Download Praxis Review Sheet for Ancient History and more Exercises Ancient history in PDF only on Docsity!
Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of Education
NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY
PRAXIS REVIEW SHEET
World History: Ancient History
History 121: Western Civilizations I, History 311: Chinese History, History 413: The Hebrews, History 422: Ancient Rome, History 424: Early Church
Praxis concepts addressed in these courses: human society to approximately 3000 B.C.E.; development of early civilizations (Circa 3000-1500 B.C.E.); and ancient empires and civilizations (Circ 1700 B.C.E.—500 C.E.): India, China, Ancient Western Asia, Mediterranean, Africa
You should probably begin your preparation with a brief overview of ancient history. Make sure you have at least a rough idea of which civilizations developed during the ancient period. Reading through the table of contents of any good world or Western civilization survey will help. See also the outline of ancient history attached below.
Note that, at first glance, the concept description above doesn’t seem to include much of the material covered in your ancient history courses at NSU. The courses you took actually are included, but in something of a disguise: Greece and Rome are part of “Mediterranean” history, while the Hebrews and early Christianity are part of both Mediterranean history and the history of Ancient Western Asia. Egypt is part of African and Mediterranean history.
Once you have a general feel for the overall course of ancient history, start reviewing key figures and terms. Take a look at the History 121, 413, 422, and 424 sections on my Web site (http://www.northern.edu/marmorsa). The study guides for these classes include lists of potential exam ID’s: 3 exams for each class, 50 potential ID’s for each exam, 150 ID’s for each class. Making sure you know the most important of these terms should be good Praxis preparation, but it’s probably overkill. You’re unlikely to be asked much about important figures of the political/intellectual history of the ancient world: nothing on Solon, Pericles, Marius, Trajan, Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Sophocles, etc. You’re far more likely to face broad social history questions: a question about class differences reflected in the Code of Hammurabi, for instance.
E.D. Hirsch’s New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy may be of some help to you in preparing, not just for the ancient history portion of the exam, but for the entire Praxis Social Studies Content exam. You’ll probably find the online version of Hirsch’s book (http://www.bartleby.com/59) particularly convenient as you prepare for the exam.
For more thorough coverage, see the various Internet History Source Books (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/). The Internet Women’s History Sourcebook (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/women/womensbook.html) might be particular useful in reviewing for the gender questions you’ll likely find on the exam.
Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of Education
Ancient History Themes and Key Terms
Pre-history (???—3000 BC) Paleolithic era (Old Stone Age) Neolithic era (New Stone Age) Bronze Age (c. 4000-2000 BC)
Major themes: Thousands of years of slow development, all-of-a-sudden accelerated by a cultural revolution during the late Neolithic period. Inventions like the wheel, settled agriculture, domestication of animals, etc. lead to dramatic population growth, the birth of cities, the emergence of writing and (as a result) the beginnings of history.
Mesopotamia
Sumer and Akkad (3000-2000 B.C.) Amorites (Babylonians) (2000-1000 B.C.) Assyrians (1000-612 B.C.) Chaldaeans (613-536 B.C.)
Major themes : “History begins at Sumer, “ with the first great urban civilization, characterized by extensive irrigation, specialized trades, the emergence of writing, the earliest known literature, the first written laws, polytheistic religion (gods like An, Ki, Enlil, Shamesh, etc., associated with the forces of nature). Sargon of Akkad (c. 2300) creates the first empire known to history. The Babylonians (Amorites) improve on Sumerian foundations, creating a more stable empire, an elaborate legal code (the Code of Hammurabi), and literary works like the Enuma Elish and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Assyrians later create an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to Egypt, but their reliance on violence and cruelty isn’t enough to prevent collapse. The Chaldaeans under Nebuchadnezzar try to recreate the greatness of old Babylon, but fail.
Key terms : Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, Chaldaeans, Hammurabi, Code of Hammurabi, Ziggurat, Marduk, Epic of Gilgamesh, Polytheism, Assyrians, Chaldaeans, Nebuchadnezzar
Ancient Israel (1900 BC—70AD)
Major themes : A people important for one contribution: the Bible. The Hebrews (Israelites) challenge the polytheism which had dominated the ancient world. The source of the ideas that lead to the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Key terms : Abraham, Moses, Torah, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Monotheism
Development of this review sheet was made possible by funding from the US Department of Education
1750 B.C.). During the New Kingdom (“empire”) period (1570-1000 B.C.), Egypt is wealthy and powerful, but there is a breakdown in ethics (probably related to extensive reliance on slave labor) that eventually leads to disunity and weakness.
Key terms: Pharaoh, Nile, Hieroglyphics, Pyramid, Osiris, Hyksos, Hatchepsut, Rameses
Kush/Axum/Iron Age Sub-Saharan Africa
Major themes: Kush and Axum are the labels sometimes given successive phases of the early civilizations of present-day Ethiopia and Sudan. Influencing and influenced by Ancient Egyptian civilization, each achieved some pretty impressive stuff. Sub-Saharan Africa, however, remained at the “hunting and gathering” stage even after the use of iron became widespread following the Bantu migrations: very strange, and hard to explain. There are excellent summaries of Kush and Axum on the Washington State University Web site: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/KUSH.HTM.
Key terms: Kush, Nubia, Meroe, Axum, Ethiopia, Bantu Migrations, Sahel
The First European Civilizations
Greece (See the outline and links on my Web site: http://www.northern.edu/marmorsa/Greece.htm)
Major themes: Birth and development of philosophy, science, theater, political science, history, etc. among the Greeks; democracy in Athens; the conquests of Alexander and the Hellenistic age
Key terms: Minoans, Mycenaeans, Homer, Sappho, Acropolis, Parthenon, Olympics, Athens, Sparta, Homer, Sappho, Herodotus, Acropolis, Olympics, Peloponnesian War, Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
Rome (See the outline and links on my Web site: http://www.northern.edu/marmorsa/rome.html)
Major themes: strengths and weaknesses of Republican and Imperial Rome, transition of Rome from paganism to Christianity.
Key terms: Punic Wars, Carthage, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Jesus of Nazareth, Gospel, Constantine
