Name ___________________________

Notes: Unit 2 – Chapter 5: The Rise of River Valley Civilizations

Important Ideas

A. The earliest humans survived by _________________________________ their food. They used tools of wood,
bone, and _______________. They also learned to make ________________.
B. About ________________________________, people in the __________________________ developed the first
agriculture and domesticated animals during the __________________________________________.
C. A _________________________________ is a form of _______________________________ in which some
people live in cities, have complex social institutions, use some form of ________________________, and are
skilled at using ______________________________________________.
D. The first civilizations arose in _________________________________________, where favorable geographic
conditions allowed farmers to grow a ______________________________________.
E. The ________________________________________ invented the wheel, sailboat and cuneiform writing. The
Egyptians developed an advanced civilization along the banks of the ______________. They built large stone
____________________________ for the afterlife of their ruler – the _____________________ – and developed
a form of writing known as ___________________________________.
F. Other early civilizations developed along the _____________________________ on the Indian subcontinent and
along the _____________________________ (Yellow River) in China.
G. The earliest civilizations were _______________________________________. In a theocracy, religious leaders
govern; in a monarchy, a _______________________________________ heads the government.
H. _________________, the religion of the ancient Hebrews (Jews), was the first religion to worship only one God.

Early Human Society

• Anthropologists study the _______________________________________________. Most anthropologists now

believe the _________________________________________________ was the birthplace of humankind. Many
scientists believe that human beings as we know them today – ___________________________ – first appeared
sometime between 400,000 and 200,000 years ago, during the last ____________________________.

The Importance of Culture

• Human beings had several important advantages over other animals: ____________________________, the use
of hands to make tools, and the ability to ______________________________________________.
• Because human beings had these ways of communicating, remembering and making things, they were able to
pass on what they learned and their way of doing things from ________________________________________.
In this way, the ______________________________________________.
The Hunter-Gatherers

• People in the earliest human societies were ____________________________. They did not know how to grow
their own ________________. Instead, they relied on ______________________________________________.
They learned to make fires, to make spears with pieces of _______________________, and to make canoes and
boats out of _________________.
• Because these people made tools of stone, historians refer to these early societies as _____________________.
Over thousands of years, Stone Age peoples also learned to make clay pottery and to domesticate (tame) dogs.
• _______________________________ spent most of their time hunting for food. They migrated to areas where
food – _______________________________________________________________________ – could be found.
During the Ice Age, people _____________________________________ to other parts of the world. Eventually,
people even migrated to the ____________________________________. Wherever people went, they showed
great ingenuity in adapting to local conditions.

The Neolithic Revolution

• About ________________________________, one of the great turning points in history occurred. People began
to change from hunters and gatherers to ________________________________. Two important developments
brought about this change: people learned how to ________________________________________________.
• Anthropologists believe this change first occurred in parts of the Middle East, where ______________________
were plentiful. People noticed they could spread the seeds of these grains to plant and grow their own crops.
They also learned how to herd farm animals such as ___________________________________. These advances
are now referred to as the ____________________________________________.
• Wherever agriculture was introduced, people no longer had to wander in search of food. Instead, they could
build ___________________________________________ and established a fixed way of life. Populations grew.
Although the emergence of agricultural societies is believed to have first occurred in ______________________,
it also took place independently at later times in ___________________________________________________.
• The Emergence of Social Classes. The Neolithic Revolution brought both benefits and problems. People could
grow more food than they had been able to gather or hunt, but they were also more vulnerable to attack by
other peoples. Thus changes in economics – _____________________________________________________ –
led to social and political changes.
• The introduction of agriculture and settlements led to the emergence of ________________________________:
___________________________. Defense of the village became a major concern, resulting in the emergence of
a warrior class. A priesthood emerged to conduct ____________________________ in order to promote a good
harvest and to protect the village from danger.

The Rise of River Valley Civilizations

• As _________________________________ developed and grew, their way of life further changed. Around
3,500 B.C., the first civilizations arose.

