Table of Contents
State
Performance
Indicators
Letter to the Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Letter to the Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Tennessee Correlation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Pretest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 1
Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Lesson 1
Basic Components of Culture . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.1.spi.1
Lesson 2
Cultural Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6.1.spi.5
Lesson 3
Settlement and Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.1.spi.6, 6.1.spi.8
Lesson 4
World Religions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.1.spi.3
Lesson 5
Epics as Historical Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.1.spi.4, 6.1.spi.7
Lesson 6
Investigating Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
6.1.spi.2
Chapter 1 TCAP Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Chapter 2
Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Lesson 7
Early Farming Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.2.spi.3
Lesson 8
Economic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6.2.spi.1, 6.2.spi.4
Lesson 9
The Importance of Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6.2.spi.2, 6.2.spi.5
Lesson 10
Economic Ideas and World Events . . . . . . . 74
6.2.spi.6
Chapter 2 TCAP Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chapter 3
Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Lesson 11
Components of a World Map . . . . . . . . . . . 82
6.3.spi.1, 6.3.spi.2
Lesson 12
Civilizations and Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
6.3.spi.3
Lesson 13
Population Growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.3.spi.4, 6.3.spi.6
Chapter 3 TCAP Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
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Chapter 4
Governance and Civics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Lesson 14
The Development of Government . . . . . . . 100
6.4.spi.1, 6.4.spi.2
Lesson 15
Written Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.4.spi.3, 6.5.spi.8
Lesson 16
The Individual in Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
6.4.spi.4, 6.4.spi.5
Chapter 4 TCAP Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Chapter 5
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Lesson 17
Early Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.5.spi.2, 6.5.spi.6
Lesson 18
Characteristics of Societies . . . . . . . . . . . 122
6.5.spi.7, 6.5.spi.11,
6.5.spi.15, 6.5.spi.16
Lesson 19
The Development of Language . . . . . . . . 128
6.5.spi.4, 6.5.spi.10
Lesson 20
Mythologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
6.5.spi.17
Lesson 21
Technological Advances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
6.5.spi.5, 6.5.spi.13
Lesson 22
Change in Civilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
6.5.spi.12, 6.5.spi.14
Lesson 23
Historical Research Methods . . . . . . . . . . 148
6.5.spi.1, 6.5.spi.3,
6.5.spi.8, 6.5.spi.9
Chapter 5 TCAP Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Chapter 6
Individuals, Groups, and Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Lesson 24
Groups and World History . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
6.6.spi.1
Lesson 25
The Impact of the Individual . . . . . . . . . . . 160
6.6.spi.2, 6.6.spi.3
Chapter 6 TCAP Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Posttest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
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18
Characteristics of Societies
6.5.spi.7, 6.5.spi.11, 6.5.spi.15, 6.5.spi.16
Early Civilization
An Eastern civilization, called Sumer, arose around 3500 BCE in the fertile valley
between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq. Sumerians believed that
their city god lived in the city temple and owned all of the city property. The king and
priests were at the top of the social order. Below them were the scribes who tended
the temples. These scribes supervised the city’s economic activities and judicial
system. The rest of the society was divided between an elite group of large landowners
and military leaders, and a group of merchants and craftspeople, free peasants, and
enslaved people. The free peasants made up most of the Sumerian population.
The Sumerians were also known for their architecture. A temple was atop a huge,
pyramid-shaped tower called a ziggurat. Near the ziggurat there were buildings for
the priests, officials, accountants, musicians, and singers. There were also treasure
chambers, storage areas for grain, tools, and weapons, and workshops for bakers,
pottery makers, leather craftsmen, wool spinners, and jewelers. There were also cages
for keeping the sheep and goats that were sacrificed to the temple god.
The Egyptians formed the first higher civilization along the Nile River, in northeastern
Africa, around 3100 BCE. Pharaohs ruled over people like kings. Egyptians built
temples to their gods and goddesses and worshipped animals. The Egyptians are
known for many achievements, such as the pyramids, the science of engineering, the
decimal system, water irrigation systems, and glass making.
The Harappan, or Indus civilization, started in the Indus River valley in present-day
Pakistan and northwestern India around 2500 BCE. The Harappans built their cities in
a grid format. They had the first large-scale sanitation system that included wells and a
place for waste water.
Most of the people in the cities were traders or artisans, who are skilled craftspeople.
The society was ruled by powerful priests. After studying the tides, waves, and currents
on the Indus River, the Harappans used their engineering skills to build docks. The Indus
civilization had its own form of writing, which consisted of about 400 symbols. Scholars
are still trying to figure out how to read it.
