Passwords Social Studies Vocabulary Ancient Civilizations
To the Student What is an epic? Is it bad if a tyrant takes over a country? What does an astronomer do? Passwords: Social Studies Vocabulary will help you learn the words you need to do well in social studies. The lessons in this book are about social studies topics you will be studying. Every lesson focuses on ten words that will help you understand the topic. The lessons include a reading selection that uses all ten vocabulary words. Four practice activities follow the reading selection. Using each vocabulary word many times will help you remember the word and its meaning. A writing activity ends the lesson. You will use the vocabulary words you have learned to write a comparison, a narrative, an informational article, or a description. If you need help with a vocabulary word as you do the activities, use the Glossary at the back of the book. The Glossary defines each word and shows you the correct way to pronounce the word. It also has pictures to help you understand the meaning of difficult words. As you work on the lessons, you may learn other words besides the vocabulary words. Keep track of those other words in My Social Studies Vocabulary on pages 94 98. Turn to pages 99 and 100 to learn about roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Find out how they can help you understand social studies words. ISBN 978-0-7609-4496-7 2008 Curriculum Associates, Inc. North Billerica, MA 01862 No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without written permission from the publisher. All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA. 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Table of Contents Lesson 1: The Old Stone Age......................... 4 Lesson 2: The Ice Age............................. 10 Lesson 3: Early Farmers........................... 16 Lesson 4: Mesopotamia............................ 22 Lesson 5: The Sumerians........................... 28 Lesson 6: The Assyrians and Chaldeans................. 34 Lesson 7: Egypt s Old Kingdom....................... 40 Lesson 8: The Egyptian Empire....................... 46 Lesson 9: The Kingdom of Kush...................... 52 Lesson 10: The Ancient Hebrews....................... 58 Lesson 11: Ancient India............................ 64 Lesson 12: Ancient China........................... 70 Lesson 13: Ancient Greece........................... 76 Lesson 14: Ancient Rome........................... 82 Lesson 15: Legacies of Greece and Rome.................. 88 My Social Studies Vocabulary.......................... 94 Root Words..................................... 99 Prefixes and Suffixes.............................. 100 Glossary...................................... 101
LESSON 7 cataract dynasty hieroglyphics deity pyramid Soon after Sumer arose in Mesopotamia, another great civilization was born in Egypt. Read this selection to learn about the people who settled along the Nile River. Egypt s Old Kingdom The Mighty Nile The Nile is the world s longest river. The Nile begins in the mountains and marshes of central Africa. As it flows toward the sea, the Nile falls over several cataracts. A cataract is a large waterfall. At its mouth, the Nile forms a delta. A delta is the place where a large river splits into smaller rivers. The soil in Ancient Egypt a delta is rich and good for farming. Around 8,000 years ago, huntergatherers settled along the Nile River. Mediterranean Sea LOWER EGYPT They came from Africa and Asia. The Nile valley was green and fertile. These Libyan Desert people built villages and farmed the UPPER land. They became the first Egyptians. EGYPT Most first Egyptians lived along the river. The land of ancient Egypt protected the people from outside invaders. On either side of the Nile are burning deserts. The delta and the cataracts protected Third the Egyptians from river attack. Nile River Arabian Desert First Second Fourth Red Sea Nubian Desert Fifth 40 Egypt s Old Kingdom
Two Kingdoms At first, Egypt was made up of two kingdoms. These were Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. About 3100 B.C., the two kingdoms united. The first ruler of united Egypt started a dynasty. A dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family. The all-powerful ruler of Egypt was called a pharaoh. Egyptians thought the pharaoh was a god. Life in the Old Kingdom Egyptian dynasties are grouped in three periods: Old, Middle, Tutankhamen, and New Kingdoms. During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian civilization Egyptian pharaoh, was grew strong. The Egyptians created a system of writing, using small the 12th ruler of the 18th dynasty. pictures, called hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics were carved in stone. Egyptians also wrote on paper made from a marsh reed plant called papyrus. The ancient Egyptians believed in many deities. A deity is a god. Each deity controlled a force of nature. One Egyptian deity was the pharaoh. Egyptians believed he was related to Ra, the sun god. Egyptians also believed in life after death, the afterlife. They thought it was important to protect the pharaoh s body after his death. That way, he could continue to look after Egypt. So they built a great tomb, or burial place, for each pharaoh. The pharaoh s tomb was a pyramid. A pyramid was a huge stone building, with a square base and a pointed top. Deep inside the tomb lay the pharaoh s mummy, or preserved body. Mummies were buried Pyramids took many years to build. with things they would need in the afterlife. My Social Studies Vocabulary Go to page 96 to list other words you have learned about Egypt s Old Kingdom. Egypt s Old Kingdom 41
cataract dynasty hieroglyphics deity pyramid A. Match each word with its meaning. Write the letter of the correct meaning on the line in front of each word. 1. delta 2. dynasty 3. pharaoh 4. hieroglyphics 5. papyrus 6. deity 7. cataract 8. tomb 9. pyramid 10. mummy a. a reed plant used to make paper b. a burial place c. a god d. the all-powerful ruler of Egypt e. a preserved body f. the place where a river divides into smaller rivers g. a large waterfall h. a huge stone building, with a square base and a pointed top i. a series of rulers from the same family j. the Egyptians system of writing, using small pictures 42 Egypt s Old Kingdom
cataract dynasty hieroglyphics deity pyramid B. Choose and write the two words that best complete each sentence. dynasty pharaoh deity mummy 1. The Egyptians preserved the body of their ruler, the, as a. dynasty deity cataract pyramid 2. Egyptians believed each ruler of a was a. pyramid hieroglyphics mummy tomb 3. A huge building with a pointed top, called a, was the pharaoh s. tomb delta hieroglyphics papyrus 4. On paper made from a reed called, Egyptians wrote their, or writing system. papyrus hieroglyphics cataract delta 5. Upriver, the Nile has more than one violent, while at its mouth it forms a. WORD ROOT The word papyrus comes from the Latin word papyrus, which means the paper plant. Egypt s Old Kingdom 43
cataract dynasty hieroglyphics deity pyramid C. Write the vocabulary word that best completes each pair of sentences. 1. Ancient Egyptians believed their pharaoh was a. Each Egyptian controlled a force of nature. 2. The pharaoh s was placed deep inside a pyramid. A body was made into a to preserve it. 3. A pyramid was a for a pharaoh. Each pharaoh had his own, or burial place. 4. A large waterfall, known as a, can prevent large boats from traveling down a river. Can you find the location of each, or waterfall, on the map? 5. The soil in a is good for farming. A river splits into smaller rivers at a. 6. The first ruler of a united Egypt created a. A is a series of rulers from the same family. 7. A huge stone building, with a square base and a pointed top, is called a. Not many modern buildings are built in the shape of a. 8. The all-powerful ruler of Egypt was called a. Egyptians believed their was related to the sun god. 9. Egyptians wrote on a paper made from. A reed plant called grew in wet areas. 10. The Egyptians created a system of writing called. Writing called used small pictures. 44 Egypt s Old Kingdom
cataract dynasty hieroglyphics deity pyramid D. Use each pair of words in a sentence. 1. mummy, pharaoh 2. delta, cataract 3. papyrus, pyramid 4. hieroglyphics, tomb 5. deity, dynasty Write! Write your response to the prompt on a separate sheet of paper. Use as many vocabulary words as you can in your writing. Imagine you went to the Egyptian section of a big museum. Write a postcard describing what you saw there. Egypt s Old Kingdom 45