Essays for AP World History

8/3/2019 Essays for AP World History

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Danielle Lone 1

Chapter One

Look at the picture of the pottery on page 27. What role did pottery play in human development?

Why would it be in the shape of a deer?

Pottery became useful when agriculture came about. The reason for this is

because when agriculture came about societies, for the first time, had surpluses of food. Pottery

was also used, not just as an everyday utensil, but also as a way of artistic expression. It was the

hedithic villagers that discovered this trade in about 7000 b.c.e. As far as the designs made in

pottery go, the villagers often designed their pottery for many different reasons. For example,

when it comes to the picture on page twenty-seven that specific pot could have been in the shape

of a deer to represent a god or goddess they worshipped in hope of them having good harvest. Or

they could have designed a deer on it just for their enjoyment. Pottery also came about when

social classes were becoming apparent in the modern societies. One of the ways social classes

were defined between one another was by the amount and the quality of the decorations,

including pottery, in ones home. Therefore the pottery a person had in his/her home was much

more than just a utensil they used in their house, it was a part of how they were looked at and

judged in their society.


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Danielle Lone 2

Ch 2

Look at the illustration of cuneiform on page 47. Why was writing such an important invention?

How did it change the world?

Writing was such an important invention because it gave people a way to

communicate with one another as well as a way to record information of the time. The invention

of writing started the era of history, as opposed to prehistory where information being made at

the time wasnt able to be recorded. Writing changed the world in countless ways. In the

beginnings of writing , writing lead scholars to explore further into astronomy which eventually

lead to helping them makes accurate calendars. This meant that people were able to farm their

crops better, leading to surplus foods in agriculture. Over time though writing changed greatly.

Originally the first forms of writing were hundreds of symbols that were created in cuneiform,

later though the Phoenicians changed that. They set up a 22 letter system where you built words

from those letters; there were no symbols for vowels however. During the ninth century b.c.e. the

Greeks changed that alphabet though so that there were characters for vowels. This system of

writing spread rapidly for centuries. This is mainly because the Phoenicians traveled throughout

the lands while trading in the Mediterranean basin. The system spread to places like Asian,

Southeast Asia, south Asia, and so on.


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Danielle Lone 3

Ch 3

Examine the selection from the Great Hymn to Aten on page 80. Why was Akhenatens religion

so revolutionary? Why didnt it survive?

Akhenatens religion was the first of its kind. It was revolutionary in its time

because it differed from the main concept of the amon-re cult which was that there was not just

one god, but many that they worshipped in their cult. In the Akhenatens religion however they

worshipped one god, and one god alone. They believed he was their only god and that no other

deity could compare to theirs. This religion brought about one of the earliest known shows of

monotheism, meaning that a single god rules over everything. Akhenaten encouraged everyone

to become part of this cult sending agents out to spread the news. Along with that message he

also said that he wished all the names of Amon-re and other deities to be chiseled out of all

temples and public buildings. The god Aten was associated with the Sun. This is why Akhenaten

built their new capital city where it brought unobscured vision and constant veneration of the

sun. He named this capital Horizon of Aten. All throughout Akhenatens life the religion

thrived. However it did not survive when Akhenaten died. Priests of the Amon-Re cult took

advantage of his passing and restored the cult by fierce counter attacks on the area.


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Danielle Lone 4

Ch 4

Examine the map of the Indus River civilization on page 92. In what ways would cities like

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro be similar to other early Mesopotamian or Egyptian cities? In what

ways would they be unique? What could the map tell us about questions of trade and cultural

transmission?

