Unit Zero Vocab + Notes

History before 1200 CE

==The first Migrations==

• Humans first appeared in East Africa 200,000-100,000 BCE
  • survived by hunting animals and foraging for seeds and edible plants
  • lived in small groups of no more than 12 people, did not have permanent homes
  • adapted to new environments, developing genetic and cultural differences
  • learned how to control fire and make stone tools, and created drawings and paintings
  • developed a system of religious beliefs called animism
  • ^^animism^^: a reverence for deities associated with features of nature, animals, mountains, rivers, etc. Societies of animism were fairly egalitarian but showed signs of patriarchy
  • ^^patriarchy^^: domination of males
  • movement in search of food was all over the globe (except Antarctica) due to the ice age

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==The agricultural revolution==

• 8000 BCE: the climate was warming from an ice age
  • humans began to plant crops + raise animals for food
  • = ^^agricultural revolution^^: cultural transformation that allowed humans to change from hunting and gathering to agriculture and animal domestication
  • began in the middle east
  • surplus in food
  • enough food for the population → specialization in nonfood-producing activities
    • the population grew, and larger settlements grew into cities
    • people became highly skilled at one job
    • artisans made tools and weapons, merchants engaged in trade, priests conducted rituals
    • new technology
    • irrigation system
    • wheel in transportation
    • replace the stone with metal such as bronze and iron for making tools and art
    • extensive government and taxation
    • competition for resources and the accumulation of wealth increased group conflicts
    • divided into social classes by wealth and occupation
    • women status declined

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==The first civilizations==

• agricultural revolution → large societies with cities and a powerful state
  • most were in river valleys, places with water and fertile land
• ^^Mesopotamia^^: world’s first civilization, the region around Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Iraq)
  • cultures emerged based on city-states
  • ^^City-states:^^ independent states made up of a city and its surrounding territory
  • highly patriarchal
  • built monumental architecture such as religious temples called ^^ziggurats^^
  • long-distance trade
  • the people there were ^^polytheistic:^^ believed in many gods
  • Sumer: a city-state along the southernmost region of ancient Mesopotamia
  • created the first written language (cuneiform) in history as tax and trade became more complex
  • used cuneiform to record the first written laws
• All civilizations were built along river valleys:
  • Nile river valley
  • yellow river valley
  • Indus river valley
  • Mesoamerica
  • Andes mountains
• Egypt:
  • Nile River Valley
  • Egypt prospered
  • shared traits with Mesopotamia, but was highly centralized under one ruler: pharaoh
  • developed hieroglyphics
  • built pyramids to demonstrate the pharaoh's power
  • highly patriarchal, but women were allowed to own property and were legally equal to men in court giving women a higher social standing than their counterpart civilizations
• Indus:
  • Indus river in south Asia
  • cities such as Harappa and mohenjo daro engaged in long-distance trade with Mesopotamia,
  • practiced polytheism
  • developed tech: indoor plumbing
  • planned layout of urban areas
  • was unable to decipher the language
• China:
  • Huang He river
  • highly patriarchal
  • centralized system
  • a special honor to ancestors
• NON-RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
  • Olmec in Mesoamerica
  • chavin in the Andes
  • complex societies
  • participated in extensive trade

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==Hinduism and Judaism==

• cities grow = new ideas about religion
• animism: deities were identified with specific places
  • people wanted to take deities with them as they traveled
• belief in many gods was replaced with a belief in one deity, ^^monotheism^^
  • %%Hinduism%%
  • sometimes categorized as polytheistic and monotheistic
  • started from Aryans, north of the Himalayan mountains (spoke an Indo-European language), migrated south to Pakistan and India
  • brought Vedas, and a belief that many deities existed
    • ^^Vedas^^: taught that soul of a person is reborn / reincarnated many times
    • eventually, a soul would spiritually advance enough to become liberated from this cycle of death and rebirth
    • people should organize society into sharply defined classes: ^^castes^^
      • caste system prohibited social mobility
      • society became unified
  • %%Zoroastrianism%%
  • an early form of monotheism
  • developed in Persia
  • focus on human free will and the internal battle between the forces of good and evil
  • %%Judaism%%
  • most influential monotheism
  • Jews
  • Developed in Israel
  • teachings of Abraham
  • believe that they have entered into a covenant, or mutual promise with their god: Yahweh
    • Yahweh will consider them their people if Jews were devoted
  • was further developed with the codification of Hebrew scriptures / old testament
  • was like Christianity and Islam because they both looked back at Abraham

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==Beginning of Buddhism==

• founder: Siddhartha Gautama
  • sharply aware of all the suffering people endured
  • left his family and pursued a life of poverty and meditation to understand why people suffered
  • called himself Buddha (enlightened one) and sought to teach others what he came to understand why people suffered
  • Buddhist doctrines
    • sought to eliminate desire and suffering by following the eightfold path
    • requires to meditate, reflect, and refrain from excessive earthly pleasures
    • goal: achieve enlightenment and peaceful bliss: ^^nirvana^^: end the cycle of reincarnation
• ==The spread of Buddhism==
  • alternative to Hinduism
  • rejected caste systems
  • popular with members of lower caste
  • spread throughout India and across Asia
  • missionaries, and merchants along the silk roads and around the Indian Ocean helped the spread
  • universalizing religion (unlike Hinduism and Judaism)
  • monastic faith
  • developed monastery communities for men and women
• ==The Mauryan Empire==
  • the first period of unity
  • Reached its high point during the rule of Ashoka
  • promoted prosperity by creating an efficient tax system and building roads that connected commercial centers
  • spread knowledge of the law by inscribing his edicts on pillars throughout the empire
  • converted from one faith to another
    • helped spread Buddhism throughout India
  • after Ashoka, the empire declined in power → political decentralization
• ==The Gupta empire==
  • second period of unity was under the gupta empire
  • golden age of india
  • centralized government, intellectual life and cultural life flourished
  • advancement in medicine
  • prevention of diseases
  • mathematicians developed a numbering system that combined a small number of symbols
  • patriarchal
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