Yo, this is the first 2 of the 6 periods of time in WH (pre-history to 600 CE). All the key terms on the last page of the chappie are included, as well as other bolded terms found sprinkled throughout. Don't forget, these periods together will make 20% of the MC questions. Happy studying! :D
PS: If you have found additional info or a mistake on one of these terms, shoot me a chat message/email/stop me in the middle of the hall and tell me. Thanks!
Terms : Hide Images
| 678855797 | Agriculture | THE art of farming! The science or practice of farming. | |
| 678855798 | Agrarian | Someone who farms. Or something pertaining to farming. | |
| 678855799 | Clans | A small group of people that had similar culture and characteristics. | |
| 678855800 | Bureaucracy | A system of government in which state officials would control parts of the area. Different parts of the government would specialize and stabilize. | |
| 678855801 | Civilization | A complex society with organized economies, governmental structures, and/or religious organizations. | |
| 678855802 | City-States | Parts of early civilizations with an urban ceter and any agricultural land under its control. Shared common cultural characteristics with others, but also independent of each other (often competing, too). | |
| 678855803 | Domestication | The process of adapting a wild animal to become accostomed to human interaction and presence. | |
| 678855804 | Economy | The wealth and resources of a country or region. | |
| 678855805 | Egalitarian | Of, relating to, or belief in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. | |
| 678855806 | Emperor | The ruler of an empire; has complete control. | |
| 678855807 | Empire | An extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority; usually made through battles and war. | |
| 678855808 | Feudalism | Legal and social system in which vassals were protected and maintained by their lords. | |
| 678855809 | Foraging Society | Society of hunter-gatherers. Lived at the mercy of nature with little personal belongings since they were nomadic. | |
| 678855810 | Hierarchy | A system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority. | |
| 678855811 | Hunter-Gatherers | A foraging society/clan that traveled from place to place as the climate and availability of plants and animals dictated in order to survive. | |
| 678855812 | Irrigation | A process to supply dry land with water by means of ditches, aqueducts, pipes, etc. | |
| 678855813 | Monarchy | A form of government run by a king or queen. | |
| 678855814 | Monotheism | The belief in one god. | |
| 678855815 | Neolithic Era | Means "New Stone Age". Transition period from 10000 BCE to 3000 BCE when groups of people moved from nomadic lifestyles to agricultural life styles and town and city life. Also known as the Agricultural Revolution. | |
| 678855816 | Nomadic | To move from place to place; no permanent residence anywhere. Wherever you go is your "home". | |
| 678855817 | Pastoral Society | Society characterized by the domestication of animals. They were often found in mountainous regions and in areas with insufficient rainfall. | |
| 678855818 | Paleolithic Era | Means "Old Stone Age". The period of time before the Neolithic Revolution. Started 2.5 million years ago to 10000 BCE. | |
| 678855819 | Philosophy | The study of fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. | |
| 678855821 | Subsistence | A type of farming that provides for the basic needs of the farmer without surpluses for marketing. | |
| 678855822 | Surplus | An excess amount of things needed; the extra stuff. | |
| 678855823 | Theocracy | A system of government in which priests rule in the name of a god. | |
| 678855824 | Urbanization | The process of taking on the characteristics of a city; includes technological and social class advancement. | |
| 678855825 | Cultural Diffusion | An effect when a society changed because it was exposed to a different way of doing things when it interacted with another culture. | |
| 678855826 | Agricultural Revolution | Transition period from 10000 BCE to 3000 BCE when groups of people moved from nomadic lifestyles to agricultural life styles and town and city life. Also called the Neolithic Revolution. | |
| 678855827 | Bronze Age | The latter part of the Neolithic Era. The time when people figured out how to create bronze and create more advanced tools and weapons with it. | |
| 678855828 | Mesopotamia | "The land between the rivers"; specifically talking about the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Part of the Fertile Crescent and home to Sumer, Babylon, and Persia. | |
| 678855829 | Sumer | A civilization in the southern part of Mesopotamia. Developed cuneiform, a 12 month calendar, a math system based on units of 60, and ziggurats for worship. | |
| 678855830 | Ziggurat | A terraced pyramid made by Sumerians as a temple to appease their many gods. | |
| 678855831 | Akkad | A city north of Sumer that eventually dominated the region. Developed the first known code of laws (written in cuneiform). 1700 BCE, they were overun by Babylon. | |
