(i) The Indus valley civilisation is also known as the Harappan civilisation since Harappa was the first site to be discovered.
(ii) This civilisation is known as Harappan civilisation rather than Indus valley civilisation, since it extended beyond the Indus river valley.

(i) The greatest of the Han emperors Wu Ti (Han Wu the Great, 141 to 87 BCE) sent Zhang Qian as emissary to the West in 138 BCE.
(ii) It paved the way for the opening of the Silk Road in 130 BCE to encourage trade activities.
(iii) Because of the Silk Road and the resultant trade connections, China benefitted immensely during the rule of Emperor Zhang.

(i) The invention of the potter's wheel is credited to the Sumerians.
(ii) They developed the calendar system of 360 days and divided a circle into 360 units.
(iii) The Cuneiform system of writing was their contribution.
(iv) The Hammurabi's law code was another legacy of the Mesopotamians.

As one of the oldest civilisations, the Egyptian civilisation is known for its monumental architecture, art, sciences and crafts at a very early age.

(i) The Urban society practised crafts, engaged in trade and exchange, adopted science and technology and formed political organisation.
(ii) Hence the term civilisation is used to distinguish them from the early forms of societies.

(i) The Great Wall of China, one of the wonders of the world, was a massive effort undertaken for the protection of China from the Mongols.
(ii) In 220 BCE, under Qin Shi Huang, earlier fortifications were connected by walls as a form of defence against invasions.
(iii) It was built from third century BCE until 17th century CE.
(iv) It ran for over 20,000 kilometres covering the hills and plains, from the border of Korea in the east to the Ordos Desert in the west.

(i) Hammurabi Code is an important legal document that specifies the laws related to various crimes.
(ii) It has 282 provisions specifying cases related to family rights, trade, slavery, taxes and wages.
(iii) It is carved on a stone, which portrays Hammurabi as receiving the code from the Sun god Shamash.
(iv) It was a compilation of old laws based on retributive principles.
(v) The 'eye for eye' and 'tooth for tooth' form of justice is used in the Hammurabi Code.

1. The Ziggurats were at the city centre on a platform and appeared like steep pyramids, with staircases leading to the top.
2. Around this temple were complexes of ceremonial courtyards, shrines, burial chambers for the priests and priestesses, ceremonial banquet halls, along with workshops, granaries storehouses and administrative buildings.

1. The Numerous sculpture, paintings and carvings attest to the artistic skills of Egyptians.
2. Their writing is also a form of art.
3. Giza pyramids are considered to be one of the wonders of the world.
4. These monuments display the engineering, architectural and human resource management skills of the Egyptians.

(i) The similarity of the graffiti found on the megalithic burial pots of South India with the Indus script and the identical place names of Tamil Nadu and Indus region of Pakistan are presented as arguments to establish the relationship between the Indus civilisation and Tamil culture
(ii) Researchers like Father Henry Heras, Asko Parpola and Iravatham Mahadevan find similarity between the Indus script and the Dravidian Tamil language.
(iii)  Archaeological evidence points out that several groups of people have been living in Tamil Nadu and South India continuously from the Mesolithic period.
(iv) A few groups from the Indus region might have migrated into southern India.
(v) Some of the ideas and technologies of the Indus civilisations had reached South India in the Iron Age.
(vi) The carnelian beads, shell bangles and bronze mirrors found in the Megalithic/Early Historic sites of Tamil Nadu were first introduced by the people of the Indus civilisation, More research is needed to arrive at any definite conclusion in this matter.
(vii) The towns of ancient Tamilagam such as Arikkamedu, Uraiyur and Keezhadi that flourished are part of the second urbanisation of India and these towns are much different from the Indus cities. These towns emerged approximately 1,200 years after the decline of the Indus civilisation.

(i) The Egyptians excelled in art and architecture. Their writing is also a form of art.
(ii) Numerous sculptures, painting and carvings attest to the artistic skills of Egyptians.
(iii) The pyramids are massive monuments built as tombs of mourning to the Pharaohs.
(iv) The great pyramids near Cairo are known as the Giza Pyramids.
(v) Pyramids are considered to be one of the wonders of the world, and they were built between 2575 and 2465 BCE.
(vi) These monuments display the engineering, architectural and human resource management skills of the Egyptians.
(vii) The Great Sphinx of Giza is a massive limestone image of a lion with a human head.
(viii) It is dated to the time of Pharaoh Khafre. It is one of the largest sculptures of the world and measures seventy three metres in length and twenty metres in height.

Philosophy:
1. Lao Tze was the master archive keeper of Chou state. He was the founder of Taoism.
2. He argued that desire is the root cause of all evils.
Confucius:
1. Confucius was famous among the Chinese philosophers and a political reformer.
2. He insisted on cultivation of one's own personal life.
3. He said, "If personal life is cultivated, family life is regulated and once family life is regulated, national life is regulated."
Mencius:
1. Mencius was another well-known Chinese philosopher.
2. He travelled throughout China and offered his counsel to the rulers.
Literature:
1. Chinese poets and philosophers contributed to the development of Chinese civilisation.
2. Sun-Tzu, a military strategist, wrote the work called Art of War.
3. The Spring and Autumn Annals is the official chronicle of the state at the time.
4. The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine is considered China's earliest written book on medicine.
5. It was codified during the time of Han Dynasty.

1. The writing of Egyptians were called hieroglyphic.
2. This form of writing used a pictogram based system.
3. Hieroglyphic was used in inscriptions on seals and other objects.
4. Many texts and books were written using this script.
5. The Egyptian writing system was deciphered by the French scholar Francois Champollion cuneiform.
6. Cuneiform is the Sumerian writing system.
7. The shape of the letter is in the form of wedge and hence it is called cuneiform
8. It is one of the earliest scripts of the world.
9. The epic of Gilgamesh was written in this script.
10 The Sumerians used this script for commercial transactions and writing letters and stories.
11. The clay tablets contain loads of information on the Sumerian civilisation.