AP WORLD HISTORY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

The summer assignment is designed to give the AP World student a head start on the class curriculum by doing an overview of the first 6 chapters in our text book Traditions and Encounters (Bentley, Ziegler). Each chapter has an outline overview followed by a list of historical terms and concepts that are central to the chapter. The student is responsible for the information contained in these overviews. The information will be tested within the first two weeks of the semester. (1) On a separate sheet of paper identify and explain the significance of each term (who, what, where, why, when, how, so what?). This assignment will be collected on the second day of class, graded and returned to the student before the Unit I exam. Information for these terms can be found in a handout copy (available upon request) or downloaded from Mr. Williams’ web site, or the internet, or hardbound encyclopedias.

https://sites.google.com/a/hartdistrict.org/williams_apworld/ (2) Complete the attached map assignment: a. Correctly match the number with the appropriate geographical region b. Complete the chart which 1. identifies the region 2. gives an example of three modern nations within that region 3. list the major rivers of the region (the same river can be used in more than one region 4. list the major geographical features such as lakes, mountain ranges, deserts etc., (again there can be multiple listings if the feature is trans-regional). c. Transfer the geographical information only, from the chart on to the map. This assignment is also due on the second day of class.

AP WORLD

SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

FOUNDATIONS

Historical themes and vocabulary

Chapter 1: Before History Themes

This chapter begins with a discussion about historical evidence before there are written sources. Human evolution and successful survival is discussed primarily in terms of increasing intelligence and ability to use tools and finally language. Migration of humans out of Africa is also “a distinctively human trait.”

Primarily, this chapter is concerned with the exploring the social, economic, and cultural

foundations on which ancestors built increasingly complex societies. Paleolithic and Neolithic foraging (hunter-gathers) societies had relatively egalitarian social structures, including gender structures. They were small and mobile communities composed of family groups. The foragers had little need or ability to accumulate possessions or wealth, since they had to be so mobile. Foraging communities produced ritualistic artwork such as the Venus sculptures and Lascaux cave paintings which probably had both religious and decorative purposes in emphasizing the importance of fertility and the hunt.

The authors object to the term “Neolithic agricultural revolution,” preferring the term

“agricultural transformation,” since the latter gives a more historically accurate description of the gradual and by no means universal human adaptation of the domestication of plants and animals. Women were probably responsible for the domestication of plants, and men for realizing the benefits of the domestication of animals. The results of the agricultural transformation were profound: a dramatic growth of human population that led to the creation of large population centers in urban areas; the development of complex social structures and organization of an economy that developed specialized labor and the accumulation of wealth in the form of land; the development of complex, urban-based societies (“river civilizations”), many of which influenced or controlled large regions outside the city borders because of the importance of trade. Historical Terms and Concepts to Know *Who, what, where, why, when, how, so what?

complex society

Lucy

Paleolithic

Neolithic

Venus figurines

Lascaux cave paintings

metallurgy

textile

social class, social structures Neolithic “revolution” versus “agricultural transition”

Chapter 2: Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations Themes

This chapter is primarily concerned with the establishment and development of the first complex urban societies in Mesopotamia and the broader influences an interactions that these societies had with other urban as well as non-urban peoples. The major themes (a search for order, the characteristics of complex societies, and the interactions between human societies) are introduced in the essay about Gilgamesh at the beginning of the chapter.

