Q: What are the issues involved in using "civilization" as an organizing principle in world history?

By organizing information through the use of civilization, one is able to distinctly outline specific cultures based on their time and places.

Q: What is the most common source of change: connection of diffusion versus independent innovation?
Connection of diffusion is undoubtedly the more common source of change. This is because an entire civilization is bound to hold more innovations that one single individual, no matter how revolutionary that person’s ideas are. In addition to this, independent innovation may be impressive by itself, but it is not of use until it has been spread, something that diffusion would help do. Perhaps more importantly, diffusion allows for not only the discovery of new ideas, but the ability to expand on them as well (i.e. Sumerian city-state Akkad’s code of law was adapted and improved to the make Code of Hammurabi, which then improved on my the next conqueror, and so on and on until our modern legal system appears.)


Foraging Societies
o No real structure
o Traveled in small groups

Neolithic Revolution 8000-3000 B.C.
o People shift from Nomadic life to town life
o Farming is discovered
o Steady food supply allows people to settle
o People start to associate certain land as “home”

Early Civilizations
o Not all headed by central authority
o Many made up of city-states
o City-states are grouped together based on cultural similarities but in actually competed with each other
o Rulers where often connected to the gods in some way

China
o Dynasty: ruling family
o Shang --> Zhou
o Zhou

Mandate of Heaven - heaven would grant power to rulers if they governed wise and justly + would some how take it away if they didn’t (i.e. rebellion)
Feudalism - King is ruler of entire empire while nobles are given power in smaller region throughout the empire (empire is too big for king to manage by himself)
Bureaucracies - a system of organizing government tasks by department so that different parts of the government could specialize and stabilize

West Africa
o Bantu
o Collection of urban individual communities→ no hierarchy
o Bantu migration: due to climate change people migrate east and south
o Creates stateless society

Mayan Civilization
o Competing city-states under one ruler

India
o Mauryan Empire (321-180 B.C.)
• Wealthy because of trade w/ Roman Empire
o Gupta Empire (320-550 A.D.)
• Decentralized and smaller than Mauryan

Ancient Greece
o Collection of city-states
o Athens started as monarchy→aristocracy→democracy
o Draco and Solon→ worked to create fair, equal, and open participation from democracy in Athens
o Every male citizen expected to participate
o Delian League→alliance of city-states against common enemies (i.e. Persians)

Roman Empire (509 B.C.-476 A.D.)
o Roman Republic
Three types of people:
• Patricians: land-owning nobles
• Plebeians: all other free men
• Slaves
o Governing Body made up of two groups: Senate + Assembly
o Senate- made up of patricians
o Assembly- made up at first only patricians, but then patricians and plebeians
o Two consuls elected by the Assembly
• Consuls had veto power over decisions of Assembly
• Developed civil law to protect individual rights
o Twelve Tables of Rome
o First triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, Julius Caesar
• Caesar becomes emperor
o Second triumvirate: Octavius, Marc Anthony, Lepidus
• Octavius become emperor→known as Augustus Caesar