Chapter 1 Flashcards
Approximately how old are: the mother earth, the first human like creatures, homo sapiens, and modern humans?Approximately how old are: the mother earth, the first human like creatures, homo sapiens, and modern humans?
Earth is 6 billion years old; the first human like creatures are 3-5 million years old; homo sapians are 200,000 years old; modern humans are 100,000 years old
What did help us shift from hunting and gathering to producing our own food, and with what results?What did help us shift from hunting and gathering to producing our own food, and with what results?
Learned to cultivate plants, herd animals, and make airtight pottery for storage. Allowed them to grow in number and to lead a settled life.
What is the author’s definition of culture?What is the author’s definition of culture?
The sum total of the ways of living built up by a group and passed on from one generation to another.
What items does he include in culture?
Behavior such as courtship or child-rearing practices; material things such as tools, clothing, and shelter; and ideas, institutions, and beliefs.
What items would your like to add or delete to his list?
Nothing
Do you agree with him when he says that culture is learned and not inherited, and thus making culture is a part of our environmental or material changes rather than biological evolution?
learned culture permits rapid adaptation to changing conditions making the spread of humanity to almost all the lands of the globe
Are culture and civilization the same or different entities? Are culture and civilization the same or different entities?
Civilization is the sophistication of a people’s intellectual, cultural, and artistic traditions. So a civiliazation includes culture within itself.
How do anthropologists designate early human cultures? How do anthropologists designate early human cultures?
by their tools
What are the two stone ages, and their approximate periods? What are the two stone ages, and their approximate periods?
Paleolithic Age 1,000,000-10,000 B.C.E. (Old Stone Age) and Neolithic Age 10,000-3500 B.C.E. (New Stone Age)
How people live during the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages? How people live during the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages?
People were hunters, fishers, and gatherers, but not producers of food. They learned to make and use increasingly sophisticated tools of stone and perishable materials like wood; they learned to make and control fire; and they acquired langage and the ability to use it to pass on what they had learned
Do you agree or disagree with the author’s views of how religious beliefs and practices might have started among early human beings? Do you agree or disagree with the author’s views of how religious beliefs and practices might have started among early human beings?
Religious and magical beliefs and practices may have emerged in an effort to propitiate or coerce the superhuman forces thought to animate and direct the natural world.
What the gender-based division of labor? What the gender-based division of labor?
Men hunted, fished, and fought other families, clans, and tribes.
Women in the Paleolithic Age were mainly involved in what? Women in the Paleolithic Age were mainly involved in what?
Women gathered nuts, berries, and wild grains, wove baskets and made clothing.
How did women contribute to the rise of agriculture? How did women contribute to the rise of agriculture?
Women gathering food discovered how to plant and care for seeds
What caused the first greatest shift from the Paleolithic to Neolithic Age? What caused the first greatest shift from the Paleolithic to Neolithic Age?
The development of agriculture which changed them from a nomadic hunter-gather culture to a more settled agricultural one
Where and when did the first Neolithic settlements appear, and what crops did they produce?
8,000 B.C.E the Middle East produced wheat and barley, China in 4,000 B.C.E. produced millet and rice; India in 3,600 B.C.E.
Region/period - crops
8,000 B.C.E the Middle East produced wheat and barley; 4,000 B.C.E. China produced millet and rice; Mesoamerica several millennia later produced corn
In what ways was the Neolithic Age different from the Paleolithic Age?
The Paleolithic Age was less developed and everyone was hunters/gathers; The Neolithic Age people began to focus on agriculture and more settled regions developed
What and where was the second greatest shift that occurred between 4000 B.C. and 3000 B.C.?
The growth of larger urban centers or cities with hierarchy of larger and smaller settlements in the same region. First along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and later in the Nile River valley in Egypt, and somewhat later in India and the Yellow River basin in China
That period is the ______ age.
The Bronze Age (3100-1200 B.C.E.)
Tin+Copper=______?
Bronze
When_____B.C. and where___________ as writing first invention?
the Sumerians in the land of Sumer (southern half of Babylonia) invented writing during the fourth millenium
Why one cannot think of civilization without cities?
