By: Brian Bae, Joseph Chong, and Neha Khandelwal
You are an archaeologist in training and your
professor wants you to analyze multiple fossils in
different parts of the world. Your assignment is to
imagine a story for the various fossils you have to
analyze. The first site you need to visit is in the
Great Rift Valley, Africa.
Continue
You arrive at the site in the Great Rift Valley and
you sit next to other archaeologists excavating a
fossil which resembles a male Australopithecus.
You remember what you learned in history class
and you let your vivid imagination take you
several million years in the past as you try to
think of a story for the fossil.
Continue
You imagine yourself in the eyes of an
Australopithecus. You look around the cave that you
are in and find your trusty sharp rock and bowl
shaped rock. The hot summer heat boils your hairy
skin and you wince as the sunlight blinds you
momentarily. Both your stomach is growling and
your tongue is dry from lack of water.
You have two choices: Collect water or Go hunting for meat
You grab your bowl shaped rock and head
clumsily to a nearby body of water with your
large arms hanging under your waist. As you
bend over to collect water, a loud noise causes
you to trip and fall into the water. The water is
very deep and your large arms prevent you from
keeping yourself afloat. You drown as you realize
what scared you was the sound of your growling
stomach. As the first species of hominid you have
an exceptionally small brain.
Continue
At the cave, you clumsily pick up your sharp
rock and head toward the forest to hunt. You
look around the forest for movement but get
distracted by a brightly colored plant, failing to
notice the large animal approaching you from
behind. As you turn around, the animal jumps
into the air and sinks its razor sharp fangs into
your shoulder. You desperately struggle as the
animal slowly drags you back into its cave,
leaving a thick trail of blood.
Continue
Australopithecus were the earliest ancestors of human kind
and were found in the Great Rift Valley in Africa.
Australopithecus weighed from around 60 to 120 pounds
and their height spanned from 3.5 to 4.5 feet. They had a
very slouched posture and arms that could touch their
knees. Their face was flat and their jaws were made to be
extremely strong. Their skulls were ovular and could not
contain a large brain. They found items, such as oddly
shaped rocks, to use as items. The Australopithecus were
existent as late as 2.5 million years ago.
Continue
You open your eyes and you are back at the
fossil site in Africa. You walk to another fossil
nearby. This one represents a male Homo
Habilis, its body structure is very similar to the
Australopithecus, but its spine seems to have
straightened a bit more and its skull was slightly
larger, evidence that brain size was increasing.
You close your eyes and a story of the life of the
deceased hominid unfolds.
Continue
You are in the eyes of a Homo Habilis. Simple
paintings cover the walls of your cave. You stand
up, your long arms swing as you slowly make
your way to the corner where you store your
weapons. You see that your trusty spear lies
broken in the corner. You decide that it is time to
gather materials for a new spear.
You have two choices: Gather sticks or Find a sharp rock
You walk outside of your cave and look on the
ground for a rock suitable for impaling your prey.
You finally find a sharp rock but your efforts are
in vain. As you look around, you realize that you
are nowhere near your home. Time flies as you
desperately search for your cave, and soon it is
night time. It is not long before creatures of the
night fill their stomachs with parts of your body
and leave your bones scattered on the ground.
Continue
You set off on your journey to find a sturdy stick
and you quickly reach a nearby forest. As you are
wandering in the woods, you spot the perfect stick
on the top of a tall tree. You begin to climb, but
halfway up, your hand is impaled by a thin piece of
wood sticking out. You scream in pain and your
other hand instinctively reaches for your injured
hand. You lose your grip and fall to your death.
Continue
The Homo Habilis were the direct evolution of the
Australopithecus. Their posture and bone
structure begins to look more like the CroMagnons. They are more intelligent than the
Australopithecus, as demonstrated from their use
of tools that were a combination of multiple
materials. The Homo Habilis inhabited Africa, but
managed to spread out more than their
predecessors.
Continue
You open your eyes and you realize your work
in Africa is complete. It feels nice as the hot
summer sun begins to set and a cool breeze
blows your way. You finish your observations
and the next day you catch a plane to Spain,
where you will be examining your next fossils.
