. to the beginning of the Common Era.

Question 4

Egypt: “the gift of the Nile”

Answer 4

Egypt is often known as “the gift of the Nile” because the region would not have been able to support a significant human population without the Nile’s annual inundation, which provided rich silt deposits and made agriculture possible.

Question 5

Epic of Gilgamesh

Answer 5

The most famous extant literary work from ancient Mesopotamia, it tells the story of one man’s quest for immortality.

Question 6

Harappa (pron. hah-RAHP-uh)

Answer 6

A major city of the Indus Valley civilization; flourished around 2000 b.c.e.

Question 7

Hatshepsut (pron. hat-shep-soot)

Answer 7

Ancient Egypt’s most famous queen; reigned 1472–1457b.c.e.

Question 8

Hebrews

Answer 8

A smaller early civilization whose development of a monotheistic faith that provided the foundation of modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam assured them a significant place in world history.

Question 9

Hieroglyphs

Answer 9

Ancient Egyptian writing system; literally, “sacred carvings”—so named because the Greeks saw them prominently displayed in Egyptian temples.

Question 10

Hittites

Answer 10

An Indo-European civilization established in Anatolia in the eighteenth century b.c.e.

Question 11

Hyksos (pron. HICK-sose)

Answer 11

A pastoral group of unknown ethnicity that invaded Egypt and ruled in the north from 1650 to 1535 b.c.e. Their dominance was based on their use of horses, chariots, and bronze technology.

Question 12

Indus Valley

Answer 12

Home of a major civilization that emerged in what is now Pakistan during the third millennium b.c.e., in the valleys of the Indus and Saraswati rivers, noted for the uniformity of its elaborately planned cities over a large territory.

Question 13

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 13

The ideological underpinning of Chinese emperors, this was the belief that a ruler held authority by command of divine force as long as he ruled morally and benevolently.

Question 14

Mesopotamia

Answer 14

The “land between the rivers” of the Tigris and Euphrates, in what is now Iraq.

Question 15

Minoan Civilization

Answer 15

An advanced civilization that developed on the island of Crete around 2500 b.c.e.

Question 16

Mohenjo Daro (pron. moehen-joe DAHR-oh)

Answer 16

A major city of the Indus Valley civilization; flourished around 2000 b.c.e.

Question 17

Norte Chico/Caral

Answer 17

Norte Chico is a region along the central coast of Peru, home of a civilization that developed in the period 3000–1800b.c.e. Caral was the largest of some twenty-five urban centers that emerged in the area at that time.

Question 18

Nubia

Answer 18

A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major ironworking industry by 500 b.c.e.

Question 19

Olmec Civilization

Answer 19

An early civilization that developed along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico around 1200 b.c.e.

Question 20

Oracle Bones

Answer 20

In Chinese civilization, animal bones that were heated and the cracks then interpreted as prophecies. The prophecies were written on the bone and provide our earliest written sources for ancient China.

Question 21

Patriarchy

Answer 21

Literally “rule of the father”; a social system of male dominance.

Question 22

Pharaoh

Answer 22

A king of Egypt. The term literally means “the palace” and only came into use in the New Kingdom, but it is generally employed in reference to all ancient Egyptian rulers.

Question 23

Phoenicians

Answer 23

A civilization in the area of present-day Lebanon, creators of the first alphabetic writing system.

Question 24

pyramid

Answer 24

Monumental tomb for an Egyptian pharaoh; mostly built during the Old Kingdom (2663–2195 b.c.e.). Pyramids are also found in Meroë to the south of Egypt.

Question 25

Quipu

Answer 25

A series of knotted cords, used for accounting and perhaps as a form of writing in the Norte Chico civilization.

Question 26

rise of the state

Answer 26

A process of centralization that took place in the First Civilizations, growing out of the greater complexity of urban life in recognition of the need for coordination, regulation, adjudication, and military leadership.

Question 27

salinization

Answer 27

The buildup of minerals in soil, decreasing its fertility; can be caused by long-term irrigation.

Question 28

Sanxingdui (pron. sahnshing-dwee)

Answer 28

An ancient city of China that developed independently from the Shang dynasty.

Question 29

Shang dynasty (pron. shahng)

Answer 29

Period of Chinese history from 1766 to 1122 b.c.e.

Question 30

Son of Heaven

Answer 30

Title of the ruler of China, first known from the Zhou dynasty. It acknowledges the ruler’s position as intermediary between heaven and earth.

Question 31

Teotihuacán (pron. teh-o-tee-WAH-kahn)

Answer 31

The largest city of ancient Mesoamerica; flourished around 500 c.e.

Question 32

Uruk (pron. OOH-rook)

Answer 32

The largest city of ancient Mesopotamia.

Question 33

Xia dynasty (pron. shah)

Answer 33

A legendary series of monarchs of early China, traditionally dated to 2200–1766 b.c.e.

Question 34

Zhou dynasty (pron. joe)

Answer 34

Period of Chinese history from 1122 to 256 b.c.e.

Question 35

ziggurat

Answer 35

A Mesopotamian stepped pyramid. Unlike an Egyptian pyramid, a ziggurat was a solid structure of baked brick, an artificial hill at the summit of which stood a temple.