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SS 1st Endterm Reviewer
A. Concept of Asia
a. Euro-centric View on Asia
 centers on Europe.
 Europeans thought they were the center of the world.
 They thought that they had superior culture, technology & advanced weaponry.
 To them, Asians were barbarians
 Divisions of Asia were based on the perspective of the Greeks. (near East, Middle East, Far East)
b. Asia-centric View on Asia
 centers on Asia.
 Asia is the center of spiritualism. This is because all of the world’s major religions were born in Asia.
(Judaism, Buddhism, etc.)
 Asia is one. Diverse, yet united. Bhinekka Tungal Ika (motto of Indonesia) which means diversity in unity.
B. Location and Boundaries of Asia
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Geography - description of the earth. “geo” = earth, “graphein” = to write.
Cartographers - map makers.
Asia is the largest continent. Occupies majority of Northern Hemisphere.
location of a country affects its climate, time zone & development of culture
Landlocked - no access to bodies of water; surrounded by land. (ex. Mongolia & Afghanistan)
Asia is also known as Monsoon Asia because most of the countries experience monsoon winds.
Asia is made up of two parts: Continental Asia & Coastal Asia. Coastal Asia is made up of great
peninsulas in the Southeast region.
 South of Asia is the Indian Ocean.
 Southwest is the Red Sea & Mediterranean Sea.
 East is the Pacific Ocean
 North is the Arctic Ocean.
 West are the Ural Mountains.
 Boundary between Europe & Asia is drawn at the Ural Mountains.
 Red Sea separates Asia from Africa. .
 Asia is found along the Pacific Ring of Fire (Area around the Pacific prone to earthquakes & volcanic
eruptions)
1. Natural Features of Asia
a. Mountain Ranges
 Pamir Mountains – North Asia. Highest peak - Ismoil Somoni Peak.
 Himalayas – Northern portion of the Indian subcontinent. Highest mountain – Mount Everest (NepalTibet border)
 Mount Fuji (Japan) is the highest volcano.
b. Peninsulas, Archipelagos & Islands
 found on the East, South and Southeast portion of Asia.
 Indonesia (Southeast Asia) is the largest archipelago in the world.
c. Deserts
 3 hottest deserts of the world are in Asia. Rub-al Khali (Arabian Peninsula), Garagum
(Turkmenistan) and Kyzylkum (Uzbekistan).
 3 coldest deserts in the world are in Asia. Gobi (Mongolia), Taklimakan (China) and Siberian Desert
(Siberia)
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Gobi is the world’s northernmost & coldest desert. It is shielded by the Himalayas that block the
humid wind coming from the Indian Ocean.
d. Water Forms
 Yangtze River (China) - longest in Asia. Yellow River (China) – 2nd longest in Asia.
 Rivers in southeast Asia flow southward from the mountain ranges.
 Tigris and Euphrates are 2 of the most important rivers of Asia.
 The Dead Sea - 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. It is too salty for any living thing to live in, hence
the name. The sea is so dense that it is very easy to float and nearly impossible to sink.
 The Caspian Sea - largest freshwater lake in Asia.
 Lake Baikal – deepest lake on earth.
e. Implications of Landforms and Water forms on the Life of Asians
 Agriculture is the most important economic activity in Asia. Crops are grown primarily in the plains
and plateaus of Southern and Eastern Asia.
 Some mountains of Asia have acted as spiritual places, attracting pilgrims over centuries. Because
of living close to nature, the older belief of anonymous gods known to be living in the mountains
still dominates.
 Mountain areas are considered to be a refuge for minority peoples. Mountain ranges provide a
passage for migratory people.
 Rivers are the livelihood of the people and source of life. People depend on them for water, food,
fertile soil & other daily needs. Early civilizations settled and flourished near rivers.
 Rivers are also spiritual. For the Hindus, the Ganges river (India) serves as a religious place. They
believe that if one bathes in it, the soul will be cleansed.
C. Climate and Vegetation
Climate – average atmospheric condition of a place throughout a long period of time.