Continue
You arrive at the site and a set of fossils for the
Homo Erectus species catches your eye. You
immediately sit next to it examining the straight
spine and the advanced tools found near the
fossil. You observe the fossil for a while and let
your imagination teleport you 1.8 million years
into the past.
Continue
You open your eyes in the point of view of a Homo
Erectus. A fire blazes in the middle of your cave and
comforts you with its warmth. You stand up and
stretch after what had felt like a long rest. Picking up
your hand axe on the way out, you walk outside and
deeply inhale the fresh air. You feel ready to start a
new day.
You have two choices: Hunt for Food or Gather Plants and Berries
You enter a thick forest, grasping your axe tightly and
watching for any movement. As you tread carefully through
the woods, you see a blur of white in front of you. The next
thing you know, you are on the ground and restraining a wolf,
its mouth inches away from your face. You use your spare
hand to quickly grab your axe, which has fallen inches away
from where you lay, and slit the throat of the wolf. You take a
moment to catch your breath, and you marvel at what your
dinner will be tonight. You drag the wolf back to your home,
and you realize that some berries would go along quite well
with the wolf meat…
Continue
You set out to search for berries, and on the way, you meet
your friends trying to light a fire of their own. You signal for
them to join you on your quest, and they happily tag along.
You eventually come across a bush of vibrant-colored berries.
Without much thought, you pick one of the berries and eat it.
Moments later, you are lifeless on the ground after choking up
a gallon of blood. At least you have informed your friends and
many generations to follow, that the berry you ate was
poisonous.
Continue
The Homo Erectus were the direct evolution of the
Homo Habilis. They are known for their upright
structure (hence the name “erectus”) and increased
intelligence. The Homo Erectus have developed
even more complicated tools than those of the
Homo Habilis. The Homo Erectus were also the first
to leave the continent of Africa, and spread out to
present day Eurasia.
Continue
Satisfied with your current stories, you board a
train to France, where you will be observing the
last two species of early man. Your curious about
what your professor had said about Homo
Sapiens… something about there being two
branches. Ah yes, there are two main branches off
of Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals, and Cro-Magnon.
Continue
As you enter the excavation site, you see the
fossils of the Cro-Magnon species and the
Neanderthal Species around the same area. With
no hesitation, you rush over to the fossils to think
of a story. You choose to be in the perspective of a
Cro-Magnon.
Continue
You are the first one to wake up in your small group of CroMagnons. The detailed paintings on the wall next to you and
your full stomach remind you of your group’s success
yesterday, when you successfully hunted and killed a
mammoth. You wake up your group and remind them it is
time to gather water. As you lift your heavy water bowl, you
realize that you cannot hold your spear at the same time. You
can either bring the water bowl so you can collect more water
for your group, or you can choose your weapon and hope to
spear a fish and defend the group.
You have two options: Take the Water bowl or Take the Spear
As you and your group members are gathering
water from a lake, you hear a loud cry coming
closer and closer. In five seconds, a group of
Neanderthals emerge from the shadows of a nearby
forest. They charge at your defenseless group and
ruthlessly kill everyone including you. Your group
was no match for the superior strength and bulk of
the Neanderthals as they grasped your smaller
bodies and crushed them with sheer force.
Continue
You have no luck in spearing the fish of the lake. The others in your group
laugh at you as you continuously thrust your spear into the water and pull
out nothing. Their laughter and your frustration suddenly comes to a halt
when you hear a loud cry coming closer and closer. In five seconds, a group
of Neanderthals emerge from the shadows of a nearby forest. They charge
at your defenseless group, and being the only one with a weapon, you
bravely charge back. As you skillfully handle three Neanderthals with your
spear, you notice the rest of your group perishing to the superior physical
strength of their opponents. Once you have impaled the torsos of your foes,
you quickly rush over to help your friends. You only manage to save a
couple group members before they are crushed by the Neanderthals’ sheer
forces. Once the conflict has ended, eleven bodies redden the lake around
them, four of them being members from your group. Your surviving friends
praise your heroicness as you realize how much of a good choice it was to
bring a spear with you.
Continue
Homo Sapiens had two main branches, the Neanderthals who
used stone tools, had more slanted skulls and were more
muscular than the other branch of Homo Sapien, the CroMagnon (Homo Sapien Sapien) which are modern day
humans. The two groups were in constant competition with
each other and they often fought for land and for food.
