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Table of Contents

Contents

The Earliest Human Societies

to 2500 b.c.e.

Understanding the Early Human Past • Hominin Evolution • Homo Sapiens, "Thinking Humans" • Migration and Differentiation

Foraging for Food • Family and Kinship Relationships • Cultural Creations and Spirituality

Plant Domestication and the Development of Horticulture • Animal Domestication and the Rise of Pastoralism • Plow Agriculture

Social Hierarchies and Slavery • Gender Hierarchies and Inheritance • Trade and Cross-Cultural Connections

Primary Source Features

Analyze Visual Evidence Paleolithic Venus Figures

Analyze Visual Evidence Bison and Human in Lascaux Cave

Think Like a Historian Paleolithic Hand Markings

Compare Viewpoints Calendar Megaliths in Egypt and England

Individuals in Society The Iceman, A Neolithic Murder Victim

Complex Societies in Southwest Asia and the Nile Valley

3800–500 b.c.e.

Written Sources and the Human Past • Cities and the Idea of Civilization • The Rise of States, Laws, and Social Hierarchies

Environmental Challenges, Irrigation, and Religion • Sumerian Politics and Society • Writing, Mathematics, and Poetry • Empires in Mesopotamia • Life Under Hammurabi

The Nile and the God-King • Egyptian Society and Work • Migrations, Revivals, and Collapse • Iron and the Emergence of New States

The Hebrew State • The Jewish Religion • Hebrew Family and Society

Assyria, the Military Monarchy • The Rise and Expansion of the Persian Empire • The Religion of Zoroaster

Analyze Written Evidence Hammurabi’s Code on Marriage and Divorce

Analyze Visual Evidence Egyptian Families

Think Like a Historian Addressing the Gods

Compare Viewpoints Babylonian and Hebrew Ideas of Rulers and Divine Favor

Individuals in Society King Taharqa, Ruler of Kush and Egypt

The Foundation of Indian Society

to 300 c.e.

Aryan Dominance in North India • Life in Early India • Brahmanism

Jainism • Siddhartha Gautama and Buddhism • Hinduism

Encounters with the West • Chandragupta and the Founding of the Mauryan Empire • The Reign of Ashoka, ca. 269–232 b.c.e.

Primary Source Features

Analyze Written Evidence Conversations Between Rama and Sita from the Ramayana

Analyze Visual Evidence Gandharan Frieze Depicting the Buddha’s Enlightenment

Think Like A Historian Harappan Artifacts

Compare Viewpoints Divine Martial Prowess in India and Sumer

Individuals in Society Sudatta, Lay Follower of the Buddha

China’s Classical Age

to 221 b.c.e.

The Impact of Geography • Early Agricultural Societies of the Neolithic Age

Shang Society • Bronze Metalworking • The Development of Writing

Zhou Politics • Life During the Zhou Dynasty

New Technologies for War • The Victorious States

Confucius • The Spread of Confucian Ideas

Daoism • Legalism • The Workings of Nature

Analyze Written Evidence The Teachings of Confucius

Analyze Visual Evidence Inscribed Bamboo Slips

Think Like A Historian Ideas About the Divine Realm

Compare Viewpoints The Inglorious Side of War in the Book of Songs and the Patirruppattu

Individuals in Society Li Bing, Water-Works Expert

The Greek Experience

3500–30 b.c.e.

The Minoans and Mycenaeans • The "Dark Age"

Organization of the Polis • Overseas Expansion and Trade • The Growth of Sparta • The Evolution of Athens

The Deadly Conflicts, 499–404 b.c.e. • Athenian Arts in the Age of Pericles • Social Hierarchies and Sexual Relations • Public and Personal Religion • The Development of Philosophy

From Polis to Monarchy, 404–200 b.c.e. • Building a Hellenized Society • The Hellenistic Economy

Religion in the Hellenistic World • Philosophy and Its Guidance for Life • Hellenistic Science and Medicine

Analyze Written Evidence Homer’s Iliad

Analyze Visual Evidence The Acropolis of Athens

Think Like a Historian Gender Roles in Classical Athens

Compare Viewpoints Hellenistic and Chinese Spells

Individuals in Society Archimedes, Scientist and Inventor

The World of Rome

ca. 1000 b.c.e.–400 c.e.

