Fossils are objects created and used by humans.

Views of history can change based on new technology.

The Code of Hammurabi is an example of a secondary source.

Business records and artifacts can offer clues about economic systems.

Archaeologists used the Rosetta Stone to translate ancient Egyptian writing.

Egyptian tomb paintings tell us very little about Egyptian society.

Historians are not interested in the way people lived in the past

Legends and stories can often serve as clues about a society.

Rome fell only because it was attacked by barbarians.

All Roman emperors used their powers well, expanding the empire and protecting all citizens.

In the Byzantine Empire, popes and bishops led the church, the emperor led the government, and Latin was the main language.

Christianity first began in the city of Rome and gradually spread to neighboring empires.

Roman art and architecture have inspired people for hundreds of years.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires Muslims pray five times a day.

The Qur’an teaches that women may not own property.

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims must fast between dawn and sunset.

The Five Pillars of Islam is the most important book about Islamic beliefs.

Islamic law makes no distinction between religious beliefs and daily life.

Muslim advances in geography were largely due to the work of travelers and mapmakers.

A focus on spiritual issues and finding a personal relationship with God was central to the Muslim philosophy called Shia.

The amount of rainfall in each region of West Africa has an impact on the kind of minerals found there.

Among the traditional West African crops are corn and kola nuts.

Around 500 BC West Africans discovered that by heating certain kinds of rock they could get a hard metal, which was iron.

The only written language used in West Africa was Arabic.

Ibn Battutah was an Arab scholar who wrote an epic poem about the history of Mali.

The history of West Africa was written by Sundiata.

West African sculptors often made statues of their ancestors and used them in rituals to ask for their ancestors’ blessings.

Buddhism first gained popularity in China during the Tang dynasty.

Agricultural advances during the Yuan and Ming dynasties helped China become the largest country in the world.

Neo-Confucianism emphasized proper behavior and spiritual matters.

Passing a civil service examination meant life as a member of China’s elite class of scholar-officials.

Mongol rulers forced the Chinese people to accept Mongol religion.

Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty helped reunite China by conquering many lands.

Yuan rulers banned all foreign trade.

Silk production was important to for Japan’s economic growth.

Because they were busy running the government, Japanese nobles had little interest in culture.

Samurai culture in Japan stressed loyalty, honor, and courage.

In southern Europe, most people lived on coastal plains or in river valleys.

Most of northern Europe’s plains are dry and barren.

The Middle Ages lasted about 1000 years.

Monks lived apart in isolated communities because they could not read or write.

Charlemagne was a Roman emperor who helped spread education and Christianity.

The geography of Europe kept out invaders.

Monks often joined the missionaries on their travels to spread Christianity.

Monks and nuns often collected and stored religious texts that explained Christian teachings.

Some of Europe’s earliest universities were created by the church.

Ferdinand and Isabella united Spain and drove out the clergy.

Latin was the language used in the Middle Ages by the church and by scholars.

Like the people of the Middle Ages, the humanists were Christians.

Machiavelli wrote in The Prince that rulers had to be kind-hearted to keep the peace.

Renaissance artists invented proportion to show a three-dimensional scene on a flat surface so that it looks real.

Leonardo da Vinci dissected corpses so he could understand how the human body worked.

The Catholic Reformation was an attempt to stop the spread of corruption in the Catholic Church.

As a result of the Inquisition, Protestant religions were not as popular in Spain as they were elsewhere.

The Jesuits were a religious order created to save the newly founded Protestant church.

The Council of Trent led to reforms in the Roman Catholic Church.

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars all contributed ideas that led to the Scientific Revolution.

The interest in humanism that developed during the Renaissance influenced the Scientific Revolution.

Scientists use faith to explain the facts they observe.

Aristotle thought that people should observe the world carefully and draw logical conclusions about what they saw.

Each Maya city was a city-state ruled by its own government and king.

Any Maya man could become king if he were strong and brave enough.

Maya priests studied astronomy and math.

Historians agree that constant warfare destroyed Maya civilization.

The Aztec economy was based on tribute and trade.

Aztecs and Incas both made thousands of human sacrifices to their gods.

Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizzaro both defeated powerful American Empires.

Inca masonry was so well built that many buildings are still in use today.

Chinampas were floating gardens around the Aztec island city.

Henry the Navigator taught sailors how to navigate across oceans.

Francis Drake was sent by the queen of Spain to steal gold and silver from English ships.

Spices from Asia were not valued by Europeans.

Caravels were small, sturdy ships built to sail across oceans.

Natural rights that all people are born with include the rights to life, liberty, and property.

Salons were social gatherings held to discuss ideas during the Enlightenment.

Circumnavigate means to go half way around the world.

Secular is a term meaning non-religious and used to describe Enlightenment thought.

Popular sovereignty is an idea that governments should express the will of the people.

John Locke was a French writer who mocked government and religion in his writings.