Early Agricultural Societies
Mesopotamia (Tigris & Euphrates Rivers):
Social Hierarchy:
Zhou & Shang China (Yellow River):
Social Hierarchy:
Religion:
Religion:
Political Organization:
Political Organization:
Writing Systems:
Writing Systems:
Technology:
Technology:
Human-Environment interaction
Human- Environment interaction
Dynastic Egypt (Old Kingdom) (Nile River):
Social Hierarchy:
Indus Valley (Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro):
Social Hierarchy:
Religion:
Religion:
Political Organization:
Political Organization:
Writing Systems:
Writing Systems:
Technology
Technology:
Human-Environment interaction
Human-Environment interaction
AP World History Summer Project 2015
All parts of the summer project will be on the www.Bellaire.org
under summer assignments
FOLLOW DIRECTIONS EXACTLY AS WRITTEN!!!
Join the Edmodo group for information about AP World Summer Camp in August
Edmodo join code - b9batv
See Ms. Nocca in 305 or Mr. Peek in 307 with any questions
Register at the turnitin.com website. Go to "create a user profile" at top
right corner. Follow the directions after that. It will eventually ask for
the class ID and enrollment password: You will turn your four essays to
the proper folders at turnitin.com.
Class ID: 9955061
Password: APWORLD
(case sensitive)
Turnitin.com will verify that the work you turn in is your work alone.
Activity one: After reading the background information case studies and cartoons (below), write an 800 word* report (two
paragraphs) describing the hunter-gatherer societies of the Paleolithic Era, and the transition to farming people of the Neolithic
Era, discuss the following topics in your paper:
• Lifestyle, including diet and nutrition
• Invention of early tools, including simple weapons
• Understanding of how to make fire
• Social organization
• Development of oral language
• Art and its importance
*(800 words=1 page typed, Times New Roman font, single spaced, size 12, standard margins) Do NOT quote the information,
summarize only. Turn in your essay to www.turnitin.com before the first day of school.
Activity two: Read “Consequences and future of plant and animal domestication” by Jared Diamond (below) and write an 8001200 word summary (1-1 ½ pages typed, Times New Roman font, single spaced, size 12, standard margins)
o Explain why humans began to domesticate plants and animals, and how the species subsequently changed.
o Describe the reasons why so few species were suitable, and why certain areas became agricultural hearths.
o Finally explain the consequences of domestication.
Do NOT quote the article, summarize only. Turn in your summary to www.turnitin.com before the first day of school.
Activity three: Without the ability to translate their writing script, archaeologists today do not understand nearly as much
about the Indus River Valley civilization that flourished from 2600 to 1900 B.C.E., although the artifacts found there have
enhanced our knowledge of these ancient peoples. One mystery is what exactly happened to the civilizations of the Indus River
Valley. Mesopotamia and Egypt were later absorbed into a broader Hellenistic and later Roman cultural zone, but civilization
in the Indus River Valley instead disappeared. Study the map and read the articles “The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India”,
“Were they Copycats or Geniuses?”, “Environment and Technology: Environmental Stress in the Indus River Valley” and
“Did Aryans kill them or a depression?” Write an 800 word essay that addresses the following question:
What are the debates that center around the disappearance of this ancient civilization? (Include examples from the articles)
Do NOT go on-line and attempt to find any more information. Do NOT quote from the articles. Turn in your essay to
www.turnitin.com before the first day of school.
Activity four: Read the article below about the early Chinese dynasties. Using information from the article, write an 800 word
essay that describes the influence of the environment, religion, and gender, on the formation of the government of ancient
China. Again, do NOT look up additional information, use only what is provided. Also, do NOT quote from the articles,
paraphrase and summarize only. Turn in your essay to www.turnitin.com before the first day of school.
Activity five: Research the social hierarchy, religion, political organization, writing systems, and
technological aspects of the societies listed on the SNAPSHOT: Early Agricultural Societies. Describe each
aspect of the society using specific evidence - in one or two clear sentences. (SEE EXAMPLE of Olmec
Society.) Write VERY neatly in ink. Bring this chart with you on the FIRST DAY of school.
Olmec:
Social Hierarchy: An elite class emerged and owned articles made of obsidian, magnetite and jade,
while commoners dressed in simple flax or cotton cloth. Warriors were highly regarded and
commoners could rise in status through military prowess.
Religion: Temple mounds give evidence of a complex polytheistic religion where human sacrifice
was used.
Political Organization: There were city states ruled over by warlords; the colossal heads were
probably modeled on theses leaders. War and civil war were common. (Little is known.)
Writing Systems: There are carvings on some of the colossal heads that have yet to be deciphered.
Carvings are related to later Maya glyphs.
Technology: There were major urban settlements that had elaborate water and sewage systems.
Stone tools were intricately made, gold metallurgy but no other metalwork.
Human-Environment interaction: the Olmec used the rivers as transportation routes because the
thick vegetation made long distance land travel difficult. They also drained marshes for crop land
and may have begun to change wild maize into the corn of today.
When using the internet use http://scholar.google.com/ to get sources that are reliable (not
Wikipedia). Color each region and create a key.
On-line books: The mind of Egypt: history and meaning in the time of the Pharaohs By Jan
Assmann (search using scholar.google)
Mesopotamia before history By Petr Charvát (search using scholar.google)