Cities were the central hub of civilization
What were some of the activities or functions of cities in the Old World civilizations?
producing surplus by farmers and stockbreeders; efficient farming of plains alongside rivers; management of water resources
What did necessitate the rise of unified and centralized kingdoms?
Leagues formed between city-states with political and religious significance. Quarrels over water and agricultural land led to incessant warfare. The stronger towns and leagues conqured the weaker ones and expanded to kingdoms ruling several city-states
What kind of monarchs could control them, and how did they rule?
rulers of large cities; ruled with a standardized adminstration, vast wealth, and power, and a grand style
Read Map 1-1. What is a common factor among these first four Old Civilizations? Isn’t it interesting that all of them are located between almost the same latitudes? Why is that?
Being close to rivers; it was climate they were used to
Read Map 1-1. Note their rivers and regions. What else is this lovely map telling you? What role do you think geography plays in the making of human civilizations?
Almost all early major sites of civilization occurred close to a major river
Mesopotamian Civilization: Where in the world is Mesopotamia, and what does its name mean? What is its new name (_______)? Is it a geographical, political or ethnic name? Locate the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on the map.
It was east of the Mediterranean Sea and west of the Caspian Sea between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The name means “the land between two rivers.” It is now modern day Iraq; sometimes referred to as the cradle of civilization. It is a geographical name.
Read Map 1-2. What can you tell about the geography of Mesopotamia? Where were/are its geographical borders?
Its borders were the Tigris River and the Euphrates River
Who (_________) founded its first cities, and when (_________).
Sumerians found the first cities of Mesopotamia during the fourth millenium
What made them to fight among themselves?
Water and agricultural land
Who were the Akadians?
a people that established their own kingdom at a capital city called Akkade under their first king, Sargon. They conquered all the Sumerian city-states and invated southwestern Iran and northern Syria. It was history’s first empire, having a heartland, provinces, and an absolute ruler
What is a Semitic language?
languages in the same family as Arabic and Hebrew
Who was Sargon (r. ca. 2300 B.C.)?
the first king of the Akkadians in the capital city of Akkade; had been a servant of the king of Kish; became the ruler of history’s first empire; his name is legendary as the first great conqueror of history
Which particular Mesopotamian group of people (_______) who invented writing first, and when (______B.C.)?
Sumerians; 3100 B.C.E.
Why is it called cuneiform?
from the Latin cuneus meaning “wedge” because of the wedge-shaped marks they made by writing on clay tablets with a cut-reed stylus
What was the Sumerian calendar?
a calendar of 12 lunar months of thirty days each. To keep it in accordance with the solar year and the seasons, the Mesopotamians occasionally introduced a thirteenth month
Write below periods of the ruling peoples of Mesopotamia in chronological order: People/Ruling Period:
Sumerian - 2800-2370 B.C.E; Akkadian 2370 - 2125 B.C.E.; Ur 2125 - 2027 B.C.E.; Amorites 2000 - 1800 B.C.E; Hammurabi 1792-1750 B.C.E.; Kassite 1550 B.C.E.
Who was Hammurabi (r. 1792-1750 B.C.)?
powerful ruler of the Babylonian dynasty and its most famous king; best known for his collection of laws that bears his name; destroyed the great city of Mari on the Euphrates and created a kingdom embracing most of Mesopotamia
What was Hammurabi best known for?
his collection of laws that bears his name
What was the Code of Hammurabi?
prescribed different rights, responsibilities, and punishments, depending on gender, class, and enslaved or free. They represent an enormous advance in legal thought because they codified and standardized laws and punishments, which made the legal process less dependent on the whims or favoritism of rulers or judges
What does this Code tell us about Mesopotamian society?
they had a legal code and standardized way to deliver rules and punishments
Write names of different peoples who invaded Mesopotamia. Which direction did they come from?
from the East the Elamites & from the north and west the Amorites
What makes you think that Mesopotamian Government was or was not a democracy?
they met to discuss trade issues, etc and would select a representative to be the head of the city so it is the earliest form of democracy
Note the close relationship and interdependence between rulers (politician, state), the priests (religion, church), and bureaucracy and tax collectors (science and administration).
