Foundations of Human Civilization: c. 10,000-3500 BCE

Aug 5 - Aug 22

Identify the meaning of time designations and abbreviations used by historians, including: 

∙ BC / BCE 

∙ AD / CE 

∙ Circa (c. or ca), decades, centuries

Describe the characteristics of the nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, including their use of: ∙ Basic hunting weapons ∙ Fire∙ Shelter ∙ Tools

Explain the impact of the Agricultural Revolution, including: ∙ Barter economy ∙ Domestication of plants and animals ∙ Emergence of permanent settlements ∙ Food surpluses ∙ Labor specialization ∙ New sources of clothing and shelter

Identify and explain the importance of the following key characteristics of civilizations: ∙ Culture ∙ Government ∙ Religion ∙ Social structure ∙ Stable food supply ∙ Technology ∙ Writing

Ancient Mesopotamia: c. 3500-1700 BCE

Aug 23 - Sept 12

Overview: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia.

Identify and locate geographical features of ancient Mesopotamia, including:∙ Black Sea ∙ Euphrates River ∙ Mediterranean Sea ∙ Persian Gulf ∙ Tigris River ∙ Zagros Mountains

Explain how geographic and climatic features led to the region being known as the Fertile Crescent.

Explain how irrigation, silt, metallurgy, production of tools, use of animals, slave labor, and inventions such as the wheel, sail, and plow led to advancements in agriculture.

Analyze how advancements in agriculture in Sumer led to economic growth, expansion of trade and transportation, and the emergence of independent city-states.

Explain the basic concepts of monarchy and empire, and identify Mesopotamia as the regional location of the world’s first empire.

Explain the concept of polytheism and its presence in Mesopotamia, with respect to beliefs about the relationship of deities to the natural world and their importance in everyday life.

Identify important achievements of the Mesopotamian civilization, including cuneiform, clay tablets, and ziggurats, and identify the Epic of Gilgamesh as the oldest written epic. 

Analyze the impact of the introduction of written law in the Code of Hammurabi, and explain its basic principles of justice.

Ancient Egypt: c. 3000-700 BCE 

Sept 16 - Oct. 16

Overview: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient Egypt.

Identify and locate geographical features of ancient Egypt, including:∙ Mediterranean Sea∙ Nile Delta ∙ Nile River ∙ Red Sea ∙ The regions of Upper and Lower Egypt ∙ The Sahara

Explain how agricultural practices impacted life and economic growth in ancient Egypt, including the use of irrigation and development of a calendar.

Explain the structure of ancient Egyptian society, including:∙ Relationships between groups of people ∙ How social classes were organized by occupation ∙ Positions of pharaohs as god/kings ∙ Role of slaves

Explain the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt, with respect to beliefs about the afterlife, the reasons for mummification, and the use of pyramids.

Analyze the impact of key figures from ancient Egypt, including: ∙ Growth under the leadership of Queen Hatshepsut and her economic policies ∙ Ramses the Great’s military conquests leading to growth of the kingdom ∙ Significance of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb on the understanding of ancient Egypt

Analyze the achievements of ancient Egyptian civilization, including: hieroglyphics, papyrus, and the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza. 

Examine the cultural diffusion of ancient Egypt with surrounding civilizations through trade and conflict, including its relationship with Nubia.

Ancient Israel: c. 2000-500 BCE

Oct. 17 - Nov. 8

Overview: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient Israel.

Identify and locate geographical features of ancient Israel, including: ∙ Dead Sea ∙ Jerusalem ∙ Jordan River ∙ Mediterranean Sea ∙ Red Sea ∙ Sinai Peninsula

Describe the development of the ancient Israelites, and explain the reasons for their movements from Mesopotamia to Canaan (later called Israel), from Canaan to Egypt, and from Egypt back to Canaan.

Describe the origins and central features of Judaism: 

∙ Key Person(s): Abraham, Moses 

∙ Sacred Texts: The Tanakh (i.e., Hebrew Bible) 

∙ Basic Beliefs: monotheism, Ten Commandments, emphasis on individual worth and personal responsibility

Identify the importance of Saul as the first king of Israel, David as the second king who founded Jerusalem as the capital, and Solomon as the third king who built the first temple.

Summarize the breakup of the Kingdom of Israel, Babylonian captivity, and the return of the Jews to their homeland under the Persian Empire

Ancient India: c. 2500-400 BCE

Nov 11 - Dec 3

Overview: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient India.

Identify and locate geographical features of ancient India, including: ∙ Ganges River  ∙ Himalayan Mountains ∙ Indian Ocean ∙ Indus River ∙ Monsoon winds ∙ Subcontinent of India

Explain the emergence of the Harappan civilization in the Indus River Valley as an early agricultural civilization, and describe its achievements, including: ∙ Architecture built with bricks ∙ Arranging roads into a series of grid-systems ∙ Sanitation and sewer systems

Describe the social structure of the caste system, and explain its effect on everyday life in ancient India.

Describe the origins and central features of Hinduism: 

∙ Key Person(s): origins in Aryan traditions 

∙ Sacred Texts: The Vedas 

∙ Basic Beliefs: dharma, karma, reincarnation, and moksha

Describe the origins and central features of Buddhism: 

∙ Key Person(s): Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) 

∙ Sacred Texts: Tripitaka 

∙ Basic Beliefs: Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Nirvana

Identify the long-lasting intellectual traditions that emerged during the late empire of ancient India, including: medical education, medical techniques, and mathematics (e.g., Hindu-Arabic numerals).

