History 111-102 Final Exam

Identifications
Stone Tools
Crafted and used by early man to help with carrion processing, later they were refined through various
different crafting techniques, such as the Oldewan technique, into a variety of instruments used for
hunting, farming and in ritual practices.
Context: Africa, approximately 2.5 million11,500 years ago
Impact: Stone tools allowed early man to adapt to a variety of methods for acquiring food in varying
habitats. Ultimately this allowed them better reproductive success than other species and eventually for
specialization of jobs within early villages. With job specialization comes free time and innovation, key
to the rise of civilization all of which rendered impossible without the help of early stone tools in the
lives of early humans.
Sedentism
During the Neolithic era humans transitioned from a primarily nomadic lifestyle following available
animal herds into a lifestyle centered around smaller permanent villages.
Context: From approximately 11,500 years ago starting in the African Greater Rift Valley
Impact: While there are various theories about the cause of the rise of sedentism in early nomadic
tribes, the effects are obvious. With a transition to permanent villages alternative sources of food
generation would be of the up most importance. This helped spawn animal and plant domestication
across the globe as people moved into villages. The movement of people from rural areas to urban
centers continues through today.
Cuneiform
An early form of writing used by Mesopotamian civilization to help with trade and communication.
Context: Uruk, Mesopotamia, 3040 BCE
Impact: While quickly modified and evolved into new, different forms, cuneiform was one of the
world's first writing systems and was responsible for creating an environment where abstract
knowledge could be physically preserved for the first time. This greatly increased the efficiency of
civilization and would be a core driver of cultural and technological revolution for the rest of history.
Indus River
The Indus River served a similar purpose as the Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia providing an optimal
environment for sedentary culture to establish themselves and grow.
Context: West India, 5500 BCE forward
Impact: First with the Mehrgars, then the Gupta's used the fertility and wealth of the Indus valley to
establish civilization in early India. From this birthplace, agricultural and social practices could develop
and spread through India, much like in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia.

Caste/Varna System
A social structure native to the Vedantic religions of India based around a hierarchical structure of
priests, warriors, merchants, laborers and slaves.
Context: India, approx 650 BCE
Impact: The caste system would be a lasting social structure in India through modern times.
Originally, castes were quite separate from each other keeping India a heavily class oriented society
with strict marriage and legal practices surrounding caste interaction. Later, some reforms would be
enacted by the Guptas, but the original system enacted by the Aryans would dominate India society
even through today.
Mandate of Heaven
A source of political power institutionalized by the Shang dynasty. Essentially, dynasties would survive
through the will of the gods, if they were virtuous, but those dynasties that fell clearly did not have the
gods' mandate to rule and the conquerors did.
Context: Shang China, 1766-1122 BCE
Impact: This politically ideology was the source of dynastic power from the Shang dynasty through
the modern era. The throne of the emperor was viewed as an extension of the god's on earth and his
rule could not be questioned as long as he followed basic principles of rule, however when the emperor
was considered unjust and eventually overthrown, the new rulers could assume the thrown under the
auspice that this was deemed the will of the gods. This lead to much stability in the role of emperor
despite a multitude of dynasties assuming the position.
Shamans
Shamans were the spiritual, ethical and historical elders of early human tribes. Each tribe would often
have their own shaman responsible for ritual practices and the keeping of oral traditions.
Context: Early man in Africa and Mesopotamia, throughout the Stone Ages until the rise of temple
worship approximately 5000-1000 BCE.
Impact: Shamans are thought to be responsible for the keeping of many of the early traditions and
myths early human life centered around. Evidence of their role in religious ceremonies, healthcare and
storytelling can be found both from cave paintings and burial sites around the globe. Without shamans,
humans would have had less guidance and less history making the cultural shift to civilization more
unlikely.
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama the enlightened one.
Context: India, 450-565BCE
Impact: The founder of Buddhism, his teachings on the four noble truths and the eight-fold path would
rapid spread across India, China, Japan, Korea and much of South East Asia. Seeking to avoid
metaphysics, this non-theistic religion would influence society and culture of the East indelibly,
standing in stark contrast to theism in the west. Much of Eastern morality and ethics would develop as
an extension of Buddhism.

