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| 5023706650 | civilization | Societies distinguished by reliance on sedentary agriculture, ability to produce food surpluses, and existence of nonfarming elites, as well as merchant and manufacturing groups. |  | 0 |
| 5023706651 | Mesopotamia | Literally "between the rivers"; the civilizations that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates river valley. |  | 1 |
| 5023706652 | Sumerians | People who migrated into Mesopotamia c. 4000 B.C.E.; created first civilization within region; organized area into city-states. |  | 2 |
| 5023706653 | cuneiform | A form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets. |  | 3 |
| 5023706654 | ziggurats | Massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple complexes. |  | 4 |
| 5023706655 | city-state | A form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilizations; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king. |  | 5 |
| 5023706656 | Babylonians | Unified all of Mesopotamia c. 1800 B.C.E.; empire collapsed due to foreign invasion c. 1600 B.C.E. |  | 6 |
| 5023706657 | Hammurabi | The most important ruler of the Babylonian empire; responsible for codification of law. |  | 7 |
| 5023706658 | pharaoh | Title of kings of ancient Egypt. |  | 8 |
| 5023706659 | pyramids | Monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs. |  | 9 |
| 5023706660 | Kush | An African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile c. 1000 B.C.E.; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries. |  | 10 |
| 5023706661 | Indus River | River sources in Himalayas to mouth in Arabian Sea; location of Harappan civilization. |  | 11 |
| 5023706662 | Harappa | Along with Mohenjodaro, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern. |  | 12 |
| 5023706663 | Aryans | Indo-European nomadic pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization; militarized society. |  | 13 |
| 5023706664 | Vedas | Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally but written down in sacred books from the 6th century B.C.E. |  | 14 |
| 5023706665 | Mahabharata | Indian epic of war, princely honor, love, and social duty; written down in the last centuries B.C.E.; previously handed down in oral form. |  | 15 |
| 5023706666 | Ramayana | One of the great epic tales from classical India; traces adventures of King Rama and his wife, Sita; written 4th to 2nd centuries B.C.E. |  | 16 |
| 5023706667 | Upanishads | Later books of the Vedas; contained sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas; utilized by Brahmans to restore religious authority. |  | 17 |
| 5023706668 | Yellow River | Also known as the Huanghe; site of development of sedentary agriculture in China. |  | 18 |
| 5023706669 | ideographs | Pictographic characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing. |  | 19 |
| 5023706670 | Shang | First Chinese dynasty for which archeological evidence exists; capital located in Ordos bulge of the Huanghe; flourished 1600 to 1046 B.C.E. |  | 20 |
| 5023706671 | Olmecs | People of a cultural tradition that arose at San Lorenzo and La Venta in Mexico c. 1200 B.C.E.; featured irrigated agriculture, urbanism, elaborate religion, beginnings of calendrical and writing systems. |  | 21 |
| 5023706672 | Chavin de Huantar | Chavin culture appeared in highlands of Andes between 1800 and 1200 B.C.E.; typified by ceremonial centers with large stone buildings; greatest ceremonial center was Chavin de Huantar; characterized by artistic motifs. |  | 22 |
| 5023706673 | Phoenicians | Seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean. |  | 23 |
| 5023706674 | monotheism | The exclusive worship of a single god; introduced by the Jews into Western civilization. |  | 24 |
