1. Beginnings of Civilization 6th Grade Social Studies
Prehistory
Beginnings of Civilization
6th Grade
Social Studies

2. Warm-up Activity Get out a piece of paper and pencil
Write your name at the top of the paper
Remember that early hunter-gatherers moved from place to place, carrying all their possessions.
Imagine that you have to carry all your possessions with you to your new home.
What things would you carry? (come up with at least 5 things)
What things would you NOT be able to own and carry with you? (come up with at least 3 things)

3. Vocabulary Irrigation
__________ – network of canals to supply land with water from another place
__________ – more than what is needed
__________ – workers who are especially skilled in making items such as baskets, leather goods, tools, pottery, or cloth
Surplus
Artisans

4. Vocabulary Social Classes
______________ – each person is part of a group, or class, made up of others with similar backgrounds, wealth, and ways of living
_____________ – society that has cities, central government run by official leaders, and workers who specialize in various jobs
Civilization

5. Advantages of Settled Life
Irrigation systems were developed so people in desert areas could farm
Dirt from digging trenches became dams

6. Advantages of Settled Life
Farming and raising animals is very hard work but had great rewards
Farming allowed people to have a steady food supply often creating a surplus
People are now able to store food

7. Population is Growing Storing food meant less starvation
Growing food supplies led to more children because parents could now feed their kids
10,000 years ago = 10 million people
7,000 years ago = 66 million people
Today Los Angeles has 10 million people

8. Early Villages and Towns
As population grew, so did settlements
Food surpluses meant people did not grow food all day
People were able to switch to other kinds of work
Example: Artisans

9. Artisans
Cloth
Baskets
Tools
Leather Goods
Pottery

10. Growth of Cities People needed: 1. dependable water source
2. fertile land = food surplus
3. materials to build shelter

11. Where did most cities develop?
NEAR WATER

12. Indus River (Pakistan)

13. Nile River (Egypt)

14. Tigris and Euphrates River (Iraq)

15. Huang He River (China)

16. Area Founded Date City Founded Southwest Asia 3500 B.C. Egypt
Pakistan
2500 B.C.
China
1700 B.C.
Central America
200 B.C.

17. PAKISTAN
CHINA
CENTRAL AMERICA
EGYPT
SOUTHWEST ASIA

18. Farming Villages Early Cities Smaller than cities
Mostly farmers live here
Larger than farming villages
Variety of occupations
Government formed
Large public buildings
1. store surplus
2. buy/sell goods
3. worship gods

19. Why did early civilizations feel they needed to form governments?
1. To provide services
Ex: Irrigation projects
2. Keep order and to settle disputes

20. The First Civilizations
What classifies a civilization?

21. 1. Government with official leaders

22. 2. Cities

23. 3. Specialized Workers

24. 4. Social Classes

25. 5. Writing HALLO KONNICHIWA HELLO BONJOUR SALUT HEJ NI HAO
ASSALAMUALAIKUM
HOLA
NAMASTE
CIAO

26. 6. Art

27. 7. Architecture

28. How does civilization spread?
TRADE

29. Trade Traders took goods to faraway cities
Things traded: weapons, tools, baskets, pottery, cloth, spices
3500 B.C. wheel and axle invented
- carts to haul goods
- not used in all civilizations

31. Trade 6600 B.C. = Copper invented and used Remember the Ice Man?
3000 B.C. = Bronze invented and used
- weapons, tools, helmets, shields
- Bronze much harder than copper
- This began the Bronze Age

32. Trade People began using merchant ships
Now many different people and cultures came in contact

33. Trade
New tools and ideas spread because information was traded as well

34. How did Social Classes develop?
Trade = prosperity
Job Specialization
People were in a social class made up of others with similar backgrounds
- Wealth
- Ways of living

35. Kings (most powerful) Nobles Priests
(government officials and military officers)
Priests
(each place had own religion)
Artisans
Traders
Merchants
Farmers
Common Workers

36. Question 1 Food Surpluses
Why did populations grow after people settled in farming villages?
Food Surpluses

37. Question 2
How were farming villages different from cities?

38. Question 3
What are the features of a civilization?
Government, cities, specialized workers, social classes, writing, art, architecture

39. Question 4 What effects did trade have on civilizations?
New tools, weapons, ideas, spices, cloth, baskets, pottery, wheel and axle
Bronze Age
Social Classes

40. Timeline Activity