Review Guide for World History Unit One Test
This is your study guide for your first objective test in 9th Grade World History. The
test will be multiple-choice. I know that it might scare some of you, but it shouldn’t.
We went over all of this material, and you know it well. In order to study for the
test, however, there are some steps that I would like you to follow.
1. Gather all of your notes, worksheets, handouts, assignments, etc. and put them in
order. For example, you will want to find all of your early Russia information (notes
we took, the artifacts assignment, etc.) and put that together. You should do the
same thing for the other major topics that we discussed.
2. Find all of the information that is listed below. For some of you, it may be enough
to highlight this information in your already existing notes, handouts, etc. Others of
you might need to make flashcards for this information. Others of you might want
to make new, more focused pages of notes. You need to decide what works for you.
3. Study…. By study I mean that you need to quiz yourself. Looking over your notes
is not enough! If you are using your original notes to study, you need to cover them
up and see how much you remember or have someone quiz you. If you are using
lists of words, cover them up and quiz yourself on each word. In order to do well on
a test, you need to test yourself over and over again.
4. Do ALL of the above before class on Thursday. This will allow you to ask
questions during our review. Don’t wait until the night before to prepare for this
test.
Early Hominids
Key Terms:
 Great Rift Valley
 Australopithecine
 Homo habilus
 Homo erectus
 Cro-Magnon
Key questions
 How do humans fit into earth history? Think about our earth calendar
activity when answering this question.
 What major advancement is associated with each of the early hominid
groups we studied?
 How do each of these hominids relate to modern humans? Are they
closely related? Distantly related?
Hunter-Gatherers versus Early Agricultural Settlements
Key Terms:
 Prehistory
 Paleolithic/ Old Stone Age
 Neolithic/ New Stone Age
 Hunter-Gatherer
 Agricultural Revolution/Neolithic Revolution
Key Questions/Tasks
 Be able to describe the major characteristics of hunter gather tribes.
 Be able to describe the major characteristics of early agricultural
settlements.
 Be able to compare and contrast hunter gatherers versus early
agricultural settlements.
 What major change marked the boundary between the Paleolithic and
the Neolithic period?
 What major advancement marked the boundary between history and
prehistory?
Early River Valley Civilizations
Key Terms:
 Civilization
 Cuneiform
 Scribes
 Ziggurat
 Mesopotamia
 Hammurabi’s Code
 Pharaoh
 Pyramids
 Monsoons
 Feudalism
 Mandate of Heaven
 Middle Kingdom
Key Questions/Tasks
 Know the major characteristics of civilizations according to the
textbook and be able to apply those characteristics to the civilizations
that we studied.
 Know the relative order of the major early river valley civilizations.
Which came first, second, etc.?
 Be able to describe the significance of writing in Sumer
 Be able to describe religious life in Sumer
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Know the geography of all four civilizations. Focus on which rivers
were associated with each civilization and on how each river system
impacted its associated civilization. For example, know that the Nile
River was central to Egypt, that it created a long, narrow strip of
fertile land in a desert, that it flowed from south to north, that its
flooding was predictable, etc.
Know the key inventions associated with each civilization
Be able to explain the central tenet of Hammurabi’s Code (An eye for
an eye)
Know the major geographic challenges and advantages for each
civilization. For example, how did the monsoons impact early
Harappan Civilization? Or which geographic features helped to keep
China somewhat isolated?
Hinduism
Key Terms
 Indo-Europeans
 Hittites
 Dravidians
 Aryans
 Caste System
o Brahmin
o Kshatriyas
o Vaishyas
o Shudras
o Panchamas/Untouchables
 Dharma
 Karma
 Atman
 Moksha
 Reincarnation
 Brahman
 Jainism
 Trimurti
Key Questions/Tasks
 How did Hinduism impact the relationship between the Aryans and
Dravidians?
 What are the major beliefs associated with Hinduism?
 How does the caste system function and how does it relate to the
central beliefs of Hinduism?
 Why did some followers grow frustrated with Hinduism?
Buddhism
Key Terms
 Siddhartha Gautama
 Four Noble Truths
o Dukkha
o Tanha
 Eightfold Path
 Enlightenment
Key Questions/Tasks
 Make sure that you can describe the major events in Siddhartha
Gautama’s life and how those events impacted the development of
Buddhism.
 Why did early Buddhists want to break with Hinduism?
 What are the major beliefs associated with Buddhism?
Judaism
Key Terms
 Monotheism vs. Polytheism
 Abraham
 Exodus
 Yahweh
 Canaan/Israel/Judah
Key Tasks/ Questions
 Be able to describe the early key events in the development of
Judaism.
 What are the major beliefs associated with Judaism?