Religion was apart of everything in the culture and the lines between human and divine society were not always clearly drawn
What was Mesopotamians’ perception of their gods?
visualized in human form with human needs and weaknesses; most identified with natural phenomenon; considered universal; but also residing in specific places, usually with one important god or goddess for each city; but the great gods were visualized like human rulers remote from common people and thus they imagined another more personal intercessor god to look after them as a person - a guardian spirit
What does strike you interesting in Mesopotamian Religion?
it is a depressing religion to have such a gloomy outlook of the afterlife
Who was Gilgamesh, and what is his Epic about? Who was Gilgamesh, and what is his Epic about? Who was Gilgamesh, and what is his Epic about? Who was Gilgamesh, and what is his Epic about? Who was Gilgamesh, and what is his Epic about? Who was Gilgamesh, and what is his Epic about?
a hero king who tried to escape death by going on a fantastic journey to find the sole survivor of the great flood
How was the Mesopotamian Society classified?
agrarian and urban society
What were the first, second and third largest categories for which the Code of Hammurabi had so many laws?
1) family 2) land tenure 3) commerce
What does it reveal about Mesopotamia?
Family structure was important
What was a son’s punishment for kicking his father?
hands will be chopped off
Why slavery in Mesopotamia appears to be enlightened? Why slavery in Mesopotamia appears to be enlightened? Why slavery in Mesopotamia appears to be enlightened? Why slavery in Mesopotamia appears to be enlightened? Why slavery in Mesopotamia appears to be enlightened? Why slavery in Mesopotamia appears to be enlightened?
Slaves belonged to same people as their masters; labored alongside them; could engage in business, with certain restrictions could hold property, could marry free men or women & resulting children were normally free; could buy freedom; could share in property after master’s death
Slaves in Mesopotamia could or could not do what?
chattel slaves had no legal rights & had to wear hair in a certain way and were sometimes branded or tattooed on their hands
What was the major source of slavery in Mesopotamia?
debt slavery
Who were the different peoples who settled and ruled in Mesopotamia?
Sumerians, akkadians, ur, amorites, hammurabi, kassites
Who were the first and last people in Mesopotamia?
Sumerians were first and Kassites were last
Who was Sargon?
the first king of the Akkadians in the capital city of Akkade; had been a servant of the king of Kish; became the ruler of history’s first empire; his name is legendary as the first great conqueror of history
Write a brief note on the River Nile. What is in the north and south of Egypt? Where is Memphis (Tennessee)?Write a brief note on the River Nile. What is in the north and south of Egypt? Where is Memphis (Tennessee)?Write a brief note on the River Nile. What is in the north and south of Egypt? Where is Memphis (Tennessee)?Write a brief note on the River Nile. What is in the north and south of Egypt? Where is Memphis (Tennessee)?Write a brief note on the River Nile. What is in the north and south of Egypt? Where is Memphis (Tennessee)?Write a brief note on the River Nile. What is in the north and south of Egypt? Where is Memphis (Tennessee)?
Nile valley - upper Egypt (south); Nile delta - lower Egypt (north); Memphis is south of the nile river delta on the west bank in Egypt (Memphis TN is in the southwest corner of the state)
Read Map 1-2, and explain the Geography of Egypt. Read Map 1-2, and explain the Geography of Egypt. Read Map 1-2, and explain the Geography of Egypt. Read Map 1-2, and explain the Geography of Egypt. Read Map 1-2, and explain the Geography of Egypt. Read Map 1-2, and explain the Geography of Egypt.
eastern edge of Mediterranean Sea down to include the narrow valley of the Nile river
What was the primary source of Egyptian prosperity?
the Nile river
In what ways is the geography of Egypt different from that of Mesopotamia, and what were some of the major consequences of that geographical difference? In what ways is the geography of Egypt different from that of Mesopotamia, and what were some of the major consequences of that geographical difference? In what ways is the geography of Egypt different from that of Mesopotamia, and what were some of the major consequences of that geographical difference? In what ways is the geography of Egypt different from that of Mesopotamia, and what were some of the major consequences of that geographical difference? In what ways is the geography of Egypt different from that of Mesopotamia, and what were some of the major consequences of that geographical difference? In what ways is the geography of Egypt different from that of Mesopotamia, and what were some of the major consequences of that geographical difference?
