Foundations Unit Review 8000 BCE to 600 CE

Agricultural Revolution 8000 BCE

Did not happen at once but in many places at different times Led to increased population and rise of civilizations Separation developed between agriculturalists (civilizations) and pastoralist/nomadic peoples Differences between the two?

Rise of Civilizations
Agricultural surplus Job Specialization Development of government Social hierarchies and inequality Cities Writing

River Valley Civilizations 3000 BCE to 1500 BCE

Egypt
Regular flooding Village society Pharaoh as God-King Indus River Valley Trade with Mesopotamia and China Centralized political structure

Mesopotamia Chaotic flooding City-states Invasions

Shang China Oracle bones Dynastic Cycle Mandate of Heaven Isolated from other three

Olmec Civilization in Americas 1200 BCE

Did not develop along river valleys Influenced later civilizations Technology adapted to their environment

Chavin Culture in South America

Unique geography: lived on coast, in Andes Mountains, and in rainforest jungle

Fall of River Valley Civilizations (app. 1200 BCE)

One common feature is invasion by IndoEuropeans. Another theory is interdependence; trade and contact meant they declined together (except China)

Rise of Classical Civilizations Greek City-States 400 BCE

Polis Highly developed culture of humanism and logic Greek culture spread through Alexander the Great and Hellenism

Acropolis (top of the hill)

Roman Republic and Empire 250 BCE to 475 CE

Culture derived from Greece Military might Engineering and architecture (roads, aqueducts) Dependence on slavery Christianity

Roman Engineering

Mauryan and Gupta Empires

Hinduism and Caste system Buddhism Indian Ocean and Silk Road trade Lack of centralized political system due to geography and diversity of people: theater states

Classical India Mauryan Empire (250 BCE)

Strong, centralized leadership Ashoka converted to Buddhism and supported toleration

Gupta Empire 400 CE

Theater state Cultural Flowering (e.g., mathematics)

Classical China

Classical China
Confucianism Daoism Legalism under Qin Dynasty (Shi Huangdi) Scholar bureaucrats Patriarchal society Silk Road trade

Trade in Classical Era Silk Route

Made possible by camel hybrids and saddles Important role played by central Asian nomads

Trade in Classical Era Indian Ocean Trade

Lateen (triangular) sail made it possible to sail far from shore Connected East Africa, Middle East, India, SE Asia and China

Fall of Classical Empires

Common Causes Invasion of Germanic tribes (Rome) or Huns (China and India) Deterioration of political institutions Expensive to Protect/maintain borders

Results
Not much impact on India: Hinduism and Caste system continue China entered period of chaos but Confucianism, Mandate of Heaven and Dynastic cycles continue Rome broke into east and west and west disintegrated, never to reform. No great institutions like India or China to sustain it

Origins of World Belief Systems

Polytheism

Origins of World Belief Systems

Hinduism

Origins of World Belief Systems

Judaism

Origins of World Belief Systems

Confucianism

Origins of World Belief Systems

Daoism

Origins of World Belief Systems

Buddhism

Origins of World Belief Systems

Christianity

Diffusion of Belief Systems