AP World History
Summer Assignments
Dear AP World History Students,
Over the course of the next school year, we will explore over 10,000 years of history. We will analyze the story
of humanity from the beginnings of civilization up until the present day. Our exploration of the journey of
mankind begins today with 5 assignments that you will complete over the course of the summer. The
assignments are as follows:
 Assignment 1 – Read chapter 1 and answer the corresponding questions.
 Assignment 2 – Read the excerpt from the Rig Veda and answer the corresponding questions.
 Assignment 3 – Read the excerpt from the Code of Hammurabi and answer the corresponding questions.
 Assignment 4 – Color code the sub-regions listed on the map. Use the maps in the AP World History
Course and Exam Description, p. 22, at
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/AP_WorldHistoryCED_Effective_Fall_2011.pdf

Assignment 5 – Label maps A & B.
The assignments are due the first day of school. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email
me. I will be more than happy to assist you. If you follow me on Twitter @drmuscelli, I will let you know
when I am at the high school during the summer, and you can stop by my classroom (L-205) and ask me any
questions about the assignments. If you are interested in signing up for text messaging reminders, please
text @apworldwt to 81010.
I fully understand how anxious many of you are beginning your high school career and taking your very first
Advanced Placement course. While the work will be challenging, it is not impossible. Thousands of high school
freshmen just like you have taken AP World History and have scored a 3 or higher on the AP World History
exam. I will be here to help you along the way. You can always reach me via email, and I am after school
almost every day. My ultimate goal is to not only make this a fun and exciting journey, but to help each and
every one of you earn a 5 (the highest score possible) on the AP exam.
Best regards,
Dr. Muscelli
P.S. Please do not wait to work on your summer assignments until the last night of summer!
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
Name:
AP World History
Assignment 1: Chapter 1 Questions
Multiple Choice – After reading Chapter 1, please answer the questions below by circling the best possible
choice.
1. Which of the following statements is true of the inhabitants of the paleolithic age?
a. They had mastered writing.
b. They domesticated animals.
c. They were hunters and gatherers.
d. They had discovered agriculture.
e. They had mastered working with iron.
2. Most scholars believe that, during the paleolithic age, social organization was characterized by
a. a relative social equality.
b. a ruling priestly class.
c. a dominant class based on the private ownership of land.
d. a ruling merchant class.
e. a dominant matriarchal structure.
3. Many scholars believe that during the paleolithic age the relationship between the sexes was marked by
a. a female-dominated society based on the importance of gathering edible plants.
b. general social equality.
c. a male-dominated society based on the preeminence of hunting.
d. a male-dominated society based on sheer physical strength.
e. a male-dominated society based on the central role of the male sun god.
4. With the development of languages, human beings were able to
a. produce long cutting edges.
b. accumulate knowledge and transmit it to new generations.
c. begin to fashion sharp tools from animal bones.
d. devise means for catching fish from deep waters.
e. invent spear throwers.
5. What do archeologists now believe is the most fundamental difference between the neolithic and paleolithic
eras?
a. artistry
b. use of tools
c. use of fire
d. reliance on foraging for subsistence
e. reliance on cultivation for subsistence
6. One of the earliest known agricultural techniques was
a. crop rotation.
b. hunting and gathering.
c. slash and burn.
d. crop substitution.
e. the use of the horse-drawn plow.
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
7. The earliest of the three neolithic craft industries was
a. textile production.
b. pottery.
c. carpet weaving.
d. metallurgy.
e. weapon production.
8. All of the following social changes were brought about by agriculture EXCEPT
a. population growth.
b. the emergence of villages and towns.
c. the invention of writing.
d. the specialization of labor.
e. the emergence of social classes.
Short Answer – After reading Chapter 1, please answers the question below. Feel free to write your answers on
a separate sheet of paper.
9. What was the earliest metal worked systematically by humans (just list the answer)?
10. What is the ultimate source of wealth in any agricultural society (just list the answer)?
11. Discuss how early cities differed from neolithic villages and towns (discuss 2 differences, 1-2 paragraphs in
length)?
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
Name:
AP World History
Assignment 2: Rig Veda on the Castes
The caste system in India was developed after the migration of the Indo-Aryan peoples into the region during
the second millennium BCE. "Caste" refers to a person's standing in society. There are four castes within the
Indian caste system: Brahmins (priestly caste), Kshatriyas (warrior caste), Vaishyas (merchant caste), and
Shudras (artisan/agriculturist caste). The Harijan, or "untouchables," stand outside the caste system. This
excerpt from the Rig Veda provides an etiological account of the caste system, linking it to the creation of the
universe. Recently, India instituted legislation that outlaws discrimination based on caste in education and
employment.
Rig Veda: Excerpt
A thousand heads hath Purusha (cosmic man or self), a thousand eyes, a thousand feet.
