1. AP WORLD HISTORY
Period 1, 2, & 3
8000BCE – 1400CE

2. Period 1
8000 BCE – 600 CE
5% of Test

3. The Paleolithic Age
• Most of human pre-history Paleolithic (“old” stone
age)
– Small-scale groups – 30 w/ yearly 500
– Gathering as important (or more) than hunting
– Human impact on environment minimal
– Human migrations and settlement influenced by disease
vectors
– Warfare, but rarely
– Women equal (or nearly so) sometimes deified
– Religion animistic or totemistic
– Egalitarianism

4. The Neolithic Transition
• Melting of ice sheets (Holocene epoch) opened
fields, reduced game
• Haphazard then deliberate cultivation led to
domestication of grains and legumes
• Stationary food supply meant permanent
settlements
• Early Neolithic villages populations ~500-1000
• Large settlements not possible through “dry farming”
• A few larger towns like Jericho and Catal Huyuk
• Copper metallurgy, but most tools stone

5. Domestication
• Areas of world with most domesticable plants
and animals got jump-start
• Animals, starting with dogs, domesticated to
become docile, easily controlled, more
nutritious, and unintelligent
• Plants underwent “un-natural selection”; non-
useful plants extinct while useful given
advantage & took over ecosystems

6. The Urban Revolution
• Settlement around river valleys
• Much higher population density, which brought:
– Diseases (esp. through livestock)
– Social stratification (even slavery)
– Increased warfare w/nomadic peoples
– Polytheistic religions, sometimes anthropomorphic gods
– Lower status of women
– Lower nutrition, average height, and life expectancy
– More complex forms of state
– Direct manipulation of environment; intensive agriculture
– Specialization, leading to technological advances

7. Technologies
• Metallurgy: from copper to Bronze, which
created an elite warrior class in some societies
• Hydro technologies: dikes, dams, irrigation
canals
• Astronomical observation and recording
• Writing – the beginning of history
• The wheel, levers and pulleys, the chariot

8. The concept of “Civilization”
• Civilization associated with settled agriculture,
esp. urban areas
• Associations are “good”, i.e. civilized vs.
“barbarian”
• Nomadic peoples don’t count
• Arguments against:
– Civilizations caused chronic problems
-- Nomads played crucial roles

9. Four major river valley civilizations
• Mesopotamia – Tigris & Euphrates rivers
• Egypt – Nile River
• India – Indus river
• China – Yellow River
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India were influenced
by each other; China was relatively
independent

10. Independent Invention v. Diffusion
• Technologies spread through trade, warfare,
migration, etc.
• Many are acquired “whole” from other
civilizations; sometimes modified
• Others are invented independently –
sometimes resulting in better technology
• Process of diffusion and syncretism essential
to Afro-Eurasian patterns

11. Mesopotamia vs. Egypt
EGYPT
-- Regular, predictable
flooding of Nile
-- Hot region, but not as
hot as Mesopotamia
-- Valley surrounded by
desert meant isolation
(initially), low danger of
attack
MESOPOTAMIA
-- Irregular, unpredictable
flooding of Tigris and
Euphrates
-- Hot, dry region
-- Open plains location
meant frequent
invasion

12. Influence of Geography
• Geographic circumstances heavily influenced
early river valley civilizations
• “Geographic Determinism”
• Influence is reciprocal: Cultures are
influenced by nature but in turn influence
nature

13. Mesopotamia v. Egypt – Religion
• Egypt
– Gods as benevolent and
predictable
– Rituals stressing
regularity and cyclical
nature of life
– Afterlife orderly,
predictable, pleasant
• Mesopotamia
– Gods as violent,
unpredictable
– Ritual stressing sacrifice
to appease gods
– Afterlife dark, dusty, and
unpleasant

14. Mesopotamia v. Egypt -- PFOS
• Egypt
– Local kingdoms unified
in 3100 BCE by MENES
– Centralized government
– Few cities; mostly ritual
centers
– Rulership shifted from
upper to lower Egypt
(Thebes & Memphis)
– Law word of Pharaoh
• Mesopotamia
– City-states unified by
Sargon of Akkad, but
unstable unity
– Imperial rule
– Cities focus of
civilization; large, urban
populations
– Rulership shifted from
city-state to city-state
through conquest
– First written law

15. The Indus Valley
• Script not translated so little info
• Had bronze metallurgy
• Uniform weights & measures indicate centralized
government
• Urban culture w/ infrastructure (e.g. waste disposal,
public baths, etc.)
• Cotton cultivation for textiles; legumes for food
• Traded with Mesopotamia & Egypt
• Yogic, pre-Aryan religion
• Collapse result of catastrophic environmental events
leading to SYSTEMS FAILURE

16. The Yellow River
• Developed independently of other river-valley
civs; no evidence of trade
• Focus of early civ was control of Yellow River;
earliest hero Duke of Zhou
• Cast Bronze metallurgy
• Cultivation of millet in north, rice in south
• Decentralized politically; divine kingship w/
sacrifice
• Writing system; oracle bones