The Etruscans • The Founding of Rome • The Roman Conquest of Italy • The Roman State • Social Conflict in Rome

Overseas Conquests and the Punic Wars, 264–133 b.c.e. • New Influences and Old Values in Roman Culture • The Late Republic and the Rise of Augustus, 133–27 b.c.e. • The Successes of Augustus

Political and Military Changes in the Empire • Life in Imperial Rome • Prosperity and Problems in the Roman Provinces • Eastward Expansion and Contacts Between Rome and China

Factors Behind the Rise of Christianity • The Life and Teachings of Jesus • The Spread of Christianity • The Growing Acceptance and Evolution of Christianity

Political Measures • Economic Issues • The Acceptance of Christianity

Analyze Written Evidence The Edict of Toleration and the Edict of Milan

Analyze Visual Evidence The Temple of Hercules Victory

Think Like a Historian Army and Empire

Compare Viewpoints Roman and Chinese Officials Confront Natural Disasters

Individuals in Society Cleopatra, Ruler and Sex Symbol

East Asia and the Spread of Buddhism

221 b.c.e.–845 c.e.

The Qin Unification, 221–206 b.c.e. • The Han Dynasty, 206 b.c.e.–220 c.e. • Han Intellectual and Cultural Life • Inner Asia and the Silk Road • Life in Han China • China and Rome • The Fall of the Han and the Age of Division

Buddhism’s Path Through Central Asia • The Appeal and Impact of Buddhism in China

The Sui Dynasty, 581–618 • The Tang Dynasty, 618–907 • Tang Culture

Vietnam • Korea • Japan

Analyze Written Evidence Sixth-Century Biographies of Buddhist Nuns

Analyze Visual Evidence Hōryūji Temple

Think Like A Historian Who Made the Chinese Silks Found Along the Silk Road?

Compare Viewpoints Coping with Epidemics in Japan and Byzantium

Individuals in Society The Ban Family, a Tale of Three Siblings

Continuity and Change in Europe and Western Asia

250–850

Sources of Byzantine Strength • The Sassanid Empire and Conflicts with Byzantium • Justinian’s Code of Law • Byzantine Learning and Science • Life in Constantinople

The Evolution of Church Leadership and Orthodoxy • The Western Church and the Eastern Church • Christian Monasticism

Christianity and Classical Culture • Saint Augustine on Sin, Grace, and Redemption • The Iconoclastic Controversy

Movement Patterns • Economic and Social Structures • Tribes, Warriors, and Laws

Missionaries’ Actions • The Process of Conversion

The Merovingians and Carolingians • The Warrior-Ruler Charlemagne

Analyze Written Evidence The Capitulary de Villis

Analyze Visual Evidence Orthodox Icon of Jesus

Think Like a Historian Slavery in Roman and Germanic Society

Compare Viewpoints Roman and Byzantine Views of Barbarians

Individuals in Society Theodora of Constantinople, Actress and Empress

The Islamic World

600–1400

Society and Culture in the Arabian Peninsula • Muhammad’s Rise as a Religious and Political Leader • The Teachings of Islam

Islam’s Spread Beyond Arabia • The Shi’a/Sunni Split and the Umayyad Caliphate • The Abbasid Caliphate • The Environmental Impact of Islamic Expansion

Breakaway Territories and Shi’a Gains • The Ascendancy of the Turks • The Mongol Invasions

The Social Hierarchy • Slavery • Women in Islamic Society • Sexuality and Marriage

The Cultural Centers of Baghdad and Córdoba • Education • Cultural and Intellectual Life • The Mystical Tradition of Sufism

Trade and Commerce • Muslim-Christian Encounters

Analyze Written Evidence Towns and Travel in the Western Sahara

Analyze Visual Evidence The Court of the Lions at the Alhambra

Think Like a Historian The Risks and Rewards of Indian Ocean Seaborne Trade

Compare Viewpoints The Muslim Conquest of Spain

Individuals in Society Ibn Battuta, World Traveler

African Societies and Kingdoms

1000 b.c.e.–1500 c.e.

Agriculture and Its Impact • Bantu Migrations • Life in the Kingdoms of the Western Sudan, ca. 1000 b.c.e.–800 c.e.

