AP World History Master Review

AP World History Master Review

Foundations: From Pre History to Civilization (8000BCE-600CE)

The first humans: appear in Africa.

The term pre-history refers to the period when written languages and records did not yet exist. How do we know about the pre-history period?

Archeology-the study of the ways of life of early people by studying what they left behind (artifacts)

Historians-study all evidence about the past, including archeology, written documents, pictures, films, etc.

The Stone age

The stone age is divided into two parts.

1)Paleolithic (Old stone age)

2)Neolithic (New stone age)

During the stone age, civilization had not yet emerged. People were pre-civilized.

NOTE: Problems with the term “civilization”

Historians and anthropologist have noted several problems with the term civilization. First of all, it tends to be used in an ethnocentric way; in other words, it is used to assign to others an inferior status. For example, the Chinese of the Han dynasty thought all others in the world were uncivil barbarians; likewise, from the Spartans to Nazi Germany, designating others as less than civilized was often a pretense for conquering or destroying them. Secondly, the term marginalizes (excludes) other people who have made important contributions to history. For example, nomadic people are responsible for the diffusion of some of the most important technologies in history, but most accepted forms of the term civilization exclude them.

At its most basic element, civilization is based on the food supply. Uncivilized man lives at the mercy of the land and weather. He does not provide for times of need.

“Three meals a day area a highly advanced institution. Savages gorge themselves or fast.” People lived at extremes: life was either a feast or a famine. There was little thought of providing enough food for the next day.

Hunting and Gathering

People grubbed food from the earth with their bare hands, then used simple tools made from stones or animal bones. Thousands of generations tried countless types of plants and roots, as man learned by experience which ones could be eaten. He gathered insects, small reptiles and small animals. Large insects were dried in the sun for future meals. Man is known to have eaten shellfish, frogs, snails, mice, snakes, dogs, horses, roots, lice, insects,

It was nature that finally taught man to save for tomorrow. People took example from animals and insects: dogs that bury bones, squirrels that hide acorns, bees that fill the comb with honey, ants that store up food in the hill.

This style of living is called Paleolithic. Its characteristics are:

1)limited population group

2)no permanent settlements

3)social equality

1. no gender divisions: men and women both committed to search for food
2. no separation of people according to occupation or trade. No hierarchies or social classes as we know of them today.

Paleolithic people have left us works of art that depict their lives. These are mainly paintings on the walls of caves. These served religious purposes; they were ways to bring good luck or the blessings of the gods on an up and coming hunt.

The change from Paleolithic to Neolithic societies

1) From hunting to domestication of animals.

Instead of hunting, people learned to keep animals in a pen or pasture. Domestication: to tame something, to take it from the wild to live under the care of humans. Probably started when wounded animals were brought back to camp. It brought a more stable food source

2) From gathering to agriculture

Perhaps the greatest discovery in the course of human history was the discovery of the function of the seed. Every plant has the ability to reproduce. This was probably discovered when some stray gathered seeds grew identical plants. Many historians believe women discovered the reproductive nature of seeds.

The Neolithic Revolution

The ability to acquire food on a regular basis drastically changed life: there was more stability and order. Life developed according to special patterns; they had to follow seasons. Religion worshipped reproduction and fertility. Aspects of nomadic life were given up.

Food production increase as people learned new ways of producing and storing more food. A surplus of food emerged. Surplus=having more than one needs, extra.

Results:

1) This freed some people from having to spend all their time producing food. They could learn other skills. Artisans made weapons and jewelry. Specialty products could be made that were not available to nomadic people.

2) Surplus of food could be sold or traded with other communities. Neolithic communities came in contact with other communities around them.

Changes of Neolithic Revolution: (Try to categorize these as social, economic, and demographic changes.)

1) Probably the most significant change that took place with the Neolithic revolution was a dramatic increase in population. More food could sustain more people living together.

2) people needed to build permanent houses for protection and storing food

3) People began to specialize in certain crafts, social divisions began, laborers/merchants

4) Gender roles changed. Hunters and gatherers assigned similar roles to men and women. In the Neolithic revolution, the work that produced food became relegated to men, and household chores became the women’s job. Men came to be the dominant gender in society.