The specific individual developments of the Mesopotamian complex societies are probably less important than helping students understand the reasons why urban societies developed with certain political, social, economic, and cultural patterns. Students are introduced to the idea of conquest with the expansion of city-states into kingdoms and then regional empires. Surplus food and growing populations allowed humans to settle permanently in large communities, but they inherited only a few organizational ideas from village communal living. (There was little continuity in institutions.) As workers could specialize in urban areas, social distinctions (classes) became much more sharply defined than in Neolithic villages. Urban living allowed for the accumulation of wealth and status through ownership of land, specialized labor and trade, and military prowess. Urban living necessitated the development of trade between rural and urban areas, and then between urban areas themselves. Technological advances such as metallurgy (iron, bronze, and copper) and wheeled vehicles facilitated trade and warfare as well. Mesopotamian merchants engaged in trade with others in Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Afghanistan, and India. Mesopotamian cultures developed written languages, which facilitated record-keeping, the dissemination and codification of laws, and the accumulation of common cultural knowledge such as histories and religions. It is important to emphasize that living in a “complex society” was not the only option. Humans continued to live as nomads and continued to migrate. The early Hebrews were Mesopotamian nomads who were influenced by surrounding Sumerian city-states, but who favored monotheism. The nomadic Indo-European peoples, whose homelands were probably the steppes of modern-day Ukraine beginning ca. 4000 B.C.E., spread across the Eurasian grassland steppes with their domesticated horses. From 3000 to 1000 B.C.E., Indo-European nomads moved southwest into the plains of Anatolia (the Hittites) and Greece; west into central, western, and northern Europe (Celts) ; east into western China; and south into the Iranian plateau (Persians) and the subcontinent of India (Aryans). Indo-European peoples brought their language, their horse-based military technologies, and their deities with them, and these in turn became melded into the existing populations’ ways of life.

Historical Terms and Concepts to Know *Who, what, where, why, when, how, so what?

The Epic of Gilgamesh Semitic irrigation city-state kingdom, regional kingdom empire Sargon of Akkad Hammurabi Hammurabi’s Codes/Laws Indo-Europeans stele Hittites Assyrians Hanging Gardens of Babylon economic specialization bronze and iron metallurgy stratified patriarchal society pastoral nomads elite, commoner, dependant, slave Hebrews, Israelites, Jews cuneiform Abraham Moses monotheism polytheism Phoenicians

Chapter 3: Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations Themes

Agriculture and herding began in the Sudan area of east Africa and spread to the Nile

Valley and throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The desertification of the Sahara ca. 5,000 B.C.E. is particularly noteworthy as the explanation of the shift from nomadic societies to agricultural ones in Africa as humans had to concentrate their efforts to survive in smaller fertile regions along the Nile rather than the extensive grasslands (savannah or steppe) that became the desert. Introduce the students to the concept that savannahs and even deserts are not necessarily impenetrable barriers. Savannahs/steppes and deserts are like oceans in that those with the appropriate technology (modes of transportation and navigation) can traverse them with ease. Hence the Arabic term “sahel” to describe the savannahs at the edge of the Sahara Desert as a “coast” to be navigated and traveled.

The most effective way to move quickly through this chapter and assimilate this information would be to set up a comparison between early African complex societies (Egypt, Nubia) and the Mesopotamian cities, kingdoms, and regional empires. Students do not need to know the specifics of the Egyptian and Nubian kingdoms. Rather, they need to understand that these African complex societies were also built on agricultural wealth of river valleys and developed similar institutions to regulate political, economic, and social order. Furthermore, the wealth of the kingdoms served as incentive for invaders. Conflict and trade were central webs of contact between urban societies as well as between nomads and urban settlers. The Egyptian and Nubian cultures engaged in many types of cross-cultural interactions with each other, and with Mesopotamian, Arabian, East African, and Mediterranean cultures. The south and eastward migrations of the Bantu-speaking peoples from west Africa beginning ca. 3000 B.C.E. brought agricultural and later, ca. 1000 B.C.E., iron-working traditions into sub-Saharan Africa. As with the Indo-Europeans in Eurasia, Bantu migrations resulted in intermixing of populations, and the establishment of Bantu languages and monotheistic religious traditions throughout the sub-Saharan region of the continent. Historical Terms and Concepts to Know *Who, what, where, why, when, how, so what?

mummification savannah demographic pressures Menes pharaoh mercenary scribe cataracts hieroglyphics Rosetta stone pyramids

Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia Themes:

As in the previous two chapters, this chapter focuses on both the development of early complex societies in south Asia (India) and the effects of the migrations of the nomadic peoples, in this case the Indo-European Aryans, on the subcontinent’s peoples. As in chapter 3, the most efficient way to cover this information would be (1) to continue the comparisons between early complex societies (the Mesopotamian river valley societies, the Nile river valley societies, and the Indus river valley societies) and then (2) to continue the comparisons of the roles and influences of migrating nomads.

