History Turning Points
Turning points in world history:
Agricultural revolution
(ca. 8000-5000 B.C.)
Time period when humans first domesticated plants and animals
Allowed people to switch from hunting and gathering to farming and herding
Origin of civilizations
(ca. 3500 B.C.)
Establishment of farming and herding societies in river valleys encouraged the development of civilizations
Main characteristics include cities, commercial activity, written language, and complex forms of government and religion
Classical period
(ca. 1000 B.C.—A.D. 500)
Development and expansion of very large civilizations
Includes ancient China, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire
Main characteristics include extensive trade networks, expansion through military conquest, and emergence of many of the world’s major religions
Development of complex societies in the Americas
(ca. A.D. 300-1535)
Maya and Aztec in parts of Mexico and Central America
Inca in South America
Systems of writing, highly accurate calendars, far-reaching trade networks, densely populated cities, and massive stone buildings
Middle Ages
(ca. A.D. 450-1450)
Main political and economic systems was feudalism
Monarchs and landowning nobles depended on each other for political, economic, and military support
Roman Catholic Church played a major role in European politics and society
Religion of Islam emerged and spread rapidly through Southwest Asia, North Africa, and parts of Europe
European Christians engaged in the Crusades, a series of wars to recapture Jerusalem from Islamic control.
Approximately one-third of Europe’s population died of the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s
Renaissance
(ca. A.D. 1300-1600)
A period of “rebirth”
Renewed interest in classical Greek and Roman knowledge sparked many advances in the arts and sciences
Political power in many parts of Europe shifted from nobles to centralized governments, headed by national monarchs.
Growth of international trade encouraged the exchange of
Agricultural revolution
(ca. 8000-5000 B.C.)
Time period when humans first domesticated plants and animals
Allowed people to switch from hunting and gathering to farming and herding
Origin of civilizations
(ca. 3500 B.C.)
Establishment of farming and herding societies in river valleys encouraged the development of civilizations
Main characteristics include cities, commercial activity, written language, and complex forms of government and religion
Classical period
(ca. 1000 B.C.—A.D. 500)
Development and expansion of very large civilizations
Includes ancient China, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire
Main characteristics include extensive trade networks, expansion through military conquest, and emergence of many of the world’s major religions
Development of complex societies in the Americas
(ca. A.D. 300-1535)
Maya and Aztec in parts of Mexico and Central America
Inca in South America
Systems of writing, highly accurate calendars, far-reaching trade networks, densely populated cities, and massive stone buildings
Middle Ages
(ca. A.D. 450-1450)
Main political and economic systems was feudalism
Monarchs and landowning nobles depended on each other for political, economic, and military support
Roman Catholic Church played a major role in European politics and society
Religion of Islam emerged and spread rapidly through Southwest Asia, North Africa, and parts of Europe
European Christians engaged in the Crusades, a series of wars to recapture Jerusalem from Islamic control.
Approximately one-third of Europe’s population died of the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s
Renaissance
(ca. A.D. 1300-1600)
A period of “rebirth”
Renewed interest in classical Greek and Roman knowledge sparked many advances in the arts and sciences
Political power in many parts of Europe shifted from nobles to centralized governments, headed by national monarchs.
Growth of international trade encouraged the exchange of