Ancient China: c. 2500 BCE-200 CE

Dec 4 - Jan 10

Overview: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient China.

Identify and locate geographical features of ancient China, including: ∙ Gobi Desert  ∙ Himalayan Mountains ∙ Pacific Ocean ∙ Plateau of Tibet ∙ Yangtze River ∙ Yellow River

Analyze the influence of geographic features on the origins of ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River Valley, and explain how China’s geography helped create a unique yet diverse cultural identity that was isolated from the rest of the world.

Describe how the size of ancient China made governing difficult and how the concepts of the mandate of heaven and Legalism emerged solutions to this problem.

Identify the political and cultural problems prevalent in the time of Confucius and how the philosophy of Confucianism and The Analects emphasized the concepts of kinship, order, and hierarchy to address these problems.

Explain the significance of the unification of ancient China into the first Chinese empire by Qin Shi Huangdi, beginning the Qin Dynasty.

Explain how the implementation of the philosophy of Confucianism led to the political success and longevity of the Han Dynasty.

Explain the major accomplishments of the Han Dynasty, including: the magnetic compass, paper making, porcelain, silk, and woodblock printing.

Describe how the desire for Chinese goods influenced the creation of The Silk Road and initiated cultural diffusion throughout Eurasia, including the introduction of Buddhism into ancient China.

Ancient Greece: c. 800-300 BCE

Jan 13 - Feb 14

Overview: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient Greece.

Identify and locate geographical features of ancient Greece, including: ∙ Asia Minor  ∙ Athens ∙ Macedonia ∙ Mediterranean Sea ∙ Peloponnesian peninsula ∙ Sparta

Analyze how the geographical features of ancient Greece, including its mountainous terrain and access to the Mediterranean Sea, contributed to its organization into city-states, role in maritime trade, and colonies in the Mediterranean.

Examine the concept of the polis in Greek city-states, including the ideas of: citizenship, civic participation, and the rule of law.

Explain the basic concepts of direct democracy and oligarchy.

Explain the characteristics of the major Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta, including: ∙ Advantages of each geographic location ∙ Approaches to education ∙ Practice of slavery ∙ Status of women ∙ Styles of government

Analyze the causes and consequences of the Persian Wars, including the role of Athens and its cooperation with Sparta to defend the Greek city-states.

Analyze the causes and consequences of the Peloponnesian Wars, including how the growing political conflict between Athens and Sparta led to war and left the city-states open to conquest by the Macedonians.

Explain the polytheistic religion of ancient Greece, with respect to beliefs about the humanlike qualities of the deities, their importance in everyday life, and the emergence of the Olympic Games to honor Zeus.

Explain the historical significance of ancient Greek literature, including how the Iliad and the Odyssey provide insight into the life of the ancient Greeks.

Examine the influence of ancient Greek philosophers (e.g., Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates) and their impact on education and society in Greece.

Describe the purposes of major Greek architecture, including the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

Explain the unification of the Greek city-states by Macedonia, and analyze the impact of Alexander the Great and the diffusion of Hellenistic culture.

Ancient Rome: c. 500 BCE-500 CE

Feb 17 - April 4 

Overview: Students will analyze the geographic, political, economic, and cultural structures of ancient Rome.

Identify and locate the geographical features of ancient Rome, including: ∙ Constantinople  ∙ Italian Alps ∙ Italian Peninsula ∙ Mediterranean Sea ∙ Rome ∙ Tiber River

Analyze how the geographical location of ancient Rome contributed to its political and economic growth in the Mediterranean region and beyond.

Describe the government of the Roman Republic, including: ∙ Branches of government  ∙ Checks and balances ∙ Civic participation ∙ Representative democracy ∙ The rule of law and the Twelve Tables

Describe the class system of ancient Rome, including the role of patricians, plebeians, and slaves in Roman society.

Describe the characteristics of Julius Caesar’s rule, including: ∙ Leadership in the military ∙ Popularity amongst plebeians ∙ Role as dictator for life ∙ Assassination

Analyze the influence of Augustus Caesar, including the establishment of the Roman Empire and its political, geographic, and economic expansion during the Pax Romana.

Analyze how innovations in engineering and architecture contributed to Roman expansion, including the role of: ∙ Aqueducts ∙ Arches ∙ Bridges ∙ The Colosseum ∙ Domes ∙ Roads ∙ Sanitation

Explain the polytheistic religion of ancient Rome, with respect to beliefs about the humanlike qualities of the deities and their importance in everyday life

Describe the origins and central features of Christianity: 

∙ Key Person(s) Jesus, Paul 

∙ Sacred Texts: The Bible 

∙ Basic Beliefs: monotheism, sin and forgiveness, eternal life, Jesus as the Messiah

Explain the expulsion of the Jews from their homeland by the Romans, which began the Jewish diaspora.

Explain the division of the Roman Empire into East and West, and identify the later establishment of Constantinople as the capital by Constantine

Analyze the fall of the Western Roman Empire, including difficulty governing its large territory, political corruption, economic instability, and attacks by Germanic tribes, and identify the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire.