Prehistory Notes
Read each statement and decide if it describes
an anthropologist (A) or archaeologist (B).
1.
2.
3.
4.
_____ Studies how groups of people from
the past lived.
_____ Finds and studies remains from the
past.
_____ Excavates.
_____ Interested in how humans behave
Prehistory Notes

What is the major difference between a fossil
and an artifact?
_______________________________________
_____________________________________
____________________________________
 Prehistory- the time period before _________.

Historic Period- ________________________
_____________________________________
Prehistory Notes

Label the following as a Fossil or Artifact:
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
a clay pot
a feather
a beaded bracelet
an iron sword
fish bones
strand of hair
woven basket
The Paleolithic Age
What were nomads? ________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
Why did people have to live this way
during the Stone Age?
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
The Paleolithic Age

Tell why each change was important:
Advanced tools and Weapons (2 reasons)
1. ___________________________________
2. ___________________________________
Language (2 reasons)
1. ___________________________________
2. ___________________________________
The Paleolithic Age

Tell why this change was important:
Discovery of Fire (4 reasons)
1. ___________________________________
2. ___________________________________
3. ___________________________________
4. ___________________________________
Agricultural Revolution

What does agriculture mean? __________________

How did agriculture change the lives of nomads?
__________________________________________

What is specialization of labor?
____________________________________________

Why was this important? _____________________
___________________________________________
Traits of Civilization
Write the FIVE Traits of Civilization, and match
each to it’s definition.
a. A way of keeping track of
data
1. ______________
b. Centers of trade
2. ______________
c. Organized groups of people
who have something in
3. ______________
common
4. ______________
d. A worker with a specific skill
e. New inventions and ideas
5. ______________
that make life easier or
solve problems
Environmental Challenges

How did the Mesopotamians solve each
problem:

Lack of natural resources
_________________________________________

Unpredictable flooding
_________________________________________

No natural barriers/defenseless against attacks
_________________________________________
Environmental Challenges

The ONLY natural resource that was found in
Mesopotamia and was used for all buildings
and walls was:
________________________________
Define surplus: _________________________
*The farmers could grow a surplus of food
because the rivers __________, leaving
behind a rich, fertile soil called __________.
Social Pyramid

Look at your completed social pyramid. Create a
sentence(s) using the first letter of each word in the
order that it appears (From the top to the bottom). This
sentence will help you to fill in a blank social pyramid.
 Write your sentence below:
______________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Hammurabi’s Code of Law

Written on ___________ for everyone to see.

Basic Philosophy: An _______ for an ______.

This means the ______________ must “fit” the
__________________.
Hammurabi’s Code of Law
Read the two cases below. Why are the punishments
different?
Case #1: A nobleman runs down a common women with
his horse. Her donkey runs off and her arm is broken.
His punishment is to pay a small fine to the women.
Case #2: A nobleman runs down a noblewomen with his
horse. Her donkey runs off and her arm is broken. His
punishment is to have his arm broken.
______________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Language and Religion
Fill in the blanks using the words in the wordbank.
polytheism
1.
2.
3.
cuneiform
ziggurat
A ______________ was a pyramid-shaped temple in
the middle of each city.
_________________ is the belief in more than one
god.
Wedge-shaped writing in Mesopotamia was called
____________________.