AP World History Summer Assignment

2016-17 School Year

Why do we have to do a summer assignment? This is a commonly asked question within local educational circles.
The reason is NOT because we are trying to take away your summer and burden you with a heavy work load.
Cardozo begins school after Labor Day whereas most school systems in the U.S. begin school in mid-August.
However, all students take the AP Exam on the same day in mid-May which puts us about 3-4 weeks behind most
other school systems. In order for us not to get too far behind, it is imperative that we assign you some work over the
summer.
This assignment is broken down into six parts. Unless otherwise specified, all work should be written by hand and
not typed. You should use lined notebook paper that has not been torn out of a spiral notebook or composition book.
The finished assignment should be presented in a clear-faced folder with a cover page and a table of contents broken
down into the six different parts. You would be wise not to wait until the last hour to begin this assignment. It isnt
necessarily difficult, but it is somewhat time consuming. The due date for this assignment is the first day of school.
As you begin this assignment, you may have questions. Some of them will be great questions and may suggest that
we didnt explain something as clearly as we should have. For this, we apologize in advance. Some of your questions
are probably already addressed in this document, so read it carefully. Some of your questions will be downright silly,
but it is understandable as many of you will be nervous and conscientious since this is your first AP class. However,
know that this is a class that requires advanced thinking skills. So, when you feel like you have a question, try to
answer it on your own at first; nevertheless, if you are still having trouble, please feel free to contact us for
clarification. You can reach me at [email protected].

THE ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT WILL BE POSTED ON THE

CARDOZO WEBSITE
You must get the following books: (THE COURSE AND EXAM ARE CHANGING FOR
2016-17 SO YOUR BOOKS MUST BE UP TO DATE)
1. World History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination an AMSCO
publication by Phil Cox, 2017. This is an excellent AP prep book that you will use
throughout the year.

Available through Barnes and Noble online for $18.95 plus shipping:
Link: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/world-history-perfection-learning-editors/1121803847?
ean=9781629748450
You can also order the book directly from AMSCO amscopub.com
http://www.perfectionlearning.com/world-history-advanced-placement-exam
2. Also get AP World History Princeton Review Book but the 2016-2017 edition (it will be out in late August)

Part I- Overview of AP World History

Read pages 5-23 of the AP World History Course & Exam Description (click on the link below). This reading will
provide you with an overview of the historical thinking skills this course is intended to enhance as well as the themes
of world history that provide the framework for the course. Answer the questions below. For numbers 12 and 13,
nothing needs to be written, but you will be tested on this material either the first or second week of school.
http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-world-history-course-and-exam-description.pdf
1. Define historiography.
2. How might you become proficient in the historical thinking skill of Historical Argumentation? Cite an example of this
skill.
3. What should you be able to do to demonstrate Appropriate Use of Relevant Historical Evidence?
4. Why does a course in World History not often rely on written sources as evidence? What sources do they use in lieu of
written sources?
5. How might you become proficient in the historical thinking skill of Chronological Reasoning? Cite an example of this
skill.
6. What should you do to be able to demonstrate knowledge of Patterns of Continuity and Change Over Time?
7. Why is Periodization challenging yet important in a study of World History?
8. How might you become proficient in the historical thinking skill of Comparison and Contextualization? Cite an
example of this skill.
9. What does it mean to Contextualize?
10. How might you become proficient in the historical thinking skill of Historical Interpretation and Synthesis? Cite an
example of this skill.
11. Come up with one word to describe each of the five Course Themes?
12. Memorize the following AP World Regions that are shown on page 22. They are: Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central
Asia, South Asia, The Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa (you cannot refer to it as
South Africa as that is a modern nation-state), Latin America & the Caribbean, and North America. You should also know
Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
13. Memorize the six Unit Periods (shown on page 23) for the course. They are as follows:
Unit I- Beginnings to c. 600 BCE Unit IV- c. 1450 CE- c. 1750 CE
Unit II- c. 600 BCE- c. 600 CE Unit V- c. 1750 CE- c. 1900 CE
Unit III- c. 600 CE- c. 1450 CE Unit VI- c. 1900 CE to the Present

Part II- Why Study History?

