Word Wall
Unit 2
Mesopotamia
Stylus
• The Sumerians used a sharpened reed called a
Stylus to press markings into a clay tablet
Cuneiform
Sumerians began to use symbols made of wedge
shapes and lines.
Scribes
The people who specialized in writing were called
scribes. They were professional record keepers and
considered highly respected by Sumerian people
Pictographs
Symbols known as “picture writing.”
Sumerians drew pictographs on clay tablets
Civilization
Society and culture grew more complex over time
and led to an advanced level of development in
social and political organization
Ziggurat
An ancient Sumerian or Babylonian temple that rose
in a series of steplike levels
Mesopotamia
The “land between two rivers.” the two rivers are the
Tigris and Euphrates.
Homo erectus
• Found in Africa, Asia, and Europe
• First to move out of Africa
Homo habilis
• Found in east Africa
• First to make stone tools
Homo sapiens
• Found in Africa, Europe, and Asia
• Physically modern humans
Australopithecine
• Found in southern and eastern Africa
• First humanlike creature to walk upright
Hominids
• A human-like creature that walks on two feet
Artifact
• A human-made object
Fossil
• The remains of plants or animals preserved in the
ground
Neanderthal Man
• Ancient remains found in Europe
Irrigation
• The watering of crops
Agriculture
• Planting seeds to raise and grow crops
Domesticate
• To grow and take care of wild plants and animals
Hammurabi’s Code
• A code of laws that is sometimes referred to as an
“eye for an eye.”
• Hammurabi was a powerful king who ruled the
Babylonian Empire.
• The code of laws included 282 laws that covered
business, property, and conduct toward other
people
• conduct is another word for behavior
Fertile Crescent
• Land that stretched in a curve from the
Mediterranean sea through Mesopotamia
• Fertile Crescent had rich soil and water that made
the area good for farming
Essential Questions???
• How did farming change the way people lived?
Answer: People began to settle and live in villages
permanently