Unlike Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies, historians have little detailed evidence of Harappan societies. Much potential evidence is under water and we have been unable to translate their script. That being said, the main lecture/discussion topic should be the comparison (similarities and differences) of south Asian peoples’ (the Dravidians’) development of agriculture, probably learned from the Mesopotamians, and then early complex societies and their institutions. Note that Harappan cities were quite a bit larger, and their domestic technologies (running water and sewage systems) were very sophisticated. As Harappan societies declined (for reasons historians don’t know) Indo-European Aryans moved southward into the subcontinent bringing horses and cattle and slowly adapting to the local Dravidian agricultural economy. This period between 1500-500 B.C.E. is called the Vedic period, and is identified as the crucial period of the intermixing of Dravidian and Aryan cultures that produced the foundation of modern “Indian” social classes (the caste system and patriarchy); political structures (in the form of smaller-scale regional kingdoms); religious ideas (early Aryan texts that later become the crucial in Hinduism); and cultural imports (the Sanskrit language).1 Historical Terms and Concepts to Know *Who, what, where, why, when, how, so what?

Aryans Harappans semi-precious stones sewage systems ecological degradation Vedas, Rig Veda, Vedic Age republic administrators varna caste jati brahmins social mobility sati (suttee) ritual sacrifices Dravidians Upanishads Brahman samsara karma moksha ascetic, asceticism

Chapter 5: Early Society in East Asia Themes

As in the previous three chapters, this chapter focuses on both the development of early complex societies in east Asia (China) and the interactions of the nomadic peoples with the peoples of the early complex societies. AP students do not have to know the details of the early Chinese dynasties, nor do they even have to “memorize” the order of dynasties in general. The most prominent of the early dynasties, the Shang (ca. 1766 to 1122 B.C.E.) and the early Zhou (1122 to 256 B.C.E.), should be used to compare with the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, and Indus valley societies.

Again, geography must be discussed to understand the importance of the Yellow (Huang

He) River and the Yangzi (Chang Jiang) in supporting Neolithic agricultural surpluses of rice and millet. East Asian peoples underwent the same process of gathering in farming villages, then cities and small regional kingdoms as the other early societies in the eastern hemisphere. The ubiquitous Indo-Europeans migrated to east Asia before the Shang (ca. 2000 B.C.E.), bringing with them bronze metallurgy, domesticated horses, and wheeled chariots. In fact, Shang power against their many other city-state rivals seems to have been based on their monopolization of the production of bronze (for weaponry) and their cavalry.

The Chinese peoples seemed to have little or no direct contact with western Eurasian

and African societies. They did have direct (maritime) contact with southeast Asian farming societies and Indian Ocean areas, however. This is a significant point to emphasize: the contact with western societies was made through nomadic intermediaries. (Note: This system of using intermediaries seemed to be remarkably efficient, in that fragments of Shang pottery have been found at sites in Mojeno-daro!) The Chinese developed in isolation from these other societies, and therefore developed somewhat different social and political patterns. Of particular importance is the Chinese tradition of veneration of ancestors. This contributed to a localized, family-based religion, as opposed an organized religion or official priesthood-elite, and early Chinese societies developed more “secular” traditions than other early complex societies. The early Zhou also developed the political concept of the “mandate of heaven,” which would justify or explain imperial powers and responsibilities for two millennia. The symbiotic relationship between Chinese farmers (“settled” peoples) and northern and central Asian nomadic peoples is particularly important, as noted above. Farmers, or those in “settled” villages and cities, provided food, finished products, textiles, and metal goods to the nomads, who in turn provided horses and traded goods from farther west. This relationship allowed the nomads to raise horses but not have to lead a settled life in order to acquire food. It allowed the settled societies to develop in a certain ignorance of other societies and also not privilege a merchant class in their social structures.

