2

Author’s acknowledgements and dedication

This book is dedicated in loving memory of my mother, Angela Grace.

I’d like to thank So-Shan Au, Megan Price and Paul Morris for all their help and support with
this project. Thanks also to Matt Burdett and Shirla Sum for their feedback on selected
chapters.

Although every effort has been made to ensure that website addresses are correct at time of
going to press, Hodder Education cannot be held responsible for the content of any website
mentioned in this book. It is sometimes possible to find a relocated web page by typing in the
address of the home page for a website in the URL window of your browser.

Hachette UK’s policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and
made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are
expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

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our website www.hoddereducation.com

© Paul Grace 2016

Published by Hodder Education

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Year 2019 2018 2017 2016
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, no part of this
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Kent

Printed in Slovenia

A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

ISBN 9781471879364

3
eISBN 9781471879418

4
Contents

1 What does it mean to be a global citizen?

2 How can maps provide us with a sense of time, place and space?

3 What can we learn from different civilizations?

4 Where do we live?

5 What do people believe in?

6 What factors contribute to the fairness and development of

societies?

Glossary

Acknowledgements

5
How to use this book

Welcome to Hodder Education’s MYP by Concept series!

Each chapter is designed to lead you through an inquiry into
the concepts of individuals and societies, and how they
interact in real-life global contexts.

KEY WORDS
Key words are included to give you access to vocabulary for the topic. Glossary
terms are highlighted and, where applicable, search terms are given to encourage
independent learning and research skills.

As you explore, activities suggest ways to learn through action.

ATL
Activities are designed to develop your Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills.

Assessment opportunities in this chapter:

Some activities are formative as they allow you to practise certain parts of the MYP
Language acquisition Assessment Objectives. Other activities can be used by you
or your teachers to assess your achievement against all parts of an assessment
objective.

Key Approaches to Learning skills for MYP Individuals and Societies

are highlighted whenever we encounter them.

Hint
In some of the Activities, we provide Hints to help you work on the assignment. This also
introduces you to the new Hint feature in the e-assessment.

Information boxes are included to give more detail and explanation.

EXTENSION
Extension activities allow you to explore a topic further.

Take action

6
While the book provides opportunities for action and plenty of content to enrich the
conceptual relationships, you must be an active part of this process. Guidance is
given to help you with your own research, including how to carry out research,
guidance on forming your own research question, as well as linking and developing
your study of language acquisition to the global issues in our twenty-first-century
world.

Finally, at the end of the chapter you are asked to reflect back on what you have learned with
our Reflection table, maybe to think of new questions brought to light by your learning.
You are prompted to consider your conceptual understanding in a variety of activities
throughout each chapter.

Links to:
Like any other subject, individuals and societies is just one part of our bigger picture
of the world. Links to other subjects are discussed.

We will reflect on this learner profile attribute …

Each chapter has an IB learner profile attribute as its theme, and you are
encouraged to reflect on these too.

7
8
Global interactions
Power; Choice
Globalization and sustainability

1 What does it mean to be a global

citizen?
Global problems are a reality but individuals have the power and choice
to make a positive difference.

9
10
IN THIS CHAPTER, WE WILL …
• Find out about some of the major issues facing the world and some of the
possible solutions.
• Explore:
• how different environments are threatened by human actions
• human rights issues affecting children.
• Take action by looking at the different ways individuals can make a positive
difference to others.

CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:

Factual: What are some of the issues facing the world today? How have different
environments been damaged by human action? What are some of the human rights
issues facing children? What is the role of international organizations in tackling
global issues? What are some of the consequences and solutions to plastic
pollution?
Conceptual: What is meant by the term ‘human rights’?
Debatable: Can individuals change the world?
Now share and compare your thoughts and ideas with your partner, or with the
whole class.

11
These Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills will be useful …
• Creative-thinking skills
• Critical-thinking skills
• Communication skills
• Information literacy skills

KEY WORDS
deforestation
human rights
pollution
recycling
sustainability

We will reflect on this learner profile attribute …

Caring – we will consider the different ways that people can make a positive
difference to others and the planet.

Assessment opportunities in this chapter:

• Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
• Criterion B: Investigating
• Criterion C: Communicating
• Criterion D: Thinking critically

THINK–PAIR–SHARE
Look at the pictures (Figure 1.1a and b) on these pages.
With a partner, think about whether individuals can change the world. Can anyone
change the world? In what ways can people change the world?
Share your thoughts with the class.

HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT
Planet Earth is sometimes referred to as the lucky planet, given its ability to support complex
life. Earth has just the right mix of gases for a breathable atmosphere – it is not too hot and
not too cold, and there is an abundance of water. Humans have inhabited the planet for
thousands of years and gradually the world has become more and more interconnected. If we
consider the differences between the lifestyles of prehistoric people with our twenty-first-
century lives we can see the considerable extent of these changes.
These changes have come as a result of a range of discoveries and scientific and

12
technological breakthroughs. The interconnected world can be seen in the complex trading
relationships around the world; often the items we use in daily life have travelled far to reach
us. The progress of human societies can be seen in many of the cities of the world, with
numerous examples of artistic, architectural and scientific achievement.
Despite these considerable achievements, there are major issues facing the world at present.
In this chapter we will identify some of these issues and explore the different ways that
individuals can take action and help bring about positive change.

13
14
15
Links to: Sciences
What is Earth’s atmosphere made of? How is it different from other planets in the
solar system?

ACTIVITY: Human achievement

ATL
Creative-thinking skills – Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas,
products or processes

1 Look at the pictures (Figure 1.2a–e). For each picture explain how it can be
described as an example of human achievement.
2 In pairs, list other human achievements from your own knowledge. You can think
of examples from the past as well as the present.
3 Visit a news website and try to find an article about human achievement. This
could be about a scientific breakthrough, an artistic creation or a story of heroism.
Write a description of the article and explain why it is an example of human
achievement.
4 The key concept for this chapter is global interactions. How do you think the
different examples of human achievement discussed would affect global

16
 interactions?

What are some of the issues facing the

world today?
Human rights issues can often involve prejudice and discrimination.
Prejudice – Dislike or hatred towards someone based on unfair opinions, for
example, racism, sexism
Discrimination – Treating someone differently, usually in a negative manner based
on unfair opinions; for example, racist laws in a country

ACTIVITY: What are some of the issues facing the world

today?

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Interpreting data

1 Study the graph showing the number of doctors per 1,000 people (Figure 1.4).
a Which countries had the highest number of doctors per 1,000 people in 2013?
b Which countries had the lowest number of doctors per 1,000 people in 2013?
c Explain the consequences for people of having i) a very low number of
doctors per 1,000 people, and ii) a very high number of doctors per 1,000
people.
2 Study the political cartoon (Figure 1.5) ‘The rich get richer and the poor get their
byproducts’.

17
 a Describe what is happening in the cartoon.
b Explain the message of the cartoon.
c Do you agree or disagree with the message? Why?
3 Study the table (Table 1.1) on endangered species.
a What do you understand by the term ‘endangered’?
b Explain why certain species of animals are endangered.
c Choose one of the animals in the table to research in greater detail to find out
more about the issue.

REFLECTION
In this section we have explored some examples of global issues. Write a reflection
to explain what you understand about the issues facing the world and what you
would like to find out more about.
Do some further research into one of the seven global issues presented on pages
6–7 to deepen your inquiry.

18
Table 1.1 Top ten endangered animals 2014 (data from World Wildlife Fund)

Species Number left in the wild

Amur leopard 40
Javan rhinoceros 60
Panther 80
Red wolf 100
California condor 130
Sumatran rhinoceros 300
Cross River gorilla 300
Asiatic lion 350
Northern right whale 350
Indochinese tiger 500

How have different environments been

damaged by human action?

19
ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDY 1 – PLASTIC IN
THE OCEANS
Plastic is a very useful product: it is cheap and easy to make and it lasts a long time. Plastic
can be used to make a huge variety of products that have great benefit to people, including:
• bags
• chairs
• toys
• buttons
• water bottles
• shampoo bottles
• video game controllers
• light switches
• covering for wires
• keyboards.

THINK–PAIR–SHARE
Think about your own life; how much plastic do you use on a daily basis?

20
Despite these obvious uses, plastic is a problematic material for the environment. Much of the
plastic waste in the world ends up in landfill sites or in the seas and oceans. As plastic takes a
very long time to break down – and in many cases never completely degrades – this creates a
major environmental issue. In recent years, environmentalists have been campaigning to raise
more awareness of the consequences of the human use of plastic.
One of the places where you can often see the impact of the disposal of plastic is on the
beaches. A huge variety of plastic can be found washed up on beaches across the world. For
example, on a number of beaches in Hawaii, the plastic waste is so high that you actually
need to dig into it to find decent amounts of sand. In addition, the vast majority of this plastic
is not from Hawaii itself but has floated thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean before
reaching these beaches.
Environmentalists have found an area of the Pacific Ocean that they are calling the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch. This is a vast area of the ocean, about the size of Texas, which is filled
with plastic particles. It is found in an oceanic area called the doldrums, known for its calm
winds, which in the past has trapped sailors for days when there has been no wind to power
their boats.

Links to: Sciences

The patterns of the tides in the seas and the oceans can create some interesting
phenomena, which could be researched in your science classes. Explore the
following terminology: doldrums, gyre, whirlpool. How can some of these tidal
conditions help to explain the formation of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

SOURCE A
Account by Captain Charles Moore, discoverer of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,

21
in an article for Natural History magazine in 2003
‘So on the way back to our home port in Long Beach, California, we decided to take
a shortcut through the gyre, which few seafarers ever cross. Fishermen shun it
because its waters lack the nutrients to support an abundant catch. Sailors dodge it
because it lacks the wind to propel their sailboats.
‘Yet as I gazed from the deck at the surface of what ought to have been a pristine
ocean, I was confronted, as far as the eye could see, with the sight of plastic.
‘It seemed unbelievable, but I never found a clear spot. In the week it took to cross
the subtropical high, no matter what time of day I looked, plastic debris was floating
everywhere: bottles, bottle caps, wrappers, fragments. Months later, after I discussed
what I had seen with the oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, perhaps the world’s
leading expert on flotsam, he began referring to the area as the “eastern garbage
patch”.’

SOURCE B

SOURCE C
Extract from the website of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an
environmental action group
‘Plastic pollution affects every waterway, sea and ocean in the world. When we
damage our water systems, we’re putting our own well-being at risk. This pollution

22
also has huge costs for taxpayers and local governments that must clean this trash
off of beaches and streets to protect public health, prevent flooding from trash-
blocked storm drains, and avoid lost tourism revenue from filthy beaches.’

SOURCE D

ACTIVITY: Plastic oceans

ATL
Information literacy skills – Make connections between various sources of
information

1 Why do you think plastic is such a widely used product?

2 According to the sources, why is plastic such a problem for the world’s oceans

23
 and seas?
3 What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Why does plastic get stuck there?
4 Why do you think Hawaii is particularly affected by these issues?
5 Copy and complete the following table.

Source Origin Purpose

A
B
C
D
6 Circle of viewpoints – in groups of six, take on one of the identities (see table).
a In your groups, use the following scripts to discuss the plastic in the ocean
issue using the different viewpoints.
i I am thinking of the environmental impact of plastic from the point of view of
…
ii I think … (Describe the topic from your viewpoint. Be an actor – take on the
character of your viewpoint.)
iii A question I have from this viewpoint is … (Ask a question from this
viewpoint.)
b After you have discussed the different viewpoints, choose three of the
identities and write a paragraph for each to explain what you think their opinion
would be about this global issue.

Environmental campaigner Chief Executive of a plastics

– You work for an company – You run a major
environmental group that is plastics manufacturing company
committed to improving the that has been operating with
environment. You regularly high profits for many years.
campaign about the state of Many of your products end up in
the oceans and the seas. the seas and oceans.
Hotel owner at a beach Owner of a fishing boat – You
resort – You are not usually make a living through fishing.
too worried about You have noticed that the
environmental issues but you amount of plastic debris in the
are concerned about how this ocean has increased over the
issue might affect the years. You are unsure what to
beaches and water near the make of it.
resort.

24
 Family living near the School student in a city – You
beach – You’ve lived by the use a lot of plastic products in
coast for many years and your daily life. You sometimes
enjoy going to the beach and think about the environment but
swimming in the sea. You are don’t really think about the
seriously concerned about consequences of your actions.
this issue.

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion D: Thinking critically (strands iii and
iv).

Origin and purpose

What is meant by the origin and purpose of sources?
Within individuals and societies we often refer to different sources of information in
terms of their origin and purpose. The origin of the source usually refers to where
the information came from while the purpose considers the overall point of the
information. The following questions can help you to understand what to write when
asked about this:
Origin – What is the name of the source? Who made or wrote it? When was it
made? Where was it created?
Purpose – Why was the source created? What is its intention? Who is it for?
For Criterion D: Thinking critically, one of the skills you need to develop is the clear
identification of the origin and purpose of different sources.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF PLASTIC

IN THE OCEANS?
1 Harmful to wildlife
One of the most catastrophic consequences of plastic pollution is to wildlife. Marine animals
can choke on pieces of plastic in the seas and oceans, often leading to death. Plastic can
entangle animals causing them serious injury.

2 Environmental damage
A wide variety of environments can be affected by plastic pollution. As plastic does not break
down easily it stays in the same place for a long time. The impact is evident on many beaches
around the world, landfill sites and the collection of plastic in the oceans.

3 Plastic takes a long time to break down

25
The big problem of plastic pollution is getting it to break down. Plastic, unlike other
materials, does not degrade fully. This means that if plastic is dropped as litter, it is likely to
remain intact for a long time. Added to this problem is the throwaway culture in which plastic
is often used. For instance, water bottles are often used only once and then thrown away,
making these environmental issues more severe.

4 Health consequences for humans

Plastic can also be harmful to human health if it ends up in the food chain. Although research
into the effects of plastic on human health is still in its early stages, there are concerns about
how the scale of plastic in our natural environments will affect human health.

26
27
WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS TO PLASTIC IN
THE OCEANS?
1 Reduce
One of the easiest ways to improve the conditions of the environment due to plastic disposal
is simply to use less plastic. Instead of purchasing single-use plastic water bottles, a reusable
water bottle can significantly reduce wastage. By being more conscious of what we buy and
how we dispose of it we can have positive effects on the environment.

2 Recycle
Plastic can be used more than once. Therefore, one way of reducing the impact of plastic use
on the environment is through recycling. For instance, a plastic bag can be recycled and used
numerous times for shopping. Plastic can be sorted for disposal and then recycled for
different uses in local facilities.

3 Clean up
Another way to reduce the impact of plastic on the environment can be seen through efforts
to actually clean it up. This can be done by individuals and local communities but also on
national and global scales. Beach clean-ups are a good example of this in action.

4 Legal action
Governments hold huge power to help reduce the plastic problem. Laws can be passed which
give people greater environmental responsibility. International organizations like the United

28
Nations can also initiate more global responsibility towards the environment. Individuals can
campaign to their local and national government representatives to take more action to
improve environments.

5 Technology
New technologies could also be a solution by finding new products in the future or
developing technology to clean up the seas and oceans. For information on some of these
solutions visit this website: www.theoceancleanup.com

DISCUSS
‘The oceans and seas are the shared responsibility of all countries.’
In groups, discuss this statement. Do you agree or disagree? What do you think
are some of the major challenges with this concept? How do you think the issues
affecting the ocean connect to the key concept of global interactions?

REFLECTION: Solutions
Copy and complete this table to reflect on possible solutions that could be carried
out on a personal, local and global level.

Personal Local Global

What can I do as What could my What could national
an individual to local community governments and global
make a do to make a organizations do to
difference to this difference to this make a difference to this
environmental environmental environmental issue?
issue? issue?

ENVIRONMENTAL CASE STUDY 2 –

DEFORESTATION
Deforestation refers to the loss of, and lack of replacement of, forests around the world.
Trees can be replaced by replanting, but the speed of deforestation and the way the land is
being used afterwards makes this a global issue. Deforestation occurs for a variety of reasons;
often the land is cleared to make way for farms or the construction or extension of towns and
cities. The trees themselves are valuable to many different industries where the wood can be
used to make various products or for commercial purposes. Also, a lot of tree disposal is done
through illegal logging, which is difficult to control.

29
SEE–THINK–WONDER
Look at Figure 1.13.
Why might the removal of trees create problems for the water cycle?

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF

DEFORESTATION?
Disturbance to the water cycle
The water cycle refers to the movement of water on Earth. Trees play a crucial role in this
cycle.

30
Environmental consequences
Deforestation often takes place to make room for farming. A technique used to destroy large
areas of forest is known as ‘slash and burn’. This is a basic technique effectively burning
away large areas of forest. The technique has been used throughout the history of farming but
is widely criticized because of its negative effects on the environment. In 2013, there was a
pollution crisis called the South East Asian Haze, which was thought to be caused by slash
and burn techniques. Forested land was being targeted for burning in areas of Indonesia,
which led to a haze that affected the air quality of numerous nearby countries. Singapore
reached its record level for air pollution during this time.
Trees also absorb carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. By reducing the number of trees in the
world we are increasing the carbon dioxide level, thought to be a major cause of climate
change.

Loss of homes
Trees are home to a huge variety of wildlife and there are also many human communities
who live in forests and rely on them for their way of life. The destruction of rainforests has
been seen to cause particularly acute issues for wildlife and tribal communities.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE SOLUTIONS TO

DEFORESTATION?
Sustainable practices
One solution to the issue of deforestation is the widespread use of more sustainable practices
for cutting down the forests. Sustainability means having a balance within a system so it can
last into the future. By replanting trees after others have been cut down and not clear-cutting

31
huge areas, there is more chance of a manageable solution to this issue.

Targeting illegal logging

A key issue with deforestation is illegal logging. This is logging of trees that has not been
allowed or sanctioned by a particular government. People do this to make quick profits
without considering the environmental implications. This issue can be addressed by raising
awareness of these practices and using certification to demonstrate that trees sold
commercially have been cut down legally.

Reforestation
Another solution to deforestation is reforestation. That is, simply put, the replanting of trees
on a large scale. This is designed to improve the atmosphere, to improve environments and to
provide additional resources. It is also a technique to help to stop the spread of deserts. The
Great Green Wall in the Sahara desert region of Africa, and the Green Wall of China are
projects designed for this exact purpose. Some countries make reforestation a legal
requirement to constantly improve the environment. There are also non-governmental
organizations working at reforestation; one example of this is the Million Tree Project, which
is part of the organization Roots and Shoots.

32
33
Greening of urban areas
Many urban areas have parks within them, which make a big difference to the overall quality
of the environment within the particular area. Governments can choose to plant more trees in
urban areas to improve the environment. Innovative designs can be used to bring trees and
greenery into unusual locations. For example, in New York City, the High Line Urban Park is
a disused elevated railway line that has been converted into a green space. In Singapore,
designers have pioneered vertical gardens, where greenery is grown up the side of buildings
to improve the environment and bring about a range of benefits.

ACTIVITY: Deforestation

ATL
Information literacy skills – Present information in a variety of formats and

34
platforms

1 Copy and complete the following table.

List the reasons why Explain the Reflect on the

deforestation is a consequences of possible solutions
global issue. deforestation. to this issue.

The command terms for this task are highlighted below.

List – Give a sequence of brief answers with no explanation.
Explain – Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Reflect – Think about deeply; consider.
Definitions from IB MYB Individuals and societies guide, 2014

2 Design an infographic about deforestation. The infographic should use visuals to

represent different facts about this global issue. The infographic could include the
following:
• causes of deforestation
• consequences to the environment and people
• possible solutions.

Assessment opportunities:
In this activity you have practised skills that are assessed using Criterion A:
Knowing and understanding and Criterion C: Communicating.

What are human rights?

35
THINK–PAIR–SHARE
What do you understand by the term ‘human rights’?
Discuss the different messages of the quotations in Figure 1.16.

In the late 1940s, the world was still recovering from the extremities of the Second World
War. The war had led to the death of many millions and had made the world more aware of
the need for peace, cooperation and better rights and conditions for people. One of the
organizations created as a result of the conflict was the United Nations (UN). The UN is an
international organization committed to promoting peace, tolerance and cooperation among
people across the world. One of the early developments of the UN was to publish a statement

36
known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This was presented in 1948 and is
viewed by many as a foundation for how people should expect to be treated across the world.
Subsequently, it is often referred to when considering the topic of human rights.

ACTIVITY: Human rights cartoon strip

ATL
Creative-thinking skills – Create original works and ideas; use existing works and
ideas in new ways

Create a cartoon strip based on one of the rights from the list (Figure 1.17). The
cartoon strip should summarize, through a story with characters, an example of
one of the rights being broken and should explain the features of the particular
right.

