The First Civilizations
Early Humans
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Paleolithic people adapted to their
environment and invented many tools to
help them survive.
• In the Neolithic Age, people started
farming, building communities,
producing goods, and trading.
Early Humans
Early Humans
• History is the story of humans in the
past, and historians are the people
who study and write about humans of
the past.
• Archaeologists hunt for evidence
buried in the ground.
(pages 9–11)
Early Humans
Early Humans
(pages 9–11)
Early Humans
Early Humans (cont.)
• Anthropologists study how humans
developed and related to each other.
• The early period of human history is
called the Stone Age.
• The earliest part of the Stone Age is
called the Paleolithic period.
• Paleolithic people were nomads,
traveling from place to place to hunt and
search for food.
(pages 9–11)
Early Humans
Early Humans (cont.)
• Paleolithic women cared for children
and gathered berries, nuts, and grains.
• Paleolithic men hunted animals using
clubs, spears, traps, and bows and
arrows.
• Paleolithic people adapted to their
environment.
(pages 9–11)
Early Humans
Early Humans (cont.)
• Those in warm climates wore little
clothing and had little need for shelter.
• Those in cold climates used caves for
shelter.
• Over time, they learned to create
shelters from animal hides and wooden
poles.
(pages 9–11)
Early Humans
Early Humans (cont.)
• Paleolithic people discovered fire, which
kept them warm, lit the darkness, and
cooked food.
• Long periods of extreme cold are called
the Ice Ages.
• During the Ice Ages, thick sheets of ice
covered parts of Europe, Asia, and
North America.
(pages 9–11)
Early Humans
Early Humans (cont.)
• Paleolithic people developed spoken
language and expressed themselves
through art, which may have had
religious meaning.
• During this time, humans created tools
such as spears and hand axes using
stone called flint.
(pages 9–11)
Early Humans
Neolithic Times
• In the beginning of the Neolithic Age,
people began to domesticate, or tame,
animals.
• Domesticated animals carried goods
and provided meat, milk, and wool.
• People in different parts of the world
began growing crops about the same
time.
• Historians call this change the farming
revolution.
(pages 13–15)
Early Humans
Neolithic Times (cont.)
• Because farmers needed to stay close
to their fields, they built permanent
homes in villages.
• One of the oldest villages is Jericho in
present-day Israel and Jordan.
• Another Neolithic village is Çatal Hüyük
in present-day Turkey.
• Permanent villages provided people
with security and steady food.
(pages 13–15)
Early Humans
Neolithic Times (cont.)
• The surplus food led to a larger
population.
• Not all people in a village were farmers.
• Some made pottery, mats, and cloth.
• They traded these goods for things they
did not have.
(pages 13–15)
Early Humans
Why was farming important to the
Neolithic people?
Farming allowed people to settle in
one place, and it provided a steady
food supply.
Early Humans
Who are archaeologists and what do
they study?
Archaeologists are scientists who
hunt for, dig up, and study artifacts.
Early Humans
How did domesticating animals help
the Neolithic people?
Animals supplied meat, milk, and
wool. They also carried goods and
pulled carts.
Early Humans
Explain Why were Paleolithic
people nomads?
They moved around to hunt animals
and gather other foods.
Mesopotamian Civilization
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Civilization in Mesopotamia began in the
valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers.
• Sumerians invented writing and made
other important contributions to later
peoples.
• Sumerian city-states lost power when
they were conquered by outsiders.
Mesopotamian Civilization
Mesopotamia’s Civilization
• Civilizations are complex societies with
cities, governments, art, religion, class
divisions, and a writing system.
• Rivers were important because they
made for good farming conditions.
• They also made it easy for people to
travel and trade.
• Governments were formed because
someone had to make plans and
decisions for the common good. (pages 17–20)
Mesopotamian Civilization
Mesopotamia’s Civilization (cont.)
• Mesopotamia is a flat plain bounded by
the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• Floods in Mesopotamia were frequent
and unpredictable.
• Farmers learned to control the rivers
with dams and channels.
• They also used the rivers to irrigate, or
water, their crops.
(pages 17–20)
Mesopotamian Civilization
Mesopotamia’s Civilization (cont.)
• Many cities formed in a southern region
of Mesopotamia known as Sumer.
• Sumerian cities were city-states, with
their own governments.
• Sumerian cities often fought each other.
• To protect themselves, the city-states
built walls around themselves.
(pages 17–20)
Mesopotamian Civilization
Mesopotamia’s Civilization (cont.)
• Sumerians believed in many gods.
• Each citystate had a
ziggurat, or
grand
temple, to
honor the
gods.
(pages 17–20)
Mesopotamian Civilization
Mesopotamia’s Civilization (cont.)
• Most Sumerians were farmers, but some
were artisans, or skilled workers.
• Others were merchants and traders.
• Sumerian city-states had three classes.
• The upper class consisted of kings,
priests, and government officials.
• The middle class consisted of artisans,
merchants, fishers, and farmers.
(pages 17–20)
Mesopotamian Civilization
Mesopotamia’s Civilization (cont.)
• The lower class consisted of slaves.
