period i review: 6,000 bce – 600 bce ap world history
TRANSCRIPT
Period I Review:
6,000 BCE – 600 BCE
AP World History
Key Terms & Concepts: Period I
Hunting-foraging bands/hunting-gathering bands
Neolithic Revolution/Agricultural Revolution
River Valley Civilizations Egypt
Mesopotamia
Indus River Valley
China
Pastoralism
Urbanization
Early Empires Babylonians
Assyrians
Hammurabi’s Code
Egypt
Nubia
Animism
Polytheism
Monotheism
Peopling the Earth
The Paleolithic or Old Stone Age ear (c. 250,000 BCE – c. 8,000 BCE) Archaeological evidence indicates that early humans
migrated from Africa to Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas
Small, hunting-foraging bands
Groups usually kinship groups – family connections
Peopling the Earth
Humans learned to use tools made from stone & woodSpear, bow & arrow, club, &
the stone axe
Paintings on cave walls from about 17,000 years ago in France show people hunting with these types of tools
Peopling the Earth
Archaeological evidence indicates that religions were usually animistic – they attributed sacred powers to events in nature
Ceremonial burials indicate that the dead in this era weren’t just left to wild animals
Carefully placed in graves with flowers & other objects
Small statues of deities made from stone & clay
Peopling the Earth
Trade of goods & technology occurred between bands of hunter-foragers.
During encounters, they exchanged weapon- and tool-making technology and possibly religious beliefs
TEST TAKING TIP: It is important that you understand the geography of
the peopling of the Earth, so be sure to study maps that show the migrations of early humans in this era.
Peopling the Earth
The Neolithic Revolution
AKA The Agricultural Revolution
About 8,000 BCE humans began to plant crops in areas with rich soil & abundant water – usually near river valleys SW Asia – Mesopotamia (“between the rivers”): people began
planting seeds & harvesting crops instead of constantly roaming
Consequence: people begin to settle, civilizations form
Other locations: Nile River in North Africa (Egypt), the Yellow (Huang) River Valley in East Asia, & the Indus River Valley in South Asia, Mesoamerica (southern Mexico), & the Andes
The Neolithic Revolution
Note that the Neo. Revolution did not occur globally and concurrently, meaning that people didn’t start planting crops all over the world at exactly the same time. Agriculture developed in China about 2,000 years after
Mesopotamia.
In the Andes & Mesoamerica, agriculture occurred in about the year 2500 BCE.
TEST TAKING TIP: This divergence of dates is example of the difficulties historians
have in assigning periods in world history. Thus, the writers of the AP World History exam expect you to understand the concept of periodization.
The Neolithic Revolution
Animals were domesticated during this period as well. Humans tamed wild animals & used them for protection, food, & to
help hunt.
In the Americas, horses didn’t exist until Europeans brought them during the late 15th-century. However, in S. America the Chavin in the Andes domesticated llamas & alpacas.
Because of closer contact with animals, diseases were increasingly transferred between humans & animals.
The Neolithic Revolution
Technological developments increased food production Wooden plows, wheels, sickles, traps, clay
pots, & large woven baskets allowed for more efficient planting & harvesting of food
Consequence: more food available leads to an increase in population growth
Irrigation canals bring water from rivers to crops
Metallurgy: humans learn how to melt metals like iron, gold, silver, tin, & copper to create cooking utensils
Bronze: mixture of tin & copper could hold a sharp edge
Iron: hard metal used for weapons & plow tips
The Neolithic Revolution
Because more food was available, people lived longer & had more children, who had more children…. This increase in population is one
factor in the development of the world’s first cities
Storing food became an important function – keeping account of how much food was available led to the first writing systems
The Neolithic Revolution
Societies developed specialization of labor & social structures With the Ag. Revolution’s steady food supply, people
tended to stay in one place.Craftspeople build storage facilities for food reserves
Warriors protected their food supplies from outside attacks & sometimes attacked other cities to take their food
Religious leaders asked their gods to supply good food harvests
Scribes kept records of how much food was on hand
Kings told them what to do
Early Urban Societies
Cities with permanent building structures developed out of agricultural settlements. Civilization is a term many historians use to describe
societies that have cities. First cities in Mesopotamia & Egypt developed roughly 6,000
years ago
Tall buildings of religious importance in Mesopotamia called ziggurats, & in Egypt they were called pyramids
Elites (royalty) had palaces built for themselves – monumental structures
Kings commissioned statues, carvings on buildings & walls (bas relief), & elaborate tapestries & paintings to decorate palaces
Early Urban Societies
Cities had both political & religious leaders who usually worked together to maintain social order. Sometimes the same people held both positions because it
was difficult to question the authority of a leader who was also a god.
