Download Social Studies, chapter 2 studyguide

Social Studies, chapter 2 studyguide Name ______________________ # ______
Part 1 Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Try to answer
without using the book first, then, when you can’t answer any more, look up the
answers.
1. List 5 inventions of the Sumerians. Wheel, dikes and dams, quart measurement,
iku (acre), boats and sails, multiplication, cuneiform
2. What occurred in Sumer because of the food surplus? With food surplus people
didn’t need to farm all the time, they thought up inventions!
3. Who created a list of almost 300 laws? Hammurabi and his Code of Laws
4. What was different about Abraham’s religious beliefs? He believed in 1 God or
monotheism
5. What were the religious beliefs of most people in Mesopotamia like? They had
gods for everything!
6. How did bartering work? They would trade their surplus goods and services to
someone for their goods and services. The hard part was finding someone who had
what you needed and needed what you had!
7. What invention resulted in a change in bartering? The invention of coined
money allowed people to get needs easier.
Part 2 Define these words
8. Scribe someone who writes or records information
9. Ziggurat a temple in center of city-state that had a shrine to a god
10. Sargon a conqueror, first emperor, had a standing (ready) army, had loyal
governors
11. Mesopotamia land between 2 rivers (Tigris & Euphrates)
12. Hammurabi made a code of laws for equal justice
13. Phoenicians created the color purple and an early alphabet because they
needed writing for business transactions
14. Moses led Jews out of Egypt and received 10 commandments from God
15. Monarchy one ruler government – better at wartime to make quick decisions
16. Cuneiform a form of writing with wedge shapes
17. Surplus extra products like bushels of grain or barrels of olive oil
Part 3 Short answers
18. Where was Sumer located? southwest Asia between Tigris and Euphrates
rivers
19. Name the 2 rivers of this region. Tigris / Euphrates
20. What 2 inventions helped control the waters? Dikes and dams were one, canals
were the other
21. What kind of government did the early city-states have? They switched from
several leaders to one leader - Monarchy
22. Agriculture is the same as farming
23. What does division of labor mean? Divide work so people do what they are
good at
24. List the 4 cardinal directions. north, south, east, west
25. List the 4 intermediate directions. nw, sw, ne, se
Draw a compass rose and include these directions
Part 4 Essay
Cultural diffusion is the spreading of ideas from one culture to another. Two
important developments were the Phoenician alphabet and Lydian coins. Write a
paragraph explaining why other people started using these inventions.
The alphabet made writing easier which was used during trade to keep track
of business transactions. Other people found this system of writing would help
them record their transactions so they used an alphabet too. Remember, the
Phoenicians were sailors so their ideas spread around the Mediterranean.
Coins were quickly used by others because now you didn’t have to find
someone who had goods you needed and those people needed the things you had.
Coins were easier to transport than bushels of grain or barrels of olive oil.