chapters / major topics

subtopics

concepts

particulars

1.BEFORE HISTORY

evolution of man (4mya-100kya)

hominids

stages of development

lucy

australopithecus

homo habilis

homo erectus

homo sapiens (wise man- us)

migration out of africa

environment adaptation

paleolithic era (100kya-8000BC)

paleolithic society

economy and society

relative social equality

big game hunting

paleolithic settlements

paleolithic culture

neanderthal peoples

creativity of people

language

stone blades

venus figurines

cave paintings

lasceaux, altamira

neolithic era (8000BC-3000BC)

agriculture begins

agricultural transition

animal domestication

plant domestication

staple crops

agricultural society

specialization of labor

metallurgy

pottery

textiles

social distinctions

social hierarchy

patricarchy

neolithic culture

religious values

polytheism

agricultural cycle

verility, fertility

origins of urban life

first cities

jericho

catal huyuk

hinterland

2. ANCIENT NEAR EAST

quest for order

mesopotamia

sumer

fertile crescent

tigris, euphrates

irrigation canals

semitic migrants

semites

marketplace

sumerian city-states

ur, uruk, lagash

nippur, kish, eridu

ziggurat temples

conscripted work

sumerian kings

gilgamesh

course of empire

akkadian empire

sargon

akkadians

propaganda

babylonian empire

babylon

hammurabi

deputies

hammurabi's law

hammurabi's code

lex talionis

stele

unequal application

later empires

assyrian empire

iron weapons

meritocracy

state terrorism

nineveh

syria, levant, israel

ashurbanipal's library

king of the universe

new babylonian empire

nebuchadnezzar

hanging gardens

rebellion

complex society

economic specialization

bronze metallurgy

copper, tin

iron metallurgy

diffusion of technology

wheel

overland transportation

shipbuilding

trade networks

mesopotamia-anatolia

mesopotamia-india

stratified society

social classes

kings

nobles, aristocrats

ruling classes

temple communities

priests, priestesses

offerings

temple banks

free commoners

dependent clients

slaves

prisoners of war

debt slavery

domestic slave

agricultural slave

purchasing freedom

patriarchial society

vested authority

arranged marriages

women's roles

sexual inequality

veils

writing

cuneiform

accounting

scribes

taxes

abstract ideas

pictographs

clay tablet

education

engineer, architect

astronomy

calendars

seasonal rhythms

hour, minute, second

epic of gilgamesh

literary theme

immortality

mesopotamian influence

israelites

early hebrews

abraham

monotheism, jews

patriarch

settlement in canaan

land of canaan

covenant

moses

exodus

ten commandments

torah, old testament

YHWH

kingdom of israel

david

jerusalem

solomon's temple

divided kingdom

samaria, judah

ten lost tribes

babylonian captivity

phoenicians

phoenician geography

lebanon

tyre, sidon, beirut

phoenician trade

maritime power

cedar trees

phoenician purple

alphabetic writing

the alphabet

indo-europeans

indo-euro migrations

pie language

european languages

indo-euro homeland

heimat

steppes of russia

ukraine 'frontier'

