Jason Sutedja

Mr. Shore
World History
12 July 2017

Unit 1 Questions

1. Paleolithic humans can be distinguished by very distinct physical characteristics.

However, the Paleolithic period is a time of change for the homo genus, therefore these
characteristics come in two forms. The first of the two forms is the homo erectus, which
compared to apes, have a more upright stature. In addition, archeological evidence
suggests that the homo erectus has a larger average size than apes. Moving on, the
second form (the homo sapiens sapiens), are extremely similar to the homo erectus, but
more upright.
2. Despite being the same genus, the homo erectus and homo sapiens sapiens have a
number of differences. Likewise, they also have a number of similarities. The most
glaring of these differences, is that the homo sapiens sapiens are superior to the homo
erectus in their level of uprightness and overall brain capacity. On the other hand, the
two species are similar in that they both have the same genus, opposable thumbs, and
certain ailments such as back problems. They also have similar behaviors, such as a
tendency to reproduce, aggressiveness above other animals, and an awareness to
death.
3. Map 1.1 provides a look at the spread of human populations, and using it, I will be
describing the general dispersion of humans. First, modern human beings are spread
throughout all continents on the map. Next, early human beings are mainly spread
throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, and are especially concentrated in southeastern
Europe. Finally, humanlike ancestors were just in Africa. Moreover, all the groups
mentioned above are usually near water and are on non-glaciated areas of the old stone
age. In addition, modern-humans are the most abundant, while humanlike ancestors
the least abundant.
4. The Neolithic revolution has much significance and took place in certain areas. First,
agriculture supports much more people per square mile than hunting and gathering,
which means that without the Neolithic revolution, earth’s population would be a lot
smaller than now. Second, since agriculture does support more people, the ancient
humans were able to create settlements in one area, meaning that without the
Neolithic revolution, we would all be nomads. Finally, domestic animals which stemmed
from the revolution provides us with varied clothing. Also, the revolution tended to take
place at middle eastern regions.
5. Prehistoric humans developed many important skills and equipment, especially during
the bronze age. First, in terms of important skills, prehistoric humans developed
language, agriculture, domestication of animals, metalworking, woodworking, and the
ability to develop cultures and shelters. Second, in terms of equipment, prehistoric
humans were able to develop metal weapons and tools such as hoes. Thanks to the
bronze age, these metal tools were able to develop, which we still use today. In
addition, thanks to the development of tools, ancient humans were also able to advance
agriculture and woodworking.
6. Slash and burn agriculture is very different from the agriculture utilized in areas which
developed the evolution of civilizations. In slash and burn agriculture, people would
burn off trees in an area, farm there for as long as possible, and repeat the cycle in
another area (usually returning to previous ones in 10-20 years). On the other hand, the
agriculture in the pre-civilizations were more focused on stability and longevity. One
incentive to stability was the use of irrigation canals, which directed water. Some of
these pre-civilizations also used crop rotations, which increased the longevity of the soil.
7. Catal Huyuk is a large village (later becomes civilization) with much significance that also
provides us a glimpse to the evolution of civilizations. According to some historians, a
civilization is a society with formal political organizations (states). And, Catal Huyuk can
be considered to have a rudimentary form of this, in the form of a large village ruling
several smaller villages. While this cannot be considered a civilization, the village (along
with other similar villages) still probably served as the groundwork for actual
 civilizations to be made, proving much significance. In addition, by studying the ruins of
Catal Huyuk, historians were able to determine the lifestyles of the people of the time
period. Not only that, but the village also provides us with a glimpse into the evolution
of civilizations by evolving itself from a large village to a civilization.
8. Civilizations have major elements that can help distinguish them from nomadic people.
Some of these are an economic surplus (through division of labor and agriculture),
prominent divisions of social class, a focus on stability, reliance on major cities (to amass
wealth and power), and formal political organizations (or states). Perhaps one of the
most major of these elements is the formation of writing, as it gave civilizations the
ability to keep records, allowing them to form more elaborate political structures and to
make contracts and treaties. On the other hand, nomads have very limited writings, a
reliance on hunting-gathering (as opposed to agriculture), and a lack of resources. These
factors go hand in hand with the fact that nomads move around rather than being
stable in one place.
9. In the Tigris-Euphrates region there developed a civilization, in which the Sumerians
made many significant developments. This civilization was called Mesopotamia, and
after the Sumerians invaded, they’ve developed many essential concepts. This includes
the cuneiform alphabet, art (including statues), a 10 60 260 number system, complex
religious rituals, and city-states. The reason that these developments are significant, is
because they’ve either served as the foundation for something greater, or are still in use
today. For example, while we don’t use cuneiform, we’ve still developed many other
alphabets with the same concept. In addition, we still use the 10 60 360 number system
to tell time.
10. Hammurabi made a major contribution to civilization, which allows us to deduce the
social and family structure of Mesopotamia, its relationship between law and trade, and
why its punishments were so harsh. Hammurabi‘s contribution was the Hammurabi‘s
code, which gave order to Mesopotamia, and serves as the foundation for all the laws
today. In terms of social structure, we can deduce that social class is very prominent,
because punishment is more severe if you offend someone from a higher social class,
 especially if you are a slave. Then, in terms of family structure, due to the laws about
infidelity (at females) and physical abuse, it can be considered that family loyalty is
highly valued. In addition, since the infidelity laws were only aimed at females (albeit
not all laws were mentioned) the man is probably in a higher position than the female.
Next, we can determine that the law protects traders from scams due to the numerous
