Chapter 1: From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations

Between the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) and the New Stone Age(Neolithic), from 12,000 to 8,000 B.C.E., changes in human organization and foodproduction prepared the way for the emergence of the first civilized societies. Neolithicdevelopment of agriculture, from 8500 to 3500 B.C.E., was the first truly revolutionarytransformation in human history. Neolithic farmers were able to remake environments to suit their needs and to produce surpluses for the support of specialized elites in agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing. The combination of factors usually resulted in urban settlements marked by complex social stratification based upon birth, sex, and occupation.
• What skills and abilities set humans apart from other species?
o Speech and use of communicative language
o Ability to construct shelters and transportation devices from natural materials
o Tool making and fashioning
o Control and use of fire
• If one thinks of the whole history of the earth to date as a 24-hour day, the human species began at about 5 minutes before midnight.
• What factors kept human population densities low before the agrarian revolution?
o Dependence on migrating herds of game which required a large land area for each human band
• Most of the 2 million plus years that the human species has existed took place during the:
o Paleolithic Age
• Fire was tamed about 750,000 years ago
• What phrase best describes the process of change in human behavior and culture known as the Neolithic revolution?
o Gradual and intermittent
• What major theme of world history is generated by the spread of the Neolithic revolution?
o Interactions between herding nomads and agricultural peoples
• How was agriculture tied to social change during the Neolithic revolution?
o Agricultural productivity allowed for occupation specialization, particularly in regions located near deposits of materials considered useful by others
o Agricultural needs also encouraged certain kinds of science, supporting the human inclination to learn more about weather or flooding
o Agriculture itself depended on control over nature that could be facilitated by newly developed techniques and objects
o Agriculture encouraged the formation of larger, as well as more stable, human communities than had existed before Neolithic times
• In agricultural societies, the central economic activity is the production of food
• After 3500 B.C.E., which metal alloy technology originated in the Middle East and helped make metalworking commonplace?
o Bronze
• Which physiological traits gave Homo sapiens an advantage over rivals and potential predators?
o Speech and language ability
o Erect posture
o Opposable thumbs
o Large brains
• By the late Stone Age, Homo sapiens had colonized all major continents EXCEPT:
o Antarctica
• Before agriculture, in order to survive, two hunters and gatherers required at least one square mile
• During the Mesolithic Age, human beings began to
o Make better, sharper weapons
o Domesticate more animals, including cows
o Increase in population
o Use animal bones to make needles and precise tools
• Compared to other primates, the human sex drive is relatively high and regular
• Settlements tended to become permanent because
o houses could be built to last
o they could be situated near rivers
o they could be built near long-lasting wells
o irrigation devices could be built to water farm land
• Settled agricultural societies suffered from more contagious diseases because of denser population concentrations
• The first potter's wheel came into existence around 6000 B.C.E.
• Around 3000 B.C.E., deforestation in the Danube River valley led to the destruction of the area's copper production
• The predecessor of the Greek and Latin alphabets came from the Phoenicians
• Hunting required on average approximately how much work every three days?
o 7 hours
• Agriculture brought all of the following:
o Control over nature
o Specializations
o Immunities to diseases
o Construction of storage facilities
• The discovery of metal tools took place soon after the introduction of agriculture
• Most Mesolithic hunting groups were made up of 40 to 60 individuals
• The term civilization is a subjective construct
• The word civilization itself comes from the Latin term for city
• Civilization brought distinctions in terms of all of the following:
o Social classes
o Ruler and ruled
o Monarchs and subjects
o Men's and women's roles
• The Neolithic revolution can best be explained as one, which introduced the domestication of animals and agriculture
• Around 3500 B.C.E., civilization developed in all of the following areas:
o Northwestern India
o The Middle East
o Northern China
o Egypt
• The numbers 10, 60, and 360, still used today in calculations, originated from which civilization?
o Sumerian
• All of the following describe ancient Egyptian civilization:
o Strong government control
o Strong monarch
o Unified state
o Less open to invasion
• Surviving artifacts have left much evidence of culture from all of the following civilizations:
o Greek
o Roman
o Chinese
o Egyptian
• Most of the river valley civilizations were in decline by 1000 B.C.E.
• The migration of the first humans into the Americas occurred as early as 25,000 B.C.E.
• One of Judaism's historically distinctive traits is monotheism
• Human beings first evolved in Africa
• The Neolithic revolution did not take place over the course of a single century
• Slash and burn agriculture did not enable farmers to re-use their land year after year
• The first written language was not developed in China
• Chinese civilization was not borrowed from other civilizations
• The Babylonian king Hammurabi introduced the most famous early code of law
• Egyptian mathematics produced the idea of a day divided into 24 hours
• Judaism stressed God's special compact with the chosen Jewish people

