MIDTERM :( Flashcards
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bnCj1MU45dHif1EomAsDWEcSU9P3Fk3T7vBTTwaitOc/edit#slide=id.p
What was the Neolithic Revolution?
the shift from food gathering to food producing
When did the Neolithic Revolution occur?
around 10,000 years ago (around 8,000 BC)
What was happening before the Neolithic Revolution and what happened after?
before = people were nomadic hunter-gatherers that moved from place to place hunting and gathering their food
after = people are sedentary, staying in one place and farming and killing domestic crops and animals for food
What did the Neolithic Revolution lead to?
humans were able to set up permanent residence, allowing for the formation of the first civilizations
Where did the Neolithic Revolution happen first? Where did it happen most recently?
Mesopotamia
Australia
What was the oldest domesticated crop?
rye
What are the 5 characteristics of civilization?
specialization, advanced cities, record keeping, complex institutions, advanced technology
What does it mean to have specialization?
a civilization has a food surplus that allows for divisions of labor to be formed because they don’t need more farmers raising food
people can take jobs such as being government officials, artisans, priests, merchants, etc.
What does it mean to have advanced cities?
a civilization includes a large urban population and centers that are engaged in trade
What does it mean to have record keeping?
a civilization has physical, though not necessarily written, records of things that occur in the civilization, such as religious and political events, laws, and/or transactions
What does it mean to have complex institutions?
a civilization has administrative and organizational entities that provide rule and order, such as governments, religions, economies, and/or social hierarchies
What does it mean to have advanced technology?
a civilization has innovation, engineering, and infrastructure that improve life in some way, whether that means computers, couches, or plows for farming
What is a barter economy?
an economical system in which people directly trade goods and services for other goods or services without using money
What is a scribe?
a professional record keeper
What is something’s form? What is its function?
a description of the way it looks/appears
how it is used and what it is used for
What are 5 examples of early record keeping systems?
cuneiform, quipu, hieroglyphics, codices, and oracle bones
Where was cuneiform used?
Sumer in Mesopotamia
What was cuneiform’s form?
wedge-shaped writing on baked clay tablets
What was cuneiform’s function?
track business transactions, taxation data, astronomical events, and calendar dates
Where were hieroglyphics used?
Ancient Egypt
What were the hieroglyphics’ form?
pictographs carved into wood or stone
What were the hieroglyphics’ function?
record rulers, quantities of goods, and cosmological and religious ideas
Where were oracle bones used?
Shang Dynasty in China
What were the oracle bones’ form?
text written on animal bones
What were the oracle bones’ function?
record religious and technological ideas and events and to ask questions to the ancestors and record their answers
How were oracle bones used?
- a question to the ancestors was asked
- heated pokers were applied to certain points on the bone
- cracks formed due to the heat and were read, determining the ancestors’ answer
- the answer was recorded by carving it into the bone
Where were codices used and by whom?
the Maya in MesoAmerica
What were the codices’ form?
books made of wood written in with a system of glyphs
What else were glyphs recorded on?
stone
What were the codices’ function?
record history, dynastic rulers, and cosmological events
What is the singular form of “codices”?
codex
Where was quipu used and by whom?
the Inca in MesoAmerica
What was the quipu’s form?
colorful cotton strings with knots in them
What was the quipu’s function?
a counting/accounting device used similarly to receipts to record amounts of goods sold, etc.
What is papyrus? What is it the basis of/what modern invention was based off of it?
a writing surface made of reeds
paper
Who invented papyrus? Why?
the Egyptians
it was significantly lighter than stone and wood, which is what they used to write on
What is MesoAmerica?
the cultures located in North and South America before the arrival of the Europeans
What is the Rosetta Stone? What was it made to do? What is it used for now?
a large stone containing the same text written in hieroglyphics, demotic, and ancient Greek
used to track taxes
helps us to learn how to better translate/understand hieroglyphic texts by translating the Ancient Greek
Who created the Rosetta Stone? When? Where?