| 678855832 | Babylon | Took over the Akkadians. A famous dude that lead them was King Hammurabi, who made a code that dealt with their lives. Was taken over by the Kassites and then the Hittites. | |
| 678855833 | Code of Hammurabi | Written by King Hammurabi of Babylon. An extensive code that dealth with every part of daily life; distinguished between major and minor offenses and applied to nearly everyone. Often credited as a significant step toward modern legal codes. | |
| 678855834 | Hittites | By 1500 BCE, they dominated the region because they learned how to use iron in their weapons. | |
| 678855835 | Assyria | Civilization that used iron to defeat the Hittites and build an empire that swept across the entire Fertile Crescent. Their capital was Ninevah, and the army was often hated by those they conquered. | |
| 678855836 | Nebuchadnezzar | The Chaldean king who rebuilt Babylon as a showplace of architecture and culture after defeating the Assyrians. | |
| 678855837 | Persian Empire | An empire that defeated the New Babylon and grew from the Nile River Valley to present-day Turkey and parts of Greece, plus parts of through present-day Afghanistan. | |
| 678855838 | Great Royal Road | A 1600 mile road built in the Persian Empire for transportation and communication. | |
| 678855839 | Lydians | A society within the Persian Empire. Important because they came up with the concept of using coined money to conduct trade rahter than using the barter system. | |
| 678855840 | Phoenicians | A society within the Persian Empire that established powerful naval city-states along the Mediterranean and developed a simple alphabet that used only 22 letters. | |
| 678855841 | Hebrews | A society within the Persian Empire. They were significant because of their religious beliefs called Judaism; they were the first Jews. | |
| 678855842 | Egypt | A civilization that developed along the Nile River. Known for their pharoahs, hieroglyphics, and polytheism. | |
| 678855843 | King Menes | Pharoah who united the Lower and Upper parts of Egypt. Led efforts to manage floodwaters and build irrigation systems. | |
| 678855844 | Pharoah | An Egyptian ruler who directed the construction of obelisks and pyramids, controlled all of Egypt, and were considered gods. | |
| 678855845 | Hieroglyphics | A system of writing developed by the Egyptians. Used a series of pictures that represented letters and words. | |
| 678855846 | Queen Hatshepsut | The first female ruler in history. Served as pharoah of Egypt, and credited with greatly expanding Egyptian trade expeditions. | |
| 678855847 | Indus River Valley | A civilization built near the Indus River. Contact with outside civilzations was more limited than in Mesopotamia, but not completely cut off. | |
| 678855848 | Khyber Pass | A pass in the Indus River Valley through the Hindu Kush Mountains that provided a connection to the outside world. Was also used by merchants on trade excursions, and later used as a way for invaders into the land. | |
| 678855849 | Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro | The two major cities of the Indus River Valley civilization. (I had to put them together because there wasn't a lot of differences) | |
| 678855850 | Aryans | Nomadic tribes from north of the Caucasus Mountains. Used horses and advanced weaponry to easily defeat the Indus River Valley civilization. Had a polytheistic religion based on the Vedas and Upanishads. | |
| 678855851 | Caste System | The Aryan social structure involving (from top to bottom): priests, warriors, merchants, and peasants. Subcasts were added, and movement between castes were removed over time. | |
| 678855852 | Shang China | A civilization that rose from the Hwang Ho River Valley (aka Yellow River Valley). Controlled large parts of northern China and had chariots. However, it had limited contact with the rest of the world, which contributed to its ethnocentric belief. | |
| 678855853 | Patriarchy | A familial structure led by the eldest male. | |
| 678855854 | Zhou Dynasty | Led by Wu Wang to take over Shang China. Maintained many of the traditions and customs developed under Shang, and ruled for almost 900 years (the longest). | |
| 678855855 | Mandate of Heaven | A belief in the Zhou Dynasty that heaven granted the Zhou power as long as its rulers governed justly and wisely. | |
| 678855856 | Bantu Migrations | Farmers in the Niger and Benue River valleys of West Africa would migrate south and east. Brought their languages and knowledge of agriculture and metallurgy. | |
| 678855857 | Jenne-Jeno | Believed to be the first city in sub-Saharan Africa. Unusual because it was organized by hierarchy, but by a collection of individual communites. | |
| 678855858 | Olmec | An urban civilization in modern-day Mexico (1500 to 400 BCE). Had surpluses of corn, beans, and squash. Not a river civilization! | |
| 678855859 | Chavin | An urban civilization in the Andes (900 to 200 BCE). Supplemented their diet with seafood and used llamas as beasts of burden. Not a river civilization! | |
| 678855860 | Mayans | Civilization that dominated present-day southern Mexico and parts of Central America (300 BCE to 800 CE). Used city-states that were all ruled by the same king; its capital is Tikal. | |