From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations
o Archeological studies and other scientific methods have provided us with a view of human development that begins millions of years ago.Most of the 2 millionplus years of our existence as a species has been described as the Paleolithic, or Old Stone, Age. This lengthy phase, during which both Homo erectus and then Homo sapiens sapiens made their appearances, ran until about 14,000 years ago. Our immediate ancestors were Homo sapiens sapiens. All current races are descended from this subspecies.
• Human Life Before Agriculture
o Humans learned simple tool use, tamed fire, and developed bigger brains and a more erect posture during the Paleolithic (Old Stone) Age, which lasted from about 2.5 million years to about 12,000 B.C.E.
o Over time, the hunting and gathering species Homo sapiens sapiens, which originated in Africa and from which all modern humans are descended, came to dominate other human types.
o Stone tool use gradually improved, and humans developed speech, rituals, and culture as they gradually spread across the globe.
o In the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, from about 12,000–8,000 B.C.E., humans made more advanced tools, fought in more wars, and increased their population considerably.
• The Neolithic Revolution
o In the Neolithic (New Stone) Age, between roughly 8,000 and 3,500 B.C.E., some human societies experienced one of the most dramatic developments in human history.
o These groups mastered sedentary agriculture (this is often called the “Neolithic Revolution”) and domesticated animals. These innovations produced the food surpluses and rising populations that made possible the founding of cities and the increasing specialization of occupations within human societies.
o At the same time, pastoral nomadism developed, but these nomads remained on the periphery of civilizations and sedentary agricultural zones.
o Soon after the introduction of agriculture, societies in the Middle East began replacing stone tools with those made of metal—first copper, then bronze. These new tools improved agriculture, aided in warfare, and benefited manufacturing artisans.
• Civilization
o The emergence of civilization occurred in many agricultural societies. It often built on additional changes in technology including the introduction of metal tools.
o Most civilizations had common features including cities, writing, formal institutions (especially government and religion), stratified classes, and trade. Çatal
o Hüyük is an excellent example of an important town in an early Neolithic civilization.
o Early civilizations included those in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River Valley, and northern China.
• The Heritage of the River Valley Civilizations
o River valley civilizations left a number of durable innovations, but most declined after about 1,200 B.C.E. This decline was often due to nomadic migrations across Eurasia by pastoral nomadic chariot peoples from the central Asian steppe.
o A number of small population centers emerged in the Middle East. These civilizations introduced further innovations including the religion of Judaism, the alphabet, iron tools, and extensive trade connections across the Mediterranean basin.
• The First Civilizations
o The river valley civilizations created a basic set of tools, intellectual concepts such as writing and mathematics, and political forms that persisted across three continents.
o The rise of civilizations reduced local autonomy, as kings and priests tried to spread trade contacts and cultural forms and warred to gain new territory.
o Despite wars and trade, civilizations had little contact with each other and thus developed separate cultural patterns.


• The transformation that was most responsible for moving humans towards civilization was rise of agriculture
o With agriculture, human beings were able to settle in one spot and focus on particular economic, political, and religious goals and activities
• Metalworking was important to agricultural and herding societies for each of the following reasons:
o Farmers could use more efficient metal hoes to work the ground
o Metal weapons were superior to those made of stone or wood
o Toolmakers could focus on their craft full time and trade with farmers for food
o Woodworkers and other manufacturing artisans could improve their craft
o Metal boats were not constructed until much later in human history
• The start of sedentary agriculture started in the Middle East first but developed independently in other areas
o Historians believe that agriculture appeared independently in the Middle East, in China, and in the Americas; the Middle East developed farming first
• Cuneiform and other types of writing are important in part because they help organize elaborate political structures
o A society with written records can tax, keep records, send messages and make laws much more effectively
• Which of the following is a feature of Sumerian civilization?
o Ziggurats
o Cuneiform
o city-States
o a numeric system based on 10, 60, and 360
o not a simplified alphabet of 22 letters
 The Phoenicians developed the simplified alphabet, not the Sumerians.
• Unlike Sumer and the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization, Egypt retained a unified state throughout most of its history
o The Egyptians had a complex irrigation system, an effective method of writing (hieroglyphics), used metal tools from an early stage, and remained territorially unified for most of their history. Like the Harappans and Sumerians, they worshipped many gods.
• Unlike Sumer and Egypt, the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization is particularly difficult to study because its writing has not been deciphered
o Scholars have yet to translate the Harappan written language.
• Compared to river valley cultures in Egypt and Mesopotamia, Chinese civilization probably developed after civilizations in the Nile Valley and Mesopotamia
o The first civilizations developed in Mesopotamia around 3,500 B.C.E. and in Egypt around 3,100 B.C.E. Civilization developed in China 1,000–1,500 years later
• In early China, unity and cultural identity were provided by a common system of writing
o Chinese ideographic symbols formed the basis of an elaborate, complex written language
• Stone tools, hunting and gathering, and an increasing number of Homo sapiens sapiens are features of the Late Paleolithic Age
o Small groups of hunter-gatherers who did not have metal tools dominated the Paleolithic Age.As the era progressed, Homo sapiens sapiens drove out and/or killed competitor species like Homo erectus


