Download Interaction: The Agricultural Revolution

Mohamad Adada
Mr. Tavernia
Period 5
World History AP
Packet B
Interaction: The Agricultural Revolution
The Holocene is the current epoch in which we live. It began at approximately 9,700 BCE, and
was preceded by the Pleistocene. The Holocene brought about higher temperatures. These
warmer climates allowed ancient humans to migrate. After humans migrated and settled down
during the neolithic period, we began the agricultural, or neolithic revolution. This consisted of
the switch between gathering food to producing it, also known as agriculture. During this
agricultural revolution, inventions like the plow helped speed up the process of growing food.
As a result of the neolithic revolution, getting food was more efficient therefore, the need for
more men was reduced, and so the people who didn't farm, spent time on other specialties like
metallurgy or building. This was called specialization of labor. One of the paleolithic migrations
was from Africa to the Middle East, to places like Egypt and Mesopotamia. In these two ancient
civilizations, sheep, cows, pigs, oxen, and donkeys were domesticated, and mainly barley and
wheat were grown.
Anam Ahmed Mr. Tavernia AP World History/Period 5 Packet: B Interaction: Beringia During the Pleistocene Ice Age, glaciers were dominant in many parts of Asia, North America, and Europe. Most of the water on Earth was in the glaciers, which caused sea levels to drop dramatically. Some land that is currently under water was dry land during that time period. An example is Beringia, the ­currently underwater­ land bridge between Alaska and Northeast Russia. The body of water there now is called the Bering Strait. Beringia played a major role in early migration of animals, including humans, and plant life. Early humans crossed the land bridge, searching for food. This is why they were able to reach the Americas and settle there. Animals, such as wooly mammoths, also moved across the land bridge. They were foraging and happened to cross the bridge, they did not purposefully try to migrate. Some birds and aquatic life had migration patterns during the time of Beringia that still continue today. During the time where sea levels were the lowest, Beringia most likely extended one thousand miles wide, north to south. It was a treeless, grassy plain that had strong storms and a constant layer of snow. Despite the climate, humans, the “people of Beringia” and animals appear to have actually lived on the land bridge. As the holocene, the current warm period, started, the glaciers began to melt. This caused the sea level to rise and cover the Beringia land bridge, forming the Bering strait. Alex Andreozzi
Mr. Tavernia
Ap World History P.5
Packet B
Theme 1: Slash and Burn Agriculture
Slash and burn agriculture is a method of growing food in which forested land is
cut and the remaining vegetation is burned. The resulting layer of ash provides nutrients
to fertilize the ground so that new plants can grow. However, this method does not work
long-term. After a couple of years of doing this, the land is all out of nutrients and is no
longer usable. This relates to the interaction theme in that since this land can only be
used for a certain amount of time, people cannot live here forever. So they have to
move to a more nutrient filled area after a while. Slash and burn agriculture also leads to
deforestation, and habitat loss for animals.
William Block
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History Period 5
Packet B
Interaction Between Humans & the Environment: Migration
Migration in ancient times is the reason why there are people all around the globe. It all
started out in the region of East Africa. From there people migrated to Australia, the Middle
East, Europe, and Asia. In the part of Asia that is now Russia, humans migrated to the Americas
across a land bridge called Beringia. In ancient times this was all located on a landmass called
Pangea.
About two million years ago there was an Ice Age called the Pleistocene Epoch. This was
the most recent of five Ice Ages in history. After this Ice Age ended the Holocene Epoch began.
This occurred about 11,000 years ago. This was the end of the Ice Age or the beginning of global
warming. It is also the period we are in now. Because of the Ice Age ending and the earth
warming up, people began to migrate. This also correlated with the discovery of fire.
Another main change during the period was the Agricultural, or Neolithic, Revolution.
This is when people began to produce food rather than gather it. This happened because of the
warming of the earth which allowed plants or crops to grow. This occurred from 8000-2000 BCE
because it happened at different times in different places on the world. Eventually civilizations
were formed because of this; the first of which
being
the Mesopotamian civilization located between
the
Tigris and
Euphrates
Rivers.
Yasmine Charles-Harris
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History / Period 5
Packet: B
[Interaction]: (Pangea)
Pangea, also known as Pangaea, was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and
early Mesozoic Eras. The Paleozoic Era was when multicelled animals underwent a dramatic
“explosion” in diversity and the largest mass extinction in history that wiped out around 90% of
all marine animals species. The Mesozoic Era was when the world’s fauna changed drastically
from the Paleozoic; this era incorporated dinosaurs.
