ANCIENT STUFF: AROUND
8000 BCE TO AROUND 600
CE
Period 1 AP
World History
Notes
THE BIG PICTURE
 What are civilizations all about?
 How does change occur within a society?
 How are people impacted by, and how do they impact,
geography and climate?
NOMADS FOLLOW THE FOOD
 Basic needs – shelter and food
 Foraging Societies – hunters and gathers
 Pastoral Societies – taming animals
SETTLING DOWN: NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION
 “New Stone Age” or Agricultural Revolution
 Small, independent groups or communities
 Cultivation means staying in one place
 Water and good soil
 Domesticated animals
 Simple tools
 Ideas of property and ownership
 Once nomads started interacting with sedentary societies
through trade or conflicts, things started to get complicated
CONSEQUENCES OF AGRICULTURE
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Organized economies
Governmental structures
Religious organizations
CIVILIZATION
 Specialization of labor is key to civilization
IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE
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Farming villages
Diversion of water
Clearing land
Animals used for food, clothing, and labor
TECHNOLOGY
 Metal tools began replacing stone tools
 Bronze metal works
 Iron working
BIG, EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
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River valleys
Large land area
Large populations
Included:
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Mesopotamia
Egypt
India
China
MESOPOTAMIA
 “Land between the rivers” – Tigris and Euphrates
 Included civilizations of:
 Sumer
 Babylon
 Persia
 Fertile crescent
SUMER
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First major Mesopotamian Civilization
Developed Cuneiform
Trade and introduction of the wheel
Polytheistic - Ziggurats
BABYLON
 King Hammurabi
 Code of Hammurabi – set of legal code
 Babylon fell to other invaders: Assyrians, Medes, and
Chaldeans
 King Nebuchadnezar – rebuilt Babylon – architecture and
culture
 Fell to the Persian Empire
PERSIA
 Nile River Valley in Egypt to modern day Turkey and Greece to
Afghanistan
 Great Royal Road
OTHERS IN MESOPOTAMIA
 Lydians
 Coined money for trade
 Phoenicians
 Naval city-states
 Simple alphabet
 Hebrews
 Judaism
 Monotheistic
 God’s chosen people
ANCIENT EGYPT
 Nile River
 Pyramids
 Smaller towns
ACHIEVEMENTS
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Control flood waters
Drainage and irrigation systems
Construction
Hieroglyphics
trade
EGYPTIAN BELIEFS
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Polytheistic
Afterlife
Mummification
pyramids
WOMEN OF EGYPT
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Queen Hatshepsut – expanded trade
High status – many rights and opportunities
Subservient to men
More value after having children
SOCIAL STRUCTURE (PYRAMID)
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Pharoah
Priests
Nobles
Merchants and skilled artisans
Peasants (generated the most wealth)
FALL OF EGYPT
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Around 1100 BCE
Conquered by the Assyrian and Persians
Greeks occupied
Absorbed into Roman Empire
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (INDIA)
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Indus River system
Mountains allowed limited outside contact
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro – major cities
Strong central government
Polytheistic
Technologies: potter’s wheel, cloth
traders
ARYAN ARRIVAL IN INDIA
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Nomads from Caucasus Mountain regions
Horses and advanced weapons
Gave up nomadic lifestyle in the Indus Valley
Established their religious beliefs
 Reincarnation
 Vedas and Upanishads
 HINDUISM
 Caste system
EARLY CHINA (SHANG CHINA)
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Hwang Ho River Valley (Yellow River)
Agriculture surpluses led to trade centered civilization
Limited contact – traded with Mesopotamia
Believed they were the center of the world
FAMILY FOCUS
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Extended family important in most ancient civilizations