Chapter 2: Classical Civilization: China

Full civilizations emerged first in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, by 3500 B.C.E., and in Egypt by 3000 B.C.E. along the Nile.The two very different civilizations had distinct political and cultural characteristics which influenced both neighboring and distant succeeding generations.Both civilizations encountered difficulties around 1000 B.C.E. as the river-valley period ended, but by then they produced offshoots in neighboring regions.
• Confucian teachings came to provide the ideological underpinnings of both the Chinese state and society during the Han Dynasty
• Chinese civilization was consolidated during the Han Dynasty
• The name "China" derives from Qin Shi Huangdi
• Confucianism was supported by Wu Ti
• Under the Han rulers, the government
o standardized weights
o organized iron and salt production
o sponsored public works
o standardized currency
• The use of chopsticks was meant to emphasize politeness
• To Confucius, rank should be based on talent and education
• "Dao" means:
o The way of nature
• In the Zhou era, land-owning gentry made up approximately what percentage of the population?
o 2%
• Chinese society depended primarily on agriculture
• Han rulers founded a large, effective, and enduring bureaucracy
• Chinese society during the Han era can be described best as isolated from other cultures
• Chinese dynasties were usually strongest at the beginning
• China's core region was known as the Middle Kingdom
• The nomadic people who threatened the Han Dynasty were the Huns
• The name Confucius means Kung the philosopher
• Legalist writers prided themselves on their pragmatism
• Laozi is associated with which of the following?
o Daoism
• Which of the following is an example of Chinese technological improvement during the Zhou and Han eras?
o Water-powered mills
o Pulleys
o Non-choking collar for draft animals
o Ox-drawn plows
• Chinese popular culture stressed strict control of emotions
• Professionalization of the Chinese administration was accomplished partly through civil service examinations
• Confucianism advocated all of the following
o An educated elite
o Strong rulers
o A male elite
o Norms in Chinese life
• The declining power of the Zhou kingdom brought about a variety of rival states
• Who articulated the foundational political and social philosophy for Chinese civilization?
o Confucius
• Zhou rulers claimed direct links to Shang rulers
• In Daoism, yin is complemented by yang
• The standard Chinese language is known as Mandarin
• Chinese emperors were known as Sons of Heaven
• The Era of the Warring States
o Had many strong regional rulers
o Witnessed the downfall of the Zhou dynasty
o Reduced emperors to being figureheads
o Had many independent armies
• By the end of the Han period, approximately how many bureaucrats did China have?
o 130,000
• Confucian doctrine was compiled in the Analects
• Legalism stresses the importance of discipline
• Daoism is associated with all of the following
o Nature's mystery
o Frugal living
o Humility
o Harmony with nature
• The invention of paper during the Han Dynasty was of particular importance to the bureaucracy
• Chinese inheritance rules used primogeniture, which gave precedence to the oldest male child
• The Han era lasted for less than 1,000 years
• During the decline of Zhou power, regional rulers gained power
• Confucius wrote about political ethics
• The model for Chinese administrators was the scholar-bureaucrat
• China's bureaucracy thus provided a slight check on complete upper-class rule
• Confucius stressed respect for one's superiors
• Daoism believed that political activity and learning were irrelevant to a good life

Patterns in Classical China
o Three dynastic cycles cover the many centuries of classical China: the Zhou, the Qin, and the Han.
o Political instability and frequent invasions caused the decline of the Zhou Dynasty and promoted debate over China’s political and social ills.
o In the last centuries of the later Zhou era, some of China’s greatest thinkers, including Confucius, tried different ways to restore order and social harmony. Central to culture were the family, filial piety, harmony, reciprocal social relationships, and deference to social superiors.
o Shi Huangdi, the brutal founder of the Qin Dynasty, centralized power in China, and began construction of the Great Wall.
o Wu Ti, most famous of the Han rulers, supported Confucianism and promoted peace.
• Political Institutions
o For most of recorded history, the Chinese people have been the most tightly governed people in any large society in the world.
o Political institutions became one of classical China’s hallmarks.Among the most permanent aspects of Chinese culture was the belief in the unity and the desirability of a central government in the hands of an emperor assisted by an educated, professional bureaucracy.
• Religion and Culture
o Chinese culture began coalescing during the last, calamitous centuries of Zhou rule. During this time, three critical secular philosophies arose, each of which emphasized the role of education to achieve social ends.
o Confucianism, an ethical system based on relationships and personal virtue, became the predominant philosophy.
o Legalism countered Confucianism by favoring an authoritarian state and harsh rule.
o Daoism taught harmony with nature and humble living. Laozi was Daoism’s most popular figure.
o Art in classical China was mostly decorative, and appeared in many forms, including calligraphy, carved jade and ivory, and silk screens.
o Science and mathematics emphasized the practical over the theoretical, and the ancient Chinese were particularly adept at astronomy.
• Economy and Society
o China’s classical economy focused on agriculture. All Chinese philosophies extolled the virtues of the peasants and their world.
o Sharp class division existed between 1) the landowning aristocracy and educated bureaucrats—Mandarins, 2) the laboring masses, peasants, and urban artisans, and 3) the “mean” people, or those without meaningful skills.
o The state also fostered an extensive internal trade, even while maintaining some ambivalence about merchants and commercial values.
o Technological advances were plentiful, including ox-drawn plows, water-powered mills, and paper.
o Socially China was hierarchical, deferential, and patriarchal, and tight family structure was valued.
• How Chinese Civilization Fits Together
o China’s politics and culture meshed readily, especially around the emergence of a Confucian bureaucracy.
o Economic innovation did not disrupt the emphasis on order and stability, and family structures were closely linked to political and cultural goals.
o Classical Chinese civilization evolved with very little outside contact. Though internal disagreement existed, most Chinese saw the world as a large island of civilization (China) surrounded by barbarians with nothing to offer save periodic invasions.