Mount Sinai and the Red Sea provide a barrier in Egypt from invading peoples but Mesopotamia was very open to attack
How did ancient Egyptians utilize the Nile?
it was a highway to connect upper and lower Egypt as well as the source of agriculture possiblities in a desert environment
Name the natural barriers that protected Egypt from foreign invaders. Name the natural barriers that protected Egypt from foreign invaders. Name the natural barriers that protected Egypt from foreign invaders. Name the natural barriers that protected Egypt from foreign invaders. Name the natural barriers that protected Egypt from foreign invaders.
Mount Sinai and the Red Sea
What else did make Egypt such a happy and peaceful society that it was?
security and an optimistic outlook from the predictable flood calendar
How many Egyptian dynasties ruled, and for how long?
31 royal dynasties over 3,000 years
How did an Egyptian king (later called pharaoh) dominate the people? How did an Egyptian king (later called pharaoh) dominate the people? How did an Egyptian king (later called pharaoh) dominate the people? How did an Egyptian king (later called pharaoh) dominate the people? How did an Egyptian king (later called pharaoh) dominate the people?
considered a god & from his capital at Memphis he administered according to set principles; maat (an ideal of order, justice, and truth). In return for the king’s building and maintaining temples, the gods preserved the equilibrium of the state and ensured the king’s continuing power, which was absolute. Obligated to act infallibly in a benign and beneficient manner, the welfare of the people of Egypt was automatically guaranteed and safeguarded
What did ancient Egyptians think of death and thereafter?
they thought the afterlife was full of dangers that could overcome by magical means (like spells from the Book of the Dead); goal was to join and be identified with the gods; preservation of the body via mummification was essential for continued existence in the afterlifethey thought the afterlife was full of dangers that could overcome by magical means (like spells from the Book of the Dead); goal was to join and be identified with the gods; preservation of the body via mummification was essential for continued existence in the afterlifethey thought the afterlife was full of dangers that could overcome by magical means (like spells from the Book of the Dead); goal was to join and be identified with the gods; preservation of the body via mummification was essential for continued existence in the afterlifethey thought the afterlife was full of dangers that could overcome by magical means (like spells from the Book of the Dead); goal was to join and be identified with the gods; preservation of the body via mummification was essential for continued existence in the afterlifethey thought the afterlife was full of dangers that could overcome by magical means (like spells from the Book of the Dead); goal was to join and be identified with the gods; preservation of the body via mummification was essential for continued existence in the afterlife
What do the great pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty (2620-2480 B.C.) signify? What do the great pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty (2620-2480 B.C.) signify? What do the great pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty (2620-2480 B.C.) signify? What do the great pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty (2620-2480 B.C.) signify? What do the great pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty (2620-2480 B.C.) signify?
great technical skill they demonstrate, concentration of resources they represent; evidence of the vast wealth and power to organize and focus enormous human effort; visible indication of the nature of the Egyptian state: pyramids like the pharaohs tower above the land but the low tombs at their base like the officials buried there seem to huddle in relative unimportance
Write a brief note of hieroglyphics. Write a brief note of hieroglyphics. Write a brief note of hieroglyphics. Write a brief note of hieroglyphics. Write a brief note of hieroglyphics.
“Sacred carvings” were highly sophisticated involving hundreds of picture signs that were relatively constant for 3000 years. Cursive version was used for business documents and literary texts - penned rapidly in black and red ink
What happened in the Middle Kingdom (2052-1786 B.C.)? What happened in the Middle Kingdom (2052-1786 B.C.)? What happened in the Middle Kingdom (2052-1786 B.C.)? What happened in the Middle Kingdom (2052-1786 B.C.)? What happened in the Middle Kingdom (2052-1786 B.C.)?
