PRE AP- WORLD HISTORY CHAPTER 1

CHAP 1-1 geography is the study of people, their environments, and the resources available to them by showing how people lived during various times, geographers have added to our knowledge of human history, many time drawing conclusions from limited evidence-it is not an exact science

Five themes sum up the impact of geography on human history; they are:

1) location-can be determined by longitude and latitude, the exact location, or by the relative location- where something is in relation to another 2) place-can describe places in terms of their physical features and human characteristics (ex.: landforms, bodies of water, languages)

3) human-environment interaction-shows how people have shaped, and been shaped by, the places in which they live 4) movement-spread of people, goods and ideas; causes cultural diffusion 5) region-divides the world into many areas; can be based on physical characteristics or political, economic, or cultural features

PREHISTORY-the time before people invented systems of writing prehistoric people had no cities, countries, organized central govt., or complex inventions anthropology-the study of the origins and development of people and their societies; began about 200 year ago

archaeology-a specialized branch of anthropology that studies people and cultures through artifacts historians study how people lived in the past, usually relying on written evidence

HISTORY began about 5000 years ago when people began keeping written records a historian must evaluate the evidence to determine its reliability, often interpreting the evidence which can lead to disagreements

PRE-AP WORLD HISTORY CH 1-2 NOTES

PALEOLITHIC-refers to the Old Stone Age, the earliest period of human history-dates from about 2 million BC to about 10,000 BC early hominids were discovered in 1959 by Mary and Louis Leakey in Tanzania (Homo hobilis was the first to make stone tools) in 1974 Donald Johanson found the oldest, most complete skeleton of a 3.5 million-year-old fossil he named "Lucy"

this evidence suggests that the earliest people Lived in East Africa they were hunter-gatherers who lived in bands of around 20 or 30 people and lead a nomadic way of life following their food source they made simple tolls and weapons our of stones, bones, and wood they developed a spoken language, believed in a spiritual world and life after death

NEOLITHIC-refers to the New Stone Age which began about 11,000 years ago (9000 BC) people settled down, started permanent villages, and invented new tools and specialized skills

during this agricultural revolution people domesticated animals and became food producers which led population growth and more interaction among human communities civilizations will emerge from these communities

PRE-AP WORLD HISTORY CH 1 -3 NOTES

EIGHT FEATURES OF CIVILIZATIONS Cities Organized Governments Complex Religions Job Specialization Social Classes Arts and Architecture Public Works Writing

Cities-the birthplace of the first civilizations; the center of trade, probably began as religious centers There are four main ancient civilizations that began in river valleys: 1. Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East 2. Nile River in Egypt 3. Indus River in present-day Pakistan 4. Yellow River (Huang He) in China

2. Organized governments-leaders emerged to maintain order among people and establish laws; priests held power first then were replaced by warrior-kings who's right to rule came from the gods; bureaucracies will emerge as govt. becomes more complex

3. Complex religions-polytheistic communities worshipped many gods and goddesses; had complex rituals and built temples and sacrificed animals to ensure divine help

4. Job specialization-people didn't need to master all the skills needed to live, others could do it for them; metalworking was the most important; trade and bartering will develop

5. Social classes-ranked according to your job; priests and nobles were at the top, followed by wealthy merchants, artisans, peasant farmers, and slaves

6. Art and architecture-expressed the beliefs and values of the people who created them; temples and palaces dominated the city reassuring people of the strength and power of their govt. and religion

7. Public works-ordered by the rulers, included irrigation systems, roads, bridges, and waits; meant to benefit the city

8. Writing-began in temples where priests needed to record daily activities; earliest was pictograms; in time, symbols were added

as rulers gained power, they conquered territories beyond their city wall this expansion led to the rise of the city-state rival leaders often conquered many cities and villages, creating the first empires cultural diffusion occurred