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 / Dravidians / Indra
Mohenjo-Daro / Caste system / Samsara
Indus seal stones / Jati / Upanishads
The Vedic Age / Rig Veda / Brahmin
Aryans / Hymn to Purusha / Asceticism

Study Questions:

  1. What evidence is there of interaction between the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the IndusValley 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 HeRiver
Shang dynasty / Mandate of Heaven / YangziRiver
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 IndusValley, 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 IndusValley, 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?