Origins / Settling Down
What is proto-writing?
Typically pictures, meant to convey more basic info.
How do you learn bout a society that has no writing? Or at least one we can’t decipher?
Archeology
Who is the first named Chinese ruler?
Wu Ding
When did Caesar die?
Ides of March/ March 15th
What is Linear B?
A lost Greek language.
Name the three tools that make us human
Acheulian Handaxe, Fire, Language
What was the Code of Hammurabi
o A legal code
o Inscribed on a giant salt thingy
o 282 laws - Fairly vague and harsh
o Criminal, property, family, and more types of laws
When did the Mandate of Heaven start?
Zhou say the Xia, but it was probably the Zhou.
Who is the Praetorian Guard?
An elite bodyguard force that essentially picks out and elects emperors.
What are the Three Sisters
Corn, Beans, Squash
What is teosinte and what is its importance?
Maize/Corn, Calorically dense and thrives in various climates.
What was the Diary Merer
Diary of a middle manger during the building of the Pyramids of Giza
What is the commandery system?
Graineries that protect the grain because it’s heavy. Also create protection for the people around it, but can give landowners too much power.
What are Gnostic Gospels and what is one example?
Emphasized Jesus’s divinity and downplayed his humanity. Gospel of Judas
What is Zoroastrianism
Monotheistic Iranian religion. Holy Book?
What happened to the Neanderthals?
Replacement Theory. Interbreeding Theory.
What was the Nile calendar?
o Season of Inundation - Flooding and deposit
o Season of Emergence - Seeds would sprout
o Season of Harvest - Best time of the year
Which empire created the first postal system?
Achaemenids. Describe the system.
How do the Colla end?
Defeated by Incan conquest. Could not defend themselves.
What is the Pax Romana
Period of “peace” within Rome
Explain the Silurian Hypothesis
Thought Experiment. Civilization with no signs left over.
Who was Amenhotep/Akhenaton and why was he important?
Makes Egypt monotheistic. Despised.
Give an example of Egyptian syncretism?
Greco-Buddhist art, etc.
What are the Olmec Heads?
Portraits of living or recently deceased rulers. Dressed similar to athletes.
What is the Third Century Crisis?
A series of disease, environmental, religious, political, and military issues