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Civilization
society which relies on sedentary agriculture and ability to produce food surpluses, characterized by existence of nonfarming elites, merchant and manufacturing groups
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Culture
socially transmitted patterns of action and expression. Material culture refers to physical objects, such as dwellings, clothing, tools, and crafts. Culture also includes arts, beliefs, knowledge, and technology
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Stone Age
The historic period characterized by the production of tools from stone and other nonmetallic substances
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Foragers
(hunters and gatherers) people who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects
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Agricultural Revolution
the change (transition) from food gathering to food production that occurred between ca. 8000 BCE and 2000 BCE.
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Babylon
the largest and most important city in Mesopotamia. Particularly important under Hammurabi’s rule in the 18th century BCE and under king Nebuchadnezzaar in the 6th century BCE
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Sumerians
people who dominated Mesopotamia in the third millennium BCE. Created first civilization in the region, irrigation technology, cuneiform, organized area into city-states
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Semitic
ancient nomadic herders who spoke Semitic languages, e.g. Akkadians, Aramaics, Hebrews, and Phoenicians. Arabic language also belongs to the group of Semitic languages.
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City-State
a small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. Urban center provided military protection to the area and the agricultural territory delivered food supplies
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Hammurabi
ruler of Babylon in the 18th century BCE, best known for a code of law inscribed on a black stone pillar
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Scribe
in the government of many ancient societies, a professional position reserved for men who had undergone lengthy training required to be able to read and write
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Ziggurat
a massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mudbricks in religious complexes of Mesopotamia. Specific function is unknown
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Amulet
small charm meant to protect the bearer from evil
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Cuneiform
a system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables written on clay tables. Originated in Mesopotamia ca. 3000 BCE. Because so many symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a relatively small group of administrators and scribes
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Pharoh
title of kings in Ancient Egypt. Was believed to be an earthly manifestation of the gods, with the absolute power to maintain the safety and prosperity of Egypt
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Hieroglyphics
ancient system of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts
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Papyrus
reed that grows along the banks of the Nile River. Used to produce a coarse, paper-like material used for writing in Egypt
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Mummy
a body preserved by chemical processes in the belief that the deceased will need it again in the afterlife
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Harappa
cite of one of the great cities of the Indus River Valley Civilization in the third millennium BCE
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Mohenjo-Daro
Largest of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization
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