1. Chapter 1: From the Origins of Agriculture to the First River-Valley Civilizations 8000-1500 B.C.E.
By: Kim Jacobsen

2. Key Terms
Stone Age - The historical period characterized by the production of tools from stone and other nonmetallic substances.
Paleolithic - The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans.
Neolithic - The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution.
Foragers - People who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects.
Agricultural Revolution - The change from food gathering to food production that occurred between ca and 2000 B.C.E.
Ziggurat - A massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mud bricks. It is associated with religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamian cities, but its function is unknown.

3. Key Terms
Cuneiform - A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. Originated in Mesopotamia and is one of the first written languages ever invented.
Hieroglyphics - A system of writing in which picture symbols represented sounds, syllables or concepts. It was used for inscriptions on monuments in Egypt.

4. Before Civilization Culture Stone Age Hunter-gatherer societies
Agricultural Revolution
- Domestication
- Pastoralism
Hunter-gatherer societies vs. Farming societies

5. Mesopotamia: Politics
Semitic people were politically dominant
City-states
Lugal (king)
Hammurabi

6. Mesopotamia: Society Social division Hammurabi’s Code Male dominated
Women

7. Mesopotamia: Religion
Gods that embody nature
Anthropomorphism
Temples and ziggurats
Priests
Demons and amulets

8. Mesopotamia: Tech and Art
Cuneiform
Irrigation
Clay
Bronze
Number system

9. Egypt: Politics Divine kingship - Pharaoh Ma’at Hereditary kingship
Complex bureaucracy

10. Egypt: Society Ethnically diverse Less pronounced social divisions
Women had more rights
Slavery limited

11. Egypt: Religion Polytheistic
Some of the more important gods: Ra, Horus, Osiris, etc.
Pyramids
Afterlife
- Mummies
Divine kingship

12. Egypt: Tech and Art Architecture - Pyramids - Temples - Monuments
Hieroglyphics
Irrigation
Chemistry

13. Egypt: Economy
Self-sufficient
Nubia
Trade
Agriculture

14. Indus Valley Civilization
“Priest-King”
Strong central authority
Writing system
City layout
Technology
Natural resources
Metal
“Systems failure”