Download Semester 1 History Midterms Review Sheet

Semester 1 History Midterms Review Sheet
Chapter 4:The Depths of Time
Vocabulary
-primary source: information about events recorded at the time of those events
-history: a record of what happened in the past; the study of the past, including explanation of the
events
-culture: the attitudes, beliefs, customs, traditions, art, and achievements of a society that are
passed from one generation to another
-diffusion: the spread of ideas, values, and inventions from one culture to another
-artifact: an object made by humans that is of archaeological or historical interest
Paleolithic Age
Early Man
-the most recent common ancestors were from 7 million years ago
 the split between chimps & bonobos
-the oldest group of human ancestors is known as Australopithecines who lived between about 4
to 2 million years ago in Africa
 bipedal (walked on two feet)
 started losing body hair
 brain no bigger than a chimp (about 1/3 size of our brain)
-the Homo habilis lived from about 2.5 to 1.5 million years ago in Africa
 first tool maker (“handy man”)
 overlapped with Australopithecus
 larger brain, smaller face than Australopithecus
 begins the Paleolithic age
-the Homo erectus lived from about 1.8 to 100,000 years ago
 learned how to control fire and cook food
 lived in hunter-gathering bands
 first to leave Africa, spread around the world, including Asia (Peking Man, Java Man)
-the Homo Neanderthals lived in Europe from about 400,000 until only 30,000 years ago
 also called the Neanderthal Man- bones first found in Neander Valley
 brain size similar to ours but thicker body structure and big brows
 wiped out by modern human? or out-competed? or inter-bred? (We don’t know)
-the Homo sapiens appeared about 200,000 years ago (a young species)
 modern human-sapiens means “wise”
 found in the Middle East and Asia by 60,000 years ago
-fire was important in many ways
 it provided warmth and scared of animals
 early people also used fire to cook plant foods to make them easier to digest
 firecampfire, communication between early man was accessible
-Community Spirit
 the Neanderthals probably had a strong sense of community and took care of one another
 archaeologists had found bones of Neanderthals who were crippled with arthritis; they
would not have survived unless other people helped them and gave them food

the Neanderthal culture included burials, which are the earliest evidence we have of
funeral ceremonies held to mourn the passing away of loved ones
-the Cro-Magnons
 looked much like us today
 they had a similar lifestyle
 they used the same tools as us
 they had many cave-arts which were overwhelmingly beautiful
1. first discovered by a Spanish girl and father in 1879
2. an important part of the Cro-Magnon’s life
-Ain Mallaha, an important site archaeologists have found that helped them understand the
lifestyles of hunter-gatherers
Neolithic Age
-probably the biggest change in humanity
-after the Ice Age ended, land was able to be used for planting
-in different parts of the world, people started to domesticate animals and plants
-with the arrival of agriculture, people gradually moved into other occupations
 tool makers
 builders
 fishers
 craftsperson
 priests
 leaders
-first happened in an area called the Fertile Crescent
-it was spontaneous, gradual, and piecemeal
Chapter 5: Development of Societies
Vocabulary
-surplus: an extra amount; more than is needed
-civilization: a complex society with a stable food supply, specialization f labor, a government,
and a highly developed culture
-irrigation: the act of supplying dry lands with water by means of canals, itches, pipes, and
streams
-agriculture: the science, art, and business of raising animals and plant to supply food for humans;
humans
Definition of Civilization
-stable food supply (surplus)
-specialization of labor (specialized workers)
-social levels (rich vs. poor, classes, castes)
-system of government (usually involving force)
-highly developed culture
 Monumental architecture
 Decorative and monumental art
 Organized religion with religious leadership
 Systems of law to maintain order
 Writing (usually)
-complex trade (near and far)
-dense population, usually in one or more cities
Advantages of the Neolithic Revolution
 created the first stable food surpluses
 led to a sedentary lifestyle
 triggered a population explosion
 gave rise to specialization of labor
 led to the first large scale trading networks
Problems of the Neolithic Revolution
 it brought new risks of attack and invasion
 brought new diseases
 it changed the roles of women and children for the worse
