Download Sixth Grade Review

Sixth Grade
Review
Early human population and
adaptation
• Early humans crossed land bridge between
Siberia and Alaska, entering Americas.
• nomadic hunter-gatherers migrated from
place to place when food ran out.
• used stone tools at least 2 million years ago;
could control fire around 500,000 years ago.
• Farming, slash & burn agriculture
developed 8000 B.C.—when soil became
poor, people migrated.
Major river systems supporting
permanent settlement
• Two major river systems=Tigris and
Euphrates.
• Region is called Mesopotamia—“land
between the rivers”.
• Fertile soil, floodplains, semi-arid
climate, flood & drought were part of
life
• Irrigation (artificially bringing water to
dry land) develops by 6000 B.C.
Religious, social & political order
in Mesopotamia and Egypt
• Priests=leaders, controlled irrigation and wealth
• Religions were based on polytheism (many gods)
and gods based around nature
• Social classes develop with kings and priests at the
top followed by landowners, government officials,
farmers and merchants with slaves at the bottom
• Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) created order
through his code; supported fair treatment and
the idea that government should provide
protection and justice.
Egyptian art and architecture
• First rulers buried in underground tombs. Later
replaced with pyramids
• Khufu’s great pyramid has 760-foot sides, 2.3
million stone blocks, took 20,000 people 20
years to build.
• Pyramids glorified pharaohs as gods on earth.
City of Giza was built for workers.
• King Hatshepsut built obelisks and under
Akhenaton, art began to show pharaohs as
realistic, not perfect beings.
• Emphasized the idea of eternal life.
Judaism
• Hebrews settle in Canaan became known as
Israelites and were the first to believe in one
god (monotheism)
• Moses led Israelites from Egypt due to famine
• God gave Moses 10 Commandments which
became basis for Israelite law/Judeo-Christian
concepts are the basis for much of Western
religious thought/cultural norms, moral
teachings
• Rabbis=Jewish religious teachers; followed
laws and customs found in the Torah
Tyranny to democracy in Greece
• Earliest governments were monarchies ruled
by king or queen
• oligarchies were ruled by the few because of
wealth and land, not birth
• Greeks invent citizenship; Pericles wanted to
strengthen democracy, change balance
between rich and poor and wanted equality in
law and thought political participation was
essential for people
Athenian (direct) democracy vs .
Representative democracy
• In direct democracy all citizens can
propose and vote on laws, in
representative democracy elected
representatives do that for the people
• Because of Athens’ direct democracy,
heavy emphasis was placed on the
importance of the individual citizen in
the political process of the city-state.
Important Greeks in art & science
• Hypatia: First noted female
mathematician/astronomer
• Socrates: Famous philosopher who believed in
examining beliefs through questions
• Plato: Socrates’ best student—wrote The Republic
and started The Academy
• Aristotle: Plato’s best student. Applied logic to
science and tutored Alexander the Great
• Euclid: mathematician. Provided basis for geometry
• Thucydides: wrote history of Peloponnesian War and
set standards for first-person accounts of history
Buddhism in India & Central Asia
• Buddhism is based on the teachings
of Siddhartha and began in India in
5th Century BC.
• Based on Four Noble Truths and
Eightfold Path as road to nirvana
(end of suffering).
• Buddhism spreads through the trade
of silk, cotton and ivory.
Teachings of Confucianism & Taoism
• Confucius lived from 551-479 BC (period of
great unrest).
• Emphasized the Five Relationships
(father/son, older/younger brothers,
husband/wife, friend/friend,
ruler/subject), proper conduct, order,
harmony, ethics and respect for elders
• Taoism (Daoism) emphasizes harmony
with nature and acceptance of
circumstances—concepts of yin/yang and
balance.
The Han Dynasty in China
• The Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD)
began when Lui Bang ended the
Chinese Civil War and unified China
• Grew bureaucracy and established
offices by trusted people to expand
roads, canals, irrigation
• Expanded borders to south China,
North Vietnam, North Korea.
Government of the Roman
Republic
• Roman government established:
–concept of legislative,
executive and judicial branches
–concept of veto, checks and
balances and Constitution
–Major influence on U.S.
Government.
The spread of Christianity
• Sacred writings promised Jews a Messiah
who would save them
• Gospels are written by Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John and account for Jesus’ life
(New Testament).
• Emphasis on the trinity (father, son and
holy spirit) parables (stories) and living
humbly.
• St. Paul was most influential in spreading
the church.
Roman culture
• Art blended with Greek style, created mosaics;
architecture: added to Greek style with arches,
domes and vaults—influenced US Capitol
• technology: new stronger, lighter building
materials
• Literature: invented epics like Odyssey and
Iliad
• Language was Latin and spread across Western
Europe—turned into Romance Languages like
Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and
Romanian