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Sumer
between Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
plain area called
Mesopotamia
unpredictable floods
limited natural
resources
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Ancient Egypt
along great Nile River
called “Gift of the Nile”
cataracts = rapids
delta: broad, marshy triangular
area
with deposits of
soil
polytheistic: many gods,
about 3,000
 gods were all
powerful
and immortal, humans
were servants
 souls of dead went to
“land of no return”
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kings were gods
pharaohs: god-kings
polytheistic: about 2,000
Ra = sun
Iris = ideal mother/wife
Orisis = chose afterlife
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Epic of Gilgamesh
epic myth about unsuccessful
quest for immortality
crude pictographs
hieroglyphics (sacred
carvings)
 wrote on dried papyrus
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city-states: each city and the
surrounding
land it
controlled
 ziggurats at the center,
where priests appealed to
gods for well-being
 warriors had control of
armies
 dynasties: when rules
were
from one family

divided into Upper and
Lower Egypt
 Menes united in 3000
B.C.E.
 theocracy: ruler is a divine figure
 pharaohs promoted truth and
justices

invented wheel, sail, and plow
first to use bronze
first system of
writing:
cuneiform
 arches, number
system
base 60, geometry
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creation of pyramids from
limestone/granite
 Mummification (to preserve the
dead)
 written numbers
 medicine and surgery
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priests/kings were highest,
then
merchants,
workers, slaves lowest
 women had some rights,
not education

royal families were highest,
then
government
officials, priest and
commanders
 below them were the
merchants/artisans,
and
the unskilled
laborers
 women equal to men
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When comparing and
contrasting, consider using a
few of these categories to help
organize your essay and
provide a solid comparison.
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Political
Economic
Social
Cultural
Intellectual
Religious
Geographic

Topic sentence – introduces the category or point; could be
directly from introduction paragraph

Clincher sentence – sums up what you just said and is the
main point to take away from that paragraph
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Each item listed is 1 point for a total of 18 points.
17 more points will come from my being able to read
your essay, emailing me a copy if it is typed, signing the
honor code somewhere on your essay, etc.
Essays will typically be worth 55 points, this first one will
only be 35 points.