World History I Flashcards
What happened in 8000 BCE
Agricultural Revolution
What happened in 1517
Protestant Reformation
How were groups managed before 8000 BCE
kinship groups
How were groups managed after 8000 BCE
Religion, Military, Law, Monarch, Economics/Debt
How do historians think (exam 1)
Change over time
How do historians think (exam 2)
Origins of our republic
How do historians think (exam 3)
History through the eyes of religion
How do historians think (exam 4)
State building
How did humans conquer the planet
Adaptation
What are some crisis humans have and will face
Disease, war, climate change
When did Hominids emerge
5 million years ago
When did more humans live in cities than in other places
2008
How did humans become dominant
Weakness forces adaptation
What adaptations allowed humans to become dominant
Graceful frame for endurance, pack hunting/groups of 15-60, omnivorous, tool use, technology, fire
What does Jared Diamond say the worst thing to happen to the human race
The agricultural revolution, it has made our diets more and more restricted
What are the 4 things needed to have evolution
- There must be an inheritable trait
- One trait must be advantageous
- Random mutation must happen
- Variations in the inheritable trait must exist
What does fire allow
Cooking meat which gets parasites out of meat allowing easier digestion which also means less calories spent on it so there are more to use on developing our brains
What happened between 30,000 to 8,000 BCE
Hunter-gatherers organized
What did the organization of hunter-gatherers allow
Tribes, hunting bands, gender specialization
What did gender specialization during the hunter-gatherer period mean
Women would gather food like berries while men hunt, women more efficient. Women would nurture as per their role assigned by sex
What does Jared Diamond say about men and women in the hunter-gatherer period
This was the only time men and women were seen as equal
What did Venus of Willendorf symbolize
Fertility and emphasizes milk production, her cap could mean clothes were already being woven
What kind of lifestyle did hunter-gatherers live
A nomadic lifestyle because they had to follow their food
How did the Neolithic Revolution spread
Through violence, making tools means they can make weapons and more resources lead to larger population
Why did hunter-gatherers lose to farmers
They had tools, a larger population, diseases (farmers build immunity while hunter-gatherers do not), and farmers change the environment
Where did the Neolithic Revolution begin
Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Jericho, Catal Huyuk, and flood retreat farming with hunter-gatherer-farmers
What was an important technological advancement for farming
Scratch plowing, allows plants to grow without other plants taking their nutrients
What was a Judas animal
A domesticated animal that would be let out into the wild to be with other animals, then they would call it back
How did the agricultural revolution affect the hunter-gatherer world
Bathroom habits formed (hunter-gatherers moved enough so that it didn’t matter), disposal of dead animals, disease became a regular part of life, homogenization of languages (sharing of languages)
What was the impact of the agricultural revolution
Population growth (more calories, immune to diseases, and living in one place causes this), health improved, religion (Gods began to live in the sky as that’s where their nutrients came from)
Who is the Greek God of history
Clio
How was law based at the beginning of complex society
Kin based, parents would be punished for things their children did, now laws are individual based
How were people controlled in early society
Religion, law, military, rise of a king (or powerful leader), economics/debt
How did economics control people in early society
Debt would keep people from uprising as they had to worry about paying them off
What does imperialism mean in early society
A spreading of culture, whereas culture is things passed on by non-genetic means
Where was Mesopotamia
Between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
What civilization did Mesopotamia give us
Sumer, the oldest one in the world
When did Sumer arrive
3,500 BCE
What was invented in Sumer
Whell, plow, writing, levees and canals, beer
What kind of writing did Sumer come up with
Cuneiform and Sexagesimal numbering (base 60)
What was religion like in Mesopotamia
Religion kept chaos away, polytheistic (fresh water, sky, storms), anthromorphic (look like humans), vague and gloomy afterlife (make life count)
What were ziggurats
Religious tower in stages with a chamber on top (Mesopotamian)
What was the Hammurabi Code
The Mesopotamian law, basically eye for an eye instead of execution
What was the significance of the Hammurabi Code
The first attempt to order relations by law and made possible appeals to a specific penalty
How were Mesopotamian leaders chosen
by god
How were classes in Mesopotamian society
Few privileged, 50% commoners, bottom layer is enslaved
How was slavery different in Mesopotamia when compared to the recent past
Freedom could be gained through marriage to a free person and one could purchase freedom
What were the Civil War years
1861-1865
What could women do in Mesopotamia that was historically unusual
They could own property and get dowry back
What was different about the Nile when compared to the Tigris Euphrates
It is more predictable
What could women do in Mesopotamia that was historically unusual
