Mr. Sullivan
AP World History
Name ____________________________
Date ___________________
Review – Periodization #1 – Technological and Environmental Tranformations to 600 B.C.E.
Review - Periodization #2- Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies, c. 600 B.C.E. to c. 600 C.E.
Key Terms:
Agricultural Revolutions
Hieroglyphics
Pastoralists
Christianity
Hellenism/Hellenistic Age
Monotheism
Polytheism
Caste
Hinduism
Mandate of Heaven
Varna
Hellenistc Age
Minoans
Polis
Third-Century Crisis
Mesoamerica
Bantu
Neolithic
Pharaoh
City-State
Judaism
Neo-Assyrian Empire
Zoroastrianism
Confucianism
Karma
Nirvana
Byzantine Empire
Hoplite
Myceneans
Roman Republic
Olmec
Foragers
Papyrus
Trans-Saharan Trade
Cuneiform
Mesopotamia
Persian Empire
Buddhism
Daoism
Legalism
Sati
Celtic Europe
Linear B
Pax Romana
Romanization
Chavin
You Should Be Able To:
1. Identify the regions of the world, as well as the key geographical features (both physical
and political) of the world
2. Explain how geography influences history as well as the movement of people and goods
3. Explain how historians work
4. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources
5. Explain how the man evolved from a hunting-gathering society to an agricultural society
6. Describe the relationship between geography and the development of civilization,
especially within Egyptian and Bantu society
7. Define civilization
8. Describe the social, political and economic structure of the Egyptians and the Bantu
peoples
9. Identify the cultural achievements that characterized life in the Neolithic period
10. Explain the role the environment and religion play in the evolution of Egyptian
civilization
11. Explain how a cosmopolitan civilization developed in the Middle East during the Late
Bronze Age, and what forms did it take
12. Explain how and why trade began across the Sahara Desert
13. Identify the factors that account for the substantial degree of cultural unity in Africa
south of the Sahara
14. Explain how some goods and ideas travel more easily than others
15. Describe how the Agricultural Revolution changed social and gender structures and
opened the door to the development of complex civilizations
16. Describe how and why Ancient Egypt evolved into a male-dominated society centered
around the pharaoh
17. Identify the empires to emerge in Mesopotamia and explain their social, political and
economic evolution
18. Describe why this region is often describe throughout history as a crossroads of trade and
culture
19. Identify the key geographic influences on the region and explain how this determined
where and how people lived and interacted
20. Describe the key characteristics and beliefs of Confucianism, Hinduism and Buddhism
21. Define the Mandate of Heaven and explain the dynastic cycle
22. Explain how early Chinese rulers use religion to justify and strengthen their power
23. Explain how imperial China evolved under the Qin and Han dynasties’
24. Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the Roman and Han
empires, and explain what the similarities and differences tell us about the circumstances
and character of each
25. Identify the historical forces that led to the development of complex social groupings in
ancient India
26. Explain how both the Mauryan and Gupta empires overcame the powerful forces
fragmenting India to unify the region
27. Explain how a Southeast Asia became wealthy and powerful by exploiting their position
on the trade routes between China and India
28. Explain the origins and evolution of monotheism (Judaism and Christianity) and analyze
the impact of Zoroastrianism on these belief systems
29. Describe how Mesopotamian civilization emerged, and what technologies promoted its
advancement
30. Explain how the Assyrian Empire rose to power and eventually dominate most of the
ancient Middle East
31. Explain how the civilization of Israel developed, following both cultural patterns typical of
other societies and its own religious tradition
32. Explain how the Phoenicians used trade and commerce to gain an important place in the
Mediterranean world
33. Describe how political structures changed and transformed the ancient Middle East
between 750 and 550 B.C.E.