• The first civilizations developed in __________________________________. Each of these river valleys offered
a ______________________________ and a water highway to other places. Water from the rivers also could be
 used for _______________________________________. Each of these valleys was also a flood plain where an
overflowing river deposited fertile soil. This __________________ led to abundant harvests and food surpluses.

Mesopotamia (3500 B.C. – 1700 B.C.)

• Sometime between ____________________________________, the first river valley civilization developed in

Mesopotamia, the region located between the ___________________________________ (in present-day Iraq).
Mesopotamia was a Greek term meaning the “____________________________________________.”
• Agriculture. Although Mesopotamia was hot and dry, people learned how to irrigate the land by diverting water
from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. ______________________ allowed _______________________________
to flourish and food supplies to ______________________. Fewer people were able to produce more food,
leading to a surplus. Other people could begin to ___________________ in activities other than farming. Some
became potters, weavers or metal workers. Others became _______________________________________.
• Government. The people of Mesopotamia built ____________________________________. At first, each city-
state, such as Uruk, Ur, and Babylon, had its ____________________________________. Later, several of these
city-states were united together under a ____________________________________.
• Building. The Mesopotamians were the world’s first city-builders. They lacked __________________________
to build their cities. Instead, they made their buildings from _____________________________________. They
built walled cities, temples with arches, and ___________________________ known as ___________________.
Each ziggurat was made of a series of square levels, with each level slightly smaller than the one below it.
• Cultural and Scientific Contributions. Some of the most important inventions in history took place in ancient
Mesopotamia. The _____________________ (the people of Sumer) invented the ________________________.
They were able to figure how to reroute some of the water to irrigate fields farther away. They also developed
________________________________________________. Bronze is made by melting tin and copper together:
it is stronger than copper alone.
• Cultural and Scientific Contributions. The Sumerians devised a ___________________, dividing the year into 12
months. Later, the ______________________________ developed a number system based on 60, providing the
basis for our ___________________________________________ today.
• Cultural and Scientific Contributions. They also invented the world’s __________________________________,
cuneiform, a form of symbol writing on _______________________. Cuneiform writing used three-dimensional
marks by a stylus into clay before it hardened. Only the ______________ could read and write in cuneiform.
Generally, ___________________________________ were the ones who had this knowledge.
• Legal System. The Babylonians developed the earliest written law code –the ____________________________.
It covered most occurrences in daily life. Its aim was to ensure _______________________________________.
• Women in Mesopotamia. Most girls ____________________________________________, where they learned
_____________________________________. Women were responsible for raising children and crushing the
grain. There were enormous variations in the rights enjoyed by women in ______________________________.
Wealthier women were able to go to the ___________________________ to buy goods, could complete legal
matters in their husband’s absence, and could even ______________________. These women could engage in
business for themselves, and ___________________________. A few women, such as relatives of the ruler,
enjoyed even higher status in Mesopotamia society.
Egypt (3200 B.C. – 500 B.C.)

• Egypt is located in ___________________________. The _____________________________________, the Nile,

runs through it. Each year, the Nile floods the lands along its banks, ___________________________________.
With bright sunshine, a long growing season, rich soil, and ___________________________________________,
Egyptian farmers were able to grow large amounts of food. Farmers along the Nile were able to support a large
number of _________________________________________________. Ease of communication along the river
encouraged the development of a ___________________________________________________.
• Government and Society. The most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the ___________________________.
The pharaoh governed Egypt as an ________________________. The pharaoh owned all the land, commanded
the army, _______________________, controlled ______________________________________, and defended
Egypt from foreigners. Egyptians considered the pharaoh to be a god.
• Egypt was a monarchy, a ______________________________________________________________________.
Each pharaoh inherited ___________________________________ from his father.
• Next in the social order below the pharaoh came the _______________________________. Then came Egypt’s
____________________________________________. At the bottom of society were _____________________.
They spent their time farming, ________________________, and working on building projects for the pharaohs.
• Religion. The ancient Egyptians believed the body should be ____________________________ to participate in
the afterlife. When pharaohs died, their bodies were embalmed and buried in a special room under a large
_________________________________________________. Here they were surrounded with gold, jewels, and
other precious objects for use in the afterlife, which Egyptians imagined as similar to life before death.
__________________________________ have used these artifacts to learn a great deal about ancient Egypt.