The Bronze Age

During this age people discovered how to use metals instead of stone. The use of metals (copper + tin = bronze) brought the Neolithic period to an end, although many of the skills learned during that time would continue

NOTE: The use of metals in early history

We call prehistory the Stone Age because most tools were made from stone. Slowly, early man learned to use copper from the ground. The problem with copper is that it is soft and easily bends; it will not keep a sharp edge. At some point, man learned to mix melted copper with melted tin to produce bronze. This technology (a learned technique or skill) produced a metal that was much more useful than copper or tin alone. Bronze could keep a sharp edge. But it was a technology that had to be learned.

The problem with bronze was that it was very brittle and would easily break upon contact with armor, bones or rocks. Soon, man learned to make a superior metal: iron. The production of this metal was more complex than that of bronze. Whereas bronze could be produced on an open fire, such fires were not hot enough to produce iron. Man learned to dramatically increase the temperature of fires by blasting air into the coals. This fed the fire more oxygen than it would get from a normal burn. With such fires, iron could be forged.

Weapons made from iron stayed sharp and easily shattered bronze weapons. Armies with iron weapons had a significant advantage over armies using stone or other metals. Because its production required additional technological skills, iron-making skills were kept secret by the Hittites who first learned how to make it.

Bronze was a hard, durable metal. It made better tools.

1) Farming: food production drastically increased. This meant that people did not have to move around. They could stay in one place and build permanent homes. Once the problem of the food supply was solved, people could also group together in larger numbers and build cities. This is called urbanization.

4)Weapons: Because people grouped together in larger numbers, more security was needed. Cities needed walls and large armies for protection.

5)Government: all these changes made it necessary to provide more organization. Questions of “who is in control and will make the final decisions?” had to be answered. Kings emerged.

In short, The Bronze Age led directly to the birth of a new form of human organization: Civilization.

Civilization

The study of history begins with civilization. This is because civilized man has the ability to write things down, and these written records provide historians with clues about their lives. There are several things that make up civilizations:

1) cities

2) governments

3) religion

4) social distinctions

5) artistic expression

The first civilizations in the world emerged in river valleys in China, India, Africa, and the Middle East. Here is a brief comparison of the river valley civilizations in Africa and the Middle East.

The RiverValley Civilizations

A surplus of agricultural production led to the rise of complex human societies, or civilizations. With the need of agricultural societies to irrigate, it is not surprising that many civilizations emerged in river valleys. The RiverValley civilizations that emerged on the Yellow River (China), the IndusRiver (India), the NileRiver (Egypt), and between the Tigris and EuphratesRivers (Mesopotamia) made lasting contributions to civilizations. The following chart compares the important features of a few of these river valley civilizations. As you look over this, attempt to piece together what these civilizations have in common and what differentiates them.