Weather – changes from day to day.
Vegetation – plant life ; kinds of plants. Vegetation is a direct manifestation of climate.
Monsoon – seasonal change in wind circulation & rainfall. (South & Southeast Asia)
 Climate influences the growth of vegetation, productivity of agriculture and distribution of the human
population. Man depends largely on climate to supply his food, clothing & shelter.
a. Types of Climate
1. Tropical – close to the equator, hot & humid during the day and night, all year round.
 Home to the world’s rainforests.
 Classified into humid tropical, tropical rain forest, tropical monsoon and tropical wet and dry savanna.
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2. Arid & Semiarid - regions with little or no precipitation.
 Precipitation is less than evapotranspiration (transport of water from the surface of earth and the
transpiration, evaporation of water from the parts of plants, of the atmosphere)
 Extreme temperatures. Very hot in the day and very cold at night.
 Short wet season is experienced.
3. Temperate Climate - Average temperature.
 Classified into Mediterranean, humid subtropical, maritime temperate & continental temperate.
 Mediterranean - moderate temperatures & changeable rainy weather.
 Humid subtropical - dry winter experienced at the lowland or northern Pakistan.
 Maritime temperate - cool summers & mild winters due to proximity to the ocean. Usually humid
accompanied by large amounts of rainfall, because moisture comes from the nearby ocean.
 Continental - hot summers and cold winters due to its far distance from the ocean. Usually dry because
most of the moisture carried by air masses coming from the ocean is lost as rainfall earlier in its way.
4. Taiga (Continental Subarctic) - Very cold and dry but not as much as tundra.
 Cold snowy winters and warm summers. Most of the rainfall comes in the summer.
 Continental severe winter is harshest among the continental climates. Very cold, long, dry winters. At
least for one month, experiences temperature 10°C or above.
 Polar climate lacks warm summers no month having an average temperature of 10°C or higher.
 Tundra climate covers over 20% of the earth. Harsh winters, low average temperatures, little snow, or
rainfall and a short summer. Influenced by permafrost.
3. Monsoon
c. Types of Vegetation
1. Tundra – Russian word - “marshy plain”
 Permafrost, where shallow rooted tundra plants grow.
 Short growing season. Plants are likely to reproduce by division rather than pollination.
 Arctic Tundra – north pole
-simple small plants with small leaves adapted to sweeping winds & soil disturbances from frost heaves.
Alpine Tundra – top of tall cold mountains (Mount Everest etc.)
-mat-making and cushion-forming plants adapted to gusting winds, heavy snows & widely ranging
temperatures.
2. Forest
 Taiga/Boreal – Siberian word - “forest”
 covers the whole northern hemisphere of high latitude lands. Continuous belt of coniferous trees.
-dominant plants are needle leaf, coniferous trees adapted to the cold & physiological drought of winter
& the short-growing season.
 Broadleaf/Mixed Forest – temperate humid plant community. 4 layer forests (canopy, understory,
shrub layer, ground cover). Occur in the warm and cool season. Also in relatively warm and rainy
climates & dry season that usually occur in East Asia.
-broadleaf trees: oak, beech, maple, birches mixed with coniferous pines, fir & spruce.
 Rain Forest – mainly occur inside the equatorial regions. High temperature and rainfall all year.
Receive more than 70% rainfall
3. Grassland – known as “steppe”.
 Usually found at the high land areas of West Asia, China & North Asia, where most people remain
herders & grazers of animals.
 Sometimes referred to as semiarid lands.
 Where there is more rainfall, the grass is taller.
 Wildfires allow the grasslands to be open and free of trees & shrubs. Wildfires are needed to keep
these healthy & grow new vegetation in the spring.
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 Now major regions for growing crops (wheat, corn and other grain)
4. Desert – receive an average of less than 10 inches rainfall a year.
 Where evaporation is greater than rainfall.
 Found in the middle latitudes (cold deserts) and low latitudes (hot/tropical deserts)
 Mostly in Southwestern Asia.