Eventually the Neanderthals died out while the Cro-Magnon
continued to advance. Only the Cro-Magnon crossed the
Bering Strait and went to the Americas. Both groups used
advanced tools and were hunter gatherers.
Continue
You have finished writing down your stories for each species of
the Early Man. You return home and realize that the final exam
is the next day. You can either review the species, or, if your are
confident about your knowledge of Early man, take the exam
right away.
Study Australopithecus
Study Homo Habilis
TAKE THE EXAM
Study Homo Erectus
Study Homo Sapiens
Q1: The _______________ were the first species of
Early Man.
A) The Homo Habilis
B) The Homo Erectus
C) Australopithecus
D) Neanderthals
CORRECT!
Q2: The species known to have developed a more
upright back.
A) Australopithecus
B) Cro-Magnons
C) Homo Habilis
D) Homo Erectus
CORRECT!
Q3: The direct evolution of the Australopithecus: _____
A) Homo Erectus
B) Neanderthals
C) Cro-Magnons
D) Homo Habilis
CORRECT!
Q4: The first species to develop tools by combining
multiple materials.
A) Australopithecus
B) Homo Habilis
C) Homo Erectus
D) Homo Sapiens Sapiens
CORRECT!
Q5: The two branches of Homo Sapiens:
A) Homo Sapiens Sapiens and Cro-Magnons
B) Homo Habilis and Australopithecus
C) Neanderthals and Homo Erectus
D) Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals
CORRECT!
Q6: This species crossed the Bering Strait to present day
North America
A) Cro-Magnons
B) Neanderthals
C) Homo Erectus
D) Australopithecus
CORRECT!
Q7: Scientists believe that the _________ disappeared
because they either cross-bred with the Cro-Magnons,
or were killed by them.
A) Homo Sapiens Sapiens
B) Homo Erectus
C) Neanderthals
D) Australopithecus
Try Again
You got a perfect 100% on the test! Great job! You move
on to the course’s next semester with full confidence. A
week later, your professor gives you another assignment.
This time, you will have to visit the sites of ancient river
valley civilizations. It is your job to write stories in the
point of view of those who lived in the civilizations. As you
ride your airplane over to Europe, you remember how
humanity shifted from the Paleolithic Era of early man into
the river valley civilizations. You recall the Neolithic Era and
the Agricultural revolution, which allowed humans to reside
in one place, instead of being nomadic hunters and
gatherers. This would lead to civilizations beside rivers,
where crops can supply a growing population.
Continue
Australopithecus were the earliest ancestors of human kind
and were found in the Great Rift Valley in Africa.
Australopithecus weighed from around 60 to 120 pounds
and their height spanned from 3.5 to 4.5 feet. They had a
very slouched posture and arms that could touch their
knees. Their face was flat and their jaws were made to be
extremely strong. Their skulls were ovular and could not
contain a large brain. They found items, such as oddly
shaped rocks, to use as items. The Australopithecus were
existent as late as 2.5 million years ago.
BACK
The Homo Habilis were the direct evolution of the
Australopithecus. Their posture and bone
structure begins to look more like the CroMagnons. They are more intelligent than the
Australopithecus, as demonstrated from their use
of tools that were a combination of multiple
materials. The Homo Habilis inhabited Africa, but
managed to spread out more than their
predecessors.
BACK
The Homo Erectus were the direct evolution of the
Homo Habilis. They are known for their upright
structure (hence the name “erectus”) and increased
intelligence. The Homo Erectus have developed
even more complicated tools than those of the
Homo Habilis. The Homo Erectus were also the first
to leave the continent of Africa, and spread out to
present day Eurasia.
BACK
Homo Sapiens had two main branches, the Neanderthals who
used stone tools, had more slanted skulls and were more
muscular than the other branch of Homo Sapien, the CroMagnon (Homo Sapien Sapien) which are modern day
humans. The two groups were in constant competition with
each other and they often fought for land and for food.
Eventually the Neanderthals died out while the Cro-Magnon
continued to advance. Only the Cro-Magnon crossed the
Bering Strait and went to the Americas. Both groups used
advanced tools and were hunter gatherers.