 started to create divisions in society between rich and poor, ruler and ruled
 led to large scale environmental changed
Characteristics of a Civilization
 stable food supply
 specialization of labor
 a system of government
 social levels
 a highly developed culture that includes art, architecture, religion, music, and law; many
times, civilization included a system of writing
 complex trade (near and far)
 dense population, usually in one or more cities
Catal Huyuk
Unique Architecture
-about 1000 houses
-Catal Huyuk had no streets, lanes, or alleys
 doors were on the rooftop
 to get from places to places, people walked on other people’s rooftops
 ladders were used
-the houses were all about the same size
Beliefs and Rituals
-evidence shows that many of the buildings were shrines
 decorated with bullhorns and sculptures of animals
 there were also many paintings
-in some homes, simples graves were found just under the platforms
Food
-they raised cattles and hunted deer, bear, and wolves
Chapter 6: Mesopotamia
Vocabulary
-empire: a nation and the other nations it has conquered; a political unit often made up of several
nations under one leadership
-irrigation: the act of supplying dry lands with water by means of canals, itches, pipes, and
streams
-pictograph: a picture that stands for a word or idea; picture writing
-scribe: a professional writer or record keeper; a person whose job is to copy documents and
manuscripts
-artisan: a worker who is skilled in making a particular product by hand
-polytheism: belief in more than one god
-exile: enforced absence from one’s own country
Geography of Mesopotamia
-two rivers – Tigris & Euphrates
-northern highland plateau
-southern lowland plain and marshes
-hot summers and little rain (especially in south)
-unpredictable floods
-lots of mud and reeds…but little or no stone, wood or metals
-no natural barriers to protect against invaders (this is a big difference with Egypt!)
Remarkable Sumerians
-built first great city-states with large populations (tens of thousands of people)
 Ur
 Uruk
 Eridu
 Lagash
 Kish
-city-states = city and surrounding farm land
-small mud homes on narrow streets, plus…
-larger houses, big temples, palaces for king (later)
-thriving market places – long distance trading
-each city had its own resident gods or goddesses
Sumerian “First’s”
-first kings
-first writing system
-first epics (hero stories)
-first use of the wheel
-first use of the plow
-first use of the sail
-first use of bronze (copper + tin)
-invention of number system based on 60 (that’s how we get 360°of a circle and 60 minute
hours)
-first schools
Sumerian Religion
-polytheism
-main gods/goddesses
 An (heavens)
 Enlil (air)
 Enki (water)
 Ninhursag (fertility)
 Inanna (love and war)
 Nana (moon)
 thousands of others – gods for everyday objects, and personal gods!
-each god ruled a city-state
-gods had human qualities - but were more powerful
-gods were hostile and unpredictable – like the environment of Mesopotamia
Sumerian Writing
-started as pictographs
 mostly just to keep trading records
 earliest “proto-writing” found on clay balls called bullae
-gradually developed into a syllabic script
-called “cuneiform” – meaning wedge shaped
Rise of Kingship
-first city-states were ruled by priests – not kings
 Temples were the biggest structure in the city
 Temples owned large amounts of land
-attacks from outside led to need for protection
 Cities began to build walls
 Cities eventually set up regular armies
 Leaders of these armies were called Lu-Gal (“Big Man”)
-the Lu-Gals eventually became the first kings
-palaces became bigger and gained land and power vs. temples
-kings began to pass rule to their heirs (hereditary rule)
-people believed the king could talk directly to the city gods
Sumerian Society
-three social classes
 kings and priests
 wealthy merchants and landowners
 ordinary workers
 slaves (not considered a social class!)
-slaves were below the class system – but had some rights
-women had more rights than many later societies
 they could own property and join priesthood
 but they couldn’t go to school and learn to write
Gilgamesh
 first epic in the world was about him.
Akkadian Empire
Sargon of Akkad
-first ruler of many different peoples and city-states (Empire)
-first to establish new capital city (Akkad)
-one of first to use system of using trusted governors to rule captured lands (Ensi)
-unified weights and measures (for taxes)
-named daughter Enheduanna as high priestess of Innana temple in Ur and temple of An in Uruk
(in charge of different cults)
-Enheduanna is the world’s first known author!
