foundations unit 0/1 (8000 BCE- 600 CE)

ap world history fall semester exam

8,000 BC village life in the new stone age

neolithic revolution aka the agricultural revolution (hunters and gatherers to agriculture

what crops and animals did mesopotamians use in 8000 BC

wheat, barley, sheep, goats

what did agriculture open the door to

growth of cities, division of labor, trade, writing and mathematics

lake houses (switzerland), long houses (Danube), stone huts (Britain), reed lean-tos (egypt), clay brick huts (middle East)

are examples of neolithic settlements

what type of society did the mesopotamians have

close-knit; communal granaries, ovens, and fields; private property was limited to personal possessions

what was the old and new political organization for the mesopotamians

used to have council of elders, but authority moves to a single leader

needs to make agricultural lifestyle (name 3+)

clay pottery, woven baskets, woolen and linen clothing, sophisticated tools and weapons, plow

more organization due to agricultural lifestyle

farmers lived in settlements which ranged from 150 (Jarmo) to 2000 (Jericho)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

self-actualization, esteem, social, safety, physiological

characteristics of civilization (seems important to know)

• cities

• organized central governments

• complex religions

• social classes

• job specialization and the arts

• writing

central governments political system

organized central goverments were earlier led by priests then by warrior chiefs or kings

good and bad things rivers provided

good: water supply, transportation, food supply from animals; bad: flooding & irrigation, also required organized mass labor (corvee) construction and repair of canals and irrigation ditches

responsibilites for governments in central goverments as complexity rose

tax collecting, law making, handling public works projects, organizing systems of defense

religions and politics

gods often represented natural forces, others controlled human activities; priests and worshippers tried to gain gods’ favor through rituals and sacrifice; directed by unquestionable ruling class of priests, kings regarded as a god or as a god’s agent

important religious structures in the foundations unit

Egyptian temple, Mayan temple, MESOPOTAMIAN ZIGGURAT

common social class in foundations unit

chief, priests, nobles, wealthy merchants, artisants, peasants/farmers, (the rest was cut off but im assuming slaves)

class structure and social differentation was based off of specialization of labor

priests- we talk to god u dont haha, artistocrats/warriors- we have weapons u dont haha, common people- uhh we work i guess, slaves-we are cooked chat

writing was first used

probably first used by priests and using pictograms; (chinese calligraphy, egyptian hieroglyphs, mesopotamian cuneiform)

only four locations that developed civilizations from neolithic age independently

china, indus river valley, mesopotamia/egypt, central america and peru

what are some characteristics that made the main four civilizations successful

• water (river culture; river valley civilizations)

• adaptable to environment

• suitable for domesticated plants/animals

• relatively stable (a bit hot) climate

challenges for mesopotamia

• flooding of tigris and euphrates river = unpredictable

• no natural barriers

• limited natural resources for making tools or buildings

challenges/strengths for egypt

• flooding of the nile = unpredictable

• nile was an easy transportation link between egypt’s villages

• deserts were natural barrriers

challenges/strengths for indus river valley

• indus flooding unpredictable

• monsoon winds

  mountains, deserts were natural barriers

challenges/strengths for china

• Huang He flooding unpredictable

• mountains, deserts natural barriers

• geographically isolated from other ancient civilizations

challenges/strengths for mesoamerica & andes

• mountains and ocean natural barriers

• warm temperatures and moderate rainfall

• geographically isolated from other ancient civilizations

(describe) mesopotamia’s fertile crescent location

sumer- the earliest of the river valley civilizations; sumerian civilization grew up along the tigris and euphrates river in modern-day Kuwait

SUMERIAN ADVANCEMENTS

• cuneiform writing (pressing a pointed stylus into a clay tablet)

• brick technology

• wheel

• base 60- using the circle… 360 degrees

• time- 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute

• 12 month lunar calender

• arch

• ramp

• ziggurat (holy mountain)

Babylon law system

first known written law code

“Rule of Law’

Hammurabi’s Code - 1792

Egypt Advancements “The Gift of the Nile”

hieroglyphics

pyramids

geometry

advances in medicine and surgery

indus river valley 2500 BC-1500 BC settlement patterns

• Harappan culture

• Well planned cities

• grid pattern

• modern plumbing

• built on mud brick platforms; protected against seasonal floods

• larger cities; houses built of baked brick

• smaller towns; houses built of sun-dried mud brick

aryan migration into india c. 1750 BC

pastoral depended on their cattle

&

warriors rode horse-drawn chariots

Varna (social hierarchy)

brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, shudras, pariahs (Harijan) untouchables

shang china (1600 BC- 1027 BC)

Yellow River Valley

Bronze, jade, stone, bone and ceramic artifacts

Advanced culture

• divinations

• religion

• astronomy

• calender

• art

• medicine

Shang China (1600 BC - 1122 BC)

religion (human and animal sacrifices)

regarded their land as only civilized land and called it Zhongguo (Middle Kingdom)

lack of contact with foreigners led to belief in

strong sense of identity

superiority

center of earth

sole source of civilization

Zhou China (1122 BC- 256 BC)

bronze, jade, silver, gold

mandate of heaven

• power to rule came from heaven

• power could be removed if ruler not just

veneration of ancestors

• all must honor family responsibilities

Period ending with era of warring states

mesoamerican and andean south america (2900 BC - 1400 BC)

mesoamerica-

• maize, chili peppers, avocados, beans

• pottery

• stone bowls

• beads

• waddle and daub structures

• no draft animals

mesoamerica and andean south america (3500 BC - 1400 BC)

andes

• textiles technology

• sophisticated goverment

• religion

• lacked ceramics

• largely without art

• most impressive achievement was monumental architecture: large platform mounds, sunken circular plazas