BACK
Try Again
Try Again
Try Again
Try Again
Try Again
Try Again
Try Again
You arrive at the remains of a River Valley
Civilization located along between the Tigris and
Euphrates River. You begin to walk towards the
remains of a priest and a commoner. Nearby the
site shards of pottery and what seems to be their
form of currency. You sit down next to the fossils
and close your eyes, putting yourself in the mind
of the deceased.
You have two options: Be a Priest or Be a Commoner
You open your eyes and find yourself in the
perspective of a Mesopotamian priest. As a
priest you are a very powerful part of
Mesopotamian society and you are in charge of
caring for the gods and attending to their needs.
In Mesopotamia, life is rather gloomy and the
gods often send in forces to punish people for
angering them. You leave your house and head
to the Ziggurat.
Go to Ziggurat
You open your eyes and find yourself in the place of
a Mesopotamian commoner. You look outside and
see that the sun is just rising. You wake up your 5
children and your wife feeds them breakfast. You
head outside and prepare for another day as a
farmer. You can only do one of two things, go to the
Ziggurat and pray for a good harvest or go to the
fields to harvest your crops.
Choose One: Harvest Crops or Go to Ziggurat
You head down to the Ziggurat to make a prayer to the
gods for a plentiful harvest. The crops aren’t growing well
and the Tigris River has flooded quite strangely this year,
washing away your crops. You begin to pray, but are
interrupted by some soldiers heading your way. They grab
your arms and drag you outside, and you realize you
haven’t paid your taxes. You begin to weep as one of the
soldiers pulls out their sword and impales you in the chest.
Continue
You head down to your farm along the Tigris river and see
that the river had flooded last night, depositing rich silt
along the sides of your farm. You silently celebrate since the
soil will help your crops flourish this year. A soldier
approaches you and pulls out his sword. He tells you that
you have broken a rule in the Hammurabi Code and that the
punishment for your actions is death. You close your eyes
as you see the soldier quickly brings down his sword.
Continue
You head to the Ziggurat to pray and pass
commoners selling items such as crafts and food
products(fish and crops). You reach the Ziggurat
and go to the top, a temple restricted to priests
only. You pray to the multiple gods of Mesopotamia
to appease them and make your daily sacrifices.
Continue
Mesopotamian culture was heavily based on religion and their
view on life was very gloomy. They believed in multiple gods and
they built temples called Ziggurats which was open to all people,
but on the top there is a temple only open to priests. There were
three main social classes in Mesopotamia, nobles, commoners,
and slaves. The majority of people were commoners who farmed,
fished, sold crafts, and were merchants. Babylon was the first
empire of Mesopotamia and was created by a ruler named
Hammurabi. Hammurabi created the first legal code called the
Hammurabi Code. This contained a set of harsh rules and
punishments and wrote them down and placed them all over the
empire so that everyone would know what the laws were.
Continue
You open your eyes and finish up your story on
Mesopotamia, excited to go to your next site, a Islamic
civilization found along the Mediterranean Sea and part of
the Kingdom of Israel. When you arrive you see the remains
of a commoner as well as the remains of many religious
sites, and you remember that religion was a major part of
Hebrew society and they founded Judaism. You close your
eyes and imagine the life of the Hebrew commoner.
Continue
As you open your eyes you smell the strong scent of the sea.
You are in the middle of a busy harbor. You observe ships
docked onto the shore. Hundreds of men are carrying boxes of
purple cloth off the ship. You recognize them as the infamous
Phoenicians, the sea merchants of the Mediterranean. You head
home and spend the rest of the day with your family. At night,
your child asks you to tell him a story. The story of Moses and
the story of Abraham are what comes to your mind first. Both
are an important part of Judaism, and you ponder upon which
story you decide to tell your child.
Choose One: The Story of Moses or The Story of Abraham.
You decide to tell your son the story of Moses the prophet
and how he freed the enslaved Jews from Egyptian rule.
Moses believed in freeing his people from the Egyptians and
he led them out of Egypt to bring them to the holy land or
Canaan, but the freed Jews did not listen to him and
wandered for forty years before they managed to find
Canaan. In addition Moses is credited for completing the
writing of the first five books of the bible before his death in
2488. Moses was only seen as a prophet to God and it was
God who redeemed Israel, not Moses.
