Humans originated in Africa and migrated across the Earth, creating ancient civilizations in nearly every region that could support life. Modern civilizations can trace their foundations to these ancient civilizations. Their cultures and histories can teach us much about ourselves and the modern world in which we live.
SS 6.1 Students will understand how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world.
Objective 1- Explain why physical geography affected the development of early civilizations.
- Identify the major physical features of the regions where ancient civilizations flourished
- Describe how these features influenced the success of decline of the civilizations
- Compare maps of these ancient civilizations to current political maps and make inferences about the continuing effect of physical geography on cultural development.
As you learn about each ancient civilization, look at why they choose to live in the land that they did. What land and water formations helped them to thrive where they choose to love. What geographical features helped to cause these civilizations downfall as well.
Objective 2- Evaluate how religion has played a central role in human history from ancient times to today.
- Explore the importance of religion in the cultural expression of ancient civilizations (e.g.customs, artistic expression, creation stories, architecture of sacred spaces)
- Identify key tenets of the major world religions (i.e. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism)
- Analyze how religious ideas influence current issues
Objective 3- Explain how modern governments can trace some of their attributes to the systems of power, authority, and governance established in ancient civilizations.
- Identify forms of government within these civilizations
- Compare those forms to existing systems of governance in today's world.
Objective 4- Analyze how the earliest civilizations created technologies and systems to meet community and personal needs.
- Identify innovations in man made structures over time (e.g.irrigation, roads, building materials) and their influence on meeting needs.
- Examine the evolution and importance of writing
- Identify cultural expressions that reflect these systems (e.g. architecture, artistic expression, medicine, philosophy, drama, literature)
- Compare social classes, vocations, and gender roles within ancient civilizations