2.1 The first Civilisation

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 2. The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.1 The first civilisations

AGE 2: the Time of Greeks and Romans

3000 BC - 500 AD

Typical Aspects:

-citizenship and scientific thought in the Greek city-states

-the spread of the Greek-Roman culture

-clash between the Romans and Germanic tribes

-rise and spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Antiquity

What is this lesson about?

The first farmers settled around rivers in the Middle East. Because of the fertile ground around the rivers, the farmers were able to get an agricultural surplus. This abundance of food allowed people to specialise in other jobs: like traders, craftsmen or priests. Villages in Sumer and Egypt grew to become cities with a highly developed level of culture.

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• how Egypt and Sumer could develop around rivers
• how an agricultural surplus could lead to a highly developed civilisation
• explain what an agricultural-urban society is and how it developed
• give the characteristics of the first civilisations and explain them

Word Duty

Mesopotamia: fertile area in the Middle East; Greek for ‘land between two rivers’

Irrigation: artificial way to spread water across farmland to make it fertile

Agricultural surplus: when farmers produce more food than they can eat

Specialise: when someone becomes very good at one thing

Craftsman: someone who makes products with his hands and tools

Bartering: exchange goods or services directly for other goods or services

Markets: places where people come to barter their products

Agricultural-urban society: society in which the majority of people live as farmers, while the minority live in cities

Culture: things people think and do, such as religion, traditions, art, clothes and language

Civilisation: highly developed society

Pharaoh: the king of ancient Egypt

Link to WRTS wordlist for all the other difficult words: WRTS HISTORY

KEY WORDS

TIMELINE of this CHAPTER

Teacher's Tip:

If you need to write DIFFERENCES in your answer it is important that you ALWAYS mention BOTH things that you are comparing.

For example: What is the difference between a fish and a bird?

WRONG ANSWER: "a bird has feathers"

CORRECT ANSWER: " a bird has feathers and a fish has scales"

Got it? Now use this to answer question 1.

1. In chapter 1 you learned about hunters and farmers.
Write down three differences between the lives of
hunter-gatherers and farmers.

2. Read "The land between two rivers" . Describe the landscape of ancient Mesopotamia. Use the following words in your answer:

desert, Euphrates, Tigris, cities.

3. Explain why the ancient Greeks named this area Mesopotamia.

Copy the sentence from "The land between two rivers".

4. Drag the texts to the correct pictures.

Because of heavy rainfall, the water level in the river rises. This causes it to overflow and cover the land.

When the water level drops, the river leaves silt. The farmers use this to make their land fertile. They store some of the water in pools.

The river is at a low point.

There is not enough fertile soil for crops to grow.

5. Read "Floods caused by the gods". Think up a true reason to explain why the rivers overflowed.
Think about where the rivers come from and how they get their water.

6. Drag the following events in chronological order, from first to last.

Because of this agricultural surplus some people could 

specialise.

Some farmers learned that they could dig small canals to make more land fertile.

The craftsmen and farmers traded their wares at markets for food.

Some of these craftsmen started to live in cities; this is how agricultural-urban societies arose.

Because of irrigation and floods, farmers grew more food than they could eat.

These people became craftsmen when they specialised in making products with their hands.

The river overflowed and left fertile silt. Farmers grew their crops there.

Teacher's Tip:

If a question asks you to "use the source" it is important that you do that. 

If the source is a picture, you can describe what you SEE. You can start your answer with: 

"In the source I see......", or: "The source shows...."

If the source is a text, you can copy a passage from that text. You can start your answer with:

"The source says:......."

Got it? Now use this to answer question 7.

7. Study source 2.8 in "An abundance of food".
Explain the connection between the key-words ‘specialise’ and ‘craftsman’. Use the source to explain your answer.

8. Read "Sumer and Egypt: the first civilisations".


a. Which five aspects of a culture can you find in the text?

8b. Give two examples of Dutch culture.

only in Sumer

only in Egypt

in both

9. Read: "Sumer and Egypt: the first civilisations"

pharaoh

highly developed civilisation

 ruled by a king

Euphrates and Tigris

every city had a king

arose around river(s)

Write down one question about something from this lesson that you find difficult.

congratulations