Continue
You decide to tell your son about Abraham, who is credited
with starting the religion of Judaism. Abraham was born in
Ur and believed there was only one true God and he began
to teach his beliefs to others. It is believed that Abraham
made a covenant, or a mutual agreement, with God that if
he left his home and his family, in exchange God would
grant him Canaan, or the holy land. He taught his disciples
about the one true god and fulfilled God’s will.
Continue
The Hebrews believed in Judaism, the belief that there is only one
true God, Yahweh. The holy book of Judaism is the Torah which
consists of five parts. It is believed that Abraham, a Hebrew
created the religion Judaism after making a covenant with God
who promised him Canaan, the holy land. Moses was “chosen” to
lead the Hebrew Exodus where Israelites were freed from their
captivity under Egypt. King Solomon united the tribes of Israel
and created the Kingdom of Israel. In addition he built great
temple that was the focal point for Jewish Religion. After his
death, the kingdom split into two parts, the Kingdom of Israel and
the Kingdom of Judah, and both were later destroyed.
Continue
Phoenicians colonized many parts of the Mediterranean
Sea. By doing this, they established a powerful trade
empire across the region. The Phoenicians traded several
goods such as glass and lumber. However, they are most
known for trading purple dye, the color of wealth and
royalty. Phoenicians would sail on massive ships to get
around the Mediterranean and spread their influence. One
thing they spread through their influence was their written
language, an alphabet system consisting of 22 letters. The
Phoenician alphabet would later heavily impact the Latin
alphabet.
Continue
You are done with your work at the Islamic civilization and
have a little time before moving on to your next assignment.
You’re next flight is at 10:30 to go to Egypt. The site is near
the location of the ancient civilization of the Nile river valley.
As you reach the ancient civilization you gawk at the large
Pyramids and obelisks and can’t help wondering how such an
ancient civilization was able to build such a marvelous
architectural structure. You find two fossils at the site, one of
a pharaoh with treasure surrounding his great tomb and one
of a peasant.
Choose One: Pharaoh or Peasant
You close your eyes and put yourself in the mid of a peasant
man. As a farmer it is your responsibility to keep a constant
supply of food to keep the civilization thriving. You realize
you have two choices, either you go check on the condition
of your crops to make sure the river had flooded on
schedule, or go to the priest and pray to the different gods
for a good harvest and good luck to your entire family.
Go To: The Priest or Your Farm
Since it is the spring, the Nile river has flooded and has
deposited rich silt on its banks, or black land, as usual. In
fact this flooding is so reliable that you even have a
calendar based off of it. Your reed plants are done growing
and you can harvest them to make papyrus for the town.
You see that your crops are growing quite nicely and head
back home.
Continue
You are going to go visit the priest. You want to make sure
the gods don’t think you have forgotten about them and
bring you bad fortune. As you are on your way, a black cat
crosses your path. You are distracted and don’t notice the
pot falling from above. You fall and get a concussion. Since
the healing techniques aren’t very advanced, you die from
the head injury and know you should have gone to the
priest sooner.
Continue
You are the pharaoh and have supreme authority over every
one else because you are considered a god to your people. It
is you job to help keep peace and order in Egypt. What is
your greatest accomplishment:
United Upper and Lower Egypt
Were the first woman to become
Pharaoh
Made Aton the only god
Restored old religious practices
Gained area of Palestine
You are the pharaoh Menes. Menes was an important
pharaoh for the Egyptian River Valley Civilizations because
he united upper and lower Egypt for the first time. He also
established the first Egyptian Dynasty.
Continue
You are the pharaoh Tutankhamen. You became pharaoh
after the death of Akhenaton and restored the old
religious practices of the Egyptian river valley including
polytheism. You died young and your tomb was also the
only one to be found intact.
Continue
You are the pharaoh Ramses ll also known as Ramses the
Great or the Pharaoh of the Hebrew Exodus. You were
pharaoh from 1279-1213 which was one of the longest
reigns in Egyptian history. You attempted many military
conquests but were only successful in getting the area of
Palestine.
Continue
You are the pharaoh Hatshepsut. You were the first woman
to become pharaoh but as a women you are not well
respected, so you had to dress up like a man to be more
respected in this position.
