8000 BCE-600 CE Review
Changes and Continuities
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Devon Parker
Intellectual/cultural:
-Around 10,000 years ago during the Neolithic age, humans began to cultivate
plants and domesticate animals in various parts of the world. Climate change is one
of the main reasons for the switch from food gathering to food production
-This time period in China led to the development of Confucianism, Daoism, and
Legalism
-Around 500 B.C. Celtic-speaking people from Central Europe began to spread
across much of continental Europe
-Well before 1000 B.C. newly domesticated plants, new technologies, and trade led
to greater social stratification and the beginnings of urbanization in Mesoamerica
and the Andean region of South America
-New ideas challenged traditional notions, leading to individualism, science, and
history
-Climate and resources led to Southeast Asia’s ability to support large human
populations
Religion:
-Throughout this time period, polytheism was quite prevalent and temples were
built for these various deities
-It was believed their gods were the forces behind violent acts of nature
-This period saw the development of new religions such as Jainism, Buddhism and
Christianity
Political:
-A Monarchy was the main form of government during this time period. The kings
that ruled had absolute power and were quite often seen as divine
-In China, rulers developed religious ideologies (oracle bone, divination, Mandate of
Heaven) to justify their monarchic systems of government
-This period saw the development of vast land empires such as the Roman and Han
that would ultimately become too instable to sustain
Social:
-Society throughout this time was generally divided into these three main parts: free
landowners and professionals in the cities, dependent peasants and artisans on
rural estates, and slaves in domestic service
-Women throughout this time period had little rights
Technology/science:
-Cuneiform writing was developed which came to have a wide range of languages
-A range of technology (metallurgy, ceramics, transportation, and engineering) and
sciences (mathematics and astronomy) were developed during this era
-The rivalry and conflict of Chinese states in the later Zhou era led to the rise of
bureaucracies, administrative experts, and more deadly forms of warfare
-Metallurgy originated in the Andean region and later spread to Mesoamerica
Economic:
-City-states, centered on cities that coalesced out of villages and controlled rural
territory, were initially independent but later were united under various empires
that helped to form trade routes
-Long-distance trade networks throughout this time period were based on metal
and expedited by the advent of horses and camels
Compare and Contrast Vince Torres
8000 BCE-600 CE
1. The cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia
a. Compare- Both Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt had a system of writing in order to
communicate throughout the empire.
b. Contrast- Egyptian society was mainly concentrated around the Nile River however
Mesopotamia was located from the Indian Ocean coast to Central Asia.
2. Christianity and Buddhism
a. Compare- Both religions had spread via missionaries. Christianity spread to Europe via
missionaries and Buddhism had spread to East Asia via Buddha’s followers.
b. Contrast- Christianity is monotheistic with only one god, and different saints, however Buddhism
had many gods and many interpretations of Buddha.
3. Mesoamerican and Early Chinese societya. Compare- Both societies were ruled by a king seen as appointed by god. In Mesoamerica the
ruler of each civilization was appointed by god. In China the mandate of heaven said that the
king was appointed by god to serve the people.
b. Contrast- The economies of both societies were fairly different. In Mesoamerica the economy
was mainly composed of agriculture and short distance trade. In China however trade consisted
of the production of consumer good and agriculture to be traded for long distances along the Silk
Road.
4. The ideals and spread of Confucianism and Hinduisma. Compare- Both religions were not mainly reserved for the upper classes. Confucianism served as
a central part of Chinese society fueling various Chinese ideals. In the Indian subcontinent
Hinduism spread to all the people of India (but it was different at all social levels. Varna system).
b. Contrast- The ideals of both religions were very different. Confucianism was closely associated
with formal social structure based on the idea of respect and education. Hinduism however was
more focused on the individual and ideas such as reincarnation and jati.
5. Caste System and Slavery in Mesopotamiaa. Compare- Both systems were composed of enslaving lower class groups who were
economically, socially, and politically disadvantaged. The Caste System gave many of the
intense labor jobs to the untouchables, and Mesopotamian slavery gave labor intensive duties to
prisoners of war.
