Advanced Placement World History
The Ancient World: 8000 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E.
Human Origins through the First Civilizations
Instructor: Mr. Jeff Martindale
Phone: 512-594-1308
Course Website: http://jmartindale.weebly.com
Morning Tutorials: TTH 7:30 – 8:45 a.m.
Room: E206
Email: jeffrey.martindale@pfisd.net
Conference: Sixth Period
Afternoon Tutorials: MW 4:25 – 5:30 p.m.
Course Readings: Discussion of the assigned readings will be an important element of this class. You are
expected to read faithfully and thoughtfully participate in the class discussions and activities – your success
depends on it. Our primary text this year will be Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World, and is noted as
“Strayer” in the syllabus. An * indicates that the reading is in the Course Packet or was distributed
separately in class. To help you understand the lectures and prepare you to contribute in class, please
complete the reading assignments prior to the date for which they have been assigned (i.e., the reading for
September 17 should be read before class on September 17).
Class Schedule: The following constitutes the current plan for our schedule of readings and activities. The
inevitable interference of life and world events, as well as the intensity of student interest in particular topics,
unanticipated questions and discussions, school-wide events, and other surprises typically lead to unexpected
changes. Please be flexible as we adjust during the course of the unit.
M 8/25
Course Introduction and Syllabus Overview
Requirements and Expectations
Why Study History? Course Purpose
* What is World History? *
Geography Review
Cultural Literacy
Themes Introduction
W 8/27
Paleolithic Life: Big Geography and Peopling of the Earth
Signature Sheet & Student Interest Survey Due
Themes Practice
Visual Analysis: Cave Paintings, Rock Art, Venus Figurines, etc.
Reading Due: Strayer, pp. 11 – 26
F 8/29
Sophomore Class Meeting
TBD
M 9/1
Labor Day: School Holiday
W 9/3
The First Farmers and the Origins of Complex Societies
Reading Quiz
Themes Practice
Reading Due: Strayer, pp. 26 – 44
F 9/5
The Urban Revolution: Cities and Civilization
First Examination: Key Concepts 1.1 & 1.2 + Themes
Examining the Evidence: Harappan Riddles – Life in the Indus River Valley
Reading Due: Strayer, pp. 61 – 71
T 9/9
Social and Gender Hierarchies in the Ancient World
Geography Quiz
Document Analysis: “Be a Scribe,” Egyptian Love Poems
Reading Due: Strayer, pp. 71 – 75 and “Working with Primary Sources,” pp. xviii
TH 9/11
The Rise of the State and the Problem of Power
Writing Workshop: Essay writing in history classes
Document Analysis: Early Written Law Codes
Visual Analysis: Monumental Architecture
Reading Due: Strayer, pp. 75 – 80
M 9/15
Cultural Developments in the Ancient World
Reading Quiz
Document Analysis: Excerpts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Epic of Gilgamesh
Video Clip and Discussion: Egyptian Cultural Treasures
Reading Due: Strayer, pp. 80 – 90
W 9/17
Unit Examination and Timed Writing
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Other Important Dates
August 25: First day of school for students
August 26: First day packets are due in your sixth period class
August 29: Pep Rally Day and Sophomore Class Meeting in the PAC
September 1: Labor Day Holiday
September 3: Open House at 6:30 p.m.
September 12: IPR cutoff
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Advanced Placement World History
The Ancient World: 8000 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E.
Human Origins through the First Civilizations
Themes and Questions
1. The problem of evidence: What and how do we know about early societies?
2. The rise of complex societies and civilizations: What constitutes a civilization? How were early
civilizations organized?
3. The rise of the state and the problem of power: What led to the development of the first organized
states?
4. The erosion of equality: In what ways was social inequality expressed in early civilizations?
5. Culture as a Unifying Thread in Early Civilizations: What does the literature and art produced in this
period tell us about the societies that produced it?
Academic Vocabulary, Important People, and Key Terms
agrarian
diffusion
matriarchal
ancestor veneration
divine
matrilineal
animism
domestication
Mesoamerica
anthropomorphic
Dravidians
metallurgy
archaeology
egalitarian
migration
aristocracy
Epic of Gilgamesh
monogamy
artisan
fertility ritual
monotheism
Aryans
flora & fauna
monumental
Band
foraging
architecture
Bantus
frontier
Neanderthals
barbarian
Hammurabi
Neolithic Revolution
bas relief
Harappan Seals
nobility/noble
Book of the Dead
Hatshepsut
nomad/nomadic
bureaucracy
Hebrews
Olmecs
chiefdom
hierarchy
oracle bones
circa (c., ca.)
Hieratic Script
paganism
city-state
hieroglyphs
Paleolithic
civilization
Hittites
pastoral society
clergy
Hunter-gatherer
patriarchy/patriarchal
Code of Hammurabi
Ice Age
patrilineal
coerce
innovation
pharaoh
commodity
intensive agriculture
pictograph/pictogram
Cuneiform
irrigation system
polygamy
currency
kinship groups
polytheism
deity
Mandate of Heaven
pre-history
demography
matriarchy
public works projects
Maps and Geography
Afro-Eurasia
Anatolia
Atlantic Ocean
Arabia
Arabian Sea
Areas of early agriculture
Aryan Migrations
Babylon and Babylonia
Bantu Migrations
Bay of Bengal
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
Çatalhüyük, Turkey
Chauvet Cave, France
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push/pull factors
pyramids
Quipu
Rig Veda
rock art/cave art
rural
sacred
secular
scribe
sedentary
shaman
slavery
social stratification
specialization of
labor
state
Sumerians
syncretism
textiles
theocracy
urban
Vedic religion
Venus Figurines
ziggurat
Chavín
Early human migrations
East China Sea
Eurasia
Euphrates River
Fertile Crescent
Harappa
Himalayas
Indian Subcontinent
Indian Ocean
Indus River
Jericho
Lascaux Cave, France
Lower and Upper Egypt
Mediterranean Sea
Mesoamerica
Mesopotamia
Mohenjo-Daro
Nile River
Nubia
Oceania
Pacific Ocean
Pakistan
Persia
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Shang China
South China Sea
Sumer or Sumeria
Tigris River
Turkey
Ur
Uruk
Yellow River (Huang He)
Zagros Mountains
Dates
Appearance of modern humans in Africa
Early human migrations out of Africa
Neolithic Revolution
Çatalhüyük
Bronze metallurgy
Rise of Sumerian city-states
Development of Cuneiform
Decline of Harappan society
Bantu migrations
Introduction of iron metallurgy
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