2.  History begins when people first began to write 5,500 years ago  Artifacts and fossils give us clues  Archeologists and anthropologists study these clues  Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) began 2.5 million years ago and lasted until 8000 BC

4.  Early humans were hunters-gatherers  Were nomads  Had to adapt to environment (What does that mean?)  Last Ice Age began in 100,000 BC until 8,000 BC (How would the discover of fire have helped them during this time?)

5.  Spoken language was developed  Used art to express their thoughts and feelings (look on pg 10!)  Art may have had religious meaning  Mostly used stone like flint and animal bones to make tools like spears, axes, and fishhooks

6.  Lasted from 8000 BC to 4000 BC  Began to domesticate animals  Farming revolution! (look at map on pg 13!)  Villages were developed in Europe, India, Egypt, China, Mexico, and the Middle East  Two of the oldest communities are Jericho and Catal Huyuk  Began to practice specialization  Advances in tool-making, farming, and steady supplies of good contributed to population and cultural growth

7.  Civilizations: complex societies that have cities, organized governments, art, religion, class divisions, and a writing system  First ones arose in river valleys (Why do you think so?)  As cities grew, organization was needed  Mesopotamia, now southern Iraq, is the earliest known civilization

8.  Hot, dry climate with flooding rivers  Irrigation came about here  Sumer is a city-state in the southern part of Mesopotamia  Sumerians believed in many gods and built ziggurats (pyramid-shaped towers) for worship  Priests, priestesses, and kings had the power

9.  Palaces and small mud-brick houses  Farmers, artisans and traders  3 social classes: upper class-kings, priests, government officials, middle class -artisans, merchants, and fishers, Lower class- slaves  Men and women had separate roles

10.  Greatest Sumer invention: WRITING!! (called cuneiform)  Only wealthy men knew how to write (scribes)  Produced works of literature ex: Epic of Gilgamesh  Irrigation systems, wagon wheel, the plow, sailboat  Geometry, number system based on 60, 12 month calendar

11.  Sargon, king of the Akkadians, conquered Mesopotamia in 2340 BC and set up world’s first empire  Hammurabi, Babylonian king, took over and created the Babylonian Empire  Hammurabi’s Law Code (see pgs 24-25 for more info!) Were his laws cruel or just?

12.  Answer the following questions from the textbook. Be sure to copy the questions as you answer them.  Page 15 – What Did You Learn, #1 and #2  Page 17 – Geography Skills #1 and #2  Page 23 – What Did You Learn #1 and #2

13.  Draw an illustrated social class pyramid for the class structure of Sumer as described in your text on page 20. Upper Class Middle Class Lower Class

14.  The Assyrian Empire: possessed a large army and took over Mesopotamia around 900 BC  Army was well-organized and well-equipped with weapons and horses  1 st to use iron weapons  Fierce warriors  Drove people from their lands and moved them into foreign territories…..why do you think they did that???  Well-Organized Government- divided empire into provinces  Harsh laws, which led to rebellion  Chaldeans rose up and captured capital city of Ninevah in 612 BC

15.  Led by King Nebuchadnezzar  Controlled Mesopotamia from 605-562 BC  Descendants of Babylonians and Babylon became the world’s richest city  Babylon was a major stop on a trade route b/w the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea  Babylon was a center of science (astronomy)  The Hanging Gardens of Babylon- one of the 7 Wonders of the World  Chaldean Empire fell to the Persians in 539 BC

16.  http://joseph_berrigan.tripod.com/ancientbaby lon/id14.html http://joseph_berrigan.tripod.com/ancientbaby lon/id14.html  http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm

17.  Draw and label an illustration of the city of Babylon. Use the description on pgs 29-30. Label at least 5 items.

18. Read pages 24-25 and then answer the following question: Do you think Hammurabi’s Laws were fair or cruel? Give 2 reasons why you think they were fair and 2 reasons they were cruel. Explain in 2 sentences what you think about the laws. Use details from the passage to support your opinion.

19.  Study for Chapter One Test!  Answer the following questions on pages 32-33.  …2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17