The man, William Loftus, led a small expedition in search of the roots of civilization.

[,ksp'dn] n.
[C] a long and carefully organized journey, especially to a dangerous or unfamiliar place, or the
people that make this journey

The Sumerians believed that the gods ruled the cities, making the state a theocracy
a government by divine authority.
n. theocracies

Society in ancient Mesopotamia was patriarchalthat is, Mesopotamian society was dominated
by men.

Ur is destroyed, bitter is its lament; Priam . . . should bid them offer me your weight in gold, even
so your mother shall never lay you out and make lament over the son she bore, but dogs and
vultures shall eat you utterly up.

Mayan civilization was composed of city-states, each governed by a hereditary ruling class

Sumerian cities were surrounded by walls. Uruk, for example, was encircled by a wall six miles
(10 km) long with defense towers located along the wall every 30 to 35 feet (9 to 10 m).

Other African states were more like collections of small principalities knit together by ties of
kinship or other loyalties.

Upper-class women could become priestesses, and four queens became pharaohs.