World History
Final Exam Study Guide
A copy of our timeline bullets appears below to assist
your study.
You should be able to write 2-3
paragraph discussions on the following questions or statements:
1) China experienced a Renaissance that was just as
significant as the Renaissance in Europe. Discuss.
2) Discuss why the Mongols deserve more respect for
their role in global history.
3) Describe the evolution of European Christendom.
4) Choose a road – silk, sand or sea – and describe
its long term, global significance.
5) Was Socrates a humanist? Explain.
6) Briefly summarize the “kelp highway” theory. Cite
2-3 major points of evidence that are given in support of it.
7) Why is it so challenging to define the “Classical”
era from a World Historical point of view.
8) In what ways does Strayer’s textbook reflect the
Hallmarks of the SND de Namur?
9) What do we still have to learn from Paleolithic
peoples?
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Timeline
Paleolithic
1) We evolved as Homo
sapiens
2) We used basic (old) stone tools (lithic = stone)
3) Socially, we formed ourselves into moving bands of
gatherer-hunters
4) We migrated out of Africa to other continents
Neolithic
1) We outcompeted all other species of Homo
2) We used advanced (new) stone tools for more complex
purposes
3) We formed ourselves into small, settled agricultural
communities
4) All continents except Antarctica inhabited by Homo sapiens
Ancient
1) Homo sapiens
competed with each other for wealth, power, status à social hierarchy
2) We developed more sophisticated technologies, including
writing
3) Agricultural surpluses à specialization à
civilizations & city-states
4) Interaction between humans from different continents
increases due to trade
Classical
1) Competition for dominance between civilizations
2) Unique thinkers develop the seminal ideas that still
define us as peoples
3) Formation of complex Empires & cosmopolitan urban
centers
4) Political units arise which straddle more than one
continent
Modern
1) Capitalism intensifies competition within and among
peoples
2) Industrial Revolution multiplies human productivity and
output
3) Development of Colonial Empires and relationships
4) Western European civilization asserts superiority over
all others
Post-Modern?
1) Regulation of capitalism & cooperation among peoples
2) Environmental sustainability becomes a critical goal of
technology
3) Government is increasingly global with emphasis on
cooperation
4) Western European civilization recognizes co-equality of
other peoples