It began to break apart about 175 million years ago
and assembled from earlier continental units around
300 million years ago. Much of Pangea was located
in the southern hemisphere, surrounded by an
enormous ocean called Panthalassa, in contrast to
present Earth and its continental mass distribution.
Pangea
was
the
first
supercontinent
to
be
reconstructed by geologists and the last that has
existed. The presence of similar and identical species
on continents that are now far apart is proven with fossil evidence. Fossils of a certain species
have been found in Antarctica, India, and South Africa. German meteorologist Alfred Wegener
first proposed the existence of Pangea in 1912 as a part of his continental drift theory. Pangea is
derived from the Greek word “pangaia,” meaning “all the Earth.” Pangea, in early geologic time,
incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth. Eventually forming the modern continents and
the Atlantic and Indian oceans, the supercontinent began to break apart about 200 million years
ago, during the Early Jurassic Period, which was 201 to 174 million years ago. Pangea was
broken up into two parts: Gondwana and Laurasia. Gondwana incorporated present-day South
America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica; Laurasia included
modern North America, Europe, and Asia.
Sofia del Rio
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History/Period 5
Packet: B
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia means, “the land between two rivers,” for it was located on the plain in between
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The first domestication of
plants and animals took place in Mesopotamia. The
Sumerians were the first people in Mesopotamia, and
created the framework of civilization. The early cities
developed do as a result of the need to organize labor to
maintain irrigation systems, for Mesopotamia depended
heavily on them. Irrigation networks were used by
southern Mesopotamians due to lack of rainfall.
Canals brought water to fields, dams raised water
levels so water could flow by gravity to the canals,
drainage systems brought excess water away from
fields, and dykes protected riverbanks from flooding.
Writing first appeared in Mesopotamia as cuneiform,
which was originally created for the Sumerians.
Cuneiform involved pressing the tip of a reed
onto a moist clay tablet and was originally
pictographic (one symbol is one word or idea),
but was later changed into a script language (one
symbol is one letter).
Jose Duran
Mr. Tavernia AP
Period 5
Agricultural Revolution
There have been two major agricultural revolutions throughout the
history of mankind. The first agricultural revolution occurred around 8000
years ago and it was mainly focused on humans going from being foragers to
becoming stationary farmers. Some historians believe that this revolution
made survival rates higher for humans because farming meant always
having a stable food source. These observations have been contracted by
simply stating that there could be years that there is minimal to no rainfall,
which forces a whole society to migrate to others places or simply starve.
The second agricultural revolution occurred during the 18th century when
Europe decided to create new technology to farm more efficiently. Along with
modernizing farming tools, Europeans also changed their techniques of
farming to aim for better results and less labor. The invention of the horsedrawn seed press reduced the fieldwork needed and helped produce double
the crops. A new crop rotation cycle revolutionized agriculture because it
created a new diversity of wheat and vegetables, and it also created more
space for more livestock.
Sofia Godoy Mr. Tavernia Period 5 Packet B: Ancient Civilizations Interaction Between Humans and the Environments: Soil Erosion In Neolithic times, people began to engage in a variety of practices that harmed the environment, such as overgrazing and deforestation. Both overgrazing, which is caused by an excessive amount of animal grazing on a certain piece of land, and deforestation, which is the destruction of forests in order to use the land for another purpose, cause soil erosion. A natural phenomenon, soil erosion occurs when topsoil is worn away by water or wind. However, human activity can and has accelerated this process. With the emergence of agriculture, people began to clear forestry, in favor of shifting cultivation. Thus, deforestation removed the trees whose roots anchored the soil, allowing it to move around and erode. As aforementioned, overgrazing also leads to soil erosion. Since plants are consumed at a rate faster than which they can grow back, the soil is left without the vegetal cover that protected it from wind and water. Due to the fact that it eliminates the possibility of using an area to grow crops, soil erosion has impacted societies throughout history. As a matter of fact, many archaeologists now believe that soil erosion, along with salinization, played a role in the mysterious demise of the Indus Valley civilization. Today, intensive agricultural techniques and technologies continue to accelerate soil erosion and as a result, the global threat it poses. An alarming testament to the severity of this crisis, the World Wildlife Fund reported that half of the topsoil on the planet has been eroded away in the last 150 years. Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a name for the area of the ​Tigris–Euphrates river system​, in modern days
roughly corresponding to most of ​Iraq plus ​Kuwait​, the eastern parts of​Syria​, and regions along
the ​Turkish-Syrian and ​Iran–Iraq borders​. Widely considered to be one of the ​cradles of
civilization by the ​Western world​, ​Bronze Age Mesopotamia included ​Sumer and the ​Akkadian​,
Babylonian​, and ​Assyrian empires, all native to the territory of modern-day Iraq. In the ​Iron Age​,
it was controlled by the ​Neo-Assyrian and ​Neo-Babylonian Empires​. The indigenous Sumerians
and Akkadians (including ​Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the
beginning of ​written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was
conquered by the ​Achaemenid Empire​. It fell to ​Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his
death, it became part of the Greek ​Seleucid Empire​. Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under
the control of the ​Parthian Empire​. Mesopotamia became a battleground between the ​Romans
and Parthians, with parts of Mesopotamia coming under ephemeral Roman control. In AD 226, it
fell to the Sassanid Persians and remained under Persian rule until the 7th century ​Muslim
conquest of Persia of the ​Sasanian Empire​. A number of primarily neo-Assyrian and Christian
native Mesopotamian states existed between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD, including
Adiabene​, ​Osroene​, and ​Hatra​. Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the
Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. It has been identified as having inspired some of
the most important developments in human history including the invention of the ​wheel​, the
planting of the first cereal ​crops and the development of ​cursive script, ​mathematics​, ​astronomy
and ​agriculture​.
