Social Studies Curriculum

History/Social Sciences Electives

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Adopted January 1999

Ancient World Civilizations

Course Description:

Ancient World Civilizations is a course designed to allow an in-depth study of early worlds from the Americas to China, India, Africa, and Mesopotamia.  This course explores why and where early civilizations developed and compares their religion, culture, literature, science, technological achievements, and their economic and political systems.  Have you ever wondered what type of legacy ancient civilizations left behind?

The course title and description have been approved by the Anchorage School Board.  This course outline is meant to serve as an example of one possibility for organizing this class.  It does not represent the only way the course may be organized.  Each course outline has been written by a different teacher so there will be differences in the approach used from one course to another.

Course Goals:

Through this course students will:

• Understand the five key traits of civilization and how they apply to ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China.
• Understand how the natural environments of the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, Indus, and Yellow (Huang Ho) Rivers shaped the early development of civilization.
• Understand the character of urban development in the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, India, and China, including the social hierarchy, occupational specialization, and the roles of men and women.
• Understand the development of religion and ethical beliefs and their roles in the political, economic, and social life of these civilizations.
• Recognize the forms of writing that developed in these societies and be able to analyze how each influenced the political, religious, social, and economic life.
• Understand the different types of government and military institutions which developed.
• Recognize the architectural, artistic, literary, scientific, and technological achievements of these societies and relate them to political, economic, and economic life.
• Understand how commercial and cultural interaction contributed to change in the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, and India, and how isolation contributed to the development of civilization in China.
• Understand the political, social, and cultural consequences of militarization and population movements in the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, and India.
• Understand that new empires, trade, and migration led to increasingly complex interrelations in the Fertile Crescent and Egypt in the first millennium B.C.E.
• Understand the emergence of Judaism and the historical significance of monotheism and the Hebrew kingdoms.
• Understand the development and significance of the Persian empire.
• Understand how China became unified under the early dynasties.
• Understand the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Taoism.
• Understand the religious and cultural developments in India through the time of the Mauryan empire.

Course Objectives:

The student will:

• List and explain the five key traits of civilization;
• Locate the Fertile Crescent, the Nile Valley, the Indus Valley, and the Huang Ho Basin on a map.
• Explain how the key traits of civilization apply to Sumer.
• Explain how Sumerian civilization was shaped by solving three geographic problems.
• Describe the religion of Sumer and explain how their religious beliefs influenced political, economic, and social life.
• Describe aspects of daily life in Sumer, including the social hierarchy: the roles of priests, kings, artisans, and tradesmen; the roles of men and women.
• Describe the development and spread of cuneiform writing and discuss how each influenced political and economic development in Sumer.
• Explain why early Mesopotamia became a battleground of competing city-states.
• Describe the achievements of Sumerian culture.
• Describe the code of Hammurabi and explain its significance.
• Explain how the key traits of civilization apply to Egypt.
• Identify the physical characteristics of ancient Egypt and how they influenced the development of Egyptian civilization.
• Explain the role of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt.
• Describe the religion of ancient Egypt, define the concept of Maat, and explain its significance.
• Compare and contrast the religious beliefs of Sumer and Egypt.
• Identify Akhenaton and explain his religious reforms; assess the viewpoint that Atonism was an early form of monotheism.
• Describe the social hierarchy in ancient Egypt and the possibility of social mobility.
• Compare the lives of nobles, the military, artisans, and peasants in Egyptian society.
• Describe the development of hieroglyphics and the significance of the Rosetta Stone.
• Compare and contrast Egypt’s three kingdoms.
• Locate and identify the empire built by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom.
• Describe the spread of Egyptian power into Nubia and Southwest Asia under the New Kingdom and assess the factors that made it possible.
• Describe the achievements of Egyptian culture during the three kingdoms.
• Compare and contrast Egyptian pyramids and Mesopotamian ziggurats.
• Explain the fundamentals of iron-making technology and analyze the early significance of iron tools and weapons in Southwest Asia and Egypt.
• Explain the development of commercial communities in such cities as Byblos and Ugarit, and analyze the cultural significance of expanding commercial exchange among peoples of Southwest Asia and Egypt.
• Describe the achievements of the Phoenicians.
• Analyze the social and cultural effects of the spread of alphabetic writing in Southwest Asia.
• Describe the extent of the Assyrian and New Babylonian empires and assess the sources of their power and wealth.
• Compare Jewish monotheism with the polytheistic religions of Southwest Asia.
• Compare the code of Hammurabi with Jewish law.
• Explain the significance of the Babylonian captivity to the survival of Judaism.
• Discuss the significance of the Jewish Diaspora for the transmission of Judaism in the Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia.
• Identify and locate the land forms of the Indian subcontinent.
• Explain how the key traits of civilization apply to Indus valley culture.
• Trace the network of trade routes connecting Egypt, the Fertile Crescent and the Indus valley and assess the economic and cultural significance of these commercial connections.
• Analyze possible causes for the decline and collapse of Indus Valley civilization.
• Infer from geographic and archaeological information why Indo-Aryan speaking groups moved into India in the 2nd millennium B.C.E.
• Explain the early political, social, and cultural impact of Indo-Aryan movements on peoples of northern India.
• Explain the basic beliefs of Hinduism and how they legitimized the political and social order.
• Describe the life and teachings of Buddha and explain how his teachings were a response to the Hindu system.
• Describe the growth of the Mauryan empire.
• Evaluate the achievements of Ashoka and assess his contribution to the spread of Buddhism.
• Identify the geographic features that isolated ancient China and explain how this influenced the emerging civilization in northern China.
• Compare the climate and geographic features of the Huang Ho with those of the Fertile Crescent, Egypt, and the Indus valley.
• Infer from archaeological or written evidence the character of early Chinese urban societies.
• Explain the part peasants played in sustaining the wealth and power of Shang political centers.
• Explain the significance of the Zhou dynasty for the development of imperial rule and the concept of the Mandate of Heaven.
• Analyze the policies and achievements of the Qin emperor Shi Huangdi in establishing a unified imperial realm.
• Describe the political and ideological contribution of the Han dynasty.
• Explain the cultural and commercial significance of the “Great Silk Road.”
• Describe the life of Confucius and explain, by comparing, the fundamental teachings of Confucianism and Taoism.
• Describe the achievements of Wu-ti.
• Locate and compare the boundaries of the Qin and Han dynasties.
• Explain the spread of Buddhism under the late Han dynasty.
• Discuss the literary, artistic, and technological achievements of the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties.