17. Bronze-Age Empires
• Possession of bronze allowed military
innovators to conquer others
• Empire: area of centralized control over
diverse peoples
• Land Empires, e.g. Assyrian
• Maritime Empires, e.g. Phoenician
• Developed new ways of ruling, etc.
• Empires pass through stages

18. Bronze Age Empires
• Extensive trading networks allowed empires
to exist without river-valleys
• Marked social stratification; possession of
Bronze by elite
• Chariot warfare and other innovations; siege
engines

19. Fall of the Bronze Age
• Starting in 1200 BCE, most Bronze Age
civilizations fell
• Invasion by nomadic peoples (e.g. Aryans
from central Asia)
• Invasion by diverse groups (e.g. “Sea
Peoples”)
• Systems failure followed defeats and in-
fighting (e.g. Trojan War)

20. Period 2
600 BCE – 600 CE
20% of Test

21. Rise of Classical Period Civilizations
• Nomadic invaders assimilated into local
culture, creating syncretic cultures
• Influence of river-valley cultures continued,
e.g. Egyptian and Mycenaean on Greek,
became “Cultural Hearths”

22. Political Forms of State
• An Empire or Civilization can have any of the
following political forms of state:
– Monarch: Rule by one person (e.g. King)
– Theocracy: Rule by priests
– Oligarchy: Rule by a small group of elite
– Aristocracy: Rule by a traditional elite class
– Democracy: Rule by vote of citizens

23. Common themes of Classical Civilizations
• New patterns of social inequality
• Sophisticated Bureaucracy
• Formalized cultural systems
• Universal religions
• A Lingua Franca
• Internal and external trade
• Infrastructure
• Rigid gender roles
• Iron metallurgy
• Large populations

24. Case Studies - Greece
• Greek city-states not unified until threatened by
Persian Empire (dry-farmers)
• Some poliis (city-states) democratic
• Influenced by Mediterranean cultural hearth;
“Greek” is cultural not political
• Traded wine, olives, pottery in Mediterranean
• Women had lower status; worst in Athens
• Rationalism under Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
• Architecture: Parthenon
• Fall: Fighting between city-states made vulnerable
to Macedonians (Phillip II & Alexander)

25. Case Studies: Rome
• Developed around Tiber river; Latins enslaved
by Etruscans
• Ca. 500 BCE broke free, established Republic
(democratic government)
• Conquered Italy, then the Eastern & Western
Mediterranean (conflict w/Carthage = Punic
Wars)
• Fought to expand empire into Gaul and
beyond

26. Case Study-Rome
• Traded with China along silk road, dominated
Mediterranean trade, traded with Coastal Africa
India through IO & Saharan networks
• Developed written law code (12 tablets), concrete,
the Roman Arch (improved), road system
• Co-opted Greek culture; revered (& stole) Egyptian
• C. 30 BCE – Civil conflict leads to EMPIRE
• Empire lasted until c. 400 CE – moved to Byzantium

27. Case Study: Rome
• Fall result of several interrelated factors:
– Decline of small farmers and subsequent
unemployment
– Nomadic migration and invasions (German and
Central Asian peoples)
– Expense of maintaining extensive borders
– Decadence of wealthy; loss of “civitas”
– Disease and environmental problems

28. Case Study: Gupta & Maurya India
• Limited political centralization
• High taxes – 25 – 50%
• Religions of state: Buddhism under Ashoka, Hinduism
under later rulers
• Status of women higher than Rome or China, but still
not equal (e.g. Sati)
• Theater-state and use of rituals extensive
• Traded with Africa, Europe, Asia
• Important innovations: 0, fractions, inoculation
• Fall result of overspending on military

29. Case Study: China
• Kingdoms unified by Chin Shihuangdi
• Great Wall, coinage, weights & measures
• Development of Daoism and Confucianism
• Legalistic policies led to fall after death
• Han Empire (200 BCE – 200 CE)
– Lingua Franca Mandarin Chinese
– Han ethnic group dominant over others
– Constant threat from central asian nomads
– Trade with Rome and India through Silk Route and IO
Trade Network

30. Case Study: China
• Confucian Exam System used for some
positions
• Synthesis of Confucianism, Taoism, and
Buddhism developed – “Han Synthesis”
• Fall of Han due to several factors:
– Invasion by nomadic peoples on horseback
– Corruption & cabalism in government
– Natural disasters, disease, drought
– Infrastructural failure (esp. Yellow River)

31. Case Study: Mayan Culture
• Had roots in older “hearth” of Olmec & Toltec
• De-centralized city states – “MAYAN” is a culture like “GREEK”
• Social stratification – urban elite
• Trade limited & for light, high-value objects
• Reverence of Jaguar
• Primary crop: Corn but also beans
• Conquest of Aztec (c. 1200 CE) resulted in Imperial Control
• Systems failure for some states – environmentally unsound
practices
• Astronomical science, zero

32. Fall of Classical Period Civs
• Commonalities:
– Nomadic invasions
– Loss of trade contacts
– Disease & natural disasters
– Loss of civic impulse & governmental corruption
– Transition from centralized to decentralized
(sometimes “feudalistic”) PFOS