Sydni Josowitz Mr. Tavernia AP World History p5 Packet B [Interaction]: Pangea Pangea was a large ‘supercontinent’ that existed from around 300 million years ago to about 175 million years ago. All of our modern day continents were connected together into this one single landmass. Pangea was mostly located in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. Alfred Wegener discovered this after creating the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics. This connected all the parts of the world together. The ocean surrounding Pangea was called Panthalassa. There were other supercontinents in existence before Pangea however Pangea remains the most recent. Mark Kava
Tavernia
World History AP/Period 5
Packet B
Interaction​- Holocene Epoch
The Holocene Epoch is the current period of geological time. The Holocene Epoch
began between 12,000 and 11,500 years ago. This era is particularly well-known because this is
following the last ice age, and this is when the Earth began to warm. The Earth warming has
had many affects on history of the world.
Because the Earth began to warm, this led to early human migration. Instead of humans
staying near the warmest part of the Earth, the equator, humans were not able to migrate and
spread out throughout the world. This took thousands of years; nevertheless, this was an effect
of the Earth warming. People migrated throughout Pangaea and through Beringia (the land
bridge that connected Russia and Canada when Pangaea [the supercontinent] existed).
Because humans no longer needed to stay by the equator for warmth, humans explored and
migrated.
In addition to migration, the Holocene Epoch began the transition to agriculture. For a
short while (about 1,000 years) during the Holocene Epoch, homo sapiens sapiens were
foragers and hunter-gathers. People would hunt and gather for food on a daily basis.
Sometimes, they were able to store a small amount of food for days or maybe weeks. However,
because the planet began to warm during the Holocene Epoch, this led to humans being able to
develop agriculture. Agriculture was a revolution that we still utilize today. Agriculture allows for
people to store food for next month, the next season, or possibly the next year. Agriculture also
led to settlement and civilizations, all because the Earth began to warm during the Holocene
Epoch.
Thomas Lovegren
Mr.Tavernia
AP Human Geography
Packet B
AP theme: Pastoralism
Pastoralism is to thank for the domestication of animals. Many nomadic peoples
had domesticated animals such as horses, and oxen to help in daily life which are still
used today in agrarian societies to help with farming, transportation, or even food for an
entire tribe.
Elizabeth Matei
Mr. Tavernia
World History AP/Period 5
Packet: B
Interaction Between Humans and the Environment: Pangaea
Pangaea is a supercontinent that was formed about 300 million years ago and made its
most impactful appearance during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. After gradual,
constant shifting of the Earth’s plates, the massive continent began to break apart about 175
million years ago and slowly but surely, forming the continents that the people of the Earth now
inhabit. Pangaea was surrounded by a huge ocean known as the Panthalassa Ocean. Alfred
Wegener, the man who basically “discovered” Pangaea, attributes Pangaea’s formation to
continental drift, one of his most known and well supported theories. His theory postulates the
idea that before Pangaea separated into many pieces, it at one point had to be a super continent.
This idea is supported through many pieces of evidence. For example, there are fossils that have
been recently discovered on two completely separate continents, yet they are almost identical.
