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Chapter 2 Notes
A Civilization of Writing: Mesopotamia (pg.32-84)
Please write the relevant dates on the timeline.
Which of these is not a concept that will be covered in this chapter:
Communication
Justice
Power
Agriculture
Religion
Trade
Phycology
Weaponry
Domestication of animals
Law and Rules:
Why are laws important? Can you imagine a society without rules or laws?
(pg.34)
Where and When?
The Birth of four civilizations:
Starting in the _________________ millennium BCE, four great civilizations began to
emerge: first _______________________________ civilization, and then those of the NileValley, the Indus Valley and ________________________ civilization.
Mesopotamia:
Between which two rivers did the Mesopotamian civilizations start?
1. ________________ river.
2. ________________ river.
Civilization
Place
Time
Map:
1) On which continent is each of these four civilizations found? ______________________
2) What rivers run through the highlighted territories?
1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3) What countries now occupy these territories? ________________________________________
Please draw a flooded valley.
Please draw a receded valley.
`
Please draw and label Herodotus’s description of the civilization’s in the fertile
valley.
Mesopotamia
Egypt
In Mesopotamia:
(pg.38)
Mesopotamia is often called ____________________________________ .
What is the significance of the ‘Cadastre of Dunghi’ ?
Civilization refers to _________________________ that have social, ___________________ ,
_________________, ect. Elements in common.
The beginning of writing:
Where did writing emerge? _________________________________________
How old were the first tablets? ________________________________
What were the first tokens called?
Please draw the steps in the process of writing:
Pg 41
The Alphabet
Around ______________ there emerged in ___________ a system of writing composed of
letters: _______________. The Phoenician’s alphabet had ____________ letters and each
letter represented a sound.
How did the use of the alphabet spread?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please map out the progression of the alphabet.
Phoeician
_________
_________
________
________
Present day
alphabet
Question:
Are there illustrations or signs that are understood by everyone?
Pg 42
Please draw the layout of Babylon and include the Euphrates and the surrounding
wall with it’s measurements. Please also label what the houses and the wall were
made of.
What is a city-state?
What is a code of law?
How did they let the people know what the laws were?
What was The Code of Hammurabi and how many articles did it include and what
did it entail?
Power and Social Hierarchy
Who ruled in these civilizations?
How did they become the ruler?
Please fill in this triangle with the social hierarchy and with each section write a fact
about this class from 44 and 45:
What was life like for women in Mesopotamia?
A Religion of a Thousand Gods
What does polytheists mean? _____________________________________________________________
What was the difference between Gods and humans?
What does this description of the land of the dead make you think of? (pg 46)
What was the relationship between the king and the gods?
What is the religious significance of the tower of Babel? What is the story?
Ziggurats:
Draw your very own picture of the people of Mesopotamia appeasing the gods
around Ziggurat. Please label which god they are trying to appease and with what.
Commercial and cultural exchange
Why was trade so important to Mesopotamian culture?
See map on page Pg. 48:
1: Name the products imported by Mesopotamia.
(Pg.48)
2: What was the approximate distance travelled by Mesopotamian Merchants to get
to each of the regions in which they traded?
Why was the wheel such an important development? What was it initially used for?
Choose one method of transportation and draw why it is so important.
How did trade contribute to innovations in math?
How did the Mesopotamians influence the modern calendar and time?
What is the difference between Astronomy and Astrology?
Astronomy Astrology-
How did Mesopotamian and The Epic of Gilgamesh culture influence…
Themes from
Gilgamesh
Humans from Clay
The story of the
flood
Underworld
Jewish
religion/The
Hebrew Bible:
Christians/The
Bible:
Greek:
See document on page 5:
What is the link between Mesopotamia and Iraq?
According to this article, what did Mesopotamia contribute to humanity?
Heroes similar to
Gilgamesh
The Civilization of the Nile Valley
Pg. 54
Around ________________________ the _________________________ civilization emerged next to
the __________________________ river. The river provided rich soil and a sole authority
emerged as the leader of this civilization, the _____________________, that managed this
waterway.
Pg.55
1: Which words in the passage emphasize the impotence of the Nile for Egypt’s
population?
2.
What did the Egyptians do to draw favours from the Nile?
3.
Did the Nile appear to have divine powers? Explain your answer.
What sea does the Nile flow into? _________________________________________
Power and Social Hierarchy
What is a dynasty and why are they important to the ruling class of Egypt?
The pharaoh and the vizier
The pharaoh was both ____________________________ and _______________________________.
He had absolute power over all parts of society. He was thought to be the son of the
_____________ _____________.
The pharaoh delegated a part of his powers and responsibilities to the ____________,
who was assisted by a large number of officials.
The nobles were…
The scribes, the artisans and the merchants were…
The peasants were…
The slaves were...
Place the classes in the appropriate
spot on the triangle.
Page 58
Please draw two of your favourite Egyptian gods and indicate what they are in
charge of.
What was life after death like for Egyptians?
Who was Tutankhanmun and what is interesting about his sarcophagus?
Pg.59
1: What values did the Egyptians appear to believe in?
2: Do these values still make sense in our society? Explain your answer.
3:What statements remind you of the importance of the waters of the Nile?
1
2
3
Writing
When did hieroglyphs first appear? ___________________________
What is Papyrus and why is it important?
Try and write a sentence in hieroglyphs.
What was the Rosetta stone?
Pg.60
What did the Egyptians get from other cultures?
1
Pg.62-63
2
3
4
1) What Mesopotamian monuments did the Egyptian pyramids look like?
2) Did the pyramids serve the same purpose as those monuments? Explain your
answer.
What is the connection between our calendar and the Egyptian calendar?