34. Explain how the Persian Empire rose from its Iranian homeland and succeed in
controlling vast territories and diverse cultures
35. Identify and explain the cultural achievements that characterized life in the Neolithic
period
36. Identify and describe the civilizations to emerge in the Aegean world and explain the
relationship they had with the older civilizations to the east
37. Explain how the Phoenicians used trade and commerce to gain an important place in the
Mediterranean world
38. Describe the rise to power and influence of Carthage
39. Identify and define the distinctive beliefs, philosophies and arts of Greek civilization and
explain how and why they evolved in the Archaic and Classical periods
40. Explain how the Persian Wars and their aftermath affected the politics and culture of
Ancient Greece and Iran
41. Describe how Greeks and non-Greeks interacted and explain the development of new
cultural syntheses during the Hellenistic Age
42. Explain how Rome created and maintained its vast Mediterranean empire
43. Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the Roman and Han
empires, and explain what the similarities and differences tell us about the circumstances
and character of each
44. Explain the interaction between humans and the environment play in the development of
early civilizations in the Americas
45. Identify and explain proposed theories detailing how, when and why early man arrived in
the Western Hemisphere
46. Explain how the development of civilization in the Western Hemisphere differed from
that in the Eastern Hemisphere because of environmental factors and relative isolation
47. Explain how societies with complex political, economic, and social structures emerged in
the Western Hemisphere
Frequently Asked Exam Questions:
 Interaction of geography and climate with the development of human society
 Agricultural, pastoral and foraging societies and their demographic characteristics
 Compare and contrast two of the early civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley,
Shang, Olmec and Chavin
 Social classes are a major comparison topic
 Impact of agriculture on the local environment
 Political structure of each early civilization is an important point to understand
 Identify and discuss the diffusion of the major religious systems of the classical
civilizations
 Gender roles in each of the classical civilizations
 Development of iron metallurgy
 Compare how different political and cultural concepts spread
 Interregional trading systems
 Judaism is one of the major belief systems that is important to understand for success on
the exam
AP Exam Tip (Especially for Essays):
 You will need to be able to compare the political and social structures of two of the
following early civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, Shang dynasty,
Mesoamerica and Andean South America
 When looking at a long period of time, it is vital that you be able to identify significant
developments and explain how they initiated a new period in regional or world history
 Always pay attention to the social and gender structures of a particular society
 Be able to describe the basic features and origins of major religions, and note how they
shape society through their rules and expectations for men and women
 When asked to make comparisons, you will often be given several items and asked to
choose two to compare – many times there will be natural pairs among the choices – if
you can identify those you will have an easier time making direct comparisons
 Belief systems can profoundly affect a time and place because they often impact political,
social and gender structures – study not only the basic principles and characteristics of
different belief systems but, also the impact they have on government, social structure
and gender roles
 Pay attention to geographic characteristics of a region as they may help you recall political
and/or economic characteristics of that region or people
 Having a sense of chronology (as opposed to memorizing specific dates) can be helpful in
answering multiple choice questions as allow clues as to where to start and end your free
response essays (especially the CCOT essay)
 Imperial organization of ancient Persia
 Explain why people moved and the impact that those moves had on the region
 Understand the core ideas of Greek philosophy
 Social inequality and labor systems are major comparison topics
 Differences between empires like Rome and Han China are major comparison points on
the exam
 Understand the growth and expansion of classical empires
 Explain the formation of Christianity
 Understand the impact of technology on the growth of larger state structures
 Explain the decline and collapse of empire in Rome, India and China
 Understand the role of legal systems in the development of the Chinese bureaucracy
 Discuss the political structure of ancient China, but not specific dynastic transitions
 Understand the impact of philosophical systems and religions in the creation of social
systems and gender roles
 The Indian subcontinent is called South Asia on the exam
 It is best to focus on the impact of a technology (iron metallurgy) rather than on the
specific time in which it was developed
 Compare social hierarchies of all types, not just the caste system in India
 The teachings of Jainism are less emphasized than the major teachings of Hinduism and
Buddhism
 Overland trade routes (Silk Road & Trans-Saharan) are common essay topics
 Understand how specific ideas and knowledge, including religion, spread across overland
trade routes
 Specific inventions and technology, such as the stirrup and camel saddle may be tested on
the exam
 Ocean trade routes and overland trade routes are comparison topics for the essay
 The Bantu migration is an important comparison topic