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A. Heritage and Identity · Early Societies to 1500 CE

Early Societies to 1500 CE: Unit Review

A1.1 A1.2 A1.3 A1.4 A2.1 A2.2 A2.3 A2.4 A2.5 A2.6 A3.1 A3.2 A3.3 A3.4 A3.5 A3.6 A3.7 A3.8 A3.9 A3.10About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe daily life, government and social organization in a few early societies, including First Nation and Inuit societies.
  • I can explain how the environment shaped early societies and name their important developments.
  • I can explain why early societies cooperated or came into conflict and how they made peace.
  • I can compare early societies with Canada today and carry out an inquiry.

Words to know

society
A large group of people who live together and share ways of life, rules and beliefs.
BCE / CE
Years before year 1 (BCE) and from year 1 on (CE).
artefact
An object made or used by people long ago.
thematic map
A map about one theme, like rainfall or trade routes.
social class
A group in a society with the same kind of work, wealth and power.
consensus
Talking until everyone agrees.
legacy
Something from the past that is still part of our lives.

Let's review!

You have travelled from about 3000 BCE to 1500 CE and around the world: the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, the Thule and Inuit, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, ancient China, the Maya, ancient Greece, medieval Europe and the Mali Empire. You learned how each society lived, how it was governed, how the environment shaped it, and what it gave us.

This review has questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer.

3000 BCE2000 BCE1000 BCEyear 11000 CE1500 CEEgypt and firstMesopotamian citiesHammurabi's laws(about 1750 BCE)democracy in Athens(about 500 BCE)Maya cities(250 to 900 CE)Magna Carta, 1215Thule move east, 1200sMansa Musa's journey, 1324printing press, about 1450
Some of the unit's big moments on one timeline, from about 3000 BCE to 1500 CE. The shaded bar shows when Maya cities were at their greatest.
ONE RULERinherited powerpharaoh, Mesopotamian kings,emperor, mansa, medieval kingCITIZENS VOTEmajority decidesancient Athens(free men only)COUNCIL BY CONSENSUStalk until all agreeHaudenosaunee Grand Council(clan mothers choose chiefs)ELDERS GUIDEtalking togetherThule and Inuit camps(no kings or rulers)
Four ways early societies made decisions. Which one is most like how decisions are made in Canada today?

Into the Past: Early Societies and How We Know About Them

1

Which is longer ago: 1500 BCE or 500 BCE?

2

About how many years ago was 1000 CE?

3

Name two kinds of evidence about early societies that are not written.

Finding Early Societies on Maps and Globes

1

On which continent were the Maya?

2

What does a thematic map show?

3

Why did many early societies grow near rivers?

The Haudenosaunee: People of the Longhouse

1

What are the Three Sisters?

2

What powers did clan mothers have?

3

How does the Grand Council make decisions?

4

What was buried under the Tree of Peace?

The Anishinaabe: Living with the Seasons

1

What did Anishinaabe families do in spring? In fall?

2

Why was the birchbark canoe so useful?

3

What is a seasonal round?

Inuit and Their Thule Ancestors in the Arctic

1

Who were the Thule?

2

Why did the Thule use whale bones to build houses?

3

Name one Inuit way to settle a quarrel.

4

Why did Inuit make snow goggles with thin slits?

Ancient Egypt: Gift of the Nile

1

What did the Nile's yearly flood leave on the land?

2

Who ruled ancient Egypt, and how did they get power?

3

Which group was the largest in Egyptian society?

River Valley Inventors: Mesopotamia and Ancient China

1

Name one invention from Mesopotamia and one from China.

2

What was the Mandate of Heaven?

3

Why was Hammurabi's code not equal for everyone?

The Maya: Cities of the Rainforest

1

Write 14 in Maya numbers.

2

Name two ways the Maya farmed in the rainforest.

3

How were Maya lands governed?

Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe: Citizens, Kings and Knights

1

Who could not vote in ancient Athens?

2

Put in order from most to least power: knights, king, peasants, nobles.

3

What did the Magna Carta say?

Trade, Cooperation and Conflict: The Mali Empire and Beyond

1

What was traded across the Sahara?

2

Who was Mansa Musa?

3

Name two ways early societies made peace.

Then and Now: Legacies of Early Societies and Your Inquiry

1

Name two legacies of early societies.

2

Give one difference between childhood in most early societies and childhood in Canada today.

3

What are the six inquiry steps?

4

Give one way early societies used the environment differently from Canada today.

Just for fun

Why was the history book so tired?

It had way too many dates!

How to use this review

  • Try each question out loud or on paper before you look at the answer.
  • Social studies answers can be said in different ways. If your answer has the same big idea, it counts!
  • For "why" and "compare" questions, use because and give evidence from a society.
  • Put a star beside any section that was tricky, and go back to that lesson tomorrow.
  • Look at your timeline and map one more time: can you point to every society?
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which date is the earliest?

2.

Which society grew along the Nile River?

3.

In the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, who chose the chiefs?

4.

What is manoomin?

5.

The Thule were the ancestors of...

6.

Which was invented in ancient China?

7.

In Maya numbers, what is 1 bar and 4 dots?

8.

Who was at the bottom of the feudal system?

9.

The gold and salt trade across the Sahara is an example of...

10.

Which is a legacy of early societies we still use?

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit. Each review section matches one lesson.

  • Mixes up BCE and CE, or can't name kinds of evidence: revisit Into the Past and redo the timeline.
  • Can't find societies on a map or read a legend: revisit Finding Early Societies on Maps and Globes.
  • Unsure about clan mothers, the Three Sisters or the Great Law of Peace: revisit The Haudenosaunee.
  • Unsure about the seasonal round, birch bark or wild rice: revisit The Anishinaabe.
  • Calls Inuit a First Nation, or thinks Inuit lived only in igloos: revisit Inuit and Their Thule Ancestors.
  • Can't explain the Nile flood or social classes: revisit Ancient Egypt.
  • Mixes up inventions or the Silk Road: revisit River Valley Inventors.
  • Struggles with Maya numbers or thinks the Maya disappeared: revisit The Maya.
  • Thinks Athens let everyone vote, or confuses feudal roles: revisit Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe.
  • Can't give reasons for cooperation and conflict or ways to make peace: revisit Trade, Cooperation and Conflict.
  • Compares without evidence or can't list the inquiry steps: revisit Then and Now.

Praise thoughtful, respectful, evidence-based answers, not only memorized facts. Keep asking: "How do we know?" and "Whose voice is missing?"