Loading...
Ancient History of Egypt, Bablyonia and Mesopotamia
Quiz by Tonia Smith
Customize this quiz to suit your class
Instantly translate to 100+ languages
Tag the questions with any skills you have. Your dashboard will track each student's mastery of each skill.
Give this quiz to my class
1. Settlements Importance of Rivers Fertile Land: The soil near rivers was great for farming, thanks to regular flooding that added nutrients. Trade and Travel: Rivers made moving things and people easy, which helped trade and communication. Protection: Rivers could act as natural barriers, making it harder for enemies to attack. Food: Rivers were full of fish and other food, adding to what people could eat. Energy: People used the river's flow to power machines, for example, grinding grain. Cleanliness: Rivers were used to wash away waste, keeping settlements cleaner. Culture: Rivers often had spiritual importance, and ceremonies and stories revolved around them. Common Geographic Features of Ancient Civilizations Mesopotamia: the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in central Iraq Indus River Valley: the river runs in the northwestern part of India Nile River Valley: the major river of Egypt Yellow River Valley: a major river flowing through the southern part of China Rivers provided water, food, transportation, and shaped the way of life and development of these ancient civilizations. Impact of Mountains on Settlements Mountains served as barriers to early settlement due to the lack of technology to cross them. The Himalayan Mountains isolated much of India and China during their early development. Impact of Deserts on Migration Deserts posed significant challenges to people who wanted to migrate due to their harsh and unforgiving conditions. Notable deserts include the Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia and the Sahara Desert in Africa. Changes in Migration and Cultural Blending Advancements in transportation technology post-Industrial Revolution increased cultural blending. Transportation advancements enabled global migration. Before, cultures were isolated, focusing on beliefs and local adaptations. The Industrial Revolution transformed migration and cultural blending. 2. How Humans Modify and Adapt to Their Environment Ways Humans Modify Their Environment Mining: Removing the earth's surface for precious metals. Irrigation: Diverting water for farming. Transportation: Moving goods with trains, cars, airplanes, and boats. Mining Strip mining removes large layers of the earth. Can impact the environment by removing plants and polluting water sources. Irrigation Diverting water for farming and urban development. Transportation Moving goods using trains, cars, airplanes, and boats. Human Adaptation to the Environment Adjusting to environmental conditions by changing behavior. Examples: Wearing specific clothing, using specific building materials. Human Modification of the Environment Changing the earth to meet human needs by physically altering the environment. Examples: Dams, canals, roads, bridges. Impact of Weather and Geological Events on Humans Events like earthquakes, hurricanes, and cold weather affect human settlements. Examples: Building earthquake-resistant buildings, creating levees, using ice for tourism. 3. Understanding Culture Introduction to Culture Culture refers to the way of life of a group of people who live in a particular place. It includes traditions, beliefs, values, and the way they do things. Cultural Characteristics Religious traditions Language Family values Laws Cultural characteristics make each culture unique. Cultural Representations Art Architecture Music Literature Cultural representations express a culture's creativity and show their beliefs and history to the world. Government and Culture Types of government reflect cultural beliefs and traditions. Examples: democratic republic, communist state. The way a country is governed tells a lot about its culture. Economic Systems and Cultures Economic systems reflect cultural values. Examples: bartering, modern economies (e.g., United States, China). How people earn and spend money also reflects their culture. Spread of Cultural Ideas Trade: Spreading ideas through interactions during trade. Travel: Visitors bringing new ideas. War: Conquering armies imposing beliefs. Cultural ideas spread through trade, travel, and war. Multicultural Societies Blending of multiple cultural and ethnic groups. Common in advanced societies with immigration. Multicultural societies create something new by bringing together different cultures. Cultural Adaptation Cultures can change and adapt by taking new ideas and blending them with their own traditions. Example: 'Tex-Mex' food, which blends Mexican and Texan traditions.In a single domesticated grain seed, one might see the bud of great civilizations. The birth of agriculture was a turning point in humans' social development, as stable food supplies enabled people to transcend the constraints of food gained by hunting and gathering. After that, people were able to settle down and experience population booms. As one of the major areas around the globe where agriculture originated, China has contributed to the world's domesticated rice, millet, buckwheat and soybeans. Archaeological studies have unveiled that the planting of rice originated around 10,000 years ago in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, leading to the eventual replacement there of hunting and gathering practices dating back 5,000 to 6,000 years. "It marked the formation of a rice-based agricultural society in the area," said Zhao Zhijun, an archaeologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Archaeological