World History (US Middle School)
Comprehensive world history deck for US middle school students (grades 6-8). Covers early humans, ancient civilizations, classical empires, world religions, medieval periods, African and American kingdoms, Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Exploration, and basic geography.
Ämne: Historia · Nivå: Högstadium (13–15) · 496 kort
Innehåll
- Prehistory is the time before written records. Archaeologists study artifacts and fossils to learn about prehistoric humans.
- The Stone Age is divided into the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (New Stone Age) periods.
- Paleolithic humans were hunter-gatherers who lived in small nomadic groups, hunting animals and gathering plants for food.
- The Neolithic Revolution, around 10,000 BCE, was the shift from hunting and gathering to farming and herding animals.
- Domestication is the process of taming animals and growing plants on purpose for human use. It allowed permanent settlements.
- Early humans created cave paintings, like those at Lascaux in France, showing animals and hunting scenes about 17,000 years ago.
- A civilization is a complex society with cities, organized government, social classes, specialized jobs, writing, and shared culture.
- The first civilizations developed in river valleys because rivers provided water, fertile soil from floods, and transportation.
- Mesopotamia, meaning "land between the rivers," was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq.
- The Fertile Crescent is a curved region of rich farmland stretching from the Persian Gulf to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
- Sumer was the first civilization in Mesopotamia, made up of independent city-states such as Ur, Uruk, and Lagash.
- Cuneiform, developed by the Sumerians, is the world's earliest known writing system, made by pressing a stylus into wet clay.
- Ziggurats were large stepped pyramid-like temples in Sumerian cities, built as homes for the gods.
- Hammurabi was a Babylonian king famous for creating one of the earliest written law codes around 1754 BCE, with the principle "an eye for an eye."
- The Sumerians invented the wheel, the plow, sailboats, and a number system based on 60 (which is why we have 60 minutes in an hour).
- The Epic of Gilgamesh, written in Mesopotamia, is one of the oldest known works of literature, telling the story of a king's search for immortality.
- Ancient Egypt developed along the Nile River, the longest river in the world, in northeastern Africa.
- The Nile River flooded predictably each year, leaving rich black silt that made the surrounding land excellent for farming.
- Egyptian rulers were called pharaohs and were considered gods on earth. They held both political and religious power.
- Hieroglyphics was the Egyptian writing system using pictures and symbols to represent sounds, words, and ideas.
- The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, was the key to decoding Egyptian hieroglyphics because it had the same text in three scripts.
- The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2560 BCE as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu and is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
- Egyptians believed in an afterlife and practiced mummification, preserving bodies so the soul could return to them.
- Pharaoh Tutankhamun (King Tut) became pharaoh as a child and is famous because his tomb was found nearly intact in 1922 by Howard Carter.
- Hatshepsut was one of the few female pharaohs of Egypt. She expanded trade and built impressive monuments during her reign.
- Ramses II, also called Ramses the Great, was one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs and built many temples and statues during his 66-year reign.
- The Indus Valley civilization developed around 2500 BCE in modern-day Pakistan and northwest India along the Indus River.
- Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were two large cities of the Indus Valley civilization, famous for their grid-pattern streets and advanced sewage systems.
- The Indus Valley script has never been fully deciphered, so we know little about their language, religion, or government structure.
- Ancient China's first civilization developed along the Huang He (Yellow River), known for its yellow silt that fertilized fields but caused floods.
- The Shang Dynasty (about 1600-1046 BCE) was the first Chinese dynasty supported by archaeological evidence. They used bronze and oracle bones.
- Oracle bones were animal bones or turtle shells used by Shang priests to predict the future. Questions were written on them, then they were heated to crack.
- The Zhou Dynasty followed the Shang and developed the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, the idea that rulers had heaven's approval to rule.
- Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China (221 BCE), unified the country, and began building the Great Wall of China.
- Qin Shi Huang was buried with the Terracotta Army, over 8,000 life-sized clay soldiers, designed to protect him in the afterlife.
- The Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) was a golden age of Chinese civilization, with advances in paper, the compass, and the Silk Road trade.
- The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China with Central Asia, India, the Middle East, and Europe. Goods, ideas, and diseases traveled along it.
- Chinese inventions include paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing — often called the Four Great Inventions of ancient China.
- The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) is often called another golden age of China, with achievements in poetry, art, and the spread of Buddhism.
- Confucius (551-479 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher who taught the importance of family respect, education, and proper behavior in relationships.
- Confucianism is a philosophy emphasizing respect for elders, harmony, education, and the proper roles of people in society.
- Daoism (or Taoism), founded by Laozi, teaches living in harmony with the Dao ("the Way") — the natural order of the universe.
- Ancient Greece was made up of independent city-states (polis) such as Athens and Sparta. The mountainous geography kept them separated.
- Athens is considered the birthplace of democracy, a system of government in which citizens have a say in decisions. It was a direct democracy.
- Sparta was a Greek city-state focused on military strength. Boys began military training at age 7 and the society was led by two kings.
- Only adult male citizens could vote in Athenian democracy. Women, enslaved people, and foreigners were excluded.
- The Persian Wars (499-449 BCE) were fought between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire. The Greeks won, despite Persia being much larger.
- The Battle of Marathon (490 BCE) was a key Greek victory over Persia. A messenger ran 26 miles to Athens with the news — the origin of the modern marathon race.
- At the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE), about 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas held off a much larger Persian army before being defeated.
- Pericles was an Athenian leader during the city's golden age. He expanded democracy and oversaw the building of the Parthenon.