Choose two (TOTAL) of the primary sources from the chapters listed and answer (FOR EACH):

1. Who wrote the piece (include type of person/title, not just the name), and why?

2. What was the point of the piece? Why did they write it?

3. Who was the audience intended to be?

4. How did the piece change your understanding of the era? Why would this document be important to include in this series? Be specific.

The best essays will have introduction, supporting paragraphs (utilizing material from the primary source!), and a conclusion. 

Your essay should be 2-4 full pages.

Choose one of the following topics and right a one-thousand word essay in which you support the position you adopt for or against one of the given propositions with historical evidence. Cite any quoted material using endnotes.

1. Religion was / was not a significant factor in the development of early world civilizations.

2. Trade was / was not a factor in generating cross-cultural contact between different civilizations.

3. Gender roles in early civilizations did / did not differ considerably from one society to another.

4. Settled agricultural societies were / were not superior to nomadic hunter-gatherer societies.