| 678855861 | Mauryan Empire | An Indian civilization founded by Chandragupta Maurya; covered the Indus River Valley to the Ganges River Valley to the Deccan Plateau. Flourished from trade and its military strength. | |
| 678855862 | Chandragupta Maurya | The founder of the Mauryan Empire; unified the smaller Aryan kingdoms into this great civilization. | |
| 678855863 | Ashoka Maurya | The son of Chandragupta Maurya, and took the Mauryan Empire to its greatest height. Converted to Buddhism and began to preach nonviolence and moderation. Also famous for his Rock and Pillar Edicts. | |
| 678855864 | Rock and Pillar Edicts | Carvings on rocks and pillars that reminded Mauryans to live generous and righteous lives. | |
| 678855865 | Chandra Gupta the Great | The ruler who revived the Mauryan Empire under the Gupta Empire. Ruled from 375 to 415 CE. | |
| 678855866 | Gupta Empire | A more decentralized and smaller empire than the Mauryan. But, it is often referred to as a golden age because it enjoyed peace and saw significant advances in art and science. | |
| 678855867 | Arabic Numerals | A decimal system made by the Guptans. Used the numerals 1 through 9. | |
| 678855868 | Qin Dynasty | An extremely short lasting dynasty following the Zhou (221 to 209 BCE). The empire was organized, centralized, and territorial. Was eventually taken down so quickly because of resentment for its harsh rule. Also had the Great Wall of China. | |
| 678855869 | Qin Shihuangdi | The Qin Dynasty's first emperor. Recentralized various feudal kingdoms; standardized all the laws, currencies, weights, meassures, and systems of writing; and refused to tolerate any dissent (belief in something different). | |
| 682442483 | Great Wall of China | Fortification walls built by the Qin Dynasty. Proof that the empire was very organized and militaristic. | |
| 682442484 | Han Dynasty | The dynasty that took over the Qin Dynasty. One of the most significant developments here was Confucianism, along with paper, sundials, calendars, rudders, compasses, and navigation techniques. | |
| 682442485 | Xiongnu | A large nomadic group from northern Asia (who may have been Huns). Invaded territories extending from China to Eastern Europe; but were more successful in Europe than in China. | |
| 682442486 | Wu Ti | The "Warrior Emperor" who greatly enlarged the Han Empire to central Asia. | |
| 682442487 | Ancient Greece | A civilization located on a peninsula between the waters of the Augean and Mediterranean Seas. Mostly mountainous, but could easily sail to other places for trade with wine and olive products. Known for their two city-states: Sparta and Athens. | |
| 682442488 | Polis | The city-states of Greece; all shared a common culture and identity. | |
| 682442489 | Athens | The most political, commercial, and cultural city-state of Greek civilization. | |
| 682442490 | Sparta | A city-state of Greece that was mostly agricultural and militaristic. | |
| 682442491 | Draco and Solon | Two aristocrats from Athens who worked together to create democracy in that city-state. Wanted to ensure fair, equal, and open participation. | |
| 682442492 | Persian Wars | The wars in 449 BCE that united all the Greek city-states against their mutual enemy, Persia. Much of Athens was destroyed in these wars, but Greece held on and the wars ended in a stalemate. | |
| 682442493 | Golden Age of Pericles | An era of peace and prosperity in Greece after the Persian Wars (480-404 BCE). The time when Athens became a cultural powerhouse under the leadership of Pericles. Philosophy and the arts flourished greatly. | |
| 682442494 | Pericles | The leader of Athens during the Golden Age. Established democracy for all adult males, and rebuilt Athens (including the Parthenon). He also established the Delian League. | |
| 682442495 | Delian League | An alliance between Athens and other city-states against aggression from its common enemies. | |
| 682442496 | Socrates | A Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics. | |
| 682442497 | Plato | A Greek philosopher who was a student of Socrates. Was also a mathematician and founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world | |
| 682442498 | Aristotle | A Greek philosopher who was a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Focused on math and logic. | |
| 682442499 | Homer | A Greek author of famous epic poems, like the Illiad and the Odyssey. | |
| 682442500 | Peloponnesian War | A war between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 BCE. A conflict of power between the Delian League (Athens) and the Peloponnesian League (Sparta). Sparta won, but never destroyed Athens out of respect. | |
| 682442501 | Macedonians | Led by Philip III of Macedon, a group of people that invaded Athens and conquered the entire Greek region. Fortunately, they respected Greek culture and adopted it, spreading it throughout their empire. | |
