Mrs. Osborn's APWH Cram Packet

Overview of Historical Periods

• Period 1: Technological & Environmental Transformations

  • Up to 600 B.C.E.
  • Chapters 1-3 (5% of the APWH Exam)

• Period 2: Organization & Reorganization

  • 600 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.
  • Chapters 4-9 (15% of the APWH Exam)

Importance of Climate in Settlement

• Climate determined agricultural and livestock viability.

Time Periods and Civilizations

Paleolithic Age

• Circa 12,000 BC
• Nomadic lifestyles

Neolithic Age

• Circa 12,000 BC to 8000 BC
• Development of communities and early civilizations

River Valley Civilizations

• Circa 3500 to 1500 BC
• Shared characteristics:
  • Complex irrigation systems
  • Legal codes, money,
  • Art, literature, scientific knowledge
  • Intensified social inequality

Classical Civilizations

• Circa 1000 BC to 600 CE
• Major Civilizations: Zhou and Han China, Greece, Rome, Gupta Empire

Early River Valley Civilizations

Mesopotamia (By 3500 BCE)

• Culture: Cuneiform, trade, astronomy
• Political: City-states, warrior kings, Hammurabi's Code
• Social: Social classes, marriage contracts

Egypt (By 3000 BCE)

• Culture: Decorative arts, hieroglyphics
• Political: Divine kingship, stable government
• Social: Priests high status, women had some rights

Indus Valley (By 2500 BCE)

• Culture: Undeciphered writing, trade
• Political: Centralized, grid cities
• Social: Priests high status, class distinctions

Shang China (By 1700 BCE)

• Culture: Oracle bones, bronze tools
• Political: Centralized emperor power
• Social: Patriarchal society, social classes

Meso and South America (By 1200 BCE)

• Olmecs and Chavin
• Culture: Astronomy, religious rituals, art
• Political: Unification, city-states
• Social: Priests high status, agriculture

Common Features of Classical Civilizations

• Patriarchal family structures
• Agriculture-based economies
• Complex governments
• Expanding trade bases

Comparisons of Classical Civilizations

Greece (800-300 BCE)

• Culture: Education, philosophy, art
• Political: City-states, democracy in Athens
• Social: Social status tied to land and culture

Rome (500 BCE - 476 CE)

• Culture: Military, engineering, architecture
• Political: Republic and Empire phases
• Social: Slavery, division between patricians and plebeians

China (500 BCE - 600 CE)

• Culture: Confucianism, technological advancements
• Political: Mandate of Heaven, centralized government
• Social: Scholar gentry, class divides

India (1000 BCE - 550 CE)

• Culture: Hinduism and Buddhism
• Political: Fragmentation, Mauryan & Gupta Empires
• Social: Caste system, decline in women's status

Trade Routes

• Silk Road: Connected China with the Mediterranean
• Indian Ocean Trade: Water routes linking major civilizations
• Saharan and Sub-Saharan Trade: Linked Africa with the Mediterranean and Asia

Fall of Civilizations

Similarities

• Attacks from the Huns
• Political corruption and weak rulers
• Difficulties defending vast borders
• Epidemics and diseases along trade routes

Differences

• Gupta's reliance on regional alliances
• Rome's prolonged existence
• Different impacts of the fall on regions

Major Migrations

• Phoenicians: Maritime trade and alphabet
• Israelites: Monotheism
• Aryans: Caste system in India
• Huns and Germanic Peoples: Pressures on Roman Empire

Questions in World History

• Uses of "civilization" as a concept
• Connection vs. independent invention as sources of change
  • Civilizations often exchanged ideas through trade and contact.