Ancient World History

Semester Exam Prep

Identify the kinds of evidence used in the study of both pre-historic (anthropology/ archaeology) and historic civilizations and explain how the Neolithic Revolution was the most significant change.

Explain Jared Diamond’s theory of the unequal development of societies from Guns, Germs, and Steel.

Some societies developed quicker and more efficiently due to “geographic luck.”

\- learning to grow crops instead of nomadic gathering

\- good climate for crops to grow

\- crops that are easy to grow, easy to harvest, easy to gain nutrition from, easy to grow in bulk, easy to store, don’t go bad easily

\- Examples: Wheat & barley

\- learning to domesticate animals instead of nomadic hunting and herding

\- animals that are herbivores, large productivity, good temperament

\- Examples: Goats, pigs, sheep, cattle, (milk, leather, meat, wool) horses, camels, (transportation) grey hound dogs(hunting aid)

\- in order for societies to have all these things and develop quickly, they’d have to live at a certain latitude with the perfect climate like the Fertile Crescent

Analyze Jim Blaut’s critique of Diamond’s theory and write a counterargument.

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Recite 8 characteristics of a civilization and identify examples (picture evidence) from Mesopotamian civilizations.

1) Cities: bigger & organized

2) Government: projects, laws, defense

3) Religion: Belief in gods, temples, rituals

4) Job Specialization: many jobs in society lead some to specialize in one task

5) Social Classes: Ranked on job/wealth

6) Arts/Architecture: Displayed talents, beliefs, values

7) Public Works: projects that benefit everyone

8) Writing: Recorded important information

Name the river civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt (Euphrates, Tigris, Nile) and draw the rivers and the Fertile Crescent on a map. Explain how the rivers led to beginnings of civilizations.

Compare the contributions of Sumer, Babylon, the Hittites, Assyria, Neo-Babylon, Persia, Phoenicia, and Egypt and to apply examples to answer the EQ on how civilizations acquire knowledge.

Be able to draw a timeline and given key dates, be able to label the event from a list for Sumer, Babylon, Hittites, Assyria, Neo-Babylonia, Persia, and Phoenicia.

Compare the religion of the Bible to those of other early civilizations.

Israelites:

\- monotheistic

\- Bible

\- God’s covenant with Abraham & descendants; God promised land and a special relationship w/ Abraham, etc.

\- 10 Commandments: From God to Israelites

\-

prehistory vs. history

Paleolithic v. Neolithic

nomadic v. sedentary

civilization

Sedentary, lived in a community

polytheism v. monotheism

job specialization

social hierarchy

pictographs (hieroglyphics) v. phonetics (alphabet)

cuneiform

papyrus

Rosetta Stone

cultural diffusion

spread of culture’s practices, beliefs, and/or items, like food, music, or tools

city-state v. empire

ziggurat

Sargon

Code of Hammurabi

10 commandments

Hittites

Nebuchadnezzar

Cyrus the Great

Darius I

money economy

bureaucracy

Zoroaster

delta

pharaohs (Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Ramses II)

Hyksos

Amon-Re

Osiris

Abraham

covenant

Moses

David

Solomon

diaspora

\- a spread of people from their original homeland

\- Jewish spread from Israel to other areas(persecution, etc.)

Sumerians: (3200 BC-1900 BC)

\- First civilization, but wasn’t an empire

\- Many city-states which battled amongst each other

\- Was later conquered by Sargon and turned into the first empire, didn’t last long

\- Built walls, irrigation, and temples for their gods

\- they were polytheistic

\- Developed the chariot, plow, calendar, cloth making, pottery, astronomy, math(geometry and algebra), weapons, writing(cuneiform), and metalworking

\- Hierarchy comprised of, leading officials and high priests at the top, priests, merchants, artisans, and scribes below, peasant farmers below them, and lastly, slaves

Babylonians - Hammurabi: (1790 BC- 1595 BC)

\- Developed the law to unite the empire

\- Code of Hammurabi - 282 laws carved into a pillar

\- Improved irrigation systems, organized an army, upkeep of the temples

\- Marduk was the new deity and religion of this empire

Hittites: (1650 BC-1200 BC)

\- Developed metalworking and made tools out of the plentiful iron

\- Metalworking was supposed to be a secret, but the conquest of this empire spread the innovation

Assyrians: (1350 BC- 609 BC)

\- Knew about metalworking and set out to conquer nearby lands for their own empire

\- Developed a “fierce reputation”

\- Encouraged an ordered society - collected money to pay for cities and temples, and developed more laws

\- Founded the first library, had a wealth of knowledge

\- Invented glass-working and lock/key invention

Neo-Babylonians - Nebuchadnezzar: (626 BC- 539 BC)

\- Rebuilt canals, temples, walls, and palaces

\- Built the famous Hanging Gardens

\- Empire was written about as a magnificent city

\- Moat and 85 foot thick wall around the city

\- Many artworks and buildings dedicated to their gods

\- Priests observed the sky and added to the knowledge of astronomy

Persians: (539 BC- 323 BC)

\- Developed bureaucracy, rebuilt road system and promoted trade, created mail system

\- Created measure and weight system, and encouraged the use of coins

\- New religion with one god and evil being, heaven and hell, final judgment day, and a sacred book

\- Tolerated other cultures and religions

Phoenicia: (978-944 BC)

\- Manufacturing and trade for income

\- Sailors and traders

\- Made glass and expensive purple dye

\- Sailed as far a Britain and traded for items like tin and papyrus(made paper)

\- Created the blueprint for the current day alphabet