This document provides a review of topics covered in a World History fall semester final exam. It covers the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages, the emergence of early civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, and China. It then discusses ancient Greece and Rome, including the rise of democracy in Athens and oligarchy in Sparta. The document also summarizes the fall of Rome, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, and Age of Exploration. Key events, innovations, and civilizations from each time period are highlighted at a high level to help with final exam preparation.

1. World History
Fall Semester Final Review

2. Paleolithic Age
Hunter
Neolithic Agriculture
Revolution
cuneiform
3000 B.C.
Farmer
“Old Stone Age”
Prehistoric
Sumerian writing system
Unit 1: The Emergence of Civilization
King Tut
Egyptian Pyramids
hieroglyphics
1

3. 1.
prehistoric –
period of time before writing systems were created
(before 3000 B.C.)

4. 2. artifact – object made by humans
i.e. tools, weapons, pottery, clothing
3. archeologist –person who digs to find artifacts to learn about early people

5. 4. Paleolithic Age - Old Stone Age (2,500,000 B.C. – 10,000 B.C.)
•
•
•
•
•
Humans where nomadic
Hunters & Gathers
Temporary houses
Lived in small groups
Life was short and harsh

6. 5. Neolithic Agriculture Revolution –
Hunting
change from hunting & gathering to farming
New Stone Age
(10,000 B.C. – 3,000 B.C.)
permanent homes
surplus food

7. Stability tends to promote progress.
The change from nomadic to farming led to the emergence of civilization.

8. 6. civilization – complex highly organized social order
made possible because of agriculture surplus
Cities were key features of early civilizations.

9. Social
Classes
Writing
System
Cities
Features
of
Early
Civilizations
Art &
Architecture
Central
Governments
Roads,
Bridges,
Temples

10. 7. culture – the way of life of a society handed down through
generations

11. 8. cultural diffusion – the spread of culture (ideas, customs, and technologies)
from one group of people to another
caused by is spread by people through
Culture interaction among people migrating
migration (moving).
(moving)

12. warfare

13. Culture is spread by trade.

14. The growth of cities near fertile river valleys was a central feature
in the development and spread of civilizations.
9. physical geography - most directly influences were people live.

15. 10. Mesopotamia (Tigris-Euphrates River Valleys)
(3200 B.C.)
1st civilizations developed here in the Fertile Crescent.
periodic flooding left rich soil – ideal for farming

16. developed -cuneiform – first writing system 3200 B.C
Judaism, the first monotheistic religion was established in Mesopotamia.
(belief in one god)
(Kingdom of Israel 1000 B.C.)

17. 11. Egypt (Nile River Valley) (2700 B.C.)
“Gift of the Nile”
Fertile soil, stable food supply helped it to grow.

18. pyramids – burial tombs built for their pharaohs

19. Ancient Egyptians were
polytheistic - believed in many gods

20. 12. Indus River Valley Civilization (2500 B.C.)
first to grow cotton and weave it into cloth

21. 13. Huang He River Valley Civilization
(1650 B.C.)
Desert and mountain barriers caused Chinese civilization to grow independently.

22. Early Chinese people developed a complex civilization and made
many advances in learning and the arts.
made first books
learned to make silk threads

23. 13
Trojan War
1250 B.C.
Acropolis
Unit 2: Ancient Greece and Rome:
The Birth of Democracy
Greek Alphabet
Roman Forum
Roman Senate
Drama
Roman Arch
Athena
Colosseum

24. 14. Greece is a mountainous peninsula.
Physical geography lead to isolated societies in ancient Greece.
Greece

25. The mountainous terrain (land) of Greece resulted in the development of many
small independent city-states in ancient Greece – each had their own ruler.
The physical geography also led to many different political systems.
Monarchy
Oligarchy
Tyranny
Democracy

26. Two powerful city-state, Athens and Sparta, arose in Greece.
Each developed very different societies and systems of government.

27. Athens was named after Zeus’s daughter –
Athena –goddess of wisdom and war

28. The Greeks believed in beauty, balance, and order in the universe.

29. Golden Age of Athens
(after the Persian Wars 460 B.C. – 429 B.C.)
15. Athens was a democracy – ruled by Pericles

30. Golden Age of Athens
(after the Persian Wars 460 B.C. – 429 B.C.)
Athens prospered - cultural center of Greece
(Thinkers, writers, and artists came to Athens to take part in the growth of culture.)
Homer
Greek epic poet

31. Ancient Greek Philosophers
explored the nature of the universe and the place of people in it
Socrates
Raphael’s School of Athens
Plato
School at Athens
Aristotle

32. Sparta
16. Sparta was an Oligarchy.
From childhood, Spartan boys were trained to be soldiers.

33. 17. The Roman Empire
Rome’s central location helped the Romans to unite Italy and all of the
Mediterranean would under their control.

34. By about 270 B.C., Rome controlled most of the Italian peninsula.
Why was Rome’s expansion
in Italy successful?
•
•
•
well-trained army
Treated defeated enemies fairly
Gave rights to conquered people

35. 31
A.D. 476
Unit 3: The Fall of Rome to the Emergence of
Feudalism – Chaos to Order
Legacy of Rome
Christianity
Feudal System

36. 18. What factors lead to the fall of Rome?
A.D. 476
The fall of Rome was not a single event. It was a long, slow process.
Germanic invasions weakened the empire.

37.  Roman army lacked training and discipline
 Divided empire becomes weak
imperialism – added many conquered lands to the Empire
By 133 B.C., Roman power extended from Spain to Egypt.