They could own property and get dowry back
What does being a more predictable river mean for people around the Nile
Cities and farms could be right next to the river instead of building levees and canals
What does being a more predictable river mean for people around the Nile
Cities and farms could be right next to the river instead of building levees and canals
What is flood retreat farming
Planting crops on fresh topsoil after the water has receeded
What does being a more predictable river mean for people around the Nile
Cities and farms could be right next to the river instead of building levees and canals
What does being a more predictable river mean for people around the Nile
Cities and farms could be right next to the river instead of building levees and canals
What are Cataracts
Rapids, shallow water
What do the cataracts in the Nile do to the societies in Egypt
It isolated people as they could not bring ships through them
How was Egypt isolated
There was the East and West
What did isolation do to the societies in Egypt
The societies could not attack each other as much
What was Egypt’s religion like
Pharaohs were gods, so polytheistic and explains mummification along with pyramids
How do we know this
Hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone
What did the Rosetta Stone have on it
Three texts, one of which Greek allowing the other two which were hieroglyphics to be solved, it was a royal
What did Akhenaton bring to Egyptian religion
Monotheism, one god, in an attempt to gain power
What did Akhenaton bring to Egyptian religion
Monotheism, one god, in an attempt to gain power
Why isn’t Akhenaton considered the person to bring along monotheism
Monotheism did not stand
What did King Tutankhamen
Reversed Akhenaton’s monotheism, restored pantheism
What must religion be to work
It can’t imposed from the outside, must resonate with experience
Who was Robert Sapolsky
A Neurobiologist who understands why Christians are Christians but doesn’t agree with them
What did the Hebrews change
Religion became monotheistic
What is and who brought the idea of ethical monotheism
A religion where behavior matters and the Hebrews brought it
What does Pistos mean
Greek that translates to ‘faith,’ the first three letters come from the Greek word meaning ‘to unite’ with God
What do Christians, Jews, and Muslims share
The same God
Who were the patriarchs to the Hebrews
Abraham, Issac, and Jacob
What kind of lifestyle did the Hebrews live
They were nomads, ‘People of the Tent’
Where did Abraham go
Ur to Syria to Palestine to Egypt in 1800ish BCE
What happened to the Hebrews in Egypt
They became slaves until they were led out by Moses in 1200ish BCE
Why did slaves in the recent past want to learn how to read
So they could read about Moses and the Exodus and how those slaves got out of Egypt, comparable to what they were going through
What was Moses’ Covenant
The Ten Commandments
What did Moses do with the Hebrews
The Exodus, leading the Hebrews out of Egypt
Who led Israel and what was the capital
Saul, David, and Solomon led and the capital was Jerusalem
How did Israel split
Israel in the North with ten tribes and Judah in the south with two tribes
Who was Israel’s monarchy set up under
David
Who built the temple in Jerusalem
Solomon
Who defeated Israel
The Assyrians, also destroying it in 722 BCE
Where were the Assyrians before they defeated Israel
Land North of Mesopotamia
How did the Assyrians control society
They used intimidation and cruelty, possibly even inventing crucifixion
Who defeated the Assyrians and when
The Babylonians defeated them in 587 BCE
Who defeated the Babylonians
The Persians defeated them
Who was Persia’s first ruler
Cyrus, he annexed Mesopotamia, Assyria, all the way to India
Who was Cyrus’ first son and what did he do
Dairus, he created Persepolic to rule the empire along with the Royal Road
What can the Royal Road be compared to
The US interstate system to move the military during WW2
How was Persia governed by
Districts were ruled by a Satrap, a leader similar to a king
How was Persian society ordered
Warrior nobility was on top, then a priestly group, and then everyone else
What was the Persian’s religion
Zoroastrianism, which could have inspired Christian dualism
Who was Ahura Mazda
The Zoroastrian god of good (or light)
Who was Angra Mainya
The Zoroastrian version of satan
What are the Four Great Revolutions in Thought and Religion
Chinese philosophy, Indian religion, Hebrew religion, Greek philosophy
When were the Four Great Revolutions in Thought and Religion
800-300 BCE
What was Chinese philosophy’s main goal
It would tell people how to live harmoniously
What was the Chinese worldview
That heaven and earth are one and that China is the celestial kingdom
What does philosopher mean
Lover of wisdom
What did Confucius want
Unbroken social harmony from monarch to the individual
What were the three major schools of thought in Chinese philosophy and what are the about
Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, all are about living life harmoniously
What was Confucius other than a philosopher
He was a teacher, so he never created anything new
What are the Analects
Sayings that Confucius would use that his followers collected
“I would not want to do to others what I do not want them to do to me”
Confucianism
“Nowadays, for a person to be fillial means no more than that he is able to provide his parents with food. Even dogs and horses are provided with food. If a person shows no reverence, where is the difference?”
