Transcript asian civilization 8b

THE PEOPLE, ENVIRONMENT,
AND GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA
OBJECTIVES:
1. To describe the characteristics of
Asia’s natural environment;
2. To identify the regions and
countries that comprise Asia; and
3. To explain how geographical factors
affect the livelihood of Asian
people.
ASIA THE BIGGEST CONTINENT
• Asia is the largest of the earth’s seven
continents, and lies almost entirely in
the Northern Hemisphere. With
outlying islands, it covers an estimated
44,936,000 sq km or about 1/3 of the
world’s total land area.
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GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
• Based on the Plate Tectonics Theory, Asia is
comprised of several continental and
oceanic plates, the biggest of which is the
Eurasian plate. This theory explains the
arch-like shape of the mountain ranges,
peninsulas and archipelagoes of Asia, along
with the presence of volcanoes.
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GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS
1. SOUTHEAST ASIA - It has a land area of
almost 2.73 million sq km, and generally has
an archipelagic character, composed of
Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos,
Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,
Brunei, and the Philippines.
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2. EAST ASIA – It has a land area of 4.5 million sq
km. or 17 percent of Asia’s total land,
composed of China, Mongolia, North Korea,
South Korea and Japan
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3. SOUTH ASIA – It has the same land
area as Southeast Asia and contains
the river systems of Indus, Ganges and
brahmaputra, as well as the mountains
of Kashmir, Assam and the Himalayas.
It is composed of India, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal
and Bhutan.
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4. SOUTHWEST ASIA (OR WEST ASIA) –
It has a land area of 4.18 million sq km.
and made up of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman,
UEA, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. The
region is known for its rich oil fields
and prolonged dry spells.
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5. NORTH ASIA – Occupying 40% of
Asia’s total land area of 10.4 million sq
km., the region is made up of former
Soviet |States Georgia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
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GEOGRAPHICAL AND OTHER
CHARACTERISTICS
1. Surrounding Waters
2. Climate – Asia experiences all types
of climate from sub-polar climate in
the north to dry climate in the
south, from the cool and wet season
to the dry and humid, with heavy
concentration of rains.
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4. Vegetation – Asia also has diverse landscapes,
from tundra and taiga vegetation in the north,
to equatorial rainforests in the south and
southeast parts. Asia has three main crop
production systems.
5. Animal life
6. Mineral Resources
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THE PEOPLE OF ASIA
More diverse than people in other continents,
Asian people is composed of the following:
1. West Asia – generally Semitic people with
dark hair and complexion, mostly Muslims.
2. South Asia – mostly Hindus and Muslims,
composed of Indo-Aryans and Dravidians,
Pakistanis, Bhutanese, among others.
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3. East Asia – 82 percent are Chinese descending
from the Hans, while the Japanese are
believed to have descended from the Mongol
and Malay races.
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South Asia - region with the highest
concentration of population, generally Malay
and Chinese descended people with fair
complexion and dark hair; generally Buddhist
followers except for the Philippines, Indonesia
and Malaysia
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CHARACTERISTICS OF ASIA
1. Largest of the seven continents.
2. Home to the highest and lowest points of
the Earth’s surface (Mt Everest and the Dead
Sea respectively).
3. Covers one third of the world’s total land
area.
4. Composed of the Eurasian continental plate,
the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean plates.
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• Diverse geography, from deserts and steppes,
to mountain ranges, peninsulas and
archipelagoes.
• Serves as channel for many river systems,
including the Huang Ho, Indus, Ganges,
Mekong, Yangtze, Lena and Ili Syr Darya.
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MAJOR RELIGIONS ESTABLISHED IN
ASIA
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Christianity
Judaism
Islam
Buddhism
Hinduism
Zoroastrianism
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WHAT IS PAMIR KNOT ?
• Pamir Knot – usually referred to as the “Roof
of the World,” and to the area where the
mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Hindu
Kush, Karakoram and Tien Shan meet.
• The Pamir Knot can be found in Central Asia at
the point of the map where the boundaries of
China, India, Nepal and Tajikistan meet.
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ANCIENT ASIAN CIVILIZATION
• OBJECTIVES:
1. To explain how early Asian civilizations
developed.
2. To identify the common strengths and
weaknesses of early Asian civilization.
3. To Identify the contributions of early Asians to
world civilization.
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Introduction
Asia is the cradle of world civilization,
as the earliest known settlements
arose along all were agricultural
societies that depended on advanced
social and political structures to
maintain irrigation and flood control
systems.
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1. Mesopotamia-means “land
between two rivers” ancient region
located between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers and forms part of the
Fertile crescent; occupied by presentday Iraq, Southeastern Turkey and
Eastern Syria.
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Sumerian Civilization (4000-2500BC)
• Oldest civilization and center of sophisticated culture
by 3000BC.
• People hailed from the mountains of Turkey.
• Established autonomous city-states ruled by a king
with absolute powers or theocracy.
• Most important contributions include the cuneiform
system of writing – the basic means of communication
in the region for 2000 years – as well as the system of
irrigation, wheel-turned pottery, and the use of wheeldriven carts for travel.