What are some of the human rights issues

facing children?
Unfortunately, there are still a range of human rights issues across the world that affect
people in different ways. One group that is particularly at threat is children. Children can

37
often be seen to be more at risk from human rights abuses as they are more vulnerable
members of society. In many parts of the world, children are employed to work in factories or
on farms, often having to work for hours on end without free time to play with friends or rest.
Issues with child labour tend to be worse in poorer countries where children are often relied
on to bring income into a household. They may be helping their parents by working on farms,
or collecting food and water from different areas.
Some children are even recruited to work as soldiers and face very difficult conditions.
Despite international efforts to reduce this practice, there are still children working as
soldiers. Often they are trained to kill and may experience violence towards themselves
including torture and sexual abuse.
There are multiple organizations working to raise awareness of the conditions facing children
around the world. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF),
for instance, is committed to working to improve human rights and conditions for children
globally. Conditions for children can suddenly worsen if a war or natural disaster strikes.
Children can often be left displaced, without a home or sometimes without parents. This puts
them at high risk in particular societies.

SOURCE A
Myint Khine, aged 17, speaking about his experiences as a child soldier in Myanmar
‘“They put me in a pitch black cell, scraped my shins and electrocuted me… they tied
me up and electrocuted my legs and if that did not work, they would scrape my legs
again.
“They would then force me to kneel on broken glass with my arms in an airplane
position. The worst thing is that they would beat me with a stick after this… until I fell
unconscious.
“They would shove a huge piece of fish and chili paste in my mouth and I had to hold
it… I wanted to commit suicide. I just wanted to die.”
‘Myint Khine claims he was forced to serve in the state armed forces by recruitment
officials, who used his father’s politically active background as a threat against him
and his family. He said that prior to being conscripted he was detained and severely
tortured for six months because of his family background. He was made to serve in
the army despite his poor eyesight and chronic health problems.’

EXTENSION
Do some research into the work of UNICEF and explore the different issues that it
is campaigning for. Investigate the ways in which you can make a difference.

SOURCE B

38
ACTIVITY: Source investigation

ATL
Information literacy skills – Access information to be informed and inform others

1 According to Source A and Source C, what are some of the difficulties

experienced by Myint and Alejandra?
2 Look at the graph in Figure 1.18. What information does the graph give us? Why
may poorer (or developing) countries be more likely to have higher levels of child
labour?

39
SOURCE C
Description of a child worker’s typical day collecting molluscs from a swamp in El
Salvador
‘Twelve-year-old Alejandra is woken up at four in the morning by her father, Don
José. She does not go to school, but goes to collect curiles, small molluscs in the
mangrove swamps on the island of Espiritu Santo in Usulutan, El Salvador.
‘In the rush to get to work, Alejandra does not take time to eat breakfast. It is more
important to make sure she has the things she needs to make it through a workday
that can mean spending up to 14 hours in the mud. These items include about a
dozen cigars and at least four pills to keep her from falling asleep. A good part of the
money that she earns goes to buy these things.
‘In the mangrove swamp without shoes, Alejandra has to face bad weather, mosquito
bites and cuts and scrapes from having to pull the curiles out from deep in the mud.
The cigars help to repel the mosquitoes, but when she runs out of cigars Alejandra
has to put up with the insects as she moves from branch to branch and from one
area to another in search of shells. When she returns from work, her body is nearly
always covered with bites.
‘She earns very little. If she is lucky in one day Alejandra manages to collect two
baskets of curiles (150 shells), worth little more than 12 colones, or $1.40. Alejandra,
who has seven younger brothers and sisters, has no time to go to school or play with
other children. Anyway, she prefers not to play with other children because they say
she smells bad and exclude her from their games for being a curiles worker. Little by
little Alejandra has lost her self-esteem. Like the other children who work collecting
curiles, she feels separate from the rest of society. For Alejandra, life seems like a
tunnel with no exit.’

CASE STUDY – THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL

GOALS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
In September 2015, the UN launched the Global Goals, a set of targets for the world over the
next 15 years (Figure 1.19). The aims of these goals include ending extreme poverty, tackling
climate change and getting rid of inequality.
Although launched by an international organization, the only way that these goals can be
successful is if there is action by individuals, organizations and governments around the
world to commit to these practices.

40
EXTENSION
What is the role of international organizations in tackling global issues?

Take action
Create a class project on ‘The Global Goals’. Consider how you could support the
goals in different ways in your school or local community. Resources to help with
this can be accessed by searching for global goals using an internet search
engine.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: Presentation on an issue

facing your local community

ATL
• Communication skills – Use a variety of speaking techniques to communicate
with a variety of audiences
• Critical-thinking skills – Gather and organize relevant information to formulate an
argument

Create a presentation on an issue in your local community. Think about some of the
issues facing your local area; it could be environmental or it could be to do with
people. Within your presentation, clearly identify what the issue is.
Steps for completing the task:
1 Identify the issue (think about your local area, talk to your family and friends to
identify an issue that you think needs attention).

41
 2 Research the issue (start to take notes on why you think it is an issue, think
about the causes and consequences).
3 Collect evidence (this could be photographs, interviews with members of your
community, secondary research through online sources or books).
4 Create your presentation (remember to include evidence to support your
points. Keep it visual to engage your audience).
5 Present your work to your teacher and peers.
Examples of issues in a local community that you could you focus on:
• litter problem and recycling schemes
• beach clean-ups
• school environments
• healthy eating
• facilities for disabled people
• conditions for the elderly
• prejudice and/or discrimination in your community
• pollution problems, traffic.

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion B: Investigating (strands iii and iv)
and Criterion C: Communicating (strands i and ii).

Creating a questionnaire
Questionnaires are extremely useful for gathering evidence that you can use in
different assignments. Creating a questionnaire usually involves writing up a list of
questions that are answered by a cross section of people. This task is a good
opportunity to practise creating questionnaires to find out about conditions in your
local community.
Hints for creating questionnaires
• Try to include different types of questions.
• Try to sample a relatively large number of people.
• Try to sample people of different ages.
• Think about the quality of your questions.
Different types of questions – qualitative and quantitative
Qualitative questions are open-ended questions where the person answering can
say what they think in answer to the question. For instance:
What do you think are the issues facing our local community?
or
Write down five words to describe your personality.
They are not looking for a fixed response.
Quantitative questions, on the other hand, are questions that ask for a specific
response that can be measured and subsequently turned into a graph. For
instance:

42
 Please rate our local community’s recycling schemes from 1 to 5.
1 Excellent 2 Good 3 Satisfactory 4 Poor 5 Very poor
or
How often do you recycle your household waste? Circle the response that best
fits.
Always Often Sometimes Rarely
By thinking about the quality and type of the questions that are written,
questionnaires can be a great way of collecting evidence in Individuals and
Societies.

REFLECTION: How can individuals make a difference to

others?
Create a mind map to answer the question ‘How can individuals make a difference
to others?’ Think about a range of different ways that individuals can take action.
Once you have completed your mind map, share your ideas with others in your
class.

Take action
Create a simulation role play based on a human rights issue. Put this together as a
drama production to show to your school community to raise awareness of the
human rights issue.

Reflection
As we have seen, there are many issues affecting people and the planet that we live on. There
are solutions to promote positive change, but for this to happen individuals are required to
take action and to view themselves as global citizens.

43
44
Time, place and space
Perspective; Scale
Orientation in space and time

2 How can maps provide us with a

sense of time, place and space?
Maps provide insights into time, place and space and show how the
world has changed over time, but they can be affected by different
perspectives.

IN THIS CHAPTER, WE WILL …

• Find out about the different uses of maps, as well as how they can be affected by
a specific perspective.
• Explore different examples of maps and how to use them.
• Take action by considering the ways that maps can communicate important
information.

CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:

45
Factual: What are maps? What are the different types of maps? What are the
different features of maps and how can we use them? How is height represented on
a map?
Conceptual: How do maps help us to understand time, place and space?
Debatable: Can we always trust maps?
Now share and compare your thoughts and ideas with your partner, or with the
whole class.

These Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills will be useful …

• Communication skills
• Creative-thinking skills
• Critical-thinking skills
• Information literacy skills
• Reflection skills

KEY WORDS
cartography
contour lines
grid references
scale
topographic

We will reflect on this learner profile attribute …

Knowledgeable – developing understanding of mapping by exploring different types
of maps and how to use them.

Assessment opportunities in this chapter:

• Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
• Criterion B: Investigating
• Criterion C: Communicating
• Criterion D: Thinking critically

THINK–PAIR–SHARE
In pairs, write down your own definition of a map, and then try to think of as many
different uses of maps as you can. Share your ideas. When was the last time you
used a map?

46
What are maps?
Maps are visual representations of specific areas; they come in many different forms, shapes
and sizes. They are used to communicate information about the location and look of the
different things within that specific area. Maps can be very useful to help to gain a sense of
direction and size and to understand the different features that might be in that particular area.
They can also be used to communicate a specific feature of a location such as population size
or the amount of natural resources available.
The study of maps and the work involved in creating them is known as cartography, and
people who make maps are called cartographers. In this chapter we will explore examples of
different maps and how to use them as well as how maps can be affected by specific
perspectives.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MAPS?

As mentioned above, there are many different types of maps. Figure 2.3 shows a selection of
different types of maps that you might come across in daily life (see pages 32–33).

ACTIVITY: Different types of maps

47
ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Revise understanding based on new information and
evidence

1 Use the information in Figure 2.3 to work out which type of map you would need
to find out the information in the following scenarios:
a The route for a motorist to drive from Rome to Florence in Italy.
b The capital cities of Europe.
c Aerial footage of the shape and size of Africa.
d The different features of the outback in Australia.
e The comparative population sizes of countries in South East Asia.
f The height of the Rocky Mountains in the USA.
2 Look at the map in Figure 2.4. Answer these questions:
a What information does this map give us?
b Who would find this map useful and why?
c Does this map have any limitations?

EXTENSION
Explore these interactive and digital maps:
http://lotrproject.com/map/#zoom=3&lat=-1334&lon=1500&layers=BTTTTT
www.bl.uk/magnificentmaps/map4.html

DISCUSS
When was the last time you used a map?

48
49
EXTENSION
Research other types of maps not mentioned in the chapter; for example,
geological, historical and weather maps.

How do we use maps?

Maps have a range of features that help us to understand how they work and how to use them.
The following features are common to most maps.

DIRECTION
Direction or orientation is usually represented on a map by the use of a compass rose. This
shows the directions in real life on the map. The directional points on a compass rose are
called cardinal points and are north, south, east and west, represented as N, S, E, W.

ACTIVITY: Direction

50
ATL
Communication skills – Use and interpret a range of discipline-specific terms and
symbols

Using the compass rose and Figure 2.5, answer the following questions.
1 If Poppy travels to Fraser’s house, in what direction does she travel?
2 If Sebastian travels to Poppy’s house, in what direction does he travel?
3 If Fraser travels to Sebastian’s house, in what direction does he travel?
4 If Wendy travels first to Sebastian’s house and then travels to Fraser’s house, in
which two directions will she have travelled?

Using a compass
When reading a map, a physical compass can be used to correlate the direction in
the map to real life. Compasses, as well as being equipped with cardinal points, are
also numbered from 0 to 360 degrees.

51
 North = 0 degrees South = 180 degrees
East = 90 degrees West = 270 degrees
Some compasses show eight points including north-east (NE), south-east (SE),
south-west (SW) and north-west (NW). This allows you to be more accurate when
describing direction.
Compasses that are used with maps have a magnetic needle that points to
magnetic north. This means that when out hiking or orienteering in the countryside,
you can use a map and a compass to find the direction in which you need to travel.
Search How to use a baseplate compass for more information on using a
compass.

SCALE
Scale is very important when reading a map; it allows you to understand the size of a
particular area in real life. The scale tells you the level of reduction that the map shows in
comparison to real life. Scale is often represented in linear form. This type of scale depicts
the real-world distance along a line.

Scale can also be represented as a written sentence or a ratio. For instance:

1 cm represents 2 km (1:200 000)
or

52
 1 cm represents 500 m (1:50 000)
When working out the actual distance from a map you need to use a ruler to measure the
distance between places on the map and then use the scale to calculate the actual distance on
the ground.

ACTIVITY: Getting to know scale

ATL
Communication skills – Understand and use mathematical notation

Using Figure 2.8, answer the following questions.

1 What is the actual distance between the TV and the sofa?
2 What is the actual distance between the door and the table?
3 What is the surface area of the table?
4 Write out the scale of this diagram in a) linear form and b) ratio form.
5 Create your own scale drawing of a room in your home or your classroom. Make
sure you include an appropriate scale.

Links to: Maths and design

As well as being extremely useful for creating maps, scale is also used in modelling
and architecture. Scaled-down models allow designers to test out different versions

53
of their products to see if they will work in reality. Think about a practical scale you
would need to use in order to create scaled-down models of the following: an
airplane, a skyscraper and a boat.

ACTIVITY: Symbols on a map

ATL
Information literacy skills – Present information in a variety of formats and
platforms

1 Look at the symbols in Figure 2.9. What do you think they would represent on a
map?

2 Imagine you are creating a map of your school. Think of five things that would
need to be represented as a symbol on the map. Draw the symbols and write
what they represent.

SYMBOLS
Maps contain symbols to represent different things. The symbols are placed together in a key
to show their different meanings. A wide variety of things are represented in this way.

GRID REFERENCES
Grid references refer to a specific position on a map. They can be usually written as either a
four-figure grid reference or a six-figure grid reference.
Four-figure grid references are worked out by first locating the object along the horizontal
axis, and second along the vertical axis. Consequently, in Figure 2.10, the four-figure grid
reference for the letter P would be 1202. The 12 is from the horizontal axis and the 02 is from
the vertical axis. One way to remember how to work out four-figure grid references is the
analogy of first going into the house and then up the stairs: walk along the horizontal axis
first and then up the vertical axis.
Six-figure grid references are a little bit more complicated. To do this, we need to imagine
that each box is divided into ten parts. Once again, we go along the horizontal axis first and
then up the vertical axis. In Figure 2.11, therefore, S would have a six-figure grid reference of
124007.

54
DISCUSS
What are the four-figure and six-figure grid references for Q and R in Figure 2.10?

ACTIVITY: Island getaway

55
ATL
Information literacy skills – Make connections between various sources of
information

Look at the map (Figure 2.12) and answer the following questions.
1 In what direction would you be travelling if you travelled from Anchor Town to
Bridge Town?
2 What is the four-figure grid reference of the beach resort near North Point?
3 What is the four-figure grid reference of the port on Quiet Island?
4 If you travelled by train from North Point to Miller’s Junction, in which two
directions would you be travelling?
5 What is the six-figure grid reference of a) the campsite by Castle Point; b) the
port at Anchor Town; c) the supermarket at Miller’s Junction; d) Thistle Head
railway station?
6 What is the actual (shortest) distance between the port at Anchor Town and the
port on Quiet Island?
7 By rail, how far would you travel if you took the most direct route between
Woolsdon and Bridge Town?
8 Write out the scale for this map as a ratio.

56
How is height represented on a map?
THINK–PAIR–SHARE
Imagine you are planning an expedition to climb Mount Everest, the highest
mountain in the world. What sort of information would you need from your map to
help you to plan the expedition? What else do you think you would need to take?

Physical and topographic maps provide greater detail on the actual shape of the land
represented by showing information about different physical features in a landscape such as
rivers, mountains and the coastline. The maps also show the relative height above sea level of
features.
One of the most common ways that height is represented on a map is through the use of
contour lines. These lines are used to indicate areas of land that have the same height.
Contour lines give us a clear indication of how steep or how flat land is in a particular area;
this variation in the height of the land is known as relief. For instance, areas on a map with
numerous contour lines close together are a clear indication of steep slopes, whereas an area
of a map with relatively few contour lines is likely to be more flat. The distance between the
contour lines is called the contour interval and this will be the same for the whole map.
As well as elevation, contour lines can be used to measure depth, and they can be used on
oceanic maps, which chart the depths of the seabed.

57
58
THINK–PAIR–SHARE
Why might some people want to create maps to show the depths of the seas and
oceans?

ACTIVITY: How is height represented on a map?

ATL
Communication skills – Use and interpret a range of discipline-specific terms and
symbols

59
60
Study the photograph (Figure 2.16a) and the map (Figure 2.16b) and then answer
the following questions.
1 Match up the cross sections to the contour maps in Figure 2.15.
2 Using the details on the photograph, pinpoint on the map where you would be
standing if you took this photograph.
3 Using the map, plan a hike from Wilkinsyke Farm to Honnister Crag. Describe
the route and terrain you are likely to come across as you complete the hike.

61
How can maps help us to understand
time, place and space?
Maps provide a range of insights into different locations and they can deepen our
understanding of time, place and space.

TIME
• Historic maps can help us to see what locations would have looked like at different times in
the past. For instance, a map of London in the 1920s would look significantly different
from a contemporary map.
• Maps can also be created of future planned developments; for example, a map of a new

62
 city. Therefore, maps can also help us to visualize something before it exists.

PLACE
• Maps give a detailed understanding of place by showing the different features of the
location.
• These features can include the land use, buildings and natural features.
• The use of a key on a map provides a range of details about the place that can be quickly
understood; for instance, the number of restaurants in a town.

SPACE
• Maps also provide an insight into space through the use of scale, direction and elevation.
• Scale allows the reader of the map to be able to interpret the map to understand the actual
distance on the ground.
• Direction allows the reader of the map to understand the orientation of certain features in a
location or in which direction to travel to get from one place to another.
• The elevation provides an insight into the land height as well as other physical features
such as the height above sea level, or the amount of flat land.

ACTIVITY: Hypothetical maps

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

1 Consider the following hypothetical maps. For each map write down what it could
tell us about time, place and space.
a A political map of Qing Dynasty China in the nineteenth century.
b An architect’s designs and map of a new suburb planned to be built on the
outskirts of Cape Town in South Africa.
c A detailed physical and topographic map of Yellowstone National Park in the
USA.
2 How do you think the following people would use maps as part of their work: a) a
geologist; b) a historian; c) a taxi driver; d) a government official; e) a police
officer?

Bias
Bias is a term used to describe information that seems to take a particular side or
viewpoint. For instance, a newspaper may be biased towards a particular political
viewpoint and always portray issues through that opinion.
Maps are less likely to have bias but may be affected by a variety of factors during
their creation; for example, the information available; the purpose of the map; any
political considerations. Maps sometimes have to show disputed borders between
nations; this is often a problem for cartographers. However, it is important to
remember that biased sources of information are still very useful and they can

63
provide an important insight into a particular viewpoint.

Can we always trust maps?

Despite their varied uses in everyday life, maps can be affected by a range of perspectives.
This means at times we need to consider their representation carefully.
An example of this can be found in the debate between the Mercator and Gall-Peters world
maps. Both versions are of the world stretched out in a two-dimensional (2D) format. Given
the fact that the Earth is a sphere (3D) not 2D, it means that there are some inevitable
inaccuracies. The Mercator, the more widely used approach, dates back to the work of the
Flemish cartographer Geradus Mercator in the late sixteenth century. He sought to map the
world, especially with the intention of helping people to navigate the seas for exploration and
trade.
The Gall-Peters projection is attributed to both the early work of James Gall in the mid-
nineteenth century and Arno Peters in the late 1960s. This map projection offered a version of
the world where the actual sizes of places in the world are directly proportional to their sizes
on the map. This made it more convincing to some people given the inaccuracies of the
Mercator projection, such as the distorted size of the polar regions.
The Mercator versus Gall-Peters debate raises an important point about how maps can present
a particular perspective or world view. Maps can also be affected by political issues or
disputes; for example, disputed borders between two or more countries. Disputes of this
nature make it difficult to construct accurate political maps as the borders can change over
time. Maps can also be created to suit a nation’s interests so may be less accurate in terms of
the information that is presented.

64
65
DISCUSS
Look at the two maps (Figures 2.17 and 2.18). In pairs, list of the some of the
similarities and differences between the two maps. Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of each projection.

SOURCE A

66
SOURCE B
Extract about borders from National Geographic magazine
‘A border is a real or artificial line that separates geographic areas. Borders are
political boundaries. They separate countries, states, provinces, counties, cities, and
towns. A border outlines the area that a particular governing body controls. The
government of a region can only create and enforce laws within its borders.
‘Borders change over time. Sometimes the people in one region take over another
area through violence. Other times, land is traded or sold peacefully. Many times,
land is parceled out after a war through international agreements.
‘Sometimes, borders fall along natural boundaries like rivers or mountain ranges. For
example, the boundary between France and Spain follows the crest of the Pyrenees
mountains. For part of its length, the boundary between the United States and
Mexico follows a river called the Rio Grande. The borders of four countries divide
Africa’s Lake Chad: Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria.’