Amunemhet I moved royal residence to a new town just south of the old capital of Memphis; reorganized nome structure - clearly defining duties to the state & granting some local autonomy; established co-regency system to smooth transitions from one reign to another; built pyramid complexes like those of Old Kingdom rulers; royal fortresses built to control Nubia & trade in African resources; Syria and Palestine under Egyptian influence; fortifications sought to prevent settlers from the Levant from moving into the Delta
Who were the Hyksos, and what did they do in 1700 B.C.? Who were the Hyksos, and what did they do in 1700 B.C.? Who were the Hyksos, and what did they do in 1700 B.C.? Who were the Hyksos, and what did they do in 1700 B.C.? Who were the Hyksos, and what did they do in 1700 B.C.?
Amorites from the Levant that controlled the eastern Delta; a part of the gradual infiltration of the Delta during the Middle Kingdom
Who was Amon-Re? Who was Amon-Re? Who was Amon-Re? Who was Amon-Re? Who was Amon-Re?
one of the 8 deities in the Hermopolitan cosmogony; in the New Kingdom Amun was elevated above his 7 cohorts and took on aspects of the sun god Re to become Amun-Re
Who was Amenhotep IV (r. 1367-1350 B.C.), and why did he change his name to “Akhenaton”? Who was Amenhotep IV (r. 1367-1350 B.C.), and why did he change his name to “Akhenaton”? Who was Amenhotep IV (r. 1367-1350 B.C.), and why did he change his name to “Akhenaton”? Who was Amenhotep IV (r. 1367-1350 B.C.), and why did he change his name to “Akhenaton”? Who was Amenhotep IV (r. 1367-1350 B.C.), and why did he change his name to “Akhenaton”?
pharaoh who promoted a minor aspect of the sun, the Aten (“disc”) above Re himself and the rest of the gods. He declared Aten was the creator god who brought life to humankind and all living things - with himself and his queen Nefertiti the sole mediators between Aten and his people. He changed his name to Akhenaten (“the effective spirit of the Aten”) and built a new capital called Akhetaten (“the horizon of the Aten”)
Who was Aton? Who was Aton? Who was Aton? Who was Aton? Who was Aton?
Aten was the god promoted above all other gods by Amenhotep IV; he was made nearly abstract by Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV’s new name) who altered the image to a plain disc with solar rays ending in small hands holding the hieroglyphic sign for life to the nostrils of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
Why did Akhenaton’s revolution fail? Why did Akhenaton’s revolution fail? Why did Akhenaton’s revolution fail? Why did Akhenaton’s revolution fail? Why did Akhenaton’s revolution fail?
It was too different for the Egyptian culture to become monotheistic versus polytheistic and they restored normal order of the gods upon his death
What did Tutankhamen (r. 1347-1339 B.C.) achieve? What did Tutankhamen (r. 1347-1339 B.C.) achieve? What did Tutankhamen (r. 1347-1339 B.C.) achieve? What did Tutankhamen (r. 1347-1339 B.C.) achieve? What did Tutankhamen (r. 1347-1339 B.C.) achieve?
he restored the god Amun to his former position and Akhenaten’s monuments were defaced and even demolished; he moved the capital back to Thebes.
Identify the Hittites and Assyrians, and the areas of their empires. Where did they make their Empires? Identify the Hittites and Assyrians, and the areas of their empires. Where did they make their Empires? Identify the Hittites and Assyrians, and the areas of their empires. Where did they make their Empires? Identify the Hittites and Assyrians, and the areas of their empires. Where did they make their Empires? Identify the Hittites and Assyrians, and the areas of their empires. Where did they make their Empires?
the Hittites were an Indo-European people & their empire had a capital at Hattusas (near Ankara the capital of modern Turkey) sought to control Palestine and Syria. The Assyrians lived in Assur a city in northern Mesopotamia on the Tigris River, spoke a Semetic langague closely related to Babylonian. First empire spread north and west against the neo Hittite states; second empire controlled all of Mesopotamia, much of southern Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine and Egypt to its southern frontier
The Indus Valley Civilization: See Map 1-4. Write a brief note on the geographical location of the Indus Valley Civ which is now located in the modern country of (____________). The Indus Valley Civilization: See Map 1-4. Write a brief note on the geographical location of the Indus Valley Civ which is now located in the modern country of (____________). The Indus Valley Civilization: See Map 1-4. Write a brief note on the geographical location of the Indus Valley Civ which is now located in the modern country of (____________). The Indus Valley Civilization: See Map 1-4. Write a brief note on the geographical location of the Indus Valley Civ which is now located in the modern country of (____________). The Indus Valley Civilization: See Map 1-4. Write a brief note on the geographical location of the Indus Valley Civ which is now located in the modern country of (____________).
