Road Systems:

Help unify an empire due to improve communication. In addition, they are valuable for trade (cultural diffusion) and are important for getting military to where they need to be more efficiently

  • Roman Roads
  • Incan Roads
  • Persian (Royal Roads)
  • Silk Roads

Limits on the King’s Power:

Documents that lead to a Limited Monarchy (Democracy)

  • Magna Carta: A list of rights that King John was forces to sign
  • Habeas Corpus: A person must be given a right to a trial before jailed.
  • Petition of Right: List of protected rights the king was forced to give
  • English Bill of Rights: Rights given to citizens
  • Parliament: Formation of a Legislative Branch
  • Constitutional Monarchy: A form of national government in which the power of the monarch (the king or queen) is restrained by a parliament, by law, or by custom.

Law Systems:

Important for creating order, expectations and consequences, and protecting property and individual rights

  • Code of Hammurabi: Eye for Eye (Equal on the same social class but different punishments when members of different social classes are involved in an incident. Considered to be one of the oldest and most violent law systems in history. Originated in the Babylonian Empire in Mesopotamia
  • Twelve Tables: Originated in Rome and heavily influenced the Justinian Code and future western (democratic) law systems
  • Justinian Code: Originated in the Byzantine empire and heavily influenced future western law systems
  • Edicts (Pillars) of Ashoka: Originated in the Mauryan Empire of India
  • Napoleanic Code: Originated in France under Napoleon

Professions of History (Social Scientists)

  • Archaeologists: Scientists who study peoples of the past through artifacts
  • Paleontologists: Study of bones to determine things such as life expectancy or diseases
  • Historian: studies patterns and achievements of different civilizations in history
  • Anthropologists: Use the bones and artifacts to determine the culture or habits of a group of people
  • Economist: Studies economy: What is produced? How is it produced? How much is produced? Scarcity of goods, Who consumes the goods?
  • Scarcity: shortage of goods that leads to decisions being made on how to properly use them
  • Cartographer: Map maker
  • Political Scientist: Studies different types of governments
  • Sociologist: study the interaction of different groups of people (ex: war, cultural diffusion, etc.)
  • Geographer: Someone who studies the impact of geographic factors on how a group of people live (Climate, Physical features, etc.)

Types of Maps

  • Political Map:A political map does not show any topographic features. It instead focuses solely on the state and national boundaries of a place. They also include the locations of cities - both large and small, depending on the detail of the map. A common type of political map would be one showing the 50 U.S. states and their borders along with the United States' north and south international borders (map of the United States).
  • Physical Map:A physical map is one that shows the physical landscape features of a place. They generally show things like mountains, rivers and lakes and water is always shown with blue. Mountains and elevation changes are usually shown with different colors and shades to show relief. Normally on physical maps green shows lower elevations while browns show high elevations. An example of a physical map is one showing the state of Hawaii (map of Hawaii). Low elevation coastal regions are shown in dark green, while the higher elevations transition from orange to dark brown. Rivers are shown in blue.
  • Topographic Map:A topographic map is similar to a physical map in that it shows different physical landscape features. They are different however because they use contour lines instead of colors to show changes in the landscape. Contour lines ontopographic mapsare normally spaced at regular intervals to show elevation changes (e.g. each line represents a 100 foot (30 m) elevation change) and when lines are close together the terrain is steep. For example a topographic map showing the Big Island of Hawaii would have contour lines that are close together near the steep, high elevation mountains of Mauna Loa and Kilauea. By contrast, the low elevation, flat coastal areas show contour lines that are spread apart.
  • Climate Map:A climate map shows information about the climate of an area. They can show things like the specific climatic zones of an area based on the temperature, the amount of snow an area receives or average number of cloudy days. These maps normally use colors to show different climatic areas. Aclimate map for Australiafor example uses colors to show differences between the temperate area of Victoria and desert region in the center of the continent.
  • Economic or Resource Map:An economic or resource map shows the specific type of economic activity or natural resources present in an area through the use of different symbols or colors depending on what is being shown on the map. For example an economic activity map for Brazil can use colors to show different agricultural products of given areas, letters for natural resources and symbols for different industries (image showing a map of Brazil).
  • Road Map:A road map is one of the most widely used map types. These maps show major and minor highways and roads (depending on detail) as well as things like airports, city locations and points of interest like parks, campgrounds and monuments. Major highways on a road map are generally red and larger than other roads, while minor roads are a lighter color and a narrower line. A road map of San Francisco, California for example would show the major highways as a wide red line and other large roads as a lighter red with minor streets as gray (map of San Francisco).

