Describe how the Neolithic revolution led to injustices within religions, social classes, and between genders. Please provide examples for each analysis. 

The Neolithic Revolution, also known as the Agricultural Revolution, was a time of rapid growth and prosperity for humankind. Rather than living nomadically and constantly hunting and gathering, humans began developing agricultural practices to grow their own food. While this development did have many positive effects like new writing systems, new religions, new law codes, new governments, and new technological advancements, it had negative effects like social stratification, gender inequality, social hierarchy, and injustices within religion as well. For example, Since these communities no longer had to hunt and gather their food, they began having more sedentary lifestyles. Rather than everyone having the same resources and doing the same thing as before, people began taking on different jobs and having different beliefs. As this idea continued to expand, people were sorted into classes. More lower-class jobs included artisans, farmers, and slaves while more upper-class jobs included priests, rulers, and warriors. Of course, those in higher classes were treated better. Then, as more patriarchal societies formed, gender roles arose. These societies lived in a way where men had important roles in society (in the government, fighting as warriors, etc.) while women would stay home and care for the children. Some of these ideals have carried on to our society today. Finally, different societies had different religious practices. Certain belief systems used religion to justify mistreating those in a lower class. For example, in Hinduism. Hinduism used the caste system, a social hierarchy preventing those in lower class/caste from moving up in power, as an excuse to treat the lower castes as lesser than. 

Describe early neolithic technology and inventions. Please provide examples for each analysis. 

With the start of the Neolithic revolution, thousands of new technological advancements and innovations were born. One of the most important innovations was fire, or at least the use of fire to cook food. During the Paleolithic revolution, people's brains were very underdeveloped. This is because they were not absorbing the nutrients from the food they were consuming. It was only after they began cooking food with the fire that their bodies could absorb the nutrients. Another example of a neolithic technology would be different tools like the plow. With the rise of farming, people had to develop tools to help them with their work. Another example would be pottery and textiles. With the development of farming, people had more downtime to create new things. Pottery was used to make things to store food. Finally, one of the most popular inventions was the wheel. Initially, it actually served as a potter’s wheel but evolved into a source of transportation for heavy materials. 

Describe the rise of Interregional trade routes and how that led to the spread of religions. Give examples. 

The Rise of interregional trade routes was caused by the trade of different specialized goods (i.e. silk, copper, etc.) as well as the spread of merchants between different regions. A good example of this would be The Silk Road. The Silk Road was a trade route connecting Asia and Europe. It is named the Silk Road because it is known for the trade of Silk from China. China specialized in Silk and wouldn’t share its secrets with any of the neighboring countries. Telling someone how to produce the silk would be punishable by death. Other examples would be the Trans-Saharan trade routes, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. This led to religion because while trading goods, these merchants would spread their beliefs as well. For example, Buddhism spread along the Silk Roads to places like China and Japan. 

Explain the difference between centralized and decentralized governments. Please give examples of each. 

Centralized governments are governments where one unit is in charge of all autonomous decisions. A decentralized government is the transfer of power from one higher government to several local/regional governments. A great example of a centralized government would be the Qin Dynasty. The Qin dynasty was the dynasty that reunited China after the Warring period. During his rule, he implemented Confucianism and legalism into the ancient Chinese civilization. In addition, he created a bureaucracy to help carry out his rule throughout Ancient China. He was the person making all the decisions for the entirety of Ancient China, therefore, this was a centralized government. A great example of a decentralized government would be Greece. Originally, Greece was made up of thousands of poleis (city-states). Due to the mountains and rough terrain within Greece, it was difficult for the people to communicate with one another. So, they decided to have a decentralized government. Each sovereign poleis (city-state) had their own ruler, their own government, and their own set of rules. However, Greece still maintained a common language and many shared characteristics. 

List and explain six (6) significant terms that you should remember going into Period 1.

I think 6 significant terms I should remember are the Paleolithic revolution, the Neolithic revolution, diaspora, cultural/religious diffusion, democracy, and golden age. The Paleolithic revolution is the time predating the Neolithic revolution where nomadic people had to hunt and gather as a source of food. The Neolithic revolution, also known as the agricultural revolution, was the onset of farming and technological advancement in humankind. A diaspora is the spread of people away from their homeland. Diffusion is the spread of something whether it be cultural, religious, etc. Democracy is a system of government where the people have a say in a country's decisions. Finally, the golden age of a place is a time when it is extremely prosperous.