CHAPTER 1
Early Civilizations
CONCEPT OUTLINE
I. Civilization
II. Societies before Civilization
A. Çatalhöyük
B. Societies of the Stone Age
1. Human Origins
2. Hunter-Gatherer Societies
III. Building Blocks of Civilization
A. Neolithic Revolution
1. Agriculture
2. Towns and Villages Emerge
3. Trade
IV. Urban Development in Mesopotamia
A. Ubaid Culture
B. Uruk
C. Development of Writing
D. Sumer
1. Culture
2. Early Dynastic Period
3. Religion
4. Science, Technology, and Trade
, 5. Empires
a. Akkad
b. Ur
c. Babylon
i. Hammurabi
ii. Law
V. Egypt
A. Predynastic Egypt
B. Rise of Pharaonic Power
C. The Old Kingdom
1. The Power of Writing
2. Imhotep and Pyramid Building
3. End of the Old Kingdom
D. Egyptian Culture and Society
1. Religion and Worldview
2. Life and Death
3. Science
4. The Social Pyramid
5. Women
E. The Middle Kingdom
F. Conclusion
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the challenges involved in studying the distant past.
2. Define the characteristics of civilizations.
3. Identify the factors that shaped life in the earliest cities.
4. Explain how Hammurabi’s empire was governed.
5. Describe the main differences between Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.
,MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. To the peoples of the ancient world, the characteristic manifestations of civilization—government,
literature, science, and art—were necessarily products of:
A. rural life.
B. city life.
C. religion.
D. warfare.
E. nomadic life.
ANS: B MSC: Remembering
TOP: I DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
2. Human cultures down to the fourth millennium B.C.E. are referred to as belonging to the Stone Age
because they:
A. made most of their tools out of stone.
B. built urban structures primarily with stone.
C. used rocks and stones as weapons.
D. lived in caves.
E. communicated primarily through messages carved in stone.
ANS: A MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, B DIF: Easy
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
3. Social relationships in the ancient city of Çatalhöyük were largely:
A. hierarchical.
B. egalitarian.
C. based on a caste system.
D. managed by religious officials.
E. based on the example of their gods.
ANS: A MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, A DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1, 2
, 4. To foster greater understanding of the prehistoric period, scholars began to use scientific data from
the discipline of:
A. paleontology.
B. archaeology.
C. anthropology.
D. climatology.
E. history.
ANS: D MSC: Remembering
TOP: I DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
5. The Paleolithic Age begins with the earliest ancestors of modern human beings, who used stone
tools, approximately _________ years ago.
A. 7 million
B. 5 million
C. 2 million
D. 750,000
E. 200,000
ANS: C MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, B, 1 DIF: Easy
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
6. Cave paintings, such as those found in Lascaux, France, are likely evidence of development of:
A. a stratified society.
B. permanent settlement.
C. language.
D. a priestly class.
E. an artistic class.
ANS: C MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, B, 2 DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 5 OBJ: 1
7. Before 11,000 B.C.E., virtually all human societies were:
A. engaged in settled agriculture to produce crop surpluses for the gods.
Early Civilizations
CONCEPT OUTLINE
I. Civilization
II. Societies before Civilization
A. Çatalhöyük
B. Societies of the Stone Age
1. Human Origins
2. Hunter-Gatherer Societies
III. Building Blocks of Civilization
A. Neolithic Revolution
1. Agriculture
2. Towns and Villages Emerge
3. Trade
IV. Urban Development in Mesopotamia
A. Ubaid Culture
B. Uruk
C. Development of Writing
D. Sumer
1. Culture
2. Early Dynastic Period
3. Religion
4. Science, Technology, and Trade
, 5. Empires
a. Akkad
b. Ur
c. Babylon
i. Hammurabi
ii. Law
V. Egypt
A. Predynastic Egypt
B. Rise of Pharaonic Power
C. The Old Kingdom
1. The Power of Writing
2. Imhotep and Pyramid Building
3. End of the Old Kingdom
D. Egyptian Culture and Society
1. Religion and Worldview
2. Life and Death
3. Science
4. The Social Pyramid
5. Women
E. The Middle Kingdom
F. Conclusion
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the challenges involved in studying the distant past.
2. Define the characteristics of civilizations.
3. Identify the factors that shaped life in the earliest cities.
4. Explain how Hammurabi’s empire was governed.
5. Describe the main differences between Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.
,MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. To the peoples of the ancient world, the characteristic manifestations of civilization—government,
literature, science, and art—were necessarily products of:
A. rural life.
B. city life.
C. religion.
D. warfare.
E. nomadic life.
ANS: B MSC: Remembering
TOP: I DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
2. Human cultures down to the fourth millennium B.C.E. are referred to as belonging to the Stone Age
because they:
A. made most of their tools out of stone.
B. built urban structures primarily with stone.
C. used rocks and stones as weapons.
D. lived in caves.
E. communicated primarily through messages carved in stone.
ANS: A MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, B DIF: Easy
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
3. Social relationships in the ancient city of Çatalhöyük were largely:
A. hierarchical.
B. egalitarian.
C. based on a caste system.
D. managed by religious officials.
E. based on the example of their gods.
ANS: A MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, A DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1, 2
, 4. To foster greater understanding of the prehistoric period, scholars began to use scientific data from
the discipline of:
A. paleontology.
B. archaeology.
C. anthropology.
D. climatology.
E. history.
ANS: D MSC: Remembering
TOP: I DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
5. The Paleolithic Age begins with the earliest ancestors of modern human beings, who used stone
tools, approximately _________ years ago.
A. 7 million
B. 5 million
C. 2 million
D. 750,000
E. 200,000
ANS: C MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, B, 1 DIF: Easy
REF: p. 4 OBJ: 1
6. Cave paintings, such as those found in Lascaux, France, are likely evidence of development of:
A. a stratified society.
B. permanent settlement.
C. language.
D. a priestly class.
E. an artistic class.
ANS: C MSC: Remembering
TOP: II, B, 2 DIF: Moderate
REF: p. 5 OBJ: 1
7. Before 11,000 B.C.E., virtually all human societies were:
A. engaged in settled agriculture to produce crop surpluses for the gods.
