AP World History AMSCO Guided Notes
0.1: Human Development to 600 B.C.E.
AP World History Guided Notes
AMSCO 0.1 - Human Development to 600 B.C.E.
A. The First Migrations
1. When and where did modern humans first appear, and how did they survive?
2. What cultural and technological developments did early humans achieve before migrating globally?
3. What was animism and how did it reflect early human religious beliefs?
4. How did climate change around 100,000 to 60,000 years ago affect human migration patterns?
B. The Agricultural Revolution
1. When and where did the Agricultural Revolution begin, and what climate change triggered it?
2. How did food surplus from agriculture enable occupational specialization in early societies?
3. What major innovations and social changes resulted from the Agricultural Revolution?
4. How did the development of government and writing systems relate to agricultural societies?
C. The First Civilizations
1. What geographic and social characteristics defined the first civilizations?
1. Mesopotamia
1. What was a city-state and what common features did Mesopotamian city-states share?
2. What was cuneiform and why did the Sumerians develop it?
2. Egypt
1. How did Egypt's political structure differ from Mesopotamian city-states?
2. What achievements in writing, mathematics, and architecture did ancient Egypt develop?
3. How did the legal and social status of Egyptian women compare to women in other early civilizations?
3. Indus
1. What evidence shows the sophistication of Indus Valley civilizations like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro?
2. What limits our understanding of Indus Valley civilizations compared to other early civilizations?
4. China
1. What distinctive religious or cultural feature characterized early Chinese civilization along the Huang He River?
5. Non-River Valley Civilizations
1. What early American civilizations developed without river valleys, and what characterized them?
D. Hinduism and Judaism
1. How did religious beliefs evolve from animism to more abstract concepts of deity?
2. What is the difference between polytheism and monotheism?
1. Hinduism
1. Who were the Aryans and what religious texts and beliefs did they bring to South Asia?
2. What is reincarnation and how did the concept of spiritual liberation relate to it in Hindu belief?
3. What was the caste system and how did it affect social organization in Hindu society?
2. Zoroastrianism
1. Where did Zoroastrianism develop and what were its core beliefs about good and evil?
3. Judaism
1. Who were the Hebrews and what historical figure do Jews trace their origins to?
2. What is a covenant and what covenant did Jews believe they had with Yahweh?
3. How did the codification of Hebrew Scriptures contribute to the development of Judaism?
4. What connection do Christianity and Islam have to Judaism and Abraham?
Key Terms
patriarchy
migration out of Africa
Agricultural Revolution
specialization of labor
Mesopotamia
city-state
Sumer
Egypt
Nile River Valley
Indus River Valley
monumental architecture
non-river valley civilizations
river valley civilizations
animism
polytheism
monotheism
Hinduism
Zoroastrianism
Judaism
ethnic religions