studies of the origins of rice-based agriculture are an important part of a national project tracing the origins of Chinese civilization itself. President Xi Jinping has greatly valued the project. At a group study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on May 27, 2022, Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized the significance of the project and the role that archaeological studies play in better understanding Chinese civilization. The project to trace the origins of Chinese civilization, in addition to finding signs of human activity more than 1 million years ago, has also proved that China's history includes 10,000 years of culture and more than 5,000 years of civilization. The project has provided clear knowledge of the origins and formation of Chinese civilization, the history of its development, the process of the formation and development of its pluralistic and integrated pattern, and the characteristics of the civilization and why it was formed in such a way, he added. This was not the first time that Xi emphasized the importance of the origin-tracing project. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, Xi has toured more than 100 historical and cultural locations and issued many instructions related to archaeology and the origin-tracing project. During the 23rd group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2020, Xi called for giving more attention to archaeological research and letting historical facts speak for themselves. "This will provide strong support for our efforts to carry forward the best of traditional Chinese culture and increase our cultural confidence," said Xi. The origin-tracing project has been carried out since 2002. Its ongoing fifth phase, which started in 2020, involves the participation of more than 500 researchers from 29 institutes across the country. It primarily centers on several ancient capital sites, including the Liangzhu site in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, the Taosi site in Xiangfen county, Shanxi province, the Shimao site in Shenmu, Shaanxi province, and the Erlitou site in Luoyang, Henan province, from 3,500 to 5,500 years ago, as well as other settlements mainly along the basins of the Yellow, Yangtze and Liaohe rivers. The project has also expanded to a wider geographic and chronological framework to decode how Chinese civilization emerged and how its diverse elements formed a unity. Excavation of the Liangzhu site, which is over 5,000 years old and is one of the major sites covered in the origin-tracing project, has yielded an inner city covering 3 million square meters and an outer city of 6.3 million sq m, making it the world's largest capital at the time. It also had a giant water control system, which contributed to the formation of a rice-based agricultural society. By calculating the earthwork volume, archaeologists found that building the entire ancient city, the water control system and Mojiaoshan — a 10-meter-tall man-made terrace in the center of the city — required 10,000 people working daily for seven-and-a-half years. The discoveries show that Liangzhu had a kingship able to organize people for large-scale public construction, and its social differentiation, emergence of the city concept and existence of a kingship prove that it became a civilized society, said Wang Wei, a veteran archaeologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Significant topic Wang said that tracing the origins of a civilization is a significant topic in the research of human history. Over the years, the Chinese project has provided China's answer to how to define civilizations. In 2022, Xi commended the efforts and stressed that the project has made creative contributions to the research on tracing the origins of the world's civilizations. Wang said: "International academia has proposed three indispensable elements for a civilized society based on features of Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations: written characters, metallurgy and the city concept. But we can find that some of the three elements were absent in many ancient civilizations. For example, the Mayan civilization had no metallurgy, while the Incan civilization didn't have written characters." Western scholars believe that Chinese civilization began with the Yinxu Ruins in Anyang, Henan province, a capital of the late Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC), based on the discovery of inscribed oracle bones from that time. However, Chinese archaeologists don't agree. With continued archaeological research, international academia now believes that places around the world can propose criteria for civilization based on their own ancient social development. China's archaeological studies have shaped the nation's criteria in defining a civilization: the development of productivity, an increase in population, the appearance of cities, social differentiation and the emergence of kingship and state. "These criteria are suitable for identifying other civilizations as well," said Wang. "Civilizations have in common the appearance of kingship and state. They are only different in the ways of imposing kingship and the forms of state." In China, kingship and state "were shown by exquisite jade and bronze ritual artifacts, grand palaces and magnificent mausoleums imitating aboveground palaces", he added. "In Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, they were demonstrated through superb stone temples, pyramids and large-scale tombs." Multidisciplinary subject President Xi said in 2020 that archaeologists should work closely with researchers from other fields to make an interpretive analysis of material remains. Zhang Chi, a professor of archaeology at Peking University, said that since material remains are often the research focus of archaeological studies, these should not only be observed with the eyes, but also studied using scientific and technological tools. Therefore, from the perspective of research methods, archaeology is by nature a multidisciplinary subject, Zhang added.Early History of Europe - Ancient GreeceHistory of FD Oriental & Ancient PeriodsDuplicate of Early History of Europe - Ancient Greece Located in West China, Xi'an is one of the most notable ancient Chinese cities. More than 3,100 years have passed since it was built. Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road. It used to be a commercial hub connecting the west and the Orient during its prosperous period. Xi'an has the largest bell tower, which was built in the Ming Dynasty. The largest collection of ancient stone tablets and the Terracotta Warriors with a history of 2,000 years. Now it is a rapidly developing modern city. Xi'an is an undying city in Chinese culture.Here's how scientists figured out the age of the universe It took some cosmic detective work. by Passant Rabie Oct. 20, 2021 You never ask a cosmic being its age. But if that cosmic being encompasses all of space, time, and matter, you could get a little curious. Scientists have long been curious about the age of the universe and how much time has elapsed since the Big Bang. Today, scientists estimated the age of the universe to be approximately 13.8 billion years old. But how did scientists estimate how old the universe is, and are they sure of that number? It all comes down to ancient stars and the ever-expanding cosmos. How do astronomers calculate the age of the universe? To estimate the age of the universe, scientists rely on two main methods. Calculating the expansion rate of the universe Determining the ages of the oldest stars The Hubble Constant: Since its conception, the universe has been expanding at an accelerating rate. The universe’s expansion rate is known as the Hubble Constant, which is estimated at 46,200 mph per million light-years. The Hubble Constant was first calculated in the 1920s by American astronomer Edwin Hubble after discovering that several galaxies were moving away from Earth. Scientists looked to distant galaxies to measure how fast the universe was expanding. Hubble also noted that the further a galaxy was, the faster it was moving away. Based on Hubble’s observations, the astronomer came up with Hubble’s law which showed a correlation between how far an object is and the speed at which it’s receding. Using Hubble law, scientists were able to estimate the expansion rate of the universe. Scientists were then able to use the Hubble Constant to estimate the age of the universe by working backward, all the way back to the Big Bang. This extrapolation depends on the current density and composition of the universe, which shows the history of its expansion. In 2012 NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe used that data to estimate the universe's age to be 13.772 billion years old, give or take 59 million years. A year later, The European Space Agency’s Planck spacecraft estimated the universe's age to be 13.82 billion years. Ancestral stars: Another way to determine the age of the universe is to look to the oldest stars. The universe can’t be younger than its oldest stars. Therefore, to narrow down the age of the universe, scientists measure the ages of the very first stars that formed in the cosmos. The lifecycle of a star depends on its mass, with high mass stars burning fuel at a faster rate and therefore dying out faster while low mass stars can live up to 20 billion years. Globular clusters are a dense stellar collection of around a million stars which all formed roughly around the same time. These clusters can then serve as timekeepers for the universe. By determining the masses of their stars, scientists can estimate when the globular cluster formed. The oldest globular clusters contain stars that are 0.7 times less massive than the Sun, which suggests that they are between 11 to 18 billion years old. What came before the Big Bang? Scientists can trace the universe back to its explosive birth, the Big Bang. But what happened before this theoretical birth of the cosmos? The universe may have been a singularity, all compact within a form that is smaller than a subatomic particle. It’s difficult to imagine what caused this matter to exist, but one theory even suggests that our universe was born from another universe while another imagines a series of universes being born out of one another like a formation of bubbles. Meanwhile, another theory suggests that the universe goes through an endless cycle of death and rebirth, born from its own demise. How old is the universe in seconds? If the universe is indeed cyclical, then time becomes irrelevant. But just in case you’re still attached to the modern way in which we measure the progression of life, then the age of the universe comes up to about 436,117,076,900,000,000 seconds. Shopping Made Easy How can you buy things without money? Have you ever exchanged toys with a friend in return for one of their toys? In ancient times, people exchanged services and goods for other services and goods. That is called barter. The history of bartering dates back to at least 100,000 years ago. Goods were exchanged for food, weapons, tea and spices. It was around 3000 BC when societies in Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa used shells as money. Paper money or banknotes were first used in China during Song Dynasty. Now, we have Alipay and WeChat Pay. Because of the online payment, we seldom buy things in cash.