Continue
You are the pharaoh Akhenaton. You wanted to do away with
monotheism and make only one god, Aton the god of the
sun. The people did not like this change in religious practice
and you were not well liked.
Continue
The Egyptian River Valley was centered around the Nile River. It
was broken into 3 parts: the Old Kingdom also called the Pyramid
Age, the Middle Kingdom which ended with the invasion of the
Hyksos, and the New Kingdom before falling to the Romans. For the
Egyptians, the polytheistic religion was closely tied with daily life
and the most important god was Amon-Re. They had a hierarchical
social structure and had a positive attitude towards life. The
Egyptian achievements include advancements in writing with
hieroglyphics being written on stone and papyrus, art, math with
calculating area and volume, and medicine because of the practice
of making mummies.
Continue
You are done with your work in Egypt and but still have
some assignments left to do. You decide that for next site
you will be going to a river valley civilization along the Indus
River. When you reach the site you see that there are two
fossils, one of an Aryan and one of a Dravidian.
Choose One: Aryan or Dravidian
You are an Aryan. It is the year 1500 BC and many of your
fellow Indo Europeans are thinking about making the journey
across the Hindu Kush by the Khyber Pass. You decide on
joining them. But you don’t know how to help out with the
journey; you can either hunt for food in the Pass or provide
for defense.
You have two options: Hunt for food or Guard the camp
You have chosen to go hunting for your camp. Since the land
is unfamiliar, you are have trouble finding some game. But
soon you see a large animal unknown to you but big enough
to feed many people. You chase after it hoping your luck
with hold out. But it doesn’t and soon you lose sight of the
animal completely. You do not want to head back empty
handed but the sun is setting. You think you know the way
but before you know it, you are lost. As the night begins, it
starts to get colder and you end up freezing to death looking
for the campsite.
Continue
You are guarding the camp for intruders along the long
journey but no one has bothered the camp yet. Soon
everyone has made it through the pass to the other site and
you have met the native people. They are no match for the
Aryan warfare techniques you have learned though and you
win battle after battle. But you are not expecting the ambush
that finally kills you when you are alone on the borders of the
town.
Continue
You are a Dravidians and live in a small settlement in Northern
India. The Aryans have been taking over land and you fear your
town is next. You decide to make a peace agreement with the
Aryans saying that your people will assimilate into the Aryan
culture. The Aryans agree to not fight you if you obey their rules.
Continue
The Indus River Valley civilization began in 3000 BC to 1500 BC.
The most important cities in the civilization were Harappa with the
population of 35000 people and Mohenjo-Daro with a population of
35000-40000. In the cities the streets were laid out in grids with
walled neighborhoods and multistory buildings. The were also
known for their great water and sanitation systems. It was a
theocratic society with the economy based on agriculture and trade
with city states in Mesopotamia. It is thought that Aryans invaded
using the Khyber Pass in the Hindu Kush in 1500 BC, taking over
almost all of India. They were excellent fighters and some
Dravidians, the original peoples of India, eventually assimilated into
Aryan culture.
Continue
The next stop on your trip will take you to China and the
Huang He River Valley. You are really looking forward to this
trip and can’t wait to see what you will find there. When you
arrive, you see that the archeologists there have dug up
some fossils from different time periods in Ancient China.
You have a choice between the Shang dynasty and the Zhou
dynasty.
Choose One: Zhou Dynasty and Shang Dynasty
You are the Shang Emperor and you are constantly at war.
The government at the time is a aristocracy made up of rich
upper class landowners with a lot of power. You have just
moved you’re capital for the last time settling at Anyang
where you are building a palace. When you finally die
though you split your territory up among your most trusted
generals. At your death, your servants are buried with you
and your tomb is also full of riches for the afterlife.
Continue
You are the Zhou Emperor and are rightfully so because
you have the Mandate of Heaven which says you have
been chosen by Heaven itself to rule. The government is
an imperial bureaucracy which you rule over and
aristocrats, rich land owners, have a lot of power. You
rule using the Dao, or the way, to keep the gods happy
and protect the people. When you die, a new Dynasty
will begin, the Qin.
