WORLD HISTORY I SOL STUDY GUIDE
EARLY MAN
Hominids – Walk upright on 2 feet
First appeared in Africa
Paleolithic Age – Old Stone Age
Mary Leaky – Discovered Hominid named “Lucy”
Australopithecines – first known hominid
Homo Habilis – first to make stone tools
Homo Erectus – first to discover fire
Neanderthals – first to have burials and migrated to Europe
Homo Sapiens – name for modern humans
No written language but did have cave art
Nomads – moved from place to place, followed the food
Hunters and gathers – how they got their food
Neolithic revolution – developed agriculture
Egypt
Located along the Nile River
Cataracts – churning rapids along the Nile
Delta – broad, marshy, triangular area of land formed by silt
Menes – united upper and lower Egypt
Pharaoh – name for Egyptian God-Kings
Pyramids – used as a tomb for the pharaohs
Theocracy – belief that rulers are seen as gods
Mummification – process of preserving the dead
Hieroglyphics – Egyptian form of writing, written on papyrus
Huge influence on the Kush
Indus River Valley/Hindu religion
India is known as the subcontinent of Asia
Monsoons – seasonal winds and rain
Indus River is found in modern day Pakistan
Mohenjo-Darro and Harappa - major cities of the Indus River
Valley
Planned cities on a grid system
Plumbing was used for first time in a civilization
Invented the first ancient toilet
No explanation for how the civilization ended
Caste System – class structure of Hinduism: Brahmins(priest),
warriors, and peasants. Untouchables lowest of the low in
the caste system
Vedas and Upanishads – sacred writings of Hinduism
Mahabharata – great Epic of the Hindu people
Moksha – reaching enlightenment in Hinduism
Golden Age – height of culture under Gupta. Developed math
and the number system (zero)
Buddhism
Founded by Siddhartha Gautama also known as Buddha
Nirvana – the idea of reaching full enlightenment
Reincarnation – Individual’s sole or spirit is reborn
Karma – what you do in this life affects your next
Dharma – an individual’s moral duties
Four Noble truths – deal with suffering and overcoming your
desires in life
Eightfold Path – a Buddhist stairway to enlightenment
Phoenicians
Located on eastern shore of Med. Sea, Skilled sailors
Created the beginnings of the alphabet (phonetic symbols)
used today. Developed purple dye called murex from snails
Minoans
Located on island of Crete in Mediterranean sea.
Traders and skilled sailors, made pottery. Women held high
rank. King Minos – ruler of Minoans. Knossos – Major city
Minotaur – half man half bull monster of the Labyrinth
Early Civilizations
5 Characteristics of civilization:
1) Advanced City – people living together
2) Specialized worker – skilled at 1 thing
3) Complex institution – form a government
4) Record keeping – keep track of city info
5) Advanced Technology – new tools
Scribes – professional record keepers
Cuneiform – first form of writing in Sumer “wedge shaped”
Bronze Age – time when people began using bronze instead of copper and stone
Artisan – skilled workers
Ur – one of the earliest cities in Sumer
Ziggurat – Sumerian temple, used for priests to live, grain to be stored, ritual
sacrifices
Early River Valley Civilizations
Mesopotamia – “Land between the Rivers” area between the Tigris and Euphrates
Located in modern day Iraq
Fertile Crescent – Curved shaped area of the world from the edge of the Med. Sea
to Sumer.
Silt- rich, new soil that made soil perfect for farming
Irrigation – new technology for watering agriculture
Dynasty – series of rulers by a single family
City-State – a city and its surrounding lands
Cultural diffusion – process of spreading new ideas from one culture to another
Polytheism – belief in many gods
Sargon of Akkad – conquered the land of Mesopotamia
Hammurabi – created a code of laws, Babylonian
Ancient China
Located along the Huang He (yellow) River and the Yangtze River
Geographically isolated and protected by Himalayas, deserts and Pacific
Loess – yellowish silt used for farming
Chinese Writing – even though not everyone spoke the same dialect they could
still read it
Oracle bones – used by priests to talk to the gods
Mandate of Heaven – way to justify taking over and become ruler, divine right
Dynastic Cycle – the rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties
Qin Shi – dynasty that built the Great Wall of China to keep out the Mongols
Emperor Wudi – developed a civil service code for how government should work
Silk Road- trade route connecting china to Roman Empire
Chinese were known for silk, the compass, gun powder, porcelain and paper
Daoism/Taoism – individuals relationship with nature, ying-yang: opposing forces
Confucianism – respect for your elders and thrive from education
Worship of ancestors
Persian Empire
Controlled land from central Asia to Mediterranean Sea
Cyrus – king who showed tolerance toward people,
created an imperial bureaucracy where satraps (governors) would control parts of
the empire for the king
Zoroastrianism – religion emphasized good over evil. Zoroaster was the founder
of the religion
Royal Road – main road throughout empire for king to travel around to his vast
lands
Darius and Xerxes – father and son who both fought against the Greeks and lost
during the Persian Wars
Judaism
Located between Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea
1st monotheistic religion belief in ONE god.
Hebrews – name for those who follow the Jewish faith
Abraham – founder of Judaism led his people from Mesopotamia
Moses – led Hebrews from Egypt (Exodus) received the Ten Commandments from
god on top of Mt. Sinai
Covenant – Promise between god and man
Torah – Holy book of Judaism (1st five books of the Bible)
Ancient Greece
Geography is divided by Mountains which influenced the development of city-states.
