-- Flashcards
paleolithic periodic
During this time
period, those include the development of spoken language, the ability
to control and use fire, and the ability to make simple tools out of
stone.
foraging societies
hunter gatherer clans
pastoral societies
- characterized by the domestication of
animals. These societies were often found in mountainous regions and
in areas with insufficient rainfall to support other forms of settlement. - small scale agriculture
- extended family
- didn’t settle down b/c continuous search for new grazing areas
neolithic revolution
agricultural revolution. settling down – As pastoral societies increasingly domesticated more and more
animals, they also began to experiment with securing a more
dependable food supply through the cultivation of plants
neolithic revolution results
- people
in a community stayed within close proximity of each other, which
added to their sense of unity and helped them build and sustain
cultural traditions - property ownership
- division specialization of labor
bronze age
copper + tin = bronze. some people call the latter part of
the Neolithic Era the Bronze Age. Bronze was superseded by the
discovery of iron.
Major early civilizations
Mesopotamia, Egypt,
India, and China
sumer
- cuneiform: wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets
- wheel
- 12mo calendar, math 60, geometry
- ziggurats
- The interesting thing about Sumerian polytheism was
that each city-state had its own god that was worshipped only by its
people. In addition, there were a bunch of gods that all the city-states
worshipped collectively.
akkadians
As the Sumerian city-states declined, the city of Akkad, which was
north of Sumer, rose to dominate the region. The Akkadians major
contribution was they developed the first known code of laws, which
they wrote in cuneiform, which they learned from the Sumerians.
babylon
overran akkad. King Hammurabi of Babylon expanded on
this idea of a code of laws by developing an extensive code that dealt
with every part of daily life.
code of hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi, as it has
come to be called, is often credited as a significant step toward our modern legal codes. It distinguished between major and minor
offenses (a big deal at the time) and it established a sense of justice and
fairness by applying the laws to nearly everyone (the beginnings of
“rule of law”).
hittites
after babylon. learned how to use iron in their weapons.
Because iron is a lot stronger than bronze, the Hittites quickly became
a military superpower
assyrians
learned how to use iron. enabled them to establish a
capital at Nineveh and eventually build an empire that swept across
the entire Fertile Crescent. Highly disciplined but cruel, the Assyrian
army was hated by those it conquered. sent large groups of ppl into exile, enhancing cultural diffusion
chaldeans
after assyrians. The Chaldean king,
Nebuchadnezzar, rebuilt Babylon as a showplace of architecture and
culture. He extended his empire throughout the Fertile Crescent, as the
Assyrians had done before him.
nile
The Nile cuts through an otherwise arid landscape, so the
people clustered along the riverbanks. Unlike the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers, the Nile floods at a predictable time of the year and in relatively
predictable stages. This made it possible for the ancient Egyptians to
follow a very stable agricultural cycle and compile substantial food
surpluses.
pre-old kingdom
the entire river valley was united under
King Menes, who built his capital at Memphis and led efforts to
manage the floodwaters and build drainage and irrigation systems. hieroglyphics
egyptian women
- egyptian women more rights n opportunities than meso women
- queen hatshepsut: 1st female ruler knowin in history, new kingdom
persian empire
after chaldeans (which were after assyrians), also after egyptians;
developed into major world force
indus valley
the Indus Valley civilization was built
along the banks of a river system. However, because of the huge
mountains north and west of the Indus River, contact with outside
civilizations was more limited there than in Mesopotamia
khyber pass
indus valley wasn’t entirely cut off – The Khyber Pass through the Hindu Kush
Mountains provided a connection to the outside world and was used by
merchants on trade excursions. Later, it also gave
invading forces a way into the land.
2 major indus valley cities
Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro
indus valley decline
Sometime around 1900 B.C.E., the cities of the Indus Valley were
abandoned for reasons that remain unknown; 1500 BCE crumbled when Aryans arrived
aryans
nomadic tribes. Using horses and
advanced weaponry, they easily defeated the populations in the Indus
Valley. gave up their nomadic lifestyles when they settled
aryan religion
The
Aryans, yet another polytheistic people, recorded their beliefs and
traditions in the Vedas and the Upanishads. basis for hinduism
brahmans
priest class
shang china
yellow river valley, trade-centered civ; limited contact w/ rest of the world, believed themselves to be at center
zhou dynasty
after shang. ruled longer than any other.
- mandate of heaven
- feudal system
- ended due to fighting among feudal kingdoms
mandate of heaven
meaning that heaven would grant the Zhou power only as
long as its rulers governed justly and wisely. Put another way, the Zhou
Dynasty would remain in power only as long as it had the blessing of
heaven.
feudal system
The king was the ruler of the entire empire, but because it
was too big for one person to manage, nobles were given power over
smaller regions within the empire. This worked out well for a couple
hundred years. The king gave each noble protection as long as the
noble remained loyal to him. As time passed, however, a number of the nobles built up a lot of wealth and power within the regions under
their control and eventually split off into independent kingdoms
bureaucracies
Some
of the most complex kingdoms developed bureaucracies within their
governments, which was a way of organizing government tasks by
department, or bureau, so that different parts of the government
could specialize and stabilize. A bureaucratic form of government
remained popular in China for thousands of years
bantu migrations
farmers in the Niger and Benue River
valleys in West Africa began migrating south and east, bringing with
them their languages (from the Bantu family of languages) and their
knowledge of agriculture and metallurgy. These migrations, usually
referred to as the Bantu migrations, continued over the course of
the next 2,000 years. Bantu speakers gradually moved into areas
formerly occupied by nomads. migration was spurred by climactic
changes, which made the area now known as the Sahara Desert too dry
to live in.
jenne-jeno
1st city in sub saharn africa. unusual because although it reached urban
density, its architecture suggests that it was not a hierarchically
organized society. Instead, archeologists believe that it was a unique
form of urbanism comprising a collection of individual communities.
early american civs
olmec and chavin. neither developed in a
river valley
olmec
mexico. urban society supported by surpluses of corn,
beans, and squash.
chavin
andes. While mostly agricultural, they also had access to the
coast, and therefore supplemented their diet with seafood. The Chavin
developed ways to use metals in tools and weapons.
shared chars of early civs
- polytheistic
- irrigation techniques
- large scale buildings
- dev writing system + calendar
- agriculture
founding of mauryan empire
Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire
and continued into India. During this
time, the Aryan culture and belief systems continued to spread
throughout India.the Mauryan Empire
was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, who unified the smaller
Aryan kingdoms into a civilization. It was his grandson, Ashoka
Maurya, who took the empire to its greatest heights.
why mauryan empire so pwoerful
trade w/ mesopotamia and eastern roman empire; powerful miliary
buddhism
Stricken with disgust and filled with
remorse for a very violent and bloody victory his forces claimed over
the Kalinga in southeast India, Ashoka converted to Buddhism. For
the rest of his reign, Ashoka preached nonviolence and moderation.Ashoka is also known for his Rock and Pillar Edicts.
These edicts reminded Mauryans to live generous and righteous lives.Following Ashoka’s conversion and commitment to Buddhism, the
religion spread beyond India into many parts of Southeast Asia.