Possible Short Answer Questions for Semester 1 Exam 1. What is the signicance of the Paleolithic era in world history?

1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: While often forgotten and dismissed as irrelevant, the Paleolithic era was more important than what is really believed. 2. Idea Development a. Importance of females in hunting gathering society (their dietary supplementation) b. The Paleolithic diet healthier than todays c. Consumes 95% of human history d. People use it to criticize materialism and capitalism e. People were in tune with their environment, not trying to destroy it. f. The 2 African Migrations 2. The Agricultural Revolution marked a decisive turning point in human history. What evidence might you offer to support this claim, and how might you argue against it? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: The Agricultural Revolution boosted human civilization out of the simplicity and tediousness of using rock tools. 2. Idea Development a. Created dependence on animals (negative) b. Lost hunting gathering skills (negative) c. Vulnerability to famine & starvation (negative) d. Deterioration of health (negative) e. Specialization of labor => Inequity (negative) f. Allowed for creation of civilizations by remaining sedentary (positive) g. Eventual recovering from these negative effects (positive) h. New technological advancements: Metallurgy, milking, and wool (positive) i. Ultimately led to todays technology (positive) 3. In the development of the First Civilizations, what was gained for humankind, and what was lost? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: As the First Civilizations developed, a hand off occurred; things were both lost and gained. 2. Idea Development a. Specialization of labor = Inequality = Patriarchy (loss) b. Social Stratication (loss) c. Oppressive leaders and tyrants (loss) d. Disease and inter-Civilizational wars (loss) e. Technological innovations (gain) f. Option to settle down (gain) g. Organized government and laws (gain) h. Development of Fine Arts: Writing, Architecture, Art (gain)

(over)

4. What common features can you identify in the empires described in this chapter? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: Empires all had characteristics that they shared in common, hence they all share the same classication. 2. Idea Development a. Controlled large areas and populations b. Brought together by conquest and wealth c. Brought the ideas and culture to the people within the lands they conquered d. All collapsed e. All had hierarchies of power 5. Religions are fundamentally alike. Does the material in this chapter support or undermine this idea? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: Religions are basic to the core of humans, and thereby share a fundamental similarity. 2. Idea Development a. Creation of order/Motivation to do good (priests had power, that kind of thing) b. Laws and stuff, creation of punishments c. Religions like Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism told one how to live their life d. Religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have the same god/basic beliefs 6. What philosophical, religious, or cultural ideas served to legitimate the class and gender inequalities of classical civilizations? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: Different religions and philosophies had different ideals. 2. Idea Development a. Confucianism - Filial piety, levels of respect for people (Son to father, servant to master). It was used to justify patriarchy and the class system b. Greek Rationalism - Slaves were meant to be slaves, and the Greeks were just enslaving them for their own good. (More the Confucianism one than this one) 7. In what ways did commercial exchange on the Silk Road foster other changes? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: The Silk Road, along with trade goods, brought ideas, which brought about a lot of change. 2. Idea Development a. Trade encouraged multicultural exchanges, philosophies and ideas spread b. Tribal societies / barbarians were drawn to the wealth and riches c. Spread of technology into many countries d. Cultural diffusion of different areas through trade

8. Based on Chapter 9, how would you respond to the idea that China was a selfcontained or isolated civilization? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: China was most denitely not isolated, it did many things that show otherwise. 2. Idea Development a. Tribute system (and the warring nomads that extorted riches for protection)* b. Involvement/Revival through Indian Ocean Trade (Silk worms) c. Adoption of outside technology, like cotton & sugar processing techniques d. Chinas inuence on other countries (Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and nearby nomadic peoples) *Note: China sort of tried to act isolated/self sufcient here, because they had people essentially bow down to them in a show of inferiority. They liked to think that they didnt need the nomadic people, but the nomads had goods like fur and such. 9. In what ways did the multiple competing states in Western Europe shape European Civilization? 1. Mini Thesis - Restate the question while adding some opinion: The competition between the states helped shape European Civilization. 2. Idea Development a. Competition urged them to do better than their neighbors b. Desperate to do better than their neighbors, they were willing to borrow from others c. Willing to admit inferiority to access technology d. Despite competition, ideas were still exchanged between the competing states In the words of the textbook, Intense interstate rivalry, combined with a willingness to borrow, also greatly simulated European technological development . . . Capital, labor, and goods found their way around political barriers . . . and the use of Latin and later French by the literate elite fostered communication across political borders. Europes multistate system thus provided enough competition to be stimulating but also sufcient order and unity to allow economic endeavors to prosper.