Cacao
A staple crop of South and Meso-America, cacao is used even today for food and ritual. The cacao
plant was revered by the Maya for it's energy giving properties (a result of it's caffeine content) as the
drink of the gods.
Context: South and Middle America, 200 BCE
Impact: Without Cacao it's unlikely the Maya civilization would have come to be. With few other
agricultural resources compared to their American and Middle Eastern contemporaries, cacao had to fill
multiple roles. Used not only as a food, it was so valuable that ruling classes commonly used cacao
beans as currency for trade. Once the Europeans discovered the Americas, chocolate quickly became a
major trade good from the Americas to Europe.
Jannissaries
Conscripted soldiers chosen from Christian youth who received military or technical education and
became the elite military core of the Ottoman empire.
Context: Ottoman Empire, 1383
Impact: The Jannissaries, once established, quickly became a formidable force both inside and out of
the Ottoman Empire. Their high level of training and discipline as well as formal education for those so
suited, resulted in an intelligent and powerful military and political institution. The Jannissaries were
used by the Ottomans to capture Constantinople in the 1400's and were also responsible for the
protection of the Ottoman through through the late 1800's.

Short Answers
2. a) Discuss some of the products traded in early Middle Eastern civilizations. Did China have a
trade presence here at the time? Why or why not?
b) What were the 4 main trading civilizations on the classical civilization map? What civilizations
moved good by land? By sea?
c) How did the routes change moving into the post-classical period? Was sub-Saharan Africa
involved in trade at this point? Why or why not?
Examining the maps of Ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt we see early trade goods
starting to flow through the region including silver and copper metals used for military and trade
purposes as well as the movement of plants and animals through these civilizations. Some examples
include horses and camels, wheat and other early grains as well as military advancements like the
Chariot. At this point in time China has little trade presence and seafaring technology was not advanced
enough for an oceanic voyage, nor had the infrastructure of the Silk road fully established itself yet.
Moving forward to the classical civilizations, we see trade largely dominated by Rome, India, China
and Persia. Rome, China and India used the ocean to trade extensively, while Persia tended to dominate
the land based trade along the Silk Road. This basic structure remained relatively unchanged although
the players did during the Medieval era. Here we see Persia transition into the Ottoman empire and
Rome's influence was lost to the European navies to the north. However the major modes of transport,
sea for China, India and Europe with the Ottoman's dominating the Silk road remained largely true.
While trade did develop extensively in East Africa, land based caravan routes across the Sahara took
longer to establish. However gems and dyes from sub-Saharan Africa did make their way north and
east.

3. What were the claims made in the videos we watched in class? Which was most convincing?
Why? Which was least convincing? Why?
We watched three videos throughout the course. The first video, titled Pyramids, Mummies and
Tombs: Pyramids are Everywhere discussed the similarities and differences of pyramid building in
early civilizations and what it meant for the shared story of man. The second, Catastrophe, inquired
into the eruption of Krakatoa in 535 CE and it's devastating effects on the civilizations of the globe at
the time. The final video, Chocolate: Pathway of the Gods, gave an overview of the rich history of
the trade and ritual surrounding cacao in Meso-America. After watching all three videos I found the
Catastrophe video to be most compelling. David Keys worked with a multidisciplinary team from
around the globe to develop and support his theory with strong scientific evidence backing it up. The
Cacao video was quite interesting as well, however compared to the other two videos was less a
scientific and more an anthropological take on chocolate. Many of it's stories were centered on modern
practice and knowledge. It would have been more helpful to have discussion centered on it's historical
uses and understanding rather that just what has persisted through the present time.
4. Provide a review of D2L. How was it helpful? What can be done to improve your experience?
Compared to other online course tools I have used, like Blackboard, D2L is actually quite pleasant to
use. The interface is rather simple and generally speaking I know how to get around. Professor
Howell's use of the news section was quite helpful. I have a few professors that don't use D2L in any
fashion whatsoever, likely fear of the new, and it's quite frustrating. The fact that Chris has embraced
the technology is great. I was disappointed that more students didn't use the discussion area to post
course relevant content. I myself am guilty of this, partly out of fear of social stigma and partly out of
laziness. Perhaps if 10 points of extra credit were available for those that go above and beyond it might
see more use. The content area was extremely useful for compiling the visual source analysis
assignments I completed for the unit reviews throughout the course. Personally, I wish that D2L's
mobile interface was better designed, it's nearly impossible to access the course content via a mobile
phone. Additionally, given the amount of funding that a tool such as D2L receives, I'd expect more
frequent updates to both internal functionality as well as the user interface. While it is functional, it's
dated and does nothing to inspire the student to use it out of anything other than necessity.

