UNIT ZERO REFLECTION ANSWERS

a) The Neolithic Revolution created injustices within religions, social classes, and genders by influencing the concept of social stratification. In religions, because grouping and categorizing was now common, religions such as Hinduism, made hierarchical systems of people. In Hinduism this system is called a caste system. In simple terms, the further you go up in the caste system, the more you are respected and the closer you are towards the main goal. People in the caste system could not marry outside of their caste. Since there is a top and a bottom to the system, this created social injustices for the people lower in the system. In a hierarchical system, no group will be treated equally. For social classes, citizens started forming groups and putting themselves on a spectrum based on their characteristics. This formed elite groups who then went on to become the governmental system and people lower on the scale who are trying to either live comfortably (working class) or just survive. For example, in classical Rome there was a social class system made of men, women, and slaves. Men were split into two classes, Patricians and Plebeians. Women and slaves were not considered citizens, therefore they fall into the same category. Patricians held more power than the Plebeians which was unfair. When they tried to fight for their rights, two of their advocates were assassinated.  This  pushed them into war. Before the Neolithic Revolution, society was more egalitarian. Speaking on genders, after the Neolithic Revolution, patriarchy began to settle. Men had more power and privileges than women. This idea of patriarchy followed into the religion of Christianity. In Christianity women are viewed as praisers for the men. They are expected to obey and sit quiet before men. b) Early neolithic technology and inventions allowed people to develop and further modernize their civilizations. One example of a neolithic technology was the creation of weaving. Weaving is the action of interlacing threads. An invention created in early neolithic times was sharp tools. Neolithic people made tools such as axes, hammers, and blades. c) The Silk Roads was a system of caravan routes of which connected Asia with the Mediterranean and European world. This was a major interregional trade route. Along with the passage of goods, religions began to spread because of the Silk Roads. An example of this would be the spread of Buddhism. The Silk Roads provided a network for the teaching of Buddhism to reach new territory. Another example of the spread of religion through interregional trade routes would be the trans-Saharan trade route. This was an important way for Islam to spread into new lands such as Africa. Africans converting to Islam increased trade and commerce. d) Centralized government is when a governmental body has most if not all control over laws over an area and everybody else is subject to them. In a decentralized government, instead of having one main group governing, there are several smaller groups that govern. The difference between the two is  a centralized government has concentrated power, while a decentralized government has power distributed across multiple groups of people.

 e) 1) Christianity - monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

     2) Diaspora - any group migration or flee from a country or region.

     3) Social Hierarchy - the division of society by rank or class.

     4) Patriarchy - Social organization in which men have the highest authority in families, societies, and politics.

     5) Specialization - individuals are tasked to do jobs and tasks.

     6) Syncretism - The blending of different people, ideas, or practice.