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

\ ==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

\ ==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   * $<strong>Sumer</strong>$: 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:   * $<strong>Nile river valley</strong>$   * $<strong>yellow river valley</strong>$   * $<strong>Indus river valley</strong>$   * $<strong>Mesoamerica</strong>$   * $<strong>Andes mountains</strong>$
• $<strong>Egypt</strong>$:   * $<strong>Nile River Valley</strong>$   * 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
• $<strong>Indus</strong>$:   * 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
• $<strong>China</strong>$:   * Huang He river   * highly patriarchal   * centralized system   * a special honor to ancestors
• $<strong>NON-RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS</strong>$   * $<strong>Olmec in Mesoamerica</strong>$   * $<strong>chavin in the Andes</strong>$     * complex societies     * participated in extensive trade

\ ==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: $<strong>Yahweh</strong>$       * 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

\ ==Beginning of Buddhism==

• founder: $<strong>Siddhartha Gautama</strong>$   * 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 $<strong>Buddha (enlightened one)</strong>$ 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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