-he spoke a Semitic language – like today’s Hebrew and Arabic – not Sumerian; but he still used
cuneiform to write it
-he built a huge army of thousands of men
-his army used new kinds of body armor and the composite bow which could go send arrows
farther than regular bows
-he ruled for 55 years and his grandson ruled for over 35 years (his son and brother were both
assassinated); but there were always many rebellions in the regions
-his grandson Naram-Sin was the first king to proclaim himself a god – some say that caused his
fall
Old Babylonian Empire
Hammurabi
-he built up the Babylonian empire
-he was considered a fair and just ruler
-he issued edicts to release people from debt slavery
-he often got personally involved in settling disputes
-he built up Babylon and repaired irrigation canals
-he unified Mesopotamia in a way Sargon never could
-he is best remembered for his famous Law Code
-steles, 7’5” tall, were put all over the empire
-they unified the laws of the old city-states
-over 200 laws on the stele
-laws were “from the gods” but the king carries them out
-most laws relate to daily life
 Marriages
 Inheritance
 Theft
 Property damage
 Loans
 Fees for various professions
-punishments could be severe and depended on social status
-stele warned successors not to change the laws (if they even think of it, the gods will cause
disease and famine)
New Assyrian Empire
-home base in Assur on the Tigris River
-expanded to rule all of Mesopotamia, parts of Anatolia (Turkey), Iran, and the Mediterranean
coast (Israel/Lebanon), and even parts of Egypt!
-tough and ruthless warriors: used fear as part of their war strategy
-armies went out ever year to kill and capture loot – gold, silver, jewels, slaves, and more
-they put down rebellions by exiling thousands of people
 -some estimates say 4.5 million people were taken from their homes and moved to a
different part of the empire
-adopted Aramaic as their official language
-another interesting thing: camels were domesticated at this time
-3D wall reliefs
-Royal Library of Ashurbanipal
 Ashurbanipal was the last of the great kings of Assyria, and one of the first we know of
who could read and write
 he loved collecting texts, and he sent his men across the empire to bring them back
 his library in Nineveh was huge!
 even though it was destroyed in 612 B.C., we still have over 30,000 tablets: literature,
hymns, creation stories, and writings on grammar, astronomy and medicine
 most of what we know about Mesopotamia is because of him
New Babylonian Empire
Nebuchadnezzar
-Nebuchadnezzar used much of the wealth from his conquests in grand building projects
-he built walls and fortifications to protect Babylon and great temples to glorify the gods.
-he was known for
 grand building projects in Babylon—walls, temples, “Hanging Gardens”
 destruction of the Jerusalem and 50 years exile of the Jews
 scientific advances in astronomy (calendars) and math (place values)
-more focused on culture and less on war than the Assyrian rulers, but still conducted repeated
campaigns to collect tribute and exiled or enslaved people who didn’t pay!
Chapter 7: Ancient Egypt
Vocabulary
-vizier: a high-ranking political advisor or minister
-obelisk: a tall, four-sided stone pillar that tapers to a point like a pyramid
-embalming: to prevent the decay of a dead body by treating it with preservatives
Geography of Egypt
Nile River
-Key Facts:
 Longest river in the world
 Runs South  North
 South is “upper” Egypt
 North is “lower” Egypt
 Libyan desert to West (Sahara)
 Sinai Peninsula & Arabian desert to East
 Mediterranean sea to North
 Marshy land where Nile flows into sea is called the Delta
 Five river “cataracts” to south
 Beyond 1st cataract => Nubia & Kingdom of Kush (now Sudan)
 Red Sea goes south to Ethiopia and coast of East Africa
Gifts of the Nile
-water in the desert…but, unlike Mesopotamia, there was predictable seasonal floods
 June – August: flooding
 September – January: planting
 February – May: harvesting
-black mud – very fertile
 river area called the “black land” – desert was called the “red land”
-Papyrus
 thin reeds
 used to make boats, baskets, sandals, and paper
Egyptian Gods
-Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic – like the Mesopotamians
-many of their gods are related to their creation story
-then there were other gods for different things
-similar to Mesopotamia, gods were connected to specific locations
-when Egypt was unified, they didn’t get rid of gods; they just added them or sometimes
combined them into one, e.g.
 Amon from Thebes
 when Thebes became powerful in the Middle Kingdom…
 Amon was joined with Ra to make Amon-Ra
-the Kings (Pharaohs) were considered to be many gods at once
 they were Horus in life, and Osiris in death
 also Ptah, and sometimes Ptah’s son or the son of Re
-in the beginning of human development, people were impressed with the power of animals, so
the gods were more animal like
-over time, as people became more confident in their powers and control over animals, the gods
acquired more human features
-the Book of the Dead
 book of spells that were designed to guide the deceased through the perils of the
underworld, and ultimately bring them eternal life; there were over 150 in most versions
 a depiction of the Opening of the Mouth ritual, in which a mummy is symbolically
brought to life
 weighing of the heart
Kingdoms of Egypt
-gradually, Upper and Lower Egypt in larger political territories – possibly to work together on
large irrigation projects
-Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt each had their own kings by around 3300 BC
-According to legend, Menes (Narmer) unified Upper and Lower Egypt around 3200-3100 BC
(Narmer Palette)
-starting with Narmer, there were 30 dynasties spread out over more than 2,000 years!