Patriarchal – led by eldest male
Gods controlled all aspects of live
Dead ancestors “middle men” to the gods
ZHOU CHINA
 Replaced Shang around 1100 BCE
 Ruled 900 years
 Mandate of Heaven – power as long as rulers governed justly
and wisely
 Feudal system in China
 King and nobles
 bureaucracies
BANTU MIGRATIONS
 Farmers of Niger and Benue River Valleys began migrating
south and east
 Things they took with them…
 Language
 Agriculture
 metallurgy
 Moved to lands of the nomads – nomads either joined in or
left
 Not all Bantu migrated
 Bantu left due to climate changes and the growing Sahara
Desert
 Jenne-Jeno – first city in sub-Saharan Africa
 Bantu are proof that not all human societies followed the
same path toward sophistication, and that urbanization
doesn’t always mean civilization
MESOAMERICA
 Two early civilizations: Olmec (Mexico) and the Chavin (The
Andes)
 Urban societies
 Polytheistic
 Developed similarly to other earlier civilizations in dif ferent
parts of the world
 Neither developed in a river valley - disproves the idea that
river valleys are necessary
CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS
 MesoAmerica
 Maya
 India and China
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Mauryan Empire
Gupta Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
Han Dynasty
 Mediterranean
 Greece
 Rome
MESOAMERICA – MAYAN CIVILIZATION
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Southern Mexico
City -states ruled by the same king
Pyramid builders
Hieroglyphics
Calendar system
Tikal – political center, 100,000 plus population
Polytheistic - ritualistic beliefs
 Cosmos into three parts
 Heavens
 Middle
 Underworld
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Warfare was to gain slaves not territory
No large animals- humans did the farmwork
Advanced agriculture – cotton and maize
Mayan calendar – based on a number system that included 0
INDIA AND CHINA
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The Mauryan Empire
Gupta Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
Han Dynasty
MAURYAN EMPIRE
 India
 Depended on trade
 Silk
 Cotton
 elephants
 Founded by Chandragupta Maurya – unified Aryan kingdom
into civilization
 Buddhism – nonviolence and moderation
GUPTA DYNAST Y
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Decentralized and smaller than Mauryan
Golden Age – peace and advances in arts and society
Math advances = pi, zero, and decimals
Arabic numerals
Hinduism dominate religion in India, reinforced the caste
system
QIN DYNAST Y
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Lasted less than 10 years
Strong economy based on agriculture
Powerful army with iron weapons
GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Empire – organized, centralized, and territorial
patriarchial
HAN DYNAST Y
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Trade along the Silk Road
Civil service based on teachings of Confucius
Government workers should be educations and well spoken
Invented paper, accurate sundials, calendars, use of metals
MEDITERRANEAN
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Greece
Rome
Beginnings of “western civilization”
Representative government
Contributed to art, architecture, literature, science and
philosophy.
GREECE
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Peninsula – Agean and Mediterranean Seas
Mountainous – not good for agriculture
Location aided in trade and cultural dif fusion
Replaced barter system with money system
Colonial nation – large empire
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Powerful military
Transportation
Communication
governance
GREEK CITIZENSHIP
 City -States (polis)
 Athens – political, commercial, and cultural center
 Sparta – agricultural and militaristic region
 Polis had 3 groups
 Citizens (adult men)
 Free people with no political rights
 Noncitizens (mostly slaves)
GREEK DEMOCRACY
 Open decision making- all citizens participated
 Draco and Solon – aristocrats that worked to create
democracy in Athens
GREEK MY THOLOGY
 Many gods
 Greek gods possessed human failings
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Anger
Drunkeness
Took sides
petty
 horoscopes
PERSIAN WARS
