Prehistory

• Primary sources• First hand accounts: letters, diaries, speeches

• Secondary sources• Written after the fact: textbook

• Hunters and Gatherers• Weapons and tools made of stone• Discovery of fire and wheel

Neolithic Revolution

• The change from hunting and gathering to farming– Leads to the development of: – Communities– Governments– Advances in arts and sciences– Written system

• Domestication of animals

Civilization

Ancient River Valleys

Mesopotamia

• “Cradle of Civilization”• “Land between the rivers”• Modern day Iraq in Middle East• Tigris and Euphrates Rivers• Important city-states

• Sumer• Ur• Babylon

• Religion• Polytheistic• Ziggurats

Contributions of Mesopotamia

• Wheel• Sailboat• Copper and bronze tools and weapons• Cuneiform• 12 month calendar• Number system based on 60• Code of Hammurabi

– “an eye for an eye”– Goal was to ensure justice and protect the

weak

Ancient Egypt

• Egypt it in Africa

• Nile River– “lifeblood of ancient Egypt”– “Egypt is the gift of the Nile”– Yearly flooding provided fertile soil

• Pharaoh– Leader who was believed to be a god and had

control over all of Egypt

Contributions of Egyptians• Writing

• Hieroglyphics• Papyrus

• Architecture• Pyramids• Temples

• Sciences• Math

– geometry

• Medicine– Embalming– Medical procedures: setting broken bones

• Astronomy– 365 day calendar based on the movement of stars

India

• Subcontinent of Asia• Indus River

• Earliest civilizations in India developed here

• Harrappans– Trade

• Earliest settlers in cities such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harrappa

– Very advanced cities: public sewers and water supply

• Indo Aryans• Brought the culture to area that is still practiced

today• Caste system

China

• Located in Asia

• Earliest civilization developed along the Huang He River (Yellow River)

• Grew millet,soybeans

• Shang dynasty– Built Anyang (first capital city of China)– Ruled with the aid of rich nobles

Bronze casting, silkand calligraphy

China

Huang He

Gobi Desert

Himalaya Mts.

Classical Civilizations

Greece• Greece is made up of 3 peninsulas

• Hilly terrain which caused people

to settle in city-states– Athens

• Direct democracy: every citizen takes a direct part in government

• Women, slaves and foreigners not allowed to participate

– Sparta• Totalitarian: complete control over every

aspect of life• Oligarchy: government run by a select few

Male, native born, land owners

Typically conquered people or those that owed a debt

Golden Age of Athens

• Period of peace, prosperity and growth

Pericles: Athenian leader who rebuilt Athens and is responsible for the building of the Parthenon.

Socrates Plato Aristotle

Alexander the Great: Created an empire that stretched from the Med Sea to the Indus River. Also created a new culture: Hellenistic

Socratic Method: teaching by asking questions

Blending of Greek and Middle Eastern cultures

Polytheistic

Conquered people used as slaves

Contributions of the GreeksDemocracy: Rule of the people

Advances in math and

science:

Euclid, Pythagoras and

Archimedes

Perfection in art Glorify the human body

Ionic Corinthian

Comedies, tragedies, play and historical writings

Rome

• Italian peninsula• Shaped like a boot

• Protected by Alps in the north and seas all around

• Roman Republic– Type of government that

has a leader, not a king or queen, who is elected

– Patricians: Rome’s wealthy landowning class

– Plebeians: small farmers, merchants and artisans

Tiber River

Alps Mt.

citizens

Senate: lawmaking body

Consuls: elected officials

Twelve Tables: civil, criminal and religious laws that were written down and placed in the Forum.

Rome

Julius Caesar

Declared dictator for life, killed March 15 44 BC: the Ides of March

Augustus Caesar

Member of Second Triumvirate as Octavian, first emperor of Rome

Constantine: Legalized Christianity in Rome

SPQR

Senate and the People of Rome

Pax Romana: Period of peace and prosperity in Rome

Prior to this Chrisians were persecuted by Romans due to the fact that they refused to worship the emperor as a god.

Supported by the poor for his reforms

Rome

• Rome divides into 2 empires Eastern Roman EmpireWestern Roman Empire

Rome is capitalFalls 476 AD

Constantinople is capitalBecomes Byzantine Empire

Corrupt emperors Lack of

loyalty from troops

Bad economy

Roman Contributions

Latin: becomes basis for many modern languages

Law: “innocent until proven guilty”

Christianity: beginning of the spread of the religion

Engineering: roads and aqueductsRoman Empire

relied on slave labor

India and China

Indo-Aryans invade and develop a civilization

Golden Age of India was brought about by Gupta Empire

-zero-infinity-decimal system

Hinduism and Buddhism develop in India

Hinduism remains the religion of choice

Caste system is put in place for social ordering.

Zhou dynasty uses Mandate of Heaven to acquire power to rule

All dynasties after Zhou claim Mandate as reason for rule

Qin dynasty comes to power under Qin Shi Huangdi: firstemperor of China

-responsible for the building of the first Great Wall of China

Civil Service examinations areimplemented under Han dynasty

-find the best minds to work in government-Confucius thought is

the main focus of these exams

The Middle Ages

Feudalism in Europe

Barbarians settle much of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire

Vikings leave Scandinavia to lookfor a new food supply

Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in

800 AD.

Feudalism: a political system based on the ownership of land and loyalty to those that gave the land. Developed out of the need for social organization, leadership and goods.

fief: land given to a lord in return for his loyalty.