Also, Pangaea is said to have broken up and reformed many times in the spans of millions to
billions of years. In contemporary times, Pangaea’s formation is known to be a result of plate
tectonics, the shifting of Earth’s crust. Life was said to have lived on this continent.
Unfortunately, the northern region of Pangaea underwent an extremely destructive mass
extinction, the Permian Extinction, which killed over ninety percent of sea life and seventy
percent of land life. Even with so many complications, the remains of Pangaea still shine through
and reflect a very important part of the Earth’s formation and early history.
Alba Minxha
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History Period 5
Packet: B
Theme One Migration: Pastoral Nomadism
While hunter-gatherers followed the
herds, pastoral nomads domesticated their herds.
They moved from one place to another only as
their herds saw fit. If one area had little pasture,
they moved on. The animals in the herd were of
the same type and either horses, reindeers,
camels, and cattle- depending on the location
and time period of which the herders lived in.
Pastoral nomads domesticated animals yet had no drastic effect on the environment.
Unlike their counterparts, civilization based pastoralists, the herds of pastoral nomads rarely
stayed in one place long enough to overgraze on a area. The herds ate the vegetation, fertilized
the land, and then moved on to the next location. This relationship between the herds and the
environment was one similar to the natural manner in which non domesticated animals migrated.
The only difference, humans following the same domesticated herds throughout their journey.
As they stumbled across civilizations, the nomads were
attacked. The great numbers and weapons of the civilization
conquered the nomads, and picked up their technology- such as
the chariot. So, while nomads did not directly affect the
environment, civilizations used their technology and methods in
ways that latter caused erosion and deforestation.
Emily Namm
Michael Tavernia
AP World History/Period 5
Packet B
[Interaction]: Papyrus
Papyrus, scientifically known as cyperus papyrus, a member of the sedge
family, is a plant that grows wild in
the Nile river valley. Around 3000
BCE, Egyptians first began to use
papyrus as a writing medium, drawing
on it with ink. They would use the
plant to make a paper-like material,
also called papyrus. Egyptians would
soak the stalks in water until they
began to rot. Then they would line up
the stalks, and line a second layer
criss-crossing the first, and pound
them until they were flat. Papyrus was adopted as an alternative to clay tablets. The
switch was advantageous because papyrus was both lighter and harder to break.
In about 1000 BCE, other
civilizations also realized the
advantages of switching to papyrus.
Egyptians began to trade the papyrus
to other nations, all over West Asia.
Papyrus was used as the main
material to write on until 700 AD,
when Chinese began making paper
(a word derived from papyrus) from
rags.
Alexander Rabin
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History P.5
Packet B
Interaction Theme: Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is the “land between the rivers” of the Tigris and Euphrates. It is situated
in modern day Iraq and is one of the oldest civilizations. Many different empires have
been located there, such as Sumeria and Babylon. As it had a warm climate and
between rivers, agriculture was feasible and agricultural developments were made,
such as the plow and large scale irrigation projects to bring in water from the rivers.
These events occurred in 4000 and 3000 BCE respectively. Mesopotamian religion was
polytheistic and ziggurats were built to worship the gods. Mesopotamians had “lugals”
as leaders. Two noteworthy examples of kings/leaders are Sargon of Akkad and
Hammurabi, who wrote the first written system of law. Mesopotamians often traded with
members of the Egyptian and Indus River civilizations. Mesopotamians developed
bronze metallurgy and cuneiform, a system of writing. Mesopotamia had a strict class
system with kings and religious officials at the top with farmers and women at the
bottom.
Scott Robins
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History Period 5
Packet B
Theme 1 (Interaction): Pangea
Today the Earth consists of several continents and oceans, but
before this, it is believed that the Earth consisted of one landmass. This
landmass is known as Pangea, and it is supported that it was made up of
all the continents connected as one. Pangea had two parts to it, northern
Laurasia and southern Gondwana. It is believed that Pangea was split over
time resulting in several different continents and many oceans we have
today. This theory was created by Alfred Wegener in 1912. Pangea formed
about 270 million years ago and broke apart about 70 million years later
.