Contrast- Both systems were different in that the Caste System targeted people of the same
society that were at the lowest point in the social hierarchy, but Mesopotamian slavery targeted
people of rival groups and prisoners of war.
6. Roman Civilization and the Byzantine Empirea. Compare- Both civilizations were economically developed with an established economy and
trading system. Rome concentrated most of it trade to kingdoms and regions bordering the
Mediterranean Sea. The Byzantine Empire had very critical points along the Silk Road
diversifying trade.
b. Contrast- The culture of both civilizations had differing aspects. Roman culture was very similar
in terms of religious views, traditions and customs. The Byzantine Empire was composed of a
mix of cultures that originated in Europe and the Middle East and later intermixed with those of
the Byzantine Empire.
7. Trade along the Mediterranean and Silk Road
a. Compare- Both trade routes were composed of extensive trade networks between very different
parts of the Mediterranean world allowing for the diffusion of culture, trading goods, and ideas.
b. Contrast- The geography of both trade routes were very different. The Mediterranean allowed for
quicker trade as it covered a smaller area that was mainly connected by trade ports. With
advancements in technology trading along the water became quicker and easier. The Silk Road
was composed of varying geographic areas such as mountains, deserts, and extensive trade.
Originally this made it impossible to travel the whole route making trade occur a lot slower
compared to the Mediterranean sea.
b.
8000 BCE-600 CE Timeline teddy Schroeder
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8000 B.C.E: New Stone Age-Earliest agriculture, characterized by the production of tools from stone
and other nonmetallic substances.
4500 B.C.E: Early agriculture in Nubia.
3500 B.C.E: Early agriculture in Mesoamerica and Andes.
3100-2575 B.C.E: Early Dynastic Period in Egypt-Includes the first and second Dynasties lasting from
the protodynastic period of Egypt until the beginning of the old kingdom.
3000-2350 B.C.E: Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia.
2600 B.C.E: Beginning of Indus Valley civilization.
2575-2134 B.C.E: Old Kingdom in Egypt-Period of internal security and prosperity in Egypt.
2350-2230 B.C.E: Akkadian Rule in Mesopotamia-Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in
history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants.
2134-2040 B.C.E: First Intermediate Period in Egypt-“Dark Period” in Egyptian history. Very little
monumental evidence from the period and was characterized by a divide between two competing power
bases in Egypt.
2112-2004 B.C.E: Third Dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia-Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of
Ur. One feature of Ur is its establishment of one of the earliest known law-codes.
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2040-1640 B.C.E: Middle Kingdom in Egypt- During the period, Osiris rose to dominate Egyptian
popular religion.
2000 B.C.E: Bronze metallurgy in China.
2000 B.C.E: Horses in use in Western Asia.
2000 B.C.E: Rise of Minoan civilization in Crete.
1900 B.C.E: End of Indus Valley Civilization.
1900-1600 B.C.E: Old Babylonian Period in Mesopotamia.
1750 B.C.E: Rise of kingdom Kush based on Kerma in Nubia.
1750-1045 B.C.E: Shang Dynasty in China- Ruled in the Yellow River valley.
1640-1532 B.C.E: Second Intermediate Period in Egypt-Period where Egypt falls into disarray for a
second time. Best known as period where Hyksos made their appearance in Egypt.
1532-1070 B.C.E: New Kingdom in Egypt-Egypt’s most prosperous time and marked the peak of its
power. Attained greater territory during this period.
1500 B.C.E: Egyptian conquest of Nubia.
1500 B.C.E: Early “alphabetic” script developed in Ugarit.
1200-900 B.C.E: Rise of Olmec civilization, centered on San Lorenzo, in the Americas.
1150-800 B.C.E: Greece’s “Dark Age”.
1045-221 B.C.E: Zhou Dynasty in China-Lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history.
During the Zhou Dynasty, the use of iron was introduced to China.
