A02_Ch02: Early River Valley Civilizations

Purpose: Along with class lessons and activities, this assignment will help us address this essential
question: How did early peoples organize their societies and build advanced civilizations?

INTERACTION WITH ENVIRONMENT
The earliest civilizations formed on fertile river plains. These lands faced challenges, such as seasonal
flooding and a limited growing area.

POWER AND AUTHORITY
Early civilizations developed bronze tools, the wheel, the sail, the plow, writing, and mathematics. These
innovations spread through trade, wars, and the movement of peoples.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Projects such as irrigation systems required leadership and lawsthe beginnings of organized
government. In some societies, priests controlled the first governments. In others, military leaders and
kings ruled.

Given:
Use the World History: Patterns of Interaction (POI) textbook to complete the assignment below.
Refer to the to the course calendar to acquire due dates and other instructions.
Students submitting this assignment via a Dropbox Shared Folder should label the le:
Pd#_LastNameFirstName-A00 (Ex.: 03_SmithJohn-A02). Remember, the period # must have two digits.
Therefore, Period 1 => 01, Period 8 => 08, Period 10 => 10. No spaces in the le label and dont
substitute a letter O for the number Zero, 0.

Task:

A. City-States in Mesopotamia
Read pages 29 34. On page 34

TERMS & NAMES: For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its signicance.
Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia city-state polytheism empire Hammurabi

MAIN IDEAS
3. What were the three environmental challenges to Sumerians?
4. How did the Sumerians view the gods?
5. What areas of life did Hammurabis Code cover?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
RECOGNIZING EFFECTS: Why is the development of a written code of laws important to a society?
ANALYZING CAUSES: How did the need to interact with the environment lead to advances in civilization?

B. Pyramids on the Nile
Read pages 35 41. On page 41

TERMS & NAMES: For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its signicance.
delta Narmer pharaoh theocracy pyramid mummification hieroglyphic
papyrus

MAIN IDEAS
3. How did being surrounded by deserts benefit Egypt?
4. How did the Egyptians view the pharaoh?
5. Why did Egyptians mummify bodies?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
RECOGNIZING EFFECTS: What impact did Egyptian religious beliefs have on the lives of Egyptians?

A02_Ch02: Early River Valley Civilizations
C. Planned Cities on the Indus
Read pages 44 49. On page 49

TERMS & NAMES: For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its signicance.
subcontinent monsoon Harappan civilization

MAIN IDEAS
4. How were the planned cities of the Indus Valley different from other early cities?
5. What reasons are suggested for the disappearance of the Indus Valley civilization?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
6. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: What evidence suggests Indus Valley cities were run by a strong central
government?
7. SYNTHESIZING: What skills would the construction of planned cities require? Explain.
8. MAKING INFERENCES: How were the people of the Indus Valley connected to Mesopotamia?
D. River Dynasties in China
Read pages 50 55. On page 55

TERMS & NAMES: For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its signicance.
oracle bone Mandate of Heaven dynastic cycle feudalism

MAIN IDEAS
3. Between which two rivers is the heartland of China found?
5. How is the dynastic cycle connected to the Mandate of Heaven?

CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING
7. COMPARING: How did the social classes in Shang society differ from those in Egyptian society?