To pay for construction of protective city-walls, kings imposed taxes on businesses & individuals.
To keep records of stored grain supplies, writing systems developed like cuneiform in Mesopotamia & hieroglyphics in Egypt.
Early Urban Societies
Legal codes were written & enforced by the courts to maintain order in crowded cities Hammurabi’s Code – Mesopotamia
Very harsh punishments punishments differed for women & people of lower social classes
Over time, cities that had close proximity to each other, a common language, & common religious beliefs began to united to for early empires. Kings claimed that their authority came from the gods.
The Babylonians of Mesopotamia & the Egyptians are examples.
Empires were built & expanded by conquering people who lived beyond the borders of the empire.
Over the centuries, the patterns of empire-building established in this era were repeated often in every region & time period.
Early Urban Societies
TEST TAKING TIP: Make sure you are familiar with the political & social features of the
following empires –
Babylonians, Assyrians, & Sumerians in Mesopotamia
Egyptians
Shang in China
Harappan & Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley
Olmecs in Mesoamerica
Chavin in Andean South American
Be sure that you can locate them on a map!
Early Urban Societies
The first literature emerged in the era of the early civilizations. Written stories explaining the world’s creation & the meaning of life was a common theme. From Mesopotamia, The Epic of
Gilgamesh addressed questions about life & death & explored human relationships.
The Rig Veda (from the Indus Valley) & the Book of the Dead (from Egypt) sought to explain religious themes such as the origin of the Earth and its peoples as the destiny of humans after this life ends.
Early Urban Societies
Nonsettled groups – pastoralists – transferred technology, goods, & ideas among settled societies. Pastoralists were nomadic people who herded domesticated
animals such as sheep, horses, goats, &/or cattle in central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, & parts of Africa. They did not participate in agriculture.
Pastoralists fostered connections between settled areas & were agents of change across long distances, sometimes peacefully, other times through raids designed to take the stored materials found in cities.
Early Urban Societies
Religions developed in this era carried over into later periods. Hinduism – Indus River Valley – is
probably the world’s oldest religions
Influenced by Aryan peoples of Central Asia
Vedas = religious text
One overall god-spirit, but reveals itself to humanity in many forms
Most religions from this period polytheistic
Two unique monotheistic religions: Judaism & Zoroastrianism
Early Urban Societies
Social pyramids emerged. Elites, such as rulers & religious leaders, were at the top of
the pyramid; craftspeople, merchants, and laborers were in the middle; & slaves were on the bottom.
Social & political systems tended to be patriarchal, with men holding power in governments, religions, & families. Women attained political power through marriage or by supervising their young ruling sons.
TEST TAKING TIP: The material in this time period is only 5% of the AP World
History exam.
Period II Review: 600 BCE – 600 CE
Organization & Reorganization of Human Societies
Key Terms & Concepts: Period II
Classical Era
Hinduism
Buddhism
Confucianism
Christianity
Han Empire
Mandate of Heaven
Chinese Examination System
Mediterranean Civilizations
Hellenism
Mauryan/Gupta Empires
Bantu Migrations
The Silk Roads
Indian Ocean Trade Network
Fall of Classical Empires
Ancient Greece
Roman Republic
Roman Empire
Period III Review: 600 CE – 1450 CE
TITLE
Key Terms & Concepts: Period III
Trans-Saharan Trade
Islam
Caliphate
Crusades
Dar-al Islam
Diffusion of Religions
Byzantine Empire
Tang & Song Dynasties
Sinification
Mongols
Black Death
Mayan States
Coerced Labor
Feudalism
Zheng He
Genghis Khan
Period IV Review: 1450 CE – 1750 CE
TITLE
Key Terms & Concepts: Period IV
Inca Empire
European Exploration
Columbian Exchange
Atlantic World
Mercantilism
Atlantic Slave Trade
Encomienda System
Mughal Empire
Syncretism in Religions
Printing Press
Ottoman Empire
Period V Review: 1750 CE – 1900 CE
TITLE
Key Terms & Concepts: Period V
Industrialization
Enlightenment
Capitalism
Marxism
Nationalism
Age of Revolutions
Imperialism
Social Darwinism
Resistance to Western Hegemony
Meiji Restoration
Nineteenth-Century Migrations
Indentured Servitude
Open Door Policy
“Second” Industrial Revolution
Period VI Review: 1900 CE - Present
TITLE
Key Terms & Concepts: Period VI
The World Wars
The Great Depression
Authoritarianism
Communism
Decolonization
Cold War
Partition
Multinational or Transnational Corporation
Pacific Rim
Chinese Revolutions
Apartheid
Feminism
Globalization
Historiography
Periodization