Ex: Every year we produce a huge surplus of meat.

Civilization:  human society with its well developed social organizations, or the culture and way of life of a society or country at a particularperiod in time.

Ex: I heard a radio programme recently all about the Aztec civilization in CentralAmerica.

Steppe: a large area of land with grass but no trees, especially in eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia.

Ex: These people have lived for centuries on the Russian steppes

Polytheistic: believing in many different gods.

Ex: Hinduism is a polytheistic faith.

Artisan: made in a traditional way by someone who is skilled with their hands.

Ex: an artisan baker.

Pictograph: a picture that represents something, especially one painted onto rock

Ex: Chinese has pictographs, not letters as we understand them.

Scribe: a person employed before printing was invented to make copies of documents.

City-state: in the ancient world, a city and the area around it with an independentgovernment.

Ex: Rome and Athens were some of the great city states of the ancient world.

Empire: a group of countries ruled by a single person, government, orcountry.

Ex: It used to be said that Britain ruled an empire on which the sun would never set.

Complex religions: most of ancient people were polytheistic, which means they believed in many gods. People appealed to sun gods, river goddesses, and other gods that they believed controlled natural forces or human activities such as birth or war.

Job specialization: urban people dveloped so many new crafts that they single individual could not master all the skills needed to make tolos, weapons, or other godos, some became specialized in certain job (blacksmiths, carperters, soldiers, etc.)

Social clases: in cities, social organization became more complex, people were ranked according to their Jobs. Such ranking led to the growth of social clases.

Top level: priests and nobles.

Small class: wealthy merchants, artisan.

Low class: farmers, slaves.

Arts and architecture: the arts and architecture of ancient civilizations expressed the talents, beliefs, and values of the people who created them. Temples and places often dominated the city landscape. Many rulers may have ordered such buildings to be constructed in order to remind people of the strengh and power of ther government and religión.