• By encouraging settlers to move into the Yangtze River valley, the Zhou rulers produced population growth but also complicated problems of central rule
o The Yangtze River Valley provided two types of rich agricultural (wheat in the north, and rice in the south) that encouraged population growth
• Confucianism and Daoism originated as responses to societal problems during times of disruption
o Both of these philosophies arose as responses to the uncertainty of the late Zhou period. Legalism was a later development.
• Confucian social relationships established a hierarchy and insisted upon reciprocal duties between people
o At the heart of Confucianism is a system of mutually beneficial relationships based on societal status: “do unto others as your status and theirs dictates.”
• The doctrine sponsored by the Qin Dynasty to support its state broke the power of vassals in order to enhance the power of the emperor
o Centralization of power was a key tenet of Shi Huangdi and the Qin rulers
• Which of the following groups would have most likely supported the Qin Dynasty?
o trained bureaucrats from non-aristocratic groups
 The Qin Dynasty sought to break traditional aristocratic power, attacked formal culture, and taxed and overworked many peasants. Educated bureaucrats without aristocratic ties owed their power to the emperor and were less likely to rebel.
• During the Han Dynasty, scholar officials instituted a system of examination to prepare professional civil servants
o The civil service examination first developed under the Han is one of the quintessential features of Chinese culture
• Although they varied greatly in wealth and social status in China, the commoners, especially the peasants, remained the largest group
o Commoners and peasants, some of whom owned their own land, made up the vast majority of the population. The landowning gentry accounted for only 2% of the populace; the “mean” class was another minority group
• Chinese women in the Classical Age were legally subordinated to fathers and husbands at all class levels
o The Chinese culture was patriarchal, relying on primogeniture and other traditions that benefited men
• Despite their material success and increased wealth, merchants in China ranked below peasants and had little societal influence
o The merchant class’s low prestige was in large part a product of the Confucian distaste for lives of moneymaking
• Chinese belief systems differ from single deity religions and polytheism most in their secular emphasis and lack of identifiable gods to worship
o Though Confucius and Laozi (for example) both espoused belief in a supernatural world, they preferred to emphasize proper conduct in secular society.

Chapter 3: Classical Civilization:India

East and South Asia developed civilizations near great river systems.Chinese civilization emerged along the Huanghe River and the ancestor to Indian civilizations, Harappa, flourished in the Indus river valley.Nomadic Aryan invaders moved into the region of the latter between 1500 and 1000 B.C.E. and established the basis for a new pattern of civilization in South Asia.In North China the formation of the Shang kingdom, from around 1500to 1122 B.C.E., and the succeeding Zhou dynasty, marked the origins of the distinctive and enduring Chinese civilization.

• India became a center for classical civilization, along with which other civilization?
o China
o Persia
o Greece
o Rome
• In India, Buddhism provided a powerful challenge to the Brahmans
• Place the following into chronological order
o Harappans
o Mauryans
o Guptans
• Monsoons occur during the summer
• The warrior or governing class was known as the Kshatriyas.
• The Indian word for "moral path" is Dharma
• In Hinduism, what is most important?
o The divine soul
• Buddha means:
o Enlightened one
• The Kamasutra is a manual about the laws of love
• The basis of the Indian economy was agriculture
• The first literary language of Indian culture was Sanskrit
• The first Aryan epic was the Rig-Veda
• The Guptas:
o Spread uniform law codes
o Built roads
o Promoted Sanskrit
o Sponsored cultural activity
• India's five castes were subdivided into almost 300 classes
• In general, Indian religion did not stress the importance of politics
• Dharma stresses:
o Inner study and meditation.
• Buddhism placed great value on self-control
• India discovered an inoculation against smallpox
• Arranged marriages were designed to ensure solid economic links.
• Indians invented the concept of zero
• By around 500 B.C.E., Vedic priests, or Brahmans, emerged as the dominant force in Indian life
• Aryan gods regulated natural forces and possessed human qualities. Thus, Indra, the god of thunder, was also the god of strength
• As the caste system became more complex in India, at the bottom of the society were those who hauled refuse
• Veda means:
o Knowledge
• The caste into which an Indian was born dictated all of the following:
o One's possible marriage choices
o One's social group
o One's ability to read the sacred texts
o One's occupation
• The first of the Mauryan dynasty of Indian rulers was Chandragupta Maurya.
• Which of the following about the Gupta rulers is true?
o They suppressed cultural activity
o They stationed a personal representative at each ruler's court to ensure loyalty
o They promoted a variety of law codes
o They imposed no single language
• Under Brahman leadership, original gods of nature began to represent more abstract concepts.
• Yoga means:
o Union
• Buddha saw salvation as arising from the destruction of the self
• Aryabhatta is significant for his astronomical calculations
• Stupas were:
o Shrines that housed Buddha relics
• As a result of Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism:
o Ashoka sent Buddhist missionaries throughout the Middle East and South Asia, thereby spreading Indian culture and ideas at the same time
• The Gupta empire fell due to invasions by the Huns
• One reason that extensive, outright slavery was not instituted in India was the existence of the caste system
• The Gupta kings followed the collapse of the Kushan state
• Unlike Western religions or Daoism, Hinduism could also encourage political and economic goals and worldly pleasures
• To Hindus, cows are sacred animals
• Nirvana is considered to be a world beyond existence itself
• Classical India made important advancements in science and mathematics
• Hinduism's teaching about how a woman can advance spiritually through reincarnation is not firmly defined
• China didn’t emphasize trade and merchant activity more than India
• China's and India's political and social systems developed in different ways
• Above all else, India's expanding cultural influence was due to merchant activity