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were similar in many ways to early Mesopotamian

and Egyptian cities. However the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro cities had enough unique qualities

to clearly separate themselves from earlier cities. One of the similarities between Harappa and

early Mesopotamian or Egyptian cities was that in Harppan society they developed in the valley

of a river, the Indus to be specific. One similarity between the Harappas and the Mesopotamians

and Egyptian societies was that they both created a system ofwriting. The harppans system of

writing was similar to the Egyptian due to the fact that instead of letters as we use in our alphabet

they used pictures and other symbols to represent items, sounds, and words. One of the unique

parts about Harappan writing however is that archeologists are unable to decipher it. This is a

huge block in the road when it comes to learning more about Harappan society. Another

similarity is in Mesopotamian and Egypt society that the Harappans shared was that due to the

land they lived on agricultural surpluses increased their food supply greatly which lead to

massive population growth, cities, and specialized labor. One of the unique qualities about

Harappan and Mohenjo-Daro society was that they had huge territories. They were considerably

larger than any Mesopotamian or Egyptian society. Another similarity is that due to the wealth

of the cities, social distinctions became apparent in them. The map shows us that both of the

societies, Harappan and Mohenjo-Daro, participated in trade. The map shows that the societies

traded all throughout the Indus valley. It shows they most likely traded with Mesopotamians and

Persians.


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Danielle Lone 5

Ch 5

Look at the picture of a Bronze Ace on page 110. What role did the control over bronze

metallurgy play during the Shang Dynasty? Now, look at the picture of the Zhou irons sword on

page 118. What happened to the Zhou rulers when they lost control over iron metallurgy? What

does this dangerous sword tell you about political life during the Zhou period?

Bronze metallurgy came to China, along with many other new technologies, from

southwest Asia. Specifically bronze metallurgy is known to have reached China as early as 1200

b.c.e. Having control over bronze metallurgy during the Shang Dynasty played a huge role in

how the Shang Dynasty came to, and kept, their power. They were not the first dynasty to use

bronze tools however, the Xia dynasty is known to have made use of bronze tools and weapons

as well. At the time in Chinese society new rising technology, such as bronze metallurgy, is

known to be responsible for how the Shang Dynasty replaced the Xia Dynasty. The elites in the

Shang dynasty were able to monopolize the production of their bronze by employing craftsmen

to produce large quantities of bronze weapons for their personal use, as well as restricting the

access to copper and tin ores. Having control of bronze production is what helped strengthen the

Shang forces by having weapons and tools far superior to their rivals. The elites in the Shang

dynasty did not permit free production of bronze which is why potential opposing rivals were

unable to resist the Shang forces, let alone displacing the dynasty. The Zhou dynasty however

was unable to control their production of iron however. This is one of the issues that lead to their

collapse. The lack of control of iron is what helped the subordinates to the Zhou dynasty build up

their personal stockpiles of weapons. Due to the fact that at the time iron ores were cheaper and

more common than copper and tin the kings of the Zhou dynasty were unable to monopolize the

production of iron. This increase in iron weapons is what made the subordinates able to separate

themselves from the central government and not listen. The picture of the iron swords represent

how unstable the Zhou political system was and the wars going on near the end of the dynasty.


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Danielle Lone 6

Ch 6

Look at the picture of the Olmec head on page 139. What were the main contributions of the

Olmecs? What was the significance of the Olmec heads? What would be the significance of the

jaguar in the Olmec ceremonial ax in the lower picture?

Olmecs possessed many specific traits that carried out through many generations. Some

of their main contributions consist of things like drainage systems and massive worship sites.

The Olmecs constructed massive amounts of intricate drainage systems. These systems helped

them so that when the common abundant rains came the systems were able to divert the waters

so that their settlements and fields were not ruined by being flooded out. The Olmecs had

abundant rainfalls often, so they did not have a need to build irrigation systems. Another

significant contribution of the Olmecs was the massive worship sites they built. The Olmecs

constructed massive ceremonial centers. Each of these centers consisted of multiple pyramids,

temples, altars, sculptures, and tombs that they used for their rulers. The most common of these

Olmec sculptures were massive heads the Olmecs built on the ground. The Olmecs used basalt

rock to build these and used laborers of the common folk to build them. The largest of these

heads is known to weigh about twenty tons and stand at around ten feet in height. The exact

significance of the Olmec heads that were built is still unsure. However archeologists believe

that the heads were meant to possibly represent the rulers of the Olmecs at that time. In the

lower picture of the Olmec ax, there are noticeable features of a jaguar. These are significant

because in Olmec society the jaguar represented power and was often found in their sculptures.

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Essays for AP World History