Athens – life centered on education. Direct Democracy (citizens make laws)
Pericles led the Golden Age of Athens. Built the Parthenon to worship gods.
Reformers (people who made change) – Draco, Solon, Cleisthenes (democracy)
Sparta – life centered on military. Ruled by an oligarchy (group of leaders)
led 300 in the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persians
Persian Wars – fought against Persia (Darius and Xerxes) Battle of Marathon
Peloponnesian War – Athens vs. Sparta (led to downfall of Greece)
Trojan War – war fought to expand empire to the Black Sea…….or maybe a chick?
Delian League – created to bring all of Greece together to solve problems
Homer – wrote epics such as the Iliad and the Odyssey
Philosophers- great thinkers of Greece – Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Greek Columns – great architectural Design (Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian)
Alexander the Great- Expanded Greece (Hellenistic Period)
Alexandria became the center for Greece and the
spread of Hellenistic Culture
Islam
Originated on the Arabian Peninsula
Language spoken was Arabic
Religion founded by Muhammad
Moved from Mecca to Medina
Quran/Koran – Holy book of Islam
5 Pillars of Islam
- Declare Faith (no God but Allah)
- Pray 5 Times a Day (facing Mecca)
- Giving Alms (money to the poor)
- Fasting during Ramadan (can’t eat or drink)
- Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
Dome of the Rock – Islamic mosque (Jerusalem)
Battle of Tours – stopped Muslim advance in
the rest of Europe. Charles Martel led the fights
against the Muslims.
Saladin – Muslim leader who
Reclaimed holy land (2nd crusade)
Christianity
Origins of the religion are from Judaism
Jesus crucified by Romans (Pontius Pilate)
Bible – sacred book of the religion
Gospels – first four books of the Bible
Disciples – followers of Jesus (Peter and Paul)
Byzantium and Russia
Located in Asia Minor (Turkey)
Capital was Constantinople
Justinian – Emperor who created code of laws
Artwork – mosaics(broken glass) Icons (religious pics)
Great Schism – split of the church
Eastern Orthodox Church – New religion that didn’t
recognize pope’s authority
Hagia Sophia – Orthodox church in Constantinople
Saint Cyril created the Cyrillic Alphabet to translate
the Bible into Russian
Ancient Rome
Located in the center Italian Peninsula. Tiber and Po River. Alps Mountains to the North
Language was Latin
Roman Mythology influenced the names of the planets.
Patricians – Upper class Citizens
Plebeians – Lower class citizens
Timeline of Roman Government - Monarchy, Republic, Empire, Decline
During the Republic – Consuls (head of Gov.) Senate (most powerful) Assembly (Plebeians)
- Representative democracy, used the Forum to discuss making laws
Julius Caesar – declared himself absolute ruler, killed by the senate
Triumvirate – group of three leaders of Rome (first and second)
Augustus Caesar – First Roman Emperor, senate declares absolute power for life!
Punic Wars – fought between Rome and Carthage (N. Africa)
Hannibal - Led Carthage Scipio – Led Rome
Pax Romana – 200 years of peace and prosperity in Rome
Twelve Tables - Rome’s written code of laws
Pope – head of the Catholic Church, much power in Rome
Coliseum – Gladiator fights
Circus Maximus - Chariot races
Aqueducts – built to bring water into the city (used the arch)
Middle Ages
Also known as the Dark Ages of Europe
Feudal System – Gov. based on land. Structure: Kings, Lords, Vassals, Serfs
Germanic Invaders - Vikings (Scandinavia) Anglo-Saxons (England)
Magyars (Hungary) Franks – most powerful Germanic Tribe
Charlemagne – Holy Roman Emperor
ENGLAND
William the Conqueror – united England
Magna Carta – document which gave some rights and limited King’s power
Hundred Year’s War – fought between England and France over land
FRANCE
Joan of Arc – French peasant girl whose visions helped lead France to
victory
SPAIN
Ferdinand/Isabella –to rid Spain of Muslims (Reconquista)
Inquisition – people accused of Heresy(against the Church)
RUSSIA
Ivan the Great – conquered the Mongols
Crusades – started by Pope Urban II to reclaim the holy land of Jerusalem
Richard the Lionhearted – led many of the crusades against the Muslims
Black death (bubonic plague) – led to population decline across Europe
killing millions. Plague brought over by fleas from rats along the trades
routes of Asia.
Renaissance
Machiavelli – wrote “The Prince” about government support of
absolute power and how to rule by fear!
Humanism – philosophy that believes in worth of a person
Petrach – father of Humanism
Gutenberg - created the printing press. First printed the Bible
ART
Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa and Last Supper
Michelangelo – the “David” and painted ceiling of Sistine Chapel
Japan/Africa/Mesoamerican Civilizations
JAPAN (series of Islands – archipelago)
-Influenced by China Shinto - state religion Tori – Shinto shrine
AFRICA
Axum - East Africa (Christian city) Zimbabwe – Southeast Africa
Ghana/Mali – traded gold and salt Timbuktu – trade center of Mali
MESOAMERICA (worshipped Sun, had calendars, math, sacrifices)
Mayans - Central Mexico Chichen Itza – sacred pyramid
Life revolved around trade and agriculture
Aztecs – Central Mexico, near Mexico City. Tenochtitlan capital city
Life focused agriculture and warfare
Incans - Andes Mountains of South America (Peru)
Machu Picchu – city in the mountains
Used terrace farming