The Framework for Indian History: Geography and a Formative Period
o Geography (including the mountainous northern region and agricultural regions along the Indus and Ganges rivers) and climate were major influences on Indian civilization.
o The Aryan culture, which dominated India after the fall of the Indus River Valley civilization, also played a formative role.Among other things, the Aryans brought the rudiments of the caste system.
o The Vedas, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the Upanishads formed the basis of a great Aryan literary tradition.
• Patterns in Classical India
o Two major empires formed at the crucial periods in classical Indian history, the Mauryan and, later, the Gupta.
o The Greek conquest of the Indus and the exchange of ideas with the Mediterranean basin and southwest Asia influenced the rise of the Mauryan dynasty.
o Chandragupta Maurya was the first Mauryan ruler, and Ashoka the greatest. Ashoka expanded the empire and promoted Buddhism.
o The Guptas arose after a period of nomadic invasions, and created a long period of political stability.
• Political Institutions
o Regionalism and political diversity dominated classical Indian political life, so central authority was relatively weak.
o The increasingly complex caste system promoted public order the way more conventional overnment structures did in many other cultures.
• Religion and Culture
o Hinduism and Buddhism were integral parts of classical Indian life. They had great influence on the arts and sciences, and both tended to promote religious tolerance.
o Hinduism is a polytheistic faith that gradually became more complex. It stresses reincarnation, the shallowness of worldly concerns, and dharma, the moral path.
o Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha Gautama in the 6th century B.C.E., scorned caste and the material world in favor of self control and the Eightfold Path to nirvana.
o By the last centuries B.C.E., the Indian civilization developed a written language, built cities, and produced art and literature, and nurtured two of the great world religions. Artistic patterns linked to religion and a significant scientific tradition developed.
• Economy and Society
o Dominated by the caste system, India developed extensive internal commercial and international maritime trade. However, India’s economy remained essentially agricultural.
o Family life combined patriarchy with an emphasis on mutual emotional support.
• Indian Influence
o Classical India had an enormous effect on other parts of the world. India emerged as the center of a Eurasian trade system, a source of great wealth and a means of exporting Indian culture abroad.
• China and India
o China and India offer important contrasts in political emphases, social systems, and cultures.
o They also resembled each other in seeking to build stable structures over large areas and in using culture to justify social inequality.

• The highest Hindu caste members in India after the Epic Age were the Brahmans (priests, scholars)
o The Brahmin caste stood atop the Indian class hierarchy, followed by (in order) the Kshatriya, the Vaisayas, the Shudras, and the untouchables
• The Indian caste system was extremely complex and stratified; a person could almost never change caste
o Over time, the caste system became enormously complex and rigid; marriage between castes was made punishable by death
• A central message of the Bhagavad Gita is that one must carry out the duties that come with one’s caste
o The great sacred hymn Bhagavad Gita includes a classic story in which a warrior sent to do battle against his own relatives is urged to do his duty. Krishna reminds the warrior that the divine spirit of his relatives will live on
• A major difference between Buddhism and Hinduism was that Buddhism denied the need for caste, rites, and sacrifice to achieve nirvana
o Buddhism rejects caste, ritual, and priests in favor of meditation, prayer, and the “destruction of self.”
• Buddhism spread primarily as a result of its monastic community
o Along with the emperor Ashoka, groups of monks—organized in monasteries but preaching throughout the world—were the most successful means of spreading Buddhism
• Alexander the Great’s invasion of India led to the rise of the Mauryans
o The Mauryan Empire began as a reaction to the Alexandrian state of Bactria along the Indus River
• Buddhism lost its appeal and influence in Guptan India in part because Hinduism showed its adaptability by emphasizing its mystical side, thus retaining the loyalties of many Indians
o Hinduism’s ability to adapt to the needs of local communities was instrumental in its spread
• During the classical era in India, all of the following occurred
o spherical shrines to Buddha, called stupas, were erected
o the concept of zero was invented
o sculpture and painting moved away from realistic portrayals of the human form to a more stylized representation
o Indians developed an interest in spontaneity and imagination
o Religious authorities hampered medical research by placing restrictions on dissection
• Over time in classical India, castes intensified and began to differ from region to region
o The caste system developed numerous sublevels as it developed, and often local idiosyncrasies prevailed
• In Mesopotamia, the cuneiform culture of the Mesopotamians assimilated invaders and provided continuity. The same role in India was performed by the Hindu social hierarchy
o Despite some inroads made by Buddhism, the caste system was the dominant feature of all Indian society

Chapter 4: Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean: Greece and Rome