Types of Political Systems (Governments)

Democracy: government by the people or what is known as a Republic. Direct

Democracy (Athens): government in which ALL citizens meet to pass laws but is not practical for nations to be efficient and stable. Democracy is also a way of life that includes free and open elections. Common practices of a democracy:

  1. Free Elections:
  2. Having more than one political party
  3. Universal suffrage: all adult citizens can vote
  4. Citizen Participation:
  5. high levels of education and literacy
  6. economic stability
  7. freedoms of speech, press, and assembly
  8. Majority rule, Minority Rights:
  9. All citizens are equal/ Shared national identity
  10. Protection of individual rights such as freedom of religion
  11. Representatives elected by citizens to carry out their goals
  12. Constitutional Government
  13. Clear body of traditions and laws
  14. Widespread education about how govt works
  15. National acceptance of majority decisions/ No one is above the law
  • Communism: State owned economy, idea of a classless society, no private property, equal wages, (system sounds good on paper but has been run more like a dictatorship)
  • Republic: form of government where power rests with the citizens
  • Feudalism: political system where nobles run the land owned by the king and pay the king money in exchange for protection. Serfs work the land in exchange for food and protection.
  • Monarchy: ruled by a royal family or aristocracy (absolute ruler)
  • Dictator: leader who has absolute power and command of the army and society
  • Mandate of Heaven: ruler has divine approval from the gods (China)
  • Divine Right: Chosen by god to rule (Europe during the Age of Absolutism
  • City-State: city and its surround land that is an independent political state (Ex: Athens and Sparta in Greece). Also known as a Polis in Greece.
  • Pharaohs: Egyptian god/kings which were the leaders and center of society.
  • Theocracy: type of government where the religion is connected to the government (ex: Islamic State: Iran)
  • Oligarchy: ruled by a few powerful people (Ex: Rome at certain times in their history)
  • Parliament: Legislative branch of government that was formed to limit the kings power and spread out power (Ex: Just like our current day congress)
  • Dynastic Cycle: Justified replacement of a failing dynasty by a new, more powerful one (Ex: When China loses faith in a ruling family, they replace it with a new family hence the name of their dynasties such as Han, Shang, etc.)
  • Dynasty: country ruled by a family generation after generation.
  • Fascism: Complete loyalty to your state and dictator (extreme nationalism) Ex: Fascist Germany and Italy during WWII
  • Totalitarian State: Government has total control over all aspects of society

Economist: someone who studies the economic system and trade of a group of people

Traditional Economic System

•Subsistence Farming

- People produce most all of what they need to survive

•Hunting & Gathering

•Herding

•Barter system- trade goods and services for other goods and services

Example

•Most cultures used this method for thousands of years

•RiverValley Civilizations

•Pre- Industrial societies

•Underdeveloped Countries today (LDC’s)

Feudal Economic System

Political, ECONOMIC, and social system.

•Manorialism –

–land = wealth and power

–Rigid Social Class system

•(Peasants= labor; Nobles=protection)

•LOYALTY and SERVICE

•Isolated and self-sufficient

•Little trade

Example

•Europe –

–Middle Ages-

–500 AD to 1500 AD

•Feudal Japan –

–1200 AD to 1860 AD

–Ends with Meiji Era modernization and industrialization

Mercantilist Economic System

•16th & 18th century Europe

•Crusades break down feudal system

•Nation’s wealth = gold & silver

•Colonies exist to serve the Mother Country

•Colonies send raw materials

•Mother Country manufactures goods and sells them to the colonies

•Monarch controls all trade

•Favorable balance of trade for the Mother Country

•Mother Country’s wealth….leads to capitalism!!!

