Chapter 3 Reading Guide
CHAPTER PREVIEW
If you preview this chapter prior to completing this study guide, you are far more likely to comprehend the reading as well as identify areas in which you know you will need help. Remember that you must ALWAYS search for connections to the 5 AP World History Themes (see syllabus for explanation of each theme).
1. CAREFULLY read the title and chapter outline on p. 55 and preview the change and comparison questions in the margins throughout the chapter and the map on pp. 58-59.
PROMPTS
Chapter study guides are intended to help you accomplish 2 important tasks:
1) learn historical content, and
2) practice historical thinking skills.
As we practice the process of constructing arguments and thinking like essay-writers, you will encounter prompts to guide your thinking and reading. For each of the following, you must read the text, identifying and writing appropriate historical evidence to answer the prompt as you proceed.
Prompt 1:The chapter briefly describes 6 civilizations the developed, independently from one another, between approximately 3,500 B.C.E. and 1,200 B.C.E. For each civilization, try to identify as many of the 5 AP World History themes as you can (not all themes are discussed for each civilization:
Civilization
Human-Environment Interaction
Cultural
Political
Economic
Social
Mesopotamia
Nile Valley
Norte Chico
Indus Valley
Chinese (Shang Dynasty)
Olmec
Prompt 2: What major similarities can you identify between these six civilizations? What makes them worthy of being called ‘civilizations?’
Prompt 3: Describe the changes that needed to take place in order for human societies to evolve from isolated farming communities to full-scale civilizations?
Prompt 4: Assess the validity of the statement: “The growth of urban areas represented a revolution in nearly every aspect of the human