Course Outline:

1. Five key characteristics of civilization
   1. Cities which are centers of trade
   2. Specialized workers
   3. Advanced technology
   4. Complex institutions
   5. Writing
2. Mesopotamia
   1. Sumer
      1. Response to geographic problems
      2. Religious beliefs
         1. Role of priests
         2. Political hierarchy
      3. Social hierarchy and everyday life
      4. Cuneiform writing
      5. Achievements
      6. City-states at war
   2. Old Babylon
      1. Conquered Sumer
      2. Code of Hammurabi
   3. Use of iron-making technology
   4. Phoenicians
      1. Trade
      2. Alphabet
   5. Persian empire
   6. Hebrews
3. Egypt
   1. Geography
      1. “Gift of the Nile”
      2. Protection and isolation
   2. Political structure
      1. Role of pharaoh
      2. Role of priests
   3. Social structure
      1. Nobility
      2. Peasants
      3. Social mobility
   4. Religion
      1. Role of pharaoh
      2. Maat
      3. Reforms of Akhenaton
   5. Hieroglyphics
      1. Development
      2. Rosetta Stone
   6. Achievements
      1. Architecture
      2. Medicine
      3. Science and mathematics
   7. Three kingdoms
4. India
   1. Geographic features
   2. Indus River valley
      1. Response to geography
      2. Harappan cities
      3. Trade with Mesopotamia, Egypt
      4. Collapse
   3. Indo-Aryan invasions
      1. Causes
      2. Political, economic, social and cultural impact
      3. Development of Hinduism
   4. Buddhism
      1. Teachings of Buddha
      2. Response to Hindu system
   5. Mauryan empire
      1. Ashoka
      2. Spread of Buddhism
5. China
   1. Geography
      1. Climate of Huang Ho valley
      2. Response to geographic features
   2. Shang Dynasty
      1. Character of urban societies
      2. Role of peasants in sustaining Shang political centers
   3. Zhou Dynasty
      1. Imperial rule
      2. Mandate of Heaven
      3. Confucius and Confucianism
      4. Taoism
   4. Qin Dynasty
      1. Shi Huangdi
      2. Unified imperial rule
      3. Great Wall
   5. Han Dynasty
      1. Wu-ti
         1. Expansion
         2. Civil service examination system
      2. "Great Silk Road"
      3. Buddhism

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