 United Greek city -states against Persia
 Two Greek victories
 Marathon
 Salamis
 Golden Age of Pericles – Greek era of peace and prosperity
GOLDEN AGE OF PERICLES
 Delian League- alliance against common enemies
 Philosophy and arts flourished
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Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
Drama- comedies and tragedies
Sculpture
Architecture
Homer
 Math and science
 Inspired European Renaissance and Enlightenment
TROUBLE FOR ATHENS
 Many city -states allied themselves with Sparta forming the
Peloponnesian League
 Peloponnesian War (431 BCE) – Spartan victory
 BUT Sparta was left weakened and vulnerable
 Macedonians invaded – but respected
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
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Macedonian king
Conquered Persian Empire
Greek empire expanded into Indus River Valley
Divided empire into 3 parts
 Antigonid – Greece and Macedon
 Ptolemaic - Egypt
 Seleucid – Bactria and Anatolia
 Adopted Greek ideas and spread them
 Hellenism- culture, ideals, and patterns of Classical Greece
 Greek/Macedonian empire started to crumble with the death
of Alexander the Great
 Romans to the west became a new world force
ROME
 Good geographic location
 Alps to the north
 Surrounded by sea
 Easy access to Northern Africa, Palestine, Greece, Iberia
ROMAN MY THOLOGY
 Polytheistic
 Many gods of Greek origin - renamed
ROMAN STRUCTURE
 Patricians (land owning nobles), plebeians (all other free men)
, slaves
 Representative Republic – Very similar to US
 Civil laws to protect individual rights
 Twelve Tables of Rome – Roman law code
 Social structure
 Pater families – eldest male
 Women did have influence within the family and could own property
 Slaves – better conditions in the city than the country
ROMAN MILITARY DOMINATION
 Carthage (North Africa) – Rome’s first enemy
 Punic Wars
 First to control Sicily – Rome
 Second – Hannibal attacked from the north using elephants, attack
on Carthage forces Hannibal back – Roman victory
 Third – Roman invasion of Carthage – Roman victory
 Rome continued expansion through the Mediterranean
 Fought the Macedonians (Greece) and Gauls (Iberia)
 All Roads Lead to Rome
COLLAPSE OF THE REPUBLIC LEADS TO
IMPERIALISM
 After Punic Wars – Roman influence around the world grew
 Restlessness in Rome
 Landowners begin using slaves from lands taken over
 Inflation – Rome’s currency losses value
 Political leaders fighting among themselves
 Power of Senate weakend
 First triumvirate – power shifted to Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar
 Second Triumirate – Octavius, Marc Antony, and Lepidus
 Octavius known as Augustus Caesar and became emperor
 Rome becomes capital of the Western world
 Augustus established
 Common currancy
 Civil service
 Secured travel for merchants
 Pax Romana – peace
 Groups within Roman Empire maintained their identities
 Hebrews
 Egyptians
 Arts, literature, architecture, science flourished
RELIGIOUS DIVERSIT Y
 Paganism was state religion
 Sacrifices to traditional Roman gods
 Christians persecuted and killed at the Colosseum, threat to
Paganism
 Christianity takes hold in Roman Empire after Augustus
 Religious tolerance – conquered territories allowed to keep
their faith
 391 CE – Christianity becomes of ficial religion of Roman
Empire
LATE CLASSICAL PERIOD
 Collapse of Empires/Dynasties
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Maya
Han China
Gupta Empire
Western Roman Empire
 Cultural dif fusion
COLLAPSE OF THE MAYA
 No one is exactly sure what happened:
 Disease
 Drought
 Internal unrest and warfare
 Began to desert their cities in the 800s CE
COLLAPSE OF HAN CHINA
 Xin dynasty seized throne using the Mandate of Heaven
 During Xin rule:
 Land ownership reforms failed
 Chaos in the economy
 Taxes
 inflation
 Famines
 Peasant uprisings
 Xin dynasty ended 23 CE and Han Dynasty back in power –
unable to recover back to former power the government
collapsed
 Regional kingdoms for the next 400 years
COLLAPSE OF THE GUPTA EMPIRE
 INDIA
 Invaded by the White Huns
 India’s culture (Hinduism and the caste system) survived the
Hun invasion, the empire did not.
