All terms in this list:

hierarchy: Any group of objects ranked so that every one but the topmost is subordinate to a specified one above it.

ziggurat: A temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

cuneiform: The earliest form of writing in Sumeria which involved making wedge shaped marks on clay tablets.

codify: To arrange or set down in writing all the laws that would govern a state.

civil law: The branch of law that deals with private matters, such as business contracts, property inheritance, taxes, marriage, and divorce.

criminal law: The area of law pertaining to crime and punishment.

barter economy: An economical system in which goods or services are exchanged for each other.

money economy: An economic system in which goods or services are exchanged for a token of agreed upon value such as a coin or bill.

colony: A territory settled and ruled by people from another land.

alphabet: A writing system in which each symbol represents a single basic sound, such as a consonant or vowel.

cataract: A large waterfall; steep rapids in a river.

delta: A landform at the mouth of a river where it empties into a body of water.

dynasty: A series of rulers from one family where power and possessions are passed down.

pharaoh: The supreme ruler of ancient Egypt; an Egyptian king.

bureaucracy: A system of government that includes different job functions and levels of authority.

vizier: In Egypt, a chief minister that supervises the business of the government for the pharaoh.

mummification: The preserving of dead bodies by embalming them and wrapping them in cloth.

heiroglyphics: A system of writing in which symbols or pictures represented objects, concepts, or sounds.

deciphering: The act of figuring out the meaning written passages.

monotheistic: Believing in a single god, deity, spirit, etc., especially for an organized religion, faith, or creed.

covenant: A promise, incidental to a deed or contract, either express or implied.

patriarchal: Relating to a system run by males, not females.

prophet: A spiritual leader that interprets God's will.

ethics: The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.

successor: A person or thing that immediately follows another in holding an office or title.