Download Historical Significance - UHS AP World History Class

Geographic
Literacy
Ms. Sheets
AP World History
1) Iberia is the
section on the map
labeled:
A) I
B) II
C) III
D) IV
C
2) The country once known as ancient Mesopotamia is
now:
A)India and Pakistan
B)Egypt and parts of Sudan and Ethiopia
C)Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey
D)Israel
C
Ancient Mesopotamia is called the cradle of civilization,
where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow, extending from
the Persian Gulf north to the mountains of Armenia. The
earliest settlements there date from 5000 CE. Today, the
region includes portions of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey
3) What region of
Africa is shaded
yellow?
A)The Sahara
B)Sub-Saharan Africa
C)The Great Basin
D)Mediterranean
Africa
A
This is the Saharan Desert
4) What country was once known as Persia?
A) Syria
B) Egypt
C) Afghanistan
D) Iran
D
The country that had been called Persia since ancient times
was officially renamed Iran in 1935.
5) What is Vatican City?
A)A free state within Rome where the pope lives
B)The capital of Italy
C)A city now known as Istanbul, where the Eastern
patriarch lives
D)The capital of the Netherlands
A
Vatican City, the residence of the pope and the headquarters
of the Roman Catholic church, is located within the
boundaries of the city of Rome. It has been an independent
state with its own currency and citizenship since 1929
6) What region has a predominantly single ethnicity?
A)Yugoslavia
B)Rwanda
C)Korea
D)Cyprus
C
Korea
7) Early settlements and high population
density along coastlines and rivers are best
attributed to which of the following?
A)Mediterranean climate
B)Limited forest cover
C)Growth of manufacturing
D)Access to trade routes
D
Trade was an important activity for the success of early
settlements
8) Spanish colonial architecture, uneven
economic development, and rural-to-urban
migration flows are most commonly found in
which of the following?
A)Southeast Asia
B)Sub-Saharan Africa
C)North America
D)Latin America
D
Latin America is the only region where all three of these
characteristics are found
9) The cities of Varanasi in India and Mecca in Saudi
Arabia are alike because both are
A)Capitals of countries formerly colonized by the
English
B)Destinations for vast numbers of pilgrims
C)Financial centers for a large fraction of the world’s
economy
D)Examples of modern urban planning
B
Varanasi is a holy city of the Hindus and the site of constant
pilgrimages; Mecca is a holy city and the principal
pilgrimage destination of Islam
10) Which of the following sets of countries
are contained within the same geographic
region?
A)Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Afghanistan
B)Uruguay, Ecuador, Guinea, and Chile
C)Thailand, Laos, Falkland Islands, and
Philippines
D)Namibia, Gabon, New Guinea, and
Tanzania
A
They are all located in broad South Asia.
11) Which of the following regions is the
culture hearth for three of the world’s main
religions?
A)Horn of Africa
B)Indus River valley
C)Huang He
D)Eastern Mediterranean
D
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have their origins in the
Middle East. Thus, the Mediterranean is the culture hearth
for these religions.
12) Which generalization about geography of Latin
America is accurate?
A)Geographic features prevented foreign imperialism
B)Harsh climatic conditions have prevented the
development of large scale agriculture
C)Lack of geographic barriers facilitated the
development of transportation and communication
systems
D)Great variations in latitude and landforms resulted
in a diversity of climatesD
Latin America stretches from the Rio Grande River, past the equator, and ends
just north of Antarctica. It contains many landforms including the Andes
Mountains, the Amazon River basin, Brazilian highlands, and various deserts.
Due to the variations in latitude and landforms, Latin America contains
humid sub-tropics, humid continental regions, as well as dry desert regions.
13) Hinduism is most closely associated with
which country?
A)The United States
B)Afghanistan
C)India
D)Pakistan
C
India
14) Which of the following would not be considered a
push factor?
A) Overpopulation
B) Conflict
C) Political Persecution
D) Political Freedom
D
Push factors are reasons that drive populations to leave the
land where these factors occur
15) Which of the following is not a pull factor?
A) Arable land
B) Political freedom
C) Religious freedom
D) Conflict
D
Pull factors are reasons that attract immigrant populations
to emigrate to the land where these factors are found
16) Which of the following is NOT a political system?
A) Totalitarianism
B) Communism
C) Autocracy
D) Stateless society
B
Communism is an economic system that tends to go with
authoritarian governments who have the means to oversee
and control all aspects of a nation’s economy.
17) Many countries start with the letter “S,” for
example: Spain; Sweden; Syria. Name three more
countries that start with an “S.”
You receive one bonus point for listing three more
countries that start with an “S” that are in Europe.
Switzerland; Slovakia; Slovenia; Serbia; San
Marino; Swaziland; Sudan; South Sudan;
Somalia; Singapore; Sierra Leone; South Africa;
Saudi Arabia; Suriname; Sri Lanka
18) How many countries does Bolivia border?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
D
Peru; Brazil;
Paraguay; Argentina;
Chile
19) What is the largest religion in Greece?
A) Greek Orthodoxy
B) Islam
C) Roman Catholicism
D) Paganism
A
This is largely a result of the Byzantine Empire’s rule for
nearly 1000 years.
20) Where is French Guiana located?
A) Europe
B) Africa
C) Southeast Asia
D) South America
D
It is located east of
Suriname and north of
Brazil.
When we look at a physical map of the world . . .
