APW: Before 1200

Prior to Neolithic/Agricultural Revolution method

Hunting and gathering

Farming began in

Southwest Asia (Mesopotamia)

Impact of farming

Less travelling, people settled, began to build permanent structures

All communities started near…

rivers (River Valley Societies)

First major civilization started in…

Mesopotamia than Nile River Valley

Invention of writing

began to produce literature, told stories about how the world was formed

Hinduism emerged in…

South Asia (Indus River Valley)

Characteristics of Hinduism

• polytheistic (worshiped many gods)

• associated with particular people and territory.

•  Main goal was union with Brahman, which would cause release from cycle of life, death, rebirth

• Reincarnation/rebirth

• Karma

• Brahmins

Judaism (where)

South West Asia (Israel)

Cities with close religious beliefs+close geographically formed into…

Early empires

600 B.C.E religions developed and spread

• Jews were compelled to spread religion all over due to foreign invaders

• Hinduism- became the principle for Indian society, especially the caste teachings, hierarchical structures

Buddhism

South Asia around 500 B.C.E, stemmed from Hinduism.

Teaching of reincarnation (like Hinduism), but differed with hierarchical caste system.

Main idea: life is suffering, way to stop is to kill desire (live out of 8 fold path)

Karma and rebirth

Rejected religious authority from the Brahmins

Christianity

Came from Judaism

Jesus from Israel preached that salvation is not from proper behavior, but rather believing in his saving death and resurrection for forgiveness of sins

• Most followers were in the Middle East and in Northern and Northeastern Africa during the first six centuries of it

As Buddhism spread into the East types of it formed called…

Theravada: teaching of the elders, gods played little role in assisting with Enlightenment

Mahayana: more accessible, Enlightenment for everyone, Took place in Central Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia

Confucianism

China, became the foundation for Chinese society, as it outlined a predictable hierarchical structure.

Emerged during age of warring states

• everyone must play their role right and society will fall into place.

• Wanted to solve China's problems not by force, law or punishment, but rather the power of moral behavior

• had major impact on education system and to validate inequalities with the society

Daoism

East Asia, people look to nature for how to live

• Believed the educational ways of Confucianism/intense moral focus were artificial and useless

• Invited people to withdraw from the world of political and social activism and to disengage from the public life that was so crucial for Confucianism, and to align with nature

theme of civilizations:

Rise in inequalities in wealth, power, and gender, different occupations emerged

artistic, scientific, and technological advancements (ex. Chinese invented silk production)

China structure

China gave the most status to an elite bureaucracy of government officials that came largely from the landlord class, broader caste system

India structure

India gave priority to religious status and ritual purity, larger caste system with more categories

Bhakti Movement

within Buddhism

• Involved devotion to one another of Indias many gods and goddesses

• Began in SOUTH INDIA, moved NORTH between 600 and 1300 C.E.

• Intense adoration of and identification with a deity (most popular were Vishnu and Shiva) through ritual, song, and prayer

• challenged the caste system, invited all to adore the divine

About Judaism

• God was highly respected, many were reluctant to pronounce his name due to sacredness, and were exclusively loyal to him. 

• Their god is the only god

Why was emerging Christianity not unified?

• Geographical reach= differences in culture, language, and politics made Christianity a hard religion to practice

• This led to separate church organizations to emerge in Eastern and Western parts of the Roman Empire, and also Egypt, Syria, Persia, Armenia, Ethiopia, and Southern India. 

South America

Brazil

North America

Mexico, Haiti, Yucatan Peninsula

North Africa

Parts of the Sahara

West Africa

Mali, Parts of Sahara

Middle East

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Israel Afghanistan, Pakistan

South Asia

India

Southern Africa

South Africa

East Africa

Ethiopia

East Asia

China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia

Southeast Asia

Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia