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AP World History: Ancient World Flashcards

First set of words in the AP World History book by the Princeton Review.

Terms : Hide Images
9475500080AgricultureThe deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain.0
9475500081Agrarianpertaining to land or its cultivation; Ex. agrarian reform, agrarian society1
9475500082Bands/ Clansextended family groups that generally lived together2
9475500083Civilizationa society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)3
9475500084City-Statesdifferent sections of land owned by the same country but ruled by different rulers (e.g. Greece)4
9475500085Domesticationprocess of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans5
9475500086Economysystem by which goods and services are produced and distributed to meet people's needs6
9475500087Egalitariana person who believes in the equality of all people7
9475500088Foragingthe process of scavenging for food8
9475500089Hierarchya series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system9
9475500090Hunter-GathererA hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either plants nor animals10
9475500091Irrigationsupplying dry land with water by means of ditches, sprinklers, etc.11
9475500092Monarchya government in which power is in the hands of a single person who usually inherits their power12
9475500093Monotheismbelief in a single God13
9475500094NeolithicThe New Stone Age from circa 8500 to 4500 BCE: The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution(s)14
9475500095Nomadic(of groups of people) tending to travel and change settlements frequently15
9475500096Pastoralrelating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep or cattle (e.g. pastoral peoples)16
9475500097PaleolithicThe Old Stone Age from circa 750,00 to 500,000 years BCE to 8,500 years BCE: The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans and the development of minor tools17
9475500098Philosophythe rational investigation of questions about existence, knowledge, and ethics18
9475500099Polytheismbelief in multiple Gods19
9475500100River Valleythe fertile land surrounding a river- the first civilizations arose near them20
9475500101Sedentaryremaining in one place21
9475500102Settlementthe act of colonizing or a small group of people in a sedentary position22
9475500103Subsistencethe necessities of life, the resources of survival23
9475500104Surplusa quantity much larger than is needed24
9475500105Sustenancethe act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence25
9475500106Theocracygovernment run by religious leaders26
9475500107Traditionalconsisting of or derived from tradition; customary practices27
9475500108Urbanizationthe social process whereby cities grow and societies become more urban28
9475500109Bronze Agea period between the Stone and Iron ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons29
9475500110Code of Hammurabithe set of laws drawn up by Babylonian king Hammurabi dating to the 18th century BC, the earliest legal code known in its entirety30
9475500111CuneiformOne of the first written languages known: A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted to represent other languages of western Asia.31
9475500112Democracya political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them32
9475500113Iron Agethe period following the Bronze Age; characterized by rapid spread of iron tools and weapons33
9475500114PyramidsHuge stone tombs with four triangle-shaped walls that met in a point on top34
9475500115Shang CivilizationChina's first dynasty almost 2000 BCE35
9475500116Zigguratsa temple or tomb of the ancient Assyrians, Sumerians, or Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories36
9475500119Trans Saharanroute across the sahara desert. Major trade route that traded for gold and salt, created caravan routes, economic benefit for controlling dessert, camels played a huge role in the trading37
9475500120MonsoonsMajor winds in the Indian Ocean that blew into India for half the year, and blew away from India for the other half. Helped facilitate trade in the Indian Ocean.38
9475500121Sumerianspeople who dominated Southern Mesopotamia through the end of the 3rd Millennium BCE. Responsible for the creation of irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions.39
9475500122Indo-EuropeansGroups of people who came from the area north of the Caucasus mountains, which are between the Black and Caspian seas. Herded multiple animals. Rode into battle on chariots. The Indo-European language of Sanskrit, by the Aryans, are the basis of many languages today. Often accepted and adapted aspects of technology, religions, and social order of those with whom they came in contact.40
9475500123Before agriculture, men and women are believed to have a greater degree of equality. But after the rise of agriculture, most human societies became ________ as a result of greater male strength.Patriarchal41
9475500124caste systema set of rigid social categories that determined not only a person's occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society, there was virtually no social mobility42
9475500125Paleolithic(Old Stone Age) a long period of human development before the development of agriculture43
9475500126CarthageThis city has existed for nearly 3,000 years, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC into the capital of the Carthaginian Empire. Controlled commerce in the Mediterranean prior to the rise of Roman Power. The expanding Roman Republic took control of many of its outposts after the two Punic Wars.44

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