6TH GRADE WORLD HISTORY TERMS! -- PART I: USING SOURCES, EARLY

MAN AND EARLY CIVILIZATIONS, AND RELIGIONS.

History GLE’s: H-1A-M1, M2, M3, M4, M6; H-1C-M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, and M8.

KEY CONCEPTS: RECORD ANY BULLETED NOTES IN NOTEBOOKS!

Chronology Timeline: a line or graph that depicts dates and the sequence of events.

Historical Context: The surrounding circumstances when an event occurs relating to the past.

Primary Source: material that is information attained (got) from the person who was present at the event. (first-person or eye witness).

Secondary Source: Material is information attained by hearsay; it is carried from a witness or person present at the time to a second person.

Method of inquiry: A research method used to conduct a close examination of a matter, in search of the truth! Inquire! Search! Investigate! Plan and Conclude!

Historical Analysis: to separate the whole into parts for individual (separate) study to relate to a past event.

Historical change and continuity: A continuous, uninterrupted flow of change, relating to a past event. (continuity—means held in a continuous flow.)

USING THESE KEY CONCEPTS: Below is a “Timeline” See if you can use it PROPERLY to answer these questions: 1. How many years after the Assyrians conquered Israel was the

Roman Republic found?2. The Punic wars were about 220 plus years before what event? 3. ANALYZE the chart to name 4 world empires that developed

along with Rome.

Notice that this timeline is entirely in years B.C. – ( it will be BCE in the politically correct, “we must be all inclusive” timelines.) Notice that numbers go DOWN from left to right, and in such cases the number of years between any two events is calculated the same way as with A.D. (or CE) –you subtract the two numbers to get the span of years. To the left is always years “before” and to the right is always years “after”.

H-1C-M1: Old Stone Age: The Paleolithic period,

or “old stone” age, and the time before 8,000 BC. All people were “hunters and gatherers”.

New Stone Age: The Neolithic period, or “new stone” age, the time from 8,000 BC to as late as the present day. During the neolithic period people began to domesticate plants and animals. This led to the important development of agriculture.

Archaeology: The study of the remains of past cultures.

HUNTERS AND GATHERERS!

In Paleolithic time man had to “follow” the food. Nothing had as yet been domesticated, so they’d settle in one area for as long as the food would last. Generally the men would do the hunting. The women and children gathered from the plants. When the food ran out, they’d move to the next location!

Time to lighten up! The cartoon below only stresses the notion that the men had to do the hunting—the women and children did the gathering

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES:

People who study the past have two sources of information. A Primary source is literally getting it “from the horse’s mouth”, in other words—directly from the source/eye witness. Above you see two—a speech by president Teddy Roosevelt and the diary of Christian Freeman, a Union soldier during the Civil War.

Others have to investigate by reading the accounts as written by OTHER people who have also investigated, thus an “indirect” source—such as encyclopedias, textbooks, newspaper articles etc. These are examples of Secondary sources.

H-1C-M2 Cultivate: To prepare and use land

for raising crops: cultivation marked the beginning of the new stone (Neolithic) age.

Domesticate: To tame animals in order to make them useful to people.

Domestication of Plants: When man learned how to use seeds, plant and cultivate plants for food and other purposes. (Note: the domestication of plants and animals allowed man to stay in the same place—thus establish civilizations and cities.)

H-1C-M3 Nile River: A river in northeastern

Africa, it flows from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea at the Northeastern coast of Egypt. The Nile is the largest river in Africa and the world’s longest river. (over 4,000 miles) The Egyptian civilization developed in this area.

Indus River: a river in southern Asia: flows from Tibet through northern India and Pakistan into the Arabian Sea. The Harappa Civilization developed in this area.

Tigris River: A river that starts in eastern Turkey and flows southeast through Iraq to the Euphrates River. The Sumerian civilization developed in this area.

Euphrates River: A river that begins in Turkey, flows thrgh Syria and Iraq, and empties into the Persian Gulf. The land between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers is known as MESOPOTAMIA!

Huang River: also Huang He or “Yellow” river in north China that flows east from the Plateau of Tibet. The Han Civilization developed in this area.

WHAT IS COMMON TO ALL THESE CIVILIZATIONS?

SUMER

Above are four of the earliest civilizations, probably in the order of their development. Notice that all four of them are established along a RIVER! Now ask yourself this question: Why would all early civilizations require a RIVER?Hint: Not all water is the same. Seas and oceans

are “salty”. Salt water KILLS plants and isn’t fit for human consumption. RIVERS have FRESH water, that plants and animals NEED to survive.