The Zhou dynasty in the 8th century B.C.E. lost control of its vassals.Internal political disorder was increased by nomadic pressure.The unstable times eventually led to the emergence of a more complex classical society.Political stabilization began in the 3rd century B.C.E. with the victories of Shi Huangdi of the Qin dynasty.Unwise policies by the Qin rulers caused revolts ending with the emergence of the Han dynasty in 207 B.C.E.The Han, ruling over 400 years, reestablished and expanded the extent of Chinese civilization and created an lasting sense of Chinese identity.They founded an enduring bureaucracy whose members, the shi, were a major influence on social and cultural development.
• Why did the Persian Empire invade Greece in 490 B.C.E.?
o As punishment for support of the rebellion of Greek city-states under Persian rule.
• Which of the following is a characteristic of the Persian empire?
o Advanced iron technology
o Zoroastrianism
o A lively artistic style
o Tolerance toward local traditions and belief systems
• What was the rapid rise of civilization in Greece based on?
o The creation of strong city-states
• Which of the following had no rights of political participation in Greek poleis?
o Women
• "Hellenes" are another word for which group?
o Greeks
• The Greek philosopher Aristotle stressed the importance of which characteristic?
o Moderation
• Greek thinkers were generally interested in rationality
• From the 8th century B.C.E., Greek architecture emphasized monumental construction
• Free farmers' attempts to preserve their independence and shake off heavy debts played an important role in the politics of Athens
• A likely reason that more efficient production methods were discouraged in Greece and Rome is abundant slave labor
• Which Greek soldier's 26-mile journey inspired the modern marathon?
o Pheidippides
• Alexander the Great was educated by Greeks
• Why did the Greeks develop city-states as their primary form of political organization?
o Mountainous terrain made larger connections difficult
• As in 5th century Athens, governance by assemblies of all citizens is called:
o Direct democracy
• In Rome, careful organization, vast hierarchy, and great political power existed in the army
• During the Hellenistic period, the Stoics emphasized an inner moral independence
• To gain access to grain production, Greek city-states established colonies
• Which Greek philosopher stressed the importance of moderation in human behavior as a counterweight to political and supernatural excess?
o Aristotle
• Both Greek and Roman society:
o Emphasized the importance of a tight family structure
o Had laws and culture that held women inferior
o Put husbands in control of families
o Put fathers in control of families
• In classical Mediterranean civilization, the status of merchants was ambiguous
• The two leading Greek city-states were Athens and Sparta
• he Peloponnesian Wars were fought between Athens and Sparta
• During the Hellenistic period, Alexandria was established as an important scientific center
• In the Punic Wars, Rome fought against Carthage
• Rome's government finally fell in the year 476 C.E.
• Compared to Greek city-states, China's political institutions had
o a cohesive set of political institutions
o a divinely sanctioned emperor
o an elaborate bureaucracy
o a Confucian basis of ethics
• The Greek word for "the people" is demos
• Roman consuls mainly had executive power
• The Greek philosopher who encouraged his students to question conventional wisdom was Socrates
• Plato characterized nature through the True, Good, and Beautiful
• The Stoics stressed the strict discipline of the body
• Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian are all classical styles
• Greek city-states traded which of the following for grain?
o Silver
o Manufactured products
o Olive oil
o Wine
• Roman slaves were used in which of the following kinds of work?
o Mining
o Military
o Tutoring
o Household duties
• Rome began to decline after about 180 C.E.
• The 26-mile endurance race was named "marathon" in memory of Pheidippides's famed run to spread the news of Greek victory over the Persians
• The Greeks coined the term "barbarian" because of the way they perceived foreigners' speech.
• The Greeks were an Indo-European people
• In Athens, not all adult males were citizens
• Sparta was governed by a singularly militaristic aristocracy
• Greek politics was more decentralized and varied in structure than the governing system in China

The Persian Tradition
o Founded by Cyrus the Great, the Persian Empire was tolerant of local customs, developed iron technology, organized an effective government and military, developed a new religion (Zoroastrianism), and supported a great artistic tradition.
• Patterns of Greek and Roman History
o The rise of the dynamic city-states of classical Greece began around 800 B.C.E., reaching a high point in the 5th century B.C.E., when Pericles governed Athens.
o Following the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta, decline set in, but a new pattern of expansion occurred under Alexander the Great. Greek values spread widely in the ensuing Hellenistic period.
o As Hellenism declined, Rome was emerging as an expanding republic, defeating Carthage in the Punic Wars and later becoming the Roman Empire after the death of Julius Caesar. For roughly 200 years, the Empire enjoyed great power and prosperity.
o Despite the efforts of emperors like Diocletian and Constantine, the ensuing 250 years brought a slow but decisive fall.
• Greek and Roman Political Institutions
o Greece and Rome featured an important variety of political forms. Both tended to emphasize aristocratic rule, but there were significant democratic elements as well.
o In the Greek polis, those who were citizens participated actively in political life.
o In Athens, the system of direct democracy allowed citizens to shape policy in general assemblies.
o In the Roman republic, the Senate was the main legislative body, but under the autocratic empire, the Senate’s influence waned.
o Later, Rome added emphasis on law and created the institutions necessary to run a vast and decentralized empire.
• Religion and Culture
o Greek and Roman culture did not directly generate a lasting major religion, though Christianity arose in the classical Mediterranean context.Greco-Roman religion used epic poems and mythology to explore human foibles and passions.
o An emphasis on rationality, especially in philosophy, science, and a strong artistic and architectural tradition, permeated classical Mediterranean culture.
o Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the most well-known Greek philosophers.
• Economy and Society in the Mediterranean
o Greek and Roman societies mirrored many standard social features of an agricultural economy, including a large peasantry and a land-owning aristocracy, and dependence on trade and commerce.
o Differing versions of the patriarchal family structure existed in both Greek and Roman culture.
o Distinctive features included slavery and a slightly less oppressive attitude toward women than was true in classical China.
• Toward the Fall of Rome
o Rome began to decline after about 180 C.E. Symptoms were gradual, including loss of territory and economic reversals.
o Ultimately, invaders periodically raided Rome until the empire finally collapsed.