 Pre-Dynastic Period (Dynasties 1 to 2 – c. 300 yrs.)
 Old Kingdom (Dynasties 3 to 6 – c. 500 yrs.)
 First Intermediate Period (c. 100 yrs.)
 Middle Kingdom (Dynasties 11 to 14 – c. 450 yrs.)
 Second Intermediate Period (c. 200 yrs.)
 New Kingdom (Dynasties 18 to 20 – about 500 yrs.)
Old Kingdom
-A time of peace and prosperity…during this time:
 Kings came to be considered living gods, responsible for the annual flooding, and with
unlimited powers
 Egypt’s religious beliefs and artistic styles were established
 all the Great Pyramids were built
-King Zoser’s Step Pyramid
 build in the 2600s by King Zoser of the 3rd Dynasty
 located at Saqqara near capital city of Memphis
 Egypt’s first pyramid – many more to come
 before this, kings were buried in underground chambers with mud structures placed on
top
 the pyramid was part of a large funerary (burial) complex
Egyptian Society
-top: King
-second: Royal Family, High Officials
-third: Nobles, Priests, Regular Officials
-fourth: Army Officers, Scribes
-fifth: Artisans
-last: Farmers
-not a caste system: lower and middle classes could rise up through merit or marriage
-woman had many of the same rights as men
Egyptian Hieroglyphics
-“hiero” = sacred
-“glyph” = carvings or engravings
-sacred engraved writings!
-hieroglyphs lasted for over 3,000 years
 from before Narmer
 until after Cleopatra
-but all knowledge of hieroglyphics vanish in the years after the Roman Empire
-then, about 200 years ago, Napoleon’s army in Egypt found the Rosetta Stone
-and a famous Egyptologist named Jean-Francois Champollion cracked the code
-hieroglyphic writing is very complicated… there are three types of writing systems in one
 alphabetic system (but without real vowels, e.g. water = “wtr”)
 syllabic system (like the Bee-Leaf e.g. in Sumerian cuneiform)
 ideograph system (this was added to the end of a word to clear up any confusion, e.g. Wtr
= water, Wtr = waiter)
Pyramids
-the Nile produced a fertile land which meant the work force could do other things such as
building pyramids
-the Khufu pyramid was the tallest structure on Earth until the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889
-five million tons of stone were needed to build the pyramid
-25,000 people worked on the pyramid
-the Egyptians believed the pyramid was a pathway to the Indestructibles (eternal life)
Mummification
-natron served to dry out the organs and they body, discouraging bacteria from decaying in
tissues
-the canopic jars were fashioned after the four sons of Horus, who were each entrusted with
protecting a particular organ
-the body was adorned with gold, jewels, and protective amulets, then the entire body was
wrapped with twenty layers of linen
New Kingdom
Akhenaten
-follower of Aten
-he moved the capital from Thebes to Amarna
-he was in favor of another God, and changed the kingdom’s religion
-during his reign, Egypt was not doing very well
Tutankhamen
-known as the “boy king”, because he died young
-son of Akhenaten
-after his father died, he changed the religion back and moved the capital back to Thebes
-married to Ankhesenamen, and the two was very close
-his tomb was not robbed
Hatshepsut
-female ruler
-she built enormous obelisks and planned various trade expeditions
-she gave herself the title of “king” to retain power
-Egypt was initially willing to accept her as king because Egypt prospered under her reign
Thutmose III
-stepson of Hatshepsut
-amazing military leader
-known as “Napoleon of Egypt”
-he personally led military attacks
-after he reigned for 20 years, he dismantled Hatshepsut’s red chapel and erased her name off all
monuments
 possibly for the reason of the record of a female ruler could ruin Egypt
The Kingdom of Kush
-located under Egypt in an area called Nubia
-borrowed many ideas from the Egyptians
 writing (language)
 religion
 the idea of pyramids, and afterlife
-the Egyptians consider Kush to be part of their empire
-Kush had many resources that were valuable to the Egyptians
Egypt
Mesopotamia