Example

COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION

(1500-1700’S)

•Spain, Portugal, France, England, Holland

Capitalist Economic System

FREE MARKET ECONOMY

•Private ownership of business

–-Free Enterprise

•Supply and Demand; Consumers determine price, etc.

•Entrepreneur- starts business on their own

•Stockholders

•Competition

Examples:

•Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations, 1776)

–Laissez-Faire Capitalism

–Gov’t “HANDS OFF” the economy

–Britain 1750’s …beginning of the Industrial Rev.

•USA economy today

Communist Economic System

COMMAND ECONOMY

•All economic decisions made by gov’t planners

•Gov’t owns all property

•Gov’t controls all production and distribution of goods

Examples:

•Karl Marx (Communist Manifesto, 1848)

–Workers of the world unite… overthrow capitalists

–Share resources… EQUALITY for all!

–NEVER BEEN TRIED!!!

•USSR - Lenin 1917

•China – Mao 1949 - 1978

•Cuba- Castro 1959

•Vietnam 1975 (after the war)…today

•North Korea 1948…today

(DEMOCRATIC) SOCIALISM

Major Features:

MIXED ECONOMY

Some gov’t ownership+Some private ownership

•Gov’t gets involved in economy to protect workers’ rights…

•National Health Care System, etc.

Examples:CHINA (1978-present), Deng Xiaoping, some capitalist reforms introduced

Types of Sources

  • Primary: Diary/Journal, Letter, Artifact, Picture, Live video/film, Business ledger, historical documents such as the constitution, Autobiography, Speech, Personal Correspondence, audio recording, eye witness account, manual (ex: Gun manual), Newspaper
  • Secondary: Textbook, Encyclopedia, Biography, Anniversary items such as a newspaper article

Types of Farming

  • Slash and Burn Farming
  • Bantu People
  • Used in Tropical Areas because of the need to clear trees
  • Not a long term source of farming (uses up soil quickly)
  • Terrace Farming
  • Incas and Some parts of China
  • Example of adapting to your environment
  • Subsistence Farming (Traditional)
  • Growing enough foods to survive
  • Commercial Farming
  • Growing a surplus of a crop and selling it for profit
  • Irrigation systems (River farming)
  • 3 field system (rotating crops)
  • Collective Farming
  • Soviet Union and China (characteristic of communism)
  • People forced to grow agriculture and meet quotas
  • Dangerous if government is harsh on missed quotas/ Ex: Ukranian Famine
  • Plantation Farming
  • Focusing on growing a cash crop such as tobacco
  • Manorialism
  • Self-sufficient farming due to the inability to trade
  • Similar to subsistence farming
  • Chinampas (Floating Gardens)
  • Aztecs

Golden Ages:

A period of prosperity often accompanied by achievements in art, science, math, and literature

  • Golden Age of Pericles (Greece): Arts and Philosophy
  • Golden Age of India (Gupta): Math: Concept of Zero, Decimal System, Sanskrit Language, and Plastic Surgery
  • Golden Age of Islam: Religious Toleration, Algebra, Medicine
  • Pax Romana: Golden Age of Rome: Period of peace and prosperity: architecture (dome, arches, aqueducts), engineering (roads, bridges), and Law (12 tables)
  • Renaissance: Arts and Literature: Period of rebirth in education in Europe, also includes the scientific revolution

Human Origins in Africa

  • Archaeologists: scientists who study peoples of the past through artifacts
  • Artifacts: remains such as tools, jewelry, and bones
  • Culture: peoples unique way of life shown by tools, clothes, etc.
  • Leaky’s: Proved 1st humans came from East Africa
  • Shanidar Cave: evidence of a funeral that showed they had spiritual beliefs/culture
  • Luci: 1st Oldest Skeleton discovered (Leakys)

Paleolithic Age: Old Stone Age: Before the Neolithic Revolution, people were:

  • Hunter-Gatherers: searched for food
  • Nomads: Traveled Place to Place
  • Cave art: First writing system was pictures
  • Technology Revolution: Fire, Simple Stone tools, NO Farming!!!
  • Leaky’s: Proved 1st humans came from East Africa
  • ShanidarCave: evidence of a funeral that showed they had spiritual beliefs/culture
  • Luci: 1st Oldest Skeleton discovered (Leakys)

Neolithic Age: New Stone Age: The Neolithic (Agricultural) Revolution or discovery of farming allowed people to:

  • Stay in one place: Permanent Settlement /Civilizations Form/ Cultures Form
  • Slash and Burn Farming: cut down and burned trees/used ash to fertilize soil
  • Irrigation systems: water system created to keep soil fertile (used rivers)
  • Permanent (Steady) Source of Food= Larger Population= 1st cities emerged= 1st civilizations form
  • Domestication of Animals: Herded Animals and kept them in stables where they could use them for food, farming, transportation, etc.

