Ancient Civilizations Crossword Puzzles Printable

Print ancient civilizations vocabulary crosswords: Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, China, Greece, Rome and the early Americas, with answer keys.

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Ancient Civilizations Crossword

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Answer key: Ancient Civilizations Crossword

1FL2OOD3MX4T5HARVES6TOYNA7GIZABA8SEALE9H10SIXTYAI11NILEK

Across 1 FLOOD · 5 HARVEST · 7 GIZA · 8 SEAL · 10 SIXTY · 11 NILE

Down 2 OXEN · 3 MAYA · 4 TOGA · 6 TABLET · 9 HAN · 10 SILK

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Mesopotamia and Its Neighbors 29

  • Alphabet Set of letters for sounds; Phoenician traders spread an early one
  • Assyria Northern land, later an empire, whose last great capital was Nineveh
  • Babylon Great city on the western river, linked in legend with hanging gardens
  • Barley Salt-tolerant grain that Sumerian farmers came to grow in place of wheat
  • Canal Dug waterway that carried river water to the fields
  • Cedar Prized timber of Lebanon, shipped across the ancient world
  • Cuneiform Writing in wedge marks; its name comes from an old word for wedge
  • Euphrates Longer, western one of the two great rivers of the first cities
  • Fertile ___ Crescent: the arc of good farmland from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean
  • Gilgamesh Hero-king of one of the oldest stories ever written down
  • Hammurabi Babylonian king whose laws were carved on a tall stone
  • Ishtar Goddess for whom a blue-glazed Babylonian city gate was named
  • Levee Earth bank piled along a river to keep it in its bed
  • Lyre Stringed instrument found in the royal tombs of Ur
  • Mesopotamia Region of the first cities, lying mostly in what is now Iraq
  • Oxen Yoked cattle that dragged farm tools and carts
  • Persia Empire founded by Cyrus the Great, the largest of its time
  • Phoenicia Seafaring land of traders on the eastern Mediterranean coast
  • Plow Farm tool pulled by strong cattle to break the soil
  • Purple Color of a costly Phoenician dye made from sea snails
  • Sargon King of Akkad who built one of the first empires
  • Sixty Number the Sumerians counted by, still used for the minutes in an hour
  • Stylus Cut reed used as a writing tool
  • Sumer Southern land of the earliest known civilization, with cities such as Ur
  • Tablet Flat piece of clay that was written on, then dried
  • Tigris Eastern of the two great rivers of the first cities
  • Uruk Sumerian city that was the largest in the world about 3100 BCE
  • Wheel Disk on an axle, first cut from solid wood in the late Stone Age
  • Ziggurat Massive tower of stacked platforms, each smaller than the one below

Egypt and the Nile 29

  • Cataract Stretch of rocky rapids that blocked boats on the upper river
  • Chariot Fast war cart with two spoked wheels
  • Cleopatra Last active ruler of Egypt under the Ptolemies
  • Delta Triangle of rich farmland at a river's end, named for a Greek letter
  • Desert Dry land that lies on both sides of the green river valley
  • Flood Yearly rise of the river that watered the fields of Egypt
  • Giza Site near Cairo of the three most famous royal tombs
  • Hatshepsut Woman who ruled Egypt as king and sent ships to the land of Punt
  • Hieroglyphs Picture signs of Egyptian writing
  • Khufu King whose monument was the tallest structure people had built for more than 3,700 years
  • Kush Land south of Egypt whose kings once ruled Egypt too
  • Linen Light fabric made from the flax plant, cool in the heat of Egypt
  • Memphis Capital of Egypt in the age of the great tomb builders
  • Mummy Body treated so that it would not decay, then bound in cloth
  • Nile River whose yearly rise made farming possible in a land with almost no rain
  • Nubia Region along the river south of Egypt, known for its gold
  • Obelisk Towering shaft cut from one block of stone, often raised in pairs at a temple gate
  • Papyrus Marsh plant whose sliced stems made the writing sheets of Egypt
  • Pharaoh Wearer of the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt
  • Pyramid Royal tomb whose four slanting faces rise from a square to a single point
  • Rosetta ___ Stone: a decree in three scripts, found in 1799, that let scholars read the picture signs
  • Sarcophagus Stone coffin, often carved, of a king or a noble
  • Scarab Beetle whose shape was carved as a charm
  • Shaduf Counterweighted pole that swings a bucket of river water up to a field
  • Silt Fine, rich mud left on fields when high water goes down
  • Sphinx Lion with a human head, carved from the bedrock beside the great tombs
  • Thebes Southern city of the temples of Luxor and Karnak, long a capital of Egypt
  • Tutankhamun Ruler of Egypt from about the age of nine, whose burial came to light in 1922
  • Vizier Highest official, who ran Egypt for the king

