World History Crossword Puzzle - WordMint - Free Printable

Let’s solve this crossword puzzle step by step. We’ll go clue by clue, using what we know about world history — especially early civilizations like Sumer, the Stone Age, and ancient tools/technologies.

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Across Clues:

1. *Is a system that stable societies/complex cultures.*
→ This is likely CIVILIZATION. (6 letters? Wait — let’s check grid later. But “civilization” fits the meaning.)

Wait — looking at the grid: Across 1 has 6 boxes → CIVILIZATION is too long. Let’s think again.

Actually, maybe it’s GOVERNMENT? No, doesn’t fit well.

Another idea: SOCIAL SYSTEM? Too long.

Wait — perhaps CLASS SYSTEM? Still not fitting.

Hold on — maybe it’s HIERARCHY? 9 letters — no.

Let me look at other clues first to get some answers and cross-reference.

4. *Sumer that is modern.*
→ Modern Sumer? That would be IRAQ. (4 letters) — yes! Grid for Across 4 is 4 boxes → IRAQ ✔

9. *It is (mountain of god).*
→ In Sumerian religion, mountains were sacred. The word is ZIGGURAT? But that’s a temple shaped like a mountain. Or maybe MOUNTAIN itself? But clue says “mountain of god” — in Hebrew, “Har HaElohim”, but in Sumer? Actually, ziggurats were called “house of the mountain” or “mountain of god”. So probably ZIGGURAT — but how many letters? Grid shows 8 boxes → ZIGGURAT = 8 letters ✔

12. *Animals that are use for traveling, hunting, and food source.*
→ Likely DOMESTICATED ANIMALS — too long. Maybe just ANIMALS? Too vague.

Wait — perhaps LIVESTOCK? 9 letters — grid for Across 12 is 7 boxes → Hmm.

Another thought: GAME ANIMALS? Not quite.

Maybe BEASTS? Too old-fashioned.

Wait — think of animals used for all three: travel (horses, camels), hunting (dogs?), food (cows, pigs). But one word?

Perhaps FAUNA? Too scientific.

Wait — maybe HERD? No.

Let’s skip and come back.

15. *The Age started in 3000 B.C.*
→ Around 3000 BC, Bronze Age began in Mesopotamia. So BRONZE AGE — 10 letters? Grid for Across 15 is 5 boxes → NO.

Wait — maybe just BRONZE? 6 letters — still no.

Grid for Across 15: looks like 5 boxes → What age started around 3000 BC? Iron Age? No, that’s later. Neolithic ended before then.

Actually, 3000 BC is start of Bronze Age in many places — but if only 5 letters… maybe METAL? Not an age.

Wait — perhaps DYNASTY? No.

Another idea: EMPIRE? Akkadian Empire started ~2334 BC — too late.

Wait — maybe SUMER? But that’s a place, not an age.

Clue 17: *Develops C. 7000 B.C.* — that’s early farming, so AGRICULTURE? 11 letters — grid for Across 17 is 4 boxes → NO.

This is tricky. Let’s try Down clues — sometimes they’re easier.

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Down Clues:

2. *Ditches that transport water from one place to another.*
→ IRRIGATION CANALS? Too long. Just CANALS? 6 letters — grid for Down 2 is 6 boxes → YES! CANALS ✔

3. *It increase in fishing, small game, and gathering.*
→ When people started doing more of this, it led to settlement. Probably SURPLUS? Or FOOD SUPPLY?

But clue says “it increase” — maybe POPULATION? 10 letters — grid for Down 3 is 10 boxes → POPULATION ✔ Makes sense — as food increased, population grew.

5. *They cut trees/grasses and burn them.*
→ Slash-and-burn agriculture → SLASHBURN? Not a word. CLEARING? Too vague.

Actually, the technique is called SWIDDEN — but rare. More commonly, BURNING? Not specific.

Wait — perhaps FARMERS? No.

Another idea: AGRICULTURISTS? Too long.

Think: cutting and burning vegetation to farm → SHIFTING CULTIVATION — too long.

Maybe just CULTIVATE? 9 letters — grid for Down 5 is 5 boxes → NO.

Wait — perhaps PIONEERS? No.

Let’s think differently: who did this? Early farmers. But the action?

Ah! CLEAR LAND? Not one word.

Wait — maybe DEFORREST? Misspelled.

Actually, common term: SLASH-AND-BURN — hyphenated, not good for crossword.

Perhaps the answer is BURNERS? Unlikely.

Wait — maybe SETTLERS? They cleared land.

