EARLY MAN
Hominids – Walk upright on 2 feet—opposable thumbs
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
Early River Valley Civilizations
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
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
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
Phoenicians
Located on eastern shore of Med. Sea, Skilled sailors
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.
Knossos – Major city
Minotaur – half man half bull monster of the Labyrinth
King Minos – ruler of Minoans.
Women held high rank.
HINDU
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
Moksha – reaching enlightenment in Hinduism
Golden Age – height of culture under Gupta.
Developed math and the number system (zero)
Mahabharata – great Epic of the Hindu people
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
Fileal piety--respect for one's parents and ancestors.
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
Hieroglyphics were able to be interpreted
because of the discovery of the Rosetta Stone
Huge influence on the Kush People
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
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
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 over 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
Ancient Rome
Located in the center Italian Peninsula.
ROME—located on theTiber. Other major river the Po River.
Alps Mountains to the North
Social Structiure
Patricians – Upper class
Plebeians – Lower class
Timeline of Roman Government
Monarchy, Republic, Empire, Decline
Government Structure
During the Republic – Consuls (Two elected for a one year term)
Senate –only wealthy (Patricians)-- very powerful
Assembly—Tribunes --the poor (Plebeians)--had influence
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
Augustus Caesar – First Roman Emperor, senate declares
him absolute ruler 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)
Language spoken was Latin
Roman Mythology influenced the names of the planets.
Judaism
Israel
Located between Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea
1st monotheistic religion, belief in ONE god.
Hebrews – name for those who follow the Jewish faith
Moses – led Hebrews from Egypt (Exodus) received the
Ten Commandments from god on top of Mt. Sinai
Abraham – founder of Judaism led his people from
Mesopotamia
Covenant – Promise between god and man
Torah – Holy book of Judaism (1st five books of the Bible)
King Solomon—over taxed people to build temple, split
Israel into upper and lower (Judah).
King David—First King of a united Israel (Jews)
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
12 Disciples – followers of Jesus
Paul—changed his name from Saul (Hebrew Name)
Peter—Founded the church after he fled Jerusalem,
moved to Rome
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 (Spoke Greek)
Hagia Sophia – Orthodox church in Constantinople
Saint Cyril created the Cyrillic Alphabet to translate the
Bible into Russian
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 (THE HAMMER) Martel led the fights
against the Muslims.
Saladin – Muslim leader who
Reclaimed holy land (2nd crusade)
Middle Ages
Also known as the Dark Ages of Europe
Feudal System: Government based on land grants (fiefs).
Structure: Kings, Lords, Vassals, Serfs
Germanic Invaders Vikings (Scandinavia)
Anglo-Saxons (England)
Magyars (Hungary)
Franks – (France) Tribe
Charlemagne – Holy Roman Emperor
ENGLAND
William the Conqueror – United England
Magna Carta – document which gave some rights to the
people and limited King’s power
Richard the Lionhearted – led the third of the crusades
against the Muslims
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 –Rid Spain of Moors (Reconquista)
RUSSIA
Ivan the Great – conquered the Mongols
Moves the center of power in Russia to Moscow
Crusades
Started by Pope Urban II to reclaim the holy land of
Jerusalem
Inquisition – people accused of Heresy (speaking out
against the Church)
Muslim Leader
Saladin—led the Muslims in the second crusade, won
back Jerusalum—later negotiates a truce with King
Richard of England
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—people start to notice themselves and there
own bodies.
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)
Shinto - state religion Torii – Shinto shrine
Influenced by China
AFRICA
Axum - East Africa (Christian city)
Zimbabwe – Southeast Africa
Ghana/Mali – traded gold and salt (Muslim)
Timbuktu – trade center of Mali
MESOAMERICA-- worshipped Sun, polythesistic
Calendars, Math, Human 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
Terrace Farming
Quipu