Ancient Civilizations Quiz

Cradle of Civilization

• The term "Cradle of Civilization" refers to locations where civilizations emerged, according to current archeological data.
• Mesopotamian civilization was located in the area between two rivers.
• The climate of the region is semi-arid with a vast desert to the north.
• Irrigation canals brought water from rivers to fields by 6000 BCE.
• Ancient Egypt was located in Northeastern Africa, with four geographic areas: the Delta, Western Desert, Eastern Desert, and the Nile Valley.
• The Indus civilization was situated in the Northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, settling in villages in the mountainous region west of the Indus River.
• Ancient China developed along the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in East Asia.
• Ancient Greece was located in the northeastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and occupied the lower Balkans. It was divided into the Peloponnese, Central Greece, and Northern Greece.
• Rome began as a small village near the Tiber River on the Italian Peninsula, close to the Mediterranean Sea. It was encompassed by the Alps and Apennine mountain ranges.

Geographic Setting

• Mesopotamia was known as the "land between two rivers."
• Egypt had four geographic zones: the Delta, Western Desert, Eastern Desert, and the Nile Valley.
• The Indus civilization arose in the northwestern part of India's subcontinent and settled in villages near the Indus River.
• Ancient China developed along the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.
• Greece was situated in the northeastern Mediterranean and included the lower Balkans, encompassing the Peloponnese, Central Greece, and Northern Greece.
• Rome began near the Tiber River in the Italian Peninsula, close to the Mediterranean Sea. The region was flanked by the Alps and the Apennine mountains.

Religion

• Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, worshipping multiple main gods and also thousands of minor gods (henotheistic).
  • Important gods included Ea (wisdom and magic), Anu (sky god), and Enlil (earth, storms, agriculture, and fate controller).
• Egyptian religion was polytheistic, with multiple gods and goddesses, but also henotheistic.
  • Important gods included Re (sun god), god of the dead, Osiris.
• Indus religion is a debated topic with interpretations that speculated about the existence of many features of later Hinduism 4000 years ago.
• China's major religions are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, often considered the "three pillars" of ancient Chinese society.
  • Key figures in these philosophies include Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Siddhartha Gautama.
• Ancient Greece worshipped gods involved in all aspects of human life, but had no separation of church and state. Greek religion is polytheistic.
  • Twelve main deities in Greek mythology include Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Dionysos, Ares, Hephaestus, and Hermes.
• Roman religion was initially polytheistic, centered around various gods and goddesses. Later, there was an idea of a monotheistic religion, belief in a single god.

Government

• Mesopotamian kingship was a political system based on the undivided sovereignty of a single person.
  • Enmebaragesi, of the first dynasty of Kish, was a notable king, possibly reigning for 900 years in the Sumerian King List.
• Egyptian government was a theocratic monarchy, where the king was understood as a representative of a god.
  • The pharaoh was the king with Menes being a legendary first king of unified Egypt.
• Indus government was a theocracy, ruled by powerful priest-kings. The Indus Valley people called their kings "rajas."
• China's government was an absolute monarchy, with the emperor holding unquestioned authority. The first emperor of China was Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin dynasty.
• Greek government systems included democracy (rule by the people), monarchy (rule by an inherited ruler), oligarchy (rule by a select group), and tyranny (unconstitutional seizure of power).
• Roman government evolved from a monarchy (Romulus was Rome's first king) to a republic (consuls were elected) and eventually to an autocracy (ruled by a single person) with the emperor as the central leader of the imperial administration.

System of Writing

• Mesopotamia developed cuneiform, a logographic writing system first used by the Sumerians. It has both phonetic and semantic functions.
• Egypt used hieroglyphics, a system of picture-writing that included around 750 basic signs with multiple variations.
  • Hieroglyphics could also be written in cursive forms.
  • Demotic and Hieratic were cursive forms of hieroglyphics.
• The Indus civilization had a pictographic script called logosyllabic that was also boustrophedon.
• Ancient China used the Jiaguwen (oracle bone script), a pictographic writing system that was found on oracle bones.
• Greece developed an alphabet from Phoenician models, with letters adapted and expanded. The Greek alphabet included seven vowels. The two main branches of this were Ionic and Chalcidian.
• Rome used Roman script or Latin alphabet which had 21 letters and two main types: capital letters and cursive forms.

Spread of Culture

• Mesopotamian culture influenced Egypt and Greece through long-distance trade and cultural diffusion, impacting Roman culture.
• Belief systems often spread via trade and diplomatic exchange and influenced Chinese culture.
• The ancient Romans conquered vast amounts of land, building roads and aqueducts, spreading their language, and setting standards for Western Civilization.

Contributions

• Mesopotamia made contributions to the written script, advanced astronomical, mathematical knowledge, and first cities.
• Egypt developed mummification, medicine, agriculture, and advanced engineering and architecture.
• The Indus Valley civilization contributed to writing, trade, art, and religion.
• China contributed to papermaking, printing, gunpowder, the compass, and philosophy.
• Greece excelled in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.
• Rome was influential by developing military, political, and social institutions.