| A | B |
|---|
| Mesopotamia | an ancient region of southwestern Asia in present-day Iraq, lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers |
| Semitic | relating to or denoting a family of languages (or the people that speak them) that includes Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic |
| fertile crescent | an area of fertile land in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates |
| city-state | a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state. |
| cuneiform | denoting or relating to the wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia |
| epic | long film, book, or other work portraying heroic deeds and adventures or covering an extended period of time |
| alloy | metal made by combining two or more metallic elements, esp. to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion |
| smelt | extract (metal) from its ore by a process involving heating and melting |
| textile | a type of cloth or woven fabric |
| alluvium | a deposit of clay, silt, sand, and gravel left by flowing streams in a river valley or delta, typically producing fertile soil |
| ore | a naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable mineral can be profitably extracted |
| ziggurat | a rectangular stepped tower, sometimes surmounted by a temple |