The earliest Chinese civilization developed along the Huang He around 2000 BCE.
As people in China began to grow crops and raise animals, they settled villages. The
Chinese were known for their pottery, using silk to make clothes, and using wagons
with wheels. The Chinese also learned how to make bronze out of tin and copper.
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Lesson 18: Characteristics of Societies
The Classical Period
The Classical period was dominated by the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.
These cultures were the first of Western civilization, which much later included
European nations, and spread to North and South America and Australia. The classical
ancient Greek civilization lasted for about 400 years, ending with the death of Alexander
the Great in 323 BCE.
The Classical period began with the development of ancient Greek city-states in the
700s BCE. A city-state consisted of a main city and small villages in the surrounding
land. Each city-state had its own government and laws. Two Greek city-states were
Athens and Sparta. Typical ideals of the Classical period included respect for reason
over emotions. Thinkers and artists of that period tried to define what was good, true,
and beautiful for all people. The Greeks built on the traditions of an earlier people known
as the Phoenicians when they developed their alphabet and their city-state system of
government.
The Romans built their
civilization on the classical ideals
of ancient Greece. The Roman
form of classicism included a
respect for social organization
and the idea that individuals
had a responsibility to take part
in activities that benefited the
society as a whole. Romans
desired fair law, which united the
large Roman Empire and made
it strong. Many legal systems in
Europe were based on Roman
law.
Romans also copied the Greeks’
writing style. Virgil wrote the epic The Roman Forum was the center of Roman government.
poem, the Aeneid. This poem
told of Rome’s glorious past. Livy, another Roman, wrote about Rome’s history, too.
The Romans became interested in the Greek philosophy of the Stoics. Stoics believed
that happiness was achieved through reason and concentrated only on what can be
controlled. Stoics believed in a fully rational god, and that each person is a part of god.
The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages was the time between the fall of the Roman Empire in the 400s CE
and the 1500s CE. The way of life that the Romans called “barbarian” became dominant.
There was no central government. Instead, people were divided into small tribal
communities, each loyal only to its own chief. People were governed by superstition,
not Roman law.
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For example, accused people no longer received a trial with a judge and jury. Instead,
they were subjected to trial by ordeal, in which they were tortured and injured. If their
wounds healed within three days, they were considered innocent. Few people received
an education, artistic and technological skills were forgotten, and business and trade
became more primitive. Urban life almost disappeared. The land was undeveloped, with
swamps and thick forests instead of farmlands. War, disease, and starvation killed many
people.
The Church spread its beliefs in Europe during this period, also preserving some culture
and learning. Christian missionaries helped civilize society by spreading literacy. Church
leaders took over some functions of government, such as taxation, education, and
maintaining court systems.
Around 1000 CE, a social and economic system known as feudalism became dominant
in Europe. Wealthy aristocratic landowners divided their lands among lesser aristocrats,
who tended the lands and ruled over the peasants who worked the lands. Feudalism
helped build the great nation-states of Western Europe. A nation-state is an independent
country where the people share a common culture, history, and language.
Between the 1000s and the late 1200s CE, business and trade were revived, towns
reappeared, agricultural methods improved, and the population grew. The arts and
architecture flourished, especially in the service of glorifying Christ. Magnificent
cathedrals were built.
Europeans began to trade with foreign lands, such as those of the Byzantine Empire and
Southwest Asia. In Europe, most of the classical Greek and Latin writing had been lost.
In the Byzantine Empire, however, much of it was saved. Europeans began to adopt
elements of the Islamic cultures of Spain and Southwest Asia, and of the Byzantine
Empire. Scholars translated Arabic and Greek works into Latin and learning was revived.
The first universities were founded at this time.
The Renaissance
The Middle Ages gradually gave way to the birth of modern Europe starting in the
1300s. New ideas, learning, and creativity grew. This time was called the Renaissance,
or “rebirth.” The Renaissance began in the late 1300s and lasted until the 1600s.
Following the classic ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans, artists, scholars, and
architects developed new techniques and created important works. In many ways, the
Renaissance marked the beginning of modern government. Like the ancient Greeks and
Romans, the Renaissance thinkers believed that the main role of government was to
maintain peace and security.
The Renaissance began on the Italian peninsula and then spread north to the rest of
Europe. An early Renaissance center was the Italian city-state of Florence. Florence
had banks, trading centers, and manufacturing. Some people who lived in Florence
earned their wealth from trading goods. They did not make money from the land as
aristocrats had in the Middle Ages. These merchants became a new class of aristocrats.