 Great range of high temperature throughout the day. Cool down & heat up rapidly.
D. Regions of Asia
a. Countries and Capital Cities (Legend – Country - capital)
1. East Asia – temperate climate
Beijing
Seoul
Taipei
China
South Korea
Taiwan
Tokyo
Pyongyang Mongolia Ulanbaatar
Japan
North Korea
2. South Asia – tropical monsoon climate
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Maldives Malé
Thimphu
Kathmandu
Bhutan
Nepal
3. Southeast Asia – tropical climate
a. Mainland/Continental
Phnom Pehn
Vientiane
Cambodia
Laos
Bangkok
Hanoi
Thailand
Vietnam
b. Maritime
Bandar Segi Begawan East Malaysia
Brunei
Jakarta
Indonesia
Philippines
Sri Lanka Colombo
Pakistan
New Delhi
India
4. West Asia – Arid/Semiarid climate
Saudi Arabia Riyadh
Oman
Sanaa
Yemen
United Arab Emirates
Kuwait City Iraq
Kuwait
Jerusalem
Israel
Jordan
Damascus
Syria
Afghanistan
Nicosia
Cyprus
5. North/Central Asia – Continental climate
Astana
Kazakhstan
Turkmenistan
Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Dushanbe
Tajikistan
East Siberia
Yangon & Bago
Kuala Lumpur
Burma (Myanmar)
Peninsular Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Manila
Ashgabat
Tashkent
Irkutsk
Singapore
Timor
Muscat
Abu Dhabi
Baghdad
Amman
Kabul
Azerbaijan
Armenia
Russia
Islamabad
Qatar
Bahrain
Iran
Lebanon
Turkey
Singapore
Dili
Doha
Manama
Tehran
Beirut
Ankara
Baku
Yerevan
Omsk
b. Natural Resources
1. East Asia –
 China- rice& nonferous metals.
 Japan- rice = most important food product and their fisheries are among the greatest of the world.
 South Korea- the yellow sea = fishing industry.
 North Korea- lop producer of graphite, tungsten, and magnetite. Rich deposits of coal, iron ore, and zinc.
 Taiwan- aquaculture development. Their main export is eel.
 Mongolia-minerals in the form of gold and wolfram
2. South Asia
 Jute, tea, rice, various vegetables, petroleum, fish, copper, silver
3. Southeast Asia
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 Agriculture.
 Rice, fruits, vegetables, jute, various minerals, fish, water.
4. North/Central Asia
 Coal, oil, metal ores, petroleum, other minerals
5. West Asia
 Oil, petroleum, natural gas, coal, precious stones & rocks.
E. Human Resources of Asia
Human resources – most important resource of a country because people are the ones who develop a
country.
Demography – study of population (demographers)
-Greek words: “demos” – people and “graphein” to write
Population – total number of individuals in a territory at a specified time.
Birth Rate – number of births per 1,000 people in a year.
Death Rate – number of deaths per 1,000 people in a year.
Population Density – number of persons per unit of land area. ; affected by natural and man made factors.
Life Expectancy – average number of years a person is expected to live.
Population Growth – change in population over time.
Mortality Rate – units of deaths per 1,000 individuals
Migration – movement of persons from one locality to another.
Immigration – “in-migration” ; migration into a place.
Emigration – “out-migration” ; migration from a place.
Ex. Emigration from Philippines ; Immigration to Japan
a. Conditions that bring about population growth:
1. Decline in death rate
 Due to advancements in technology and medicine, people live longer. This results in the increase of
life expectancy. Mortality rate declines.
2. Rise in birth rate
 Advancement in technology has led to an increase in birth rate. Ways on how to boost fertility and
reproductive rates have been discovered.
3. Migration
 People from other places immigrate into that area. For example, people in the provinces immigrate
into the cities because of better employment, and education opportunities and better healthcare.
 Effects of migration : crowded cities, need for more schools, traffic, pollution, overpopulation, higher
demand for resources.