Read Why Study History by Peter Stearns (see link below). Write a thesis statement (this is not a summary, it is an
argument) for why the study of history is important.
http://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/archives/why-study-history-(1998)

Part III- The History of Our World in 18 Minutes

Watch this brief Ted Talk given by David Christian (see link below). As you read take notes (you may need to hit pause as
you notate). Afterward, write a one paragraph summary of the purpose of Christians lecture. Be sure to support your
answer with evidence from Christians point of view.
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_christian_big_history?language=en

Part IV- Map Activity

Create or print an outline map which you can locate and label each of the items listed below. Items listed with a color
and number can be labled using the appropriate color/number combination. All other items must be neatly hand
drawn or outlined and clearly labeled. Your map should be at least 11x 17, but can be as large as 13x19 in size. You
may have a map quiz during the first week of school, so please study this as you complete it. You can use the
following websites to test your knowledge of the items: http://www.ilike2learn.com/ and
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geography.htm.
Suggested reference for the physical geogrpahy maps: http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/world.htm.
1.Danube
2.Niger River
Deserts (TAN or YELLOW)
1.Gobi
2.Kalahari
3.Sahara
4.Mojave
5.Arabian
6.Namib
Mountain Ranges (ORANGE ^^)
1.Himalayas
2.Hindu Kush
3.Andes
4.Sierra Madre
5.Alps
6.Appalachian
7.Rocky Mountains
8.Atlas
9.Pyrenees Mountains
10.Ural Mountains
Straits (PURPLE)
1.Bosporous Strait
2.Strait of Magellan
3.Strait of Gibraltar
4.Strait of Malacca
AP World Regions- Color Code
North Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Central Africa
Southern Africa
Middle East (Southwest Asia)
East Asia
Central Asia
South Asia
Latin America & the Caribbean
North America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Oceania
Peninsulas & Other Landforms (STRIPED LINES)
Arabian Peninsula
Balkans

Crimean Peninsula
Horn of Africa
Iberian Peninsula
Yucatan Peninsula
Great Rift Valley
Asian Steppe
Continents (RED)
1. North America
2. South America
3. Australia
4. Europe
5. Antarctica
6. Asia
7. Africa
Oceans, Seas, Bays, Lakes (BLUE)
1. Atlantic Ocean
2. Pacific Ocean
3. Indian Ocean
4. Arctic Ocean
5. North Sea
6. Baltic Sea
7. English Channel
8. Mediterranean Sea
9. Adriatic Sea
10. Aegean Sea
11. Black Sea
12. Caspian Sea
13. Red Sea
14. Persian Gulf
15. Arabian Sea
16. South China Sea
17. East China Sea
18. Sea of Japan
19. Caribbean Sea
20. Gulf of Mexico
Rivers (GREEN)
1. Nile River
2. Tigris
3. Euphrates
4. Amazon River
5. Indus River
6. Yellow (Huang He) River
7. Yangtze
8. Ganges River
9. Mekong
10. Congor River
11. Rhine