1000 B.C.E: Decline of Egyptian control in Nubia.
1000 B.C.E: Origin of Celtic culture in Central Europe.
1000 B.C.E: First settlement on site of Rome.
900-250 B.C.E: Chavin Civilization in the Andes-Located in Peru, extended their influence to other
civilizations along the coast.
712-66 B.C.E: Nubian Kings rule Egypt.
600 B.C.E: Iron metallurgy in China.
551-479 B.C.E: Life of Confucius-Famous Chinese politician, teacher, editor, and social philosopher.
550-530 B.C.E: Reign of Cyrus in the Persian Empire-Founder of Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule,
the empire embraced all the pervious civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and
eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia, parts of Europe and the
Caucasus.
500 B.C.E: Early Metallurgy in the Andes.
480-323 B.C.E: Greece’s Classical period.
480-479 B.C.E: Xerxes’ invasion of Greece.
480-221 B.C.E: Warring States Period in China.
431-404 B.C.E: Peloponnesian War- The war reshaped the Ancient Greek world. Athens, the strongest
city-state in Greece prior to the war’s beginning, was reduced to a state of near-complete subjection,
while Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece.
390 B.C.E: Celts sack Rome.
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323-30 B.C.E: Hellenistic Period-Considered period of transition, between the brilliance of the Greek
Classical era and the emergence of the Roman Empire.
300 B.C.E.-350 C.E: Kingdom of Meroe- Ancient civilization on the east bank of the Nile, marked by
more than 200 pyramids in 3 groups.
221 B.C.E: Qin emperor unites eastern China.
202 B.C.E: Han dynasty succeeds the Qin.
220 C.E: Fall of Han Dynasty.
235-184 C.E: Third-Century crisis in Rome.
320 C.E: Chandra Gupta establishes Gupta Empire- Peace and prosperity created under leadership of the
Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors.
550 C.E: Collapse of Gupta Empire.
570-632 C.E: Life of the Prophet Muhammad-Founder of the religion of Islam.
Vocabulary Kyle Harwood
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Paleolithic- the time period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans. It
predates the Neolithic period.
Neolithic – the period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient agriculture revolutions. It
happened to fallow the time period of Paleolithic.
Foragers- People who supported themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild
edible plants and insects.
Agricultural revolution- the change from food gathering to food production that occurred
between ca. 8000 and 2000 b.c.e also known as the Neolithic Revolution.
Megaliths- structures and complexes of very large stones constructed for ceremonial and
religious purposes in Neolithic times.
City-states- a small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding
agricultural territory. A characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Archaic and classical
Greece, Phoenicia, and Italy.
Sumerians- the people who dominated southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third
millennium b.c.e they were responsible for the creation of many fundamental elements of
Mesopotamia culture, such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious concepts, taken
over their Semitic successors.
Semitic- family of related language long spoken across parts of western Asia and northern
Africa. In antiquity these languages included Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician. The most
widespread modern member of the Semitic family is Arabic.
Monotheism- belief in the existence of a singe divine entity. Some scholars cite the devotion
of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten to Aten and his suppression of tradition gods as the
earliest instance. The Israelite worship of Yahweh developed into an exclusive belief in one
god, and this concept passed into Christianity and Islam.
Babylon- the largest and most important cit in Mesopotamia. It achieved particular eminence
as the capital of the Amorite kind Hammurabi in the eighteenth and the Neo-Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century.
Hammurabi- 1792-1750 b.c.e Amorite ruler of Babylon conquered many city-states in S. and
N. Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar,
illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases.
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Ziggurat- a massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mud bricks. It is associated with
religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamia cities.
Scribe- in the government of many ancient societies a professional position reserved for men
who had undergone the lengthy training required to be able to read and write using
cuneiforms, hieroglyphics, or other writing systems.
Pyramid- large triangular stone monument used in Egypt and Nubia as a burial place for kings
or upper class. This reflects Egyptians belief of proper and spectacular burial of the divine ruler
would guarantee the continued prosperity of the land and after life.
