Unit Zero Reflection

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

The Neolithic revolution, a time for rapid growth, led to large, crowded cities. People transitioned from  hunting and gathering to farming for their food. The neolithic revolution also led to injustice in the religious, social, and gender sense. Instead of being nomadic (constantly moving around), people were sedentary (stayed in one place) which led to class systems. Lower classes were given more grunt work while upper classes were given more leadership positions like rulers and priests. The higher classes were treated better and were given more respect. Gender roles also started to emerge in patriarchal societies. This resulted in men getting more glorified jobs and women given more domestic jobs. Lastly, religion was used to justify how people were treated. In Hinduism, there was a caste system. The caste system was also used to mistreat people based on where they stood in their caste.

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

There were many new technological advancements in the neolithic time period. Fire was was very important because it was used to cook food. In the Paleolithic revolution, people were not absorbing nutrients because they were not cooking their food. This allowed people to get the nutrients they needed. Also the wheel was an important invention because it was used to transport goods. 

3. 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 trades of goods that were native to a certain area like silk. The Silk Road was a trade route that connected Asia and Europe. Silk was created in China and creating silk was a very secret process. The Trans Saharan trade routes were also prevalent and contributed to the spread of religion through colonization and slavery. Religion and beleifs were spread while merchangs traded goods.

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

A centralized government is when a leader has the most power and does not utilize the public’s approval. A decantralized government is when there is a transfer of power from a higher government to a lower form of government. An example of a centralized government is the Qin dynasty. In the Qin dynasty, Shi Huang Di was responsible for making all of the decisions for China at the time. A decentralized government would be Ancient Greece. Ancient Greece was made up of poleis which governed themselves. The geography of Greece made it hard for different people from different poleis to communicate. Each polis had their own ruler, rules, and government but they still had similar characteristics.

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

Important terms to remember going into period 1 are Neolithic, Paleolithic, diffusion, democracy, social injustice, and domesticated. These terms are very important because they can be used to describe how many things that happened in ancient times effect people today. The neolithic revolution was something that advanced society greatly. Diffusion describes how cultures merge. Democracy, which began in Greece, is the basis of many modern governments. Social injustice is how different people are treated worse based on their gender, race, or social class. Finally, domestic/domestication describes the jobs women were given in neolithic times and also describes how wild animals were being integrated into society.

AP World History Interactive Notebook Pages