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Lesson 18: Characteristics of Societies
As they gained wealth, they wanted to make their lives more comfortable. Religion had
a strong influence on their lives, but living well did, too. Education and the arts had
increased in importance for them.
African Cultures
While medieval civilization dominated
Europe, a great kingdom had flourished in
Africa during the 300s CE. The kingdom
of Ghana, located between the Senegal
and Niger rivers, reached its peak
beginning about 750 CE. Traders from
northern Africa passed through Ghana to
trade salt for gold. The kings of Ghana
taxed all traders, who paid the tax in gold
pieces. Ghana grew rich from these taxes,
as well as from the gold in the region’s
gold mines. Arab traders called Ghana the
“land of gold.” Muslim traders settled in
Ghana in the 800s. The Muslims brought
their religion, written language, money,
and ways of doing business.
In the mid-1000s, Berbers from the north
conquered Ghana. The local people
regained control of the capital city, but
outlying tribes continued to fight the
central government, leaving Ghana weak.
In 1100, a serious drought struck Ghana.
Ghana never regained its power after it
was conquered by the Sosso people in
the early 1200s.
Michelangelo, the Renaissance artist who created the
sculpture, David, is considered one of the most influential
artists in history.
In 1235, Sundiata Keita, a local warrior,
organized a private army and defeated
what was left of the Ghana Empire. In 1240, he formed the kingdom of Mali. Mali
controlled the gold and salt trade along the Niger River. Mansa Musa, a Muslim leader,
ruled Mali from 1312 to 1332. He was the most famous king of Mali. During his rule, Mali
was very safe. Mansa Musa based the laws in Mali on the sacred book of Islam, the
Qur’an. The Qur’an instructs Muslims and provides laws about how to live and practice
business.
For almost 300 years, West Africa continued to be ruled by black kings who followed
the religion of Islam. Under the Songhai Empire, which took power in 1464, the empire
grew, the government became stronger, and the cities of Timbuktu and Jenne became
centers of Islamic learning.
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The Songhai Empire became the largest and most powerful kingdom in medieval Africa.
Eventually, however, struggles for political power weakened the empire. In 1591, a
northern African army from Morocco invaded. It destroyed the cities of Gao, Timbuktu,
and Jenne, and conquered the Songhai Empire. However, the Moroccans found it too
difficult to govern the conquered empire across the huge distance. They lost interest and
allowed the Songhai Empire to break apart into smaller kingdoms.
Chinese Culture
China reached its golden age of civilization between the early 600s CE and the late
1200s. Important Chinese inventions of this period were gunpowder and printing.
The Chinese had invented paper around 105 CE. Block printing was developed in the
700s, during the early T’ang Dynasty (618–907 CE). Chinese characters were carved
into a wooden block. Then ink was rubbed on the carved wood block. Finally, paper
was pressed onto the inked wood blocks. Block printing reached its height during the
Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE). During the Song period, the government encouraged an
increase in printing. Many books were printed using block type. Then, between the years
1041 and 1048, Bi Sheng invented movable type. As a result, it also required applying
thousands of characters which are used in the Chinese language.
Around 850 CE, the Chinese invented gunpowder. They mixed saltpeter, sulfur, and
charcoal, which are all natural resources found in China. During the T’ang Dynasty,
gunpowder was used in firework displays. During the Song Dynasty, the gunpowder was
used in weapons of warfare such as flaming arrows, grenades, and cannon balls.
Show What You Know
List some of the features of the following cultures.
Culture
Features
Chinese
African
Greek
Roman
Medieval European
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Lesson Practice
DIRECTIONS
Circle the letter next to the best answer for each question.
Thinking It Through
1.
What did people trade for gold in
Ghana?
A. potatoes
Ghana became known as a land of gold when traders
brought this through the area. Salt was heavily traded
throughout history. People used salt in multiple ways,
such as a food preservative.
B. silk
C. silver
D. salt
2.
Which culture or cultures influenced
Renaissance thinkers, artists, and
architects?
3.
Which civilization was known for the
first sanitation system containing wells
and places for waste water?
A. medieval European civilization
A. Huang He valley civilization
B. ancient African civilization
B. Tigris-Euphrates River valley
civilization
C. ancient Egyptian civilization
C. Nile River valley civilization
D. ancient Greek and Roman
civilizations
HINT
During the Renaissance, the ideals of the
Classical period were reborn.
D. Indus River valley civilization
4.
What cultural practices did barbarian
conquerors of ancient Rome pass down
to medieval culture?
A. trial by ordeal and tribal loyalty
B. strong central governments and
well-developed trade
C. focus on education and
achievements in the arts
D. efficient farming methods and
advances in medicine
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