Reading Guide – World History Honors
Chapter 2: Mesopotamia
1. pg. 16-20
a. Introduction
b. Sumerian Civilization
i. Earning a Living
ii. The Evolution of Writing
2. pg. 20-24
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Mathematics and Chronology
Religion and the Afterlife
Law
Government and Social Structure
3. pg. 24 – 26
i. The Status of Women
1. Sexual and Marital Life
c. Successor to Sumeria
d. The Decline of Mesopotamia in World History
Reading Guide – World History Honors
Identifications
Chapter 2
Identifications: The following are people, places, things, or ideas that you should know. The
best way to familiarize yourself with them is to keep a running list of these terms and what they
are in your notebook or on your computer as you read. Include detailed information about each
of these terms and how they apply to the readings. These terms WILL appear on quizzes and
tests. Your IDs will be due on the day of your test if you choose to do this OPTIONAL
ASSIGNMENT.
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Agricultural Revolution
Mesopotamia
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Irrigation farming
Sumerians
civilization
Semitic language family
Barbarian
Trade in Sumer
Warring in Sumer
Sargon the Great (aka: Sargon of
Akkad)
Akkadian Empire
Fertile Crescent
Scribes
Job specialization in Sumer
Pictography/Pictograms
Conventional Signs
Cuneiform
Lunar Calendar
Polytheistic
Ziggurat
hereditary priesthood (and the jobs they
did)
Sumerian religion
Epic of Gilgamesh
Emperor Hammurabi/Hammurabi’s
Code
Theocracy
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Kingdom-Empires
Villages & Cities in Sumer
Class divisions in Sumer
Slavery in Sumer
Patriarchy
Rights of women in Sumer
Status of women in Sumer
Hittites
Decline of Sumer with Persian invasion
Environmental degradation
Hebrews
Yahweh
Abraham & Ur
Moses & the Exodus
The Covenants
Canaan/Shechem/ Palestine
Judges & Deliverers
kings of Israel (Saul, David, Solomon)
Solomon’s Temple
The 10 lost tribes of Israel
Judah/ Israel
Forced Migration/ The Babylonian
Captivity
The Torah
The Ten Commandments
Cyrus the Great
Impact of Zoroastrianism on Judaism
The Diaspora