BEFORE AFTER What was the Neolithic Revolution?

87 Pages·2013·4.73 MB·English

by  Gregory Lendvay

DAY #1
Bell Ringer: Look at the “Before” and “After” visuals. Meet with a learning team and describe the information in the visuals.
After discussion, explain how the “After” visuals can be used to define the Neolithic Revolution.
BEFORE AFTER

What was the Neolithic Revolution?

World History EOC Success Packet 2
Day #1 Activity #1:
Read the following passage and identify the economic and social changes mentioned in the document.

Important Changes Resulting From the Neolithic Revolution
Around 8,000 BC, in various locations around the globe, people learned how to plant and cultivate crops for
themselves. Grain and corn were some of the first agricultural products. People began to domesticate animals for
work and food. Oxen were tamed and used to carry loads and plough fields. Cows, sheep, and goats were
domesticated as sources of food and clothing. Pigs and chickens also became ready sources of food. The people of
the Neolithic Revolution changed from being hunters and gatherers of food to being producers of food for themselves.
The switch from food hunters to food producers caused many other changes in human life.
To switch to an agricultural, farming, way of life required that people stayed in one location to take care of the
crops. Permanent settlements were made that required houses that would last. Using materials from the environment,
people used wood, mud and clay made into bricks, and stones to make buildings for living and storing their products.
Farming and having livestock, domesticated animals, allowed people to produce more food. The increase in food
production allowed settlements to have more than they needed, a surplus. Increased food resources supported the
population and allowed it to grow. One of the effects of having a surplus of food is a large increase of population.
As the population of settlements grew, more work was needed and different kinds of work were needed. Some
people had to make the tools, others work in the fields and build buildings, others organized the work. Division of
labor, different jobs, developed. Some people became leaders and others followed them. Some people acquired more
possessions and had more power over others. Consequently, new social orders developed. Community leaders
became government leaders. Religious leaders sometimes had both power over the religion and the government.
Social classes began to be identified. The religious and government leaders and those that controlled the property
had more wealth. The workers who knew how to solve problems and make things work were honored for their skills.
(Source: Social Studies Notes)
Based on the passage above, fill in a “T” Chart that describes the social and economic changes caused by
the Neolithic Revolution.

Social Changes Economic Changes

World History EOC Success Packet 3
Day #1 Activity #2:
Industrial Revolution. During the late 1700's and early 1800's, great changes took place in the lives
and work of people in several parts of the Western world. These changes resulted from the development
of industrialization. The term Industrial Revolution refers both to the changes that occurred and to the
period itself.
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain (a country now known as the United Kingdom) during the
late 1700's. It started spreading to other parts of Europe and to North America in the early 1800's. By the
mid-1800's, industrialization was widespread in western Europe and the northeastern United States.
The introduction of power-driven machinery and the development of factory organization during the
Industrial Revolution created an enormous increase in the production of goods. Before the revolution,
manufacturing was done by hand, or by using animal power or simple machines. Most people worked at
home in rural areas. A few worked in shops in towns and belonged to associations called guilds. The
Industrial Revolution eventually took manufacturing out of the home and workshop. Power-driven
machines replaced handwork, and factories developed as the most economical way of bringing together
the machines and the workers to operate them.
As the Industrial Revolution grew, private investors and financial institutions provided money for the
further expansion of industrialization. Financiers and banks thus became as important as industrialists and
factories in the growth of the revolution. For the first time in European history, wealthy business leaders
called capitalists took over the control and organization of manufacturing.
Historians have disagreed about the overall effect of the Industrial Revolution on people's lives. Some
historians have emphasized that the revolution greatly increased the production of goods. They argue that
this increase did more to raise people's standard of living after 1850 than all the actions of legislatures
and trade unions. Other historians have stressed the negative effects of the revolution. They point to the
overcrowded and unsanitary housing and the poor working conditions created by rapid industrialization in
the cities. Most historians now believe that factory conditions and worker wages were terrible before 1850
but improved after that date. These improvements led to an increase in life expectancy for workers.
Most historians agree that the Industrial Revolution was a great turning point in the history of the world. It
changed the Western world from a basically rural and agricultural society to a basically urban and
industrial society. Rapid urbanization changed societies. Industrialization brought many material benefits,
but it also created a large number of problems that remain critical in the modern world. For example,
most industrial countries face problems of air, land, and water pollution. World Book
Based on the passage above, fill in a “T” Chart that describes the social and economic changes caused by the
Neolithic Revolution.