Confucianism
“Observe what a person has in mind to do when his father is alive, and then observe what he does when his father is dead. If, for three years, he makes no changes to his father’s ways, he can be said to be a good son”
Confucianism
“It is necessary that the ruler order and the subject obey the father be kind and the son dutiful, the elder brother loving and the younger repectful, the husband be harmonious and the wife gentle, the mother-in-law kind and the daughter-in-law obedient-these are things in ritual”
Confucianism
In Confucius’ mind, what do people have
People have responsibilities
What is different in Taoism when compared to Confusianism
Taoism offers a relief from responsibilities
What is one way to sum up Taoism
If you are one with the universe, all else will follow. Or go with the flow
What are the two principles of Taoism
Any action pushed to the extreme generates an opposite response. Too much government is as bad as too little government
“Govern a large state as you would cook a small fish”
Taoism
Who founded Taoism
Lao-Tse (604 BCE - 531 BCE) a contemporary of Confucius
“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill”
Taoism
“Keep sharpening your knife, and it will blunt”
Taoism
“Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench”
Taoism
“Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner”
Taoism
“Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity”
Taoism
What was a way to sum up Legalism
Ending crisis needed a strong state and a united country, people are fundamentally “depraved, selfish, greedy and lustful”
What was Indian religion about
Existence is an endless cycle (or actually only 7 cycles)
Why did Indian religions stop using animal sacrifices
Peasants could not practice the religion because they didn’t have the means for it, so the religion becomes more about gaining power through knowledge
What was a Upanishad
Something like a priest for the Indian religions
What was the Upanishadic worldview
They placed a premium of knowledge over ritual, religion is not something you do but something you believe. Immortality is defined as escape from existence itself, however, existence is an endless cycle
What is the first answer to the endless cycle
Dharma which ends in rebirth in heaven
What is Dharma
The right order of things which the layperson can participate in. We have responsibility for our station in life.
What is the goal in Dharma
Do things that acquire merit and avoid things that bring evil consequences, which will bring rebirth in heaven.
What is the second answer to the endless cycle
Moksha, any action is counterproductive because it generates karma which means more rebirth.
How does one achieve Moksha
Withdrawing from society. The goal is to escape all rebirth, so Moksha is permanent
What does India give us
Hinduism as well as Buddhism, but Buddhism is it’s greatest contribution to the world
Who is Siddhartha Gautama
He was a leader who saw a sick man, a dead man, and an old man and has an epiphany about the Four Noble Truths and became the Buddha
What are the Four Noble Truths
- All life is suffering, no matter how happy you are, it will end.
- The source of suffering is desire.
- You have to end desire to end suffering.
- To end desire you have to follow the 8 fold path
How many cycles does Buddhism have
7 cycles
What is Samsara
The Buddhist endless cycle
What is Karma
Every action has its effect sooner or later
What was important about Hebrew religion
It brought the idea that religion could have one all-powerful god to rule the universe
Who was Abraham
The patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam who lived around the 2nd Millennium BCE
What do the Hebrews link god to
History
Who was Moses
He led people out of Egypt into Palestine and epitomizes a special relationship with the Ten Commandments, lived around the 2nd Century BCE
Who defeated Israel in 722 BCE
The Assyrians defeated the North
Who defeated Judah in 562 BCE
Babylonia destroys the South and the temple
Who defeated Judah in 562 BCE
The Babylonians defeated the South and the temple
After the Jews rebuild the temple, who destroys it a second time and when
Rome destroys it in 70 CE
What is the consequence of the Romans destroying the temple the second time
Jews start to think about ways to worship god without a temple, becoming “People of the Book”
What is Israel defined by
A shared religious faith, which is extremely new at the time
What is important about Greek philosophy
How it focuses on and brings the rational investigation of the universe forward
What does Stephen Hawkins agree with Greek philosophy on
That there could be a god but that belief is not needed to understand the universe
What gods did many Greeks worhsip
They worshipped Zeus, Hera, Poseidon as well as other ones