Indus Valley and China 31

  • Ashoka Maurya ruler who had his messages carved on pillars and rocks
  • Calligraphy Art of beautiful handwriting
  • Citadel Raised, walled part of a city
  • Confucius Teacher whose sayings were gathered in the Analects
  • Cotton Plant fiber spun and woven into cloth in South Asia very early
  • Drains Covered brick channels that carried waste water away from houses
  • Grid Street plan of straight roads that cross at right angles
  • Gupta Empire of northern India, 3rd to 6th century CE, which some historians call a golden age
  • Han Ruling house whose name most people of China still use for themselves
  • Harappa Site in Pakistan that gives a whole early civilization its other name
  • Indus River of an early civilization in what is now Pakistan and northwest India
  • Jade Hard stone, green or white, prized by Chinese carvers
  • Loess Fine, wind-blown yellowish soil of northern China
  • Mandate ___ of Heaven: the idea that a just ruler had the sky's approval to rule
  • Millet Small-seeded grain grown in China more than 7,000 years ago
  • Mohenjo-daro City of baked brick with a Great Bath, built about 2500 BCE
  • Monsoon Yearly shift of the winds on which the farmers of India waited for rain
  • Oracle ___ bones: ox bones and turtle shells bearing the earliest Chinese writing
  • Paper Writing material invented in China about 2,000 years ago
  • Qin Short-lived ruling house that united China in 221 BCE
  • Rice Staple grain of southern China, grown in flooded fields
  • Sanskrit Ancient language of India's oldest texts
  • Seal Small carved stone stamp, often showing an animal and a few signs
  • Shang Earliest Chinese ruling house firmly supported by archaeological finds
  • Silk Cloth from the thread of a caterpillar's cocoon, first woven in China
  • Terracotta Fired earth from which an army of life-size figures was made for a Chinese tomb
  • Wall Great ___: chain of ramparts raised against raiders from the northern steppe
  • Yangtze China's longest river, which reaches the East China Sea near Shanghai
  • Yellow ___ River: the Huang He, along which early Chinese civilization grew
  • Zero Number for which a mathematician of India wrote rules in the 7th century CE
  • Zhou Longest-lasting ruling house in Chinese history

Greece and Rome 37

  • Acropolis High, rocky hill at the heart of a Greek city
  • Agora Gathering ground of a Greek city, lined with stalls and public buildings
  • Alexander Conqueror, taught by Aristotle, who marched as far as India
  • Aqueduct Roman water line, sloping gently for miles and crossing valleys on stone arches
  • Arch Curved span that Roman builders used for bridges and gateways
  • Athens Greek city where citizens voted on their own laws
  • Augustus Name taken by Octavian, the first emperor of Rome
  • Caesar Julius ___, the general who was made dictator for life
  • Carthage Phoenician-founded city in North Africa, the great rival of Rome
  • Colosseum Huge oval arena of Rome, opened in 80 CE
  • Concrete Building mix that the Romans made with volcanic ash
  • Consul One of the two chief officials Romans elected each year
  • Democracy System in which the citizens themselves vote; its name joins the Greek for people and rule
  • Etruscan Word for the people of central Italy whose lands Rome later absorbed
  • Forum Roman marketplace and meeting ground ringed by temples and courts
  • Gladiator Armed performer who fought before crowds in an amphitheater
  • Hannibal General who crossed the Alps with war elephants
  • Homer Name given to the poet of two long epics about Troy and the journey home
  • Hoplite Spear-carrying soldier of the kind that made up the bulk of an army of Greece
  • Latin Language of the Romans
  • Legion Body of the Roman army made up of ten cohorts
  • Minoan Word for the early palace culture of Crete, centered on Knossos
  • Mosaic Floor picture built from small cubes of colored stone
  • Mycenae Hilltop stronghold of early Greece, entered by the Lion Gate
  • Olympia Sanctuary where the ancient games were held every four years
  • Parthenon Columned temple begun in 447 BCE on a high rock above its city
  • Patrician Roman born into the small class of noble families
  • Phalanx Tight block of foot soldiers standing shield to shield
  • Plebeian Common citizen of Rome
  • Polis Greek word for a city and the land it ruled
  • Pompeii City near Naples that volcanic ash sealed in 79 CE
  • Republic Government with no king; Rome was one from 509 BCE, by tradition
  • Senate Council of elders that advised Rome's leaders
  • Sparta Greek city known for its strict military training
  • Tiber River beside which Rome grew
  • Toga Long cloth wrapped over the tunic, the mark of a citizen of Rome
  • Trireme Fast galley rowed on three levels