The need for order grows from this chaos. Hence the development of

Medieval Manor

Manors were self sufficient

Feudaliam con't• The shogun (like the king) ruled the country through

the daimyo (like the nobles), who were the heads of the samurai (like the knights). 

• Peasants farmed the land in exchange for protection by the samurai, who operated under a code of conduct known as bushido (like chivalry). 

•Feudalism also took hold in Japan–Emperor

• Shogun: real power in Japan

– Daimyo: noble landowners

Samurai: equivalent to a knight

Magna Carta 1215

• “Great Charter”• King John forced to sign

– Took away some of the king’s power

• No longer raise taxes without the consent of the Great Council

– Guaranteed freemen the right to trial by jury of peers

Established the idea that people have certain rights and the power of government should be limited

King Edward I

set up a group

of people who

were to advise

him called

Parliament.

House of Lords

House of Commons

Growth of the Roman Catholic Church

• Faith– People deeply

religious

• Wealth– Tithes (church tax)– Europe's largest

landowner

• Education– Officials typically the

only ones who could read and write

• Crusades– Holy wars wages against

Islam

– Wanted to gain control of the Holy Land (Jerusalem)

• Effects of the Crusades– Trade increased due to

desire for exotic goods

– New ideas and goods are brought to Europe

– Intolerance for religions such as Judaism and Islam

Byzantine Empire

• Survived for 1,000 years• Natural center for trade

– Silk, spices and furs imported

– Grains, olives and wines exported

• Greatly influenced by Greek culture

• Emperor Justinian created a comprehensive code of laws– Justinian’s Code

• Corpus of Civil Law– Becomes the basis for western

civilization laws

IslamGolden Age of Islamic Culture

Mathematics

-Arabic numerals

-alegebra and geometry

Medicine

-discovered blood moves to

and from the heart

diagnose measles and small-

pox

Arts

-images of people forbidden

-geometrical designs

Architecture

-mosques

Sample Seventh Grade Schedule

Decline of Feudalism

• Rise of powerful kings• Development of gunpowder• Growth of a middle class• Growth of towns• Growth of trade

Black Death: also known as the Bubonic Plague entered into Europe through trade. Fleas on goods that were shipped by boats carried the disease. Depleted much of Europe's workforce. Helped bring an end to feudalismdue to the fact that many serfs left the manors to work in the towns

Renaissance and Reformation

Renaissance

• “Rebirth of learning”• Began in Italy

– Venice and Florence– Located near major sea routes– Wealthy from trade and banking– Embraced “classical” past of Greece and Rome

• Characteristics– Growth in secularism: looking at the world

from a non religious viewpoint– Humanist: believed that each person was

unique

Renaissance Thinkers

Filippo Brunelleschi's dome

Dante: Wrote the Divine Comedy which helped createthe Italian language

William Shakespeare: wrote plays that have endured to modern times

Leonardo da Vinci: he was the definition of a “Renaissance Man.”Mona Lisa and Last Supper

Michelangelo: commissioned by the church to paint the Sistine Chapel. Most works were or religious nature. Pieta

Renaissance thinkers con't

Copernicus: believed that the planets revolved around the sun

Machiavelli: wrote The Prince which told that a leader must do whatever is necessary to rule. Believed that “the ends justify the means”

Galileo: helped develop the scientific method

Miguel Cervantes: wrote Don Quixote

Johann Gutenberg: inventor of movable type. This allowed for the mass production of books which led to increase in learning.The Bible was the first book massprinted.

Reformation and Counter Reformation• Martin Luther

– Objected to sale of indulgences– Posted Ninety Five Theses– Broke away from the church

• Other Protestant religions started– John Calvin– Henry VIII of England started Church of England and

became the head of it

• Weakened the church's power• Wars fought between Catholics and Protestants

Counter Reformation: begun by the Catholic Church in response to the Reformation.At the Council of Trent the sale of indulgences was ended. Inquisition was begun to try heretics or those that held beliefs that went against the Catholic Church.

Africa and the Americas

Medieval AfricaKingdom of Ghana: Controlled major trade routes and gained wealth through taxesand trade.

Kingdom of Mali: Mansa Musa, leader of Mali, who helped spread Islam throughoutWest African kingdoms. Timbuktu becomes the center of learning and trade.

Kingdom of Songhai: Askia Muhammed divides the empire and ruled according to Muslim law.

Gold and Salt trade

Beginning of West African Slave Trade

AmericasMaya Civilization:

Chichen Itza: important city that had pyramids

Tikal: capital city

Practiced human sacrifice

Constant warfare led to the decline of the Mayan

Began cultivation of corn

Aztec Civilization:

Tenochititlan: capital city

Worshipped sun god plus many others

Needed human sacrifice to appease sun god. This was done on massive scale.

Typical social structureof nobles, merchants and farmers

Inca Civilization:

Machu Picchu: best example of an Incan city

United empire with roads

Quipu: knotted rope that kept records

Typically lived in cities in the Andes Mountains

Mississippian Civilizations: developed along Mississippi River, mound builders, farmers who grew corn on a large scale and developed trade networks that extended to the Rocky Mountains

Effects of European Conquest of the Americas

Triangular Trade

Commercial Revolution

• Mercantilism– The theory and system of

political economy prevailing in Europe after the decline of feudalism, based on national policies of accumulating bullion, establishing colonies and a merchant marine, and developing industry and mining to attain a favorable balance of trade.