Papyrus- a reed that grows along the banks of the Nile. From it was produced a coarse, paper
like writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other people in the ancient
Mediterranean and middle east.
Pharaoh- central figure in the ancient Egyptian city state. Believed to be an earthly
manifestation of the gods, he used his absolute power to maintain in the safety and prosperity
of Egypt.
Hieroglyphics- A system if writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables,
or concepts. It was used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt. Because of
the long period of study required to master this system, literally in hieroglyphics was confined
to a relatively small group of scribes and administrators.
Mummy- body preserved by chemical processes or special natural circumstances often
believed that the deceased will need it again in the afterlife. In ancient Egypt the bodies of
people who could afford mummification underwent a complex process of removing organs,
filling body cavities, dehydration the corps with natron, and then wrapped the body with linen
bandages and enclosed it in a wooden sarcophagus.
Harappa- site of one of the great cities of the Indus valley civilization of the third millennium. It
was located on the NW frontier of the zone of cultivation and may have been a center for the
acquisition of raw material, such as metals and precious stones, from Afghanistan and Iran.
Loess- a fine, light slit deposited by wind and water. It constitutes the fertile soil of the yellow
river valley in N. china.
Mandate of heaven- Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the zhou
according to which it was the prerogative of heaven, the chief deity, to grant power to the ruler
of china and to take away that power if the ruler failed to conduct himself justify and in the best
interests of the country.
Zhou- people and dynasty that took over the dominant position in the north china from the
shang and created the concept of the mandate of heaven to justify their rule. The Zhou era,
particular the vigorous early period from 1045-771 b.c.e was remembered as a time of
prosperity and benevolent rule.
Daoism- Chinese school of thought, originating in the warring states period with Laozi. Daoism
offered and alternative to the Confucian emphasis on hierarchy and duty.
Confucius- western name for the Chinese philosopher kongzi 551-579 b.c.e. his doctrine of
duty and public service had a great influence on subsequent Chinese thought and served as a
code of conduct for government officials.
Yin/yang- in Chinese belief complementary factors that helped to maintain the equilibrium of
the world. Yang is associated with masculine, light, and active qualities; tin with feminine,
dark, and passive qualities.
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Olmec- the 1st Mesoamerican civilization between ca. 1200-400 b.c.e the olmec people of
central mexico created a vibrant civilization that included intensive agriculture, wide range
trading, and monumental construction.
Chavin- 1st major urban civilization in S. American 900-250b.c.e
Hatashepsut- queen of Egypt from 1473- 1458 b.c.e. she dispatched a naval expedition to
punt the faraway source of myrrh. There is evidence of opposition to a women as ruler, and
after her death her mane and image were frequently defaced.
Akhenaten- Egyptian pharaoh 1353-1335 b.c.e he built a new capital at Amarna, fostered a
new style of Naturalistic art, and created a religious revolution by imposing worship of the sundisk.
Shaft graves- a term used for the burial sites of elite member s of Mycenaean Greek society
in the mid- second millennium at the bottom of deep shafts lined with stone slabs, the bodies
were kaid out along with gold and bronze jewelry, implements, weapons and masks.
Ramesses II- a long lived ruler of new kingdom Egypt 1290-1224 b.c.e. he reached an
accommodation with the of Anatolia after a standoff in battle at Kadesh in Syria. He built on a
grand scale throughout Egypt.
Maps Adam Land
This map shows the spread of agriculture from 8,000 to 500 BCE that occurred during the agricultural revolution.
This map shows the various dynasties that controlled china from 1500 BCE to 220 CE.
The Hellenistic kingdoms at around 200 BCE, these were countries were the remnants of alexander the greats
empire.
This is the map of the Mauryan Empire from 250 CE.
In the ninth century BCE the Greeks and Phoenicians began to explore the coastal areas of the Mediterranean,
trying to access valuable raw materials and trade opportunities.