Part V- Unit I Reading & Questions

While the AP World History curriculum technically begins firmly in the Neolithic Era (c. 8000-3500 BCE), it is important
to have a base knowledge of the Paleolithic Era, also known as the Stone Age. For thousands of years leading up to the
Neolithic Revolution, human beings relied on a hunter-gatherer form of existence- a way of life that still exists today in
parts of South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. While hunting and gathering may seem to some today as
a brutish existence, it has worked remarkably well and actually enjoyed some advantages over early sedentary farming
life. The survival skill set that early humans developed during the Paleolithic Era allowed human beings to spread
throughout the globe at a surprising pace. By 12,000 BCE human beings could be found on six of the worlds seven
continents.
The purpose of this section is to introduce you to the movement of humans during the Paleolithic period, the huntergatherer lifestyle they employed to survive, and the slow transition toward sedentary agriculture during the Neolithic
Revolution. You will read a combination of sources and respond to the questions listed below. The questions are designed
to make you think critically about what you have read and combine multiple sources to arrive at a single, well written
answer. In other words, you cannot and should not try to hunt down a passage or two to find an answer- you must read and
understand the entire material to construct your response. Your response for each question should be 1 to 2 typed pages
in length double spaced with an 11 point font using Times-New Roman.
Read Human Life in the Era of Hunters and Gatherers developed by History-World.org at http://historyworld.org/paleolithic2.htm.
Read Agriculture and the Origins of Civilization: The Neolithic Revolution developed by Historian-World.org at
http://history-world.org/neolithic.htm
Read The Neolithic Transition developed by History-World.org at
http://history-world.org/neolithic1.htm
1. Explain how human technology and social development fostered the rapid movement of people throughout the globe
during the latter phases of the Paleolithic Era (c. 60,000 to 12,000 BCE). Be sure to include how developments allowed
early hunter-gatherers to cope with various environmental pressures and challenges as they moved from continent to
continent.
2. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a sedentary agricultural lifestyle. To answer this question, you
need to look at the factors that motivated formerly nomadic peoples to settle down and adopt a sedentary lifestyle. What
were some of the benefits? Were there any negative consequences of settling down? How did the social roles of men and
women change especially for women?
Using the AP World History: Coursebook: An Essential Coursebook 2nd Edition by Ethel Wood, read pages 21-25. (If you
have not yet purchased a copy, please do so ASAP. You can find it either on http://www.amazon.com or at
http://www.woodyardpublications.com.
Explain the following concepts in complete sentences.
1. Marker Events

2. Demography
3. Migration factors: push factors, pull factors, intervening obstacles
4. Cultural Diffusion
5. For The Big Picture: Technological & Environmental Transformations to 600 BCE, what are the four main broad
trends and themes?
Read pages 26-34. Answer the following questions.
6. What are the hallmarks of the Paleolithic Age? Explain everyday life during the hunter-gatherer stage and discuss the
division of labor in terms of gender and class in hunter-gatherer socities?
7. What does Paleolithic art tell us about those societies?
8. In what ways was the Neolithic Revolution a marker event? What was the impact of social and gender systems?
9. How did the development of farming and the domestication of animals change societies?
10. Why is surplus important to the development of early societies?
11. What were the earliest villages and what did they look like?

Part VI- Jared Diamond & The Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution is considered one of the seminal events in the history of the human species. In a period of
several thousand years, humans went from a largely migratory species to an increasingly sedentary and agricultural
society. Historians have often remarked on the vital importance and positive nature of this change, as it led to the
development of cities and civilizations. However, some historians do not agree that this was a positive development. In
fact, many argue that the Neolithic Revolution was a horrendous turning point in the history of the human species.
Jared Diamond is such a thinker. In his infamous article The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race, Diamond
argues that not only was the Neolithic Revolution not positive, but it has led to all the evils that exist in the world today.
Read this article. http://discovermagazine.com/1987/may/02-the-worst-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-human-race
1. Write what you believe to be Diamonds thesis.
2. What are Diamonds two most persuasive statements? Why?
3. Many critics of Diamond argue that he has had plenty of opportunity to join a hunter-gatherer and he refused to. Should
it influence our opinion of his argument if he is not willing to live with the consequences of it?
4. What should human beings and human societies want from their existence?

Part 2: Unit 1 Crash Courses

Crash Course World History is a Youtube series hosted by John Green which will play a major role
in this course. You should watch the first four videos of the series (Agricultural Revolution, The
Indus Valley Civilization, Ancient Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt) and answer the questions
below for each of them. Answers must be handwritten. Hint: You may find it helpful to turn
the captions on, he tends to talk fast.
Crash Course World History 1: Agricultural Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yocja_N5s1I&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9&index=1
1. How do we have evidence of hunter-gatherers and their lives?
2. What do most early civilizations have in common?
3. What advantages did hunter-gatherers have over early agriculturalists?
4. Where did agriculture emerge? Which food crops are associated with which areas? (Africa,
China, Americas)
5. What are the advantages of agriculture?
6. What are the disadvantages of agriculture?
7. What impact does agriculture have on the environment?
8. What other lifestyles emerged besides being a hunter-gatherer or farmer (agriculturalist)?
9. What were the advantages and disadvantages to pastoralism (being a herder)?