Early River Civilizations

  • SIMILARITIES: All developed next to rivers, all had a written language, all were polytheistic
  • EGYPT:
  • Nile River/ Silt from flooding
  • Pyramids/ Tombs: Honored the dead: Believed in afterlife
  • Hieroglyphics: writing system based on pictures
  • Ramses II is one of the Greatest Pharaohs in their history
  • INDIA:
  • Indus Valley civilization/ Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra Rivers
  • Well planned cities
  • CHINA: Yellow River: Nicknamed the “River of Sarrow” due to its unpredictable flooding that killed thousands throughout history
  • MESOPOTAMIA: Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
  • Also known as the Fertile Crescent
  • Babylonian Empire

Deserts:

Can be a line of defense or cause isolation (cultural diversity)

  • Sahara Desert (Africa)
  • Desertification: change of farmable (arable) land into desert land. 2 major causes of this are overgrazing of cattle and the cutting down of trees. Too much grazing eliminates the grass that holds the soil together to prevent erosion. The most dramatic example of desertification is Africa’s Desert (world’s largest desert) that continues to grow in size by about 50 miles every year! Desertification can lead to FAMINE (widespread starvation) but it can be prevented by planting trees and watching animal grazing.
  • Thar Desert (Between Pakistan and India)
  • Gobi Desert (Between Mongolia and China)

Mountains:

Can be a line of defense or cause isolation (cultural diversity)

  • Alps (Europe)
  • Himalayas (Separate India and China)
  • Andes (South America on the west Coast)
  • Incas are famous for adapting to the Andes by building complex roads and terrace farming
  • Andes are also famous for making it difficult to unite all of South America as one country during the Latin American Revolutions

Religions

Islam: people who believe in the religion of Islam are called Muslims. Islam began in the Middle East in the 600’s. The man who started the religion is called Mohammed. He is known as the last prophet because Muslims believe that he was the last prophet to whom God gave messages. Muslims believe in the same God that Christians and Jews believe in. Muslims called their God Allah. Mecca is the holy city for Muslims. Their holy book is called the Koran. Islamic Fundamentalist are people who follow the Koran very strictly and they do not want the U.S. or western nations influencing their country. They believe women should have their faces covered when in public. Second largest amount of followers in the world.

  • 5 pillars of Islam
  • Belief in 1 God (Monotheism)
  • Pray 5 times daily facing Mecca
  • Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime
  • Fast during the month of Ramadan
  • Be kind and generous to the poor and aged.

Hinduism: practiced in India. The religion includes the belief in reincarnation (the rebirth of the soul into another bodily form). Hindus believe that your position in society (your caste) is determined by how you lived your previous life. (all of the actions in a person’s life that determine his/her caste in the next life is known as Karma). A person is born into a caste (social class) and cannot change their caste (NO SOCIAL MOBILITY). Lowest social class is the untouchables. Hindus do not eat cows because they believe cows may contain the soul of a deceased ancestor. Hindus are polytheistic and worships thousands of gods. However, each god is part of a single supreme force called Brahman. The 3rd largest amount of followers in the world. Two of their sacred texts are the Vedas and upanishads

Christianity: Believe in the Messiah (Jesus), Largest number of followers in the world, monotheistic, 10 commandments, everyone is equal in the eyes of god, people who are humble, merciful, and unselfish can achieve eternal life (after life/heaven), love for god and compassion for others, and the holy book is the bible

Judaism: monotheistic religion, ten commandments, believe in free will, believe prophets such as Abraham are messengers of god, their holy book is the Torah. Smallest amount of followers in the world’s population.