India

• More than 5,000 years ago, the ____________________________ became another of the first centers of human
civilization. In this region, as in Egypt and Mesopotamia, a ____________________________________ over the
neighboring plain during its ____________________________.
• Agriculture and Building. Farmers grew ________________________________. Food surpluses allowed people
to build large cities like Harrappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Each of these cities had more than __________________.
• More than 1,000 cities and settlements belonging to the Indus River Valley civilization have already been
excavated. The artifacts found in these settlements suggest a ________________________________________.
____________________________________________________ walls were present in many of their cities. They
were also among the first “urban planners,” with almost all their houses connected to public sewers and a water
supply. These people, known as the Harrappans, were also the first people known to make cotton cloth.
• Trade and Collapse. _________________ was an important part of the Harrappan economy. Many small clay
seals, probably used for trading purposes, have been discovered by archaeologists. They have also found kilns
for _________________________ and evidence of the use of metals. The Harappans developed their own form
of writing, although __________________ are still unable to decipher it. No one knows exactly why this
civilization collapsed, but its end occurred suddenly.

China

• About 500 years after the settlement of the Indus River Valley, China’s first civilization emerged in the fertile
plains along the ___________________________________.
• Agriculture. As in the Nile and Indus River Valleys, the fertility of the soil along the Huang He was increased by
the _____________________________________. Around 4,500 B.C., people along the Huang He began growing
millet (a type of grain). Later, they learned to _____________________________________________________.
• Government. Around 1700 B.C., a ______________________________, known as the Shang, took power. They
built the first Chinese cities and established their capital at Anyang, near the Huang He. The Shang ruled with
the help of powerful nobles. Shang kings were _____________________________. They were also high priests
who offered sacrifices to their _______________________________.
• Cultural Contributions. The people living in the Huang He Valley were _________________________________.
Their ability in bronze work can be seen in many objects surviving from this period, including superior weapons
and ceremonial vessels. They also were the first to make _________________________________________.
Finally, they developed a system of writing with _______________________________________. Each character
represented one word. Their pictorial characteristics, often with only minor modifications, are still used in
written Chinese today. Even those speaking different dialects use the same characteristics.

The Ancient Hebrews

• The ancient Hebrews, or ___________________, lived south of Phoenicia in the area occupied by present-day
_______________________________________. Because of their location, the Hebrews were deeply influenced
by the civilizations of both ____________________________________. According to tradition, the forefather of
the Hebrews, _____________________, grew up in Mesopotamia in the city of Ur. Abraham moved to Israel.
• Unlike other ancient peoples, the ____________________________________________________. Instead, they
believed in ____________________________, who was both just and all-powerful. This new religion was called
______________________. Jews did not believe that God had human characteristics or the head or body of an
animal, like the __________________________________________________________________.
• Jews saw their God as an invisible but powerful force or spirit that created the world and that demanded proper
________________________________. __________________________________________________, became
the basis for several later religions, including both __________________________________________.
 The Ten Commandments

• The early history of the Hebrews and their relationship with God is told in the first books of the Bible, known as
the ____________________________. According to the Bible, the ancient Hebrews migrated to Egypt to escape
___________________________________________. They remained in Egypt for hundreds of years, where they
became ___________________. Their leader, _________________, later took them out of Egypt and freed
them from slavery.
• According to the Bible, Moses also _____________________________________________________________,
which came directly from God. These commandments _____________________________________________,
and other forms of immoral behavior. They also commanded the Hebrews to worship one God and to keep the
_______________________________________.
• When the Hebrews __________________________________________________________, they found it was
occupied by new peoples. This led to a series of wars, ending with the _________________________________.
The Hebrews then established their __________________________, where they built a temple to worship God.