Name Class Date
Sumerian Civilization
Guided Reading Strategies 2.3
CHAPTER
2
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Holt World History: The Human Journey 5 Guided Reading Strategies
READING THE SECTION Each of the following sections contains an underlined word,
name, or phrase that makes the sentence incorrect. As you read the section, use the space
provided to write the word, name, or phrase that makes the sentence correct.
1. The Fertile Crescent got its name because it was difficult
to farm there.
2. The predictable floods of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
had an effect on farming.
3. Wandering invaders rarely attacked villages in the Fertile
Crescent.
4. Sumerians developed a weapon called a stylus.
5. Sumerians wrote on paper tablets.
6. The Sumerians built tombs called ziggurats.
7. Sumerian city-states usually united under a common
ruler.
8. The Sumerians practiced monotheism.
9. Kings, high priests, and peasants were at the top of
Sumerian society.
10. Farmers had been kidnapped from other regions or
captured in war.
POST-READING QUICK CHECK After you have read the section, use the Venn diagram
below to compare the Sumerians and the Egyptians.
SUMERIANS EGYPTIANS
BOTH
003-08_GRS_CH02_065744-X 12/4/01 10:49 AM Page 5
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Chapter 1
SECTION 1
Reading the Section
A. extremely cold weather
1. from 20,000 to about 140,000 years
2. ice
B. land bridges between some regions that are
today separated by water
1. migrated
A. animal skins
B. warmth and cooking
C. tools and weapons
A. harpoons
1. polishing or grinding
2. stone as well as from wood
B. tamed
C. agriculture
Post-Reading Quick Check
People in the Neolithic period learned to use
the plow to plant wheat, barley, rice and mil-
let. This shift from food gathering to food pro-
ducing resulted in the growth of villages to
towns and cities.
SECTION 2
Reading the Section
1. river valleys 6. lunar
2. government 7. pictures
3. heavy flooding 8. bronze
4. irrigation 9. farming
5. traders 10. made sacrifices
Post-Reading Quick Check
Farm-based societies required cooperation and
organization among villagers to develop sys-
tems of irrigation. As leaders emerged, farm-
ing led to better food production. Surplus
food then led to increases in population, and
some villages became cities. Artisans could
make goods that could be sold by traders.
Goods and ideas traveled from place to place
resulting in an exchange of cultures. This dif-
fusion of cultures gave birth to civilizations.
Chapter 2
SECTION 1
Reading the Section
1. the Nile River
2. cataracts
3. papyrus
4. pharaoh
5. the pharaoh, the royal family, priests,
scribes, and government officials
6. the New Kingdom
7. empire
8. Hatshepsut
9. Amenhotep IV
10. Ramses II
Post-Reading Quick Check
Old Kingdom
• Pharaohs grew weaker
• Nobles grew stronger
• Civil wars divided Egypt
New Kingdom
• a series of invasions weakened Egypt
• Egypt attacked by the Assyrians, the Nubians,
and the Persians
SECTION 2
Reading the Section
1. b 6. a
2. a 7. a
3. a 8. b
4. b 9. a
5. b 10. b
Post-Reading Quick Check
The tombs of the ancient Egyptians help us
learn about their daily life, because they were
filled with clothing, food, weapons, and tools
that the ancient Egyptians used everyday.
SECTION 3
Reading the Section
1. easy 6. temples
2. unpredictable 7. rarely
3. often 8. polytheism
4. tool 9. nobles
5. clay 10. Slaves
Post-Reading Quick Check
Sumerians
built ziggurats
wrote on clay tablets using cuneiform
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Holt World History: The Human Journey 12 Geography Activities/Guided Reading Answer Key
ANSWER KEY
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Both
polytheistic
had slaves
Egyptians
built the pyramids
wrote on papyrus using hieroglyphics
SECTION 4
Reading the Section
1. Babylon
2. easier
3. allowed
4. fines
5. chariots
6. absolute
7. Chaldean
8. Darius I
9. Zoroastrians
10. Alexander the Great
Post-Reading Quick Check
Code of Hammurabi
harsh punishment
eye for an eye
Hittite Law
only major crimes received the death penalty
fines instead of retaliation
SECTION 5
I. Phoenician Trade
A. sea traders
B. Carthage
1. lumber
C. dyeing
1. purple
II. Phoenician Culture
A. Babylonians
B. perform sacrifices
C. alphabet
1. trading
III. The Lydians
A. coined money
1. barter
2. gold and silver
3. money
Post-Reading Quick Check
The Phoenicians developed a form of writing
which they used in their business transactions.
As their trading partners saw the advantages of
this form of writing, it slowly spread
throughout the Mediterranean world. It
became the basis for our alphabet today.
SECTION 6
Reading the Section
1. Abraham 6. prophets
2. Moses 7. Solomon
3. Exodus 8. Jerusalem
4. Mount Sinai 9. the Torah
5. Philistines 10. Ya h w e h
Post-Reading Quick Check
Hebrews’ Idea of God
monotheistic
viewed God as a spiritual force
Other Ancient Peoples’ View of Gods
polytheistic
viewed the gods as being glorified humans or
forces of nature
Chapter 3
SECTION 1
Reading the Section
1. Himalayas
2. rivers
3. monsoon
4. Indo-Gangetic
5. large, well-planned
6. fortress/citadel
7. surplus food
8. the Tigris-Euphrates River valley
9. fertility
10. floods, invading forces, or a major
earthquake
Post-Reading Quick Check
Indus River Valley
Geography:
• The Himalayas served as protection.
• The Ganges and Indus Rivers provided abun-
dant water and fertile farmland.
Climate:
• Cities were built with various flood protec-
tion measures because of flooding that
occurred during the southwest monsoon.
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Holt World History: The Human Journey 13 Geography Activities/Guided Reading Answer Key
ANSWER KEY
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