Grid for Down 5: 5 boxes → Let’s hold.

6. *It's when they focus on one thing/job.*
→ Specialization! SPECIALIZATION — too long. Shorter: SPECIALIZE? 10 letters — grid for Down 6 is 10 boxes → SPECIALIZE ✔ Yes! As societies grew, people specialized in jobs.

7. *This Age is when Ice Age is still occurring.*
→ Paleolithic Age — because during Paleolithic, ice ages happened. PALEOLITHIC — 12 letters — grid for Down 7 is 12 boxes → PALEOLITHIC ✔

8. *It is trading goods/services without money.*
→ Barter! BARTER — 6 letters — grid for Down 8 is 6 boxes → BARTER ✔

10. *People that collect plants.*
→ Gatherers! GATHERERS — 9 letters — grid for Down 10 is 9 boxes → GATHERERS ✔

11. *It is professional record of writing.*
→ Scribes wrote records. But the record itself? ARCHIVE? RECORDS?

Wait — “professional record of writing” — maybe SCRIPTURE? No.

In ancient times, scribes kept TABLETS — but that’s physical.

Perhaps CHRONICLE? 9 letters — grid for Down 11 is 9 boxes → CHRONICLE ✔ Possible.

Or ANNALS? Too short.

Another idea: DOCUMENTS? 9 letters — also possible.

But “professional record” — maybe LEDGER? For accounting.

Wait — in Sumer, scribes recorded on clay tablets — so perhaps TABLETS is the object, but clue says “record of writing” — abstract.

I think CHRONICLE is best fit.

13. *This Age is when Ice Age ended.*
→ End of Ice Age was start of Holocene, which coincides with Neolithic Revolution. So NEOLITHIC — 9 letters — grid for Down 13 is 9 boxes → NEOLITHIC ✔

14. *They're people that move one place to another.*
→ Nomads! NOMADS — 6 letters — grid for Down 14 is 6 boxes → NOMADS ✔

16. *It is extra food.*
→ Surplus! SURPLUS — 7 letters — grid for Down 16 is 7 boxes → SURPLUS ✔

18. *Ancient clay tablets.*
→ These are called CYLINDER SEALS? No, those are for signing.

Actually, the tablets themselves are just CLAY TABLETS, but clue says “ancient clay tablets” — perhaps the name for them?

In Sumer, they used CUNEIFORM script on them — but cuneiform is the writing, not the tablet.

Wait — maybe TABLETS alone? 7 letters — grid for Down 18 is 7 boxes → TABLETS ✔ Simple and correct.

Now back to Across.

We have:

Across 4: IRAQ ✔

Across 9: ZIGGURAT ✔ (8 letters)

Across 15: ? 5 letters — Age started 3000 BC → Bronze Age started then, but “BRONZE” is 6 letters.

Wait — maybe METAL AGE? Not standard.

Another possibility: URUK PERIOD? Too long.

Wait — 3000 BC is when writing developed in Sumer — so maybe WRITING? 7 letters — no.

Clue 17: Develops C. 7000 B.C. — 4 letters → What developed around 7000 BC? Farming! FARM — 4 letters → FARM ✔ Yes! Agriculture began around then.

So Across 17: FARM

Then Across 15: 5 letters, Age started 3000 BC → Perhaps IRON? No, Iron Age is ~1200 BC.

Wait — maybe STONE? Stone Age ended before 3000 BC.

Another idea: DYNASTY — First Dynasty of Egypt ~3100 BC — close. DYNASTY is 7 letters — no.

Perhaps KINGS? No.

Wait — maybe EMPIRES? 7 letters.

Let’s look at Across 1: 6 letters — system for stable societies → LAWS? Too short.

RULES? No.

ORDER? 5 letters.

SYSTEM? 6 letters — but redundant.

Wait — STATE? 5 letters.

Another thought: GOVERN? Not a noun.

Perhaps POLITY? 6 letters — means a form of government or society. POLITY ✔ Fits! And it’s a system that allows stable societies.

Yes! Across 1: POLITY

Now Across 12: Animals for traveling, hunting, food — 7 letters → LIVESTOCK is 9, too long.

ANIMALS is 7 letters — but too general.

BEASTS is 6.

CREATURES — 9.

Wait — DOMESTIC — 8 letters.

Perhaps TAME ANIMALS — no.

Another idea: PACK ANIMALS — for traveling, but not necessarily for hunting or food.

Wait — dogs for hunting, horses for travel, cows for food — but one word?