Egyptian Pyramids: Huge stone structures built by the ancient Egyptians as royal tombs, having a square base, and four triangular sides.

Hieroglyphics: an Egyptian writing ystem in which pictures or symbols stand for sounds, whole words, or ideas.

Code of Hammurabi: The world’s first system of laws, recorded by Hammurabi, king of Babylonia about 1780 BC

Ziggurat: A huge mud-brick temple built by the ancient Sumerians to worship their gods and godesses.

Above is the Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) in Egypt. Note the triangle sides and the square base. Unlike Sumerian Ziggurats, these pyramids were NOT used for worship temples—but as tombs for the Pharoahs.

Above is an example of Egyptian writing: Hieroglyphics! To the right you see the great Ziggurat of Ur, in Sumer. These huge structures were temples, not tombs. Above-Right is a sample of Sumerian writing known as “Cuneiform” that was usually wedge shaped impressions in a hardened clay tablet.

Chinese Dynasties: A line of rulers who belong to the same family and pass control from one generation to the next.

Civilization: A society that has achieved a high level of culture including the development of government, religion and the growth of cities.

H-1C-M4 Triangular Trade: A system in

which traders exchanged goods for slaves, sold the slaves for products from plantations, and then sold the products in Europe.

• H-1C-M5• Alexander the Great: Was only 20 years old hen he became King of

Macedonia. In 334 B.C. Alexander led more than 35,000 soldiers from Greece to Asia Minor establishing the largest empire in the world to that time.

• H-1C-M6• Specialize: To be trained to do a particular kind of work.• Cuneiform- A system of writing developed in ancient Sumeria, that

used wedge-shaped symbols.• H-1C-M7• City State: A city AND it’s surrounding farmlands, with its OWN

leaders AND government! • Aqueduct: A system of bridges and canals first used by the

Romans to transport WATER from place to place. • Social Structure: Groups with different levels of importance (such

as royalty at top, then next nobles, then merchants, then farmers, then slaves)

• Republic: A form of government in which the citizens elect representatives to make all government decisions.

Alexander the Great built the world’s first great empire, capturing most of the civilized world. He loved his horse Bucephalus, and named a city in India after him.

The Sumerians built the first city-states; they each had their own government. Also with a surplus of food, more people could “specialize” and do jobs other than farming—like pottery making, or cloth weaving.

Roman engineering was exceptional. Many of their aqueducts are STILL being used after 2,000 years! They transport water from one place to another.

• Pax Romana: Augustus turned out to be a strong leader the Romans needed. Under Augustus, a Pax Romana, or Roman Peace, spread across the empire. This time of peace and unity for the Romans lasted for more than 200 years from 27 B.C. to A.D 180, LONG after Augustus’ death.

• Julius Caesar: Roman general and statesman. He was dictator of Rome until he was assassinated by a group of nobles (40 senators) on March 15, 44, B.C. His most famous line was Veni, Vidi, Vici! (I came, I saw, I conquered)

• Constantine: Roman general and emperor. The Edict of Milan, which was issued in 313 A.D. (during his reign), made Christianity an accepted religion within the Roman Empire.

• Justinian I : Byzantine Emperor. His set of laws, known as the Justinian Code, is the basis of law in Europe TODAY.

• Byzantine: Formerly the ancient city of Byzantium, rebuilt, renamed (Constantinople), and made the capital of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire by Constantine in A.D. 330. It is now known as Istanbul, Turkey.

• Persian Gulf: A body of water in southwestern Asia, connected to the Gulf of Oman and out to the Arabian Sea. It separates the Arabian peninsula from mainland Asia.

• Twelve Tables: A group of laws, written down in 451 B.C. and carved on TWELVE BRONZE TABLETS, that became the foundation of Roman Law.

• Acropolis: A hilltop fortress in ancient Athens, which included the Parthenon, and other famous buildings, where citizens met to discuss affairs of the community.

• H-1C-M8• Polytheism: Belief in MANY gods• Monotheism: Belief in ONE God.• Christianity: The religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus

Christ, who was a Jew. • Hinduism: An ancient religion native to India featuring a belief in

many gods and reincarnation.• Judaism: The religion of the Jewish people, founded by the Hebrews

who descended from their patriarch, Abraham.• Buddhism: An Asian religion/philosophy based on the teachings of a

monk, Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha).• Islam: The Religion of Muslims, based on the teachings of

Mohammed, and in one God, or Allah.• Taoism: The most common religion of Japan.