1. Chapter 1 Review

2. The Ancient World Chapter 1, Section 1 (pages 8-13)
Geography and History
The Ancient World
Chapter 1, Section 1 (pages 8-13)

3. Vocabulary history – the written / recorded events of people
prehistory – the period of time in the past before writing was invented
archaeologists – scientists who examine objects to learn about past people and cultures
oral tradition – stories passed down by word of mouth

4. What is the Iceman? What were scientists able to learn about him by studying his body and possessions?

5. Bulleted Notes Frozen body found in Alps by hikers in 1991
Had been covered with snow and ice for thousands of years
Clothing and tools also found at discovery site
Scientists used clues from body, clothes and tools to determine he had lived about
5000 years ago
Community skilled in sewing
Copper ax – first metal used by Europeans (about 4000 BC)

6. How do archaeologists learn about what life was like in prehistoric times?

7. Bulleted Notes Use clues that are not pieces of writing
Look closely at objects from past
Try to figure out what objects can tell us about the people who used and created them
Example:
Size of spear points can suggest size of game (bigger point = bigger game)

8. How is a historian’s work different from the work of an archaeologist?

9. Bulleted Notes Historians do not rely on objects for clues
Historians read what was written (written records) by people from the past to learn about what life for them was like
Also read what different societies wrote about each other to get a variety of perspectives / information

10. How do oral traditions help historians even if they may not be completely accurate?

11. Bulleted Notes
Oral histories still convey important information about a civilization from the past
Teach about family histories (parents, grandparents, etc.)
Facts about beliefs may be mixed in with fictitious characters or heroes
Things that the people from that time thought were important are often part of the stories

12. How are geography and history often linked to each other
How are geography and history often linked to each other? Give an example.

13. Bulleted Notes
What someone’s life is like often depends on what the land around where they live is like
Egypt would not have developed as it did, where it did, if not for the great farming soil created by the floods of the Nile river
Plenty of crops = time for people to do other things to help the civilization grow and develop
Good soil = success in Egypt

14. Vocabulary
nomads – people who had no single, settled home; they moved around to places where they were sure they would find food
fertile – soil that contains the substances that plants need to grow
domesticate – taming wild animals

15. What was life like in the Old Stone Age and New Stone Age?
Old Stone Age Life
New Stone Age Life
Did not know how to farm
Hunted animals
Gathered roots, berries, leaves, seeds
Used stone tools to make weapons to hunt and cut meat
Later began to hunt in groups – cooperating in hunting
Moved around to follow / find food sources
Not everyone became “New Stone Agers” at once – old stone age societies existed until 1900s in places
Began to grow their own food
No longer nomadic
Still depended on stone tools
women responsible for gathering plants and seeds and planting and harvesting
Men were usually hunters

16. What made some places better for farming than others?
Some places had soil that was more fertile than others
More light = better farming
Warmth (long springs and summers) = better farming
Consistent water / gentle rains

17. Why did the kinds of plants grown by early farmers look very different from the plants we grow today?
Early farmers carefully chose the seeds and roots from the biggest and best tasting plants to use for the next round of planting
Over time the size of the plants that were grown increased because of the careful selection of seeds
Example = early corn cobs were only 2 to 3 inches in length but today they can be up to 8 to 12 inches

18. How did the domestication of animals in the New Stone Age change how people lived?
First domesticated animal may have been dogs
Dogs were helpful in hunting
Taming sheep, cows, and pigs = meat, wool, skins, and milk
Breeding carefully helped develop more gentle animals that were more easily controlled than wild animals
Many could help humans work by carrying / pulling heavy loads (cattle, camels, horses, donkeys)

19. Vocabulary
irrigation – a network of canals to supply water from another place
surplus – having more of something than you need
artisan – workers who are skilled at making specific items (baskets, leather good, tools, pottery, cloth, etc.)
civilization – a society that has cities, a central government run by official leaders, and workers who specialize in various jobs
social classes – groups of people in a society who have similar backgrounds, wealth, and ways of living
The Bronze Age – the period of time beginning around 3000 B.C. people learned how to separate copper and how to mix copper with tin to make tools, weapons, helmets, and shields
Smelting copper video:

20. What were some of the effects of having a surplus of food?
People could stay in one place
Store food to be used at another time
Families got larger since more kids could be fed
Larger families = greater population growth
over the course of 3000 years, the world’s population grew by around 50,000,000 people due to farming
Settlements grew larger
People could switch from farming to other kinds of work (development of artisans)

21. What was needed for the development of a city?
Rich soil that would allow for a surplus of food to be grown
Reliable source of drinking water
Materials to construct shelters
Rivers like the Tigris, Euphrates, Huang He, and Indus made good locations for cities to develop since the soil near these rivers is rich in nutrients

22. How were cities different than farming villages?
Larger
Wide variety of occupations
Governments were developed to help create and enforce rules and provide services
Public buildings
the storage of surplus grain
for worship
For buying and selling goods

23. How did trade help civilizations to spread?
Traders took valuable items to faraway cities
Items were traded for food and goods wanted/needed at home
Around 3500 B.C. – wheel + axle invented
Carts with wheels allowed goods to be moved to and from more distant places
Merchant ships expanded trade as well
People came in to contact with many different people as goods were traded
tools and ideas were spread from place to place

24. Why did social classes develop?
Increased trade = increased prosperity (wealth) to cities
Each person was part of a group of people with similar backgrounds, wealth, and ways of doing things
Social group depended on wealth, knowledge, leadership, and special skills

25. What were the different social classes?
King = most powerful
Priests (religion) / nobles (government officials and military officers)
artisans / small traders / merchants
common workers (no special skills) / farmers = least powerful