The Rise of CivilizationCHAPTER 1 TEST REVIEW

anthropology

the study of the origins and development of people and their societies

archaeology

the study of past people and cultures

cuneiform- Sumerian writing system

Fertile Crescent- the arc of rich soil between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf

Olduvai Gorge- site of the discovery of a 1.8-million-year-old hominid

Çatalhüyük- a Neolithic farming village

prehistory

period of time before people developed writing

artifact

objects made by human beings (includes: tools, weapons, pottery clothing, and jewelry)

city-statea political unit that included a city and its surrounding lands and villages

Uruk- large city-state in Mesopotamia

ziggurat- a massive stepped tower

artisansskilled craft workers

monarch- a king or queen

Scientists believe that Homo sapiens sapiens first appeared in Africa between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago?

The inhabitants of what are now Mexico and Central America were Mesoamericans.

Because trade brought new civilizations into contact with one another, the transfer of new technology often occurred.

The first hominids to learn to make fires deliberately were Homo sapiens.

The ability to acquire food on a regular basis meant that humans could give up nomadic ways of life and begin to live in settled communities.

Anthropology is the study of human life and culture.

A main characteristic of civilizations is art

The Sumerians invented the sundial

The basic political unit of Sumerian civilization was the city-state.

The people in the Fertile Crescent adapted to their environment by using irrigation and drainage.

Explain in detail how anthropologists and archaeologists might fi nd, examine, and date a hominid discovery today.A well-written respone should include (1) finding the object by means of excavation at an identified site, (2) examining the object by means of microscopic and biological analyses, such as DNA testing, to piece together information about diet, activities, tools, animals, and so on, and (3) dating the object by radiocarbon dating or by using thermoluminescence.

Of what aspect or aspects of civilization is the speaker most proud in this quotation? What does the quotation suggest about the place within the walls?

In Uruk [Gilgamesh] built walls.... the outer wall where the cornice runs, it shines with the brilliance of copper; and the inner wall, it has no equal! Climb upon the wall of Uruk; walk along it, I say; regard the foundation terrace and examine the masonry: is it not burned brick and good. The seven sages laid the foundations.

—The Epic of Gilgamesh

A well-written response should include (1) the city as the aspect of which the speaker is most proud, (2) art, as evidenced in the apparently splendid architecture, as a second aspect of which the speaker is proud, and (3) logical speculation about the city within, such as its grandeur (based on its walls without equal) and its advanced civilization and possibly its government or defense (with sages who know how to lay the proper foundations of a city).