• While the types of government in the early Greek polis (city-states) varied, they were LEAST likely to have been theocracies
o The Greeks and Romans did not establish a major religion, and they did not establish theocracies. The most common form of government in the classical Mediterranean was aristocracy, but societies also practiced monarchy, tyranny, and democracy.
• The major impact of Alexander the Great’s conquests was the spread of Greek culture throughout the eastern Mediterranean
o Though Alexander’s empire was short lived, it allowed Hellenism to spread throughout the classical Mediterranean world.
• In comparison to the Hindus, Persians, and Chnese, religiously the Greeks never developed a major religion
o Greco-Roman religions did not outlast their founding culture. Christianity originated under Roman rule but cannot be credited to Roman culture.
• Greco-Roman philosophers attempted to understand human nature through rational observation and deduction
o Greek and Roman thinkers emphasized reason and logic in their attempts to find answers to central philosophical questions
• Mediterranean agriculture under the Greeks and Romans was heavily reliant on imported grain stuffs and the export of cash crops
o Because of soil conditions, the Greeks and Romans relied heavily on imported grains. They exported olives, wines, and other commodities to colonies in return for grain.
• Roman classic culture borrowed heavily, especially from the Greek and Hellenistic states
o Roman religion, architecture, political systems, and art all derived from Greek antecedents
• Greco-Roman art and culture emphasized all of these qualities:
o human achievement and striving
o public utility and usefulness
o public utility and usefulness
o realism
o Much of Greco-Roman art highlighted religious themes
• Rome successfully expanded for all of these reasons:
o it possessed a disciplined, trained military
o it had a rich agricultural economy, which supported a large population
o Roman government proved flexible and tolerant
o Roman leaders made citizens out of conquered elites
o Carthage, for example, provided a major organized challenge to Roman expansion
• What sentence best describes both Roman and Chinese gender relations?
o While subordinate to men, Roman women were considerably freer and less oppressed then were their Chinese counterparts
o For example, Greek and Roman women were active in business and controlled some property
• With regard to merchants, classical civilizations in Rome, Greece, and China were ambivalent toward merchants despite their vital roles in commerce
o All three classical societies had lukewarm opinions of merchants. In India, merchants enjoyed relatively high caste status

Chapter 5: The Classical Period:Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 c.e.

Classical Greece built on the legacy of earlier regional civilizations in the Middle East, Egypt, Crete, and Mycenae.Indo-European Greek-speaking invaders were assimilated.Internal warfare and new Indo-European invasions destroyed the early civilization, but Greek-speakers spread around the Aegean Sea.By 800 B.C.E. a new classical civilization began to emerge.Greek politics and culture flourished until 400 B.C.E.Then Alexander the Great formed a military empire and introduced the Hellenistic period, a time when Greek culture spread widely in the Middle East, North Africa, and southern Europe.The Greeks demonstrated new political and cultural capacities in philosophy and politics, and in scientific and mathematical advances.The Greek legacy influenced many later societies.
• Which maritime area provided a network of important contacts during the classical period?
o Indian Ocean
• Which civilization ultimately gained control of Indian Ocean trade after the collapse of the Rome-China trading axis?
o Arabian
• During the decline of the Han Empire, which belief system often linked with social and economic protest movements?
o Daoism
• Which of the following had the world's oldest continuous monarchy?
o Ethiopia
• Which is the correct chronological order for the collapse of the classical civilizations?
o China
o Rome
o India
• What circumstances led to the decline of the Roman Empire after the second century C.E.?
o A series of plagues and diseases
o A withdrawal of the upper classes from public and intellectual life
o Declines in population size
o Recurring succession battles over the imperial throne
• The Eastern Roman Empire is also known as the Byzantine Empire
• Which Christian leader helped believers in Jesus to see themselves as part of a new religion rather than a part of Judaism?
o Paul
• What aspects of classical Mediterranean culture were challenged or transformed by the rise of Christianity?
o The importance and role of the state in individuals' lives
o Rigid social and cultural divisions between elites and the poor masses
o Ideas that separated male and female religious practices
o Continued acceptance of slavery and other coercive institutions
• Which three belief systems that appeared at the end of the classical period ultimately became world religions?
o Christianity
o Buddhism
o Islam
• Which religious ideas and rituals, which first appeared in Buddhism, are also found in Christianity?
o The halo, or nimbus
o Holy water
o Monasteries and saints
o Hand blessing
• Which thinker did not live during the era of classical civilizations?
o Thomas Aquinas
• Which is a religion of Japan?
o Shintoism
• The Olmecs lived on which continent?
o America
• At about what time did the Han dynasty enter serious decline?
o 100 C.E.
• Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam share which of the following traits?
o They offer the hope of a better existence after this life ended
o They responded to new political instability
o They emphasized intense devotion and piety
o They stress the importance of spiritual concerns beyond the daily cares of earthly life
• Although similar in many ways, what aspects of Christianity differ from Buddhist beliefs and practices?
o Much greater emphasis on church organization and structure
o Greater intolerance toward other faiths and belief systems
o Greater support of missionary activity and widespread conversion
o Greater stress on possession of exclusive truth
• Pope means father
• What aspects of classical civilization were preserved through Christianity's growth and expansion?
o Monastic activities devoted to librarianship and manuscript preservation that allowed classical knowledge to survive
o Roman architectural styles reflected in church buildings, primarily in western Europe
o Latin and Greek as the official languages of the Church
o The importance of sound organization and complex hierarchy
• Christianity's most tenacious rival has been which religion?
o Islam
• The Huns:
o Contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire
• About 184 C.E., approximately how many students demonstrated against the decline of government morality?
o 30,000
• In China, which dynasty briefly ruled before the Tang?
o Sui
• Which religion did Ethiopia adopt in the 4th century C.E.?
o Christianity
• Which civilization developed in the Andes region of South America?
o Inca
• Indian regional princes were collectively known as
o Rajput
• Which of the following did NOT contribute to the fall of the Roman Empire?
o Climate change
• Which of the following emperors tried to use Christianity to strengthen the Roman Empire?
o Constantine
• Bodhisattvas belong to what religious group?
o Buddhism
• Who of the following was key to the spread of early Christianity?
o Paul of Tarsus
• In Western Europe, who established a popular monastic rule?
o Benedict
• In what century C.E. was Islam established?
o 7th
• In the classical period, which religion declined in influence?
o Animism
• What is the east Asian form of Buddhism called?
o Mahayana
• In which country did Buddhism dominate all other faiths?
o None
• Christianity did not grow out of Islam
• Justinian was not a dynamic Western Roman emperor
• Christianity spread relatively easily throughout the Roman empire
• The Coptic church is not in Syria
• Axum fell to the kingdom of Ethiopia
• Farming took earliest root on the southern fringes of the Sahara
• The first great city in America was not Inca

