1.1. Egypt is still called Egypt. Egypt is located in Africa.
1.2. Egyptians used hieroglyphics as their form of writing.
1.3. There were two kingdoms in Egypt that merged around 3000 B.C. Kings in Egypt were called Pharaohs.
1.4. Egypt taxed people, and their systems for taxation are the foundation to many modern day tax systems.
2. Huang
2.1. Huang is modern day China, in Asia.
2.2. The people of Huang used Pictographs as a way to represent words or Characters.
2.3. The Shang kingdom dominated what is known to be the first recorded Chinese dynasty.
2.4. The people of Shang used a form of language and culture that has a lasting influence on China today.
3. What caused these civilizations to go from writing with pictures to writing with more advanced symbols?
4. Sumeria
4.1. Sumeria is modern day Iraq, and is in Asia.
4.2. Pictographs were the Sumerian form of writing. It was used to keep track of the goods. Then, in 3400 B.C., this form of writing was turned into cuneiform.
4.3. Priests were the first leaders in Sumerian city-states.
4.4. The writing system in Sumeria was one of the first writing systems in the whole world.
5. Indus
5.1. Indus is modern day India, in Asia.
5.2. There are too few samples of Indus writing to be sure what it says, or even what the writing was used for, such as keeping track of food.
5.3. Indus people were very organized and good planners, but there is no evidence as to what form of government they had. No royal status or tombs have been found.
5.4. The people of Indus were very organized and planned, but little more is known about them to tell what form of government made them so successful.