Continue
In Ancient China, the Huang He also known as the yellow river or
China’s sorrow and the Yangtze are the most important rivers
because when they flood, they leave loess on the banks that
provides important nutrients for farming. The first dynasty in China
was the Shang Dynasty but there have also been records of an
early dynasty called the Xia but no physical proof to go along with
this claim. The next dynasty was the Zhou, when the idea behind
Heave choosing the Emperor was really started. The Chinese
possessed a very strong belief in life after death and they practiced
human sacrifice. Also at this time, oracle bones were used to
communicate with your ancestors, who were seen as a link between
the human and spirit worlds.
Continue
Q1 What was the most important building in Mesopotamia?
a) The Ziggurat
b) Emperor’s palace
c) The farm
d) The pyramid
Q2 What is the deposit on the banks of the Huang He river
called when it floods?
a) Black land
b) Silt
c) Loess
d) Dirt
Q3 Who invaded India in 1500 BC?
a) Dravidians
b) Aryans
c) Dasas
d) Akkadians
Q4 What type of government did all of the river valley
civilizations have?
a) Imperial bureaucracy
b) Theocracy
c) Democracy
d) Oligarchy
Q5 What trade product were the Phoenicians?
a) Gold
b) Silk
c) Spices
d) Purple dye
Q6: 90% of people where what social class in Mesopotamia?
a) Commoner
b) Herders
c) Metal workers
d) Priests
Q7 What Mesopotamian empire was Hammurabi from?
a) Akkad
b) Sumer
c) Babylon
d) Assyria
Q8 What was the Indus River Valley Civilization’s economy
based on?
a) Agriculture
b) Trade
c) Military
d) Shipbuilding
Q9 What was the Indus River Valley Civilization best known
for?
a) Gridded streets
b) Houses made of lego bricks
c) Multi-story buildings
d) Hunting system
Q10 What was the oldest of all the river valley civilizations?
a) Indus River
b) Mesopotamia
c) Nile River
d) Huang He River
Q11: Egyptians were known for for doing all of the
following except?
A: Preserving the dead bodies of royalty
B: Building tombs for their kings
C: Hieroglyphics
D: Cuneiform
Q12: What were oracle bones used for?
A: To make spears
B: Used to make pottery
C: As a link between the human and spiritual worlds.
D: Used as a bowl to collect water
Q13: The ________ was so predictable that the
Egyptians could make a calendar based upon it.
A) The wind passing in and out of region
B) The flooding of the Nile River
C) The death of their pharaohs
D) The richness of their crops
Q14: The New Kingdom of the Egyptian River Valley
Civilization fell to the _________
A) Hyksos
B) Persians
C) Romans
D) Abbasids
Q15: What are the other names for the Huang He River?
A: China’s Misery and the Yellow River
B: The Red River and the Chin Zhou River
C: The Yellow River and the Tao Ming River
D: China’s Sorrow and the Yellow River
Q16: Christians: Bible :: Hebrews: __________
A) Koran
B) Vedas
C) Torah
D) Collection of the Testaments
Congratulations! You got a 100% on your test and now
have become an archeologist. Thank You for playing and we
hope that you are now well informed about Early Man and
River Valley Civilizations.
Continue
WRONG
BACK
After you finish your work in Islam, you head North to
observe a Phoenician site. You are very fascinated by the
Phoenicians since they were the first civilization to create an
alphabet, and they are famous for being good sailors who
traded with many different civilizations. You arrive at the site
and see parts of many ships scattered around. You approach
the fossil, a Phoenician man, and you put himself in his
perspective.
Continue
CRACK! The thunder booms across vicious storm clouds and
your eyes jolt open. Your body is covered in rain as you row
in rhythm with your fellow Phoenician sailors. You look at
your captain who has a terrified look on his face. He yells
something to his crew, you can barely make out the words
with the loud thunder but are able to hear that the ship’s hull
has been breached. You have two options jump off and try to
board a nearby Phoenician ship, or stay on board and
continue rowing.
Choose One: Stay on Board or Jump Off
You decide that it would be best if you jump off and try to
find another ship. You and a handful of other sailors plunge
into the dark waters. It’s cold and you have a hard time
staying afloat as you swim around searching for a nearby
ship. Your attempts are unsuccessful and you begin to lose
hope, eventually your arms are too tired to keep you afloat
and you sink down into the dangerous waters of the
Mediterranean Sea.
