Study Guide for Section 4
1. Compare and contrast reciprocity and redistribution economic
systems, and the kinds of societies that use them.
2. Explain what happened to the Moriori when the Chatham
Islands were discovered. Why were the Maori
from New Zealand such fierce warriors?
3. What elements led to the conquest of the Incas by Pizarro? What advantages did Pizarro have that the Incas did not? If it had been the other way around, would the Incas have invaded Spain?
3. Why do hierarchies and inequity develop in agricultural societies to a much greater extent than in hunter-gatherer societies? Explain.
4. What advantages does Jared Diamond argue that Agricultural societies have over hunter-gatherer societies? Explain.
5. Explain Jared Diamond’s main arguments about why East-West continent orientation is the ultimate (first) cause of human patterns that have lead to inequity in the world.
6. From the video on Guns Germs and Steel, what was the role of writing in the conquest of the Incas? Why did Pizarro have the advantage and not the Incas?
7. From the
video on Guns Germs and Steel, what was the role of domestic animals in
the germs that helped the conquest of the Americas? Why did
Eurasians have the advanatage and not the Americans?
8. What are the big 5 domesticated animals and what continent are they from? How does this help explain inequity in the world?
9. Is conquest to acquire more land and resources for your people morally acceptable? Defend your argument using ethical theories and principles.
10. Compare and contrast the need for slaves in tribal versus state societies
11. Explain why state societies are often multiethnic and multilingual. How is conquest involved?
12. In “The Worst Mistake…” what was Jared Diamond’s main point? What arguments and evidence did he use to back up his idea?
13. From “The Worst Mistake…” Compare and contrast Progressivist and Revisionist views of agricultural societies. Which view (or another?) do you think is correct? Why?
14. In the video on the Neolithic, explain the two main characteristics of agricultural societies that set them apart from hunter-gatherers, and why they occur.
15. From the news story, what is Hoodia, and why are the Kalahari San Bushmen concerned about its development? Explain.
16. Compare and contrast Irrigation Theory with Population Theory as explanations of how large complex state societies arose?
17. What is a kleptocracy, and what 3 main strategies did they use to keep from being overthrown? Explain.
18. What advantages do state religions give large agricultural state societies?
19. Who were the Indo-europeans, and what economic and cultural elements did they bring to (impose on) those they conquered in western Eurasia? Explain.
20. What happened to Goddess worship in early societies of Europe and the Middle east? How might this affect women’s status?
21. What lands are common to the Assyrian, Persian, Greek, and Roman empires? Explain.
22. From the video, explain three major inventions the Sumerians passed on to the world.
23. From the video, explain what technologies caused the Sumerians to be conquered by the Assyrians, and why is the land in ancient Sumeria now barren?
24. Name 4 major elements of culture that flowed from the Middle East to Europe via successive empires. Explain.
25. What was the role of wheat in the Roman Empire? How did it play a part in choosing the lands to conquer for the empire? Explain.
26. What two great feats of construction engineering achievement occurred in China, and why were they built? Explain.
27. What was the role of religion in the spread of the Arab Empire? Explain.
28. What was the largest empire in Asia, and what kind of warfare made it possible?
29. From the video, explain who Genghis and Kublai Khan were, what they had to do with Marco Polo, and what dynasty rose to end Mongol control of China.
30. What was the Ottoman Empire, and how did it affect Europe? Explain.