Geographic Literacy

1) Iberia is the section on the map labeled:

A)IB)IIC)IIID)IV

C

2) The country once known as ancient Mesopotamia is now:

A)India and PakistanB)Egypt and parts of Sudan and EthiopiaC)Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, and TurkeyD)Israel

C

Ancient Mesopotamia is called the cradle of civilization, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow, extending from the Persian Gulf north to the mountains of Armenia. The earliest settlements there date from 5000 CE. Today, the

region includes portions of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey

3) What region of Africa is shaded yellow?

A)The SaharaB)Sub-Saharan AfricaC)The Great BasinD)Mediterranean Africa

A

This is the Saharan Desert

4) What country was once known as Persia?

A)SyriaB)EgyptC)AfghanistanD)Iran

D

The country that had been called Persia since ancient times was officially renamed Iran in 1935.

5) What is Vatican City?

A)A free state within Rome where the pope livesB)The capital of ItalyC)A city now known as Istanbul, where the Eastern patriarch livesD)The capital of the Netherlands

A

Vatican City, the residence of the pope and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic church, is located within the

boundaries of the city of Rome. It has been an independent state with its own currency and citizenship since 1929

6) What region has a predominantly single ethnicity?

A)YugoslaviaB)RwandaC)KoreaD)Cyprus

C

Korea

7) Early settlements and high population density along coastlines and rivers are best attributed to which of the following?

A)Mediterranean climateB)Limited forest coverC)Growth of manufacturingD)Access to trade routes

D

Trade was an important activity for the success of early settlements

8) Spanish colonial architecture, uneven economic development, and rural-to-urban migration flows are most commonly found in which of the following?

A)Southeast AsiaB)Sub-Saharan AfricaC)North AmericaD)Latin America

D

Latin America is the only region where all three of these characteristics are found

9) The cities of Varanasi in India and Mecca in Saudi Arabia are alike because both are

A)Capitals of countries formerly colonized by the EnglishB)Destinations for vast numbers of pilgrimsC)Financial centers for a large fraction of the world’s economyD)Examples of modern urban planning

B

Varanasi is a holy city of the Hindus and the site of constant pilgrimages; Mecca is a holy city and the principal pilgrimage

destination of Islam

10) Which of the following sets of countries are contained within the same geographic region?

A)Pakistan, India, Nepal, and AfghanistanB)Uruguay, Ecuador, Guinea, and ChileC)Thailand, Laos, Falkland Islands, and PhilippinesD)Namibia, Gabon, New Guinea, and Tanzania

A

They are all located in broad South Asia.

11) Which of the following regions is the culture hearth for three of the world’s main religions?

A)Horn of AfricaB)Indus River valleyC)Huang HeD)Eastern Mediterranean

D

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have their origins in the Middle East. Thus, the Mediterranean is the culture hearth

for these religions.

12) Which generalization about geography of Latin America is accurate?

A)Geographic features prevented foreign imperialismB)Harsh climatic conditions have prevented the development of large scale agricultureC)Lack of geographic barriers facilitated the development of transportation and communication systemsD)Great variations in latitude and landforms resulted in a diversity of climates

D

Latin America stretches from the Rio Grande River, past the equator, and ends just north of Antarctica. It contains many landforms including the Andes

Mountains, the Amazon River basin, Brazilian highlands, and various deserts. Due to the variations in latitude and landforms, Latin America contains humid

sub-tropics, humid continental regions, as well as dry desert regions.

13) Hinduism is most closely associated with which country?

A)The United StatesB)AfghanistanC)IndiaD)Pakistan

C

India

14) Which of the following would not be considered a push factor?

A)OverpopulationB)ConflictC)Political PersecutionD)Political Freedom

D

Push factors are reasons that drive populations to leave the land where these factors occur

15) Which of the following is not a pull factor?

A)Arable landB)Political freedomC)Religious freedomD)Conflict

D

Pull factors are reasons that attract immigrant populations to emigrate to the land where these factors are found

We don’t see artificial boundaries or country lines like we would on a political map. Instead, we see natural boundaries or borders made by water, rivers, lakes, deserts

and landmasses. Additionally, even though we are used to reciting the seven continents, there are two basic land masses that humans occupy.

When we look at a physical map of the world . . .

Africa + Europe + Asia = Afroeurasia

There is only 1 place where they are separated: the Strait of Gibraltar

Australasia is the continent of Australia, plus New Guinea, New Zealand, Tasmania, and other islands that neighbor Australia. Human settlement of Australasia began as many as 60,000 years ago, though Polynesian mariners did not reach New Zealand

until about 1000 CE.

