Virginia SOLs

WH1.3 - The student will apply social science skills to understand the ancient river valley civilizations, including those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River Valley, and China and the civilizations of the Hebrews and Phoenicians, by

a) locating these civilizations in time and place and describing their major geographic features;

b) describing the development of social, political, and economic patterns, including slavery;

c) explaining the development and interactions of religious traditions;

d) describing the origins, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Judaism;

e) explaining the development of language and writing.

WH1.4 - The student will apply social science skills to understand the civilizations of Persia, India, and China in terms of chronology, geography, social structures, government, economy, religion, and contributions to later civilizations by

a) locating Persia in time and place, including Zoroastrianism and the development of an imperial bureaucracy;

Essential Understandings

During the New Stone Age, permanent settlements appeared in river valleys and around the Fertile Crescent.

River valleys provided water and rich soil for crops.

River valleys were the “cradles of civilization.” Early civilizations made major contributions to social, political, and economic development.

Religion was a major part of life in all early civilizations.

Monotheism, attributed to Abraham, became the foundation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—religions that changed the world. The Hebrews were the first to become monotheists.

Language and writing were important cultural innovations because they facilitated the preservation and spread of knowledge.

Built on the Indus, Mesopotamian, and Nile River civilizations, Persia developed the largest empire in the world.

Zoroastrianism was the main Persian religion, although other religions were tolerated.

Essential Knowledge

River valley civilizations (about 3500 to 500 b.c. [b.c.e.])

• Mesopotamian civilization: Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys (Southwest Asia)

• Egyptian civilization: Nile River Valley and Nile Delta (Africa)

These river valleys offered rich soil and irrigation water for agriculture, and they tended to be in locations easily protected from invasion by nomadic peoples.

Other early civilizations (about 2000 to 500 b.c. [b.c.e.])

• Hebrews settled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River Valley (part of the Fertile Crescent in Southwest Asia).

• Phoenicians settled along the Mediterranean coast (part of the Fertile Crescent in Southwest Asia).

Development of social patterns

• Hereditary rulers: Dynasties of kings, pharaohs

• Rigid class system where slavery was accepted

Development of political patterns

• World’s first states (i.e., city-states, kingdoms, empires)

• Centralized government, often based on religious authority

• Written law codes (e.g., Ten Commandments, Code of Hammurabi)

Development of economic patterns

• Use of metal (e.g., bronze, iron) tools and weapons

• Increasing agricultural surplus: Better tools, plows, irrigation

• Increasing trade along rivers and by the sea (Phoenicians)

• Development of the world’s first cities

• Development of the practice of slavery within most cultures in the ancient world, taking various forms

Development of religious traditions

• Polytheism was practiced by most early civilizations.

• Monotheism was developed by the Hebrews.

• Mesopotamian religion continued to influence Hebrew monotheism, but that influence decreased over time.

Origins of Judaism

• Abraham

• Moses

Beliefs, traditions, and customs of Judaism

• Belief in one God (monotheism)

• Torah, which contains the written records and beliefs of the Jews

• Ten Commandments, which state moral and religious conduct

• Covenant

Spread of Judaism

• Exile

• Diaspora

Language and writing

• Pictograms: Earliest written symbols

• Hieroglyphics: Egypt

• Cuneiform: Sumer

• Alphabet: Phoenicia

Persian Empire (present-day Iran)

• Tolerance of conquered peoples

• Development of an imperial bureaucracy

• Construction of a road system

• Practice of Zoroastrianism

• Religion of Persia

• Belief in two opposing forces in the universe