Ancient Egyptians
Rosetta, Egypt
196 BC
What happened to the Rosetta Stone? What is the controversy around it?
Napoleon and co. found it buried under sand during their campaign in Egypt. They took it back to France, then looted from France by the British and placed in the British Museum
controversy of who should own it: the Egyptians who made it, the French who found it, or the British who translated it
What are the Benin Bronzes? What were they made to do?
a collection of plaques, statuettes, masks, and ivory tusks
used as decorations and to tell the religious and political history of Benin
Who created the Benin Bronzes? When? Where?
the people of Benin
1500s-ish
Benin, current day Nigeria
What happened to the Benin Bronzes? What is the controversy around them?
They were looted in a British invasion of Benin after the Benin people killed some British emissaries who they knew were trying to take over the kingdom. The bronzes were then sold to museums in order to pay for the invasion
the British (and other museums as well) refuse to return them even though they were clearly stolen
What is the British Museum? Why was it created?
A museum in London, England, originally built to house and display artifacts taken/looted from countries Britain colonized
Why is the British Museum controversial? Are all the controversies equal?
Most – not all, but most – of its artifacts were deliberately stolen from their original homes, and the British have refused to return them, although many countries have asked for them back
No; some are more straightforward, like the Benin Bronzes being stolen, and some are more tricky, like the Rosetta Stone being found and value added to it after translation
What is a pharaoh? What sort of importance did they have?
later Egyptian kings, many of whom were believed to be gods or children of the gods
religious (high priests, built temples, ran ceremonies, etc.) and political (declare war, collect taxes, wrote laws, owned all land in Egypt, etc.)
What is a monarchy?
a country governed by a single ruler (a monarch)
What is a dynasty (or definition of dynastic)?
a governmental system in which power is passed down through families
Define monotheism
the belief in one God
Define polytheism
the belief in many gods
Define animism
the belief that all objects in nature have divine spirits
Define theocracy. Describe
government by religion, in which most of the law are based on religious ideals and rulers are often religious leaders
What was Djoser’s step pyramid?
the first pyramid ever built, constructed by stacking increasingly smaller square layers of stone (mastabas) on top of each other
Define feudalism
a hierarchal economic and political system based on the exchange of land and loyalty
Define Mandate of Heaven
the idea that a corrupt or ineffective government would lead to upheaval, such as natural disasters or riots, which meant that the gods were unhappy with the current ruler, and that ruler would be removed from power and replaced
Define dynastic cycle
the cyclical rise and fall of different governing dynasties based on the approval of the gods
Define empire
once independent states brought under a single authority by force
Define stele
upright monuments of stone that Hammurabi recorded his code on in order to communicate his laws with the areas he conquered
What was the Warring States Period?
the period of Chinese history when the Zhou Dynasty became weaker, new dynasties fought for control, and new ideologies arose
What was Han Fei’s approach to government called?
Legalism
What did believers of ‘Legalism’ think was required for an effective government?
The use of many strong laws
What are the “two handles” of Legalism?
Chastisement (punishment) and commendation (rewards)
What ruling system did Confucius use?
Confucianism
What did Confucianism focus on? How did he think things should be run?
Relationships
Based on virtue, not laws, because in his eyes, laws don’t work, and if rulers are virtuous and kind to the people below them, their subjects will be virtuous too
What type of relationships did Confucianism focus on? Examples?
Unequal relationships
1. Father and son
2. Husband and wife
3. Older and younger brothers
4. Ruler and subject
How did Confucius think people should react to their roles in society?
Accept their roles and the amount of power it gives them, but be respectful
“Superiors” should act with benevolence and concern for their inferiors, and “inferiors” should act with deference and respect to their superiors
Define ideology. What is it not?
A system of beliefs or ideas (not a religion)
Define patriarchy
A governmental and social system in which everything is run by men
Define “eye for an eye.” Where did it come from?
People should be punished exactly in the way they hurt someone else, so if you poke out someone’s eye, your eye should be poked out as well
The Code of Hammurabi
What is the Code of Hammurabi?