We don’t see artificial boundaries or country lines like we would on a political map.
Instead, we see natural boundaries or borders made by water, rivers, lakes, deserts
and landmasses. Additionally, even though we are used to reciting the seven
continents, we often forget there are two basic land masses that humans occupy.
Africa + Europe + Asia = Afroeurasia
Australasia is the continent of Australia, plus New Guinea, New Zealand,
Tasmania, and other islands that neighbor Australia. Human settlement of
Australasia began as many as 60,000 years ago, though Polynesian mariners
did not reach New Zealand until about 1000 CE.
Eurasia is the land mass made up of Asia and Europe. The idea that Europe and Asia
are separate continents goes back many centuries, but scholars often accept the term
Eurasia because these two land masses are conjoined. Moreover, the Ural Mountains,
which eighteenth-century European geographers designated as the proper boundary
between the European and Asian continents, have never been a serious obstacle to
the flow of migrants, armies, trade goods, or ideas. Particularly with regards to
Russia, there are many things both continents share.
Oceania is the basin of the Pacific Ocean and its approximately 25,000
islands. Human settlement of this enormous region, sometimes called the
Island Pacific, began in western islands near New Guinea about 1600 BCE.
Polynesian mariners reached both Hawaii to the northeast and Easter Island
to the far southeast around 500 CE. The majority of the islands lie in the
tropical belt south of the Equator. The first peoples of Oceania spoke mostly
Polynesian languages.
This is a designation of the region, often referred to as the Middle East, which
extends from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Afghanistan,
including Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula. The term “Middle East” is only in
the context of history since the start of the twentieth century. Scholars do
include Egypt, and sometimes choose to embrace the entire region from
Afghanistan to Morocco.
Start at the Iberian Peninsula in
the West and go straight across
to South China Sea; create an
ellipsis around this area.
In this area, we find:
• Every major philosophy,
every major religion, and a
tremendous amount of
scientific contributions
• Why is the Middle East
always being fought over?
It is the connection between all
three continental zones, point for 5
or 6 trade zones which everyone is
going through, home of three major
religions
In a major trade city during the 12th c. along the Silk Road . . .
- What would you hear? Europeans, Chinese, South Asia, Muslims, traders
- What faiths would you see? Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Nestorianism (branch of
Christianity that goes towards India), Hinduism, Judaism
- Mixing of ideas, discoveries, philosophies, objects, religions . . . all because the
multiplicity of cultures on this land mass were able to intermix
5 World Regions
Sub-regions
Historical
Significance
What makes an event significant?
• Chronological and geographic extent of the effects of the
event
• SPICE effects
• What else is happening at the time?
• Did it have a significant impact?
• Did it save/take many lives?
• Was this the first/last event of its kind?
• Did it have long-lasting effects?
• Was it an invention?
• Was it a military event?
• Was an important person involved?
• How many were affected?
• Does it help us understand the past?
Which event is MOST significant?
Which event is LEAST significant?
• 476 CE: End of Roman Empire in west (splitting of the Roman Empire)
• 527-565 CE: Justinian rules Byzantine Empire; silk industry begins
• 634 CE: Beginning of Islamic conquests of Western Asia; decline of
Sassanid Empire and Byzantine Empire; creation of the caliphate
• 732 CE: Charles Martel wins Battle of Tours, end of northern expansion
of Islamic conquests in Europe
• 750 CE: Islamic merchants expanded the trans-Saharan routes by using
camels to connect to the Ghana Empire
• 751 CE: Battle of Talas River in Central Asia (transferred Chinese
papermaking technology to Muslim world)
Did the way you have learned history in the past
affect how you decided what was historically
significant?
Or, did your own interests, perhaps cultural
interests, affect your decision?
Lastly, perhaps your own background influenced
your decision?
Imagine this same process with historians.
How much does one’s perspective on the importance of
one region or hemisphere over another affect how she or
he organizes world history into time periods?
Why do you think world historians usually do not select
single events to mark the beginning of a time period?
How do you think historians decide enough changes
occurred to make a time period?
Course Periods
1) Foundations Period
8,000 BCE – 600 BCE
Creation of classical societies
2) Classical Period
3) Post-Classical Period
4) Early Modern Period
600 BCE – 600 CE
600 CE – 1450 CE
1450 CE – 1750 CE
Creation of Islam / Fall
of classical societies
Prior to European
sea exploration
Prior to Age of Revolutions
5) Modern Period
6) Global Period
1750 CE – 1900 CE
1900 CE - Present
Prior to WWI
SPICE Themes
Since everything on the AP exam will have a
region, a date, and a theme, it is useful for us to
begin familiarizing ourselves with the SPICE
themes.
Social
Political
Interactions with Environment
Cultural
Economic
Social
Development and transformation of social structures
Gender roles and relations
Family and kinship
Racial and ethnic constructions
Social and economic classes
Political
State-building, expansion, and conflict
Political structures and forms of governance
Empires
Nations and nationalism
Revolts and revolutions
Regional, transregional, global structures and organizations
Interactions with Environment
Demography
Disease
Migration
Patterns of settlement
Technology
Culture
Development and interaction of cultures
Religions
Belief systems, philosophies, ideologies
Science and technology
Arts and architecture
Economic
Creation, expansions, and interactions of economic systems
Agriculture and pastoral production
Trade and commerce
Labor systems
Industrialization
Capitalism and socialism