Social Changes Economic Changes

World History EOC Success Packet 4
Conclude this activity by organizing a panel discussion between two learning teams. Two members for each
team will form the panel for giving responses. The remaining members of the learning teams will ask the
questions. Participants will illustrate the similarities and differences between the Neolithic Revolution and
Industrial Revolution, emphasizing both economic and social issues.
Homework Day#1:
Examine the maps and written information regarding the river valley civilizations and locations. Answer the questions that
follow.

1. The Sumerians in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers had important inventions like the wheel, the sail,
glass, use of the number system based on 60, and a writing system called cuneiform. City-states of the Sumerians
were ruled by kings. They built large, stepped buildings with a temple on top called ziggerats. The system of
monarchy set up a hierarchical society, higher to lower. The king and priest were at the highest, followed by the
nobility. The kings and nobility obtained their positions by birth, inherited positions. In some kingdoms, the monarch
was also the chief priest or even considered to be a god. The system of government in which the religion controls the
government is called a Theocracy.
The Babylonians were also one famous group of people that were part of the civilization in the Tigris and
Euphrates valley. The Babylonian King, Hammurabi, took over other kingdoms and formed an empire. Hammurabi
World History EOC Success Packet 5
developed laws that were posted throughout his empire. The Code of Hammurabi, his collection of laws, emphisized
justice, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Hammurabi’s Code established a government that was ruled by laws.
This idea of rule by law shaped other governments later in history.

2. The Egyptians and Nubians developed civilizations along the Nile River Valley in Egypt and Sudan. The Egyptian
leader was called the pharaoh, who was in charge of the government and the religion. The pharaoh was thought to
be a god. Their government was a Theocracy. The Egyptians also had a hierarchical society. The priests and nobles
were the highest level, then the engineers and scribes, people who could write and keep records, followed. Then
there were the merchants, laborers, and slaves. The Egyptian writing system was called hieroglyphics and used
symbols to represent words. The Egyptians built large temples and pyramids. The Egyptians developed geometry
and had advanced medicine, including surgery. They practiced mummification, preserving the bodies of the dead.

3. The people of the Indus River Valley are not as well known because their language has not been translated. They
designed large cities using the grid system of planning streets and locations of buildings. Mahenjo Daro and
Harappa are famous sites of the Indus civilization. The Indus people were the first to weave textiles out of cotton.
Their houses had indoor plumbing.

4. The Shang Dynasty in China is
considered to be the beginnings of
the Chinese civilization.
The Shang leaders were kings. In
order to keep their power, they
gave their warriors land in
exchange for loyalty and service in
time of war. The Chinese writing
system was pictographs, small
drawings that represented ideas
rather than words. People that
spoke different dialects of Chinese
used the same pictures for their
writing.
Which two characteristics of civilization do you think are the most important?

Examine the maps and review the written information regarding the river valley civilizations and locations. Students
should create a collage of drawings and words to describe the key aspects of civilization.

World History EOC Success Packet 6
Day #2:
WH.3 History. The student understands the contributions and influence of classical civilizations from 500
BC to AD 600 on subsequent civilizations. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the major political, religious/philosophical, and cultural influences of Persia, India, China, Israel,
Greece, and Rome, including the development of monotheism, Judaism, and Christianity. R
WH.19 Government. The student understands the characteristics of major political systems throughout
history. The student is expected to:
(B) identify the characteristics of the following political systems: theocracy, absolute monarchy, democracy,
republic, oligarchy, limited monarchy, and totalitarianism. R
WH.20 Government. The student understands how contemporary political systems have
developed from earlier systems of government. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the development of democratic-republican government from its beginnings in the Judeo-Christian legal
tradition and classical Greece and Rome through the English Civil War and the Enlightenment. R

Bell Ringer:
Students will use the visuals and compare the buildings in each photograph. After comparing, have the
students explain what makes something “classic.”