4. Lack of education
 Due to ignorance, illiterate people do not know how to take proper family planning measures.
b. population pyramids (age-sex structure)
children/youth – 0-14 y.o
working age/labor force – 15-64
elderly/senior citizens – 65+
 High number of youth – more schools, better healthcare
 High number of labor force – high demand for employment
 High number of elderly – better healthcare, a lot of money needed for pension
F. Environmental and Population Issues
Overpopulation is a problem because there is high demand for living space and resources. If there are too
much people, resources will diminish and there will simply not be enough for everyone.
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G. Evolution Theory
Mutation – occurrence of some changes in form due to changes in the structure of a gene.
Anthropologist – people who study culture or people’s way of life.
Paleontologist – studies human fossils which are evidences of early life.
Archaeologist – learn about early people by excavating and studying the traces of early settlements.
Technology – refers to a group’s skill in using tools.
Java Man – Pithecanthropus erectus
Peking Man – Sinanthropus pekinensis
Charles Darwin’s theory – stressed that man and all other species on earth were products of a long process of
evolution. All species evolved over a long period of time.
a. Stone Age
 Invention of tools, use of fire, development of language
 People were nomadic – wandered from place to place, no permanent settlement
 People were hunters & gatherers. Relied on their environment for resources.
 Paleolithic Age
o Earlier and longer than Neolithic age
o Used stone as chopping tools.
 Neolithic Age
o Use of refined, polished tools.
o Agriculture. Domesticated animals & planed crops.
o Settled in permanent homes. Built furniture, potteries, and wove clothing. Formation of communities.
-Because of permanent settlements people were able to form communities with larger populations because
they didn’t need to keep transferring. This led to the formation of civilizations. People became farmers and
started domesticating animals. This eradicated the need for hunting and foraging.
b. Evolution of Man
1. Australopithecus Afarensis – vegetarian, small bodied, bipedal (walked on 2 feet)
2.Paranthropus Boisei – vegetarians & meat eaters, larger bodies & brains
3. Homo Habilis – “handy man” ; first to use tools
4. Homo Erectus – walked upright ; straight back
4.a. Homo Ergastor – used fire.
-benefits of using fire: able to cook their food resulting in food that was easier to chew so their
teeth and jaws grew smaller. Fire was also used for defense, light and heat.
4.b. Homo Heidelbergensis – used spears for hunting. Implied that they were already capable of
mastering their environment. Developed language.
5. Homo Sapien – “wise man”; had much larger brains that homo erectus.
5.a. Homo Neanderthalensis (Neanderthal) – burial sites ; belief in the afterlife. Had a religion.
(animism)
5.b. Cro Magnon – responsible for cave art
H. Early Asian Civilizations
1. Indus Valley Civilization (South Asia)
 started along the Indus River. (Pakistan)
 Source of water for the rivers:
-melting snow from the Himalayas
-heavy rains
This allowed the rivers to flow and carry minerals to the soil, making it very fertile.
 Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were the 2 ancient cities found in the Indus Valley.
a. Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro
 The people of Indus Valley are called Dravidians.
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Had carefully planned sewage systems comparable to 18th century America. This showed advanced
culture.
Main economic activity was agriculture.
Built irrigation systems (canals & dikes) to control the overflowing of the Indus river.
Created pottery & jewelry from ivory, gold & shells.
Created tools from bronze, copper & silver.
Showed evidence of trade contact with Sumerians.
Planned & organized 2 main areas of the city – citadel & lower city proper.
-citadel – surrounded by walls. Holds the granary, marketplace & public bath
-lower city – residential area. Streets were in a grid-like pattern with residential blocks almost the
same size.
Houses were made out of clay bricks baked in the sun. Roofs were flat and were often constructed
against the street. Some houses were 2 or 3 storeys with a wooden balcony.
Each house had one or more baths connected to the city’s underground plumbing system.
Toys made of gold were found among the excavated artifacts. NO WEAPONS.
Dravidians had priest-kings.
Harappans worshipped nature and the Harrapan pictograms are still not deciphered.
