Download WHAP Review: Unit 1

WHAP Review: Unit 1
Ancient Civilization
8000 BCE – 600 BCE
The Big Picture
 Interactions among groups limited to those
geographically nearby, but over time interactions
increased steadily in frequency and distance.
 Importance of physical geography and the natural
environment interacting with human activities to shape
change and continuity.
The Big Picture
1. Development of agriculture and early agricultural
communities.
2. The appearance of the earliest urban-based societies.
Paleolithic

Neolithic
Neolithic Revolution
1. People settled down (private property)
2. Division of labor
3. Social inequality
4. Gender inequality
5. Importance of surplus
6. Religious changes (spirits
 gods)
Civilization
1. Generation of reliable surpluses
2. Highly specialized occupations
3. Clear social class distinctions
4. Growth of cities
5. Complex, formal governments
6. Long-distance trade
7. Organized writing system* (exception?)
River Valley Civilizations
River Valley Civilizations:
Similarities
Political
Theocratic Autocracy
Economic
Agriculture
F.A.T. (Farmer, Artisan, Trader)
Religious
Polytheism
Social
Hierarchy, women/peasants/slaves at
bottom
Intellectual
Writing system, literature based on
religion/morality
Math/science for agriculture or
religion
Artistic
Pottery, metallurgy, textiles
Ancient Mesopotamia
Political
Warrior-kings (with powerful priest)
City-states (at different points in history, a different city-state controls
Mesopotamia)
1. Sumerians – earliest civilization
2. Akkadians – first empire (Sargon the Great)
3. Babylonians – Hammurabi
4. Hittites
5. Assyrians
6. New Babylonians
Economic
FAT, traded with Egypt and Indus
Religious
Polytheism, Ziggurats, Hebrew minority established Judaism
Social
Multiple wives, women wearing the veil?
Intellectual
Cuneiform, Hammurabi’s Code, invented plow and wheel,
math/science most advanced
Artistic
Epic of Gilgamesh
Near
Tigris and Euphrates (“Fertile Crescent”)
Ancient Egypt
Political
Pharaoh (god-king)
Old Kingdom
-pharaohs/economy strongest
-Great Pyramids
Middle Kingdom
-Expanded trade with neighbors, develop small middle class
-Invasion by the Hyksos
New Kingdom
-Aggressive expansion of territory
Economic
Invented bronze
Religious
Polytheism, pyramids, mummification, Book of the Dead
Amon-Re (sun), Isis (fertility), Osiris (afterlife), Horus (pharaoh)
Social
Some social mobility, women’s status higher than other RV civ.
Intellectual
Calendar, medical knowledge, hieroglyphics, papyrus
Artistic
Pyramids, stonework, pottery, sculpture, jewelry
Near
Nile River (predictable flooding), isolated
Ancient Indus Valley
Political
Grid cities: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Aryan Invasion (1500 BCE) – ends the ancient age – Classical
period begins (Vedic Age)
Economic
FAT, cotton/wheat/barley, traded with Mesopotamia, Persia, and
Egypt,
Religious
Aryan invasion brings Hinduism (reincarnation, karma, dharma)
Social
Caste system (Aryans)
Intellectual
Early form of Sanskrit (still not deciphered), indoor plumbing,
Artistic
First dice and chess games
Near
Indus River, violent flooding and monsoons
Ancient China
Political
1. Shang Dynasty
2. Zhou Dynasty
Mandate of Heaven
Economic
FAT, rice/silk
Religious
Oracle bones, polytheism but emphasis on spirits/ancestors
Social
Strong patriarchy
Intellectual
First books, advanced math/astronomy, Confucius (philosophy does
not become state policy until later)
Artistic
Pictographic writing
Near
(Geography)
Huang He (Yellow) and Yangtze Rivers, isolated (“Middle Kingdom”),
meandering rivers  decentralized feudalism
Compare/Contrast: Ancient
Americas
 Olmec (Mesoamerica – a.k.a. Mexico)
 Chavin (South America)
 Similarities with River Valley Civilizations
 Autocratic Theocracy
 Importance of priests
 Differences
 Rainfall – more stable than flooding/unpredictable weather
 No domesticated animals (except llamas )
 Isolated – little outside trade
CCOT
 Change
 Development of urban-based civilizations
 Intellectual advancements
 New, more defined religions (Judaism in Mesopotamia,
Hinduism in Indus Valley)
 Continuity
 Importance of religion
 Autocratic governments
 Agriculture
Possible Documents
“If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be
knocked out.”
Excerpt from Hammurabi’s Code, 1754 BCE
Possible Documents
“I will proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This
was the man to whom all things were known; this was the
king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise,
he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a
tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long
journey, was weary, worn-out with labour, returning he
rested, he engraved on a stone the whole story.”
Excerpt from the Epic of Gilgamesh, 2100 BCE
Possible Documents
“I have not committed evil against
men….
I have not caused anyone suffering.
I have not cut down on the food in the
I have not committed sin in the place of temples.
truth….
I have not damaged the bread of the
I have not seen evil….
gods….
I have not blasphemed a god.
I have not taken milk from the mouths
of children.
I have not done violence to a poor man.
I have not done that which the gods
abominate.
I have not defamed a slave to his
superior.
I have not driven cattle away from their
pasturage….
I have not built a dam against running
water.”
Possible Documents
“King Wen is on high,
Oh, he shines in Heaven!
Zhou is an old people,
but its Mandate is new.
The leaders of Zhou became illustrious,
was not God’s Mandate timely given?
King Wen ascends and descends
on the left and right of God.”
Selection from the Classic of Odes: King Wen, 600 BCE