(pages 17–20)
Mesopotamian Civilization
A Skilled People
• Mesopotamia has been called the cradle
of civilization because of the influence of
Sumerian ideas on other
areas.
• Writing helps people keep
records and pass on ideas.
• Sumerians developed a
writing system called
cuneiform.
• Only a few people, called
scribes, learned to write.
(pages 20–21)
Mesopotamian Civilization
Sargon and Hammurabi
• Sargon, the king of the Akkadians,
conquered all of Mesopotamia and set
up the world’s first empire.
• An empire is a group of many different
lands under one ruler.
• After Sargon, another group of people
became powerful.
• They built the city of Babylon on the
Euphrates River.
(page 23)
Mesopotamian Civilization
Sargon and Hammurabi (cont.)
• The Babylonian king, Hammurabi,
conquered lands north and south of
Babylon to create the Babylonian Empire.
• The Code of Hammurabi was a
collection of laws covering crimes,
farming, business activities, and
marriage and family.
• Many punishments in the code were
cruel, but the code was an important
step in the development of a justice
system.
(page 23)
The First Empires
Get Ready to Read (cont.)
Focusing on the Main Ideas
• Assyria’s military power and well
organized government helped it build a
vast empire in Mesopotamia by 650 B.C.
• The Chaldean Empire built important
landmarks in Babylon and developed
the first calendar with a seven-day
week.
The First Empires
The Assyrians
• The Assyrian empire arose about 1,000
years after the rule of Hammurabi.
• The Assyrian army was the first large
army to use iron weapons.
• Their weapons were stronger than those
of copper and tin.
(pages 27–28)
The First Empires
The Assyrians (cont.)
• They fought with spears, daggers, bows
and arrows, chariots and soldiers on
horseback.
(pages 27–28)
The First Empires
The Assyrians (cont.)
• The capital of the Assyrian empire was
Nineveh.
• The empire was divided into provinces,
which are political districts.
• Each province was governed by an
official who collected taxes and
enforced laws.
(pages 27–28)
The First Empires
The Assyrians (cont.)
• The Assyrians built large temples and
palaces, with statues and wall carvings.
• One of the first libraries was in Nineveh
and held 25,000 tablets of stories and
songs.
• People began to rebel because of
Assyria’s cruel treatment.
• The Chaldeans rebelled and took
control of Nineveh in 612 B.C.
(pages 27–28)
The First Empires
The Chaldeans
• Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the
Chaldeans.
• The Chaldeans, who were descendents
of Babylonians, rebuilt Babylon.
• The city became the center of the
Chaldeans’ empire.
• The city was surrounded by a huge wall.
Inside the wall were palaces, temples,
and a huge ziggurat.
(pages 29–30)
The First Empires
The Chaldeans (cont.)
• Nebechadnezzar ordered the Hanging
Gardens to be built for his wife, who
missed her green, mountainous
homeland.
• The Hanging
Gardens were
one of the
Seven
Wonders of the
Ancient World.
(pages 29–30)
The First Empires
The Chaldeans (cont.)
• The Chaldeans were merchants,
artisans, and traders.
• Babylon was on a
major trade route
and profited from
trade.
(pages 29–30)
The First Empires
Why was the Assyrian army a
powerful fighting force?
It had a well-organized army with
advanced weapons.
The First Civilizations
Review Vocabulary
Define Match the vocabulary word that completes each
sentence.
E 1. A ___ kept records
__
in cuneiform.
C 2. An ___ is a group of
__
many different lands
under one ruler.
__
B 3. Assyrian kings
divided their empire
into political districts
called ___.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
historians
provinces
empire
city-state
scribe
The First Civilizations
Review Vocabulary
Define Match the vocabulary word that completes each
sentence.
A 4. ___ are people who
__
study and write
about the human
past.
D 5. A ___ had its own
__
government and
was not part of any
larger unit.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
historians
provinces
empire
city-state
scribe
The First Civilizations
Review Main Ideas
Section 1 Early Humans
What were the major differences
between people who lived in the
Paleolithic period and those who
lived in the Neolithic period?
People who lived in the Paleolithic
period were hunters and gatherers.
Neolithic people were farmers and
traders who built communities.
The First Civilizations
Review Main Ideas
Section 2 Mesopotamian Civilization
Where were the first civilizations in
Mesopotamia?
in the valleys of the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers
The First Civilizations
Review Main Ideas
Section 3 The First Empires
What helped Assyria build an
empire in Mesopotamia?
its military power and well organized
government
The First Civilizations
Review Main Ideas
Section 3 The First Empires
What scientific advancement did
the Chaldeans make?
They mapped the stars, planets,
and phases of the moon; created
the sundial; and used the seven-day
week.
The First Civilizations
Analyze Why was the switch from
hunting and gathering to farming
important enough to be called the
farming revolution?
Farming allowed early humans to
settle into villages, which was a new
way of living that led to the rise of
civilizations.
Click the map to view an interactive version.
Click the map to view an interactive version.
Ötzi the Iceman c. 3300 B.C
Hammurabi Reigned c. 1792–1750 B.C