Mesopotamian civilization grew along the Tigris and Euphrates. Which river did Egyptian civilization grow along?

Mesopotamian scribes pressed cuneiform signs into damp clay tablets. Egyptian scribes wrote many of their records on a writing material made from what plant?

Egypt's earliest surviving writing appears on stone and papyrus. China's earliest known writing was carved onto what kind of object during the Shang period?

Scholars can read the writing of most early river valley civilizations. Whose river valley writing system has still not been deciphered?

By roughly 3000 BCE, Sumer was divided into separate, often rival city-states. How was Egypt organized at about the same time?

Egyptians regarded the pharaoh as a divine ruler. Mesopotamian records usually describe their kings in what way instead?

Mesopotamian cities built ziggurats as stepped temple platforms. The great stone pyramids of Egypt's Old Kingdom were built mainly to serve what purpose?

Egyptian builders quarried limestone for their monuments. What material did builders in southern Mesopotamia mainly use?

The Nile's yearly flood arrived at a fairly regular season. How did flooding on the Tigris and Euphrates generally compare?

Deserts and seas bordered Egypt, while Mesopotamia lay on an open plain with few natural barriers. What difference did this make over the long term?

Cities such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were laid out on street grids with covered drains and standard-sized baked bricks. Which civilization built them?

Egypt, Sumer, and the Indus cities had all developed before about 2000 BCE. Roughly when did China's Shang dynasty begin?

Lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone from mines in the mountains of Afghanistan, has been found in the royal graves of the Sumerian city of Ur. What claim does this evidence support?

Egypt left no single published law code carved for public view. Which Mesopotamian king is known for a law code set out on a tall stone pillar?

Egypt, Sumer, and Shang China all developed a social hierarchy. In each of them, which group made up the large base of that hierarchy?

Shang China is known for ritual vessels cast in bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. Which metal later replaced bronze as the main material for tools and weapons in China and the other river valley civilizations?

Egyptians, Sumerians, and the Shang all honored many different gods. What term describes the worship of many gods?

In every river valley civilization, farming produced a surplus of food. What did that surplus make possible?

Cuneiform in Mesopotamia and hieroglyphics in Egypt were both used to keep records of goods, taxes, and payments.

Tools, weapons and vessels cast from an alloy of copper and tin were used across Mesopotamia, Egypt and Shang China. What is the name of this technological era?