Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Chapter Notes

Click on the comment below for the notes on chapter 1.
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  1. Ms. GoffredoSeptember 23, 2009 at 12:08 PM

    -
    AP World History - Stearns
    Chapter 1 – From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations

    I. Introduction
    A. Human origin – 2.5 million years ago
    1. 1/4000 of earth’s existence – 24 hour day – last 5 minutes
    B. Human negatives and positives
    1. Aggressiveness, long baby time, back problems, death fears
    2. Grip, high/regular sex drive, omnivores, facial expressions, speech
    C. Paleolithic (Old Stone) Age – 2.5 million to 12000 BCE
    1. Simple tools – increase in size, brain capacity – Homo erectus

    II. Late Paleolithic Developments
    A. Homo sapiens sapiens – 120,000 years ago – killed off others?
    a. Population growth required change – 1 square mile to hunt/gather for 2 people
    i. Long breast feeding – limit fertility
    ii. Relative gender equality – women harder, but both contributed
    b. Rituals for death, explain environment, rules for social behavior
    c. Greatest achievement – spread over earth
    i. Fire/animal skin
    ii. 14,000 Great ice age ended
    d. Tools – sharpen animal bones, rafts
    e. Domesticated animals
    f. Conflicts w/ others – bone breaks/skull fractures
    B. Knowledge based on cave paintings, tool remains, burial sites

    III. Neolithic (New Stone) Age Revolution
    A. Agriculture changed everything – could support more people
    1. Settle one spot – focus on economic, political, religious goals
    2. 14,000-10,000 BCE – 6 million to 100 million people
    B. Causes of Agriculture
    1. Population increase – better climate
    2. Big game animals decreasing – hunting yield declined
    3. Gradual change – harvesting wild grains to planting seeds
    C. New animals domesticated – pigs, sheep, goats, cattle
    1. Meat, skins, dairy
    2. Advantage to Europe?
    D. Why Middle East?
    1. Water source, fertile area, not forested, lacked animals
    E. “Revolution” gradual – many combined changes w/ hunting gathering – 1000 years
    F. Effects
    1. Longer work week – labor intensive
    2. Build houses, villages
    3. Varied clothing
    G. Resistance – too complicated, boring, difficult
    1. Disease – those in villages developed immunity – nomads died off/joined
    2. Some isolated societies still avoid
    a. Harsh climate, no exchange of knowledge
    b. Tough, nomadic invaders
    3. Nomads – not that influential accept for interaction
    H. Changes
    1. Specialization
    2. Technology – control of nature – storage facilities, pottery
    3. Metal tools – Bronze Age 3000 – Iron Age 1500 BCE

    IV. Civilization
    A. Hunter/gatherer – no bigger than 60 – food runs out
    a. Other options – slash and burn
    b. Tribal bands – strong kinship – relatively small
    B. Benefits of settling
    1. Houses, wells, improvements used by future, irrigation
    2. Irrigation/defense required work together – organization from above
    C. Catal Huyuk – Turkey – 7000 BCE civilization studied
    1. Rooftop activity – broken bones
    2. Religious responsibilities/fertility gods – images
    3. Trade w/others for peace
    D. Definition – societies economic surplus > division of labor/social hierarchy
    1. Formal political organizations – no relation to family unit
    2. City benefits – wealth, exchange of ideas, artistic/intellectual expression, manufacturing/trade specialization
    E. Writing
    1. First - Cuneiform – wedge shaped Middle East
    2. Tax efficiently
    3. Contracts/treaties
    4. Build on past wisdom
    5. People look at world as something to be understood rationally
    6. Not all peoples literate, each civilization only a minority
    F. Greek term - Barbarians – civilization vs. nomads – wanderers
    G. Negatives of civilization
    1. Class/caste distinctions - slavery
    2. Separation between rulers/ruled
    3. Warlike
    4. Gender inequality – patriarchal – men get manufacturing, political, religious leaders
    H. Benefits of nomadic living
    1. More regulations – word of mouth
    2. Respect of elders/children
    3. Herding economies
    4. Technological improvements – stirrup, weaponry
    I. Impact on Environment
    1. Deforestation
    2. Erosion, flooding

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  2. Ms. GoffredoSeptember 23, 2009 at 12:09 PM

    In Depth: The Idea of Civilization in World History Perspective
    A. Differences between civilized and barbaric/savages long held
    1. Chinese – cultural, not biological or racial – could adapt
    2. American Indians – feared Chichimecs – sons of the dog
    B. Related to fear of invasion/outsiders common
    C. Civilis – of the citizens – Latin
    1. Rome – urban dwellers vs. forest/desert dwellers
    2. Greece – bar, bar – barbarians
    D. Historians initially – cultural differences, then 19th century racial differences
    1. Some races more inventive, moral, courageous, artistic
    a. Savage to civilized – white,yellow, red, brown, black
    b. Social Darwinism – historiography
    c. Justified European expansion – White Man’s Burden
    d. Ethnocentrism
    E. Other approach – civilization just one form of social organization
    1. All societies produce cultures, though might lack food surplus/specialization
    2. All peoples capable – but lack resources, historical circumstances, desire

    V. Tigris-Euphrates Civilization
    A. Precedents
    1. Writing
    2. Law codes
    3. City planning/architecture
    4. Trade institutions & money
    B. Mesopotamia – land between two rivers
    1. One of 3 civilizations from scratch – Central America, China, Mesopotamia
    2. Farming required irrigation
    3. Sumerians 3500 BCE
    a. Cuneiform – scribes
    b. Sumerian art – frescoes for temples
    c. Science – astronomy – calendar/forecasts – aided agriculture
    1. Charts of constellations
    d. Ziggurats – first monumental architecture
    e. Role of geography
    1. Swift and unpredictable floods – religious
    2. Polytheism – punishment of humans through floods – Noah
    3. Gloomy – punishment in afterlife – hell
    4. Easy to invade – constant war
    f. City-states – king w/ divine authority
    1. Regulate religion
    2. Court system for justice
    3. Land worked by slaves – warfare created labor surplus
    g. Inventions – wheeled carts, fertilizer, silver money
    4. Babylonians
    a. Hammurabi – first codified law
    1. Procedure for courts
    2. Property rights
    3. Harsh punishments
    5. Indo-European invasions from North
    a. Adopted culture
    C. Egyptian Civilization
    1. Benefited from trade/technology of Mesopotamia
    2. Geographic factors
    a. Difficult to invade
    b. Regular flooding cycle
    3. Economy – government directed vs. Mesopotamia – freedom
    4. Pharoahs – godlike – tombs – pyramids
    5. Interactions with Kush to the South
    6. Egyptian art – lively, cheerful, colorful – positive afterlife – surrounded by beauty
    7. Architecture influenced later Mediterranean
    D. Indian and Chinese River Valley Civilizations
    1. Indus River – Harappa/Mohenjo Daro
    a. Unique alphabet/art
    1. Harappan alphabet not deciphered
    b. Invasion plus integration by Indo-Europeans – difficult to understand culture
    2. Huanghe (Yellow River)
    a. Isolated, little overland trading
    b. History part fact/fiction
    c. State organized irrigation
    d. Elaborate intellectual life
    1. Writing – knotted ropes, scratches of lines, ideographic symbols
    2. Delicate art, musical interest
    3. Limited materials – basic housing

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