Eurasia is the land mass made up of Asia and Europe. The idea that Europe and Asia are separate continents goes back many centuries, but scholars often accept the term Eurasia

because these two land masses are conjoined. Moreover, the Ural Mountains, which eighteenth-century European geographers designated as the proper boundary between the European and Asian continents, have never been a serious obstacle to the flow of migrants,

armies, trade goods, or ideas. Particularly with regards to Russia, there are many things both continents share.

Oceania is the basin of the Pacific Ocean and its approximately 25,000 islands. Human settlement of this enormous region, sometimes called the Island Pacific,

began in western islands near New Guinea about 1600 BCE. Polynesian mariners reached both Hawaii to the northeast and Easter Island to the far southeast around 500 CE. The majority of the islands lie in the tropical belt south of the Equator. The first peoples of Oceania spoke mostly Polynesian

languages.

This is a designation of the region, often referred to as the Middle East, which extends from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Afghanistan,

including Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula, but not including Egypt or any other part of Africa. The term “Middle East” is only in the context of history since the

start of the twentieth century. Scholars do include Egypt, and sometimes choose to embrace the entire region from Afghanistan to Morocco.

Start at the Iberian Peninsula in the West and go straight across to South China Sea; create an ellipsis around this area.

In this area: •Every major philosophy, every major religion, and a tremendous amount of scientific contributions•Why is the Middle East always being fought over? It is the connection between all three continental zones, point for 5 or 6 trade zones which everyone is going through.

- In a major trade city during the 12th century, what would you hear? Europeans, Chinese, South Asia, Muslims, traders

- What faiths would you see? Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Nestorianism (branch of Christianity that goes towards India), Hinduism, Judaism

- Mixing of ideas, discoveries, philosophies, objects, religions . . . all because the multiplicity of cultures on this land mass were able to intermix

In a major trade city during the 12th century along the

Silk Road . . .

5 World Regions

Sub-regions

Historical Significance

What makes an event significant?

• Chronological and geographic extent of the effects of the event• SPICE effects• What else is happening at the time?• Did it have a significant impact?• Did it save/take many lives?• Was this the first/last event of its kind?• Did it have long-lasting effects?• Was it an invention?• Was it a military event?• Was an important person involved?• How many were affected?• Does it help us understand the past?

Which event is MOST significant?

•476 – End of Roman Empire in west (splitting of the Roman Empire)

•527-565 - Justinian and Theodora rule Byzantine Empire; bubonic plague; silk industry begins (continuation of trade with Asian countries)

•634 – Beginning of Islamic conquests of Western Asia; decline of Sassanid Empire and Byzantine Empire (creation of the caliphate)

•732 – Charles Martel wins Battle of Tours, end of northern expansion of Islamic conquests in Europe (military effectiveness as key to rise of Carolingian Empire)

•750 – Merchants expanded the trans-Saharan routes (using camels, connected Ghana Empire to Islamic world)

•751 – Battle of Talas River in Central Asia (transferred Chinese papermaking technology to Muslim world)

Did the way you have learned history in the past affect how you decided what was historically significant?

Or, did your own interests, perhaps cultural interests, affect your decision?

Lastly, perhaps your own background influenced your decision?

Imagine this same process with historians.

How much does one’s perspective on the importance of one region or hemisphere over another affect how she or he

organizes world history into time periods?

Why do you think world historians usually do not select single events to mark the beginning of a time period?

How do you think historians decide enough changes occurred to make a time period?

Look at the course periods. Are those periodizations focused more on selecting events that have short-term or long-term

effects?

SPICE Themes

Since everything on the AP exam will have a region, a date, and a theme, it is useful for us to begin familiarizing

ourselves with the SPICE themes.

Social

Political

Interactions with Environment

Cultural

Economic

SocialPICE

Development and transformation of social structuresGender roles and relations

Family and kinshipRacial and ethnic constructions

Social and economic classes

SPoliticalICEState-building, expansion, and conflict

Political structures and forms of governanceEmpires

Nations and nationalismRevolts and revolutions

Regional, transregional, and global structures and organizations

SPInteractions with EnvironmentCEDemography

DiseaseMigration

Patterns of settlementTechnology

SPICultureEDevelopment and interaction of cultures

ReligionsBelief systems, philosophies, ideologies

Science and technologyArts and architecture

SPICEconomicCreation, expansions, and interactions of economic systems

Agriculture and pastoral productionTrade and commerce

Labor systemsIndustrialization

Capitalism and socialism