Activity #1:
Have students refer to their notes from Day 1, Activity 3 and complete the map activity by locating the
civilizations and matching contributions with the civilization.

Activity #2:
Assign the students to read through the list of classical events and discuss them with a partner. Partners work
together and write the event or accomplishment in the graphic organizer under the Classical Civilization to which it
belonged.

Homework (Day #2):
Have the students identify the types of governments that apply to the classical age (theocracy, monarchy,
oligarchy, democracy, and republic). Emphasize that kings and emperors in the ancient and classical world were
examples of absolute monarchy—the ruler had control of all aspects of the government, the laws, the army, the
judicial actions. Have the students describe each form of government, identify the characteristics of that form of
government and the specific historical examples that have been discussed. To complete the activity, have the
students explain what roles the people might play in the various forms of government.

World History EOC Success Packet 7
Day #2:
Bell Ringer:
What makes something a “classic?” Discuss with students what young people today consider to be classic.
Use the photos of the Parthenon and the Supreme Court building to discuss what items or characteristics a historian
would consider to be classic.

Day#2 Activity #1:
Use your knowledge of social studies and this map to complete the tasks listed below.

1. Locate the following Classical areas and draw a box for each area: China, Greece, Rome, Persia, Judea (Israel),
India.
2. Write the following statements under the box where the statement belongs:
- Zhou and Han Dynasties - origin of Hinduism and Buddhism
- used oracle bones - had an empire with local governors
- origin of democracy - origin of monotheism
- started as a republic then became an empire - Mauryan Empire under Asoka
- Gupta empire was a golden age - had rule of law called the “Twelve Tables”
- passed on the Ten Commandments
World History EOC Success Packet 8
Day#2 Activity #2
Read through the list of classical events. Discuss them with a partner and write the event or accomplishment in the
graphic organizer under the Classical Civilization to which it belonged.

Classical Events/Accomplishments:

-built the Royal Highway and collected tribute (taxes) by using local representatives
-a religion was started by followers of a rabbi that later converted the emperor Constantine
-developed a representational form of government based on the rule of law
-had a city state in which the male citizens voted but women and slaves could not vote
-built a Great Wall to keep invaders out
-first to use coins as money and make a unified standard of weights to encourage economic activity
-had a strict caste system based on heredity
-had a powerful military city state in which women had active roles in business
-had a style of architecture that was imitated by a later empire
-used the Mandate of Heaven
-had a philosopher that taught by asking questions
-followed a philosophy of filial piety and civic duties that became the rules for people in Civil Service
-origin of belief in the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path
-ruled by a series of families that maintained control of the empire
-used the Law of Moses to organize the community
-fought the Peloponnesian Wars
-had wealthy landowners (patricians) and common workers (plebians)
-used the Phoenician alphabet to form a written language and literature that established a common culture
-used common laws and a highway system to control an empire that extended across Europe, Southwest Asia, and north
Africa

Classical
Civilization
Israel

Persia

Greece

Rome

India

China

World History EOC Success Packet 9
Homework (Day #2):
Review the short readings on the structure of the Roman Republic. Then identify the types of governments that
apply to the classical age (theocracy, monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, and republic). Emphasize that kings and
emperors in the ancient and classical world were examples of absolute monarchy—the ruler had control of all
aspects of the government, the laws, the army, the judicial actions. Have the students describe each form of
government, identify the characteristics of that form of government and the specific historical examples that have
been discussed. To complete the activity, have the students explain what roles the people might play in the
various forms of government.

World History EOC Success Packet 10
Type of Government Descibe Key Characteristics Historical Examples

Type of Government Role of the People

World History EOC Success Packet 11