Sean Robins
Mr. Tavernia
AP World P.5
Packet: B
Theme 1(Interaction): Pangea
The Earth is constructed of continents and oceans, but prior to this, it
was believed that the Earth was one landmass. This landmass is
known as Pangea, which is made up of all the continents connected
as one. Pangea had two parts to it, northern Laurasia and southern
Gondwana. There was also believed to be one giant ocean which they
called Panthalassa. Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of
Continental Drift in 1912 and stated that the continents are in
constant motion. Pangea formed about 270 million years ago and
broke apart about 70 million years later Pangea was split over time
and it resulted in seven different continents and many oceans which
we now cover our Earth.
https://socratic.org/
questions/what-ispangea
Alejandro Sosa
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History P.5
Packet: B
Portfolio Project
Interaction: Crete
Crete is the most populous and largest of the Greek islands, and the fifth biggest island
in the Mediterranean. Besides those facts, Crete has a rich history, from a Paleolithic
civilization dating back to 130,000 years ago, to the Romans, and now Greek rule. The
two main civilizations in the foundation period are the Minoans and the
Mycenaeans.The Minoans were an ancient Aegean Bronze Age civilization that arose in
Crete and its nearby islands. It was named after one of its kings, King Minos; and is
recognized as Europe’s first advanced civilization. Although the epic poet Homer had
recorded that Crete once had about 90 cities, the largest discovered and probably the
capital of the Minoan kingdom was Knossos. The Minoans civilization wasn’t restricted
to simply Crete, their influence expanded to Anatolia and the Old Egyptian Kingdom.
The Minoans lost influence at around 1400 BCE, possibly because of an invasion or the
eruption of a nearby volcano, Thera. The civilization that came after was the
Mycenaean, which began on the Greek mainland at around 1600 BCE, were the next
civilization in the first period to inhabit Crete. The Mycenaeans spread out from the
mainland and over to Crete, where it has been shown for them to have shaft graves and
buildings. Mycenaeans were probably able to reach Crete and other Greek isles
because of their maritime domination of the Mediterranean Sea. The Mycenaeans fell
out of influence at around 1100 BCE. Soon after, there were smaller inhabitations by the
Greeks and the Romans. In later periods, Crete’s history has also been filled with
turmoil and has been taken over multiple times.
Minoan Ruins in Greece
Location of Crete
Mycenaean Shaft Graves
Kathryn Treacy
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History, Period 5
Packet B: Ancient Civilizations
Interaction Between Humans & the Environment:
Shifting Cultivation
Shifting cultivation is an alternative to sedentary agriculture which is a method of
agriculture in which the same land is being farmed on every year. Therefore, it contrasts
with shifting cultivation and pastoral nomadism. Shifting cultivation is often referred to as
“slash and burn” agriculture. This farming method was developed in the rainforests of
Central and South America, West Africa, eastern and central Asia, southern China, and
Southeast Asia. The obvious destruction to the environment was worsened by the
frequency of the farmers’ movement. At first, the soil in the burnt areas was very fertile,
but when the soil nutrients were depleted, farmers moved on to slash and burn another
section of jungle.
Shifting cultivation relates to theme one, interaction between humans and the
environment in many different ways. Slash and burn agriculture directly relates to both
humans and the environment. First off, it directly relates to the interaction of human
beings because it involves the effort of the farmers. The relation and effects to the
environment of any preliminary knowledge item does not always have to be ideal or good,
it can be bad as well. Likewise, shifting cultivation relates to the environment because at
first the soil in burnt areas was fertile, but then the soil nutrients were depleted.
Saaketh Vedantam
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History/Period 5
Packet: B
Interaction: Shifting Cultivation
Shifting cultivation is a farming method developed mostly in rain forest zones. Regions
such as Central and South America, West Africa, eastern and central Asia, southern China, and
Southeast Asia used this primarily. The idea behind this is that the soil in burnt areas of the forest
is very fertile, so people live there for three to five years. Then, when the soil’s nutrients get
depleted, farmers move on to repeat the process in a different part of the forest. This showed an
obvious destruction to the environment, which was worsened by the fact that farmers moved
around faster than the wildlife in certain areas could recover. Other named for this include slash
and burn agriculture, swidden agriculture, milpa agriculture, and patch agriculture.
Early farmers in Europe and other places started to practice shifting cultivation, between
4000 and 3000 BCE. For example, people in the Danube Valley supported themselves by
cultivating a small portion of farmland while leaving the rest fallow to become fertile. This also
occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where intensive cultivation prevailed. People decided to
abandon fields when the soil lost its fertility instead of using fertilizers such as manure and
compost to enrich fields. Doing this process of burning land and shifting to a new place made
efficient use of labor in areas with poor soil and abundant space. At around 2000 BCE, people in
Southeast Asia practiced slash and burn agriculture by clearing land for farming by slashing and
burning vegetation. Rice was the staple food grown in this fashion because it was able to support
an entire population even though growing it was labor intensive. Later on, Mayan farmers
prepared their field by utilizing the process of swidden agriculture.