most of Pakistan and parts of northwestern India, Afghanistan and Iran, extending fromBalochistanin the west toUttar Pradeshin the east, northeastern Afghanistan to the north andMaharashtrato the southmost of Pakistan and parts of northwestern India, Afghanistan and Iran, extending fromBalochistanin the west toUttar Pradeshin the east, northeastern Afghanistan to the north andMaharashtrato the southmost of Pakistan and parts of northwestern India, Afghanistan and Iran, extending fromBalochistanin the west toUttar Pradeshin the east, northeastern Afghanistan to the north andMaharashtrato the southmost of Pakistan and parts of northwestern India, Afghanistan and Iran, extending fromBalochistanin the west toUttar Pradeshin the east, northeastern Afghanistan to the north andMaharashtrato the southmost of Pakistan and parts of northwestern India, Afghanistan and Iran, extending fromBalochistanin the west toUttar Pradeshin the east, northeastern Afghanistan to the north andMaharashtrato the south
When (__________B.C.) did the Indus Valley Civilization arise, and what did it produce?
5500 B.C.E. Barley and wheat cultivation, baked brick dwellings, goats, sheep, cows domestication, after 4000 B.C.E. metalworking; 2600 B.C.E. Indus Valley arose
What were some of its material achievements? What were some of its material achievements? What were some of its material achievements? What were some of its material achievements?
barley, wheat, baked brick dwellings, goats, sheep, cows, metalwork
Why do some scholars speculate that the Indus Civ was controlled by a centralized government? Why do some scholars speculate that the Indus Civ was controlled by a centralized government? Why do some scholars speculate that the Indus Civ was controlled by a centralized government? Why do some scholars speculate that the Indus Civ was controlled by a centralized government?
Cities rebuilt after floods closely following previous pattern, Indus script with more than 2,000 stamp seals using pictographic and phonetic symbols shows no evidence of change over time. Stability, regularity, and traditionalism lead to conclusion that it was controlled by a centralized government
What was its economy based on?
agriculture - wheat, barley were main crops, rice, peas, lentils, sesame, dates, and cotton,
Name the two largest cities of the Indus Civ. (__________ and ___________).Name the two largest cities of the Indus Civ. (__________ and ___________).Name the two largest cities of the Indus Civ. (__________ and ___________).Name the two largest cities of the Indus Civ. (__________ and ___________).
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
The economy of the Indus Civilization was based on what?
agriculture - wheat, barley were main crops, rice, peas, lentils, sesame, dates, and cotton,
What was so great about these cities?
the meticulous design, complex system of covered drains and sewers; engineering feet unrivaled until the time of the Romans 2,000 years later
What country did the Indus Civilization people do business with?
Mesopotamia
What did its artisans and craftsmen usually produce?
fine bronze and stone sculptures, cooper and bronze tools and vessels, black-on-red painted pottery, dressed stonework, stone and terra-cotta figurines and toys, silver vessels and ornaments, gold jewerly, dyed woven fabric
When and how did the Indus Civilization disappear?
1800-1700 B.C.E.; It is not clear. Possible theories include: Aryan invaders, abnormal flooding due to damming of the Indus, change in the course of the Indus, collapse of military power, or a long period of dessication even before the Aryans arrived.
Why do we know so little about this civilization.
It disappeared before 1500 B.C.E. and its writing is still undeciphered
When was the Vedic Aryan Civilization founded in India? When was the Vedic Aryan Civilization founded in India? When was the Vedic Aryan Civilization founded in India? When was the Vedic Aryan Civilization founded in India?
