OSAT Middle Level Social Study Guide
Latest Updated
ancient Egyptian civilization - ANSWER-centered around Nile river, and "oasis in the
desert," nile allowed for irrigation, transportation, trade, etc., sort-of sharecropping
system (king "owned" all the land, others delegated it, lower sorts worked and paid
portion of their crops to the king/official, foreign slaves usually, notable labor force and
technical advancements result in the pyramids and other monuments, women had near-
equal legal status to men
social heirarchy: gods, the king, the blessed dead, humanity (then foreigners), king
represented gods to humanity,
legacy: architecture, religion (concern for afterlife), first civilization to have an army,
theocracy, science, math, medicine (surgery, cures), 365-day calendar, papyrus paper,
astronomy (calculated a solar year)
ancient Mesopotamian civilization - ANSWER-built on tigris and euphrates rivers,
birthplace of humanity, commonalities were gods, attitude towards women, and script,
everything else was varied by different people groups like babylon, assyria
rise of a city, invention of writing, invention of the wheel, tires, time in hours, minutes,
seconds, philosophy and religion,
literature: the epic of gilgamesh, Hammurabi's code (Amorite laws clearly stating crime
and punishment, how to live together in multi-cultural environment),
largely agrarian society, some artistic professions, buildings and government centered
on temple
major features and impact of ancient Greece - ANSWER-philosophy, polis, the city-state
was invented--had community meeting places, government, markets, protected by a
god or goddess, land was most important resource, birth place of democracy, Homer
and the Illiad, advancement of art and math (Pythagorean theorem)
major features and impact ancient Rome - ANSWER-military advancements, taxes,
inspired by ancient Greek, Roman forum, too big to support, moral corruption,
government, law, religion, aqueducts, roads/highways
Judaism - ANSWER-religion of Hebrews, later called the Jewish people, begins with
Abrahamic promise that God would bless the world through Abraham's line (Isaac,
,Jacob, 12 sons=tribes of Israel), remarkable because God was not made in man's
image, people could have relationship with God, small group of people, go to Egypt,
moses leads israel out of egypt and into promised land, taken over by babylon and
others, gets absorbed into roman empire
Christianity - ANSWER-teaching and life of Jesus alter course of human history,
spreads through Roman empire and around the world
Hinduism's effect on Indian culture - ANSWER-development of caste system, treatment
of animals, reincarnation (lower caste=sinful, high=good), trying to reach nirvana,
pluralistic society, literature: epics, the vedas, lots of gods
Buddhism's is effect on culture (China and India) - ANSWER-compassion and non-
attachment, desire is the birthplace of suffering, get rid of desire and you get off of the
wheel of suffering, trying to reach enlightened state, no gods necessary
Confucianism's effect on Chinese culture - ANSWER-Chinese philosophy about
relationships, society, how to bring about societal order and harmony, moral society
through specific relationships, Ruler and minister, Father and son, Elder brother and
younger brother, Husband and wife, Friend and friend, authority and rank very
important, collectivism and group orientation
importance of trade in West African kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) - ANSWER-main
items were gold and salt, importance of Islam helped overcome tribal divisions, made all
three incredibly wealthy, powerful, and connected to the world, ex. Mansa Musa's
pilgrimage to Middle east
Significance of religion and warfare in the Mayan, Aztec, and Inca culture - ANSWER-
Mayan: humans expected to honor gods, bloodletting was most common practice-
sometimes human sacrifice of captives,
Islamic Civilization (origins, beliefs, and spread) - ANSWER-origins: Arabian Peninsula,
Muhammad (570-632 ad), orphaned, lives life of isolation until he receives revelations
from the angel Gabriel, "the prophet," preaches submission to God, teachings were
result of social and economic conditions of Mecca,
(1) that God is good and omnipotent, (2) that God will judge all men on the last day and
assign them their place in either Heaven or Hell, (3) that men should thank God for
making the world as it is, (4) that God expects men to be generous with their wealth,
and (5) that Muhammad was a prophet sent by God to teach men and warn them of the
last judgment.
7th and 8th centuries- Islamic golden age, Abbasid Caliphs, science, philosophy, math,
Mecca, Muhammad has Pre-Islamic, early Islamic, Umayyad, the first and second
Abbasid, the Hispano-Arabic, the Persian and the modern periods
, ends around 13th century when Genghis Khan conquers eurasia
Ottoman conquest in 1500's takes over, under Turkish control
European feudalism - ANSWER-9th-15th centuries, medieval political/legal/military
system, describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior
nobility revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs, held
together by manorialism
nobility
clergy
peasants
decentralization and no bureaucracy leads to this system, ends because nobility loses
military power and the black death leads to social leveling
role of the Roman Catholic church in Medieval society - ANSWER-outposts of
"civilization," source of writing and education in middle ages, really the only consistent
institution in Europe after the fall of Rome
made up an estate- the clergy-- who had political and social power in respective
communities, served as government, charity, justice system
corrupt popes over the years ends in the Protestant Reformation
interactions between Christian and Islamic worlds - ANSWER-Islamic threat to eastern
Christians and desire to acquire holy lands results in crusades, 1096-1291, 5ish
different crusades, ultimately a Christian defeat, but set up paths for more trade, reach
of both Christianity and Islam, and interest in travel, also increases power of Catholic
church in europe until the reformation
origins. development, and achievements of the Renaissance - ANSWER-origins: 13th
and 14th c, Italian artists and scholars begin to revive roman culture- humanism (focus
on human nature, syncretism, dignity of man), developed by secular thinkers=break with
the church, looking to revive lost human spirit
1490's-1530ish, printing spreads these ideas, reformation shows humanist thinking in
the church, artistic developments, scientific developments (anatomy, flight, plants and
animals), architecture
da vinci, michaelangelo, raphael, etc
