Transcript Grade 7 History Review - Inquiry 2

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Civilizations developed in fertile plains, with rivers
flowing through them. In the spring they spilled over
their banks, creating floods. Water levels then receded.
◦ Peasants build major irrigation projects creating
regular and abundant harvests.
 Building canals to direct water towards fields requiring irrigation.
 Building dikes to prevent canal water form flooding the cultivated
land.
 Building reservoirs to store floodwaters for times of drought.
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Agriculture permitted more people to feed
◦ creating certainty
 increasing the population size and villages into cities.
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Organization of Labour:
◦ Agricultural surpluses and development of trade caused a need
to account for products they traded and objects made ACCOUNTING
◦ Agricultural surpluses led to the emergence of trades.
Mesopotamians split into even more trade groups, each
interdependent providing each other with the goods or
services they needed.
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Peasants:
Craftspeople
Merchants
Soldiers
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Agricultural products:
◦ Wheat, barley, sesame and millet
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Ore:
◦ Bronze, copper, gold, iron, lead, silver and tin
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Wood:
◦ The type is not actually specified in the picture depicted below.
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Pictograms were useful for simple items but not
for complex situations.
Pictograms slowly became simpler symbols
representing sounds. This was the beginning of
cuneiform.
Originally read from right to left and in columns,
writing is now from left to right and in
rows….Like today!!!!
Its complexity was reserved for scribes who
played an important role in Mesopotamian
society.
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Mesopotamian kings imposed laws
◦ The Code of Hammurabi (Code of Civil Rights):
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The oldest law code known today.
It is a stele.
It contains 282 laws
Social status of the guilty person or the victim determined the
gravity of the sanctions.
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Powerful king of Babylon unifying all of the cities
of Mesopotamia. Created a vast kingdom of
which Babylon was the capital.
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All Mesopotamians had the same religion. It is the
oldest known – yet it is unknown.
Mesopotamians worshiped many gods.
The king was considered as their representative on
Earth building temples as his home.
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Drink
Food
jewellery and
Perfumes
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The second civilization in history, Egypt was in the
fertile Nile Valley. Egypt was ruled by two kingdoms:
the Lower Egypt and the Upper Egypt. Eventually both
kingdoms became one.
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The Nile valley was ruled by the Pharaoh
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Pharaoh:
Dignitaries:
Soldiers, scribes, merchants, craftspeople and priest:
Peasants:
Slaves:
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Hieroglyphs:
◦ Sacred symbol invented in 3100.
◦ Primarily used for religious texts.
◦ Reading was done in columns from top to bottom, from right
to left, or left to right.
◦ It contained app. 750 symbols representing a symbol or a
sound.
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Created around 2900BC in Asia.
The cities were built in evenly distributed grid pattern
of straight streets and intersected at right angles by
alleys.
Social Organization:
◦ Religious and administration buildings were located in the upper
part of the city. The lower part grouped the inhabitants together.
Some lived in luxurious homes while others lived in very small
and cramped houses.
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Strong centre oversaw urban development.
Indian Writing:
◦ Has nearly 400 symbols still not deciphered.
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Civilization developed in the east of the Indus Valley
civilization, on the Huang-Ho fertile plain. It
depended on agriculture and trade like the
Mesopotamian.
◦ Chinese Writing:
 Oldest writing created since 3500BC.
 Ideograms: Symbols representing an idea.
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Social Organization:
As in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Chinese were
very hierarchical.
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King
Nobility
People
Slaves
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The king’s power was represented by the dragon – a
god powerful enough to make the rain fall and help
produce bountiful harvests.
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This power was also passed from father to son, as the
qualities of a leader were inherited.