Download HIS101 Study Guide, Part I, The Ancient World (Topics 1-6)

HIS 112 Study Guide, Bentley & Ziegler Chapters 4-5 (for Exam 1)
Professor Linda Bregstein Scherr
Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia
Terms for Identification (i.e., provide approximate date, importance, identity, contribution, and
description, as appropriate)
Harappan Civilization
Mohenjo-Daro
Indus seal stones
The Vedic Age
Aryans
Dravidians
Caste system
Jati
Rig Veda
Hymn to Purusha
Indra
Samsara
Upanishads
Brahmin
Asceticism
Study Questions:
1. What evidence is there of interaction between the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt,
and the Indus Valley and other peoples (including interactions between the three
civilizations themselves)? How important to you think that interaction with other peoples
was for the development of these three civilizations?
2. Compare and contrast Harappan society to its counterparts in Mesopotamia and Egypt in
regard to political, religious, and social factors.
3. Discuss some of the possible reasons for the decline and fall of the Indus civilization.
What factors might explain the decline of civilizations in general?
4. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of a social system like the caste
system? How would the caste system reflect Indian society?
5. What does the Hymn to Purusha from the Rig Veda tell us about the creation and nature
of the different castes? How important was the caste system in ancient India? In what
ways did it change over the centuries?
Chapter 5, Early Society in East Asia
Terms for Identification (i.e., provide approximate date, importance, identity, contribution, and
description, as appropriate)
Xia dynasty
Oracle bones
Huang He River
Shang dynasty
Mandate of Heaven
Yangzi River
Zhou dynasty
Fu Hao
Warring States Period
Yangshao society
Study Questions:
1. How did the physical features of the land and waters in East Asia influence the
development of culture?
2. How did differences in the environment, geographical location, and natural resources
affect the development of civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Nubia, the Indus Valley,
and early China?
3. Examine Chinese political history from the Yangshao society through the decline of the
Zhou dynasty. What were the major themes and turning points during this period?
4. How do early Chinese religious beliefs and practices differ from Mesopotamian,
Egyptian, and early Indian societies? What do these differences imply about the societies’
structures and their most important values?
5. Compare and contrast the types of evidence historians have for the study of civilizations
in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and early China. How have the differences in
these sources affected our understanding of these civilizations?
6. Discuss the ideology of kingship during China’s Shang dynasty. How did it compare to
that of the Zhou dynasty?
7. What does the Mandate of Heaven tell us about the intellectual, religious, and social
worlds of the ancient Chinese? In what fundamental ways was the Mandate of Heaven
different from other governmental systems common throughout the ancient world? What
could be the limitations of the Mandate of Heaven?
8. What was the role of changing technology in early Chinese history? How were the Shang
and Zhou dynasties shaped by technology?
9. Describe the relationship between the Chinese society under the dynasties and the people
of the steppe lands. How did these cultures differ? How did they influence each other?