Name_____________________________________ Period_____
Class ID#___
UNIT II: RIVER VALLEY
CIVILIZATIONS
People made tools, learned to build fires, and developed spoken languages
during the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age, the earliest period of human
history. About 11,000 years ago people learned to farm. This breakthrough transformed the
way people lived. It is referred to as the Neolithic Revolution.
Historians define eight basic features common to most civilizations. Cities, a central
feature in civilizations, first rose in river valleys in the middle of East Africa (Egypt) and in
various places on the continent of Asia more that 5,000 years ago.
While civilizations took shape in the Nile River of Egypt and the Fertile Crescent, which was
also called Mesopotamia, people of India and China also carved out their own civilizations. The
Indus River Valley in India was the first to show urban (city) planning. Under the Maurya and
Gupta Dynasties, India developed into a center of trade. They had contacts with civilizations in
Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
China began in the Yellow River Valley when floods left good soil. China grew very powerful
and influenced surrounding states especially Korea and Japan. From the Chinese Empire, the
Japanese and Korean people adopted Confucian philosophy, belief in divine emperors, and the
Chinese version of Buddhism.
Social Studies Themes in this unit:
1. Interdependence
2. Change and Turning Points
3. Movement of People and Goods
4. Justice and Law
By the end of the unit, you will be able to answer the
following:
1. What are the basic features of civilization?
2. How did trade, warfare and migration spread ideas and inventions among early
civilizations?
3. How did powerful rulers influence political, military, and religious developments in Egypt
and the Fertile Crescent?
4. How did early Chinese tradition form the basis of a long lasting civilization?
5. How does the Caste System influence every aspect of Indian life?
6. What traditions helped preserve Chinese civilization despite the rise and fall of dynasties?
Directions for each homework assignment in this packet:
1. Define all vocabulary terms IN YOUR OWN WORDS. That means make sure you
understand what your definition means. Describe the term as best you can.
2. For each important topic, write five sentences that express the main ideas about that topic
and show the key points about it. In other words, summarize what the main idea is and the
supporting details. You may uses bullet points if you wish.
3. Then create a question for each important topic. Your question should be like a questions I
would ask you on a test if I wanted to know that you understood the topic. In other words, it
should be a question that if you asked a friend this question, their answer would tell you the
main idea of the important topic.
Name___________________________ Due Date _______ Period_____ Class ID#___
Homework 1: Kingdoms of the Nile and Ancient Sumer - Pages 20 – 42
Vocabulary
1. Delta
2. Pharaoh
3. Mummification
4. Hieroglyphics
5. The Epic of Gilgamesh
6. Cuneiform
7. Hammurabi
Important Topics:
8. Geography: The Nile Valley (page 22)
Question?
9. The Pyramid Age (page 22)
Question?
10. The Middle Kingdom (page 24)
Question?
11. The Egyptian Empire (page 24)
Question?
12. Geography: The Fertile Crescent (page 32)
Question?
13. Sumerian Civilisation (page 32)
Question?
14. Ruling a Large Empire (page 37)
Question?
15. The Persian Empire (page 40)
Question?
Name_________________________________
Due Date _______
Homework 2 – Powerful Empires of India - Pages 50 – 63 and 83 - 89
Vocabulary
1. Monsoon
2. Caste System
3. Vedas
4. Chandragupta Maurya
Important Topics:
5. Indus Valley Civilization
Question?
6. The Vedic Age (page 53)
Question?
7. Maurya Empire (page 82)
Question?
8. The Golden Age of the Guptas (page 85)
Question?
9. A Complex Caste System ( page 87)
Question?
Name_____________________
Due________
Homework 3 – Powerful Dynasties of China – Pgs 58 – 63, 93 – 99, 306- 320
Vocabulary
1. Mandate of Heaven
2. Dynastic Cycle
3. Shi Huangdi
4. Great Wall
5. Silk Road
6. Civil Service Exams
7. Marco Polo
8. Zheng He
Important Topics:
9. Geography: Middle Kingdom (page 58)
Question?
10. Chinese Achievements (page 63)
Question?
11. Triumph of the First Emperor (page 93)
Question?
12. Silk Road to the West (page 96)
Question?
13. The Brilliant Tang (page 308)
Question?
14. The Yuan: A Foreign Dynasty (page 316)
Question?
15. China and the World (page 318)
Question?