Historical Terms and Concepts to Know

staple foods (rice, millet, wheat, barley) dynasty Xia loess “China’s sorrow” hereditary state Shang Zhou “mandate of heaven” decentralized administration royal court artisans cowrie shells ancestor veneration extended family oracle bones consort steppe nomads

Chapter 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania Themes:

Historians know much less about early American complex societies than we do about Eurasian and African ones, in large part because of the lack of written languages or the ability to decipher the ones that existed, as well as the lack of archeological evidence. Humans migrated into North America approximately 15,000 years ago across the Bering land bridge that linked Siberia to Alaska, and gradually moved south and eastward. Humans may have reached the Americas across the Pacific before this time, but historians and archeologists do not have concrete evidence of this yet.

Humans were foragers as they migrated throughout the western hemisphere, and

remained so in North America until the Common Era, as far as historians know. Hunting, fishing, and foraging communities were relatively small.

In Mesoamerica and South America, however, humans developed agricultural practices

by ca. 7500 B.C.E. and established networks of agricultural settlements and villages by ca. 2000 B.C.E. It is important to note that the peoples of the early complex civilizations of Meso- and South America domesticated plants, but there were no large mammals suitable for transportation in the western hemisphere, and the only herding animals were the llamas and alpacas of the Andean regions. Humans provided all the power.

The Olmecs were the cultural progenitors of the peoples of Mesoamerica. They

cultivated maize; had some sort of authoritarian ruling structure that could harness workers who were used to for large-scale public works projects, such as large “ceremonial centers” (temple complexes, not cities); maintained sophisticated calendars; and had ball games and rituals involving human sacrifice.

Understanding geographical realities is crucial for understanding early Andean societies.

Although they were exact contemporaries, the early societies in the Andean regions of South America had no contact with those in Mesoamerica, probably because of those geographical and transportation difficulties. By ca. 2000 B.C.E., there were many crops under cultivation and large ceremonial centers were constructed throughout the region. The first regional states, such as the Moche/Mochica, appeared ca. 200 B.C.E. These were unusual in that they harnessed valley areas running from the Pacific up the western side of the Andes, tying the peoples and the produce of coastal regions with the lowlands and highlands, thus creating integrated economic zones. Once again, however, geography was an impediment to larger-scale creations. No single state could surmount the terrain of the individual valleys and create a regional kingdom or empire at this time.

The early history of Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands) is about

human migration to these seemingly remote and difficult-to-reach places on the globe. They arrived by boats, made easier by lower water levels and less enormous expanses of open water

(at least 60,000 years ago when the earth was still engulfed in the remnants of the last ice age). Humans were foragers then, and brought those survival skills with them to Australia and New Guinea. Five thousand years ago, agriculture came to New Guinea via trade with Austronesian-speaking Southeast Asians, and was then transported eastward to the Polynesian Islands between ca. 1500 and 700 B.C.E. The peoples of densely populated islands like Samoa, Tonga, and Hawaii then developed along the same complex political, social, and economic traditions as their counterparts on the mainland continents. Historical Terms and Concepts to Know:

obsidian maize Bering land bridge ceremonial centers authoritarian society agricultural terraces bloodletting rituals Andean highlands, lowlands, valleys Austronesian peoples double-hulled canoes Olmec ball games

MATCH THE NUMBER WITH THE REGION

_____ EUROPE ______ SOUTH ASIA _____ SOUTHEAST ASIA _____ MIDDLE EAST

_____ NORTH AMERICA _____ EAST AFRICA _____ CENTRAL ASIA _____ OCEANIA

_____ CARIBBEAN _____ CENTRAL AFRICA _____ EAST ASIA _____ LATIN AMERICA

_____ SOUTHERN AFRICA _____ WEST AFRICA _____ NORTH AFRICA

REGION EXAMPLES OF THREE MAJOR RIVERS MAJOR LANDFORMS MODERN COUNTRIES