laws supporting the mentioned. Finally, these laws had harsh punishments so that
people would not take them lightly.
11. Egyptian civilization was both similar and different to civilizations in the Tigris-Euphrates
Region. One major difference was that Egypt was one unified state, while the
civilizations in the Tigris-Euphrates region were based upon city-states. In addition,
Mesopotamia (in the Tigris-Euphrates region) had superior science and alphabet to
Egypt, while having inferior mathematics. Finally, Egypt’s economy was more fully
government directed. Moving on, in terms of similarities, both regions had one major
ruler (kings/pharaohs).
12. Being sure to include Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, I will be describing Indus River Valley
civilization. As the name suggests, this urban civilization arose along the Indus River by
2500 B.C.E. This civilization was rather advanced, as it supported several large cities
(such as Harappa and Mohenjo Daro) and even had running water. In addition, despite
trading with Mesopotamia, this civilization had its on culture, with its own alphabet and
art to boot. Unfortunately, not much else is known about this civilization, due to the
destruction causes by invading Indo-Europeans and subsequent natural disasters. In
fact, even now Harappan writing has not been deciphered.
13. The Huaghe civilization was both different and similar to the Indus River civilization.
First, in terms of differences, the Huanghe civilization had houses made of mud, while
the Indus River Civilization had houses with running water. In addition, the Indus River
Valley is shrouded in mystery, while the Huanghe civilization had a recorded history
(although some parts of this history may be questionable). On the other hand, both
civilizations had their own art styles and writing style. In addition, they’ve both been
invaded, and were built along rivers.
14. While gone, the River Valley Civilizations have left many important legacies for the
humans of today. One of the most important ones is the creation of usable alphabets
with writing implements to match. Then, there is also the invention of functional
calendars and other divisions of times. These legacies are truly endless, ranging from the
invention of the wheel, taming of the horse, production of mathematical concepts, and
the development of well-organized monarchies and bureaucracies. These legacies lay
the foundation for the functioning society we know today, making them truly
indispensable.
15. The Phoenicians who evolved from the first civilizations, can be seen as important for
certain reasons. Perhaps the most prominent of these reasons is that they devised a
certain alphabet around 1300 BCE. This alphabet would serve as the foundation for
Greek and Latin alphabets. Since many important alphabets such as English (one of the
world’s most popular alphabets) are based on Latin, this make the Phoenicians quite
important. Also, their notable prowess in trading may have helped the spread of
cultures and products in the past, which is also important.
16. The development of monotheism differed quite a bit from previous religious traditions
(which evolved in river valley civilizations). First, all of these early religions were
polytheistic, meaning they believed in multiple gods and goddesses. On the other hand,
monotheistic religions believe in only one god or goddess. While this distinction may
seem simple, there are actually quite a bit of implications. One of these implications is
that because monotheism is belief in one god, there will only be one set of values
associated with monotheistic religions. On the other hand, because polytheism is belief
in many gods, in most situations polytheistic believers will likely end up angering one
god, while pleasing the other. This means that the old polytheistic religions didn’t have
many associated values.
17. Judaism has many major elements. Perhaps the most significant of these major
elements is that Judaism is a monotheistic religion, meaning its believers believe in one
god. Subsequently, it should be noted that the god they believe in is all powerful, all
knowing, abstract, and never wrong. In fact, because the god is all knowing, Judaism
 was able to have its god create a set of values and rules for its followers to follow. This
means that for most Judaists, their religion is a way of life. Finally, Judaists emphasized
their God’s special compact with chosen Jewish people, meaning they don’t try to
spread their religion.
18. The Huanghe civilization differed quite a bit from other River valley civilizations. This is
because the other River Valley civilizations were invaded and destroyed, causing quite a
delay before their traces would be seen again. This means that while parts of these
civilizations can be found in later ones, they aren’t really associated with any particular
subsequent civilization. On the other hand, Huanghe was not completely destroyed, and
therefore, it is considered the beginnings of Chinese civilization. In other words,
Huanghe serves as the foundation for Chinese civilization, while other civilizations
scavenged material from the ruins of River Valley civilizations, making it their own.
19. In terms of both human development and history, early civilizations have produced
some major results. First, in terms of human development, these early civilizations have
created a set of tools, intellectual concepts, and political forms that would later serve as
the foundation for many civilizations in the future. Unfortunately, the rise of civilizations
has also served to further divide humankind by creating many distinct cultures,
especially in the middle east. Then, in terms of history, early civilizations have created
writing, which enable the recording of history. This can be considered a major boon to
the study of history. In addition, these early civilizations have also provided quite a bit of
history themselves, allowing us to deduce facts such as the fact that human tend to
divide.
20. Early civilizations had varying impacts on the world. First, Mesopotamia was able to help
different civilizations trade and have contact by having its vulnerable defenses act as
bait for conquers, and having its traders attempt to expand. Egypt was similar, but to a
much lesser extent. Moving on, while River valley civilization in China wasn’t as large-
scale as Mesopotamia, contact with China would later help develop Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam. This is through the many technologies (like irrigation) that china developed.
 Finally, Harappan society traded with Mesopotamia, but there is not much evidence
pointing towards significant influence.

Multiple Choice Short Answer Cont…

1. C 6. Huanghe River
2. D 7. Egypt
3. B 8. Catal Huyuk
4. D 9. Monotheism
5. A
6. B
True/false
7. A
8. A 1. False
9. C 2. True
10. B 3. False

Short Answer 4. True

5. False
1. Cuneiform
6. False
2. Hammurabi
7. True
3. Shangs
8. False
4. Phoenicians
9. True
5. Harappa
10. True