COLLAPSE OF THE WESTERN PORTION OF
ROMAN EMPIRE
 Reasons for Collapse
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Internal decay combined with external pressure
Size of the empire
Expense of maintaining the empire
Weak leaders
 Diocletian, emperor, in 284 tried to fix problems
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Divided empire into two parts with co-emperors
Army under imperial control
Strengthen currency
Budget on the government
 Civil war erupted upon Diocletian’s retirement
f
 322 Constantine comes to power
 Built Constantinople
 Able emperor
 After his death empire divided again into east and west
 Eastern portion of Roman Empire thrived
 Western portion struggled
 Pressure for Attila and the Huns
 Visigoths sacked Rome in 410
 476, Roman emperor deposed
 Eastern portion of empire renamed the Byzantine Empire
CULTURAL DIFFUSION
 Trade routes successful
 Cultures, religion spread
 Silk Road – China to Roman Empire
 Pastoral communities provided protection, shelter, and supplies
 Disease traveled as well
 Black death, measles, small pox
 Religions spread
 Buddhism from India to East and Southeast Asia via trade routes
 Christianity spread into Mediterranean
MAJOR BELIEF SYSTEMS THROUGH
600 C.E.
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Polytheism
Confucianism
Daoism
Legalism
Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
christianity
POLY THEISM
 Up to 600 C.E. all religions except Judaism and Christianity
were polytheistic
 Gods played many roles in various regions of the world
 Center of art and architecture
 Grand works were dedicated to the gods
 Rise and fall of city -states was seen as drama on earth and in
the heavens between the gods
CONFUCIANISM
 Developed for the Chinese culture, practiced from about 400 C.E
on
 Confucianism is a political and social philosophy NOT a religion
 Focuses on 5 fundamental relationships
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Ruler – subject
Parent – child
Husband – wife
Older brother – younger brother
Friend - friend
 Values stressed
 Ren – humanity, kindness, benevolence
 Li – propriety, courtesy, respect, deference to elders
 Xiao – respect for family obligation
 Compatible with most religions
DAOISM
 The way of nature, the way of the cosmos
 Based on eternal principle governing the workings of the
world
 Advocated formation of small, self -suf ficient communities
 Counter-balance to Confucian activism
 Promoted scientific discovery
LEGALISM
 Practiced in China – Qin Dyanasty
 Peace and order were achievable through a centralized, tightly
governed state
 Didn’t trust human nature, advocated need for tough laws
 Two most worthy professions: Farming and Military
 Completed unification of China
 Completed the Great Wall of China
HINDUISM
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Practiced in India and Indian Subcontinent
One supreme force – Brahma
Polythesitic- gods are manifestations of Brahma
Life goal is to merge with Brahma
 Cannot be done in one lifetime
 REINCARNATION
 No sacred text, Vedas and Upanishads guide Hindus
 Religion AND social system (Caste system)
 Buddhism came from Hinduism
BUDDHISM
 Practiced in India, China, Southeast Asia
 No supreme being
 Four Noble Truths
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All life is suffering
Suffering is caused by desire
One can be freed of this desire
One is freed of desire by following the Eightfold Path
 Life goal is to reach nirvana – state of perfect peace and
harmony
 Rejected social hierarchies, so appealed to those of lower
rank
JUDAISM
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Practiced by the Hebrews
God selected a small group and made himself known to them
First monotheistic faith
Beliefs:
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Afterlife
Set of traditions and doctrines
Philosophy
Personal salvation
Awareness of unique relationship with God
 Humans task to honor and serve God by following Laws of
Moses
 Beginnings of Christianity and Islam
CHRISTIANIT Y
 Started with a small group of Jews, expanded through the
Roman Empire
 Based on Old and New Testaments of the Bible
 Believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God
 Forgiveness of sins is possible through the death of Christ
 Monotheistic
 By 200 C.E. most influential religion in the Mediterranean
basin
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIONS
 Farming tools
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Plows
Hoes
Rakes
Wheel
 Metal tools and weapons
 First civilizations developed at the same time as iron
technology
 Public works projects
 Irrigation
 Dikes and canals
CHANGES AND CONTINUITIES IN THE
ROLE OF WOMEN
 Women typically lose power as societies settle in one area
 Women’s freedoms depended on social class.
 Upper-class – restricted in public appearances
 Lower-class, peasants, slaves – worked outside the home
 Wearing of veils in upper -class women began in the
Babylonian Empire
 Rights of women dif fered by religions –
 Christianity and Buddhism considered women equal in ability to
achieve salvation and/or nirvana
 Hinduism – women not allowed to read the Vedas or participate in
prayers