Early Americas 20

  • Cacao Bean of a prized drink of early Mexico, the source of chocolate
  • Calendar System for counting days; the Mayan one meshed a 260-day and a 365-day count
  • Caral Peruvian site that is among the oldest cities of the Americas
  • Chavín Early Andean culture named for a temple site in the Peruvian highlands
  • Glyph Carved or painted sign in a writing system
  • Jaguar Spotted big cat whose features appear again and again in Mayan carvings
  • Llama Pack animal of the Andean peoples
  • Maize Corn, the crop that fed the early Americas
  • Maya People of southern Mexico and Central America with a full writing system
  • Mound Great heap of earth raised by early builders in North America
  • Nazca People of the Peruvian south coast who drew giant lines on the ground
  • Obsidian Volcanic glass chipped into sharp blades
  • Olmec People of the hot lowlands of southern Mexico, known for colossal carved heads
  • Rubber Bouncy material of the heavy ball in the ballgame of early Mexico
  • Squash Third of the Three Sisters, whose wide leaves shade the ground
  • Stela Upright stone slab carved to honor a ruler or mark an event
  • Teotihuacan City of the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, near modern Mexico City
  • Terrace Level strip built across a slope so that crops can grow on it
  • Tikal Great city of temple towers in the Guatemalan forest
  • Zapotec People of Oaxaca who built Monte Albán on a leveled ridge

Historian's Words 31

  • Archaeology Science of digging up and studying the remains of past peoples
  • Artifact Tool, pot or ornament from the past that an excavation turns up
  • Artisan Skilled worker who makes things by hand
  • Barter Swap one kind of goods for another without coins
  • Bronze Metal made of copper and tin that names an age
  • Caravan String of loaded camels or donkeys and the traders who walk with them
  • City-state Independent town with its own government and farmland, such as Ur
  • Conquest Winning of new territory by an army
  • Decipher Work out the meaning of a lost system of writing
  • Domesticate Tame a wild plant or animal for human use
  • Dynasty Family that holds a throne for generation after generation
  • Excavate Dig a site with care to uncover its remains
  • Granary Building where a city kept its stored wheat dry
  • Harvest Season's cutting and bringing in of the grain
  • Inscription Writing cut into a monument or a stone slab
  • Iron Harder metal whose age came next, after the age of copper and tin
  • Irrigation Watering of fields with river water led through dug channels
  • Law Rule that a whole land must obey; some early ones were carved in stone
  • Legacy What a people of the past hands down to those who come after
  • Merchant Person who buys and sells goods for a living
  • Millennium Span of ten centuries
  • Monarchy Rule by one person who inherits the throne
  • Myth Old story told to explain how the world came to be as it is
  • Nomad Herder who follows the grass with the seasons instead of settling
  • Pictograph Picture that stands for a word or an idea
  • Ruins Broken walls and fallen columns of a place where people once lived
  • Scribe Person trained to read, write and keep records
  • Script System of signs for writing a language
  • Surplus More food than is needed, which frees people for other work
  • Tax Share of crops or money owed to the ruler
  • Tribute Goods or gold that a defeated land had to send its conqueror

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for grade 4 to 8 social studies, in six sets: Mesopotamia and its neighbors, Egypt, the Indus Valley and China, Greece and Rome, the early Americas, and words historians use. Dates, places and names were checked against English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0) in October 2026. Dates are written BCE and CE, and a date that rests on tradition says so. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

These ancient civilizations crossword puzzles, printable on Letter or A4, cover several early civilizations and not one. They are criss-cross vocabulary crosswords that open on 12 easy clues such as Nile, Giza and Maya.

Read the full guide

A set for each region

Mesopotamia and Its Neighbors has Ziggurat, Cuneiform and Hammurabi. Egypt and the Nile has Shaduf, Vizier and Hatshepsut. Indus Valley and China has Harappa, Ashoka and Zhou. Greece and Rome has Agora, Trireme and Consul. Early Americas has Olmec, Caral and Stela. Historian's Words teaches Surplus, Scribe and Tribute.

Dates and legends

Dates are written BCE and CE. Where a date or a story rests on tradition, the clue says so: the Roman republic from 509 BCE by tradition, the hanging gardens of Babylon as legend.

  • Print one region for each unit, then All for the end-of-year review, which mixes Sumer with the Maya.

Questions and answers

Which ancient civilizations are in the crossword puzzles?

Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, Persia and Phoenicia; Egypt and Kush; the Indus Valley cities; China from the Shang to the Han; Greece and Rome; and the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Chavín and Nazca of the early Americas.

What grade are the ancient civilizations crosswords for?

Easy Ancient World Words suits grades 4 and 5, with answers such as Mummy, Toga and Wheel. The regional sets match a sixth grade ancient history course and suit grades 6 to 8. These bands are our judgement, not a published standard.

Are the ancient civilizations crossword puzzles free printable pages?

Yes. Every puzzle is free to print, with no sign-up, and its answer key prints last on a sheet of its own.

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