World History
Final Exam Study Guide
For the final exam, you should be able to reconstruct
our timeline by putting the major eras, and the four bullet points
that describe each era, in their proper order. A full summary is copied below.
You should also be able to write 2-3
paragraph discussions on the following questions or statements:
1) The Mongols should be given more credit for the
role they played in Eurasian history. Discuss.
2) What was the caste system and how did Buddhism
challenge it?
3) Was Socrates a humanist? Explain.
4) Briefly discuss the rise, fall & lasting
significance of Byzantium.
5) From a world historical point of view, the period
from 500 AD to 1500 AD was not a "post"-Classical period but simply a
continuation of the Classical period. The experience of Islamic and Chinese civilizations
during this period illustrates why. Discuss.
6) The "kelp highway" theory makes a
convincing argument for the existence of a coastal route that led to
human settlement in the Americas during the late Paleolithic era. Discuss.
7) The "Polynesian thesis" makes a
convincing argument for the existence of oceanic routes from the South Pacific
that led to human settlement in the Americas during the Ancient and/or
Classical eras. Discuss.
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Paleolithic
1) We evolved as Homo
sapiens
2) We used basic (old) stone tools (lithic = stone)
3) Socially, we formed ourselves into moving bands of
gatherer-hunters
4) We migrated out of Africa to other continents
Neolithic
1) We outcompeted all other species of Homo
2) We used advanced (new) stone tools for more complex
purposes
3) We formed ourselves into small, settled agricultural
communities
4) All continents except Antarctica inhabited by Homo sapiens
Ancient
1) Homo sapiens
competed with each other for wealth, power, status à social hierarchy
2) We developed more sophisticated technologies, including
writing
3) Agricultural surpluses à specialization à
civilizations & city-states
4) Interaction between humans from different continents
increases due to trade
Classical
1) Competition for dominance between civilizations
2) Unique thinkers develop the seminal ideas that still
define us as peoples
3) Formation of complex Empires & cosmopolitan urban
centers
4) Political units arise which straddle more than one
continent
Modern
1) Capitalism intensifies competition within and among
peoples
2) Industrial Revolution multiplies human productivity and
output
3) Development of Colonial Empires and relationships
4) Western European civilization asserts superiority over
all others
Post-Modern?
1) Regulation of capitalism & cooperation among peoples
2) Environmental sustainability becomes a critical goal of
technology
3) Government is increasingly global with emphasis on
cooperation
4) Western European civilization recognizes co-equality of
other peoples