| 682442502 | Alexander the Great | The son of Philip III of Macedon who widely expanded Macedonian dominance. Conquered the Perisan Empire and moved to the shores of the Indus River, creating the largest empire of the time. Divided the empire into three smaller empires. | |
| 682442503 | Antigonid | Part of the Macedonian Empire, controlled Greece and Macedon. | |
| 682442504 | Ptolemaic | Part of the Macedonian Empire, controlled Egypt. | |
| 682442505 | Seleucid | Part of the Macedonian Empire, controlled Bactria and Anatolia. | |
| 682442506 | Hellenism | The culture, ideals,and pattern of life of Classical Greece. | |
| 682442507 | Patricians | The Roman class of land-owning, noblemen. | |
| 682442508 | Plebeians | The Roman class of free men. Above slaves, but below Patricians. | |
| 682442509 | Twelve Tables of Rome | The laws of Rome that were codified. Had the first concept of "innocent until proven guilty". These laws were extended to an international code that Rome applied to its conquered territories. | |
| 682442510 | Carthage | A city-state in North Africa with powerful ambitions that became Rome's first enemy. | |
| 682442511 | First Punic War | Part of the war between Rome and Carthage (264-241 BCE). Fought to gain control of Sicily; Rome won. | |
| 682442512 | Second Punic War | Part of the war between Rome and Carthage (218-201 BCE). Carthage was led by Hannibal, who made a suprise attack on Rome. However, Carthage was forced to retreat and defend, causing to sue for peace with Rome. | |
| 682442513 | Third Punic War | Part of the war between Rome and Carthage (149-146 BCE). Rome invaded Carthage and burned it to the ground, defeating them once and for all. | |
| 682442514 | Hannibal | A Carthaginian general considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. | |
| 682442515 | First Triumvirate | The result of the Roman Senate weakened due to its expansion. Three men who controlled all of Rome as co-rulers: Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar. | |
| 682442516 | Julius Caesar | One of the first triumvirate who ended up pushing the other two co-rulers out of the picture. Became an "emperor for life", but was quickly assassinated by his own senators. | |
| 682442517 | Second Triumvirate | The result of Julius Caesar's death. Three men who controlled all of Rome as co-rulers: Octavius, Marc Antony, and Lepidus. | |
| 682442518 | Octavius | One of the second triumvirate who ended up pushing the other two co-rulers out of the picture. Assumed the name Augustus Caesar when he became emperor. Started the Pax Romana with his rule of law, common coinage, civil service, and secure travel. | |
| 682442519 | Diocletian | Emperor of Rome in 284 CE. He attempted to deal with the increasing problems in the empire by dividing it into two regions for co-emperors. His strategy ended up as the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire. | |
| 682442520 | Constantine | A co-emperor of Rome in 306 CE who defeated his rivals and assumed control over the entire empire in 322. Ordered the building of Constantinople at the site of the Greek city of Byzantium as the capital of the empire. | |
| 682442521 | Visigoths | German peoples who had adopted Roman law and Chrisitianity. Ended up taking over Rome in 410 CE in response to the Huns. | |
| 682442522 | Attila | Leader of the Huns who began to press on the Germanic tribes near Rome. | |
| 682442523 | Silk Road | A major trade route that went through China to the Roman Empire. Famous for the fabric that was produced from silkworms. | |
| 682442524 | Polytheism | Belief system dedicated to many gods. Through 600 CE, was popular in Mesopotamia and Mediterranean empires. Was in the center of the art and architecture of many famous places. | |
| 682442525 | Confucianism | Belief system developed specifically for the Chinese culture. Not a religion, but a political and social philosophy focused on relationships between people. | |
| 682442526 | Daoism | Belief system practiced by some Chinese from 500 BCE onward. Defined as the way of nature and the way of the cosmos. Passive and yielding, focused on all the workings of the world. | |
| 682442527 | Legalism | Belief system practiced by the Chinese, especially during the Qin Dynasty. Didn't trust human nature and advocated for tough laws to keep stabilization and a centralized government. | |
| 682442528 | Hinduism | Belief system practiced in various cultures of India. Had one supreme force called Brahma, the creator. Was a religion as well as a social system (caste system). | |
| 682442529 | Buddhism | Belief system practiced by India, China, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Followed the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. There were two kinds: Theravada/Hinayana and Mahayana. | |
| 682442530 | Judaism | Belief system practiced by the Hebrews. The first great monotheistic religion. The taks of human beings is to honor and serve God, promote ethics of prophets, and maintain identity. | |
| 682442531 | Christianity | Belief system practiced by some Jews, non-Jewish people, and some Romans. Stemmed off of Judiasm from a man named Jesus, who promoted the practice to know and love God while spreading it to the unconverted. |
