World History I “probable” SOL Facts to study
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Humans originated from Africa (Lucy found in Eastern Africa)
Migration is the movements of people from one place to another
Paleolithic = Old Stone Age / Neolithic = New Stone Age
Archaeologists are people who study earlier peoples and artifacts
The first permanent human settlements revolved around river valleys
The term Cradle of Civilization refers to river valley civilizations where agriculture
(farming) centers came into existence
7) A civilization is a complex society with advanced knowledge of farming, trade, art &
government
8) Egyptians developed the form of writing known as hieroglyphics
9) Pyramids were built as tombs for Pharaohs (Kings) of Egypt
10) The Phoenicians contributed the alphabet to civilization
11) PGLE = order of development of English language Phoenician/Greek/Latin/English
12) The two major rivers in Mesopotamian society were the Tigris & Euphrates
13) The Sumerians developed cuneiform (wedge-shaped-markings)
14) A Ziggurat is a tall thin pyramid shaped building used as a temple (Sumerians)
15) Polytheism = belief in many gods /Monotheism = belief in one god
16) The holy book of Judaism is known as the Torah
17) Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all monotheistic religions (one god)
18) The first written law code of man is the Code of Hammurabi
19) The Greeks colonized due to overpopulation and lack of arable land (farmland)
20) Mountains and Islands prevented the Greeks from uniting as an empire
21) Zeus was the Greeks chief god / Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom & art
22) Citizens were expected to participate in Greek government at the Agora
23) Athens became the foundation for Democracy
24) MATD = order of development of democracy in Greek governments
Monarchy/Aristocracy/Tyranny/Democracy
25) Spartan culture centered around military life
26) The law code of Greece was the Code of Draco (Draconian Law)
27) The Greeks beat the Persians at the battles of Marathon & Salamis in the Persian Wars
28) The height of Greek culture was known as the Golden Age of Pericles
29) The Peloponnesian Wars were between Athens & Sparta over the control of Greece
30) Homer wrote epic poems titled the Iliad & the Odyssey
31) Corinthian columns for buildings have stems and leaves, Ionic columns are famous for
its scrolls and Doric columns are plain
32) The Parthenon was a building in Greece dedicated the Goddess Athena sculpted by
Phidias
33) SPAA = the order of Greek philosophers Socrates/Plato/Aristotle/Alexander
34) Hellenistic culture is the blending of Greek & Persian cultures
35) Jupiter was the chief God of the Romans
36) The three social classes of Rome were the Patricians (rich) Plebeians (poor) and the
Slaves
37) The Roman Law Code is the Twelve Tables
38) Roman government took place at the Forum
39) The Romans controlled the Mediterranean after they defeated Carthage in the Punic
Wars (Hannibal and Elephants)
40) Triumvirate is a three person ruling group in Rome (1st triumvirate was
Crassus/Pompey/Caesar) (2nd triumvirate = Augustus Caesar/Lepidus/Mark Antony)
41) 200 years of economic prosperity & peace in Rome was known as “Pax Romana”
42) Christianity is a monotheistic Religion
43) The moral law code of Christianity is the Ten Commandments
44) Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire because of Emperor
Theodosius
45) The main source of information about Jesus is from the New Testament
46) When the Roman Empire collapsed, people turned to the Christian Church for moral
authority
47) The Romans built the Coliseum for fighting, the Pantheon as a temple to all deities,
Circus Maximus for chariot racing and the Aqueduct for fresh water
48) Latin is the basis for the Romance Languages
49) Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium
50) The Roman Catholic Church (west) spoke Latin, the Eastern Orthodox Church (east)
spoke Greek
51) The law code of the Byzantine Empire was the Code of Justinian
52) Byzantine culture and religion was spread into Eastern Europe and Russia by
missionaries such as Cyril and Methodius
53) Hagia Sophia is a excellent example of Byzantine architecture (dome on a square)
54) The Greek Eastern Orthodox Church was centered in Constantinople
55) The Cyrillic alphabet was created to spread the Greek eastern orthodox religion
56) The Ottoman Turks ended the Byzantine Empire by capturing the city of Constantinople
in 1453
57) A lord is the highest held position on the estate (Manor) in medieval Europe. Life
revolved around the manor in the middle ages
58) Charles Martel stopped the Islamic expansion into Europe at the Battle of Tours
59) The Catholic Church was the unifying force during the middle ages
60) Florence, Venice & Genoa were all city-states in Italy during the Renaissance (rebirth)
61) Muhammad was the founder of Islam
62) The Five Pillars of Islam are the basis of faith 1.pilgrimage 2.alms(charity) 3.prayer
4.fasting 5.faith
63) The holy book of Islam is the Qur’an (Koran)
64) Islam spread through trade and conquest (wars) speaking the Arabic language
65) “Dome of the Rock” is one of the most holy buildings of Islam
66) The Khyber Pass was an invasion route to the Indian sub-continent
67) The Aryans invaded India through the Khyber Pass and brought the rigid class system
called the Caste System
68) India created the concept of “0”
69) The golden age of classical India was reached under the Gupta Empire
70) The two major rivers in India were the Indus (west) and Ganges (east)
71) The holy books of Hinduism are the Vedas & the Upanishads
72) Siddhartha Gautama is the founder of Buddhism
73) The four noble truths and the eightfold path to enlightenment are part of Buddhism
74) Asoka spread Buddhism to eastern Asia (Mauryan Empire spread Buddhism as well)
75) The Great Wall of China was built by Qin Shi Huangdi to stop Mongol invasions from the
North
76) The Silk Road brought goods from China to as far as Rome
77) Chinese rulers governed by a principle called the “Mandate of Heaven”
78) Confucianism is known for respect towards parents
79) Yin and Yan are opposite forces in nature
80) Classical China was centered around the yellow river (Huang He)
81) Later Chinese emperors selected official government positions through the use of civil
service examinations
82) China contributed silk, porcelain & paper
83) Japan is a chain of 4 major Islands (Archipelago) with smaller surrounding islands
84) Shintoism is an official religion of Japan (Buddhism was also allowed in Japan)
85) West African trade centered around the gold for salt trade (Ghana, Mali & Songhai)
86) Timbuktu was a city of trade and learning in Western Africa (Mali)
87) The civilization of Aksum selected Christianity as its main religion through cultural
diffusion (mixing of different cultures together)
88) The Aztec society was located in present day Mexico City (Tenochtitlan)
89) The Mayan society was located on the Yucatan peninsula (Chichen Itza) Mayan
pyramids were used for religious ceremonies
90) The Incan society in South America used terrace farming high up in the Andes
Mountains (Machu Picchu)
*North to South in the Americas spells AMI – Aztec, Mayan & Incan