Perhaps FAUNA — 5 letters.

I’m stuck.

Let’s do Across 19: River that is (southern Iraq) — Tigris or Euphrates? Southern Iraq is where they meet — Shatt al-Arab, but that’s not ancient.

In ancient Sumer, the rivers are Tigris and Euphrates. Which one is southern? Both flow through, but Euphrates is more west/south.

But clue says “river that is (southern Iraq)” — perhaps EUPHRATES — 9 letters — grid for Across 19 is 9 boxes → EUPHRATES ✔

Across 20: 3000 B.C. Sumerian scribes invent...... — Writing! Specifically, cuneiform. But “invent” what? WRITING — 7 letters — grid for Across 20 is 10 boxes → Too short.

CUNEIFORM — 9 letters — still short.

SCRIPT — 6 letters.

Wait — perhaps CLAY TABLETS — but that’s two words.

The invention is WRITING SYSTEM — too long.

Actually, scribes invented CUNEIFORM SCRIPT — but again, long.

Perhaps just SCRIPT — 6 letters — no.

Grid for Across 20: 10 boxes → What did they invent in 3000 BC? Writing — but need 10 letters.

WRITTEN LANGUAGE — 15 letters.

EARLY WRITING — 12.

Wait — CUNEIFORM is 9, add something?

Perhaps THE WRITING — no.

Another idea: RECORD KEEPING — 13 letters.

I recall that the first writing was on clay tablets for accounting — so perhaps ACCOUNTING — 10 letters → ACCOUNTING ✔ Yes! Sumerian scribes invented accounting/writing for trade records around 3000 BC.

Perfect.

Now Across 12: 7 letters — animals for travel, hunting, food.

With crosses, let’s see.

From Down 14: NOMADS — intersects with Across 12? Let’s assume grid positions.

Perhaps WILD GAME — but not for travel.

Wait — HUNTED ANIMALS — no.

Another thought: GAME AND LIVESTOCK — too long.

Perhaps the answer is ANIMALS — even though general, it might be accepted. But let’s see if there’s better.

Wait — BEAST OF BURDEN — for travel, but not hunting or food primarily.

Perhaps DOGS, HORSES, COWS — not one word.

I think I found it: FAUNA is 5, too short.

Let’s list possible 7-letter words: CREATURE, MAMMALS, VERTEBR — no.

LIVESTOC — misspelled.

Wait — DOMESTIC is 8.

Perhaps TAMED — 5.

I’m considering ANIMALS as the best fit, even if broad.

But let’s check Across 15 again: 5 letters, Age started 3000 BC.

With Across 17 being FARM, and Down 13 NEOLITHIC ending around 3000 BC, then Bronze Age starts.

But "BRONZE" is 6 letters.

Unless it's METAL — 5 letters → METAL AGE? But usually called Bronze Age.

In some contexts, "Metal Age" is used, but rare.

Perhaps IRON — no.

Another idea: URUK — city, not age.

Wait — clue 15: "The Age started in 3000 B.C." — and clue 13 Down is NEOLITHIC ended, so next is Bronze Age.

Perhaps the answer is BRONZE and the grid is miscounted? But user said grid has 5 boxes for Across 15.

Looking back at the image description — Across 15 has 5 boxes.

What 5-letter word for an age starting 3000 BC?

DYNASTY — 7 letters.

KINGDOM — 7.

EMPIRE — 6.

STATE — 5 letters → STATE could mean political entity, but not an "age".

Perhaps ERA — 3 letters.

I think there might be a mistake, but let's assume BRONZE is intended, and grid is wrong — but we must follow grid.

Another possibility: STONE — but Stone Age ended earlier.

Wait — 3000 BC is Chalcolithic or Copper Age in some regions.

COPPER — 6 letters.

COPPER AGE — 10 letters.

Not helping.

Let's do Across 11: wait, Across 11 is not given; Down 11 is CHRONICLE.

Across 14: ? Grid for Across 14 is 5 boxes — clue not listed? In the text, Across clues are 1,4,9,12,15,17,19,20 — so 14 is not across, it's down.

In the list, Across 14 is not mentioned; only up to 20, but 14 is skipped in across? Let's read the original:

"Across
1. ...
4. ...
9. ...
12. ...
15. ...
17. ...
19. ...
20. ..."

So Across 14 is not a clue — it's part of the grid but no clue? That can't be.

Perhaps I missed it.

In the user's message: "Across" lists 1,4,9,12,15,17,19,20 — so 14 is not across.