SOURCE C

67
ACTIVITY: Can we always trust maps?

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

1 Study Source A carefully. What does the map tell us? Why might this information
be useful to people? Can you think of any limitations of this map?
2 According to Source B, what are some of the reasons why borders change over
time? What issues might this bring about when using or making maps?
3 What does Source C suggest about the ways that maps can be used to explore
historical time periods and events?
4 Using the sources and your own knowledge, write a detailed response to the
following question: ‘Can we always trust maps?’

Assessment opportunities:

68
This activity can be assessed using Criterion D: Thinking critically (strands i and ii).

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: Design a fictional map and

written reflection

ATL
• Creative-thinking skills – Create original works and ideas; use existing works and
ideas in new ways
• Reflection skills – Develop new skills, techniques and strategies for effective
learning

PART ONE
For this assessment task you will need to demonstrate your understanding of
mapping by creating your own fictional map. You can be creative with the design of
your map but you need to use a range of conventions within your map to
demonstrate your understanding.
Your map needs to include the following features:
• a title
• a scale
• direction
• a key for the symbols on the map
• grid references
• physical features (eg rivers, mountains).
Spend some time researching examples of fictional maps in works of literature (for
example, the Lord of the Rings books) to give you an idea of how you can use your
imagination to create a really interesting map. Make sure you plan the design of
your map carefully by drawing rough sketches before you complete it properly. Your
map could be drawn by hand or created using a computer. Ensure that the quality
of presentation and accuracy is high before you submit it.

Links to: Language and literature

The map could be used as a basis for a piece of creative writing where the places
constructed in the map are brought to life in a story.

PART TWO
Produce a written reflection of the process of designing and creating the map. Think
about the following questions:
• What ideas did you have and why did you decide on this design?
• What went well?
• What didn’t go as planned?

69
• What would you do differently next time?

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
(strands i and ii), Criterion B: Investigating (strand iv) and Criterion C:
Communicating (strands i and ii).

Reflection
In this chapter, we have explored a range of different types of maps as well as the different
ways in which they can be used. These skills help us to recognize the importance of maps and
how they can provide an insight into time, place and space. It is important to remember that
maps may be affected by a particular perspective, but that does not necessarily affect their
value as a source of information.

70
Time, place and space
Significance; Innovation; Revolution
Scientific and technical innovation

3 What can we learn from different

civilizations?
Civilizations have developed at different times and locations bringing
about change and innovation that often influence how we view them
today.

71
IN THIS CHAPTER, WE WILL …
• Find out about different civilizations that emerged at different times in history.
• Explore the factors that led to the development and innovations of different
civilizations.
• Take action by finding out ways that historical sites and artefacts can be

72
 protected for the future.

CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:

Factual: What were the achievements of the Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations?
What were the major contributions of the Greek civilization? How did the Roman
civilization change over time? What has been the legacy of the Roman civilization?
What were the features of the Maya and Inca civilizations?
Conceptual: How can we find out about the past? What is a civilization? What
factors led to the emergence and achievements of different civilizations?
Debatable: Is it possible to ever know the past?
Now share and compare your thoughts and ideas with your partner, or with the
whole class.

These Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills will be useful …

• Communication skills
• Creative-thinking skills
• Critical-thinking skills
• Information literacy skills
• Reflection skills

KEY WORDS
civilization
governance
hieroglyphics
philosophy
public health
democracy

We will reflect on this learner profile attribute …

Inquirer – inquiring into examples of different historic civilizations and developing
our own ideas and understanding about their significance.

Assessment opportunities in this chapter:

• Criterion A: Knowledge and understanding
• Criterion C: Communicating
• Criterion D: Thinking critically

73
ACTIVITY: Historical treasures

ATL
Creative-thinking skills – Use brainstorming and visual diagrams to generate new
ideas and inquiries

In pairs, look through the following list of famous historical sites in the world:
• Pyramids at Giza, Egypt
• Machu Picchu, Peru
• Great Wall of China
• Coliseum, Italy
• Petra, Jordan
• Angkor Wat, Cambodia
• Stonehenge, UK
• Parthenon, Greece
• Taj Mahal, India
• Tikal, Guatemala
Discuss the following questions: How many have you heard of? Why do you think
they are famous? What do they suggest about different societies in the past? Why
could it be useful to learn about past societies and civilizations?

The achievements of past civilizations can be seen in the various artefacts and historical sites
left in the world today that provide a window into their world. From the pyramids of Ancient
Egypt through to the network of roads built by the Roman Empire, these remains help us to
understand what life would have been like in different societies many years ago. This chapter
will allow us to explore different examples of civilizations that have emerged in the past,
looking at the factors that helped them to develop as well as their different achievements.

How can we find out about the past?

Before exploring examples of ancient civilizations it is worth taking the time to consider the
ways in which we can find out about the past. The study of history involves the interpretation
of the evidence that remains of the past. This evidence can come in many different forms; for
instance, the ruins of an Ancient Roman city could provide a range of clues about the way of
life for people living at that time, as well as architectural styles, systems of government, art,
religion and more. Taking a more modern example, a newspaper from the time of the First
World War would provide a range of information we could use to gain a better understanding
of the war and how it was reported.
Historical sources are often divided into the categories of primary and secondary sources.
Primary sources are typically produced at the time of an event or are artefacts from the time.
Secondary sources are usually produced later than the event, and usually involve some form
of account or interpretation of something that happened in the past. People who study history
for a living are called historians and they are concerned with the different ways in which we
can understand past societies from gathering evidence and making interpretations.

74
Table 3.1

Examples of primary sources Examples of secondary

sources

Newspapers Books on history

Diaries School textbooks
Photographs Journals and academic
articles
Artefacts (for example, coins, pottery,
jewelry, clothing) Biographies
Letters Magazines
Art, music Websites

WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT?

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

Consider the following primary sources and their descriptions and then copy and
complete a table like the one shown.

SOURCE A

75
SOURCE B

SOURCE C

76
 What is going on? What makes you say
What is your that?
interpretation of the Provide an explanation of
source? What claims your point of view. Refer
can you make about the to details in the source or
SOURCE source? your own ideas.
A: Coin
from
Ancient
Rome
B: Cave
painting
from
prehistoric
times
C:
Terracotta
77
 Warriors
from
Dynastic
China

DISCUSS
1 If someone from the future wanted to find out about life in the twenty-first century,
what sources would you suggest they use?
2 If you created a time capsule to represent your own life, what items would you
include? Think about the information each item would provide to someone in the
future.

DISCUSS
‘It is impossible to write ancient history because we do not have enough sources
and impossible to write modern history because we have far too many.’
Charles Pierre Peguy
What do you think would be the challenges of studying history if you had access to
a) too few sources, or b) too many sources?

The study of history is also affected by interpretation. People can interpret the same events
in different ways, leading to differences of opinion. These differences of opinion are
sometimes called perspectives. It is a very useful skill to be able to recognize some of these
differences in order to understand the perspective of the writer or historian. For example,
when a war breaks out there are often different interpretations of who is to blame or why it
happened. These different interpretations can be influenced by a range of factors, including
the evidence that the historian has access to or perhaps his or her own personal political
opinion.
When studying ancient history, there is a further challenge to finding out about the past – the
availability of sources. Many of these civilizations all but disappeared many years ago and
the preservation of the evidence from this time is not easy to maintain. Much of the remaining
artefacts from ancient civilizations are looked after in museums around the world or have
stayed in the same place in a specific location that is looked after by an organization. Some of
the evidence of these past societies has been destroyed through the effects of natural disasters,
conquest and wars, adding further challenges to the unlocking of their secrets.

78
WHAT IS A CIVILIZATION?
Civilization is a term used to refer to an advanced society at a particular time period in
history. Civilizations developed from earlier hunter-gatherer societies to be more centrally
controlled and organized and, therefore, more complex. The main reason why this change
happened was because of advances in farming techniques that allowed greater levels of
production. This meant that people could focus on a wider range of other jobs. Work
diversified to include builders, craft workers and religious and governmental positions. This
led to the development of power structures and the development of city states, often with
impressive buildings and specific cultural and belief systems.
One problem with using the term civilization is that there are many different ways we could
interpret ‘advanced’ society, which may be down to our individual perspective.
Consequently, that can lead us to view other societies at the time as uncivilized or primitive.
The term barbarian has often been used to describe non-civilized people but at times this can
be misleading.

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RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
Many of the earliest examples of civilizations had one thing in common: they developed
close to rivers. This was because being close to a river brought natural advantages. As well as
a source of water, land close to rivers tended to be more fertile for farming. River floods
would further increase the fertility of land close by. Rivers were also useful for
transportation.

What were the achievements of the

Sumerian civilization?
The country of Iraq in the Middle East has experienced significant conflict in recent years
that has created numerous global issues. The area of land that Iraq occupies used to be known
as Mesopotamia and was the location of the development of a number of ancient civilizations
including the Sumerians, the Babylonians and the Assyrians.
Mesopotamia means ‘between two rivers’. It was the area of land between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers. Due to these rivers, Mesopotamia was also in an area referred to as the
‘fertile crescent’ – an arc of land from Egypt through to Mesopotamia that had favourable

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conditions for farming. Owing to these natural advantages, many of the earliest human
civilizations developed in this area.

HOW THE CIVILIZATION DEVELOPED

The Sumerian civilization developed towards the south of Mesopotamia and was established
in the region of Sumer, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. These rivers aided the
development of the Sumerian civilization because their flooding, as well as the creation of
canals and use of irrigation techniques, increased the fertility of the land for farming. This
allowed people to progress from a hunter-gatherer society to a more advanced structure.
As a result of the increased amount of food produced in the area, people could start to
specialize in other forms of work such as handicrafts, pottery and construction. Consequently,
the Sumerians were able to construct more permanent settlements to aid the development of
their civilization.
These settlements developed in the form of city states. Each city state was dedicated to a
different god and although they were all part of Sumer, they occasionally came into conflict
with each other. A central feature of the city state was the ziggurat, a pyramid structure that
was said to house the specific god that the population of the city state worshipped, and the
high priest would be based here. The ziggurats demonstrated the advances that the Sumerians
had made in terms of architecture. The city states were usually walled. As well as having a
specific god, each city state was ruled by an individual who was responsible for religious,
political, military and economic control over the society.
The Sumerians, as well as being regarded as the oldest example of human civilization, were
also responsible for a number of scientific and technical innovations that have subsequently
influenced human history.

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INNOVATIONS OF THE SUMERIANS
Writing
Sumerian writing involved the use of cuneiform. This is the use of symbols to represent
different things that are communicated. The writing of the Sumerians was usually recorded
on stone tablets by scribes whose job was to record the thoughts and sayings of the ensí
(ruler) in a particular city state.

Farming
Developments in farming aided the development of the Sumerian civilization. Of particular
note was the irrigation technique of using canals to channel the water around. A challenge
faced by the Sumerians was the unpredictable flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates that often
created problems for farming.

The wheel
Although disputed, many historians and archeologists claim that the Sumerians were the first
to develop the wheel. It is thought that they used the wheel on chariots that were an early
form of transport.

Numbers
The Sumerians also developed a number system primarily based around the number 60 (as
opposed to our present system based around the number 10). This led to the development of
60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle, which are used today.

Building
Buildings were constructed in the Sumerian city states and perhaps the best known were the
ziggurats, pyramid structures with flat roofs. They were usually built with sun-dried mud
bricks that were ideal for the construction of ziggurats.

Bronze
The Sumerians were also noted for their use of bronze in the creation of different tools and
weaponry. This was a sign of their advanced nature as a civilization.
The Sumerian civilization was eventually overrun by other civilizations in the same area,
including the Babylonians and the Assyrians. However, the Sumerians continued to influence
other areas through the use of similar language, customs and technological advances.

What other civilizations flourished in

Mesopotamia?
The Epic of Gilgamesh

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Regarded as the oldest work of literature in the world, the Epic of Gilgamesh is a
collection of poems dating back to 2100BCE about an ancient Sumerian king,
Gilgamesh. It tells the story of the king doing battle with Enkida, a wild man sent by
the gods to teach Gilgamesh a lesson for repressing the people of the city state of
Uruk. After the battle, Gilgamesh and Enkida become close friends and have a
variety of adventures together. Enkida is later killed by the gods and Gilgamesh,
traumatized by this loss, seeks to find answers to some of life’s questions.

The Sumerians were not the only civilization to flourish in the region of Mesopotamia. Other
examples include the Babylonians and Assyrians. You may have heard of the Babylonian
Empire through references to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of
the ancient world, and the famous ruler, King Hammurabi, who developed a law code.
Hammurabi’s code records 282 laws that were enacted in the region at the time, including the
law ‘an eye for an eye’. Many of the laws provided very harsh punishments if broken but also
introduced the concept of innocent until proven guilty, an important feature of modern legal
systems.

REFLECTION
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What were some of the key achievements of the Sumerians? What else would you
like to know about their civilization?

What were the achievements of the

Egyptian civilizations?
The ancient Egyptian civilizations were in existence for more than 3,000 years, occupying the
same area as that of the modern nation of Egypt.
Ancient Egypt did not consist of one continuous civilization; there were a number of different
kingdoms which divided this time period:
• the Old Kingdom (2649–2151BCE),
• the Middle Kingdom (2040–1630BCE) and

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• the New Kingdom (1550–1070BCE).
The years between these kingdoms were known as intermediate periods.

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION

Like the Sumerians, the Egyptian civilization developed due to the natural advantages of
rivers, in this case the Nile. The river Nile is the longest river in the world, flowing for around
6,700 km in the continent of Africa.
Back then, it provided many natural resources that helped the development of the Ancient
Egyptian civilization. It provided food, a source of transportation, deposits of mud used for
building materials and, most importantly, fertile soils on its banks. This fertile soil allowed
for the development of the civilization as different crops could be grown in abundance to help
establish more complex societies (Table 3.2).
Added to this, the Nile floods annually and this enabled wider areas of land surrounding the
river to become fertile for farming. The Egyptians developed irrigation techniques to aid this
process, including the diverting of water using channels.
Table 3.2 Crops grown by the Ancient Egyptians and their uses

Crops grown by the Ancient Egyptians Uses

Wheat Bread
Barley Beer
Flax Rope
Papyrus Paper and boats
Herbs Cooking and medicine
Henna Dye
Fruit and vegetables Food

CITIES
The Egyptian civilizations saw the development of cities, with Memphis, Alexandria and
Thebes being significant examples. These cities were ruled by pharaohs who were the
political, military and religious leaders of the time.
The pharaohs were concerned with how they would fare in the afterlife so had great tombs
built during their lifetime; when they were buried a vast assortment of treasures was buried
with them. The most famous example of this is the tomb of Tutankhamun, which was
discovered in 1922 by the archeologist Howard Carter.
Within the tomb, a variety of treasures were discovered that provided clues about the ancient
Egyptian civilization. The tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in an area of Egypt called
the Valley of Kings, where many other pharaohs were buried. Despite the sensational

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discovery, the actual significance of Tutankhamun to the Egyptian civilization is fairly
limited in comparison to other leaders.

SOURCE A

Extract from The Tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter (1923)

‘Slowly, desperately slowly it seemed to us as we watched, the remains of passage
debris that encumbered the lower part of the doorway were removed, until at last
we had the whole door clear before us. The decisive moment had arrived. With
trembling hands I made a tiny breach in the upper left hand corner. Darkness and
blank space, as far as an iron testing-rod could reach, showed that whatever lay
beyond was empty, and not filled like the passage we had just cleared. Candle tests
were applied as a precaution against possible foul gases, and then, widening the
hole a little, I inserted the candle and peered in, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn [Lord
Carnarvon’s daughter] and Callender [an assistant] standing anxiously beside me to
hear the verdict. At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber
causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to
the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals,
statues, and gold – everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment – an eternity it
must have seemed to the others standing by – I was struck dumb with amazement,
and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired
anxiously, “Can you see anything?” it was all I could do to get out the words, “Yes,
wonderful things.” Then widening the hole a little further, so that we both could see,
we inserted an electric torch.’

SOURCE B

SOURCE C

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Extract from ‘King Tut: The Pharaoh Returns!’, Smithsonian Magazine, June 2005
‘Widening the opening and shining a flashlight into the room, Carter and Carnarvon
saw effigies of a king, falconheaded figures, a golden throne, overturned chariots, a
gilded snake, and “gold—everywhere the glint of gold.” Carter later recalled that his
first impression was of uncovering “the property room of an opera of a vanished
civilization.”
‘Carter spent nearly three months photographing and clearing out the
antechamber’s objects alone. Then in mid-February 1923, after digging out the
blocked doorway to the burial chamber, he encountered what appeared to be a
solid wall of gold. This proved to be the outermost of four nested gilded wood
shrines, an imposing construction—17 feet long, 11 feet wide and 9 feet high,
embellished inside with scenes of winged goddesses, pharaohs and written spells—
that enclosed Tutankhamun’s yellow quartzite sarcophagus.’
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/king-tut-the-pharaoh-returns

ACTIVITY: Discovering Tutankhamun

ATL
Communication skills – Use appropriate forms of writing for different purposes and
audiences

Take on the role of a member of the archeological team that unearthed the tomb of
Tutankhamun using sources A–C. Write a letter to the museum that you work with
to explain your discovery and its potential significance.

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CONSTRUCTION
Perhaps the most iconic association with the Ancient Egyptians is that of the Great Sphinx
and pyramids at Giza, close to Cairo, built during the Old Kingdom. These structures help us
to understand how advanced the Ancient Egyptians were in terms of building, but it is still a
mystery how the pyramids were constructed given the lack of technology to lift such heavy
materials. It is thought that the pyramids were built, brick by brick, by slave labourers over
many years.

WRITING
The Ancient Egyptians also demonstrated advances in communication. A system of writing
called hieroglyphics was developed. Like the Sumerians, they used symbols to represent
different things. The hieroglyphs were recorded by scribes on papyrus reed (papyrus comes
from a plant and is a thick form of paper). Egyptologists have been able to translate these
hieroglyphics thanks to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in the late eighteenth century. This
stone, produced towards the end of the civilization, presents the same information in both
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Ancient Greek. Owing to the text being identical, experts
have been able to translate the meanings of the hieroglyphs.

REFLECTION: The achievements of the Sumerian and

Egyptian civilizations

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 ATL
Reflection skills – Consider content (What did I learn about today? What don’t I yet
understand? What questions do I have now?)

Think about what you have learned about the Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians
and copy and complete the table below.

MEDICINE
The Ancient Egyptians also made some advances in the field of medicine. The practice of
mummification led to a more developed understanding of human anatomy. Mummification
was the process for the preparation of dead bodies before they were put into a tomb. The
internal organs, apart from the heart, were removed and the body was embalmed, a process
that helped with the preservation of the body.
Owing to these technical procedures, the Ancient Egyptians were able to increase their
understanding of the human body. They also made connections between the river Nile and the
human body. They thought that the human body was full of channels and problems occurred
due to blockages, similar to the problems that would result if a channel of the river became
blocked up. The Ancient Egyptians also developed a range of surgical techniques that were
usually used to treat external problems. As well as this, there was also encouragement of a
healthy diet, largely thanks to the range of crops, fruits and vegetables they could grow on the
land surrounding the Nile.

What were the major contributions of

the Ancient Greek civilization?
The classical era or classic antiquity was a historic time period that saw the advancement of
civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea, most notably that of the Ancient Greek and
Ancient Roman civilizations. These civilizations introduced a wide variety of advances that
have made them significant in the development of history. The end of the classical era
coincided with the end of the Roman Empire, which marked the beginning of the Dark Ages
in Europe.
Ancient Greece during the classical era saw the development of mathematics, science,

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philosophy, medicine, the arts and politics. It is a widely held view that the Ancient Greek
civilization directed the development of civilization in the West.

DEMOCRACY
The Ancient Greeks lived in and around the area occupied by modern day Greece and the
civilization comprised a variety of city states of which Athens is perhaps the best known.
Athens was particularly advanced politically, and it was the first place in the world to
experiment with a system of democracy. Leaders of the city state were selected from a lottery
of eligible citizens: men who had completed military training and who were over the age of
30. Citizens also voted in favour of or against the laws that were introduced.
The number of eligible people who could vote was not a significant amount and excluded
women. Women, for the most part, had the status of second-class citizens in Ancient Greece.
Despite these limitations, Athens is thought of as the birthplace of democracy and then
became a model for subsequent forms of government that looked to represent the interests of
the people more fairly.

PHILOSOPHY
As well as the advances in politics, the Greeks were also responsible for many of the
developments in philosophy. Philosophy is the study of knowledge and it attempts to explain
different ways to live life and offers plenty of opportunity for deep reflection. Famous Greek
philosophers include Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, who all sought to ask questions about life
and made contributions that are widely studied today.

Sparta
As mentioned before, the Ancient Greek civilization was made up of city states, with
different features and rules. For example, the city state of Sparta was radically
different from that of Athens. Sparta was run as a warrior state where men were
judged on their ability to fight. Warriors from Sparta famously fought the Persian
Empire in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BCE. This famous battle has heightened
the historical reputation of the Spartans as fearless warriors who fought to the
death. Most accounts of the wars between the Greek and Persian civilizations were
from the Greek historian Herodotus. Later on, Sparta went to war against Athens in
the Peloponnesian war (431–404BCE).

