CHAPTER 7

Structure of Early Civilizations

IN THIS CHAPTER

Summary: As agricultural villages evolved into cities, some urban areas began to display the
characteristics of civilizations (described in Chapter 5 ). The earliest civilizations in the Eastern
Hemisphere arose in Mesopotamia, the Nile, the Indus, and the Huang He valleys; civilizations arose
later among the Olmecs in Mesoamerica (Middle America) and the Chavín in the Andes Mountains of
South America.

Key Terms

covenant
cuneiform
diaspora
hieroglyphics
jati
mandate of heaven
matrilineal
monotheism
oracle bones
patriarchal
pharaoh
polytheism
Quetzalcóatl
Ten Commandments
theocracy
Torah
untouchables*