caucasus mountains

caucasian

horses

horse riding

carts, wagons, chariots

indo-euro expansion

hittites

anatolia, asia minor

war chariot

iron weapons

migration west

europe

celtic peoples

migration east

persia, iran, aryan

india

3. EARLY AFRICA

agricultural societies

origins of agriculture

sudanic agriculture

sorghum

climate change

sahara desert

lake chad

nile valley

nile valley

gifts of the nile

farming villages

coptic language

dikes, basins

unification of egypt

menes

memphis

upper, lower egypt

pharaoh

god-king

horus

amon-re

old kingdom

pyramids

giza

great pyramid

khufu

sphinx

egypt and nubia

nubian kingdom

ivory, gold, ebony

kingdom of kush

pharonic expansion

turmoil and empire

middle kingdom

decline of the state

decentralization

hyksos

semitic warriors

bronze versus wood

military advantage

tribute payments

thebes

new kingdom

palaces, temples

monumental statues

imperial egypt

thutmosis 3

revived kush

egyptian retreat

kushite dynasty

kashta

sophisticated traditions

stratified society

nile valley cities

heliopolis

tanis

meroe

social hierarchy

patriarchal society

queen hatshepsut

economics and trade

bronze metals

iron metals

transportation

mediterranean

river-highway

flax textiles

land of punt

egyptian writing

hieroglyphics

holy inscriptions

papyrus

demotic, coptic

merotic writing

unknown language

religious traditions

amon-re

amon the sun

aten and monotheism

akenaten

new capital

erasing the past

tutankamen

mummification

eternal life

cult of osiris

seth, isis, osiris

moral standards

ma'at, ka

nubian beliefs

lion god apedemak

egyptian cults

bantu migrations

bantu expansion

bantu

sub-saharan africans

niger-congo family

nigeria

canoes

yams, oil palms

millet

tribes, clans

pygmies

bantu migrations

congo rain forest

great lakes

tribal chiefs

bantu beliefs

divine forces, spirits

animism

nyamba

4. EARLY INDIA

harappa

harappan foundations

indus river

hindu kush

himalayas

dyed cloth

dravidians

harappa

mohenjo-daro

citadel

city walls

grain taxes

restrooms

swimming pool

standard size bricks

specialized labor

copper, beads, ivory

persian gulf trade

harappan society

social distinctions

tenament

courtyards

privacy

fertility cults

mother goddess

harappan decline

deforestation

erosion, topsoil

ecocide

aryan migrations

aryans and india

early aryans

pastoral

cattle as wealth

the vedas

sanskrit

rig-veda

vedic age

cultural clash

indigenous peoples

raja chiefdoms

migrations within india

punjab

ganges river

deccan plateau

political organization

regional kingdoms

caste system origins

caste and varna

varna- colors

social immobility

race mixing

varnas (castes)

brahmins- priests

kshatriyas warriors

vaishyas merchants

shudras peasants

dalit untouchable

jati subcastes

jati membership

outcaste

patriarchal society

lawbook of manu

proper moral behavior

subordination to men

sati

widow-burning

vedic age religion

aryan religion

aryan gods

indra the war god

nature deities

varuna presides

house of clay

world of the fathers

ritual sacrafices

human sacrafice

soma

aryan, dravidian values

upanishads

religious stories

brahman

universal soul

transmigration of souls

union with brahman

lessons of upanishads

samsara reincarnation

karma

yoga meditation

moksha separation

religion and society

superficiality of world

vegetarian diet

5. EARLY CHINA

early china's politics

agricultural society

yellow river

huang he

loess

china's sorrow

yangshao society

bone tools

yangzi river

legendary dynasty

xia dynasty

hereditary states

sage-king yu

public works

bronze weapons

shang dynasty

bronze and chariots

diffusion from west

tools of conquest

shang politics

a thousand towns

movable capital

city wall at ao

shang tombs at yin

tomb of fu hao

wu ding's wife

one of sixty four

zhou dynasty

rise of zhou

yin, shang defeated

mandate of heaven

political legitimacy

son of heaven

central government

iron metallurgy

loss of zhou monoploy

fall of zhou at hao

period of warring states

ancient chinese society

social order

ruling elites

noble aristocracy

commoners, slaves

specialized labor

artisans, craftsmen

jewlers, jade work

merchants and trade

relative isolation

horse and chariot

china-malaysia route

china-turkestan route

coastal fishing

peasants

subterranean houses

wine, weaving

silkworm

slaves

prisoners of war

human sacrifices

hard labor

family patriarchy

ancestor veneration

afterlife realm

trans-dimensional family

patriarchal society

patralineal, matralineal

chinese culture

religion

heavenly power

tian

no overseeing deity

no priestly class

rituals ancestor based

oracle bones

diviners heat bones

cracks forecast future

writing

on bamboo, silk

ideographs

thought and literature

zhou literature

book of changes

justification of zhou

book of etiquette

book of songs

mostly destroyed

later rulers destroyed

contacts with world

cultivators vs. nomads

steppe nomads

raided settled china

domesticated horses

heavy wagons

nomadic society

herding animals

warrior chiefs

coveted settled wealth

expansion of china

south to yangzi river

tibet-shanghai

rice rich land

6. EARLY AMERICAS

early mesoamerica

olmecs

agriculture

maize, tomatoes

beans, squash, chilis

no animals, wheels

the rubber people

drainage works

ceremonial centers

olmec society

authoritarian

la venta pyramid

giant head sculptures

trade

jade, obsidian

human sacrifice rituals

civic destruction

hiers of the olmecs

the maya

ceremonial centers

terraced farming

cacao currency

tikal

temple of the jaguar

jaguar kings

mayan warfare

prestige for pow's

sacrifices to gods

chichen itza

loose yucatan stability

assimilated locals

maya decline

ecological disaster

maya society

social classes

noble ruling class

priestly astronomers

peasants, slaves

mayan calendar

most elaborate

365 day year

astrological

daily hope, danger

mayan writing

ideographic

tree bark, vellum

mayan religion

popol vuh

sacrifices kept sun up

bloodletting rituals

mayan ball game

honored treaties

public compeition

losers sacrificed

teotihuacan

city of teotihuacan

pyramids of sun, moon

teotihuacan society

theocracy

obsidian tools

teotihuacan decline

military pressure

writing, city destroyed

early south america

early andean society

early agriculture

peru, bolivia

beans, peanuts

sweet potato, cotton

chavin cult

fertility based on maize

wild animal heads

early cities

ceremonial plazas

huari, pucara

early andean states

mochica

ceramic busts

clay pottery

llama, alpaca wool

early oceania

early australia

australian hunters

aboriginals

yams, taro

austronesian foragers

new guinea agriculture

permenant settlements

pacific islands peopled

austronesian migrations

polynesia

ocean canoing

twin hulls deck joined

tahiti, hawaii, easter

madagascar

lapita peoples

pacific trade network

hierarchal chiefdoms

tonga, samoa dense

7. PERSIAN EMPIRE

persian rise and fall