ACTIVITY: Significant individuals of the Ancient Greek

civilization

ATL
Information literacy skills – Access information to be informed and inform others

Choose an example of a significant individual from Ancient Greece, either from this
chapter or from your own research, and create a 3–5 minute presentation about him
or her. Think about covering the following information in your presentation:
• background information about the individual

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• work and achievements
• significance and lasting impact.
Remember to include a bibliography of any sources you have used and pay
attention to the quality of your written and oral presentation; it should be clear and
well-organized.

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
(strands i and ii) and Criterion C: Communicating (strands i, ii and iii).

SIGNIFICANT INDIVIDUALS OF ANCIENT

GREECE
HERODOTUS – Regarded as the ‘father of history’, Herodotus was a historian who
recorded many accounts during his life. Most famous were his accounts of the
Persian wars fought between the Persian and Greek civilizations. His style of writing
often relied on entertaining stories about events.

PYTHAGORAS – A very familiar name in mathematics, Pythagoras was a

mathematician and philosopher who is associated with the theorem that the square
of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides of a
right-angled triangle. Pythagoras may be misattributed with this discovery.

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ARCHIMEDES – A scientist and mathematician, Archimedes made many
discoveries during his lifetime in the field of mathematics, science and engineering.
A famous example is the Archimedes screw, a hand-operated machine that is used
to transport water from a low level to an elevated level. This had particular benefits
in agriculture, for irrigation purposes.

HOMER – Author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer’s epic poems are classical
works of literature. The Iliad is set during the Trojan wars and tells the story of
Achilles, an immortal warrior, who had one weakness: his heel. The Odyssey is
about the ten-year journey of the central character, Odysseus, to return home after
the Trojan wars. During this time he does battle with the gods who feature
prominently in Homer’s work. The works of Homer mark the beginning of the
classical era.

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HIPPOCRATES – Often regarded as the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates
was influential in his search for natural explanations for medical conditions. In the
past, many medical conditions had been explained through the gods. The
Hippocratic Oath dates from this time and is a commitment by medical practitioners
to maintain ethical standards of protecting human life. Hippocrates’s influence can
still be seen to this day.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT – A political and military leader who was taught by
Aristotle, Alexander the Great was responsible for the expansion of the Greek
Empire across a wide swathe of territory stretching from Egypt to India. His military
tactics have been studied ever since.

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SOCRATES – A philosopher whose influence is still relevant today. His ideas have
influenced the development of political and legal systems in history. In addition, the
‘Socratic Method’, a critical-thinking approach to discussing issues continues to be
a widely used method of reaching conclusions and, moreover, asking questions.

ARISTOTLE – A philosopher, scientist and teacher, he wrote many books and

studied with Plato. He founded a school called the Lyceum. His contributions to
understanding happiness often focused on the ways that people could lead a good
life, which often involved finding a balance in their different behaviours.

94
EUCLID – A mathematician whose contribution to the development of geometry is
significant. His book Elements of Geometry had a significant impact on the
development of mathematics.

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PLATO – A student of Socrates, and resident of the city state of Athens, Plato’s
contribution to philosophy is significant; he advocated the importance of thinking
more carefully about our own lives. Plato also reflected on the ideal society in the
Republic, where rulers were enlightened individuals who made decisions for the
good of all people.

How did the Roman civilization change

over time?

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The settlement of Rome began long before the Romans became a powerful civilization. The
natural advantages of the city included its proximity to the river Tiber, fertile land for farming
and an elevated position to help with defence. The early civilization of the Romans developed
as a monarchy with different kings ruling the city and surrounding area. In 509CE the
monarchy was overthrown and a republic was set up.

ROMAN REPUBLIC
The Roman Republic was ruled by a senate that decreed the laws for the people. Officials
were elected to the Senate and carried out a variety of roles to run the Republic. The most
important position within the Senate was the consul. There could only ever be two consuls at
one time and they had the power to veto each other. The consuls could make major decisions
for the whole Republic such as deciding to go to war or the passing of new laws.
Society was divided into three main classes:
• The patrician class was the aristocracy of the time, landowners who held the greatest levels
of wealth and, consequently, power.
• The plebians included farmers, builders and people who worked in various crafts. Over
time, they gradually gained more political power and the ability to vote for members of the
Senate.
• The slaves had limited rights and were considered the property of other people.

Republic – A system of government where the state is ruled by elected

representatives
Empire – A variety of places ruled by a single, supreme authority

ROMAN EMPIRE
The Roman Republic was gradually replaced with the Roman Empire. This was a shift in the
political structure, which led to more power being concentrated in the hands of an individual
ruler, the emperor. This process began under Julius Caesar and continued under his heir,
Octavian, who took on the name Augustus for his rule from 27BCE. As an empire, Rome
expanded its influence across what we know today as Europe and North Africa.
The Romans connected their empire together with roads, often stretching for hundreds of
miles. This encouraged the development of trade and allowed for better communication
between distant places.
They developed architectural designs including the aqueduct, used to transport water over
long distances, and amphitheatres for different forms of entertainment. They also developed
various public health facilities in their towns and cities, including bathhouses. The Romans
pioneered the development of the arch in building design and bridge design; the arch was
used to support heavy weights. The Romans also valued entertainment and there were a
variety of games and contests that were popular with people throughout the Roman Empire.

97
98
Military strength was another feature of the Roman civilization. The Romans developed
organized structures for running the army and utilized new technology in their weaponry. The
Roman army was able to expand the territory of the Roman Empire and defend it from attack.
However, the size of the Roman Empire proved increasingly difficult to control and
ultimately was a major factor behind its decline. The pressures of trying to keep the empire
together proved too great and it was eventually split into the Eastern and Western Roman
Empire. The Eastern half went on to become the Byzantine Empire and lasted for around
1,000 years, while the Western half declined and fell from power as it was increasingly
attacked by rival groups in Europe.

Romulus and Remus

The founding myth of Rome is the story of Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who
were the sons of the Roman God of War, Mars. They were abandoned and left in a
basket in the river Tiber but were found by a wolf who raised them as her own.
Eventually, they were rescued by a shepherd who took them home and raised them
as his own children. Their identity was eventually realized and they set about
establishing a city in their area. The two brothers disagreed on the location, and
Remus was killed by Romulus as their disagreement intensified. Romulus went on
to found the city of Rome and became the first king. There are a number of
variations of the story.

99
What has been the legacy of the
Roman civilization?
Roman numerals
Used as a numbering system by the Romans, we still use this system in various ways today.
For example, monarchs have adopted Roman numerals to indicate their position in history
(for example, King George V), and many watch faces feature Roman numerals instead of
numbers for aesthetic purposes.

Julian calendar
Created under Julius Caesar, the Julian calendar consisted of 365 days per year and 12

100
months. However, because of issues with leap years (which have 366 days), this system was
modified to the Gregorian calendar in the sixteenth century, which is now the dominant way
of measuring days, months and years in the world. The Julian calendar was an important step
towards developing the calendar we use today.

Language
Latin was the major linguistic contribution of the Roman world. This had an important impact
on the development of many languages including French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Public health
The Romans were concerned about health and how they could provide for the people living
under the rule of the Empire. Many public health facilities were established including
bathhouses, aqueducts and drainage systems. People were also encouraged to adopt a healthy
lifestyle through exercise and good food.

Law and politics

The democratic features of the Senate have influenced the development of democracy in later
centuries. Roman law was written down in the form of the Law of the 12 Tables, influencing
subsequent legal systems.

Religion
The adoption of Christianity by the Roman Empire in the form of the Roman Catholic Church
was an important development in the history of Christianity. The head of the Catholic
Church, the Pope, is based in the Vatican, an independent state within the city of Rome.

SOURCE A

Extract about gladiators from The Roman Empire, a PBS television series
‘Successful gladiators were the movie stars of the first century – so famous that free
men queued to take their chances in the arena. Bloody, brutal but popular,
gladiatorial contests are often seen as the dark side of Roman civilization.
‘Given they belonged to such a civilized and sophisticated society, the Romans’
deep attraction to extreme violence remains surprising and strange. Historians have
struggled to explain how a country that civilized so much of the world could be so
keen on watching men and women fight to the death.’

SOURCE B

Extract from Seneca’s Moral Epistles, written around 60CE

‘The gladiators have nothing to protect them: their bodies are utterly open to every
blow: every thrust finds its mark… Most people prefer this kind of thing to all other
matches… The sword is not checked by helmet or shield. What good is armour?
What good is swordsmanship? All these things only put off death a little. In the
morning men are matched with lions and bears, at noon with their spectators…

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death is the fighters’ only exit.’

SOURCE C

SOURCE D

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SEE–THINK–WONDER
Study Source D, ‘Pollice Verso’, and then complete the following routine in groups.
What do you see?
What do you think about that?
What does it make you wonder?

SOURCE E

Explanation about the role of the games from the Ancient History Encyclopedia
website
‘Roman gladiator games were an opportunity for Emperors and rich aristocrats to
display their wealth to the populace, to commemorate military victories, mark visits
from important officials, celebrate birthdays or simply to distract the populace from
the political and economic problems of the day. The appeal to the public of the
games was as bloody entertainment and the fascination which came from contests
which were literally a matter of life and death. Hugely popular events were held in
massive arenas throughout the Empire, with the Colosseum (or Flavian

103
Amphitheatre) the biggest of them all. Thirty, forty or even fifty thousand spectators
from all sections of Roman society flocked to be entertained by gory spectacles
where wild and exotic animals were hunted, prisoners were executed, religious
martyrs were thrown to the lions and the stars of the show, symbols of the Roman
virtues of honour and courage, the gladiators, employed all their martial skills in a
kill or be killed contest.’
www.ancient.eu

ACTIVITY: Roman entertainment

ATL
• Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

Study the sources on pages 67–69 and answer the following questions.
1 Copy and complete the table.

2 Does the existence of the Roman games suggest that the Romans were not a
civilized society?
Use all the sources and your own ideas to discuss this question. Think about the
perspectives of different groups within Roman society such as the emperor, the
patricians, the plebians, slaves, the young, the old. What might they say about
the Roman games?

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion D: Thinking critically (strands ii, iii
and iv).

What were the features of the Maya and

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Inca civilizations?

Links to: Mathematics

The Maya developed complex systems of measuring time with a great deal of
accuracy. They were advanced mathematically.
Explore the different ways that the Maya used mathematics.

THE MAYA
The civilization of the Maya people emerged in Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica is the area of
central America between Panama and the north of Mexico. A number of civilizations
emerged in this region due to a variety of favourable conditions that helped the development
of cities and settlements. Other civilizations include the Olmec, who preceded the Maya and
greatly influenced them, and the better-known Aztec civilization who emerged slightly later
in Mexico.
The Mesoamerican civilizations developed in complete isolation from other civilizations in
the world such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Mediterranean. The climate and
topography of Mesoamerica could not be more different from these areas. While
Mesopotamia and Egypt were largely desert, Mesoamerica is mostly rainforest – hot and wet
all year round with dense vegetation.
Like the Egyptians, Greeks and Sumerians, the Maya civilization also developed in the form
of city states. These city states were structured and had religious leaders. They sometimes

105
fought with each other. Within the city states, the Maya built pyramids, palaces, housing and
courts for ball games. Famous ruins of Mayan city states can be found at Tikal in Guatemala
and Chichén Itzá in the south of Mexico.
The Maya civilizations were at their peak between 300–800CE. During this time they were
able to build on many of their achievements and expand their influence in Mesoamerica. One
of the achievements of the Maya is the use of writing. Using a similar system to the
Egyptians, the Maya used hieroglyphics to communicate written information. This was
recorded on paper that was made from different materials available in the locality, such as
tree bark.
The Maya were also advanced in their use of numbers and developed the use of zero as a
number. This was an advanced concept as it allowed far more complexity of understanding of
numbers and mathematics. The Mayan calendar was 260 days per year and they developed
ideas in the field of astronomy. Another, more grizzly, feature of Maya society and culture
was the use of human sacrifice that was associated with their beliefs. Although not a regular
occurrence, human sacrifice influenced the Aztecs who made more widespread use of this
ritual. After 800CE the Mayan civilization slowly went into decline, but the reasons for this
are debated.

THE INCA
In the early twentieth century, US explorer Hiram Bingham wrote a book called The Lost City
of the Incas. This was a book about his recent adventures in Peru where he had rediscovered
the ruins of the Inca city Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is now viewed as one of the modern
wonders of the world. The existence of a small city so high in the Andes mountains was a
strong indication of how advanced the Inca were.
The civilization of the Inca developed in South America, primarily in the Andes that run the
length of the continent. The Inca civilization really began with the establishment of the city of
Cuzco. Cuzco became the centre of the Inca Empire, through which the different power
structures and the spread of their influence could be organized. The Inca are an example of a
relatively recent civilization as the city of Cuzco was founded around 1200CE. Compare that
to the Ancient Egyptians or Sumerians who were setting up their city states well before
2000BCE.
Over time, the Inca became a very powerful empire in South America and their influence
spread from Peru to Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and as far south as Argentina. Their territory was
primarily mountainous and they did not spread much into the Amazon rainforest that takes up
huge amounts of land in South America. They made use of the mountains through the
development of extensive roads and paths built with stone. They were able to farm the land in
the Andes through the use of terraces, which were used to farm a variety of crops. Like other
civilizations, the Inca used irrigation techniques to help the growth of farming. The Inca did
not develop the use of either the wheel or writing. For communication they used quipus, a
system of knotting rope to communicate information. The size and type of knot would
indicate what was being said. Knots could be used to communicate numbers, which helped
with the running of their tax system.

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The Inca were organized as a hierarchy to distribute power. Families were organized into
Ayllus – these were groups of families who worked together, usually in farming. There was
an overall emperor or monarch of the Inca called the Sapa Inca – this individual held the
greatest power over the civilization and lived in great wealth. One notable achievement in
terms of organization and structures of power was the use of an extensive and well-structured
tax system across the empire that used resources such as food and metals as a form of
payment.
The arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century signalled the end of Inca dominance in the
region. The Europeans brought a number of diseases that the Inca had not before been
exposed to. Many Inca were killed; in particular, smallpox had a devastating impact on the
indigenous people of the Americas. The Spanish went on to dominate South America
politically from that point onwards. The Inca language and culture is still prevalent today,
especially in Peru, where sites like Machu Picchu and Cuzco are visited by many tourists
every year to experience some degree of the Inca civilization.

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SOURCE A

Extract from Chronicles of the Incas, 1540 by Pedro de Cieza de Léon. Many of the
written sources about the Inca are by Spanish explorers who wrote down their
encounters with the Inca civilization
‘At the beginning of the new year the rulers of each village came to Cuzco, bringing
their quipus, which told how many births there had been during the year, and how
many deaths. In this way the Inca and the governors knew which of the Indians
were poor, the women who had been widowed, whether they were able to pay their
taxes, and how many men they could count on in the event of war, and many other
things they considered highly important. The Incas took care to see that justice was
meted [given] out, so much so that nobody ventured to commit a felony or theft.’

DISCUSS
As the Inca did not develop a system of writing, what challenges would face a
historian studying their civilization? What other approaches could be used?
The debatable question for this chapter is ‘Can we ever know the past?’. From the
examples that have been examined, can you think of some responses to this
question?

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SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: What factors led to the
emergence and achievements of different civilizations?

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Gather and organize relevant information to formulate an
argument

Your task is to identify and explain the factors that have led to the emergence and
achievements of different civilizations in the past.
For this task you need to write a 500–800 word report that explores the factors (or
reasons) why different civilizations in the past were established and what they
achieved. You should try to explore three different factors within your answer.
Table 3.3 provides some suitable examples that you could choose to write about.

For example, if you were writing about individuals, the leadership of Alexander the
Great would be a relevant example for the expansion of the Greek civilization.
Alternatively, if you were looking at natural features and climate, the natural
advantages of the river valley for civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt would be
relevant.
Your report should be written with a clear structure, using paragraphs and
supporting your ideas with relevant evidence.

The command terms for this task are highlighted below.

Identify – Provide an answer from a number of possibilities. Recognize and state
briefly a distinguishing fact or feature.
Explain – Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Definitions from IB MYP Individuals and societies guide, 2014

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
(strands i and ii), Criterion C: Communicating (strands i, ii and iii) and Criterion D:
Thinking critically (strands i and ii).

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 Using evidence to support your arguments
When you are given the task of producing a piece of writing or an essay it is
important to use evidence effectively to support your arguments. Evidence could
be specific facts that you have found in your research, it could be a quotation from
an individual on the topic you are researching, or it could be some statistical
information. Try to structure your written work so that the main argument(s) that
you are delivering are supported by relevant evidence to improve the overall
quality of your work.

Take action
• You can visit their site: fr.unesco.org
• or follow them on Twitter @UNESCO.

Reflection
In this chapter we have reflected on the importance of using historical sources to find out
about past societies. We have explored a range of past civilizations that have been significant
in world history with many advances that shape our understanding of the world today.

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111
Change
Processes; Sustainability
Identities and relationships

4 Where do we live?
Settlements develop and change due to a variety of processes and their
sustainability allows them to function successfully, affecting the identity
of that location.

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IN THIS CHAPTER, WE WILL …
• Find out about the different reasons why settlements develop and how they
change over time.
• Explore examples of settlements and the challenges and opportunities facing
them.
• Take action by looking at ways that settlements can become more sustainable
for the future.

CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:

Factual: What are the different types of settlement? What makes a good location
for a settlement? What is meant by urbanization? Why are some settlements
abandoned?
Conceptual: How do settlements change over time? How can settlements be more
sustainable?
Debatable: Are cities the future?
Now share and compare your thoughts and ideas with your partner, or with the
whole class.

These Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills will be useful …

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• Communication skills
• Creative-thinking skills
• Critical-thinking skills
• Information literacy skills

KEY WORDS
function
city
situation
sustainability

We will reflect on this learner profile attribute …

Communicator – providing opportunities to communicate our understanding of
concepts in different ways.

Assessment opportunities in this chapter:

• Criterion B: Investigating
• Criterion C: Communicating
• Criterion D: Thinking critically

ACTIVITY: Types of settlement

ATL
• Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

1 Match the following descriptions to the pictures (Figures 4.1a–d).

a I live a nomadic lifestyle and experience open countryside where I live. We
often have to move location. My work involves herding horses, goats and
sheep.
b I live in a busy city. The traffic on the roads is often very congested.
c I live in a small historic city that has varied types of architecture from different
time periods.
d My family and I live in a small remote village that is very isolated. We make our
living through fishing.
2 What do you think it would be like to live in each of the different settlements?
What do the pictures suggest about the differences that exist in the world
concerning where and how people live? Can you think of advantages and
disadvantages of each of the locations?

An important development in the history of human civilizations is the establishment of

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different settlements where people live. As we saw in Chapter 3, societies often originally
settled in certain locations owing to their natural advantages. The change from hunter-
gatherer societies to farming societies was the key factor that led to the development of early
permanent settlements in the world.
Today, there is a huge variety of settlements that provide an important backdrop to people’s
lives. From the remote fishing villages of Greenland to the bustling streets of Dhaka,
settlements provide people with a sense of home. In the twenty-first century it is predicted
that the number of people living in cities will continue to rise. We will explore the
implications of this in this chapter as well as exploring different types of settlements and how
they change over time.

What are the different types of settlement?

To define the term ‘settlements’, they are simply places where people set up homes to live.
Settlements vary in size ranging from communities of only a handful of people through to
major cities where millions live and coexist with each other. Some settlements can be
temporary (for example, nomadic settlements) and will change location many times while
others have existed in the same location for hundreds of years.

THINK–PAIR–SHARE
What examples of temporary settlement can you think of? What type of home is
pictured in Figure 4.2? Why might some people choose to live this type of lifestyle?

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ACTIVITY: Locating different types of settlements

ATL
Information literacy skills – Access information to be informed and inform others

1 On a computer, go to ‘Google Maps’ and find your local area. Using both the
satellite imagery and the political maps, try to find examples of the following in
your area:
a isolated dwelling
b dispersed settlement
c linear settlement
d nucleated settlement
e town
f village
g city.
2 Find examples of settlements in your local area or further afield that have the
following functions:
a tourism
b farming
c commercial
d industrial.
3 Find a satellite image of a settlement of your choice; this could be in a different
country. Annotate the image with different features that you can see. Share your
ideas with the class when you have done this. Suitable examples include Dubai,
Cape Town, New York, Rio de Janeiro.

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SETTLEMENT HIERARCHY
The varying sizes of settlement can be sorted into a settlement hierarchy, as shown in Figure
4.3.

