River Valley Civilizations Benchmark Review

Terms in this set (50)

a scientist who learns about ancient people by studying the things they left behind

an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.

An early ancestor of humans

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

(man of skill) first to make stone tools

movement of people from one place to another

A skilled craftsperson

cultural diffusion

the spread of cultural elements from one society to another

The name of the first culture in the world to develop cities.

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.

a person who moves from place to place

a group of related families

a scientific method used to determine the age of an artifact

the period of time before written records

ruled by a king or queen

A series of rulers from the same family

A king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political and military leader.

belief in more than one god

Belief in one God

Egyptian writing system

A city with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside

the world's first system of writing

Babylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BC)

Hammurabi's Code

first written code/set of laws that all were expected to obey.

A legendary figure in Sumerian literature

Descendants of Abraham who left Mesopotamia and settled in Canaan

Founder of Judaism

a large-scale departure or flight

the dispersion of the Jews outside Israel

Land between two rivers

The river in which early kingdoms in Egypt were centered around.

immigrants who arrived at the Ganges river valley by the year 1000 BC

Fertile Crescent

an area of rich farmland in Southwest Asia where the first civilizations began

First five books of the Hebrew Bible

The Goal of believers in the Buddhist religion

A religion based on the teachings of the Buddha.

Ten Commandments

ten laws and teachings said to have been given to Moses by God

Siddhatha Gautama

Founder of Buddhism

A religion native to India, featuring belief in many gods and reincarnation

The rebirth of a soul in a new body

A complex, highly organized social order

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation

A person who spreads his or her religious beliefs to others

Vedas and Upanishads

Sacred writings of Hinduism

Paleolithic Age

Supplying land with water through a network of canals

A pyramid shaped temple tower

Huge, triangular shaped burial tombs of Egyptian pharaohs built during the Old Kingdom

;