click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Mesopotamia Ch. 3
BMMS Mesopotamia Ch. 3
Word | Definition |
---|---|
Mesopotamia | the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It's a Greek word that means "Land Between the Rivers" |
floodplain | the flat land bordering a river |
silt | the fine soil deposited by floodwaters |
drought | period of little rainfall |
surplus | an amount of a good, such as food, in excess of what is needed |
civilization | an advanced form of culture |
Sumer | an ancient region of southern Mesopotamia |
city-state | a self governing political unit that includes a city and nearby farmlands |
ziggurat | an ancient Sumerian or Babylonian temple that rose in a series of steplike levels |
polytheism | a belief in many gods or goddesses |
king | the leader of a group of people |
bronze | a metal made from copper and tin |
pictograph | a picture or drawing that represents a word or an idea |
stylus | a sharpened reed used to press markings into clay |
cuneiform | a type of writing made up of wedge-shaped markings |
scribe | a person who specializes in writing and serves as a record keeper |
Fertile Crescent | The term describes a crescent-shaped area of arable land. |
division of labor | the breakdown of labor into its components and their distribution among different persons, groups, or machines to increase productive efficiency |
epic-poem | telling a story about a hero or about exciting events or adventures |
priest | one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion |
Gilgamesh | a legendary Sumerian king and hero of an epic poem |
social class | a category of people based on wealth or status in a society |
artisan | a person skilled at making things by hand |
famine | an extreme lack of crops or food causing widespread hunger |