10. What advantages do you think that Eurasia had with its zoological set of animals compared
to the Americas?
11. Evaluate John Greens thesis that the greatest evolutionary advantage an animal species
can have is being useful to humans. Agree/disagree, why?
12. If hunter-gatherers had a better and healthier lifeway, why did people become
agriculturalists?
13. What point do you think John Green is making about the use of the word savage? How
might this also apply to concepts of being civilized or uncivilized?
14. What do historians say are the drawbacks to complex civilizations and agriculture?
15. What other impacts do complex civilizations have on the environment?
Crash Course World History 2: The Indus Valley Civilization
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ndRwqJYDM&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9&index=2
1. How is the concept of civilization a useful construct? When is it not a useful construct?
2. How does John Green define what constitutes a civilization?
3. What are some examples of early civilizations?
4. How does John Greens definition of civilization compare to other definitions of civilization you
have learned?
5. Where did the earliest civilizations emerge? Why there?
6. Why was the Indus Valley a prime location? How did the environment impact the people who
lived there?
7. How do we know, what we know, about the IVC?
8. How did they use technology to interact with the environment to improve their quality of life?
9. What evidence exists of long-distance trade and with whom?
10. What appears to be unique about the IVC, based on your knowledge of other civilizations?
11. What theories do historians have about the fate of the IVC? As historians, what evidence
might one look for to support or disprove these three theories?
Crash Course World History 3: Ancient Mesopotamia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sohXPx_XZ6Y&list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9
1. John Green begins by discussing one of the most obvious consequences of agriculturewhat is
it and what are the most immediate consequences for those societies?
2. Historically speaking, why do you think cities tend to win? But did cities always win? Explain.
3. Why do you think early cities devoted resources to building monumental architecture, like
ziggurats?
4. How does Mesopotamia compare with the Indus River Valley (IRV)? Identify both similarities
and differences. Think of why a specific similarity and a specific difference might exist. (This is
analysis; one of the more challenging skills you will need to develop).
5. How might the environment of Mesopotamia influence or shape peoples perceptions of their
gods?
6. What is the significance of the emergence of palaces? How did kings gain power over priests?
How did they keep it?
7. CUNIEFORM: What three points does John Green make about the advent of writing?
8. How did the environment of Mesopotamia shape the economy of the society?
9. What factors led to the downfall of the Mesopotamian city-states and to what effect? (A cause
and effect question)
10. MONGOLS! The Mongols are the exception to what general rule?
11. What was Hammurabis most significant contribution?

12. Compare new city-states with the old city-states of Mesopotamia. Identify 3 specific
similarities and 3 specific differences. State a reason for at least one similarity and one
difference.

13. Who provided the basis for the development of territorial kingdoms? How? Why does this
base prove to be unsteady?
14. What legacy did the Assyrians leave?
15. What are the challenges of empire what is the usual result?
16. How did Assyrian kings attempt to legitimize their rule?
Crash Course World History 4: Ancient Egypt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3Wvw6BivVI
1. What point is John Green making about the different lenses we use when we study history?
2. How did the Nile River shape the worldview of the Egyptians? How did this compare to the
Mesopotamian worldview?
3. How was Egyptian Civilization different from most other River Valley Civilizations? Why do you
think this was?
4. What does the construction of the pyramids represent? (not what was the purpose of the
pyramids?)
5. What was the motivation for building the pyramids? (not what was the purpose of the
pyramids?)
6. What changes took place in the transition from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom?
7. What protected Egypt from outside peoples? How were the Egyptians eventually conquered by
Semitic peoples of the Middle East?
8. What changes took place in the transition from the Middle Kingdom to the New Kingdom?