Human Development to c. 600 BCE
These early humans survived by hunting animals and foraging for plants before agriculture.
Who are hunter-gatherers?
He left his wealthy Hindu family to seek enlightenment and became known as the Buddha.
Who is Siddhartha Gautama?
This religion founded by Muhammad spread quickly across the Middle East by the 7th century.
What is Islam?
This ancient South Asian religion taught reincarnation and the caste system.
What is Hinduism?
This Mesopotamian political system was based on independent city centers with surrounding territory.
What are city-states?
This major change around 8000 BCE led humans to plant crops and domesticate animals.
What is the Agricultural Revolution?
This concept justified Chinese rulers’ authority and could be “lost” through natural disasters.
What is the Mandate of Heaven (tian1ming4 天命）?
This dynasty (618–907) expanded China, invented gunpowder, and strengthened the Silk Roads.
What is the Tang Dynasty (tang2chao2 唐朝)?
This Persian faith emphasized free will and the struggle between good and evil.
What is Zoroastrianism?
This Greek city developed the concept of democracy for free adult males.
What is Athens?
This Mesopotamian writing system is the world’s first recorded form of writing.
What is cuneiform?
This Indian empire (320–550 CE) is known as a Golden Age for its advances in medicine and mathematics.
What is the Gupta Empire?
Viking raids and weak central governments pushed Western Europe into this system of decentralized rule, which emphasized honor and loyalty to one's local landowners.
What is feudalism?
This Chinese philosophy emphasized filial piety (xiao4 孝), education, and respect for authority.
What is Confucianism (ru2jia1 儒家)?
Roman law was displayed on these, protecting citizens’ rights.
What are the Twelve Tables?
These two American civilizations developed outside of river valleys but built complex societies.
Who are the Olmec and the Chavin?
This leader’s empire stretched from Greece to India, spreading Hellenistic culture.
Who is Alexander the Great?
This West African kingdom grew wealthy from controlling gold and salt trade routes.
What is Ghana?
This Christian emperor legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire in the 4th century.
Who is Constantine?
This Mauryan emperor spread Buddhism by inscribing his laws on pillars (e.g. Jing'an Temple 静安寺).
Who is Ashoka?
In Egypt, monumental pyramids and the title of pharaoh reflected this type of political system.
What is a centralized government?
This codified Roman legal system became the basis for European law for centuries.
What is the Justinian Code?
This empire in southeastern Africa built monumental stone structures before declining in the 15th century.
What is Great Zimbabwe?
This blending of Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist thought flourished under the Song Dynasty.
What is Neo-Confucianism (Song4 Ming2 li3xue2 宋明理学)?
This Chinese exam system allowed social mobility by testing knowledge of Confucian teachings.
What is the civil service exam or imperial examination system (ke1ju3 科举)?