Isolated dwelling
Usually a single house or a series of buildings that exist in isolation, this type of settlement is
mostly constructed through personal choice or necessity. For instance, an individual or family
may choose to build a house in an isolated location to have more space in which to live. Other
isolated dwellings may be connected to a farm or an industry which requires a lot of space.
These types of settlements are typically in rural areas.

Hamlet
Not to be confused with the play by Shakespeare, a hamlet is also the name for a very small
settlement, which usually consists of a small number of houses. Hamlets do not usually have
facilities such as shops. Definitions of hamlet vary depending on the country they are in but a
typical population size would be about 100 inhabitants. Like isolated dwellings, they are

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usually located in rural areas.

Village
A village is a small settlement with quite a few houses and often there are facilities such as
shops or religious buildings. The size of villages varies considerably and the larger-sized
villages tend to have more of a range of facilities such as several shops, a park and religious
building. Villages are usually in rural settings but sometimes they can be on the edge of
urban areas. In addition, urban areas can develop around villages.

Town
Towns often have thousands of residents and are larger settlements. Towns are typically self-
contained in terms of facilities and would usually have a high street with a range of shops and
other facilities. Towns often have a civic centre for government administration as well as
emergency services such as police and paramedics. Towns sometimes have a railway station
that connects to other towns and cities, and bus routes in and around the town itself. A typical
population size would be around 50,000–200,000 inhabitants. Towns are examples of urban
settlements.

City
Cities are large settlements. Cities are usually divided into different districts, many of which
have their own distinct features and facilities. Cities usually have efficient transport systems
to move people around, including underground train networks. Cities are often centres of
culture with art galleries, museums and other landmarks drawing people to visit them. Cities
are urban in nature but can contain green spaces, such as parks, within them for recreation.
Larger cities are sometimes described as conurbations – referring to a large urban area that
sees a merging together of more than one city or with surrounding towns.

Megacity
These are the largest examples of human settlement. Megacities are cities with more than 10
million people living there. The number of megacities in the world has increased in recent
years as more and more people live in cities. Megacities can sometimes be formed by the
merging of different urban areas to make the city larger. An example of a megacity, the
largest in the world, is Tokyo, in Japan, which has around 37 million residents in the
conurbation. Megacities are at risk of experiencing overpopulation problems if not run
effectively.

THINK–PAIR–SHARE
Think about where you live. What type of settlement do you live in?

SETTLEMENT FUNCTION
As well as varying in size, settlements also vary according to their function; this is the
overall purpose of the settlement. For example, some settlements develop as ports owing to
their proximity to the sea, whereas other settlements may develop as industrial centres with
factories and lower-cost housing for workers. Settlements can also be linked together. For

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instance, a city is usually surrounded by towns and villages that have transport links to the
city. This linking is described as a sphere of influence – the city would influence the
development of nearby towns and villages often due to economic opportunities. For example,
cities often provide locations for a variety of jobs while the surrounding settlements have
more of a residential function. Other examples include tourism, cultural and commercial
functions. Most settlements have more than one function.

DISCUSS
How might the function of a settlement define the experience of living there?

Viewed on a map, settlements can occur in different patterns. Three examples of this are
nucleated, dispersed and linear settlement patterns.
• Nucleated settlements have a centre point and develop from the middle outwards. For
instance, they may develop around the intersection of two major roads, a market or a
religious building and then grow outwards from there.
• Dispersed settlements involve a number of buildings that are not that close to each other
but are within the same locality. They tend to be located in rural areas and fit into the
definition of isolated dwellings, hamlets and small villages.
• Linear settlements usually develop along an established route; this includes roads, railways
and waterways. Therefore, a linear settlement might grow along a major road as this
provides a valuable connection to other places to help the settlement to thrive.

What makes a good location for a settlement?

Sites for settlement are chosen according to a number of different factors, many of which are
dependent on the time at which the settlement began. The site of a settlement refers to its
specific location; the situation of a settlement refers to its position relative to nearby physical
and human features. The factors influencing the development of different settlements vary but
historically there have been a few common factors that have indicated whether or not a
settlement will be successful.
• Access to water – The ability to access water is extremely important to the development of
different settlements as they can use the water for drinking, cleaning and, if viable, a
waterway for trade with other settlements.

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• Land quality – The quality of land is important; for instance, a marsh or swamp can be
problematic for settlement as it can be unhygienic and the land may not be stable enough.
Flat land is often useful for establishing a settlement as it is easier to build on flat land.
• Defence – Depending on the time that a settlement is established, defence can be an
important consideration. Some settlements can be easier to defend from attack if in a higher
location or next to the coast.
• Aspect/shelter – Aspect refers to the positioning of a settlement: locations with a good
aspect can enjoy more moderate climates, which help settlements to develop. Shelter refers
to protection for the settlement: a settlement at the foot of a mountain may be protected
from the weather.
• Natural resources – Availability of natural resources is an important consideration; for
instance, access to supplies of wood and stone helps with the building and development of
the settlement. Being close to a lake or the sea can provide a plentiful supply of fish for
eating.
• Attractiveness of the area – Another consideration is the look and feel of the location.
Many settlements are established because the area is desirable. Locations with great views
and natural scenery have often been chosen for this exact reason.
• Function – A final consideration when choosing the location for a settlement is if it is to
fulfil a particular function. For instance, a farming settlement needs access to fertile land
for farming, a fishing settlement needs to be near the coast or a lake, and a mining town
needs convenient access to the mines. Some settlements are established as satellite towns;
this means that they are set to have excellent transport links to a larger city.

DISCUSS
Which of the location factors listed do you think are still relevant today? Why might
the factors influencing the choice of location for a settlement change over time?

ACTIVITY: What makes a good location for a settlement?

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

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1 Study Figure 4.5 and copy and complete the table to consider the natural
advantages and disadvantages of each location for settlement.

Site Advantages Disadvantages

1
2
3
2 Read through the descriptions of three different settlements and the three
different identity cards (Figure 4.6). Write down who you think is most suited to
each settlement and why. Once you have done this, share your ideas with a
partner.
• Settlement 1 – A small city located close to the coast. It has an excellent
transport system and good links with nearby towns and villages. The city has
some facilities for people but is criticized for its lack of choice. The city recently
won an award for its environmental policies, which include a bike rental
scheme. The city has lots of parks and its residents enjoy living near the coast.
• Settlement 2 – A remote village approximately a three-hour drive from the

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 nearest city. Set in an outstanding area of countryside, the village population
includes people mainly working in rural industries, such as farming and fishing.
The village is close to the coastline and there are excellent opportunities for
outdoor sports. As the population is quite small, around 700 people, it is a quiet
place to live.
• Settlement 3 – A major city of more than 5 million people. This city is busy and
congested but has a wide variety of facilities to suit all interests. The city is a
major financial centre and provides a wide range of high-paying jobs. The city
has been criticized for its poor environmental policies, but applauded for its
decent transportation system that enables people to keep moving around.

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 Assessment opportunities:
In this activity you have practised skills that can be assessed using Criterion C:
Communicating.

How do settlements change over time?

All settlements change in different ways over time. Some will grow in size while others may
reduce and see a drop in their population. Settlements can be affected by natural disasters,
wars, new technologies, outbreaks of disease and political changes in the running of
government. Consider the following three case studies of different cities to explore examples
of change over time.

CASE STUDY 1 – HONG KONG, SAR CHINA

Hong Kong, the ‘fragrant harbour’, is located to the south of mainland China and is a Special
Administrative Region (SAR) of the Peoples’ Republic of China. Hong Kong’s population is
approximately 7 million and some of the most densely populated areas in the world are within
the city.
Hong Kong’s history provides an insight into how the city has developed and changed over

125
time. Hong Kong originally developed as a settlement where the primary function was
fishing, given its proximity to the South China Sea. Hong Kong’s role changed significantly
after Britain took control of Hong Kong Island after defeating China in the opium war in
1842.

Hong Kong Island after this point was governed by the British. Britain expanded its control to
include Kowloon and finally the New Territories in the north of the region by the end of the
nineteenth century. Hong Kong developed under British rule to utilize its geographic
advantage of having a natural deep-sea port. It became a major trading hub and this had a
subsequent impact on the city. Hong Kong has also developed as a major financial centre.
The city has some of the highest concentrations of population density on the planet. This has
created a number of issues with housing, but at the same time large areas of land have been
protected from urban development and designated as a country park.
Hong Kong was handed over from the UK to the People’s Republic of China in 1997 but it
has a system of government different from the rest of China due to the fact that it is a Special
Administrative Region, giving it more economic and political freedom. Hong Kong has
experienced challenges in recent years including a serious outbreak of the disease SARS in
2003 and a series of political protests dubbed the ‘Umbrella Revolution’ in 2014.

SEE–THINK–WONDER
Look at the pictures of Hong Kong in 1910, 1972 and 2014 (Figure 4.7), then list of
the changes that you can see over time. Discuss the different ways that these
changes might affect Hong Kong.

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CASE STUDY 2 – LONDON, UK
London, the capital of the UK, has been around as a settlement for hundreds of years.
Settlement in London dates back to the Roman era, with the river Thames flowing through it
as a defining feature from its earliest days. The city has constantly changed over the years as
can be seen in the wide variety of distinct architectural styles present in the city skyline.
London has frequently been struck by disaster including outbreaks of bubonic plague and a
monumental fire – the ‘Great Fire of London’ – in 1666. This led to large amounts of the city
needing to be rebuilt and designed. London also experienced conflict during the English civil
war.

London developed significantly during the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century
and expanded rapidly with increasing levels of migration of people from the surrounding
countryside to the city. Towards the end of the Industrial Revolution, London developed an
underground train network, the Tube, which is the oldest in the world.
During the twentieth century, London was bombed extensively in the Second World War.
After the war, London experienced large waves of migration, which made the city more
multicultural and diverse. The city is a global financial centre and continues to grow
outwards. In recent years, London has experienced the challenges of terrorist attacks with a
series of bomb attacks in 2005. In 2012, London hosted the Olympic Games, bringing further
changes and opportunities to the city.

ACTIVITY: When disaster strikes

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ATL
• Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

1 What is the origin and purpose of Source A and Source B? How useful do you
think these sources would be to someone studying the Great Fire of London?
2 What do Source C and Source D suggest about the different ways that
Londoners have dealt with disasters in the past?
3 Reflect – how do you think wars, conflict and disasters could affect different
settlements?

SOURCE A

SOURCE B

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Extract about the Great Fire of London, recorded by Samuel Pepys in his diary
during the time of the fire in 1666
‘…all over the Thames, with one’s face in the wind you were almost burned with a
shower of Firedrops – this is very true – so as houses were burned by these drops
and flakes of fire, three or four, nay five or six houses, one from another. When we
could endure no more upon the water, we to a little alehouse on the Bankside over
against the Three Cranes, and there stayed till it was dark almost and saw the fire
grow; and as it grow darker, appeared more and more, and, in Corners and upon
steeples and between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of
the city, in a most horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flame of an
ordinary fire.
‘We stayed till, it being darkish, we saw the fire as only one entire arch of fire from
this to the other side of the bridge, and in a bow up the hill, for an arch of above a
mile long. It made me weep to see it. The churches, houses, and all on fire and
flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made, and the cracking of houses at
their ruin.’

SOURCE C

SOURCE D

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CASE STUDY 3 – MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
Founded by the Aztecs and originally known as Tenochtitlan, Mexico City has grown
considerably over the centuries to become a prominent city in Latin America.
The Aztec city was taken over by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, who immediately
began to influence the design and architecture of the city. After independence from Spain in
the early nineteenth century, Mexico City continued to act as the most significant settlement
in the country.
During the nineteenth century, the city experienced warfare in the Mexico-American war and
was captured for a time.
Over the past hundred years, Mexico City has grown considerably and is now one of the
largest cities in the world; it is officially a megacity. The growth of population has brought a
variety of challenges to the city including overcrowding and crime. In 1985, an earthquake
struck causing damage to large parts of the city.
Every year, people in the city celebrate the ‘Day of the Dead’ to pay respect and support to

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family and friends who have died; it is an important cultural tradition in the city and
throughout the country of Mexico.

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REFLECTION
Based on the three case studies and your own knowledge, write a reflection based
on the following conceptual question – ‘How do settlements change over time?’
Try to consider the impact of the following factors on settlement: economic, political,
environmental, cultural and social.

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WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT?
Look at the pictures of Mexico City (Figure 4.14a–c). What does each picture reveal
about the identity of Mexico City? What makes you say that?

Types of changes
When exploring the key concept of change a useful skill to develop is the
identification of different types of changes. Here are some examples:
• SOCIAL – These are changes associated with society and the lives of ordinary
people.
• ECONOMIC – These changes are usually financial in nature and are to do with
the flow of money as well as trade and exchange.
• POLITICAL – These changes are often to do with governments, who rules a
particular place and different policies that are passed.
• ENVIRONMENTAL – This type of change is to do with both human and natural
environments and how they can have an impact on different events and
processes.
• CULTURAL – This type of change might be to do with people’s identities and
beliefs or different artistic movements.

What is urban growth?

Urban growth refers to the development and growth of towns and cities. Today, most people
live in cities so the study of urban environments is important in understanding how these
types of settlements change and how they provide for people. One reason why towns and
cities grow in size is due to the large numbers of people who migrate from rural areas to
urban areas. The reasons why people migrate from rural to urban areas can be classified in
terms of push and pull factors:
Push factors are reasons why people move away from a place. People often leave rural areas
in favour of urban areas owing to a lack of jobs, services or social opportunities.
Pull factors are the reasons why people choose to move to a particular place. Urban areas tend
to offer a wide range of jobs, services, facilities and social opportunities so they can be more
attractive to people as a place to live.

What is migration?
Migration refers to the movement of people from place to place. Some people are
nomadic which means that they are always moving from place to place and tend to
live only in temporary settlements, as discussed at the start of the chapter. Other
people migrate at different times in their lives. For example, a young person might
migrate temporarily to a specific city to attend a university; other people migrate for
economic opportunities, which usually involve higher-paid work.
Cities tend to offer a lot more job opportunities than rural areas so in recent years
the number of people living in cities has increased dramatically. This is known as
rural to urban migration.

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Urban growth has occurred throughout history, but in recent years the number of people
living in cities has increased significantly. Approximately half of the global population live in
urban areas and this has had an impact on the size of urban areas, including the development
of a number of megacities.

ACTIVITY: The growth of cities

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Develop contrary or opposing arguments

1 According to Source A, which city is estimated to increase the most by 2025?

What do you think are the reasons for the growth of these cities?
2 Read the following statements. Decide whether they are examples of push
factors or pull factors and explain why.
a On average, the salaries for workers are higher in cities than in rural areas.
b There are fewer people in rural areas.
c The city has just opened a new underground train network.
d Traditional industries in the countryside are in decline.
3 Using the information in the book and your own ideas, complete a SWOT
analysis on cities. You can use this template to help you structure your ideas.

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4 Hold a class debate with the question – ‘Are cities the future?’ Think about
some of the discussion points raised in the information and activity so far. Try to
have groups of people arguing in favour of and against the question. You can use
your SWOT analysis to help to structure the debate.

Assessment opportunities:
In this activity you have practised skills that are assessed using Criterion D:
Thinking critically.

SOURCE A

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Why are some settlements abandoned?
DISCUSS
Search online to find the lyrics of the song ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials.
What do you think is meant by the term ‘ghost town’?
What do you think is the message of the lyrics of the song?

THE CHALLENGES FACING SETTLEMENTS

Ghost towns are places which used to be busy and thriving settlements but which fell on hard
times and no longer function as a sufficient or sustainable settlement. For a variety of reasons
these settlements are gradually or suddenly abandoned and people no longer choose to live
there. However, there are also settlements that exist with very low population levels; this
presents challenges for the settlements as often they are unable to provide the economic
opportunities or facilities that would encourage growth.
There are a number of reasons why settlements become abandoned or gradually depopulate:
for instance, people might migrate from the town to a nearby city owing to economic factors
like gaining employment. This is quite common as cities do tend to provide more of these
opportunities. Other settlements may lose a particular industry; for example, many mining
towns used to be busy industrial towns but have fallen into disrepair as mines have been
closed due to diminished resources or lack of efficiency. Settlements can also be struck by
disaster, which makes them inhospitable places. Settlements may be abandoned at times of
war, by the impact of natural disasters or other types of crisis. A falling birth rate can also
lead to settlements struggling to sustain themselves, if the numbers of people living there are
too small.

DISCUSS
Depopulation of settlements can also be caused by lower birth rates. We will
discuss population issues in Chapter 6. What challenges might face a society if the
birth rate becomes very low? Could there be any benefits to the society?

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ACTIVITY: Short film about abandoned settlements

ATL
Creative-thinking skills – Create original works and ideas; use existing works and
ideas in new ways

This is a creative task to explore, through the use of film, an example of a

settlement that has become abandoned. You need to select an example of a
settlement and then produce a script to explain the reasons why it became
abandoned. Research the conditions of the settlement before it became abandoned
and why it became abandoned. Finally, present your findings in the form of a
documentary or film.
Possible case studies:
• Pripyat, Ukraine
• Bodie, California, USA
• Montserrat, Caribbean
• Hashima Island, Japan
• Pyramiden, Svalbard
• Herculaneum, Italy

Links to: The arts

As a creative task this could involve many of the skills and disciplinary
understandings from the arts. Consider how you could incorporate some of these
skills into this piece of work.

CASE STUDY – PRIPYAT, UKRAINE

Pripyat was a small city that provided residence and services to the people who worked in a
nuclear power plant at nearby Chernobyl. The city was fully functioning and growing as a
settlement until 1986 when an explosion in the nuclear power plant released radioactive
material, which had a devastating effect on the people in the surrounding area. As well as the
impact leading directly to a number of deaths, the exposure to radiation poisoning affected
many people, causing different types of cancer. The radiation fallout was said to have spread
to a much wider area than just Pripyat. The city itself needed to be evacuated in order to
protect the inhabitants from further contact with the radioactive materials and the city became
abandoned.
Today, the radiation levels in the area are still monitored closely and the settlement is still
abandoned, though many people visit safe areas of the city for tourism purposes to see first
hand this abandoned settlement. The story of Pripyat shows how quickly a settlement can
become abandoned when disaster strikes.

CASE STUDY – BODIE, USA

Bodie, named after the gold prospector WS Bodey, developed as a settlement in the mid-

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nineteenth century due to the discovery of gold in the area. Gold was mined in a number of
settlements on the west coast of the USA, triggering a gold rush that particularly affected
California. The reserves of gold in and around Bodie attracted many people to settle in the
town and it developed significantly towards the end of the nineteenth century, providing
various services including a bank, saloons and a prison. As a Wild West town it had its fair
share of criminal activity.
The town reached its peak in the 1870s and then began a slow decline due to the diminishing
reserves of gold. Many prospectors left the town in search of riches elsewhere and Bodie
gradually depopulated.
The town today is a significant historic landmark of the gold rush era in the USA and is
viewed as a traditional Wild West town. The story of Bodie shows how the availability of
resources can lead to both the development and decline of settlements.

How can settlements be more sustainable?

In the planning and designing of new communities, housing projects,
and urban renewal, the planners both private and public, need to give
explicit consideration to the kind of world that is being created for the
children who will be growing up in these settings.
Urie Brofenbrenner, 1973

In 2015, the United Nations launched the ‘17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development’, as
mentioned in Chapter 1. One of the targets of these 17 global development goals is to create
more ‘sustainable cities and communities’. That is, to make settlements more able to be self-
reliant and efficient systems for promoting the positive well-being of their citizens.
Sustainability can be promoted in many ways and often involves more use of green

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technologies. These make the imprint of the city less damaging to the environment and in
theory should be more economically efficient. Figure 4.21 shows examples of different ways
that cities have implemented sustainable practices into their day-to-day running.

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FRANKFURT, GERMANY – A SUSTAINABLE
CITY?
The city of Frankfurt, in Germany, was recently named as the most sustainable city in the
world owing to its practices that look to improve the quality of life for people living there.
The city has created a green belt within the city centre – with substantial cycle tracks, and
green spaces for leisure and recreation. Many older industrial areas have been converted into
usable spaces. For instance, there are skateboarding parks in the old shipyard area.
There are also a range of energy-saving schemes including more widespread use of renewable
energy, more opportunity for cycling to reduce the use of cars, and green buildings that are
designed to use less energy. The city has given itself the target to be run 100 per cent by
renewable energy sources by 2050. There is also an emphasis on environmental education to
ensure the continuation of these practices in future years.

Take action
• Develop more sustainable practices in your school
• A good place to start with sustainability is in your local area and even closer is
your school community. There are a number of things that can be done to make a
school more sustainable in terms of its energy use, environmental impact and
effect on the well-being of all people who study and work there.
• Think about the following questions to help you to develop your action project:

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 • What does the term ‘sustainable’ mean to you?
• What projects could you carry out to improve the sustainability of the school?
What difference do you think they would make?
• What are some of the ways that communities can become more sustainable?