The Classical Period: Directions, Diversities, and Declines by 500 C.E.
• Expansion and Integration
o Common themes for the classical civilization involve territorial expansion and related efforts to integrate the new territories.
o China united through centralization, India united through religious values, and the Mediterranean world united through cultural achievements.
o Integration required territorial and social cohesion. Each civilization valued social distinctions.
• Beyond the Classical Civilizations
o Outside the centers of civilization important developments occurred. Significant civilizations operated in the Americas (the Olmecs,Maya, and Incas) and also in Africa (Kush, Axum, and Ethiopia).
o Agriculture and other developments spread across northern Europe and northern Asia, where semi-civilized peoples developed extensive contacts with older civilizations.
o Nomadic societies played a vital role, particularly in central Asia, in linking and occasionally disrupting classical civilizations. Important popular migrations across Eurasia led to the rise of new cultures.
• Decline in China and India
o A combination of internal weakness and nomadic invasions led to important changes, first in China, and then in India.
o The central Asian nomadic Huns attacked all three classical civilizations.
o About 100 C.E., the Han dynasty began a serious decline. Weakened central government, social unrest led by overtaxed peasants, and epidemics were the most prominent sources of decline, combining to make the government unable to stop invading nomads.
o However, by 600, China revived, first with the brief Sui dynasty and later (and more gloriously) with the Tang.
o The decline in India was not as drastic as in China. By 600, Huns destroyed the Gupta Empire. For several centuries, no native Indian led a large state there. Hinduism gained ground as Buddhism, unappealing to the warrior caste, declined.
o After 600, Islam entered India and Arab traders took control of Indian ocean trade routes.What survived was Hinduism (Islam never gained adherence from a majority of the population) and the caste system.
• Decline and Fall in Rome
o Decline in Rome was particularly complex.Although its causes have been much debated, certain issues may have contributed: population declined, leadership faltered, the economy flagged, tax collection became more difficult, a series of plagues swept the empire, and a sense of despondency pervaded much of the citizenry.
o When Germanic tribes invaded in the 400s, there was little power or will to resist.
o Developments also varied between the eastern and western portions of the Empire, as the Mediterranean world fell apart. The eastern, or Byzantine Empire, continued for another 1,000 years after the western empire collapsed.
• The New Religious Map
o The period of classical decline saw the rapid expansion of Buddhism and Christianity. This religious change had wider cultural, social, and political implications.
o Later, Islam appeared, and spread, following the previous spread of Hinduism across south and southeast Asia.
• The World Around 500 C.E.
o Developments around 500 C.E. produced three major themes for world history in subsequent periods.
o First, there was a collapse of classical civilizations. Societies across Eurasia faced the task of reviving or reworking their key institutions and values after decline and invasion.
o Second, new religions arose and older ones spread. These would form the basis of future civilizations.
o Finally, new developments across the globe, whether through indigenous developments or contacts with older centers led to the rise of new civilizations.

• The two American centers of civilization included central Mexico and the Andean river valleys and plateaus of Ecuador and Peru
o The Andes region of Ecuador and Peru formed the cradle of Inca civilization
• The core or mother civilization for other civilizations in Mesoamerica was the Olmecs
o Historians believe that the Olmecs influenced later cultures in Central America, such as the Maya
• In Ethiopia, trade and contacts led to the kingdom’s conversion to Christianity
o Greek-speaking merchants brought Christianity to Ethiopia by the 4th century C.E.
• Shinto is an extremely developed form of animistic nature worship
o Shintoism is a relatively simple ancient Japanese religion focused on worship of political leaders and the spirits of nature, including the all-important god of rice
• At the end of the Classical Age there was a religious upsurge as a result of social and economic problems
o Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity (and later Islam) increased their influence considerably during the turmoil at the end of the classical age
• As the Han Empire collapsed landowners and warlords dominated the successor governments
o As the central government’s control diminished, local landlords ruled as they pleased; later, these regional leaders vied for power in the vacuum the Han left behind
• In India during the period after the Guptan collapse, Hinduism maintained cultural cohesion when the central state collapsed
o Hinduism continued to serve as a cohesive force despite the decline of the Guptas. In particular, many Indians began to worship Devi, a mother goddess
• Christianity differed from classic Mediterranean culture in all of these ways:
o it offered salvation to the poor and slaves
o it emphasized eternal salvation instead of the pursuits of the secular world
o it granted equal importance to the souls of men and women
o it provided a common culture to unify all classes
o Christianity DID borrow from Roman models to organize itself
• All of these contributed to the decline and fall of Rome:
o nomadic invasions
o the collapse of effective government
o plagues which decimated populations
o economic disruptions
o The Roman Empire was in decline long before Christianity became an officially sanctioned religion
• The fall of the Roman Empire divided the Mediterranean into three different cultural zones
o The three zones were the Eastern, or Byzantine zone; north Africa and the southeastern Mediterranean; and western Europe