The Berbers of North Africa • Effects of Trade on West African Society • The Spread of Islam in Africa

The Kingdom of Ghana, ca. 900–1100 • The Kingdom of Mali, ca. 1200–1450 • Ethiopia: The Christian Kingdom of Aksum • The East African City-States • Southern Africa and Great Zimbabwe

Primary Source Features

Analyze Written Evidence A Tenth-Century Muslim Traveler Describes Parts of the East African Coast

Analyze Visual Evidence The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon

Think Like a Historian Great Zimbabwe

Compare Viewpoints Early Descriptions of the East African Coast

Individuals in Society King Ezana, Christian Ruler of Aksum

The Americas

To 1500 c.e.

Trade and Technology • Settlement and Environment

Olmec Agriculture, Technology, and Religion • Hohokam, Hopewell, and Mississippian Societies • Climate Change and North American Societies • Kinship and Ancestors in the Andes

The Inca Model of Empire • Inca Imperial Expansion • Imperial Needs and Obligations

Maya Agriculture and Trade • Maya Science and Religion • Teotihuacan and the Toltecs

The Mexica: From Vassals to Rulers • Life in the Aztec Empire • The Limits of the Aztec Empire

The Last Day of the Aztecs • The Fall of the Incas

Analyze Written Evidence Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, The First New Chronicle and Good Government

Analyze Visual Evidence The Maya Calendar

Think Like a Historian Feathers, Snakes, and Humans

Compare Viewpoints Inca and Spanish Views on Religion, Authority, and Tribute

Individuals in Society Tlacaelel, Architect of Empire

States and Cultures in East Asia

800–1400

The Song Dynasty and its Northern Rivals • The Scholar-Officials and Neo-Confucianism • Women’s Lives in Song Times • Environmental Crises

Fujiwara Rule • Aristocratic Culture

Military Rule • Cultural and Economic Trends

Analyze Written Evidence Kamo no Chomei on Calamities Witnessed

Analyze Visual Evidence Ma Yuan’s Painting On a Mountain Path in Spring

Think Like a Historian When and Why Did Foot Binding Begin?

Compare Viewpoints Painters of Uncanny Skill in China and Rome

Individuals in Society Shen Gua, Polymath

Cultural Exchange in Central and Southern Asia

300–1400

Nomadic Society • The Turks • The Mongols

Chinggis Khan • Chinggis’s Successors • The Mongols as Rulers

The Movement of Peoples • The Spread of Disease, Goods, and Ideas

The Gupta Empire, ca. 320–480 • India’s Medieval Age and the First Encounter with Islam • The Delhi Sultanate • Life in Medieval India

State Formation and Indian Influences • The Srivijayan Maritime Trade Empire • The Spread of Indian Culture in Comparative Perspective • The Settlement of the Pacific Islands

Analyze Written Evidence The Abduction of Women in The Secret History of the Mongols

Analyze Visual Evidence Bayan Relief at Angkor Thom

Think Like a Historian The Mongol Army

Compare Viewpoints The Mongols’ Adoption of Paper Money

Individuals in Society Bana, Romance Writer

Europe and Western Asia in the Middle Ages

800–1450

Invasions and Migrations • "Feudalism" and Serfdom • The Restoration of Order • Law and Justice

Papal Reforms • Monastic Life • Popular Religion • The Expansion of Western and Eastern Christianity

Background and Motives • The Course of the Crusades • Consequences of the Crusades

The Life and Work of Peasants • The Life and Work of Nobles • Towns, Cities, and the Growth of Commercial Interests • The Expansion of Trade and the Commercial Revolution

Universities and Scholasticism • Cathedrals and a New Architectural Style • Vernacular Literature and Drama

The Little Ice Age and the Black Death • The Hundred Years’ War • Challenges to the Christian Church • Peasant and Urban Revolts

Analyze Written Evidence Courtly Love Poetry

Analyze Visual Evidence The Battle of Nicopolis

Think Like a Historian Christian and Muslim Views of the Crusades

Compare Viewpoints Italian and English Views of the Plague

Individuals in Society Hildegard of Bingen, Abbess, Mystic, and Composer

Europe in the Renaissance and Reformation

1350–1600

Wealth and Power in Renaissance Italy • The Rise of Humanism • Christian Humanism • Printing and Its Social Impact • Art and the Artist