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: A settlement of your

choice

ATL
• Communication skills – Structure information in summaries, essays and reports
• Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

For this task, you need to write a 500–800 word response to one of the following
prompts:
• Describe the factors that led to the creation and early development of [your
settlement].
• Explain how [your settlement] changed over time.
• Identify the opportunities and challenges facing [your settlement] today.
• Explore the different ways that [your settlement] can be described as sustainable.
You need to choose a question and a settlement to work on. For instance, if you
decided to look at Paris, France, and you chose the last question, your research
question would be: Explore the different ways that Paris can be described as
sustainable. Alternatively, if you decided to focus on Sydney, Australia, and the first
question, your research question would be: Describe the factors that led to the
creation and early development of Sydney.
For this task you are being assessed against Criterion B: Investigating so you will
need to create an action plan. In this you need to include your chosen research
question and an explanation of why you chose it. The justification of why you chose
the question must show a reflection of why you felt it was significant or interesting.
Your action plan should also include your research and organization in preparation
for writing this task.
Each of the questions has a highlighted command term. The definitions below will
help you gain an idea of how to structure your response depending on which
command term you have.

The command terms for this task are highlighted below.

Describe – Give a detailed account or picture of a situation, event, pattern or
process.
Explain – Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Identify – Provide an answer from a number of possibilities. Recognize and state
briefly a distinguishing fact or feature.
Explore – Undertake a systematic process of discovery.
Definitions from IB MYP Individuals and societies guide, 2014

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This task is also assessed against Criterion C: Communicating. Therefore, you
should focus on writing in a clear and coherent manner with good organization. You
should also include a bibliography of the sources that you have used in the process
of researching your question.

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion B: Investigating (strands i, ii and iii)
and Criterion C: Communicating (strands i, ii and ii).

Reflection
As we have seen in this chapter, settlements develop and change due to a variety of factors;
some settlements are only temporary while others go from strength to strength. In recent
years, more and more people are choosing to live in cities, bringing both opportunities and
challenges. Sustainability represents a good option for different societies to improve the
quality of life for the people living there and for future generations to come.

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Systems
Identity; Belief
Personal and cultural expression

5 What do people believe in?

Belief systems provide guidance to people in different ways and can
shape personal identity and culture.

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IN THIS CHAPTER WE WILL …
• Find out:
• about the beliefs of the major world religions
• about indigenous belief with specific examples
• how belief can affect people’s identity and actions.
• Explore:
• religious beliefs of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity
• indigenous beliefs including animism
• ways of thinking that are concerned with spiritual powers.
• Take action by finding ways to promote tolerance and understanding of people
who may have beliefs different from our own.

CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:

Factual: What are the beliefs of the major world religions? What is indigenous
belief? What examples are there of non-religious belief?
Conceptual: How does belief change over time? How can identity be shaped by
personal belief?
Debatable: To what extent does belief cloud or clarify our judgement? Is it possible
to believe in nothing?
Now share and compare your thoughts and ideas with your partner, or with the
whole class.

These Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills will be useful …

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• Communication skills
• Creative-thinking skills
• Critical-thinking skills
• Information literacy skills
• Transfer skills

KEY WORDS
belief
meditation
pilgrimage
prayer
ritual

We will reflect on this learner profile attribute …

Open-minded – exploring examples of belief that may be different from our own, in
order to better understand other perspectives.

Assessment opportunities in this chapter:

• Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
• Criterion B: Investigating
• Criterion C: Communicating

SEE–THINK–WONDER
Look at the pictures in Figure 5.1. What do you see? What do you think the
connection is between each picture and belief? What does it make you wonder?

INTRODUCING BELIEF
Human societies have long grappled with the big questions about the world around them.
Why are we here? How was the universe created? How should we live our lives? These
questions have, over time, shaped numerous belief systems that look to find answers to these
questions and provide guidance to people in different ways. We can define belief as
something that people strongly think to be true. It can shape personal identity as it can often
have an impact on lifestyle and the choices made in daily life.

THINK–PAIR–SHARE
What do you believe in? Make your own list and then share your ideas with a
partner.

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What are the beliefs of the major world
religions?
Religious belief is common around the world, with more than 80 per cent of the world’s
population following a wide variety of different religions. Religion often impacts on the way
that people live their lives as the different religions provide guidance and teaching for ways to
live. Examples of this include how someone might dress, the food that is eaten, and the
different rituals and routines associated with prayer.

DISCUSS
Go back to the partner you worked with earlier. Make another list, this time of
different ways that religious belief could affect someone’s lifestyle and routines. Try
to think of specific examples from your own knowledge.

Different theisms
Religion usually involves believing in something that you can’t actually prove;
sometimes this involves one or multiple gods depending on the specific religion. A
theism relates to different beliefs about the existence of god.
• Polytheism – the belief in or worship of more than one god
• Monotheism – the belief in or worship of one God
• Atheism – the belief that there is no god
• Pantheism – the belief that there is a supreme god who forms a part of
everything.

ACTIVITY: World religions

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

Interpret Table 5.1 and the map (Figure 5.2) and answer the following questions.
1 Which religion has the largest number of followers worldwide?
2 What are some of the major similarities and differences between the different
religions?
3 Some religions can be found in many different places over the world map. Why
do you think this has happened? What factors would have contributed to the
spread of religion?
4 What do you think is meant on the map by ‘traditional and tribal religions’?
5 From the map, try to identify any divisions within the major religious groups.
6 Write a list of questions that you would like to know the answers to after looking
at the map and table to develop your inquiry further.

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Assessment opportunities:
In this activity you have practised skills that are assessed using Criterion A:
Knowing and understanding.

EXTENSION
In this chapter we will profile some of the major world religions but what about some
of the other religions? Here are some examples that you could find out about:
Shinto, Sikhism, Jainism, Daoism.

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BUDDHISM

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Buddhism originated on the Indian subcontinent some time between the fourth and sixth

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century BCE. Its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, proposed a way of living that is needed to try
to reach enlightenment or nirvana. By achieving this one can live a life that avoids suffering.
Gautama is referred to as ‘the Buddha’ and Buddhism has grown to be the fourth largest
religion in the world.
Buddhism provides suggestions about how to live a more meaningful life. Some of the
suggestions include the importance of meditation and mindfulness. Buddhism advocates
stricter self-control and the avoidance of impulsiveness. The key teaching is to try to find the
‘Middle Way’ in life, to find balance. This can be achieved by neither allowing oneself to be
tempted by greed nor by being overly strict and denying oneself the things needed in life.

SEE–THINK–WONDER
Study the picture in Figure 5.3. What do you see? What do you think about that?
What does it make you wonder?

DISCUSS
Look at the following behaviours:
• Anger
• Fasting often, very rarely eating food
• Listening carefully to others
• Reflecting on lifestyle
• Working hard at a job to gain more and more money
• Compassion for others
• Swearing.
Identify examples of Buddhist thought and behaviour from the list and explain why
they are examples.

The principles of Buddhism place emphasis on the elimination of suffering through following
the Four Noble Truths and living life through the Noble Eightfold Path (the Middle Way).
Most of the followers of Buddhism live in Asia, especially South East and East Asia.
Buddhism has also developed in Western countries.

DISCUSS
Black Friday
Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday of
November), and has become known as the beginning of the Christmas shopping
season. It originally started in the USA but has now spread to other parts of the
world. Most of the major shops open early (and recently, overnight) offering
promotional sales.
Use these search terms to view pictures and videos of the mayhem: Black Friday
queues.
In pairs, discuss why you think people are queuing. What do you think Buddhists
might say about this?

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The Four Noble Truths
1 DUKKHA – There is suffering and dissatisfaction in the world.
An important feature of Dukkha is the realization that suffering is not always
physical suffering. Most often, suffering refers to people’s feelings that they are
dissatisfied with their lives, such as they might want to earn more money, or they
may be jealous of their friends. This suffering, according to Buddhism, is a big
problem for trying to find the Middle Way.
2 SAMUDAYA – Suffering is caused by our desires and attachments.
Gautama’s teaching emphasized that the root cause of virtually all suffering can
be linked to wanting and desire. Consequently, greedy thoughts about new
material possessions would be the cause of some examples of suffering.
3 NIRODHA – Suffering can be eliminated.
This can be explained through Gautama’s realization that by removing
Samudaya from one’s life, suffering can be eliminated. This refers to the ability to
detach ourselves from our desires, wants and cravings. Buddhists emphasize the
importance of moderation in daily life.
4 MAGGA – Suffering is eliminated by following the Noble Eightfold Path.
The final truth, Magga, offers a guide to life for Buddhists. This guide is the Noble
Eightfold Path or Middle Way. This guides Buddhists in how to live through three
key areas:
• Wisdom (stages 1, 2, 3)
• Morality (stages 4, 5, 6)
• Concentration (stages 7, 8).

The Noble Eightfold Path

SEE–THINK–WONDER
Look at Figure 5.4 and think about what the Noble Eightfold Path demonstrates. In
groups, brainstorm ways one might live in order to honour the Eightfold Path. Do
you think this would be easy or difficult? Why do you think this?

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Samsara
One of the important beliefs of Buddhism is that of interconnectedness – a belief that there
are causes and consequences for all things that happen in life. The awareness of cause and
consequence allows Buddhists to reflect on where suffering may come from so that they can
make changes to avoid it. Buddhism, like Hinduism, also puts forward the belief in the
concept of samsara, the endless cycle of birth, life and death. Buddhists believe that the
cycle can be broken by trying to achieve nirvana (enlightenment), by following the Noble
Eightfold Path.
An important tool for Buddhist understanding of samsara is called the Wheel of Life. The
Wheel of Life shows the cycle of birth, life and death that every living thing is trapped in. In
the centre of the wheel are three animals: a cockerel representing greed, a snake representing
hate and a pig representing ignorance. The wheel is held by a monstrous figure representing
death. Buddhists believe that it is possible to escape this cycle by following the Noble
Eightfold Path.

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DISCUSS
Look at the details on the Wheel of Life (Figure 5.5). What do you think is
happening at the different sections of the wheel?

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Buddhism developed into two main strands:
• Theravada, meaning ‘Teaching of the Elders’, is largely practised in Laos, Myanmar,
Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
• Mahayana, meaning ‘The Great Vehicle’, is practised across East Asia including China,

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 Japan and Korea.
A particularly well-known strand of Buddhism is Zen Buddhism, which is largely practised in
East Asia, especially in Korea and Japan. This strand particularly focuses on the importance
of knowing yourself and places emphasis on meditation and reflection.

Three key profiles in Buddhism

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DISCUSS
Look at the tweets from the current Dalai Lama (Figure 5.9).
What additional ideas can you gain about Buddhism from the different tweets from
the current Dalai Lama?
Look at his Twitter account to find more examples.

ACTIVITY: Postcard about Buddhism

ATL
Communication skills – Use appropriate forms of writing for different purposes and
audiences

Write a postcard to a student in a younger year group than you are in. Choose an
appropriate picture to go on one side of the postcard. On the other side, write an
explanation in your own words of what Buddhism is. Think about the origins and the
key teachings. Aim to write between 50 and 100 words only.

Assessment opportunities:
In this activity you have practised skills that are assessed using Criterion C:
Communicating.

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REFLECTION
How do you think following Buddhism would affect an individual’s identity and
perspective?

ISLAM
Islam is a major world religion with more than a billion followers worldwide. The followers
of Islam are called Muslims. The religion of Islam is divided into two major branches, that of
Sunni and Shi’a traditions.
Islam as a religion originated on the Arabian peninsula and has spread to many regions of the
world. Islam is a monotheistic religion, with belief in one God (the Arabic word for God is
Allah), and the teachings of the religion can be found in the holy book, the Qur’an.
There is debate over the exact origins of the Islamic faith, but the general consensus is that
the religion became established through the teachings and life of the Prophet Muhammad in
the seventh century CE. According to the Islamic faith, Muhammad received messages from
God (Allah) through the Angel Jibrail (Arabic for Gabriel) and these messages were later
written down as the Qur’an.
Muhammad was said to have been visited several times by the Angel Jibrail and Muslims
view Muhammad as the final messenger of God.

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The Qur’an
The Qur’an was created to contain the messages or revelations that the Prophet Muhammad
received during his lifetime. The book covers a wide range of issues including advice on how
to live a good life. The book is not arranged in chronological order or written as a narrative.
The chapters of the Qur’an make reference to different themes. Each chapter is known as a
surah, of which there are more than a hundred, and each has a different name, including ‘The
Elephant’, ‘The Moon’ and ‘The Thunder’.
The Qur’an is a highly revered book for Muslims and there are a number of rituals attached to
using the book. For example, it must always be kept on clean surfaces as a mark of respect, it
is often carried in a bag to keep it clean and when placed on a bookshelf it must be on the
highest shelf with no other book above it.

The Five Pillars of Islam

A very important aspect of Islam, and the five main ways in which Muslims worship, is
called the Five Pillars of Islam (see Figure 5.12 for more details).

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DISCUSS
Look at Figure 5.13. Which of the five pillars are represented in the painting?

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Pilgrimage to Makkah
The pilgrimage (called Hajj) to Makkah in Saudi Arabia is an important experience
for Muslims around the world. The Hajj takes place each year during the month of
Dhu all-Hijjah and follows a route that takes pilgrims to a variety of sacred locations
in and around the city of Makkah.
Figure 5.14 shows the Kaaba, a sacred site of the Islamic religion. The Kaaba is the
black cube in the middle of the Grand Mosque. When Muslims arrive at the Grand
Mosque they walk around it seven times in an anti-clockwise direction. At the
beginning of each circuit they also try to get as close as possible to the Black Stone
that is placed in one corner of the Kaaba.

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Other parts of the Hajj include drinking water from the well at Zamzam, spending
the night in an open plains area called Muzdalifa and performing a ritual called the
‘stoning of the Devil’ where Muslims throw pebbles at three pillars in the town of
Mina near Makkah.

ACTIVITY: Pilgrimage guide

ATL
Transfer skills – Inquire in different contexts to gain a different perspective

• What do you understand by the term ‘pilgrimage’?

• How do you think taking part in an experience like the Hajj might affect someone?
Choose an example of a well-known pilgrimage route in the world, for instance:
• Lumbini in Nepal for Buddhists
• Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain for Christians
• Golden Temple in Amritsar in India for Sikhs
• Makkah in Saudi Arabia for Muslims.
Create a guide for people who are about to take part in your chosen pilgrimage.
Include useful information about the religious significance of some of the locations,
reasons why people take part in these pilgrimages, the traditions and the route.
Explain how participation in pilgrimage might affect the people involved.

Assessment opportunities:
In this activity you have practised skills that are assessed using Criterion A:
Knowing and understanding (strands i and ii) and Criterion C: Communicating
(strands i, ii and iii).

The Golden Age of Islam

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632CE, the Islamic religion continued to expand
rapidly and a series of caliphates (the name given to an Islamic government that is run by a
leader who is said to be a successor of Muhammad) took control over areas across the Middle
East, North Africa, Southern Europe and Central Asia.
The time period of the seventh and eighth centuries CE became known as the ‘Golden Age of
Islam’ as scholarship flourished with particular developments in the arts, sciences,
mathematics and literature.

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Sharia Law
During this Golden Age, cities developed considerably. These cities became great centres for
architecture, trade and cultural developments. In these cities, legal systems evolved that were
based on Islamic teachings; this law became known as Sharia Law. Although there are
variations within its application owing to differing Islamic traditions, it generally refers to
moral laws for everyday life. Sharia Law is still in use today in a number of countries in the
world; these include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Brunei.

DISCUSS
Why might religious beliefs influence legal systems? What opportunities and
challenges might this bring about?

HINDUISM
Hinduism is an ancient religion originating on the Indian subcontinent. It has more than 900
million followers in the world today. The word Hinduism actually refers to and encompasses
multiple religions that have evolved in the region over time. It is quite tricky to make
generalizations about Hinduism due to these variations but there are some key beliefs that are
useful for understanding the religion.

Brahman
One of the key beliefs of Hinduism is the existence of a supreme ruler God, Brahman, who
effectively forms and is part of everything. To understand the nature of Brahman, an old
Indian legend tells of how if you dissolve salt into water you will always taste the salt in the
water even though you cannot see it or separate it. This explains the idea that Brahman is
everywhere but we cannot necessarily see him.

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Dharma
Another important belief is that of dharma and although there are variations it generally
unites most Hindus. It essentially refers to the morals and duties of Hindus to live a good life,
with an emphasis on harmony. It guides Hindus to make good decisions in their daily life and
live life with an emphasis on morals and duty to others.

Samsara
Samsara is a belief shared with Buddhists and Sikhs, and refers to the cycle of birth, life and
death. The actions and deeds done in one’s life have an effect on the future destiny of the next
life. This is the idea of reincarnation – the cycle of life and death and the determination of
what future lives will be like based on your actions. A further important belief related to this
is that of moksha which is the path to escaping samsara by following the teachings of
Hinduism and living life according to the Vedas (the sacred writings of Hinduism).

DISCUSS
What do you think is the message of the cartoon in Figure 5.16?
Could you make a connection between this picture and the concept of karma?
How might belief in karma affect an individual’s actions in life?

Karma
In daily life, positive and negative actions can refer to karma, which can build up in positive
and negative amounts. Karma therefore can be described as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ karma. Actions
leading to good karma could include things like charity and honesty; actions leading to bad
karma could include things like jealousy and greed. Karma has gained popular usage by non-
Hindus around the world as a term to refer to the consequences of your actions.

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Worship
Worship in Hinduism varies greatly but it is an important part of the religion. Hindus often
worship different deities (gods) – some examples of Hindu gods are profiled in Figure 5.16
on pages 114–116.

ACTIVITY: Profile of a Hindu deity

ATL
Information literacy skills – Construct a bibliography according to recognized
conventions

Put together a profile of one Hindu deity of your choice. You could choose one of
the examples provided in this chapter or find out about another. Examples of other
Hindu deities include: Lakshmi, Saraswati or Durga.
Try to include information on the god’s appearance and role in the religion, and any
stories about the god. You could also include a picture.
Keep a record of where you find the information and put these references into a
bibliography to hand in with your profile.

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Assessment opportunities:
In this activity you have practised skills that are assessed using Criterion C:
Communicating (strands i, ii and iii).

Creating a bibliography
Bibliographies are used to show the reader where you accessed information when
you were researching or reading about a topic. It is good practice to include a
bibliography with your work. At times during the course, your teacher will assess
your use of bibliographies through Criterion C: Communicating. Remember to use
one format for your bibliography (for example, Harvard or APA). Check that the
bibliography is in alphabetical order. When using websites, try to find the name of
the person who wrote the article.

Hint
• Images should be referenced from their original source, not Google.
• Use sites such as www.bibme.org or www.easybib.com to help you out.

EXTENSION
Have a go at adding references to your next piece of work.

Hindu gods

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Works of literature
Within Hinduism there are a number of works of literature that help to guide the religion.
These include the Ramayana and Mahabharata and the ‘Bhagavad Gita’. The ‘Bhagavad
Gita’ (part of the Mahabharata) is very popular and provides Hindus with guidance on many
things.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (widely known as Mahatma Gandhi), the Indian
independence leader, once commented that:

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THINK–PAIR–SHARE
Think about these questions. Then discuss your answers in pairs. Share your
ideas and discussion in groups or with the whole class.
1 What does the quotation from Mahatma Gandhi suggest about the importance of
the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to Hindus?
2 Why are books important for different religions?

CHRISTIANITY
Christianity is the world’s largest religion with more than 2 billion followers. It has multiple
branches or denominations. These include Roman Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox
and Methodist denominations.
Most branches of Christianity agree on a few key aspects of the religion. The key belief is
that of the existence of a single God who sent his son Jesus Christ to save humanity from

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suffering.
The life of Jesus Christ is recorded in the New Testament, the second section of the Bible,
which also explores his teachings and the early development of the Christian religion. The
first section of the Bible is the Old Testament, which is shared with Judaism, also known as
the Hebrew Bible.
Christians believe in a monotheistic God who wants to help people in the world by forgiving
them of the sins that they commit in life. The belief is that sin is something which people do
and that by asking for forgiveness and demonstrating belief in Jesus Christ, people can
achieve salvation.

Life of Jesus Christ

According to the Christian faith, Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in 6BCE.
The story of Jesus’s birth is told in the Nativity and celebrated by Christians at
Christmas on 25 December.
After being baptized by John the Baptist in his early thirties, Jesus began his
teachings and performing miracles. During this time, Jesus had a number of
disciples who were his followers and 12 apostles who became important to the
establishment of the Christian religion.
According to the New Testament, Jesus’s teachings and miracles increasingly
threatened the authority of the Roman Empire and he was arrested, beaten and
later crucified on a cross. Three days after he died, Jesus is said to have risen from
the dead, where he appeared to his disciples for the final time to encourage the
teachings and spread of Christianity.