33. Period 3
600-1450
20% of Test

34. • Major transitions
– Development & expansion of Islam
– Expanding zones of trade/expanding networks
– Spread of religions
– Mongol empire
– Chinese renaissance
– European middle ages & renaissance
– Plague pandemics
– Growth & role of cities

35. Development & expansion of Islam
• Impact on economy & trade
– As a business law
• Impact on culture
– Sharia & the five pillars
– gender
• Political structures
– The Caliphate – Sultanates
– Mali
• Arts, sciences, technologies

36. Expanding zones of trade/expanding
networks
• Growth & expansion of major trade routes
– Impact of Islam
– Impact of technology
• Camels
• Dhows
– Nature of trade
• Indian Ocean basin
• Trans-Saharan
• Silk Road

37. Spread of religions
• Christianity
– Schism: East vs. West
• Buddhism
– Trade routes
– Order of diffusion
– syncretism
• Islam
– By conquest
– By trade

38. Mongol empire
• Political Impacts
– China
– Russia
– Middle East
• Economic impacts
– Trade
– Tax farming
• Military impacts
– Diffusion of military technologies
• Social Impact
– Spread of plague
– China

39. Chinese renaissance
• Sui-Tang-Song
• Commercial revolution
• Maritime trade
• Invention & innovation
• Urbanization
• Impact on East Asia
• Zheng He
• Compared to European Renaissance

40. European middle ages & renaissance
• Political, Economic, and Social form of Middle
Ages
• Restructuring: Rise of cities, national
kingdoms, decline of church power
• Impact of Crusades on trade
• Rise of city-states
• Impact of plague & commerce on serfdom
• Reformation

41. Growth & role of cities
• Cities as centers of innovation
• Rise of city-states
• Urban vs. Rural
• Influence of cities on politics
• Roles of cities
– As trade centers
– As religious centers
– As political capitals

42. Rise of Islam
• Sassanid & Byzantine (Roman) Empires w/
state religion
• Arabs as intermediaries
• Trade caravans & oasis cities
• Prior exposure to Judaism, Christianity,
Zoroastrianism (of Persia)
• Oral culture
• Clans & Tribes – constant warfare

43. Why were the Muslims successful?
• Byzantine & Sassanid empires weak
• Motivation of Muslim
• Brilliance of commanders
• Combination: multiple causation

44. Dar-Al Islam
• Spread through conquest and trade
• Indian Ocean Network: provided common culture
and legal code, increasing trade; spread into Fuxian
province of China
• Silk Road: Influenced central Asians, did not get into
China (Battle of Talus River)
• Trans-Saharan network: Spread across e-w axis, first
Muslim influenced kingdom Ghana (800 CE)
• Spread of Islamic architecture, law (Sharia), and
education (madrasas)

45. Women’s rights under Islam and
elsewhere
• Women under Islam had more rights than others
(e.g. Divorce, property ownership)
• Adopted head covering like European and Persians
• Muhammad’s first wife older (causation?)
• Women participated in Muslim civil war
• Europe, East Asia – more repressive: Christianity &
Confucianism
• Americas – More roles and rights for women

46. Sunni vs. Shiite split
• Death of Caliph Uthman led to conflict over
succession
• Muslim community – Umma – wanted to vote
• Shia wanted bloodline of Muhammad – Ali
• Civil war followed – schism
• Today: Iran is Shia, most of rest mixed or
Sunni

47. Highlights of Caliphate
• Abbasid caliphate height of expansion and
sophistication
• Baghdad population over 1 million, center of artistic
and intellectual activity
• Water sources brought to most areas
• Eventually hired Turkish soldiers (Mamluks) to fight
for them – later taken over
• Ended with execution of last Caliph by Mongols
(except in Egypt)
• Conflict with Western Europe over access to holy
sites, trade – The Crusades

48. Coda: The World by 1000CE
• Europe – decentralized, feudalistic, heavily
influenced by Christianity, economically cut
off; Iberia ruled by Moors (Muslims)
• East Asia – (China) centralized c. 600 CE under
Sui-Tang-Song; active trade, initial influence of
Buddhism followed by persecution; influence
of China on Korea, Vietnam, and Japan great

49. Coda: The World at 1000 CE
• Central Asia: Decentralized and tribal, but caravan
cities & trade entrepots along Silk Road
• North Africa: Islam spreading, Ummayad Caliphate
in N. Africa & Iberia; Trans-Saharan trade healthy;
Muslim states (e.g. Mali)
• Sub-Saharan Africa: trading on Swahili coast (east);
Great Zimbabwe in-land; much untouched by
outsiders b/c geographic & micro-parasitic obstacles;
Bantu Migration provided cultural continuity

50. Coda: The World In 1000 CE
• The Americas
– Central America: Pre-Aztec Mayan Classical Age
– South American (Peru): Pre-Incan Moche culture
– North America: Hopewell & Anasazi cultures;
decentralized & tribal otherwise
South Asia (India)
--Delhi Sultanate in N. India, Rajputs in Himalayan foothills
-- Decentralized otherwise, with trade zones on coasts and
Gujarat