Download Pre- AP World History Summer Assignment 2014-2015 School Year

Pre- AP World History
Summer Assignment
2014-2015 School Year
Pre-AP World History – prepares students for the Advanced Placement World History course, which enables students to
pursue college-level studies while still in high school. The AP examination will be taken at the end of the students’ sophomore
year. AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced
placement or both. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought out the most
rigorous course work available to them.
Students and parents should keep in mind the following expectations for the course:

Pre- AP World History requires reading and writing outside class

Pre- AP World history requires self-discipline to complete assignments, and willingness to work on improving skills

A key to success in Pre- AP World is to be motivated and to have a passion for history

Students will also be expected to complete a summer assignment. The assignment will be due on the first day of
class. All assignments can be found on the THS social studies website. The assignment consists of two parts:
o
Part A – Vocabulary sheet
 Students will complete the vocab sheet for each term on the worksheet provided
 For each term students must:
1. Define the term in their own words
2. Give an example of the term or briefly explain its significance
3. Draw an image of the term (Images cannot be printed and must be
hand-drawn)
o
Part B – Document Based Questions (DBQ) Analysis
 Students will read through the excerpts from the Epic of Gilgamesh and
answer questions 1-8.
Part A
Each term must be handwritten and completed on the worksheets provided.
Word
pre-history
Paleolithic
Neolithic
nomad
hominid
domesticate
urban
rural
patriarchal
matriarchal
surplus
city-state
pastoralism
sedentary
5 to 7 word Definition
Example/
significance
Image
silt
irrigation
monsoon
monotheism
polytheism
animism
archipelago
empire
carbon dating
ziggurat
indigenous
tribute
artisan
barter
Citadel
migration
dynasty
mandate of
heaven
theocracy
bureaucracy
diaspora
textiles
prophet
colony
noble
confederation
religious
toleration
province
delta
cataract
Anthropology
Paleontology
specialization
cultural
diffusion
exiled
civilization
Part B
The Epic of Gilgamesh: The world’s first great epic poem
Gilgamesh is the semi-mythic King of Uruk best known from The Epic of Gilgamesh (written c. 2150-1400 BCE) the great
Sumerian/Babylonian poetic work which pre-dates Homer’s writing by 1500 years and, therefore, stands as the oldest piece
of epic western literature.
Excerpt 1, Tablet 1:
The account begins: Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third human, is the greatest king on earth and the strongest superhuman that ever existed; however, he is young and oppresses his people harshly. The people call out to the sky-god Anu, the
chief god of the city, to help them. In response, Anu creates a wild man, Enkidu, out in the harsh and wild forests surrounding
Gilgamesh's lands. This brute, Enkidu, has the strength of dozens of wild animals; he is to serve as the subhuman rival to the
superhuman Gilgamesh.
Excerpt 2, Tablet 1:
Gilgamesh meanwhile has two dreams; in the first a meteorite falls to earth which is so great that Gilgamesh can neither lift it
nor turn it. The people gather and celebrate around the meteorite, and Gilgamesh embraces it as he would a wife, but his
mother, the goddess Rimat-Ninsun, forces him to compete with the meteorite. In the second, Gilgamesh dreams that an axe
appears at his door, so great that he can neither lift it nor turn it. The people gather and celebrate around the axe, and
Gilgamesh embraces it as he would a wife, but his mother, again, forces him to compete with the axe. Gilgamesh asks his
mother what these dreams might mean; she tells him a man of great force and strength will come into Uruk. Gilgamesh will
embrace this man as he would a wife, and this man will help Gilgamesh perform great deeds.
Excerpt 3, Tablet 2:
Both Enkidu and Gilgamesh gradually weaken and grow lazy living in the city, so Gilgamesh proposes a great adventure: they
are to journey to the great Cedar Forest in southern Iran and cut down all the cedar trees. To do this, they will need to kill the
Guardian of the Cedar Forest, the great demon, Humbaba the Terrible. Enkidu knows about Humbaba from his days running
wild in the forest; he tries in vain to convince Gilgamesh not to undertake this folly.
Excerpt 8, Tablet 5:
Enkidu shouts at Gilgamesh, inspiring him with courage, and Gilgamesh appears from hiding and the two begin their epic
battle with Humbaba. Shamash intrudes on the battle, helping the pair, and Humbaba is defeated. On his knees, with
Gilgamesh's sword at his throat, Humbaba begs for his life and offers Gilgamesh all the tress in the forest and his eternal
servitude. While Gilgamesh is thinking this over, Enkidu intervenes, telling Gilgamesh to kill Humbaba before any of the gods
arrive and stop him from doing so.
Excerpt 10, Tablet 7:
Enkidu then blesses the harlot and the trapper. In a dream, a great demon comes to take Enkidu and drags him to Hell, a
House of Dust where all the dead end up; as he is dying, he describes Hell:
The house where the dead dwell in total darkness,
Where they drink dirt and eat stone,
Where they wear feathers like birds,
Where no light ever invades their everlasting darkness,
Where the door and the lock of Hell is coated with thick dust.
When I entered the House of Dust,
On every side the crowns of kings were heaped,
On every side the voices of the kings who wore those crowns,
Who now only served food to the gods Anu and Enlil
Epic of Gilgamesh Reflection/Interpretation Questions: All need to be answered in complete sentences.
1. What do the excerpts tell us about the religion of ancient Mesopotamia? Make reference to specific parts of the
excerpts in your response.
2. Use the excerpts to discuss the two concepts of “Gods as protectors” and “Gods as punishers”. Make reference to
specific parts of the excerpts in your response.
3. What do the introduction and excerpt 1 tell us about the typical type of government in ancient Mesopotamia?
4. The interpretation of dreams is a key component of the Epic of Gilgamesh. What is your interpretation of Gilgamesh’s
dreams in Excerpt 2?
5. In addition to the role of gods in this literature, what other mythical concept of Mesopotamia appears in Excerpts 3
and 8?
6. Why do you think the gods decide to kill Enkidu rather than Gilgamesh?
7. Discuss what excerpt 10 tells us about the Mesopotamian view of the afterlife. Make reference to specific parts of
the excerpts in your response.
8. How does the ancient Mesopotamian view of the afterlife differ from other typical views of the “afterlife”?