1. Ancient Civilizations (Cradles of Civilizations)
Mesopotamia = Ancient Sumer and Babylon = Tigris and Euphrates River Valley (Middle East/Modern Day Iraq)
Ancient Egypt = Nile River Valley = Nile River (Egypt)
Harrapans = Indus River Valley = Indus River (Pakistan/India)
Shang Dynasty = Yellow River Valley Civilization = Huang He/Yellow River (China)

2. Mesopotamia = Ancient Sumer & Babylon
Geography: = Tigris Euphrates River (Modern Iraq) Unpredictable flooding
Irrigation & used levees to control floods
Religion: Polytheistic: Hundreds of gods, goddesses, demons & monsters, bulls ; Gods were based and revolved around nature.
Ziggurats: - temples that had three functions: to hold grain, religious ceremonies governmental purposes
Achievements: *
Political Structure: Monarchy: kings or Ensi of each city
Economy: Trade with Indus: ivory, lapis, timber, gold
Social Hierarchy: Monarchs, priests and nobles, warriors, artisans and merchants, then peasants, slaves at the bottom
Artisans, merchants,
peasant farmers, herders
WARRIORS
SLAVES
Nobles
King
Priests

3. Achievements (brain pop link):
Sumer con’t.…….
Achievements (brain pop link):
Cuneiform -wedge shaped writing
Ziggurats -temples
Math: No. System based on 60 =
Sun dried bricks for constructing buildings
Literature: Epic of Gilgamesh
First written laws = Hammurabi’s Code/Code of Hammurabi (Babylon)
Bronze making & wheeled carts

4. Ancient Egypt
Geography: “gift of the Nile” = silt, annual, predictable floods
Delta: fan shaped mouth of a river
Religion: Polytheistic: believed in many gods. Ra, Horace, Osiris,
Achievements: *
Political Structure: Pharaoh’s ruled as God kings
Theocracy: religion and political leader same person
Dynasty- family rule over time
Economy:
Social Hierarchy:

5. Social Structure
Artisans
Workers - Farmers
Slaves
Egypt: Pharaohs held the highest position in society, Vizier: advisor to pharaoh, then priests, nobles, artisans (skilled workers) and merchants, peasants (farmers), and slaves had no rights.

6. Ancient Egypt ACHIEVEMENTS
Egyptians built Pyramids: tombs for the Pharaohs; believed in an afterlife
Hieroglyphics: pictogram writing
Papyrus: rough form of paper made from river reeds
Rosetta Stone: Key to deciphering or translating hieroglyphics using Greek and demotic - abbreviated hieroglyphics for everyday use

7. Rosetta Stone
Hieroglyphs
Demotic
Greek

8. EGYPTIAN Technology/advancements (brain pop Link):
Advancements in astronomy
Calendar: 365 days long. The year consisted of 12 months of 30 days each, plus five extra days at the end of the year.
The process of mummification helped Egyptians learn about the human body, which led to diagnosing illnesses and performing surgeries.
Mummification: wrapping a human body in order to preserve it for the afterlife.
Monuments, temples, statues and paintings

9. INDUS/Harapan CIVILIZATION
Geography: Indus river valley; monsoon climate
Religion: Polytheistic: believed in many gods. Mother goddess
Achievements:
Grid patterned cities
Sundried bricks for constructing buildings
Sanskrit spoken & Seals: Written clay tablets we’re unable to read
First indoor plumbing, baths & city sewers
Political Structure: organized but unknown
Economy: Trade w Sumer; Ships & docks; Every city had granaries (storage areas for grain) in the center.
Social Hierarchy: unknown

11. Shang Dynasty Geography: Yellow river valley; Huang He; loess soil
Religion: Polytheistic: believed in many gods. Di
Achievements:
Political Structure: Emperor & Dynasty- family rule
- Dynastic cycle: explains the rise and fall of ruling families in China
- Mandate of Heaven: The right to rule from the God’s
- Families must have the Mandate of Heaven in order to rule.
Economy:
Social Hierarchy:

12. Shang Dynasty Achievements
SHANG Technology/advancements (Crash Course Link -) APSummary
Shang Dynasty Achievements
Chinese characters (symbols)
Bronze metal work such as: bells, urns, axe heads, pots, and jewelry
Jade carvings
Oracle bones: Use to ask the gods or ancestors for help or prophesize the future
Answers came from the gods by priests’ interpretation of the cracks.