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| MESOPOTAMIA |
MESOPOTAMIA KEY CONCEPTS/TERMS DELTA -An area of land made of sand and soil left by a river. SILT -Fine soil that has been carried by water. CANALS/IRRIGATION -Used to irrigate fields. -Water is store behind a dam that turns into smaller channels. -The small channels irrigate the fields. -Water going over dam is used to irrigate other fields agong the way. CITY/STATES -Political units made up of the city and surrounding farming villages. -Each was indipendant. -Each had their own style of government. -Sharred only language and culture. -They were all constantly fighting over territory, water rights, power and prestige. -Some united to fight others. EMPIRE -A form of government joining many territories and people under one ruler. -~2340 BC Sargon created the firt empire by launching against other city-states. POLYTHEISM -A belief in many deities. -Sumerians believed in more than 3000-4000 goddesses andgods. ZIGGURAT -A large temple that controlled each city. -In honor of deities the Sumerians built temples and shrines. -It took many years and more than 1000 workers to build them. -Terraced pyramids 3 or more stories high. -Each story was smaller than the one below it. BARTER -A payment system in which products or work of equal value was exchanged. CUNEIFORM -The form of writing developed. -Done with clay and reeds. -Styluses were pressed into clay tablets and left to dry. -The tip of the stylus was triangular, it left wedge shaped marks. HAMMURABI'S CODE -A series of laws. -It strengthened the central government. -There were very fewcrimes against the government due to the severe penalties. -Officials played bigger roles in enforcing justice, catching and punishing criminals. -There are 282 laws. -The laws controlled such things as trade, banking, buisness and agriculture. -They establisked working conditions, listed property rights and gave the correct regulations for contracts, marriges and divorces. -Individuals sere concidered innocent until proven guilty. -Punishment to the violation of the law were harsh and depended on the social class of the victim or criminal. -Most common punishments included: fines, mudilation and death. -There was no imprisonment. -Women and slaves were granted rights not given in other civilizations. -Slaves could own property, bring forth lawsuits against free people and marry a free person. -Equality between men and women was not granted. -Women were able to own, buy and sell property, lend and borrow money. | ||||||||||||||||
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KEY CONCEPTS/TERMS EGYPT CATARACTS -Steep rapids. -The Nile runs over them through the deserts to the North Meditertanian Sea. DYNASTY -A number of rulers all from the same family. -Menes was the first Egyptian dynasty. -The right to rule is passed down from one family member to the next, this continues until there are no more heirs or the dynasty is over thrown. PHAROH -The rulers of ancient Egypt. -Were concidered to be deities. -They had great power that was (on the most part) used for good. -Great power and faith was put into them. -They oversaw the construction of temples, irrigation systems farming and trade. MONOTHEISM -The belief in only 1 god or goddess. -When Amenbotep IV (Akhenaton) took over the rein only one god was to be believed in... the sun god. HIEROGLYPHICS -A system of writing developed ~3000 BC -They were carved in stone at first, they were then writen on papyrus paper. -It was a combination of symbols and pictures. -In the beginning the small pictures represented objects. -Later symbols were added for sounds. -Over 60 000 charactrs were developed, many represented more than one idea. -Carving and paintings on ston walls were used on walls of temples and pyramids. PAPYRUS -A type of paper made from reed that were grown along the Nile. -Thin pieces of stalk were laied out and beat for several hours and then pressed into sundried sheets. -It was very strong and durable. MATT PYRAMIDS AT GIZA -There are three pyramids. -They are the last surviving wonders of the world. -Around the tomb are limestone blocks at the center of the monument. -Stones of white limestone reflect the sun. -One of the pyramids is faced with gold. | EGYPT | ||||||||||||||||
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