Latest Updated
ancient Egyptian civilization - ANSWER-centered around Nile river, and "oasis in the
desert," nile allowed for irrigation, transportation, trade, etc., sort-of sharecropping
system (king "owned" all the land, others delegated it, lower sorts worked and paid
portion of their crops to the king/official, foreign slaves usually, notable labor force and
technical advancements result in the pyramids and other monuments, women had near-
equal legal status to men
social heirarchy: gods, the king, the blessed dead, humanity (then foreigners), king
represented gods to humanity,
legacy: architecture, religion (concern for afterlife), first civilization to have an army,
theocracy, science, math, medicine (surgery, cures), 365-day calendar, papyrus paper,
astronomy (calculated a solar year)
ancient Mesopotamian civilization - ANSWER-built on tigris and euphrates rivers,
birthplace of humanity, commonalities were gods, attitude towards women, and script,
everything else was varied by different people groups like babylon, assyria
rise of a city, invention of writing, invention of the wheel, tires, time in hours, minutes,
seconds, philosophy and religion,
literature: the epic of gilgamesh, Hammurabi's code (Amorite laws clearly stating crime
and punishment, how to live together in multi-cultural environment),
largely agrarian society, some artistic professions, buildings and government centered
on temple
major features and impact of ancient Greece - ANSWER-philosophy, polis, the city-state
was invented--had community meeting places, government, markets, protected by a
god or goddess, land was most important resource, birth place of democracy, Homer
and the Illiad, advancement of art and math (Pythagorean theorem)
major features and impact ancient Rome - ANSWER-military advancements, taxes,
inspired by ancient Greek, Roman forum, too big to support, moral corruption,
government, law, religion, aqueducts, roads/highways
Judaism - ANSWER-religion of Hebrews, later called the Jewish people, begins with
Abrahamic promise that God would bless the world through Abraham's line (Isaac,
,Jacob, 12 sons=tribes of Israel), remarkable because God was not made in man's
image, people could have relationship with God, small group of people, go to Egypt,
moses leads israel out of egypt and into promised land, taken over by babylon and
others, gets absorbed into roman empire
Christianity - ANSWER-teaching and life of Jesus alter course of human history,
spreads through Roman empire and around the world
Hinduism's effect on Indian culture - ANSWER-development of caste system, treatment
of animals, reincarnation (lower caste=sinful, high=good), trying to reach nirvana,
pluralistic society, literature: epics, the vedas, lots of gods
Buddhism's is effect on culture (China and India) - ANSWER-compassion and non-
attachment, desire is the birthplace of suffering, get rid of desire and you get off of the
wheel of suffering, trying to reach enlightened state, no gods necessary
Confucianism's effect on Chinese culture - ANSWER-Chinese philosophy about
relationships, society, how to bring about societal order and harmony, moral society
through specific relationships, Ruler and minister, Father and son, Elder brother and
younger brother, Husband and wife, Friend and friend, authority and rank very
important, collectivism and group orientation
importance of trade in West African kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) - ANSWER-main
items were gold and salt, importance of Islam helped overcome tribal divisions, made all
three incredibly wealthy, powerful, and connected to the world, ex. Mansa Musa's
pilgrimage to Middle east
Significance of religion and warfare in the Mayan, Aztec, and Inca culture - ANSWER-
Mayan: humans expected to honor gods, bloodletting was most common practice-
sometimes human sacrifice of captives,
Islamic Civilization (origins, beliefs, and spread) - ANSWER-origins: Arabian Peninsula,
Muhammad (570-632 ad), orphaned, lives life of isolation until he receives revelations
from the angel Gabriel, "the prophet," preaches submission to God, teachings were
result of social and economic conditions of Mecca,
(1) that God is good and omnipotent, (2) that God will judge all men on the last day and
assign them their place in either Heaven or Hell, (3) that men should thank God for
making the world as it is, (4) that God expects men to be generous with their wealth,
and (5) that Muhammad was a prophet sent by God to teach men and warn them of the
last judgment.
7th and 8th centuries- Islamic golden age, Abbasid Caliphs, science, philosophy, math,
Mecca, Muhammad has Pre-Islamic, early Islamic, Umayyad, the first and second
Abbasid, the Hispano-Arabic, the Persian and the modern periods
, ends around 13th century when Genghis Khan conquers eurasia
Ottoman conquest in 1500's takes over, under Turkish control
European feudalism - ANSWER-9th-15th centuries, medieval political/legal/military
system, describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior
nobility revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs, held
together by manorialism
nobility
clergy
peasants
decentralization and no bureaucracy leads to this system, ends because nobility loses
military power and the black death leads to social leveling
role of the Roman Catholic church in Medieval society - ANSWER-outposts of
"civilization," source of writing and education in middle ages, really the only consistent
institution in Europe after the fall of Rome
made up an estate- the clergy-- who had political and social power in respective
communities, served as government, charity, justice system
corrupt popes over the years ends in the Protestant Reformation
interactions between Christian and Islamic worlds - ANSWER-Islamic threat to eastern
Christians and desire to acquire holy lands results in crusades, 1096-1291, 5ish
different crusades, ultimately a Christian defeat, but set up paths for more trade, reach
of both Christianity and Islam, and interest in travel, also increases power of Catholic
church in europe until the reformation
origins. development, and achievements of the Renaissance - ANSWER-origins: 13th
and 14th c, Italian artists and scholars begin to revive roman culture- humanism (focus
on human nature, syncretism, dignity of man), developed by secular thinkers=break with
the church, looking to revive lost human spirit
1490's-1530ish, printing spreads these ideas, reformation shows humanist thinking in
the church, artistic developments, scientific developments (anatomy, flight, plants and
animals), architecture
da vinci, michaelangelo, raphael, etc