Hammurabi’s legal code, one of the oldest in the world
What was the goal of the Code of Hammurabi?
Decrease violence and unify the empire
What does the Code of Hammurabi rely heavily on? What was this meant to cause?
Capital punishment/death penalty
Deterrence (people were less likely to commit the crime if they were too scared of the possible punishment)
Define classist
Treating people differently due to their social class/rank in the social hierarchy, so higher-ups (kings, priests, etc.) get better treatment than regular people (peasants, servants, etc.)
Define social hierarchy
A social organization system in which people are ranked in order of power or importance to society (kings at the top, peasants at the bottom), often affecting how people are treated
Define command economy
An economy in which the government makes most (if not all) economic decisions (e.g. prices)
Define centralized government
Government/political systems in which government power is concentrated and held by one group/person
Define decentralized government
Government/political systems in which government power is shared/balanced between multiple levels/groups of government
How do you label a timeline?
BC/BCE (Before Christ/Before Common Era) on the left hand side, years going from larger to smaller
Year 0 in the center (marks the birth of Christ)
AD/CE (Anno Domine “In the year of our Lord”/Common Era) on the right hand side, years going from smaller to larger
How do you calculate time between two dates?
If they are on the same section of the timeline, subtract 1st date - 2nd date and take the absolute value
If one of the values is BC/BCE and the other is AD/CE, add the years (1st date + 2nd date)
How do you write a complex-split thesis?
- Although [counterargument/”some would say…”]
- Thesis [“this is the correct answer to the problem/question”]
- Because [insert your evidence of why your thesis is correct]
What are some examples of secondary sources?
Journal articles, magazines, textbooks, research paper, etc.
What are the characteristics of an authoritative secondary source?
The author is an expert on the topic/a researcher/a professor
The source has been peer reviewed
It has a bibliography/citations
It is written with proper grammar and wording
It is written in a way to inform you of information
What are “red flags” concerning the authority of a secondary source?
Writer doesn’t have good credentials in the field they are writing about
The source’s structure doesn’t make sense
The source’s grammar and wording is bad
The source is written in a way intended to sell you something (ads all over)
The source has no citations
The source is not peer reviewed
Who is Narmer? Why is he important?
The first Egyptian king
He united upper and lower Egypt and created a centralized government (of which he was in control)
Who is Imhotep? Why is he important?
Pharaoh Djoser’s most trusted advisor and chief architect
He designed and executed the construction of the first pyramid
Who is Djoser? Why is he important?
An ancient Egyptian pharaoh
He ordered the construction of the first pyramid
Who is Osiris? Why is he important?
The Egyptian god of the dead
He was one of the most important Egyptian gods
Who is Re? Why is he important?
The Egyptian sun god
He was one of the most important Egyptian gods
Who is Isis? Why is she important?
The Egyptian goddess of motherhood and mummification
She was one of the most important Egyptian gods
Who is Pakal? Why is he important?
A Mayan king
He had the longest reign of any Mayan monarch and oversaw the construction of many famous monuments, such as the Temple of the Inscriptions, which helped us learn more about Mayan religion
ONLY IMPORTANT THING: regarded as the greatest Mayan king
Who is Cha’ak? Why is he important?
The Mayan god of thunder, lightning, and rain
Who is Diego de Landa? Why is he important?
Spanish bishop
He ordered the burning of the Mayan codices because he saw them as being “superstition and lies of the devil,” making him the reason why only three or four codices remain in the world and why we know very little about Mayan culture and religion
Who is Hammurabi? Where is he from? Why is he important?
Dynastic monarch of Babylon
Mesopotamia in the 18th century
Established the Babylonian Empire and created one of the first legal codes, the Code of Hammurabi
Who is Confucius? Where is he from? Why is he important?
A popular tutor in the Zhou Dynasty during the Warring States Period
China
He was the first teacher of Confucianism, an ideology that he created and believed in
Who is Han Fei? Where is he from? Why is he important?
One of the people associated with the teaching of Legalism
China
Who is Huayna Capac? Why is he important?
Inca emporor
