9-a
Technological and Environmental Transformations
Corresponding to Period 1 of the AP® course outline, Part One of this text constitutes just 5 percent of the exam but lays the groundwork for your study of world history and the themes you will encounter within it. In this part, we will chart the course of human history from its earliest migrations, which colonized the entire planet, to the emergence of the First Civilizations, which flourished from around 3500 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E. This immense period of time encompasses most of the human journey and is characterized by three major global transformations: the initial colonization of the earth by humans, the advent of agricultural societies, and, much later, the emergence of the city- and state-based societies that we refer to as civilizations. These three long-term processes reshaped humankind in any number of ways:
Our relationships to the natural order
Our understandings of the world
Our systems of maintaining order
Our methods for addressing conflicts
Our techniques of survival and making a living
Our social organizations and ways of relating to one another
The range of our interactions with those beyond our own communities
The chart below provides an overview of the AP® World History themes you will encounter in this part. While this list is by no means exhaustive, it offers threads that are significant for the time period and important for your course studies. As you read the following chapters, pay close attention to these five themes. Also watch for AP® Exam Tips throughout the text to assist in your coursework and exam preparation.
9-b