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro collapsed after more or less 1,000 years of existence.
Possible causes for the collapse:
-climate change/environmental change/natural disaster.
-Aryan invasion (people of central Asia)
2. Mesopotamia
 Cradle of civilization.
 Come from the Greek words “meso” and “potamus” meaning “land between 2 rivers”
 Mesopotamians are mostly war-like; conquerors.
 Polytheistic or believed in many gods.
 Settlements were near the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. People chose to settle near the rivers because
water is the source of life. They could use the water for agriculture, drinking, bathing and for their
animals.
 Close proximity to the rivers resulted in very fertile soil. Thus the name of the area, the Fertile
Crescent. The Fertile Crescent was prone to attacks because of agricultural abundance which attracted
nomads.
 Economy was largely agricultural and had small industries of pottery, textiles and crafts which brought
foreign trade.
 Present day Iraq.
a. Sumerians
 Nomadic herders ; Southern Mesopotamia
 Established city-states
-independent from other city-states.
-own government, farmland, etc.
-each was believed to be protected by a god.
-ruled by a “lugal” or priest-king. The lugal was all powerful because he had religious and political
power.
 Built ziggurats
-temples built in the center of the city.
-home of each city-state’s patron god.
-only priests were allowed inside.
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a. 1 Summerian Contributions
o Wheel, plow, sail, boat, ziggurats, Epic of Gilgamesh, water clock, calendar, maps, cuneiform
writing and the Behistun Rock.
o Cuneiform - earliest form of writing.
-came from the Latin word “cuneus” meaning “wedge”
-made use of a clay tablet and a stylus (reed)
o Behistun Rock – had various writings on it in different languages, yet they all said the same thing.
This led to the translation of the Cuneiform language.
b. Akkadians
 North of Sumer.
 Conquered the city-states of Sumer.
 Sargon I established the first empire.
 Ur Nammu – leader of Summerian city-state Ur, opposed the Akkadian empire.
 Ur ruled over Sumer and Akkad until it fell under powerful conquerors.
c. Babylonians
 Powerful city in Southern Mesopotamia.
 Hammurabi – conquered & unified Mesopotamia.
- ordered the collection of laws throughout the empire. “Code of Hammurabi”
c.1 Babylonian Contributions
 Sexagesimal counting system. (base of 60)
 Astrology and astronomy.
 Code of Hammurabi (282 laws)
d. Assyrians
 Northern Mesopotamia along Tigris river.
 Assyria – capital of the Mesopotamian empire & established by Tiglath Piteser I.
e. Chaldeans
 Northern part of Babylonia; Western banks of Euphrates river.
 Nabopolossar – defeated the Assyrians ; established “new Babylon”
 Nebuchadnezzar II – Babylon reached the height of success and prosperity ; Hanging Gardens of
Babylon.
f. Persians
 Archaemeneid empire
 Persia – capital city (Iran)
 Cyrus the Great – led expansion of the empire.
 Darius the Great – annexed northern India into the empire.
 Xerxes – attempted to conquer Greece.
 Efficient governance
o Satrapy – provinces
o Satrap – governor
f. 1 Persian Contributions
 Zoroastrianism
 Efficient governance
3. Other Contributions of Mesopotamia
a. Hittites
 Used chariots and iron as weapons. Chariots were previously used for agriculture. The use of iron
suggests cultural advancement.
b. Lydians
 Used gold and silver for coins for trading.
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c. Phoenicians (Lebanon)
 Unlike the rest of Mesopotamia, Phoenicians were NOT warriors and did not conquer.
 Phoenicians were traders. They controlled trade routes, established trade posts and spread their
culture through trading.
 Phonetic alphabet
 Great seafarers
 Use of purple dye. This was the most expensive dye. This symbolized power, wealth and royalty
because only the rich could afford it. This shows inequality and presence of social classes in society.
d. Hebrews
 Believed in only one God (Yahweh)
 Enslaved by the Egyptians, Babylonians and Romans.
 Freed by Cyrus.
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