Civilization

• a civilization is built on what is required of men, not that which is provided for them

• increased means and increased leisure are the two civilizers of man

• to be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization

Civilization

• cities that served as administrative centers

• political system based on control or defined territory rather on connections of kinship

• significant number of people engaged in specialized, non-food-producing activities

• status distinctions, usually linked to accumulation of substantial wealth by some groups

• monumental building

• system for keeping permanent records

• long distance trade

• major advances in science and and arts

mauryan empire (320 BCE-320 CE)

Chandragupta

• unified northern India after Alexander the Great withdrew

• set up efficient bureaucracy

mauryan empire (320 BCE- 320 CE)

Asoka (grandson)

• dedicated life to Buddha

• continued bureaucracy

• hospitals, roads

Gupta Empire (320-647 CE)

Chandra Gupta I

Bureaucracy

• allowed local government in south

social structure in mauryan empire

Patriarchal

• women were legally minors

• women under control of fathers, husbands and sons

Caste system continued

Gupta Advancements

• greatly influenced Southeast Asian art and architecture

• medicine: 500 healing plants identified, 1000 diseases classified, printed medical guides, plastic surgery, c-sections performed, inoculations

• literature: Kalidasa

• mathematics: decimal system, concept of zero, PI = 3.1416

• astronomy: solar calendar, the earth is round

Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty (221-206 BCE)

Shi Huangdi

Legalist rule

• bureaucratic centralized control

• military expansion

• book burning → targeted Confucianists

• - Buried protestors alive uh oh

terra cotta army and great wall

Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE)- Chang’an was The Han Capital

Strong, centralized bureaucracy

Extended Great Wall

Roads (including Silk Road), canals

Emperor Wu Di (141-87 BCE)

• public schools

• colonized Manchuria, Korea, and Vietnam

• civil service system

Han Artifacts

Imperial Seal & Han Ceramic House

Early History of Classical Greece (3000 BCE-750 BCE)

Minoans

• Crete

• Seafaring merchants

• sophisticated civilization

Hellenes

• merged with native Greeks

Dark Age

Geographic Influence on Greece

Mountains

• independent city-states

Insufficient farmland

• founded colonies on Mediterranean coast

Location

• peninsula in mediterranean

• exchange of culture/trade

Deep harbors

• numerous good harbors on its irregular coastline

City-States in Greece

Athens

• Democratic, leading city-state

Sparta

• Artistocratic/military city-state

Corinth

• trading center

United by language, culture and fear of Persians

Alexander the Great (336-323 BCE)

Taught by Aristotle

Conquered Persian Empire

Created Hellenistic culture

Died suddenly at 33

Athenian Contributions

Theater, poetry and historical writing

Science and math

Architecture and sculpture

Philosophy

• Socrates; individual

• Plato; group

• Aristotle; world

Ancient Rome (1500 BCE-500 BCE)

1500 BC-Latine crossed Alps

• founded Rome

• conquered by Etruscans

New Romans

• Roads, walls, and buildings

• Metal weapons

Republic (500-27 BCE)

Social aristocracy

• Patricians

• Plebeians

Senate

Conquered Mediterranean world

• Italian Peninsula and west

• Client states

Spread Greek culture

Began to end with assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE

Empire (27 BCE-476 CE)

Octavian (Augustus)

• Began Pax Romana

Spread Greco-Roman civilization

• Law, language, historical writing

• trade industry, science, architecture

Diocletian

• divided empire

Constantine

• reunited empire

• converted to Christianity

Germanic Invasion

Germans allowed to settle

Huns pushed more Germs

Classical Mesoamerica; Maya (1800 BCE-800 BCE)

• led by ruler-priests

• only known fully developed written language of time/area

• art, architecture

• writing, math, astronomy, calendar

• cultural diffusion across Mesoamerica

Chavin (900 BCE-200 BCE)

pottery

metalwork (including gold and silver)

religion promoted fertility

• built temples

• used hallucinogens

trade

why civilizations fall (external reasons)

war

natural disaster

disease

why civilizations fall (internal reasons)

overpopulation

economic problems

social disruption

political struggles

how do civilizations collapse?

• population size and density decrease dramatically

• society tends to become less politically centralized

• less investment is made in things such as architecture, art, and literature

• trade and other economic activities are greatly diminished

• the flow of information among people slows

• the ruling elites may change, but usually the working classes tend to remain and provide continuity

is it possible to prevent collapse?

every society must:

• answer basic biological needs of its members: food, drink, shelter, and medical care

• provide for production and distribution of goods and services (perhaps through division of labor, rules concerning property and trade, or ideas about role of work)

• provide for reproduction of new members and consider laws and issues related to reproduction (regulation, marriageable age, number of children, and so on)

• provide for training (education, apprenticeship, passing on of values) of individuals so that they can become functioning adults in society

• provide for maintenance of internal and external order (laws, courts, police, wars, diplomacy).

• provide meaning and motivation to its members.