The history of the world begins before the written word. Humanity's earliest ages can be divided into the prehistorical periods of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic ages. Agriculture will play the greatest role in dividing these three periods. With the Neolithic Period, or the "New Stone Age", people began settling down in villages and cities because they had developed ways to settle down and feed themselves with domesticated plants and animals.
Eastern Mediterranean 3500 BCE to 500 BCE:
Mesopotamia
The earliest area of civilization was Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was home to many firsts for humans. We have found evidence in Mesopotamia of the first city-states, written word etc. Mesopotamia gets its name from the meaning "The land between two rivers", because that is where it was, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what we would now call the Middle East. A good way to remember this is if you think of the word, hippopotamus. Hippopotamus means, "river horse". Mesopotamia Hippopotamus = River. One other name for Mesopotamia is the Fertile Crescent, because it was a crescent shaped piece of fertile land, good for the agriculture that they settled there for.
Now, Mesopotamia was not one big kingdom, it was actually made of several city-states with different rulers over time. Sometimes these rulers would go out and conquer other city-states. Major names for the city-states include Akkad, Ur and Babylon..
Because people could settle and grow enough food on the large scale that everyone didn't have to farm, Mesopotamia saw the rise of artisans and merchants. If people could get their food from trade, they had time to do things other than hunting and gathering like the did in the early stone ages. Some people became architects. Others scribes. Both of these groups used clay bricks for building and writing on because there was little stone and few trees available in Mesopotamia. The major structure at the center of every city-state was the ziggurat, a pyramid temple structure, different from Egyptian pyramids because it was designed for priests to enter the temple at the top while pyramids held dead pharaohs. Priests were high in power because everything in Mesopotamia was connected to their polytheistic religion. Scribes wrote with the first recorded language, cuneiform.
Cuneiform was used to write the first codified law system as well, Hammurabi's Code, which was all for eye-for-an-eye law, unless you were a member of a different class. Social classes set people apart.
Like, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt grew on a river, was polytheistic, had its own written language and was ruled by religious ideology. Ancient Egypt rose along the Nile River, which ran from South to North. Therefore, The Southern portion of the Nile was Upper Egypt and the Northern Part was Lower Egypt. The two kingdoms were eventually united by the possibly mythical pharaoh, Menese/Narmer.
Ancient Egypt's pharaoh was seen as a living god. His rule was absolute. Among the pharaohs, and there were many, there are a handful of notables. Ramses of course is known throughout Egyptian history. Tutankhamen is famous only because of the treasure trove found in his tomb. His father was more well known for having an impact on Egypt. His father, Akenhaten, changed Egypt to a monotheistic system, which led to many hating him and his eventual demise. Other pharaohs were radical as well. For example, Hatsheput, who was actually a woman, took the throne upon her husband's death and denied it to the son who was supposed to take over. She wore the clothes of a man and did what she wanted to the point that at her death, the new pharaoh had her name removed from as many places as possible to try and deny her an after life.
Egypt also had a rich language, the most well known written form was hieroglyphics.
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The Phoenicians
The Phoenicians made their mark on the world through their maritime (ocean/water) trade. Phoenicians made fortunes from purple dyes made from the shell fish where they lived. They also made money through trade around the Mediterranean. We are still impacted today by the Phoenicians by something you are using right now, the alphabet. Phoenicians developed the first phonetic alphabet, which evolved into what we use today. Notice how phonetic and phonics both share the sounds of the word Phoenicians.
Draw a timeline of the Hominids and Homo sapiens .
Explain what sets the paleolithic era apart.
Explain what sets the Mesolithic era apart.
Explain what sets the Neolithic era apart.
Compare and contrast the paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.
Describe Venus figurines. What is their significance?
Where was Catal Huyuk discovered? What is the significance of this settlement?
Define patriarchy and give multiple examples of it during Period I.
Describe the growth of urban life in Catal Huyuk.
Chapter 2: Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations Due: Tuesday August 28
Explain the significance of Gilgamesh. Give a brief description of this story.
Describe the geography of Mesopotamia. What about this geography made Mesopotamia so special?
What was the gift of the Phoenicians?
Illustrate a ziggurat. What was the significance of this structure.
Describe early Sumerian governments.
Describe Hammurabi's Code.
How did specialized skills come to be? How was this growth of specialized labor connected to trade?
Describe the development of stratified societies.
What was the first written language? Why was it created?
Outline the early histories of the Hebrews.
How did the Phoenicians gain power?
Where did Indo-European culture begin? What set it apart from other early River Valley Civilizations?
What gave the Hittites power?
Analyze the image on pg 48, remains. What can we learn about a society from human remains such as these?
Chapter 3: Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations Due: Wednesday August 29th
Read the "Eye Witness" section on making a mummy. How does the detail to preserving the human body give us insight into the Ancient Egyptian belief system.
How did climate change impact the development of agriculture in Africa?
What were the "gifts of the Nile"?
Analyze the Palette of Narmer on pg 55. What story is told in this image?
Describe the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Explain how the Hyksos effected Egypt.
How did the New Kingdom differ from the Old and Middle?
Outline social classes of Ancient Egypt.
Explain the significance of a culture's use of metallurgy.
Describe Egyptian writing.
What was the significance of the rule of Akhenaten?
Illustrate Bantu Migration.
Give a detailed description of Early Sub-Saharan African society.
Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia Due: Tuesday, September 4th
Compare and contrast Harappan Society to Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Give examples of the importance of the Indus River to Harappan, and eventually Indian, society.
Describe the decline of Harappa.
What is the significance of the Vedas?
What sources of information do we have about the Aryans?
Outline the caste system.
Describe Vedic religion.
Explain sati.
How did the Aryan and Dravidian cultures combine?
Chapter 5: Early Society in Mainland East Asia Due: Thursday, September 6th
What was the story behind the first Chinese dynasty? Include its name.
Upon which river did China begin?
Describe Shang politics.
What can we learn from the tomb of Lady Fu Hao?
Describe what makes the Zhou dynasty unique.
Explain the "mandate of heaven".
How did iron metallurgy impact Chinese society? Military?
Describe the social stratification of Ancient China..
Describe Chinese patriarchy.
What was the role of women in Ancient China?
How did oracle bones work?
Describe early Chinese writing.
Compare and contrast China to Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania Due: Thursday, September 6th
Create a chart to compare and contrast the political systems, religion, art, trade and societies of the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, Chavin.