AP WORLD HISTORYAP WORLD HISTORY

AP Test Review Session 1

Early Civilizations(Pre-History to 600

BCE)

Before we begin…let’s get honest.

1) Right now you don’t care very much about school.2) Right now this class is wearing you out and you are counting

the days until summer.3) Right now you are thinking of all the other things you could

be doing on a Monday night instead of sitting here listening to Coach Biggers go on and on and on about ancient history.

However…• In July you will have a different attitude.• In July you will be dying to know how you

did on the AP World History test.) • In July you will not be able to turn the clock

back magically and study hard for this test.• It’s April 8th, you are in control of your AP

Test results…you can be smiling or crying come July. The difference is April and May and how you approach the test. So let’s get started.

THE PALEOLITHIC AGETHE PALEOLITHIC AGE• 2,500,000 BCE - 10,000 BCE• Hunting/Gathering: small bands of people required gender equality

because both men and women contributed to survival• Mostly nomadic but some permanent settlements were established in

areas with abundant food resources (grains, fish)• Neanderthal Man: first fully modern human beings (physically and

mentally) with belief in afterlife and burials• Cro-Magnon Man: interested in arts, used caves for shelters

HOMO SAPIEN SAPIEN(40,000 BCE – Present)

• Modern human beings• Eventually forced the extinction of other hominids like Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons

• Will eventually lead the Neolithic Revolution!

The Neolithic (Agricultural) The Neolithic (Agricultural) RevolutionRevolution

• Circa 8000 BCE in river valleys…why?

• Hunting and gathering lifestyle loses out to settled agriculture

• People plant crops and stay in one location to reap harvests

• Huge change for humankind!

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION LEADS TO…

CIVILIZATIONS!– Advanced cities– Specialized workers and social classes– Record keeping– Art and architecture– Advanced technology– Complex institutions

• Governments• Economic systems• Religions/philosophies

THE NEOLITHIC AGE8000 BCE – 3000 BCE

• Food surplus led to population boom• Permanent settlements and communities

develop, along with the idea of private property• Development of farming technology, art,

architecture, language, job specialization, irrigation, etc.

• Development of cities like Catal Huyuk and Jericho

RIVER VALLEY RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONSCIVILIZATIONS

• MESOPOTAMIA: “The Cradle of Civilization”• The Fertile Crescent had good arable land in the

middle of the desert, making it sought after and fought over, allowing many different groups to control this area (Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Akkadians)

BABYLONIAN EMPIREBABYLONIAN EMPIRE• King Hammurabi, the Judge• Centralized bureaucratic government• Taxation system• First written code of laws

(Hammurabi’s Code)– Showed social inequalities (different

levels of protection)

SUMERIAN CITY-STATES3000 BCE

• Successful agriculture, irrigation systems• Writing, came up with with cuneiformcuneiform• Use of the wheel• 12 month calendar• Polytheistic with anthropomorphic gods

(deities had human like traits, often used religious beliefs to explain the natural world)

• Built ziggurats

PEOPLE OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT

• Hittites: iron ore extraction > tools and weapons

• Assyrians: centralized bureaucracy, brutal military conquests

• Phoenicians: first alphabet; strong traders

• Hebrews: monotheistic empire builders

ANCIENT EGYPTold, middle, and new kingdoms

• Rich soil in Nile River valley• Led by Pharaoh – leader with total power• Water management, pyramids, astronomy,

hieroglyphs, mummification, gold, calendar• Polytheistic• Women had some rights (property, divorce,

ruled as pharaohs) but still subservient to men

• Social Hierarchy: Pharaoh, priest, noble, merchant, artisan, peasant, slave

• Empire crumbles and is conquered by 1100 BCE

SHANG DYNASTY CHINASHANG DYNASTY CHINA1700 BCE-1100 BCE

• Stable, agricultural surplus, trade-centered• Northern China, ,walled cities, strong army with

chariots• “The Middle Kingdom” world view develops• Bronze, pottery, silk, decimal system, calendar• Patriarchal, polytheistic, ancestor veneration,

oracle bones (pre-Confucian)• Bureaucracy already starting• Most people were agricultural serfs with limited

freedom; others were artisans/craftsmen

SHANG DYNASTY CHINASHANG DYNASTY CHINA

ZHOU DYNASTY CHINA1100 BCE – 256 BCE

• Replaced the Shang…Mandate of Heaven used and will be part of Chinese political history for millennia