1500 B.C.E.
How was it different from the Indus Valley Civilization?
lasted nearly a thousand years without cities or writing, but its religious and social traditions commingled with the older traditions in the subcontinent of the Indus culture to form Indian civilization as it has devloped in the past 2500 years
What are the Vedas and how old are they? What are the Vedas and how old are they? What are the Vedas and how old are they? What are the Vedas and how old are they?
source of most information; holy texts - from 1700 B.C.E.; ritual, priestly, and speculative, not historical works; reveal insight into religion, society, values, and thought of early Aryan India; the holiest source of traditions
When and why were they committed to writing so late?
not written down until sometime after 700 B.C.E. because it was shunned in favor of memorization and recitation among the Brahmans
Who are the Aryans? Who are the Aryans? Who are the Aryans? Who are the Aryans?
nobles; central asian origins; nomadic Indo-European immigrant people
Did they enter India from the northwest or northeast?
northwest
What are the Indo-European languages? What are the Indo-European languages? What are the Indo-European languages?
Greek, Latin, the Romance and Germanic languages, the Slavic tongues, Indo-Iranian languages including Persian and Sanskrit
What did (or did not) the Aryans contribute to the native people of India?
the religious foundations via the Vedas or holy texts
What is the native name of India? (___________).
Bharat
What are the Mahabharata and Ramayana?What are the Mahabharata and Ramayana?What are the Mahabharata and Ramayana?
Mahabharata is the world’s longest epic poem - civil war between two Aryan clans; Ramayana is the adventures of legendary King Rama
How did the Caste System evolve in India? How did the Caste System evolve in India? How did the Caste System evolve in India?
Aryan society had two divisions- noble and common; The Dasas (darker conqured people) formed 3rd group & were socially excluded to include those who intermarried with them; 4 social classes evolved to include priestly (Brahman), warrior/noble (Kshatriya), the peasant/tradesmen (Vaishya) and the servant (Shudra) only upper 3 could participate fully in social, political, and religious life
Why was the material culture of Aryans not as high as that of Mesopotamia or Egypt?
they were a semi-nomadic people - lived in wood/thatch or later mud-walled dwellings; measured wealth in cattle
Write your personal perception of the Vedic-Aryan religion that went into the making of Hinduism. Write your personal perception of the Vedic-Aryan religion that went into the making of Hinduism. Write your personal perception of the Vedic-Aryan religion that went into the making of Hinduism.
I think that the religion was polytheistic and made the Brahman elevated in the culture
Early Chinese Civilization: When and where did agriculture first begin in China? Early Chinese Civilization: When and where did agriculture first begin in China? Early Chinese Civilization: When and where did agriculture first begin in China?
4,000 B.C.E. in the basin of the southern bend of the Yellow River
If the Tigris and Euphrates are to Mesopotamia, what are to China? (____________ and ___________).
Yellow and Yangtze (also had West River and Red River)
What crops did the Chinese grow? (_______________________).
Millet and rice; wheat, cabbage, rice, and soybeans
What colors did they use to paint pottery? (_______________).What colors did they use to paint pottery? (_______________).What colors did they use to paint pottery? (_______________).
red and black
In what ways the Chinese material culture was different from (or similar to) that of the early Vedic-Aryans? In what ways the Chinese material culture was different from (or similar to) that of the early Vedic-Aryans? In what ways the Chinese material culture was different from (or similar to) that of the early Vedic-Aryans?
Chinese material culture seems to be more sparse than the Vedic-Aryans
Write a brief note on Map 1-6. Write a brief note on Map 1-6. Write a brief note on Map 1-6.
Yellow river connects to Wei river before going to Yellow Sea; Yangzi River connects to Han River before dividing between the yellow sea and the East China Sea
Write the names and periods of the first three Chinese dynasties in chronological order:
Xia (2205-1766 B.C.E.), Shang (1766-1050 B.C.E.), and Zhou (1050-256 B.C.E.)
What purpose did the “oracle bones” serve?
divination of the Shang court; incised with archaic Chinese writing; the names of kings on the bones fit almost perfectly with the traditional historical record
Make your own oracle in English, but don’t believe in it.
Will I have any more children?
Who was the supreme authority in the Shang religion?Who was the supreme authority in the Shang religion?
