WORLD HISTORY EXAM COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY GUIDE 2026
◉ Foragers.
Answer: People who support themselves by hunting wild animals
and gathering wild edible plants and insects.
◉ Cuneiform.
Answer: A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols
represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and
was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted
to represent other languages of western Asia. Because so many
symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a relatively small
group of administrators and scribes.
◉ History.
Answer: The study of past events and changes in the development,
transmission, and transformation of cultural practices.
◉ City-state.
Answer: A small independent state consisting of an urban center and
the surrounding agricultural territory. A characteristic political form
in early Mesopotamia, classical Greece, Phoenicia, and early Italy.
,◉ Culture.
Answer: Socially transmitted patterns of action and expression.
Material _____ refers to physical objects, such as dwellings, clothing,
tools, and crafts. _____ also includes arts, beliefs, knowledge, and
technology.
◉ Agricultural Revolution/Neolithic Revolution-When?.
Answer: The change from food gathering to food production that
occurred between 8000 and 2000 B.C.E., independently in various
parts of the world. This also includes the domestication of plants
and animals.
◉ Paleolithic.
Answer: The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution
of humans. It predates the Neolithic period.
◉ Neolithic.
Answer: The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient
Agricultural Revolution (s). It follows the Paleolithic period.
◉ Mohenjo-Darro.
Answer: Largest of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization. It was
centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River in
contemporary Pakistan. Little is known about the political
institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large scale of
,construction at Mohenjo-Daro, the orderly grid for streets, and the
standardization of building materials are evidence of central
planning.
◉ Name the 4 river valleys where civilization began..
Answer: 1) Mesopotamia, 2) Egypt, 3) Pakistan, 4) northern China
◉ What are the characteristics of civilization?.
Answer: 1) Cities that serve as administrative centers, 2) a political
system based on control of defined territory, 3) specialization, 4)
status based on wealth, 5) monumental buildings, 6) a writing
system, 7) long distance trade, and 8) major advancements in
science and art.
◉ Loess.
Answer: A fine, light silt deposited by wind and water. It constitutes
the fertile soil of the Yellow River Valley in northern China. Because
_____ soil is not compacted, it can be worked with a simple digging
stick, but it leaves the region vulnerable to devastating earthquakes.
◉ Daoism.
Answer: Chinese school of thought, originating in the Warring States
Period with Laozi. Daoism offered an alternative to the Confucian
emphasis on hierarchy and duty. Daoists believe that the world is
always changing and is devoid of absolute morality or meaning. They
, accept the world as they find it, avoid futile struggles, and deviate as
little as possible from the Dao, or "path" of nature.
◉ Legalism.
Answer: An authoritarian political philosophy that came to be called
____. These thinkers believe human nature is essentially wicked and
that people behave in an orderly fashion only if compelled by strict
laws and harsh punishments.
◉ Confucius.
Answer: Western name for the Chinese philosopher Konzi (551-479
B.C.E.). His doctrine of duty and public service had a great influence
on subsequent Chinese thought and served as a code of conduct for
government officials.
◉ Mandate of Heaven.
Answer: Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the
Zhou, according to which it was the prerogative of Heaven, the chief
deity, to grant power to the rule of China and to take away that
power if the ruler failed to conduct himself justly and in the best
interests of his subjects.
◉ Shang.
Answer: The dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for
which we have written records (ca. 1750-1045 B.C.E.). Ancestor
STUDY GUIDE 2026
◉ Foragers.
Answer: People who support themselves by hunting wild animals
and gathering wild edible plants and insects.
◉ Cuneiform.
Answer: A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols
represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and
was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted
to represent other languages of western Asia. Because so many
symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a relatively small
group of administrators and scribes.
◉ History.
Answer: The study of past events and changes in the development,
transmission, and transformation of cultural practices.
◉ City-state.
Answer: A small independent state consisting of an urban center and
the surrounding agricultural territory. A characteristic political form
in early Mesopotamia, classical Greece, Phoenicia, and early Italy.
,◉ Culture.
Answer: Socially transmitted patterns of action and expression.
Material _____ refers to physical objects, such as dwellings, clothing,
tools, and crafts. _____ also includes arts, beliefs, knowledge, and
technology.
◉ Agricultural Revolution/Neolithic Revolution-When?.
Answer: The change from food gathering to food production that
occurred between 8000 and 2000 B.C.E., independently in various
parts of the world. This also includes the domestication of plants
and animals.
◉ Paleolithic.
Answer: The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution
of humans. It predates the Neolithic period.
◉ Neolithic.
Answer: The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient
Agricultural Revolution (s). It follows the Paleolithic period.
◉ Mohenjo-Darro.
Answer: Largest of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization. It was
centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River in
contemporary Pakistan. Little is known about the political
institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large scale of
,construction at Mohenjo-Daro, the orderly grid for streets, and the
standardization of building materials are evidence of central
planning.
◉ Name the 4 river valleys where civilization began..
Answer: 1) Mesopotamia, 2) Egypt, 3) Pakistan, 4) northern China
◉ What are the characteristics of civilization?.
Answer: 1) Cities that serve as administrative centers, 2) a political
system based on control of defined territory, 3) specialization, 4)
status based on wealth, 5) monumental buildings, 6) a writing
system, 7) long distance trade, and 8) major advancements in
science and art.
◉ Loess.
Answer: A fine, light silt deposited by wind and water. It constitutes
the fertile soil of the Yellow River Valley in northern China. Because
_____ soil is not compacted, it can be worked with a simple digging
stick, but it leaves the region vulnerable to devastating earthquakes.
◉ Daoism.
Answer: Chinese school of thought, originating in the Warring States
Period with Laozi. Daoism offered an alternative to the Confucian
emphasis on hierarchy and duty. Daoists believe that the world is
always changing and is devoid of absolute morality or meaning. They
, accept the world as they find it, avoid futile struggles, and deviate as
little as possible from the Dao, or "path" of nature.
◉ Legalism.
Answer: An authoritarian political philosophy that came to be called
____. These thinkers believe human nature is essentially wicked and
that people behave in an orderly fashion only if compelled by strict
laws and harsh punishments.
◉ Confucius.
Answer: Western name for the Chinese philosopher Konzi (551-479
B.C.E.). His doctrine of duty and public service had a great influence
on subsequent Chinese thought and served as a code of conduct for
government officials.
◉ Mandate of Heaven.
Answer: Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the
Zhou, according to which it was the prerogative of Heaven, the chief
deity, to grant power to the rule of China and to take away that
power if the ruler failed to conduct himself justly and in the best
interests of his subjects.
◉ Shang.
Answer: The dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for
which we have written records (ca. 1750-1045 B.C.E.). Ancestor