He covered earth on every side and spread ten finger's breadth beyond.
This Purusha is all that hath been and all that is to be,
The Lord of Immortality which waxes greater still by food.
So mighty is his greatness; yea, greater than this is Purusha.
All creatures are one-fourth of him, [the other] three-fourths [of him are] eternal life in heaven. . . .
When the gods prepared the sacrifice with Purusha as their offering,
Its oil was spring, the holy gift was autumn; summer was the wood. . . .
From that great general sacrifice the dripping fat was gathered up.
He formed the creatures of the air, and animals both wild and tame.
From that great general sacrifice [sages] and [ritual hymns] were born.
Therefrom were [spells and charms] produced; theYajas [a book of ritual formulas] had its birth from it.
From it were horses born; from it all creatures with two rows of teeth.
From it were generated [cattle], from it the goats and sheep were born.
When they divided Purusha, how many portions did they make?
What do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and feet?
The brahmin was his mouth, of both his arms was the kshatriya made.
His thighs became the vaishya, from his feet the shudra was produced.
The moon was gendered from his mind, and from his eye the sun had birth;
Indra (the god of rain) and Agni [the god of fire] from his mouth were born, and Vayu [the wind] from his
breath.
Forth from his navel came mid-air; the sky was fashioned from his head;
Earth from his feet, and from his ear the regions.
Thus they formed the worlds.
Directions: After reading the introduction and the excerpt of the Rig Veda, please answer the questions on the
back of this page.
1. When was the caste system developed?
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
2. What is a caste?
3. How many castes are there in the Indian caste system?
4. How does this excerpt explain the origin of the caste system? Hint: You may have to read the passage several
times.
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
Name:
AP World History
Assignment 3: The Code of Hammurabi
Hammurabi was the king of Babylon from 1790 to 1750 BCE. Easily his most famous achievement was to
formulate a code of laws for his society. Legend has it that the laws came from the gods of Babylon and were
handed down to Hammurabi, who then had the laws written into a stele and placed in the center of the city so
that the population could see it (though, in most cases, not read it). The original stele was discovered in 1901
and can now be seen in the Louvre in Paris.
Hammurabi's law code defined socially acceptable behavior and detailed punishments for a variety of offenses,
ranging from theft to murder. While the code can be compared with other "eye for an eye" laws, its punishments
were more nuanced. An analysis of the code makes it clear that ancient Babylon was a rigidly hierarchical
society; tiers of laws and punishments detail varying penalties for lords, women, and servants or slaves.
Directions: After reading the above selections to the Code of Hammurabi, please answer the questions below:
1. In Law 129, what does it mean to “bind them and cast them into the water?”
2. In Law 168, what does it mean to “disinherit” a son?
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
3. Two crimes in the document result in physical punishment. What are those crimes (not the punishments)?
How might Hammurabi argue that the punishments were just?
4. Hammurabi said this code was meant to protect the weak. Is there evidence in this document that the code did
so?
5. Based on the above laws, who had more rights: males or females? Please explain.
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
Name:
AP World History
Assignment 4: Sub-regions
Color code the fifteen sub-regions recognized by the College Board for the AP World History course. Use the maps in the AP World History Course and Exam
Description, p. 22, at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/AP_WorldHistoryCED_Effective_Fall_2011.pdf
North Africa
West Africa
Central Africa
East Africa
Southern Africa
North America
Latin America
The Caribbean
Central Asia
Middle East
South Asia
East Asia
Southeast Asia
Europe
Oceania
Dr. Musceli’s email:
[email protected]
Name:
AP World History
Assignment 5: Map Identify
Label the following on maps A & B.
Map A - Western Hemisphere
Rivers
Amazon River
Mississippi River
Bodies of Water
Atlantic Ocean
Caribbean Sea
Great Lakes
Pacific Ocean
Rio De La Plata
Mountains
Andes
Appalachian Mountains
Rockies
Landforms
Tierra del Fuego
Cities
Washington, DC
Los Angeles
Mexico City
New York City
Rio de Janiero
Map B - Eastern Hemisphere
Rivers
Congo River
Danube River
Ganges River
Huang He (Yellow) River
Indus River
Mekong River
Nile River
Rhine River
Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
Bodies of Water
Black Sea
Indian Ocean
Mediterranean Sea
North Sea
Pacific Ocean
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Strait of Malacca
Mountains
Alps
Caucasus
Himalayas
Ural Mountains
Landforms
Anatolian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
Balkan Peninsula
Fertile Crescent
Indochina
Sahara
Tibetan Plateau
Cities
Baghdad
Beijing
Istanbul
London
Moscow
New Delhi
Dr. Muscelli’s email:
[email protected]
Assignment 5: Map A – Western Hemisphere
Dr. Muscelli’s email:
[email protected]
Assignment 5: Map B – Eastern Hemisphere