“Deity Above” also in the court of the Deity Above were lesser natural deities - sun, moon, earth, rain, wind, and the six clouds
Bad omens?
Based upon celestial happenings - movements of the planets, stars, and reported eclipses
What was different about the Chinese use of bronze compared to Mesopotamia and India?
casting methods were more advanced; used for weapons, armor, and chariot fittings; ceremonial vessels
Who were the shih? Who were the shih?
term once meant “warrior” but it was a literate bureaucracy that came to mean “scholar-bureaucrat”; mixed social origins (including petty nobility, literate members of the old warrior class, landlords, merchants, and rising commoners)
What made the vast majority of people in Shang China to obey a few aristocrats?
they possessed political, economic, social, and religious authority
What were other ways of control over people? What were other ways of control over people?
war in chariots, supported by levies of foot soldiers; spears and compond bows for weapons; would fight other city-states in rebellion against Shang rule
What were social classes in Shang China, and their living conditions? What were social classes in Shang China, and their living conditions?
King and officials of his court lived in the walled city with spacious houses built above the ground with roofs; agricultural workers lived outside the city in cramped pit dwellings
Why did the Shang Chinese practice human sacrifices? Why did the Shang Chinese practice human sacrifices?
When a king died, hundreds of slaves or prisoners of war, sometimes with those who had served the king during his lifetime would be buried with him; also done when a palace or altar was built
When (_____B.C.), and why did the Shang Rule collapse and who replaced them?
1050 B.C.E. Kings were weak, cruel, and tyranical - Zhou made alliances with disaffected city-states and swept into conquer the Shang
In what ways the (Western) Chou Dynasty was a continuation of the Shang Rule? In what ways the (Western) Chou Dynasty was a continuation of the Shang Rule?
the Zhou continued the Shang pattern of life and rule; agrarian-based city-states still basic unit of society; social hierarchy similar to Shang - rulers on top, officials & warrior below them, peasants and slaves at the bottom; continued ideographic writing; maintained casting of bronze ceremonial vessels
What the big difference between the two?
in the nature of the political legitimacy claimed (Shang kings were from priestly rulers and had built in religious authority) (Zhou said Heaven which replaced the name “Deity Above” was appalled by the wickedness of the last Shang and withdrawn its mandate to rule from the Shang and gave it to the Zhou)
What was the Mandate of Heaven? What was the Mandate of Heaven?
Zhou said Heaven which replaced the name “Deity Above” was appalled by the wickedness of the last Shang and withdrawn its mandate to rule from the Shang and gave it to the Zhou
When and how did the fall of the Western Chou lead to the rise of the Eastern Chou? When and how did the fall of the Western Chou lead to the rise of the Eastern Chou?
771 B.C.E. the Wei valley capital of the Western Zhou was overrun by barbarians; king lit fires to call his army frequently to please his concubine & when invaders actually came the army ignored the beacon fires. King was killed and the heir to the throne escaped to the secondary capital Luoyang to begin the Eastern Zhou period
What three major developments or changes occur during the Eastern Chou?
Expansion of population and agricultural lands; rise of commerce; rise of a new kind of army - no longer chariots, but cavalry armed with crossbows and conscript foot soliders & now had professional commanders not old nobility - old aristocratic etiquette turned into military tactics that were bloody and ruthless.
What do you like or dislike about the Shang and/or the Chou dynasties?
the fact that they kept fighting amongst themselves
Write briefly some of the few things that you did not know about China.
I didn’t know that they had human sacrifices
The Americas: When did Asian immigrants cross Siberia to Alaska, and where did they disperse in the Americas?
Crossing was between 30,000-12,000 years ago; tip of South America and eastern regions of North America
What were the major areas where they developed a series of civilizations between 1500 and 1000 B.C.?
Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, Mississippi valley, MesoAmerica (mexico, olmec area, maya area), and Andean
What crops did the Native Americans produce, and what were some of their other achievements?
Maize, potatoes, manioc, squash, beans, peppers, and tomatoes; pottery, textiles, and metallurgy
What was the most important protein crop in early American cultures?
Maize (Corn)