God therefore appears in three different forms, according to Christians, as the Trinity: God
the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit.

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Christianity is split into several different denominations or branches. Although all
denominations are part of the Christian faith, they hold different beliefs and interpretations of
aspects of the religion.

The Great Schism

After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380CE, the religious
tradition can be associated with that of the Roman Catholic branch. This was later broken into
two by an event known as ‘The Great Schism’ or ‘East–West Schism’, which essentially
divided the Christian faith into the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic denominations.
This had geographic implications as the Eastern Orthodox traditions dominated areas
including Russia and Eastern Europe while Roman Catholicism dominated Western Europe
and, later, Latin America due to the expansion of Spain and Portugal during the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries.

ACTIVITY: Miracles of Jesus Christ

ATL
Communicating skills – Make references and draw conclusions

Read the following extracts from the New Testament.

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For each story, complete the following tasks:
1 Summarize what happened.
2 Explain why Christians would describe these events as miracles.

There was further division of Christianity during a historical time period known as the
Reformation. The Reformation was largely driven by the work of Martin Luther and John
Calvin who respectively founded the Lutheran and Calvinist branches of the Protestant faith.
In England, King Henry VIII officially broke with the Roman Catholic Church to establish
the Church of England, and ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
In recent years, further denominations have been founded including the Jehovah’s Witnesses
and Mormon churches.

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EXTENSION
Research the Protestant Reformation to explore the changes affecting Christianity.

DISCUSS
All of the religions we have examined have differing interpretations and
subsequently variations in belief. Why do you think this has happened? In pairs,
discuss the possible reasons why different religions have divisions within them.

JUDAISM
Judaism is approximately 3,500 years old and began with a covenant (an agreement) between
Abraham and God. Abraham is a very significant figure in the development of religion as he
is seen as the first individual to move from the belief of polytheism to monotheism. This was
important to the development of Judaism as the first monotheistic religion. Abraham is also
an important figure in the development of Christianity and Islam.
This original covenant and subsequent covenants between God and Abraham’s descendants
form the basis for the Jewish faith. The original covenant was an agreement that if Abraham
followed God and his wishes, God would always look after Abraham and his descendants and
they would be God’s chosen people.
God told Abraham to travel to the land of Canaan (an area in the modern-day Middle East)
and this land became the homeland of the Jewish people. This area was part of the ‘fertile
crescent’, which stretched from Egypt through to western Iran and saw the rise of many early
civilizations (see Chapter 3).

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Take action
• Create a celebration week at your school which showcases the different beliefs
and perspectives that exist within your school community. Encourage others to
share their personal experiences so as to gain a better understanding of each
other.

DISCUSS
The fertile crescent is sometimes referred to as ‘the cradle of civilization’. Refer
back to the chapter on ancient civilizations (Chapter 3). Why do you think this area
led to the development of early civilizations and belief systems?

ACTIVITY: Role-playing the Ten Commandments

ATL
Communication skills – Interpret and use effectively modes of non-verbal
communication

Create a short role play to demonstrate one of the Ten Commandments. See if the
others in class can guess which commandment you are representing.

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Moses

According to Judaism, there were a number of covenants between Abraham’s descendants

and God. One example of this can be seen in the life of Moses, whose covenant forms an
important part of the Jewish faith. Moses led the Jewish people from enslavement in Egypt
back to Canaan over many years. This migration involved challenges and miracles. One of
the major obstacles was overcoming ten plagues that were sent to stop the Jewish people from
returning to Canaan: these included locusts, frogs, storms and boils on the skin.
Before they reached Canaan, Moses was given a covenant with God on Mount Sinai, which
included the laws on which large sections of the Jewish faith are based. Within these laws
were the Ten Commandments, inscribed on a stone tablet and kept in the ‘Ark of the

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Covenant’. These laws were recorded in the Torah and provide guidance for Jews on how to
live their life. The escape from slavery in Egypt is celebrated by Jews every year in the
Passover, a religious festival.

ACTIVITY: How does belief change over time?

ATL
Creative-thinking skills – Use brainstorming and visual diagrams to create new
ideas and inquiries

It is often proposed that religions change with time and that this change is a
response to external factors. In groups of four or five, discuss how you think the
following factors might affect the development of religion and people’s religious
beliefs.
• The experience of warfare or a natural disaster
• The movements of people around the world including contact with other religions
• New ideas and scientific discoveries
• Spiritual leaders who make claims about a particular religion
Which other scenarios might affect belief systems?

REFLECTION
1 Look at this quotation by George Carlin, a famous stand-up comedian of the
twentieth century:
‘Religion is like a pair of shoes … Find one that fits for you, but don’t make me
wear your shoes.’
What do you think Carlin is saying in this quotation? Do you agree or disagree?
2 The key concept for this chapter is systems. From looking at these religions, why
do you think religion can be described as a system?

Jewish worship takes place in the synagogue. Rabbis provide spiritual guidance in the
religion; the religious texts include the Torah and the Talmud. Within the faith there is a
major focus on ethical actions.

What is indigenous belief?

The indigenous people of the world possess an immense knowledge
of their environments, based on centuries of living close to nature.
Living in and from the richness and variety of complex ecosystems,
they have an understanding of the properties of plants and animals,
the functioning of ecosystems and the techniques for using and
managing them that is particular and often detailed. In rural
communities in developing countries, locally occurring species are
relied on for many – sometimes all – foods, medicines, fuel, building

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materials and other products. Equally, people’s knowledge and
perceptions of the environment, and their relationships with it, are
often important elements of cultural identity.
Frederico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO

Indigenous people are people who have occupied a particular area or territory since records
began. These people tend to have very strong connections with the natural world and often
have unique belief systems that guide their way of life.
There are thousands of different indigenous groups around the world, holding a wide range of
beliefs. As these beliefs are often ancient, they can also provide an insight into how people
lived thousands of years ago.

EXAMPLES OF INDIGENOUS GROUPS

The Ainu people
The Ainu are an indigenous group who are mainly from Hokkaido in northern Japan. They
have an animist belief system: they believe that all living things have a ‘Kamuy’ inside them,
which is a spirit. Animism is the belief that there is a spirit inside all living things. This
includes plants, trees, all animals and even rocks. Ainu worship also includes reverence for
the bear, which is seen as a very special animal because it provides them with a hide to keep
warm in the winter and meat for food throughout the year. Their belief system involves a
close relationship with nature and they have a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
Only recently have the Ainu people been officially recognized as an indigenous group, and
their numbers have diminished significantly over the years. It is now thought that only a
handful of people in the world speak the Ainu language and it is classified as an endangered
language.

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The Tuareg people
The Tuareg are an indigenous group from the Sahara region of Africa, including the countries
of Mali, Niger and Algeria. They live a nomadic lifestyle, which means they move from place
to place regularly, living in specially designed tents. They have a distinct language and
cultural identity including music, food and clothing.
The Tuareg people adopted Islam as their religion and this influences their beliefs and
practices.

The Tlinglit people

The Tlinglit are an indigenous tribe from North America, specifically from the Pacific
Northwest of Canada. Also holding animist belief systems, their traditions include the use of
shamans and totem poles.

DISCUSS
Many of the beliefs and practices of indigenous groups may sound unusual to our
modern lives.
1 From the information about the different indigenous groups, what do you think
are some of the features of indigenous belief systems?
2 Why might it be useful to learn about indigenous people and their beliefs?
3 Read the extract from the Director General of UNESCO. Why does he think that
indigenous peoples’ knowledge is important to the world?

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Shamans are individuals within a particular community or tribe who represent a connection
with the spirit world and are the healers and protectors in the group. Totems, most commonly
associated with totem poles, are often used to represent stories relevant to the particular
culture and contain the faces of animals or birds. Native American tribes often make use of
totem poles as part of their cultural identity and belief.

The Awá people

The Awá are an indigenous tribe from the Amazon rainforests of Brazil and they are a
severely threatened group. The threats to their lifestyle and existence have come as a result of
deforestation.
Recently, the Brazilian government has recognized the land rights of this group but their
numbers are so low that their future is not certain. The Awá live such a remote lifestyle that it
is thought there are still a number of them who have not had contact with the outside world.
There are many threatened tribes in the Amazon region of South America.

Links to: Language and literature

1 Indigenous communities often pass down their traditions from generation to
generation in the form of stories and folklore. How can stories reflect the
identities and culture of different communities?
2 Many indigenous languages are endangered. Why might this be a problem? This
National Geographic site provides examples of endangered languages in the
world today:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/vanishing-languages/rymer-text

ACTIVITY: Indigenous belief research

ATL
Information literacy skills – Access information to be informed and to inform others

Choose an example of an indigenous tribe or community to research in more detail.

Put together an exhibit that educates about your chosen group. If possible, look for
examples within your local area or country.
Possible examples for research:
• Aborigines (Australia)
• Maori (New Zealand)
• Tuareg (Sahara desert region of Africa)
• Nubians (Egypt and Sudan)
• Uyghur (West China)
• Ainu (Japan, parts of Far Eastern Russia)
• Inuit (Canada)
• Achí (Guatemala).
You can use the following questions to help you to plan your research.
• Where is this group from? What is their territory?
• What are some examples of their beliefs?
• What is their folklore? What are some of their stories?

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• How is their lifestyle different from yours?
• What are some of the challenges facing these people?
Remember to include photographs and any relevant quotations and statistics that
you find when researching.

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion C: Communicating (strands i, ii and
iii).

What examples are there of non-religious belief?

We have discussed examples of religious and indigenous belief, but belief is not always
connected to a particular religion or cultural identity. Non-religious belief is common in the
world today. For instance, one belief that has a large number of followers is that of atheism.
Atheists directly challenge religious belief and also question its value as they often believe
that it creates many problems for people. Famous thinkers and writers about atheism include
evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and author Christopher Hitchins.
Agnostics on the other hand believe that it is not possible to know whether a God exists or
not. Consequently, they do not reject religion but do not accept it either.
Another group, humanists, believe in the importance of living a fulfilled life. Humanism has
its origins during the Renaissance, which took place from the late fourteenth century through
to the eighteenth century in Europe. Humanists challenged many of the religious teachings
about the weaknesses of humans and emphasized the importance of enjoying life but also
critical thinking and reasoning. This had a cultural impact on the arts as the importance of
human achievement and life were celebrated, often challenging many of the religious
traditions at the time.
Nowadays, humanism continues to have a following as many people look for non-religious
answers to some of the big questions they have about themselves and the world.

DISCUSS
Read through the quotations in Figure 5.22.
1 Summarize the different viewpoints presented here.
2 In groups of four, discuss and debate the following question: ‘Is it possible to
believe in nothing?’

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Take action
• Host a web chat with students from a different school where they might hold a
different perspective on belief to your own. You could look at the ‘Face to Faith’
online learning community to help you to do this:
www.facetofaithonline.org
• Explore the work of Survival International and their campaigns to protect
indigenous people:
www.survivalinternational.org

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: Written essay on belief

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ATL
• Communication skills – Structure information in summaries, essays and reports
• Critical-thinking skills – Gather and organize relevant information to formulate an
argument

Write a 500–700 word essay response to the following research question:

‘Discuss the different ways that belief can affect people’s lives.’

The command term for this task is highlighted below.

Discuss – Offer a considered and balanced review that includes a range of
arguments, factors or hypotheses. Opinions or conclusions should be presented
clearly and supported by evidence.
Definition from IB MYP Individuals and societies guide, 2014

Suggested steps for completing the task

1 Brainstorm ideas, examples and arguments that you could use in your answer. At
this stage just think of as many things as possible.
2 Create an action plan, showing your organization, research and planning as you
prepare to write your essay. This will be assessed against Criterion B (see action
plan advice section below).
3 Write a plan for your answer. What information will you include in your
introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion?
4 Submit your essay to your teacher; make sure you include a bibliography. Check
your work thoroughly before submission.

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
(strands i and ii), Criterion B: Investigating (strands ii and iii) and Criterion C:
Communicating (strands i, ii and iii).

Action plan advice

Action plans are designed to help you to create a better quality end product. You
use them throughout the task. Action plans will vary depending on the task you are
working on but the following areas are helpful to work on in your action plan.
1 Organization – This should detail your time frame for completing the work: a
checklist of tasks that need to be completed and when you intend to complete
them.
2 Research – This should include any research that you have conducted in the
preparation of your assessment. You should always keep a record of the sources
used in this process.
3 Planning – This section should include information on how you will structure and
communicate your assessment. In this case, it will be the planning of your essay

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 answer.

Reflection
This chapter has explored different examples of belief systems and how they affect people.
Different belief systems can be seen to have an impact on people’s identity by providing
guidance on lifestyle, rituals and different practices.

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Global interactions
Resources; Equality
Fairness and development

6 What factors contribute to the

fairness and development of societies?
Access to resources and equality of opportunities can help societies to
develop to become fairer places but this is often dependent on global
interactions.

IN THIS CHAPTER, WE WILL …

• Find out about poverty in the world and its consequences.
• Explore the factors that contribute to the development of a country.
• Take action by reflecting and acting on issues in our local communities.

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CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS:
Factual: What is poverty? What is development and how do we measure it? How
can resources help to reduce extreme poverty? What is aid?
Conceptual: What factors influence the development of a country?
Debatable: What do we need? Is there a connection between health and wealth?
Now share and compare your thoughts and ideas with your partner, or with the
whole class.

These Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills will be useful …

• Communication skills
• Creative-thinking skills
• Critical-thinking skills
• Information literacy skills

KEY WORDS
absolute poverty
aid
consumerism
development
Human Development Index
needs
poverty line
poverty trap
relative poverty
resources
wants

We will reflect on this learner profile attribute …

Thinker – reflecting on issues of fairness within different societies and the different
perspectives of how societies can develop.

Assessment opportunities in this chapter:

• Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
• Criterion B: Investigating
• Criterion C: Communicating

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• Criterion D: Thinking critically

THINK–PAIR–SHARE
Look at the cartoon (Figure 6.2). What do you think is the message of this cartoon?
Think about it and then in pairs discuss your ideas.

For many people, living in the twenty-first century provides a huge array of choices and
opportunities. From the latest computer games to different brands of shoes, there is a constant
flow of options for people to spend money on. This is consumerism, and we see it in
shopping malls across the world and online with internet shopping. But have you ever
stopped and thought about how necessary it all is?

SEE–THINK–WONDER
Study Figure 6.1.
What do you see?

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What do you think about that?
What does it make you wonder?

What do we need?
What do we actually need?
This type of thinking can be divided into the categories of wants and needs. Wants are the
things we might desire to make our life more enjoyable while needs are the things that are
essential to our life. Look at this list and think about which things you would consider to be
wants and which things you would consider to be needs:
• air to breathe
• shelter
• chocolate
• clothes
• water
• access to health care.
From the list we should see that they are all examples of needs except for chocolate. We need
air to breathe, we need water to drink; we also need food but this does not have to be
chocolate. Wants are things that we would like to have but they are not essential.
In the twentieth century an American psychologist called Abraham Maslow created a theory
to demonstrate what people need to lead a fulfilled life. This is known as Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs.
Maslow suggests that we begin with more basic physical needs such as breathing and eating
and move on to more complex needs such as the need to belong, to have positive self-esteem
and, finally, to achieve self-actualization. Self-actualization means to understand one’s
potential and interests and to work towards fulfilling them: for instance, becoming an artist,
or working to help others in need.
Unfortunately, many people in the world are unable to meet their needs and this is often due
to the circumstances and environment that they live in. In this chapter we will explore how
being in poverty can affect people negatively and look at the causes and consequences. We
will also look at how countries develop and the challenges and opportunities associated with
this.

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DISCUSS
What could you do if you had US$1 per day to live on? Think about the needs and
wants in your own life.

What is poverty?
Poverty means to be very poor. This often refers to a lack of material possessions or money to
buy the basic necessities but can also involve a lack of access to resources, freedoms and
services that help people to avoid poverty. A lot of progress has been made in the twenty-first
century to reduce poverty but it is still a major global issue.
There are two major types of poverty: absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute is
the worst type of poverty and it is also referred to as extreme poverty. It refers to the
condition of not having the means to meet the basic needs such as food, shelter and health
care. Definitions vary but people living in absolute poverty often have as little as US$1 per
day on which to live. Absolute poverty tends to occur in locations where people do not have
access to resources or are disadvantaged due to a variety of factors outside of their control.
The second type of poverty is relative poverty. This is characterized by people being poor in
comparison to others in a particular society. This is a common form of poverty as social

193
inequality exists throughout the world. Relative poverty occurs in both economically rich and
poor countries; however, the severity of relative poverty can be reduced by the actions and
policies of governments on behalf of their people. Relative poverty can also be seen in ways
not directly related to money as shown in Table 6.1.
Table 6.1 Types of poverty

Types of Characteristics
poverty
Educational People have limited access to schooling – this can lead to
illiteracy.
Economic This refers to a lack of money to buy essential items –
the income of the household is not sufficient.
Social and This happens when people are isolated or excluded from
political a particular society. For example, an immigrant living in
a country without rights to work, or people experiencing
prejudice based on a disability or their race or gender.
Health This is a form of poverty that occurs when people do not
have access to proper health facilities such as
vaccinations, hospitals and doctors.
Safety and This is a type of poverty where people do not feel safe –
security this might be to do with exposure to violence within a
home or living in an environment with high levels of
crime. The outbreak of a war also creates these
conditions.

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ACTIVITY: Types of poverty

ATL
Communication skills – Use a variety of speaking techniques to communicate with
a variety of audiences

Create a role play to illustrate one example of a type of poverty that people might
experience. Be creative with your ideas and then perform the role play in front of the
class to see if they can correctly identify the example.

COLOUR–SYMBOL–IMAGE
Choose one colour, one symbol and one image to represent poverty based on the
work you have done on it so far. Discuss in groups the reasons why you made
these choices.

CASE STUDY – POVERTY IN THE USA

Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the USA has a high number of
people living in relative poverty. The USA (as well as many other countries) uses a measure
called the poverty line to describe the minimum income needed for a family to support itself.
In 2015, if a family of four in the USA had an annual income of less than approximately
US$23,000 then they were classified as poor and living below the poverty line.

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SOURCE A

SOURCE B
Sharon Dory in Mendocino County, California
‘For seven years, I lived on $500 a month. The cost of taxes on my small home was
more than $200 monthly. Volunteering was the only “recreation” I could afford. I feel
rich when I have food.’

SOURCE C
Tania Parsons
‘I’m a single mom and I make under $11,000 a year. The only way to do well for us is
with food stamps. Without it, we couldn’t eat. The government reduced the amount
we get so by the end of the month we ran out of milk, juices, bread, eggs. It’s difficult
when one child is only three. They have health insurance, but I was told I don’t
qualify for it. In my area, rent is high and all of my income goes to it. I don’t want to
become homeless again. It’s scary.’

SOURCE D
George Leake in Vallejo, California

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‘I’ve lived below the poverty line for years now. There’s a number of things you can
do to make it: don’t own a car, try to grow your own food, cook everything from
scratch, don’t buy anything unless you absolutely need it, couch surf with friends,
barter rent for yard work, cleaning or other services, try to shop at thrift stores or
garage sales. Last year, I found a pair of shoes my size that were getting thrown
away. The threads started coming off, so I fixed them with shoe glue: they were
much better shoes than the cheapest ones you can find which only last a month at
most. I know so many people living like this. The idea of having things like cable TV,
cell phones or iPads is so ridiculous – many of us read books from the library for
entertainment.’

SOURCE E
Statistics showing the percentage of people in the USA living below the poverty line.
(Data from US Census Bureau)

ACTIVITY: Poverty in the USA

ATL
Information literacy skills – Access information to be informed and to inform others;
Process data and report results

1 What is the difference between relative poverty and absolute poverty?

2 Copy and complete the following table.

Person What can you learn about What else would

poverty from their story? you like to know?
Sharon
Tania
George
3 Using the data in Source E, construct a line graph (similar to Figure 6.6) to
represent the data.

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4 Using the information on your graph, write down three statements to describe
what it shows.

Line graphs
Line graphs are useful in humanities for representing data that show change over
time. They use an x-axis (horizontal) and a y-axis (vertical). Points are plotted on
the line graph and then connected together with a series of straight lines. The x-axis
is usually used to display the time period (for example, a particular year or month)
and the y-axis would show the thing being measured (for example, crime rates or
unemployment figures).
Learning to construct line graphs is a useful skill and you should aim to complete
the graph to a high standard of presentation.

THE POVERTY TRAP

One of the biggest problems with poverty is trying to find solutions to get people out of
poverty. An economic theory, the poverty trap, suggests that owing to a variety of factors,
families can be trapped in poverty for several generations.

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REFLECTION

ATL
Reflection skills – Consider content

Copy and complete the table.

