| A | B |
|---|
| Mesopotamia | flat plain in what is now southern Iraq |
| specialization | the development of different jobs |
| empire | group of territories or nations under a single ruler or government |
| Sargon | King of Akkadians who conquered all of Mesopotamia; empire lasted for more than 200 years |
| Sumer | a region in southern Mesopotamia where many cities had formed |
| city-states | independent state made up of a city and the surrounding land and villages |
| scribe | record keeper |
| Sumerians | inventors of the wheel |
| artisans | skilled craftsperson |
| Hammurabi | king who created Babylonian empire; known for his collection of laws called the Code of Hammurabi |
| cuneiform | Sumerian system of writing made up of wedge-shaped markings |
| irrigation | method of bringing water to a field from another place to water crops |
| nomad | person who regularly moves from place to place |
| history | study of the past |
| civilization | complex society with cities, organized governments, art, religion, class divisions, and a writing system |
| technology | tools and methods used to help humans perform tasks |
| fossil | the trace or imprint of a plant or animal that has been preserved in rock |
| artifacts | weapon, tool or other item made by humans |
| primary source | an account of an event created by someone who took part in or witnessed the event (treaties, letters, diaries, laws) |
| secondary source | information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event (journal articles, encyclopedias, history textbooks) |
| archaeologists | scientists who learns about past human life by studying fossils and artifacts |
| anthropologists | scientists who studies the physical characteristics and cultures of humans and their ancestors |
| geologists | scientists who study the physical structure and processes of the earth and planets of the solar system |
| historian | person who studies and writes about the human past |
| Jericho | one of the earliest known Neolithic communities, this city in the West Bank between what are now Israel and Jordan |
| Nineveh | capital of the Persian Empire |
| Babylon | city and trade center built near the Euphrates River |
| province | political districts |
| Persian Gulf | body of water that separates Iran from the peninsula of Arabia |
| Euphrates River | river that flows from Turkey through Syria and Iraq |
| Tigris River | river that flows from Turkey to Iraq |
| domesticate | to tame animals and plants for human use |
| astronomer | person who studies stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies |
| Catal Huyuk | a Neolithic community in present-day Turkey |
| caravans | group of traveling merchants and animals |
| Hanging Gardens | terraced gardens in Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife |
| Nebuchadnezzar | Chaldean king who controlled all of Mesopotamia |