Similarly, Down has 2,3,5,6,7,8,10,11,13,14,16,18 — so 1,4,9,12,15,17,19,20 are across, others down.

For Across 12: 7 letters — let's say ANIMALS for now.

But let's use crosses.

From Down 2: CANALS — vertical, so if it intersects Across 12, etc.

Perhaps Across 12 is LIVESTOCK but 9 letters — grid is 7, so no.

Another idea: GAME is 4, too short.

WILD — 4.

I recall that in early societies, animals used were called DOMESTICATES — 12 letters.

Perhaps the answer is BEASTS — 6 letters.

Let's count the grid for Across 12: in the text, it's shown as 7 boxes.

Perhaps CREATURE — 8 letters.

I think I have to guess ANIMALS.

But let's try Across 1: POLITY — 6 letters.

Across 4: IRAQ — 4 letters.

Across 9: ZIGGURAT — 8 letters.

Across 12: ? 7 letters.

Across 15: ? 5 letters.

Across 17: FARM — 4 letters.

Across 19: EUPHRATES — 9 letters.

Across 20: ACCOUNTING — 10 letters.

Now for Across 15: 5 letters, Age started 3000 BC.

With Down 13: NEOLITHIC — ends around 3000 BC, so next is Bronze Age.

Perhaps the answer is METAL — as in Metal Age, though uncommon.

Or IRON — no.

Another possibility: SUMER — but that's a place, not an age.

Clue 4 is "Sumer that is modern" -> IRAQ, so Sumer is ancient.

Perhaps AKKAD — empire started ~2334 BC.

Not 3000.

I think the only logical choice is BRONZE and assume the grid has 6 boxes, but user said 5.

Perhaps it's AGE — 3 letters.

No.

Let's look at Down 5: 5 boxes — "They cut trees/grasses and burn them." — this is slash-and-burn, so perhaps BURN — 4 letters.

CLEAR — 5 letters → CLEAR ✔ Yes! They clear land by cutting and burning.

So Down 5: CLEAR

Then Down 6: SPECIALIZE — 10 letters.

Down 7: PALEOLITHIC — 12 letters.

Down 8: BARTER — 6 letters.

Down 10: GATHERERS — 9 letters.

Down 11: CHRONICLE — 9 letters.

Down 13: NEOLITHIC — 9 letters.

Down 14: NOMADS — 6 letters.

Down 16: SURPLUS — 7 letters.

Down 18: TABLETS — 7 letters.

Now for Across 12: 7 letters — animals for travel, hunting, food.

With Down 14: NOMADS — if it intersects, perhaps the third letter is O or something.

Assume Across 12 is ANIMALS — A N I M A L S

Then Down 14: N O M A D S — so if Across 12 position 2 is N, and Down 14 position 1 is N, that works if they intersect at that point.

Similarly, for Across 15: 5 letters — let's say METAL — M E T A L

Then Down 13: N E O L I T H I C — so if Across 15 is at row where Down 13 has E, then M E T A L, second letter E matches.

Possible.

Across 1: POLITY — P O L I T Y

Down 2: C A N A L S — if intersects, etc.

I think we have to go with that.

So final answers:

Across:
1. POLITY
4. IRAQ
9. ZIGGURAT
12. ANIMALS
15. METAL (assuming Metal Age)
17. FARM
19. EUPHRATES
20. ACCOUNTING

Down:
2. CANALS
3. POPULATION
5. CLEAR
6. SPECIALIZE
7. PALEOLITHIC
8. BARTER
10. GATHERERS
11. CHRONICLE
13. NEOLITHIC
14. NOMADS
16. SURPLUS
18. TABLETS

For Across 15, "METAL" might be acceptable as shorthand for Metal Age.

Some might argue for "BRONZE", but grid size forces 5 letters.

Similarly, for Across 12, "ANIMALS" is broad but fits.

Now, to confirm, let's see if there's a better fit for Across 15.

Another 5-letter word: STONE — but Stone Age ended before 3000 BC.

ICE — no.

NEW — no.

I think METAL is the best available.

So I'll go with that.

Final Answer:

Across:
1. POLITY
4. IRAQ
9. ZIGGURAT
12. ANIMALS
15. METAL
17. FARM
19. EUPHRATES
20. ACCOUNTING

Down:
2. CANALS
3. POPULATION
5. CLEAR
6. SPECIALIZE
7. PALEOLITHIC
8. BARTER
10. GATHERERS
11. CHRONICLE
13. NEOLITHIC
14. NOMADS
16. SURPLUS
18. TABLETS