• Ruled for 900 years keeping traditions• Feudal system in place with bureaucracy to help manage

the growing empire• War amongst feudal kingdoms finally caused collapse

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATIONSINDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS3300 BCE – 1700 BCE3300 BCE – 1700 BCE

• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro– Geography limited contact with outsiders– Master planned, water systems, strong central

government, polytheistic, written language– Pottery, cotton, cloth– Cities abandoned for unknown reason– Aryans invade circa 1500 BCE

THE ARYANS• THE VEDIC AGE IN INDIA, 1500 BCE-500

BCE– THEORY: Aryans were Central Asian nomads who

conquered the region of modern day India – Holy books (the Vedas and Upanishads) form the

basis for Hinduism– Caste system in place (strict social hierarchy)

• Priests, Warriors, Landowners, Merchants, Peasants, Untouchables

Theoretical Aryan Migrations

BANTU MIGRATIONS• Around 1500 BCE agriculturalists in West

Africa began migrating to the south and east, taking their culture and technology with them

• These migrations lasted for 2000 years• Bantu farmers displaced nomads and changed

Africa forever

THE AMERICAS

• Olmecs (Mexico), Mayans (Mexico/Guatemala), and Chavin (Andes) developed similarly to the pattern of most River Valley Civilizations: urbanization, polytheistic, irrigation, writing, calendars, monumental buildings, social structure, city-states

• Similar pattern of development in different part of the world…yet no contact with others!

• Difference: no major rivers so had to adapt to rainforest and mountains

• No domesticated work animals…no wheels

EARLY RELIGIONS & PHILOSOPHIES (Belief Systems

to 600 BCE)• Hinduism• Judaism• Zoroastrianism• General Commonalities of early

polytheism

EARLY POLYTHEISM

• Gods related to nature and the elements (sky gods, wind, water, etc.)

• When disaster struck (floods, drought, earthquakes) the people believed their gods were angry with them (Epic of Gilgamesh)

• Cultural borrowing occurred frequently (gods were borrowed and integrated from neighboring peoples)

• Most cultures were polytheistic and used some form of sacrificial system to appease the gods

HINDUISMHINDUISM• Begins in India, evolving over time starting in 3000

BCE• Brahma is the supreme force in the universe• Vishnu and Shiva are manifestations of Brahma• Reincarnation until one reaches Moksha (enlightenment) and

the cycle of life-death-rebirth ends

• Dharma (duty of caste) and Karma (fate based on dharma)

HINDUISM continued• Sacred texts include:

– The Vedas– The Upanishads– The Bhagavad-Gita

Prime example of henotheism: acknowledging many deities but worshipping one (Brahma)

Very diverse belief system Caste system = strict social stratification in life

JUDAISMJUDAISM• Originates in Southwest Asia/Middle East • Debate over origins and times (circa 3000

BCE to 1500 BCE starting dates)• Important figures: Abraham, Moses, David• Monotheistic belief system based on

covenant with Yahweh (Hebrews as God’s chosen people)

• Ten Commandments, sacrificial system, temple for worship, strict dietary and social codes

• Sacred text: Torah (Hebrew Bible)

ZOROASTRIANISM

• Originates in Persia (Iran) circa 2000 BCE• Cosmic Dualism

– Two deities fighting for the souls of humanity

– Heaven and Hell (for the faithful and the wicked respectively)• Will influence other religions (formative

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam)• Eventually will be displaced by Islam

(Shi’ite) in Persia (Iran)

Generalities of Generalities of Early ReligionsEarly Religions

• Anthropomorphic gods = human traits• Sacrifices to appease the gods• Disasters were seen as punishments from

the deities• Polytheism was the norm• Gods were usually tribal rather than

universal

– Zoroastrianism and Judaism emerged

out of polytheistic cultures