Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
10 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
When were the first settlements? What were the first migrations? |
The first settlements occurred around the same time as the seasonal movement of game and fish. Humans began their trek out of Africa and into Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and the islands of the Pacific. |
|
|
What were the first human societies like? |
The Paleolithic people created the first society. These societies were small consisting of about 25-50 people due to the limited availability of technology. There were egalitarian societies, no formal chiefs, kings, soldiers, priests, etc. They did not follow the hunting and gathering way to survive. |
|
|
When did people began "settling down?" |
People began settling down more in the Paleolithic societies. They had more available technology, there were improved human conditions of living, and societies were becoming much larger and more complex. Settlements meant that households could store and accumulate goods to a greater degree than previously. |
|
|
When did the earliest civilizations emerge and what were they like? |
The first civilizations emerged around 3500 BCE to 3000 BCE. Some sprouted in Sumerian, Egypt, Nubia, etc. Early civilizations gave rise to the world's earliest written language. Each civilization was different from one another but they had there own form of writing, culture, language, agriculture, resources, etc. |
|
|
In the first civilizations, what were their inequalities? |
Along with the first civilizations, there were inequalities in wealth, status, and power. Inequality and hierarchy was normal and just natural. Upper classes enjoyed great wealth in land or salaries, able to avoid physical labor, had the finest of everything. There were hierarchies of gender as well. Men were superior to women and son were preferable than to daughters. Gender often interacted with class to produce a more restricted privileged life for women. |
|
|
Compare and contrast Mesopotamia and Egypt. |
Both civilizations grew up in river valleys and depended on their rivers to sustain a productive agriculture. Egypt had a more cheerful and hopeful outlook on the world. They differed in political, cultural, and environmental outlook as well. Cities in Egypt were less important than in Mesopotamia. Most people lived in agricultural villages along the river than in urban centers. Although Mesopotamia and Egypt represented distinct and separate civilizations, they interacted quite frequently with each other. They both carried on a long distance trade. |
|
|
Describe the Persian Empire: |
The Persian empire was perhaps the largest and most impressive of the world's empires. The Persian Empire centered around an elaborate cult of kingship which the monarch could only be approached only through an elaborate ritual. When the king died, sacred fires all across the land were extinguished, and Persians were expected to shave their head in mourning. An effective administrative system placed Persian "satraps" in each of the empire's twenty three provinces, while lower level officials were drawn from local authorities. |
|
|
What are some common factors that led to the collapse of empires? |
Simply, most of them got too big, too overextended, and too expensive to be sustained by the available resources, and no fundamental technological breakthrough was available to enlarge these resources. The growth of large landowning families with huge estates and political clout enabled them to avoid paying taxes, turned free peasants into impoverished tenant farmers, and diminished the authority of the central government. |
|
|
What are some cultural traditions of classical India? |
Hinduism, as it became later on known as, had no historical founder. It grew up over many centuries along with Indian civilization. Hinduism was never a single tradition at all. Hinduism dissolved into a vast diversity of gods, spirits, beliefs, practices, rituals, and philosophies. |
|
|
Describe class and caste in India. |
Caste is the social organizations that emerged over thousands of years. The idea that society was forever divided into four ranked classes, was deeply embedded into Indian thinking. At the top were the Brahmins, priests who rituals and sacrifices alone could ensure the proper functioning of the world. Next came Kshatriya class, warriors and rulers who were meant to protect and govern society. Next was the Vaisya class, originally commoners who cultivated the land. Far below these twice born in the hierarchy of varna groups were the Sudras, native peoples incorporated into the marins of Aryan society in very subordinate positions. |