Egypt / Mesopotamia / Shang
Geography / Egypt was protected by natural barriers on all sides. The Nile provided the perfect waterway for trade. Also, the Nile flooded each year at about the same time, a fact that gave them a distinct sense of each year’s passing (they created the calendar to predict this). It also naturally fertilized the land and provided for abundant agriculture. Many people attribute the Egyptians’ optimism (eternal life) on the good fortune of its geography. / The Tigris and EuphratesRivers flooded randomly and violently without much warning, a condition that probably contributed to their pessimistic view of the gods and fatalistic view of life. Also, Mesopotamia had no natural barriers protecting them from enemy neighbors. They were subject to constant invasion. The rivers facilitated trade and allowed some of the cities to grow quite wealthy. / China is geographically isolated. Although the Shang traded with other civilizations, their limited contact with others produced an ethnocentric outlook. They called their land the Middle Kingdom, an assertion that implied that other people were on the periphery of the civilized world. Their land was fertile and supported a surplus of agriculture without complex irrigations systems.
Political / Egypt was united under one central government. Egyptians believed the king, or Pharaoh, was a god. This helped keep order because people were more inclined to obey the king if he was a god. Religious myths reinforced this belief. The government was strictly centralized and controlled the resources of the state. / Mesopotamian civilization was made up of many independent city-states that never were able to unit. This made them weak and vulnerable to invasion. However, sometimes the people had to unite to build irrigation canals for their agriculture. They developed written laws, the Code of Hammurabi, which was probably made to give unity to an expanding empire. / Most rule was local, consisting of a network of walled towns whose leaders were loyal to the king. These local leaders comprised the bureaucracy, a group of aristocratic chieftains who could be removed at the kings will.
Society and Economics / Women had more rights than in most early civilizations. There were certain jobs, however, that women were not allowed to do. The most people in Egypt worked in agriculture. The Nile allowed Egyptians to trade with other civilizations and were in turn influenced by them. / The Code Of Hammurabi reinforced patriarchy and social distinctions. A business class of people operated quite independent of government control. Like in Egypt, most people in Mesopotamia were farmers. Certain cities traded and grew rich. We know they traded with Egypt and India. / The family was the most important social institution. Men had most all of the authority. As villages became more productive, social classes became more distinct.
Religion / The Egyptians were polytheistic. The lineage of the gods extended to the pharaoh himself who had absolute power and was revered as a god. / The Mesopotamians were polytheistic. Each city-state had its own set of god that it worshipped along with a set of wider known gods. They built monuments called ziggurats to their gods. Their gods were often different manifestations of nature and were invoked to help in good harvests. Interestingly, the Sumerians viewed their gods as disinterested in human beings, probably a result of their unfortunate geographical allotment. / The honor and respect given to family elders was related to the worship of ancestors. Dead ancestors were summoned for advice through oracle bones and other means. Thus religion both drew from and reinforced patriarchy.

Additional Notes:

• The civilization in Mesopotamia, like that in China and Central America, is a rare example of a civilization that developed from scratch with no precedents to borrow from anyone else.

• The RiverValley civilizations came up with many things we take for granted such as calendars, the wheel, alphabets, bureaucracies, divisions of time into units of 60, and complex mathematical concepts like square roots.

• Not all early complex civilizations had written languages (the civilizations of the Incas, for example.)

• Civilizations acquire new practices either through cultural diffusion (the Assyrians learned iron technology from the Hittites) or through independent invention (the Chinese bureaucracy). It is a good idea to know some more examples of these two ways.

COMMON FEATURES OF CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS

The three areas of classical civilizations developed their own beliefs, lifestyles, political institutions, and social structures. However, there were important similarities among them:

• Patriarchal family structures - Like the river valley civilizations that preceded them, the classical civilization valued male authority within families, as well as in most other areas of life.
• Agricultural-based economies - Despite more sophisticated and complex job specialization, the most common occupation in all areas was farming.
• Complex governments - Because they were so large, these three civilizations had to invent new ways to keep their lands together politically. Their governments were large and complex, although they each had unique ways of governing
• Expanding trade base - Their economic systems were complex. Although they generally operated independently, trade routes connected them by both land and sea.

CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS

Culture / Political Organization / Social Structure
Greece (about 800-300 BCE) / Most enduring influences come from Athens:
Valued education, placed emphasis on importance of human effort, human ability to shape future events
Interest in political theory: which form of government is best?
Celebration of human individual achievement and the ideal human form
Philosophy and science emphasized the use of logic
Highly developed form of sculpture, literature, math, written language, and record keeping
Polytheism, with gods having very human characteristics
Cities relatively small
Great seafaring skills, centered around Aegean, but traveling around entire
Mediterranean area / No centralized government; concept of polis, or a fortified site that formed the centers of many city states
Governing styles varied (Sparta a military state, Athens eventually a democracy for adult males)
Athens government first dominated by tyrants, or strong rulers who gained power from military prowess; later came to be ruled by an assembly of free men who made political decisions.
Both Athens and Sparta developed strong military organizations and established colonies around the Mediterranean. Sparta theoretically equal; wealth accumulation not allowed / Slavery widely practiced
Men separated from women in military barracks until age 30; women had relative freedom; women in Sparta encouraged to be physically fit so as to have healthy babies; generally better treated and more equal to men than women in Athens
Athens encouraged equality for free males, but women and slaves had little freedom. Neither group allowed to participate in polis affairs.
Social status dependent on land holdings and cultural sophistication
Rome (about 500 BCE to 476 CE, although eastern half continued for another thousand years) / Perfection of military techniques: conquer but don't oppress; division of army into legions, emphasizing organization and rewarding military talent
Art, literature, philosophy, science derivative from Greece
Superb engineering and architecture techniques; extensive road, sanitation systems; monumental architecture -buildings, aqueducts, bridges
Polytheism, derivative from Greeks, but religion not particularly important to the average Roman; Christianity developed during Empire period, but not dominant until very late
Great city of Rome - buildings, arenas, design copied in smaller cities / Two eras:
Republic - rule by aristocrats, with some power shared with assemblies; Senate most powerful, with two consuls chosen to rule, generally selected from the military
Empire - non-hereditary emperor; technically chosen by Senate, but generally chosen by predecessor
Extensive colonization and military conquest during both eras
Development of an overarching set of laws, restrictions that all had to obey; Roman law sets in place principle of rule of law, not rule by whim of the political leader / Basic division between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (free farmers), although a middle class of merchants grew during the empire; wealth based on land ownership; gap between rich and poor grew with time
Paterfamilias - male dominated family structure
Patron-client system with rich supervising elaborate webs of people that owe favors to them
Inequality increased during the empire, with great dependence on slavery during the late empire; slaves used in households, mines, large estates, all kinds of manual labor
China (about 500 BCE to 600 CE) / Confucianism developed during late Zhou; by Han times, it dominated the political and social structure.
Legalism and Daoism develop during same era.
Buddhism appears, but not influential yet
Threats from nomads from the south and west spark the first construction of the Great Wall; clay soldiers, lavish tomb for first emperor Shi Huangdi
Chinese identity cemented during Han era: the "Han" Chinese
Han - a "golden age" with prosperity from trade along the Silk Road; inventions include water mills, paper, compasses, and pottery and silk-making; calendar with 365.5 days
Capital of Xi'an possibly the most sophisticated, diverse city in the world at the time; many other large cities / Zhou - emperor rules by mandate of heaven, or belief that dynasties rise and fall according to the will of heaven, or the ancestors. Emperor was the "son of heaven."
Emperor housed in the forbidden city, separate from all others
Political authority controlled by Confucian values, with emperor in full control but bound by duty
Political power centralized under Shi Huangdi - often seen as the first real emperor
Han - strong centralized government, supported by the educated shi (scholar bureaucrats who obtained positions through civil service exams) / Family basic unit of society, with loyalty and obedience stressed
Wealth generally based on land ownership; emergence of scholar gentry
Growth of a large merchant class, but merchants generally lower status than scholar-bureaucrats
Big social divide between rural and urban, with most wealth concentrated in cities
Some slavery, but not as much as in Rome
Patriarchal society reinforced by Confucian values that emphasized obedience of wife to husband
India / Aryan religious stories written down into Vedas, and Hinduism became the dominant religion, although Buddhism began in India during this era;
Mauryans Buddhist, Guptas Hindu
Great epic literature such as the Ramayana and Mahabarata
Extensive trade routes within subcontinent and with others; connections to Silk Road, and heart of Indian Ocean trade; coined money for trade
So-called Arabic numerals developed in India, employing a 10-based system / Lack of political unity - geographic barriers and diversity of people; tended to fragment into small kingdoms;
political authority less important than caste membership and group allegiances
Mauryan and Gupta Empires formed based on military conquest; Mauryan Emperor Ashoka seen as greatest; converted to Buddhism, kept the religion alive
"theater state" techniques used during Gupta - grand palace and court to impress all visitors, conceal political weakness / Complex social hierarchy based on caste membership (birth groups called jati); occupations strictly dictated by caste
Earlier part of time period - women had property rights
Decline in the status of women during Gupta, corresponding to increased emphasis on acquisition and inheritance of property; ritual of sati for wealthy women ( widow cremates herself in her husband's funeral pyre)

Classical Ages