While many civilizations practiced shifting cultivation, there were also many downsides.
For example, it was only able to support a small population because people were living in forests
with a small amount of food. Nowadays, with a growing population, people rely on commercial
agriculture to feed themselves. Also, it is extremely destructive to the environment. Many natural
rainforests, such as the Amazon, are depleted of resources because of groups practicing shifting
cultivation. Finally, the fire that people use to burn down vegetation can be harmful to the
atmosphere of the Earth.
Daniela Velez Mr. Tavernia AP World History/ 5 Packet: B Interaction: Mesopotamia It is hard to imagine how a group of people could establish a city all by themselves while now a day we are simply born into a city. However, a group of people was able to accomplish it­­ and they created the Mesopotamian civilization. Mesopotamia, or the land between two rivers, was an ancient region in the eastern Mediterranean in between the Tigris and Euphrates river. Called the Fertile Crescent, it was known for its rich soil due to water and nutrients constantly soaking into the land from the rivers, perfect for agriculture. These favorable conditions led to the establishment of the multiple empires and civilizations of Mesopotamia. The people of Mesopotamia were polytheistic, worshipping more than 1,000 deities. Women owned nearly equal rights as men did, including the rights to own their own businesses and make contracts in trade, and worked along with men. Until around 3600 BCE, the priest of each city fulfilled the role of the ruler of the city. Isabella Whiting
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History P5
Packet B
Theme 1: Interaction
One of the five main themes of AP Human geography is interaction between humans
and the environment. This theme extends to question how humans have developed new tools
and technology to adjust to, and affect their environment over time. One way that early people
were able to adapt to their environments to suit their agricultural needs was slash and burn
agriculture. As people went through the Neolithic revolution, which was the transition from food
gathering to food production, they had to find ways to make their environment’s suit their
farming needs. One method that was developed was slash and burn agriculture, which is when
farmers burn a portion of their land in order to create a fertile layer of ash that would be much
more suitable for farming. While one piece of land was being burned another was being used to
grow crops, so once those crops were ready another piece of land would have been recently
burned and would be ready for planting since it would have a fresh new layer of fertile soil.
Slash and burn agriculture was developed by farmers as a way to adapt to their environments
and
make
it
suit
their
need
agriculturally productive land.
for
Kevin Yeung
Mr. Tavernia
AP World History Period 5
Packet B
Theme 1 - Interaction: Crete
The island where the earliest recorded civilization in Europe originated, Crete forms a
significant part of ancient and modern Greece. Crete is the largest and most populous of the
islands of Greece and lies to the south of the mainland. Tall mountains and other physical
elevations make up the landscape of the island and its natural harbors and coasts attract many
tourists and merchants willing to conduct trade. The
Cretan plains produce enough food to support the
large number of citizens living in the capital of
Heraklion and other principal cities, and they also
provide for exports, a majority of which is timber.
Other exports include wine, olive oil, cloth, and herbs.
However, the economy of Crete is still mostly based
on services and tourism, as it is ranked as one of the
most popular destinations in Greece. While Crete is
densely populated today, the island has been
inhabited since probably 7000 BCE and has had a rich history since then.
The center of Minoan civilization, Crete had a well-developed, advanced civilization with
their writing still indecipherable today. The temperate and mild climate of Crete promoted
growth and migration to the island. While these migrations led to conflict and social upheaval
between colonies, things would eventually get better. Soon, authority was concentrated around a
powerful figure, and administration was implemented into the society. Minoans traded with
Egypt and the Middle East, and road networks were created to connect the cities of Crete.
However, the Minoans’ glory would quickly end when shattering earthquakes destroyed many of
the Minoan palaces in 1700 BCE. However, another disaster, possible an invasion or the eruption
of a devastating volcano would bring an end to the Minoan civilization.
After the Minoans, patterns of settlement would soon increase, and power over the island
of Crete would switch from empire to empire. It would shift from being part of the Roman
Empire, to the Byzantine Empire, to the Venetian Republic, the Ottoman Empire, and eventually
an island of the modern country of Greece. The island was so often contested due to the
environment of Crete. Resources were abundant, and the beautiful plains embedded in the
mountains were fertile and provided crops. The seas were also rich in marine life, like fish and
crustaceans. Inhabitants since the Minoan civilization have been taking advantage of these
resources and creating industries out of them. Without its ample supply of food and resources,
Crete wouldn’t have been the city it is today.