Continue
You decide to stay on board and hopefully reach land or
another ship but many sailors plunge into the ocean. You
keep rowing and hours later you manage to find another
Phoenicians ship that lets you and your fellow sailors
onboard. Even though you survived you feel terrible since
you lost crates and crates of purple dye, a key trading item
for Phoenicians. You take a deep breath and inhale the fresh
air of the sea. You smile and thank the gods that they
spared your life.
Mesopotamian culture was heavily based on religion and their
view on life was very gloomy. They believed in multiple gods and
they built temples called Ziggurats which was open to all people,
but on the top there is a temple only open to priests. There were
three main social classes in Mesopotamia, nobles, commoners,
and slaves. The majority of people were commoners who farmed,
fished, sold crafts, and were merchants. Babylon was the first
empire of Mesopotamia and was created by a ruler named
Hammurabi. Hammurabi created the first legal code called the
Hammurabi Code. This contained a set of harsh rules and
punishments and wrote them down and placed them all over the
empire so that everyone would know what the laws were.
Back
The Hebrews believed in Judaism, the belief that there is only one
true God, Yahweh. The holy book of Judaism is the Torah which
consists of five parts. It is believed that Abraham, a Hebrew
created the religion Judaism after making a covenant with God
who promised him Canaan, the holy land. Moses was “chosen” to
lead the Hebrew Exodus where Israelites were freed from their
captivity under Egypt. King Solomon united the tribes of Israel
and created the Kingdom of Israel. In addition he built great
temple that was the focal point for Jewish Religion. After his
death, the kingdom split into two parts, the Kingdom of Israel and
the Kingdom of Judah, and both were later destroyed.
Back
Phoenicians colonized many parts of the Mediterranean
Sea. By doing this, they established a powerful trade
empire across the region. The Phoenicians traded several
goods such as glass and lumber. However, they are most
known for trading purple dye, the color of wealth and
royalty. Phoenicians would sail on massive ships to get
around the Mediterranean and spread their influence. One
thing they spread through their influence was their written
language, an alphabet system consisting of 22 letters. The
Phoenician alphabet would later heavily impact the Latin
alphabet.
Back
The Egyptian River Valley was centered around the Nile River. It
was broken into 3 parts: the Old Kingdom also called the Pyramid
Age, the Middle Kingdom which ended with the invasion of the
Hyksos, and the New Kingdom before falling to the Romans. For the
Egyptians, the polytheistic religion was closely tied with daily life
and the most important god was Amon-Re. They had a hierarchical
social structure and had a positive attitude towards life. The
Egyptian achievements include advancements in writing with
hieroglyphics being written on stone and papyrus, art, math with
calculating area and volume, and medicine because of the practice
of making mummies.
Back
The Indus River Valley civilization began in 3000 BC to 1500 BC.
The most important cities in the civilization were Harappa with the
population of 35000 people and Mohenjo-Daro with a population of
35000-40000. In the cities the streets were laid out in grids with
walled neighborhoods and multistory buildings. The were also
known for their great water and sanitation systems. It was a
theocratic society with the economy based on agriculture and trade
with city states in Mesopotamia. It is thought that Aryans invaded
using the Khyber Pass in the Hindu Kush in 1500 BC, taking over
almost all of India. They were excellent fighters and some
Dravidians, the original peoples of India, eventually assimilated into
Aryan culture.
Back
In Ancient China, the Huang He also known as the yellow river or
China’s sorrow and the Yangtze are the most important rivers
because when they flood, they leave loess on the banks that
provides important nutrients for farming. The first dynasty in China
was the Shang Dynasty but there have also been records of an
early dynasty called the Xia but no physical proof to go along with
this claim. The next dynasty was the Zhou, when the idea behind
Heave choosing the Emperor was really started. The Chinese
possessed a very strong belief in life after death and they practiced
human sacrifice. Also at this time, oracle bones were used to
communicate with your ancestors, who were seen as a link between
the human and spirit worlds.
Back
You finish up all your stories of River valley Civilizations
and study for the final you will take tomorrow. You can
choose to review information or you can take the exam
immediately.
Take the Exam
Indus River Valley Civilizations
Huang He River Valley Civilizations
Hebrew Civilizations
Nile River Valley Civilizations
Phoenician Civilizations
Mesopotamian River Valley Civilizations
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