Race and Slavery • Wealth and the Nobility • Gender Roles

Warfare, Money, and Mining • France • England • Spain • The Habsburgs

Criticism of the Church • Martin Luther • Protestant Thought and Its Appeal • The Radical Reformation and the German Peasants’ War • Marriage and Women’s Roles • The Reformation and German Politics • England’s Shift Toward Protestantism • Calvinism and Its Moral Standards

Papal Reforms and the Council of Trent • New Religious Orders

French Religious Wars • Civil Wars in the Netherlands • The Great European Witch-Hunt

Analyze Written Evidence Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty

Analyze Visual Evidence Woodcuts from Agricola’s De re metallica

Think Like a Historian Humanist Learning

Compare Viewpoints Chinese and European Views on Proper Behavior

Individuals in Society Leonardo da Vinci, Artist, Inventor, Genius

The Acceleration of Global Contact

1450–1600

The Trade World of the Indian Ocean • Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia • Muslim Influences and African Trade • Genoese and Venetian Middlemen

Causes of European Expansion • Technology and the Rise of Exploration • The Portuguese in Africa and Asia • Spain’s Voyages to the Americas • Spain "Discovers" the Pacific • Early Exploration by Northern European Powers

Spanish Conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires • Portuguese Brazil • Colonial Administration • Economic Exploitation of the Indigenous Population • Patterns of Settlement

Population Loss and the Ecological Impacts of Contact • Sugar and Early Transatlantic Slavery • Spanish Silver and Its Economic Effects • The Birth of the Global Economy

Religious Conversion • European Debates About Indigenous Peoples • New Ideas About Race

Analyze Written Evidence Columbus Describes His First Voyage

Analyze Visual Evidence Depictions of Africans in European Portraiture

Think Like a Historian Who Was Doña Marina?

Compare Viewpoints Aztec and Spanish Views on Christian Conversion in New Spain

Individuals in Society Catarina de San Juan, Former Slave and Popular Saint

Authors

Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks

Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks(Ph.D., University of Wisconsin–Madison) is Distinguished Professor of History, emerita, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is the long-time Senior Editor of the Sixteenth Century Journal and the author or editor of more than thirty books, including A Concise History of the World. From 2017 to 2019 she served as the president of the World History Association.

Patricia Buckley Ebrey

Patricia B. Ebrey​ (Ph.D., Columbia University) is professor of history at the University of Washington in Seattle. Editor of the Journal of Chinese History, she is the author or editor of some twenty books, including The Cambridge Illustrated History of China and Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, as well as more specialized books on Song dynasty China. In 2014 she was awarded the American Historical Association’s Award for Scholarly Distinction and in 2020 the Association for Asian Studies Award for Outstanding Contributions to Asian Studies.

Roger B. Beck

Roger B. Beck (Ph.D., Indiana University) is Distinguished Professor of African and twentieth-century world history at Eastern Illinois University. His publications include The History of South Africa; a translation of P. J. van der Merwe’s The Migrant Farmer in the History of the Cape Colony, 1657–1842; and more than a hundred articles, book chapters, and reviews. In 2018 he received the Pioneer in World History award from the World History Association, its highest honor.

Jerry Davila

Jerry Dávila ​(Ph.D., Brown University) is Jorge Paulo Lemann Chair of Brazilian History and directs the Global Institute at the University of Illinois. He is the author of Dictatorship in South America; Hotel Trópico: Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, winner of the Latin Studies Association Brazil Section Book Prize; and Diploma of  Whiteness: Race and Social Policy in Brazil, 1917–1945. He has served as president of the Conference on Latin American History.

Clare Haru Crowston

Clare Haru Crowston (Ph.D., Cornell University) is Professor of history at the University of Illinois. She is the author of Credit, Fashion, Sex: Economies of Regard in Old Regime France and Fabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675–1791, which won the Berkshire and Hagley Prizes. She edited two special issues of the Journal of Women’s History, has published numerous journal articles and reviews, and is a past president of the Society for French Historical Studies.

John P. McKay

John P. McKay (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) is professor emeritus at the University of Illinois. He has written or edited numerous works, including the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize-winning book Pioneers for Profit: Foreign Entrepreneurship and Russian Industrialization, 1885-1913.

Related Titles

Sources of World Societies, Volume 1

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