In this unit, we learned about primary and secondary sources as well as how you might lear, but we also covered a great deal of material. Below are the essential questions that the state of Virginia has decided you need to know the answers to. If you do not know the answers you should probably study this unit or come see me.

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• How did physical geography influence the lives of early humans?

• What were the characteristics of hunter-gatherer societies?

• How did the beginning of agriculture and the domestication of animals promote the rise of settled communities?

• How does archaeology provide knowledge of early human life and its changes?

• Why did ancient civilizations develop in river valleys?

• Where were the earliest civilizations located?

• When did these civilizations exist?

• What were the social, political, and economic characteristics of early civilizations?

• What religious traditions developed in ancient civilizations?

• What were the essential beliefs of Judaism?

• How did Judaism influence Western civilization?

• What forms of language and writing existed in early civilizations?

• How did Persia govern its empire?

• Why were physical geography and location important to the development of Indian civilization?

• What impact did the Aryans have on India?

• Why was the caste system central to Indian culture?

• What were the accomplishments of the Mauryan and Gupta empires?

• What are the beliefs of the Hindu religion?

• How did Hinduism influence Indian society and culture?

• What are the beliefs of Buddhism?

• How did Buddhism spread?

• Why was the Great Wall of China built?

• What were contributions of classical China to world civilization?

• Why were Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism important in the formation of Chinese culture?

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The state of Virginia also gives us a list of the information that you will be tested on. They call it the essential knowledge. You will find the essential knowledge for this unit below:

 

Homo sapiens emerged in east Africa between 100,000 and 400,000 years ago.

Homo sapiens migrated from Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas.

Early humans were hunters and gatherers whose survival depended on the availability of wild plants and animals.

Hunter-gatherer societies during the Paleolithic Era (Old Stone Age)

• were nomadic, migrating in search of food, water, shelter

• invented the first tools, including simple weapons

• learned how to make and use fire

• lived in clans

• developed oral language

• created “cave art.”

Societies during the Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)

• developed agriculture (domesticated plants)

• domesticated animals

• used advanced tools

• made pottery

• developed weaving skills.

 

Archaeologists study past cultures by locating and analyzing human remains, settlements, fossils, and artifacts.

Archaeologists apply scientific tests, such as carbon dating, to analyze fossils and artifacts.

Stonehenge is an example of an archaeological site in England that was begun during the Neolithic Age and completed during the Bronze Age.

Aleppo and Jericho are examples of early cities in the Fertile Crescent studied by archaeologists.

Catalhöyük is an example of a Neolithic settlement currently under excavation in Anatolia.

 

River valley civilizations (about 3500 to 500 b.c. [b.c.e.])

• Mesopotamian civilization: Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys (Southwest Asia)

• Egyptian civilization: Nile River Valley and Nile Delta (Africa)

• Indian civilization: Indus River Valley (South Asia)

• Chinese civilization: Huang He Valley (East Asia)

These river valleys offered rich soil and irrigation water for agriculture, and they tended to be in locations easily protected from invasion by nomadic peoples.

Other early civilizations (about 2000 to 500 b.c. [b.c.e.])

• Hebrews settled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River Valley (part of Fertile Crescent in Southwest Asia).

• Phoenicians settled along the Mediterranean coast (part of Fertile Crescent in Southwest Asia).

• Nubia was located on the upper (southern) Nile River (Africa).

Development of social patterns

• Hereditary rulers: Dynasties of kings, pharaohs

• Rigid class system where slavery was accepted

Development of political patterns

• World’s first states (i.e., city-states, kingdoms, empires)

• Centralized government, often based on religious authority

• Written law codes (e.g., Ten Commandments, Code of Hammurabi)

Development of economic patterns

• Use of metal (e.g., bronze, iron) tools and weapons

• Increasing agricultural surplus: Better tools, plows, irrigation

• Increasing trade along rivers and by sea (Phoenicians)

• Development of the world’s first cities

• Development of the practice of slavery within most cultures in the ancient world, taking various forms

Development of religious traditions

• Polytheism was practiced by most early civilizations.

• Monotheism was practiced by the Hebrews.

 

Origins of Judaism

• Abraham

• Moses

• Jerusalem

Beliefs, traditions, and customs of Judaism

• Belief in one God (monotheism)

• Torah, which contains the written records and beliefs of the Jews

• Ten Commandments, which state moral and religious conduct

Spread of Judaism

• Exile

• Diaspora

 

Language and writing

• Pictograms: Earliest written symbols

• Hieroglyphics: Egypt

• Cuneiform: Sumer

• Alphabet: Phoenicia

 

Persian Empire

• Tolerance of conquered peoples

• Development of an imperial bureaucracy

• Construction of road system

• Practice of Zoroastrianism

• Religion of Persia

• Belief in two opposing forces in the universe

Physical barriers, such as the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the Indian Ocean, made invasion difficult.

Mountain passes in the Hindu Kush provided migration routes into the Indian subcontinent.

The Indus and Ganges were the important rivers in the Indian subcontinent.

 

Indus River Valley civilization

• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

Aryans (Indo-Aryans)

• Migration, assertion of dominance

• Caste system, which influenced all social interactions and choices of occupations

Mauryan Empire - Asoka

• Continued political unification of much of India

• Contributions: Spread of Buddhism, free hospitals, veterinary clinics, good roads

Gupta Empire

• Golden Age of classical Indian culture

• Contributions: Mathematics (concept of zero), medical advances (setting bones), astronomy (concept of a round earth), new textiles, literature

 

Hinduism

• Belief in many forms of one God

• Reincarnation: Rebirth based upon karma

• Karma: Knowledge that all thoughts and actions result in future consequences

• Vedas and Upanishads: Sacred writings

• Spread along major trade routes

 

Buddhism

• Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)

• Four Noble Truths

• Eightfold Path to Enlightenment

 

Asoka’s missionaries and their writings spread Buddhism from India to China and other parts of Asia.

Migratory invaders raided Chinese settlements from the north. Qin Shi Huangdi built the Great Wall as a line of defense against invasions. China was governed by a succession of ruling families called dynasties. Chinese rulers were considered divine, but they served under a Mandate of Heaven only as long as their rule was just.

 The Silk Road facilitated trade and contact between China and other cultures as far away as Rome.

 Contributions of classical China

• Civil service system

• Paper

• Porcelain

• Silk

 Impact of Confucianism in forming the social order in China

• Belief that humans are good, not bad

• Respect for elders

• Code of politeness (still used in Chinese society today)

• Emphasis on education

• Ancestor worship

 Impact of Taoism in forming Chinese culture and values

• Humility

• Simple life and inner peace

• Harmony with nature

 Yin and yang represented opposites for Confucianism and Taoism.

 Chinese forms of Buddhism spread throughout Asia.