Ancient Civilizations Flashcards

Grade 9 · Social Studies · Flashcards

Key terms for studying the world's earliest civilizations.

Flashcards

Civilization: A complex organized society with cities, government, writing, trade, and division of labor.
Mesopotamia: Land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern Iraq); site of the world's earliest civilizations.
Sumerians: Earliest known Mesopotamian civilization; inventors of cuneiform writing and builders of city-states like Ur.
Cuneiform: World's oldest writing system; Sumerian wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets (~3200 BCE).
Code of Hammurabi: Babylonian written law code (~1754 BCE) with specified punishments for crimes; one of history's earliest legal codes.
Pharaoh: Divine ruler of ancient Egypt; considered both king and god.
Hieroglyphics: Ancient Egyptian writing system using pictorial symbols for sounds and meanings.
Pyramid: Massive stone tomb built for Egyptian pharaohs; the Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Indus Valley Civilization: Bronze Age civilization (~2600–1900 BCE) in modern Pakistan/India known for urban planning and sewage systems.
Shang Dynasty: First historically confirmed Chinese dynasty (~1600–1046 BCE); known for oracle bones, bronze, and silk.
Ziggurat: Massive stepped temple structure in Mesopotamian cities, serving as religious and administrative center.
City-state: An independent urban center that governed itself and its surrounding territory; common in ancient Mesopotamia and Greece.