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Akkadian civilization (2750-2590BC)
• Founded by King Sargon I, who united the
warring city-states of Sumer and built an
empire in the city of Agade (Akkad).
• Destroyed by weak leadership, until the
empire is divided into two following attacks by
the Elamites and Amorites.
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Babylonian Civilization –(1760BC)
• Founded in 1760 under Hammurabi, the sixth Amorite king
of Syria who defeated the Elamites and chose Babylon as
capital of his empire.
• The city-states of Akkad and Sumer were united and trade
and commerce flourished in the region; people worshipped
the god Marduk.
• Most important contribution is the Code of Hammurabi
which protected the poor against the abuses of the rich.
• Attacked by the Hittites two centuries later and eventually
fell to Agum, a Kassite ruler in the 16th century BC.
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The Hittites (1600-1200BC)
• Ancient people of Asia Minor and the Middle
East, inhabiting present-day Anatolia in
Turkey, invaded the region of Hatti in 1900BC.
• Used a writing system combining Sumerian
cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics.
• Most important contribution is their use of
iron, becoming the first people to use horsedrawn cart during wars.
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• Known to have humane laws but were fierce
warriors, invading Babylon and Jerusalem.
• Diminished following a long war with ancient
Egypt.
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The Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrians
and Chaldeans (1200-400BC)
• Known as “Sidonians” in the Old Testament in
the Christian Holy Book, were Semites whose
kingdom prospered from trade in their ports
along the Mediterranean.
• Hebrews hailed Abraham or “ Ebrahim for
Arabic” as the rightful ruler of Mesopotamia,
but became more prominent under King
Solomon.
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• Assyrians traded in gold, silver and textile and
established a dynasty with Nineveh as its capital
in Upper Mesopotamia in 1000BC; became
dominant under Assurnasirpal II.
• Chaldeans built their empire under King
Nebuchadnezzar, who ordered the building of the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon; also had great
knowledge in astronomy.
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• The Chaldeans were defeated by the Persians
who expanded their empire into
Mesopotamia under a despotic king, Darius;
before the Greeks arrived which “Hellenized”
most Mesopotamian states such as Phoenicia.
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2. INDIAN CIVILIZATION
• A 1920 discovery of a site called “MohenjoDaro” revealed the largest Indus Valley
settlement existing about 2300BC.
• The ancient cities of Mohenjo-Daro and
Harappa traded cotton and textile with
Mesopotamia; seals called “steatite” were
abundant in the site.
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• Early Indians were known to be fond of the
arts, as well as heavily influenced by religion.
• Stone tablets found were inconclusive
however and could not explain the
disappearance of all life forms in the Indus
Valley 3,500 years ago.
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LEADING ANCIENT STATES
OBJECTIVES:
1. To discuss how the Chinese and Indian
civilizations developed.
2. To appreciate the major contributions of the
Chinese and Indian civilizations to Asia and
the world.
3. To identify the similarities among many
civilizations that emerged in China and India.
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1. Roots of Chinese civilization
• Bear elements of fact and fiction (legend of Pan
Ku; Prince Yu of Xia Dynasty)
• Earliest records date to the Shang Dynasty of the
16th century, a dynasty ruled by kings believed to
have “heaven’s mandate” and was often at war
with neighboring peples.
Vocabulary:
Dynasty – is a series of rulers from the same family.
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2. Cultural Linkages
• Early civilizations in China and other parts of
Asia were open to cultural exchange,
particularly from the Greeks in the case of
Alexander the Great.
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3. Indian expansion
• Early Indians were able to develop their own
distinct culture owing to the country’s
geography.
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4. Aryan Settlement
• Foreign invaders were able to enter India through
the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush and later
through sea routes. The Aryans were the most
successful, settling in the Indus and Ganges plains
by 1500BC.
• The Aryans drove the native Dravidians and
developed the “Vedic Phase” (1500-900BC) of
Indian civilization, based on the sacred Vedas or
Knowledge. The Vedas are considered the core of
Hinduism.
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• Under the Aryans, the caste system emerged in
India.
First Class ----Brahman – priests and scholars.
Second class – Kshatriya – warrios and rulers.
Third Class - Vaisya – mercharts, farmers and
traders.
Fourth Class – Sudra – artisan, laborers and
servants
Lower Class – Pariah – “untouchables”
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• The “ Epic Phase” saw the emergence of two
great epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. The
epic phase lasted 400 years.
• Conflicts among city-states weakened the
Aryan culture, which experienced Persian rule
under Darius, before the brief invasion of the
Greeks and the attempt of the Seleucids to
take over that was thwarted by the Mauryans.
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5. Mauryan Empire
• Established by Chandragupta Maurya, leader of
the armed forces of the Nanda King in Magadha,
with its center to Pataliputra.
• Known as merciless to foes but bighearted to
loyal followers, Chandragupta was regarded as
emperor, ruling over almost all areas that were
under Alexander’s control. India was united as
commerce flourished because of efficient road
systems and irrigation and flood control projects.