38.  Political corruption
 Heavy taxes
 Disease and war

39. 19. How did the fall of Rome affect western Europe?
Western Europe entered a period of chaos and disorder.
• disruption of trade
• downfall of cities
• decline of learning
• rise of Germanic Tribes

40. 20. Early Middle Ages - 500 to 1000
Europe was a frontier land cut off from advanced civilizations in the Middle East, China, and India.

41. Invasions of Europe, 700–1000

42. Vikings – barbaric warriors from the North - Scandinavia –
raided and terrorized Europe during the Middle Ages
raided monasteries – for gold and treasures

43. Feudalism –
System of rule in which powerful local lords divided their land among vassals.
In exchange, the vassals pledged service and loyalty to lords.
provided social stability
Vassals

44. Castles were built to protect the medieval lords against invading armies.

45. 45
iron plow
Revival of learning
Unit 4: The Rise of Europe
new middle class
Joan of Arc
Martin Luther
Mona Lisa

46. 21. Christian Church The most prominent building in a medieval town was usually the church.
The Church was an important part of everyday life.

47. The Crusades – holy wars to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims spurred a revival of trade that led to economic growth throughout Western
Europe.

48. Why did people go on Crusades?
1. defense of Holy Land
2. desire to be released of feudal obligations
3. forgiveness of sins
4. desire for wealth from the Middle East

49. 4
22. Agricultural Revolution
New farming technologies (innovations)
iron plow
harness
windmill
three-field system
led to increase in food production
Population explosion
(growth)
Between 1000 and 1300, the population of Europe doubled.

50. 23. medieval towns/trade A new middle class of merchants, traders, and artisans emerged.
(craftspeople)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Middle Class

51. Merchants and artisans formed trade associations called guilds to keep the quality of work high.
(Becoming a guild member involved many years of hard work.)

52. The Late Middle Ages was a period of decline in Europe,
marked by disease, corruption and war.

53. 5
24. Black Death -
By 1347, the bubonic plague
had spread from Asia to Europe.
One in three Europeans died.
Society and economy fall apart.

54. 25. Hundred Years’ War - 1337–1453
England vs. France

55. Joan of Arc
led the French to victories
against the English

56. The turmoil of the late Middle Ages began a decline in the power
of the Church and a rebirth of classical studies and fine arts.
1347-1353
The Hundred Years’ War
(1337 – 1453).
Church power declines

57. 26. Renaissance – revival of Greek and Roman culture,
period of artistic and intellectual creativity - 1300s-1500s
Renaissance philosophers encouraged a questioning attitude.
Ancient Greek Philosophers
explored the nature of the universe and the place of people in it
Raphael’s School of Athens
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle

58. The Renaissance begin in Italy because Italian city-states had grown wealthy
from trade between Europe and Asia.

59. At the heart of the Italian Renaissance was an intellectual movement known as humanism.
Humanism was based on the study of classical culture and focused on worldly
subjects rather than on religious issues.

60. Geniuses of Renaissance Art
Leonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa
Italian painter and inventor
Made sketches of
nature and of models
Dissected corpses to
learn how the human
body worked
Masterpieces include
Mona Lisa and The
Last Supper
Studied botany,
anatomy, optics, music,
architecture, and
engineering
Made sketches for
flying machines and
undersea boats
The Last Supper

61. the Pieta
MICHELANGELO
Italian painter and sculptor
Talented sculptor,
engineer, painter,
architect, and poet
Sculpted the Pieta and
statue of David
Painted huge mural to
decorate the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel in Rome
Designed the dome for St.
Peter’s Cathedral in Rome
St. Peter’s Cathedral
Sistine Chapel
David

62. 2
The Printing Revolution
1456 - Johann Gutenberg printed the Bible using the first printing press.
IMPACT:
•
•
Printed books were cheaper and easier to produce.
With books more readily available, more people learned to read –
literacy rate increased (more people could read and write)

63. SHAKESPEARE
English Renaissance writer.
Wrote “Romeo and Juliet”
and 36 other plays that are
still performed around the
world

64. The late Middle Ages brought spiritual crisis, scandal, and division to the
Roman Catholic Church.
Tetzel selling indulgences

65. 27. Protestant Reformation – (1500s) movement to reform (change)
the Roman Catholic Church
Martin Luther
German monk
People who joined the movement for reform
called themselves Protestants, for those
who “protested” papal authority.

66. Martin Luther - German monk, protested church abuses by writing 95 theses
and posted the list on the church door
Wittenberg Castle Church
Germany
October 31, 1517

67. Luther’s ideas and the Protestant Reformation led to a
decline in power of the Roman Catholic Church.

68. 4
The Reformation in England
In 1528, English King Henry VIII asked the pope to annul, his
marriage.
The pope refused, and Henry broke from the Catholic Church
and set up his own church – The Anglican Church.

69. 28. Age of Exploration and Conquest
1487-1609
New technology, the search for wealth, and a desire to
spread Christianity led to an age of discovery.

70. The astolabe - used to determine latitude at sea,
and improvements in cartography (mapmaking) helped Europeans to
explore the Western Hemisphere.
Columbus’s Landing
October 12, 1492

71. Millions of native peoples in the Americas died as a result of new diseases
such as smallpox, measles and influenza in which they had no natural
immunity, after contact with Europeans in the 1500s.

72. Mercantilism
•a nation’s real wealth is measured in its gold and silver treasure.
•To build its supply of gold and silver, a nation must export more goods
than it imports.
•nations establish colonies for trade benefits – (to increase their wealth)