AP World History

Review I: Specifics
Technological and Environmental Transformations, to
c. 600 CE

human migrations (diffusion)

Neolithic Revolution (c. 8000 BCE)

Earliest Civilizations:
Old World
Mesopotamia
Indus Valley (Harappa &
Mohenjo Daro)
Shang Dynasty
Nile Valley (Egypt)

New World
Olmec (Mexico)
Chavin (Andes)

Mesopotamia
* Collection of city-states
(Babylon, Assur, Nineveh, etc.)
arising c. 5300 BCE that
eventually merge into different
empires (Sumerian/Akkadian,
Babylonian, Assyrian, etc.)
between about 3100 BCE and
539 BCE.
* City-states were forced to develop
water-use systems to control/
take advantage of flooding of
Euphrates and Tigris Rivers.
- canals, dikes, levees

Mesopotamia, cont.
* monumental architecture:
ziggurat (temple)
* written language: cuneiform
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Hammurabi's Code
* monarchy/empire: monarchs
were seen as descended from
gods, but not gods themselves
Sargon (of Akkad)
Hammurabi (of Babylon)
* polytheistic
* patriarchal

Indus Valley:
Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro
* A collection of seemingly
loosely-connected city-states
(Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, etc.)
established c. 3300 BCE and
lasting until c. 1500 BCE.
* Strong evidence of advanced
urban planning, particularly
with relation to street layout
(grid patterns) and sewage
systems. Also evidence of
large-scale planning for
maintenance of surpluses
(warehouses).

Indus Valley, cont.

* monumental architecture:
temples, sewers, city walls
* written language: undeciphered
* no certainty regarding
governance, but:
evidence of rulers for cities
evidence of equality
* no certainty regarding religion,
but:
evidence for Hindu roots, esp.
a mother goddess and sacred
cows

Shang Dynasty/ Yellow River

* A kingdom established 1766 and
1122 BCE. Tradition holds that
the Shang take over from a
mythical Xia dynasty, which
replaced the older Yellow River
civilization est. c. 4000 BCE.
* Well-established kingdom with
kingdom-wide planning,
water-use systems, and
developed social systems.

Shang Dynasty, cont.

* monumental architecture:
palace & temple complexes (in
wood)
* written language: early Chinese
oracle bones
* monarchy
* polytheism, ancestor worship
* patriarchy, feudalism

Nile Valley (Egypt)

* Creation of empire occurs c.
3150 BCE with the unification of
Upper and Lower Egypt by the
first pharaoh (Narmer/Menes).
* Egyptians had developed
water-use systems to take
advantage of the regular flooding
of the Nile River, and used the
Nile for transport of people and
goods.

Nile Valley, cont.

* monumental architecture:
pyramids (Old & Middle kgdms)
palace, temple complexes
* written language: hieroglyphics
The Book of the Dead
* monarchy/empire
pharaohs were considered
divinities
* polythesists, but instance of semimonotheism (Ahkenaten's reign,
worship of Aten); focus on afterlife
* patriarchal

Olmec (Mesoamerica)
* Collection of city-states (La
Venta, Tres Zapotes, San
Lorenzo, etc.) each with their
own ruler, established c. 1600
BCE; they coalesced from
pre-Olmec cultures dating from
about 2500 BCE.
* City-states adopted water-use systems for farming
(developed in the area around 5100 BCE) and were hugely
influential for later Mesoamerican cultures. The Olmec are
considered the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica.

Olmec, cont.
* monumental architecture:
stepped pyramids (temples)
* written language: glyphs on stellae
* monarchy/empire
probably hierarchical, may have
been centralized (around San
Lorenzo first, then around La
Venta)
* polythesists, roots of traditional
Mesoamerican mythology, like the
feathered serpent
* patriarchal; most lived in villages

Chavin (Andes)
* A civilization based around
a few cities that arose c.
900 and lasted until c. 200 BCE.
It was descended from the Caral
Supe civilization of c. 2600 to
2000 BCE.
* Developed a drainage system to
prevent flooding of buildings
during the rainy season. They
probably developed advanced
urban planning, given the degree
of alteration on mountain
landscapes.

Chavin, cont.
* monumental architecture:
temples with strong acoustics
(roaring jaguars)
* written language: glyphs, pictograms
probably only read by shamans
* unsure political organization
may have been heavily influenced
by shamans
* polythesists, anthropomorphic gods
* patriarchal

Let's Discuss...
1. How would we characterize this time period? What are
patterns we see?
2. Compare/Contrast any TWO of the civilizations.
3. What common factors led to the rise of these
civilizations?
4. What common factors may have led to the demise of
these civilizations?