Essay
There are many events which have had resounding effects on the course of human history, altering the
course of politics, military events, and societal norms for eternity. In this paper I will examine the
effects of four major events in history the Columbian Exchange, the Black Death, the Catastrophe of
535 and the Silk Road as well as their influence in terms of global population and land mass
impacted. While all of these events had massive impacts on agriculture, trade, art across a multitude of
civilizations, one of them arguably had more influence than the rest. I will explore this topic and my
supporting arguments in the latter half of this essay.
The 535 CE eruption of Krakatoa, also known as the Post-Classic Catastrophe was
documented for us in the film, Catastrophe, which was presented on class and is also available
online. A massive eruption in Southeast Asia resulted in extreme weather documented across the globe
and responsible for crop failures and low temperatures for as long as a decade after the eruption. There
is much evidence that this event actually effected the entire planet in terms of geographical area, but
the general population survived this event relatively easily and it was mentioned in relatively few
historical document and quickly was lost to history until David Keys re-opened the topic in modern
time.
Another major event in history, The Black Death or Bubonic Plague, ravaged the globe for
hundreds of years across China and Europe. While there is great debate over the disease vector and
pathology, the effects are inarguable. In the late 1340's plague had hit the Italian states and it quickly
spread across Europe, leaving carnage and death in it's wake. It struck so fast and hard that 30-50% of a
cities population would be dead before historians would have any time to write accounts of what they
had witnessed. Marchione di Coppio Stefani provided an account of the Black Death's effect on
Florence, Italy. One of the most striking passages illuminating how high a cost the Black Death had
follows - At every church...they dug deep trenches... and those who were responsible for the dead
carried them on their backs in the night in which they died and threw them into the ditch... The next
morning, if there were many in the trench, they covered them with dirt. And then more bodies were put
on top of them, with a little more dirt over those, they put layer on layer just like one puts layers of
cheese in a lasagna. (Stefani. Cronacafiorentina. Rerum Italicarum Scriptores Vol. 30) However, while
more people might have been affected by the plague than by the 535 eruption of Krakatoa, the effect
was somewhat limited geographically in comparison.
One possible vector for The Black Death was along the Silk Road from China. Begun during
the Han Dynasty, sometime around 100 BCE, this trade route would breed interaction between cultures
that had never before encountered each other and drive competition for control of goods and
technological innovations to ever soaring heights. Rather limited in geographic area, we can see from
the map below that the Silk Road was responsible for connecting Eastern Europe with China and other
Far East countries. This new route had considerable impact on a huge number of people though,
influencing the daily lives of everyone from slaves to nobility in any civilization The Road touched.

The final event left to consider is the Columbian Exchange, or exchange of agriculture,
technology, disease and populations between Europe and the America's in the wake of Christopher
Columbus's discovery of the New World. Our textbook outlined how, through new trade routes
between these continents, Europe was exposed to a wide variety of new plants and animals, many of
which would become staples in their diet. These goods could then be traded with traders on the Silk
Road from India and China and some of them would make their way to the Far East. Similarly, many
plants never before seen on the North American continent would take root in it's soil and quickly spread
onions, apples, coffee, sugar, wheat. Not all that was exchanged was good though, many diseases
such as small pox, typhoid, and syphilis spread like wildfire among Amerindian and European
populations with no immunity these new biological threats.
This exchange of, well everything really, between two continents which had been separate for as
long as history had been recorded is the most influential topic in world history. Much like Krakatoa, the
effects of this exchange were felt globally as new ideas, crops, animals, diseases, religious ideals and
more were spread relatively quickly across these passages. The effects of Krakatoa's eruption were only
felt for a decade while the effects of the Columbian Exchange influenced the course of human history
for centuries. The lives of every European as well as every native living in North and South America
would be touched this development.
While the all of the events discussed in this essay had major effects in terms of geographical
area and human livelihood, some beneficial and some destructive, none affected the world as widely or
as lastingly as the Columbian Exchange. The Black Death certainly effected the lives of millions but
civilization recovered and the plague never had the effect on North America that it did in Europe and
the Far East. Like the Great Exchange, the Silk Road most certainly was a major conduit for exchange
between East and West, however similar to the Black Death, it's effects on North America were
minimal until Columbus discovered the new world. Taking all of this into consideration, I believe the
Columbian Exchange stands as the most influential event in world history.

Bibliography
Sivers, P., & Desnoyers, C. (2012). Patterns of world history (Brief ed., Vol. 1).
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/trade/hd_trade.htm
Secrets of the Dead - 1. Catastrophe! [Motion picture on VHS]. (2000). PBS Home Video.
Stefani, Marchione di Coppo. Cronacafi orentina. Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, Vol. 30. ed. Niccolo
Rodolico. Citta di Castello: 1903-13.