LIST – Reasons why REFLECT – Possible solutions to

people get stuck in the weaken/end the poverty trap for
poverty trap people

DISCUSS
‘People can escape poverty if they have a job.’ Do you agree?

What is development and how do we

measure it?
DEVELOPMENT
Poverty occurs in all countries. However, poorer countries can be more likely to have
absolute poverty. Countries are often ranked due to their level of development and they can

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be described as either developed or developing. This refers to whether they have reached a
certain level of economic and human development. Economic development refers to the
wealth of a country and human development refers to the quality of life for people living in
the particular country.
Developed countries tend to run effectively, have good infrastructure (such as roads and
public transport), good quality education and health facilities. They also tend to have
relatively high levels of income for the people living there.
Developing countries may have strong aspects such as high income levels or good quality
education but may fall down in other areas. Some developing countries may have very poor
resources and services for the people living there.
It is important to remember that labelling a country as either developed or developing can be
misleading as there are a number of factors at play. Also, there are significant differences
within each category. For example, two developed countries may have very notable
differences in the quality of their education provision, while two developing countries may
have a large difference in terms of the average life expectancy.
Table 6.2 lists some of the ways that countries are measured in terms of their development.
Table 6.2 Ways to measure development

Examples of ways to measure Examples of ways to measure

economic development human development

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Quality of health care

Gross National Income (GNI) Quality of education
Wealth inequality Life expectancy
Unemployment rate Gender equality
Economic growth Literacy rate

MEASURING DEVELOPMENT
As there are so many ways to measure development this leads to a range of perspectives on
what constitutes a developed country. In addition, the pace of change that occurs around the
world means that it is difficult to make generalizations about levels of development as it can
change quickly.
One measure that has grown in popularity in recent years is that of the Human Development
Index (HDI), which is used by the United Nations. This is a measure of a combination of
economic and human development indicators including life expectancy, education and
income. The figure used to measure a country varies between 0 and 1, with 1 being the
highest possible score.
The graph in Figure 6.8 shows the ten highest scoring countries in 2015.

EXTENSION
Choose a country from Figure 6.8 to research. Think about the reasons why it

200
reached a high score in the Human Development Index. Compare your findings with
those of other members of your class.

What factors influence the

201
development of a country?

ACTIVITY: Factors that influence development

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Draw reasonable conclusions and generalizations

Read the following statements and identify the ways that each example could
affect the development of a country. Discuss your ideas in groups.
1 This country has a temperate climate; this means that it is never too hot or too
cold throughout the year.
2 This country shares borders with other countries that have good levels of
development.
3 This country is run by a dictator whose family is the richest in the whole country.
4 This country has invested a lot of money in education.
5 This country has vast reserves of natural resources.

EXTENSION

The resource curse

There are many countries in the world that have an abundance of natural resources
but have not developed well either economically or in terms of human development.
This pattern is sometimes described as the resource curse. This suggests that
rather than aiding the development of a country, an abundance of natural resources
such as oil, gold or diamonds can actually hold back the development of a country.
This is explained through countries overly depending on their resources in an
uneven manner, or through the exploitation of these resources in an unsustainable
way or with corruption. This can also be linked to international competition for
resources that does not consider the development of the country.
The resource curse has often been linked to the problems associated with
development of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. Look at this article to

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research this issue in more detail. www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390

Is there a connection between health and

wealth?
REFLECTION
What do you think are the main challenges associated with measuring the
development of a country?

When studying development, it seems a fair conclusion to make that if a country is wealthy
then surely the health of the people living there will improve. Look at Table 6.4 for the year
2013.

ACTIVITY: The connection between health and wealth

ATL
• Information literacy skills – Access information to be informed and to inform
others

Table 6.4 shows a cross section (selection) of countries in the world with their
average life expectancy and income per person.
1 Using the data, do you think there is a connection between health and wealth?
Explain your answer with examples.
2 Are there any significant anomalies (exceptions)? Do some research into these
countries to find out reasons for their results.
3 Go to the Gapminder website:

www.gapminder.org/tools/bubbles

Spend some time exploring the ‘Health & Wealth of Nations’ chart to investigate
these issues further.

Links to: Physical and health education

Differing perspectives on development – Bhutan and Gross

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National Happiness
The country of Bhutan in Asia has criticized the use of measuring the development
of a country based on the economic wealth of the people who live there. In 1972,
the King of Bhutan proposed the measure of ‘Gross National Happiness’ to
determine whether a country is developed or not.
Bhutan is a relatively isolated country in the Himalayas that places a major
emphasis on Buddhist teachings and living in harmony with the natural
environment.
The Gross National Happiness scale places emphasis on the well-being of people
and is observed through various measures such as their psychological health,
quality of education, the natural environment and living conditions.
Bhutan represents an interesting case study of a country that takes a different view
on the idea of what being developed actually means.
Discuss: What do you think? Is the well-being of the people more important than
their economic wealth? Can you make connections to your studies of physical and
health education?

ACTIVITY: Development profile

ATL
• Information literacy skills – Make connections between various sources of
information
• Critical-thinking skills – Gather and organize relevant information to formulate an
argument

For this task you need to create a profile of a country of your choice. You need to
investigate and explore different aspects of the country and come to a final
decision on how developed you think it is.
There are many websites where you can find data to help you to complete this task

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but the following could be particularly useful:
• www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook
• http://data.worldbank.org
• www.gapminder.org
You should reflect on the relative strengths and weaknesses of your chosen
country. Within your profile you could also include a location map and supporting
images and graphs.
Table 6.5 could be used to help you to reach a decision about the development of
the country.
You will need to provide a list of the sources you used in your research for this task
as well as a reflection on the research process and results.
Table 6.5

Development indicator Strengths Weaknesses

SOCIAL
(examples include quality of
education, health care provision, life
expectancy, literacy rates)

ECONOMIC
(examples include GDP, GNI,
income levels for people,
unemployment figures, trade
relations)

POLITICAL
(examples include levels of
freedom/censorship, political rights,
international relations)

ENVIRONMENTAL
(examples include sustainability,
pollution levels, environmental
quality)

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion A: Knowing and understanding
(strands i and ii), Criterion B: Investigating (strand iv) and Criterion C:

205
Communicating (strands i, ii and iii).

How can resources help to reduce extreme

poverty?

206
DISCUSS
Look at the quotations in Figure 6.10. What suggestions are being made about the

207
ways that extreme poverty can be reduced in the world?

ACTIVITY: Diamond 9

ATL
Critical-thinking skills – Propose and evaluate a variety of solutions

In groups, create your own diamond 9 of the cards in Figure 6.12. Rearrange the
cards in order of importance. The cards at the top would be what you consider to be
the most important solutions while those lower down would be of lesser priority.
Discuss your ideas in your group.

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CASE STUDY – FAIRTRADE
You may have seen the Fairtrade Foundation logo on different items in supermarkets. The
movement was started to promote better trading conditions for people in developing countries
who may have, in the past, been exploited by unfair trading regulations.

DISCUSS
According to Sources A and B, what have been the benefits of the Fairtrade
movement to these farmers?
Reflect upon the ways that different global interactions can have a positive impact
on the development of different countries.

209
SOURCE A
Gerardo Arias Camacho, coffee producer, Costa Rica
‘In the 1980s, the price of coffee fell so low that it didn’t cover the cost of production.
Many farmers abandoned their land and went to the cities to find work. Some even
left the country. In the mid-90s, I decided to go to America to make money and
support my family. After eight years, I had earned enough to buy the family farm so
that my parents could retire. But coffee prices were still so low that I was forced to go
back to the States for another two years.
‘The coffee market was so unstable. We did not have a local school, good roads or
bridges. Now that our consortium is Fairtrade-certified, prices are stable and we
receive a guaranteed premium. We spend the money on education, environmental
protection, roads and bridges, and improving the old processing plant. We have
sponsored a scholarship programme so that our kids can stay in school.
‘I believe that my cooperative would be out of business if it wasn’t for Fairtrade. Free
trade is not responsible trade. When prices go down, farmers produce more and
prices drop further. Fairtrade is the way trade should be: fair, responsible and
sustainable.
‘My oldest son is in college, my ten-year-old has already had as much education as
me, and my little princess is in her second year at school. With the help of Fairtrade,
they might all be able to go to university and get a degree. They won’t have to jump
the border from Mexico to America, leaving their country for ten years, like me. They
can decide what they want in life. I tell them: “You have two choices. You can be a

210
coffee grower or you can be something else. But learn how to be a coffee grower
first, like your father and your grandfather.”’

SOURCE B
Makandianfing Keita, cotton farmer, Mali
‘Cotton prices were going down and down until they were below the cost of
production. People were demotivated and it was very depressing. But now, we can
make a sustainable living. My family can eat and we have better health.
‘In the past, children had to walk 10 km to go to school, so really it was impossible.
We have now been able to build a school. At first it had two classrooms. When we
had more money and wanted to expand, we challenged the government to match our
investment. Now there are five classrooms in total, and every child in the village can
go to school.
‘Pregnant women had no access to healthcare. Many died in childbirth and there
were high rates of infant mortality. Now we have built a maternity centre. We have
also built a food storage facility so that we can have a year-round food supply, and
we have installed a pump for drinking water. We have built a new road, enabling us
to travel further than 5 km outside of the village without difficulty.
‘Fairtrade standards called for better agricultural practices. Before, empty pesticide
containers would be used as water carriers. In some cases this led to death. Now,
we dispose of waste properly. We don’t burn bushes any more, we prevent soil
erosion and we have effective irrigation.’

What is aid?
AID
Aid refers to the supply of resources to communities in need of help for a range of reasons.
Aid is often sent as a rapid response to a specific event that might occur in a country. This
includes war, famine, drought and natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes. This is
known as short-term aid and often involves the delivery of essential supplies including water,
food and medicines.
Other forms of aid occur on long-term projects such as building infrastructure and services in
countries, training people with specific skills and working with governments. A number of
charities work on a specific issue and use their funds to support the locations where this issue
is severe.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK: Development plan

ATL
• Critical-thinking skills – Consider ideas from multiple perspectives; Gather and
organize relevant information to formulate an argument
• Creative-thinking skills – Create novel solutions to authentic problems

211
You work for an international agency that specializes in development. Your
organization provides recommendations to countries on how to find solutions to
poverty and development problems. You have been given the following case to look
at.
The country you have been given to look at has experienced war for the past five
years. Peace has now arrived and people are keen to move their lives forward and
improve conditions within the country. War has created a number of problems. The
infrastructure of the country has been damaged so there is a lack of good roads,
schools and hospitals. People have limited access to clean water for drinking. Land
here is very fertile and many crops can be grown easily but war has led to a number
of landmines being left in rural areas, which if stepped on can lead to injury or
death. The country has a number of natural advantages, including a coastline and
significant natural resources, such as copper, that can be mined and then sold
internationally.
Since the war there is a new government in power, which wants to work with your
agency and would be interested in listening to your suggestions.
Your task is to write a plan for the government with three short-term goals and three
long-term goals to help the development of the country. You should aim to make the
plan between 400 and 600 words in length. Structure the plan with subheadings
and explanations of each of the goals and what you hope they would achieve.
You need to make sure that you consider the perspectives of the following groups
of people within your plan:
• Farmers – They are able to work the land very effectively but need help to avoid
the dangerous landmines and with the distribution of their produce to the market.
• Children – Education is in a bad state due to war: there are not enough schools
and teachers; illiteracy rates are increasing.
• Government – The government’s biggest concern is the availability of clean
water; it would be happy to accept aid to help with this.
• Doctors and nurses – Owing to large amounts of investment before the war,
there is a sufficient number of doctors and nurses in the country. But many are
choosing to work in other countries because of the lack of facilities and poor
working conditions.
• Miners – Mining is a big part of the economy of the country but often in the past,
miners have been underpaid for their work. The government now controls all of
the mines.
Your agency also works closely with two aid agencies that can offer relief to some
of the problems. The first, ‘Emergency Aid’, is able to help with the distribution of
water, medicines and vaccinations, clearing landmines and the building of roads.
The second, ‘Sustainable Futures’, specializes in the development of industry and
education. It works with governments in a long-term relationship to develop
services, systems and infrastructure over time.
When you have completed your plan, complete a reflection. Think about what went
well in your work and how you might do things differently next time.

Assessment opportunities:
This activity can be assessed using Criterion A: Knowing and understanding

212
 (strand ii), Criterion C: Communicating (strands i and ii) and Criterion D: Thinking
critically (strands ii and iv).

Reflection
In this chapter we have explored the issue of poverty and how it affects people throughout the
world. We have reflected and inquired into how countries develop and some of the solutions
to improving the fairness and development of different societies.

213
Glossary
absolute poverty The state of being extremely poor with little to no resources to help you out
of the situation
agnostic Belief that it is impossible to know whether a God exists or not
aid The provision of goods or services to help out people in need
apostles 12 followers of Jesus Christ
atheism Belief that there is no God
belief Something that is thought to be true with conviction
birth rate The number of births per thousand people of a population
cardinal points The points on a compass – North, East, South, West
cartography The study of maps
contour lines Lines on a map showing areas of equal height
contour interval Distance between contour lines
civilization An advanced society
city A large settlement
conurbations Extended urban area, merging of different towns
covenant An agreement between God and his people, important to the Jewish faith
consumerism The process of advertising and selling goods that people might want to buy for
themselves
deforestation The process of cutting down trees and not replanting them; leading to a
reduced number of trees in the world
dharma Moral duties for Hindus
disciples Followers of Jesus Christ
denomination A branch of a particular religion
function The main industry or role of a settlement e.g. fishing
grid references Either a four figure or six figure number that provides a location point on a
map
governance Refers to the different ways of ruling a society e.g. monarchy
gold rush Historical time period in the 19th century when many people went to find gold in
the west of the USA
green belt Area that is protected from urban development
human rights Term used for the rights that people expect to have worldwide; for example,
the right to life and the right to work
hieroglyphics System of writing developed in Ancient Egypt
humanists During the Renaissance these people sought to explore the capabilities of human
action and creativity
Human Development Index A measurement of the economic and social well being of
people within a country
irrigation Technique in farming for moving water around to help with the growing of crops

214
karma Peoples’ actions in one life determines what will happen in future lives
moksha Path to escape the cycle of birth, life and death
megacities Cities of over 10 million people
meditation The act of thinking deeply with focus for a certain period of time
nirvana Buddhist term for reaching enlightenment
needs Things that are essential to life e.g. water
Passover Jewish religious festival
pollution Damaging the environment by the disposal or release of harmful materials
philosophy The study of knowledge and human existence
public health Health facilities provided for all the people by a government
primary sources Sources that are from the time e.g. a coin, letter or newspaper
push and pull factors Factors that make people either leave (push) or be attracted (pull) to
move to a different location
pilgrimage A journey to a special place that holds significance
prayer A spoken act of worship
poverty line The point at which it is possible to live a life without needing help from others,
living below the line means to be living in poverty
poverty trap Situation where the same communities stay trapped in poverty due to
circumstances out of their control
rabbi Religious leader within Judaism
recycling Converting something back into a usable product e.g. recycled paper
reincarnation Cycle of life and death, being reborn after death
relief Variation in the height of an area of terrain
relative poverty The state of being poor in comparison to others, less extreme than absolute
poverty
Reformation Historic time period when the religious teachings of Christianity were
challenged, leading to the creation of new denominations within the religion
resources Materials and goods that are required
ritual Series of actions or traditions associated with a religion
rural Area within the countryside
samsara – Buddhist term for the cycle of birth, life and death
scale On a map, scale represents the distance in real life
secondary sources Sources that are produced at a later date to the event in question e.g.
books
site Location for a settlement
sphere of influence Areas that a settlement has influence over
situation The position of a settlement, location and surroundings
settlement A place where people live e.g town or city
sustainability Methods used to ensure something will last into the future; for example,
environmentally friendly policies by a government
synagogue A place of worship for Jews
topographic Showing the different physical features accurately

215
Torah Religious text of Judaism
trinity How God appears according to Christianity as the father, son and Holy Spirit
urban Areas within cities and towns
Vedas Sacred writings of Hinduism
water cycle The movement of water around the planet
wants Non-essential things that people may want to have e.g. a new car

216
Acknowledgements
The Publishers would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce copyright
material. Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been
inadvertently overlooked the Publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements
at the first opportunity.

Photo credits
p.2 © Andrew Aitchison/Alamy Stock Photo; p.3 l © Per Anders Pettersson/AFP/Getty
Images, r © Ashley Cooper/Getty Images; p.4 t © timy1973/Thinkstock/iStockphoto/Getty
Images, m © E+/Getty Images, b © Huntstock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.5 t ©
Only5/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images, b ©3DSculptor/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.9
© Steve Greenberg/CartoonStock.com; p.10 © fergregory/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images;
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Dirscherl/ullstein bild/Getty Images; p.18 © Tatiana Tatiana Edrenkina/123RF.com; p.19 ©
Albachiaraa/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.20 l Courtesy of the Library of Congress,
LC_USZ62-117124, m © Eye Ubiquitous/Alamy Stock Photo, r © robertharding/Alamy
Stock Photo, b © Peter Cavanagh/Alamy Stock Photo; p.24 © Sustainable Development
Knowledge Platform (http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org); p.28–9 © Tryfonov/Fotolia;
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©PeterHermesFurian/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images, tr Reprinted with permission from
Ordnance survey, bl Climate Classification of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved
from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/274901906_fig2_Fig-2-Major-Australian-climatic-
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DanielPrudek/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.40 ©
Sandancer1088/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.41 Reprinted with permission from
Ordnance survey; p.48 © gionnixxx/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.50 © Rasiel Suarez;
p.51 l © Corbis, r © lapas77 – Fotolia; p.54 © De Agostini Picture Library/De
Agostini/Getty Images; p.56 l © Jane Arraf/MCT/MCT/Getty Images, r © DeAgostini/Getty
Images; p.58 © Apic/Getty Images; p.65 © gkrobar/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.68 t
© Viacheslav Lopatin/123RF.com, b © Atlaspix/Alamy Stock Photo; p.73 © Jgz/Fotolia;
p.76 © Fred49/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.77 l © flocu/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty
Images, m © YMZK-photo/Thinkstock/iStockphoto/Getty Images, r ©
KeepYourEyesWideOpen//Thinkstock/iStockphoto/Getty Images; p.78 © Henry Velthuizen /
Alamy Stock Photo; p. 84 bl © Nick Hale/Getty Images, t © Roger-Viollet / TopFoto, br
©fazon1/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.85 © ronniechua/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty
Images; p.86 © robynmac/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.87 l © Yale Center for British
Art, Paul Mellon Collection, r © AP/Press Association Images, b © Fiona Hanson/PA
Archive/Press Association Images; p.88 ©ChepeNicoli/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images;
p.89 t © Kenneth Garrett/Getty Images, m © Religious Images/UIG/Getty Images, b © Eco
Images/Getty Images; p.92 t © Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock, b © Myroslava
Pavlyk/123RF.com; p.93 © Pete Ryan/Getty Images; p.95 © Martin
Moxtr/Westend61/Superstock; p.98 © milosk/123RF.com; p.99 l © SANCHAI
LOONGROONG/123RF.com, m © Alex_533/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images, r © Cristian
Baitg/Getty Images; p.102 © Yuri/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.105 ©

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robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo; p.108 t © The Granger Collection/TopFoto, b ©
TMAX/Fotolia; p.109 © Print Collector/Getty Images; p.110 © Aidar
Ayazbayev/Hemera/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.112 © The Granger Collection/ TopFoto;
p.114 © Art Directors & TRIP/Alamy Stock Photo; p.115 t ©
Tjavarman3/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images, b © Muralinath/iStock/Thinkstock/Getty
Images; p.116 t © Dinodia Photos/Alamy Stock Photo, b ©
rozmarina//iStock/Thinkstock/Getty Images; p.117 © ullsteinbild / TopFoto; p.122 ©
DeAgostini/Getty Images; p.128 © Spencer Platt/Getty Images; p.129 © 1996 Clay Butler –
Sidewalk Bubblegum; p.131 Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-USF34- 009694-E;
p.132 © FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images; p.139 © Dan Bannister/Getty Images;
p.142 © Frederic Courbet/Getty Images.
t = top, b = bottom, l = left, r = right, c = centre

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Visible Thinking – ideas, framework, protocol and thinking routines – from Project Zero at
the Harvard Graduate School of Education have been used in many of our activities. You can
find out more here: www.visiblethinkingpz.org.

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‫اﻟﻤﺤﺘﻮﻳﺎت‬
Title Page 2
Copyright 3
Contents 5
How to use this book 6
1 What does it mean to be a global citizen? 9
2 How can maps provide us with a sense of time, place
45
and space?
3 What can we learn from different civilizations? 71
4 Where do we live? 112
5 What do people believe in? 144
6 What factors contribute to the fairness and development
189
of societies?
Glossary 214
Acknowledgements 217

219