AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

AP World History Chapter 1 Notecards Flashcards

Terms : Hide Images
7253775182Indus River Valley (Ch. 1 Pg. 22)River connected to Arabian Sea at which the Harappan civilization existed. Host to large cities with advanced technologies, such as Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. These cities were different than those of Egypt or Mesopotamia in that they had many trade deals with several different civilizations, as well as advanced technologies such as running water.0
7253442921Homo sapiens (Ch. 1 Pg. 10)Most successful humanoid at the end of the Old Stone Age. All humans today are Homo sapiens, evolutions such as speech from the original Homo sapiens has shaped what we are today. We would be very different today if a different species was the most successful.1
7253424935Paleolithic Age (Ch. 1 Pg. 10)Old Stone Age which ended in 12000 B.C.E. Hunting and gathering and use of stone tools was common. Beginning of humanity. Humans throughout East Africa and other migration locations made use of stone tools. Use of tools is a key difference between humans and other animals2
7253465305Neolithic Age (Ch. 1 Pg. 12)8000-5000 B.C.E. New Stone Age. Agriculture and domestication were the important concepts of this time period. Use of agriculture allowed humans to engage in other tasks than food acquiring, and domestication prevented the need for frequent migration. Time for other tasks allowed humans to develop new technologies such as the wheel, language, and more.3
7253495623Neolithic Revolution (Ch. 1 Pg. 13)8500-3500 B.C.E. The new technologies that allowed agricultural development. Agricultural development gave way to more time for humans to think and invent things in this time, such as creating language. Language and many technologies only exist because of this extra time.4
7253510763Hunting and Gathering (Ch. 1 Pg. 13)Original food gathering system. Groups hunt animals and gather other edibles. Humans using this method eventually became agricultural societies (except for some groups). This method was proved to be unable to compete with agriculture in terms of development and food supplies, as well as population growth. This method was the original human way that was changed.5
7253575009Bronze Age (Ch. 1 Pg. 15)4000-1500 B.C.E. The time from which bronze tools were the most common and highest quality, replacing stone tools which would eventually be replaced with iron. Use of bronze in weapons and armor allowed for more violent wars with greater results, such as between Chinese clans for power. Larger results from war allowed for civilizations to grow and evolve more rapidly.6
7253738815Slash and Burn Agriculture (Ch. 1 Pg. 16)Agriculture system in which an area of tress is burned down and crops are grown until the soil is depleted of nutrients, moving on to several areas and potentially repeating a cycle when the nutrients return to the soil. This method of agriculture has been used until nearly modern times, up until 150 years ago in the American South. This method is useful when the population is low and deforestation is not an issue.7
7253751008Band (Ch. 1 Pg. 16)A group of 20-30 hunter-gatherers to whom labor is given by gender. Tribal bands helped to develop different civilizations, such as those in Central Asia, the Middle East, and Sudan. Tribal bands increased the rate of development in regions they existed in.8
7253780675Çatal Hüyük (Ch. 1 Pg. 16)Urban culture involving sedentary agriculture. These urban cultures allowed for larger civilizations, such as in Southern Turkey, to grow. Larger civilizations allow for more unified thinking and faster progression.9
7253801113Civilization (Ch. 1 Pg. 17)Societies relying upon sedentary agriculture, as well as merchant/manufacturing groups, and potential for surpluses of food. Civilizations are large societies which allowed people to increase population, without moving, and spread further throughout the world, such as the civilizations in Mesopotamia being able to have high populations. A large contributor to high populations of humans is large societies that increased population quickly.10
7253820032Cuneiform (Ch. 1 Pg. 17)Sumerian writing style using wedge-shaped characters. Cuneiform was the first form of writing, which was primarily and infamously used by and created by the Sumerians. Cuneiform writing had many uses such as sending messages, keeping track of history, etc.11
7253837149Nomads (Ch. 1 Pg. 18)Animal-herding societies that exist on the outskirts of civilizations and would move frequently. Nomads helped to spread the human population out by being distant from large civilizations, such as the Hun being distant from the large Chinese civilizations. The movement of the Nomads helped in expanding the reach of humans.12
7253929382Mesopotamia (Ch. 1 Pg. 19)First civilization developed between the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys in the Middle East. Mesopotamia was the first civilization and one of the only ones that developed without a role model. Because Mesopotamia was the first civilization, most others used it as a role model, making the idea of civilizations more popular and occur more often.13
7253941625Sumerians (Ch. 1 Pg. 19)Group of people who migrated to Mesopotamia at around 4000 B.C.E. Created the first civilization in Mesopotamia and organized it into city-states. The Sumerians created the first civilization, as well as developed the first form of writing (Cuneiform). They made several advancements to human technology and gave others models. The models of written language and civilization noticed by other societies and could be spread out and occur more throughout the world.14
7253951265Ziggurats (Ch. 1 Pg. 19)Ziggurats were large towers involved in Mesopotamian temples. Ziggurats were significant because they were the first monumental architecture in the time. These were operated by priests and gave the Sumerians the idea that they could pray with them to prevent floods and other calamities. The idea of monuments could have been used and spread throughout the world at the time the Sumerians created it.15
7253980159City-State (Ch. 1 Pg. 20)Form of political organization in Mesopotamian civilizations. City-states are significant because they show how more formal political structure is formed over time. More defined and separated structures which are unified are shown throughout time, and in modern day as well.16
7254013327Babylonian Empire (Ch. 1 Pg. 20)Mesopotamian empire that united all of Mesopotamia in 1800 B.C.E. The Babylonian Empire united the different civilizations inside of Mesopotamia. Caused more unity between a large group.17
7254018277Hammurabi (Ch. 1 Pg. 20)Babylonian ruler who codified Babylonian law. Hammurabi created the first procedures and codes for law and prosecution, though with very harsh punishments for crimes. Complex justice systems could have been created off of the original systems created by Hammurabi.18
7254024097Pharaoh (Ch. 1 Pg. 20)Powerful king in Egypt. Powerful kings in Egypt were regarded as gods by the people. The Pharaoh has large amounts of power, so more direct, powerful government control was seen in the Egyptian society than the Mesopotamian ones.19
7254029053Pyramids (Ch. 1 Pg. 20)Monumental burial sites for Pharaohs in Egypt. The sites showed the power of the Pharaoh and the control he had over the people. The Pharaoh's power showed the higher amount of central government control in Egypt than is shown in Mesopotamia.20
7254036806Kush (Ch. 1 Pg. 21)African state that captured and controlled Egypt for multiple centuries (1000 B.C.E.). Conquered a large and powerful civilization. Shows how control of different civilizations could be changed frequently and easily.21
7254059825Harappa (Ch. 1 Pg. 22)Large urban center of Indus River Harappan Civilization. Supported large number of people and showed consistent grid patterns for cities. The grid pattern was standard among the Harappan civilization and allowed for standard roads and carts.22
7254063262Mohenjo Daro (Ch. 1 Pg. 22)Large urban center of Indus River Harappan Civilization. Supported large number of people and showed consistent grid patterns for cities. The grid pattern was standard among the Harappan civilization and allowed for standard roads and carts.23
7254066602Shang (Ch. 1 Pg. 24)First Chinese dynasty that evidently existed. This was the first Chinese dynasty that is known to exist, and many other dynasties existed after this (Zhou, Qin, Han). The Shang dynasty's existence created a system which China would follow for multiple centuries.24
7254101341Oracles (Ch. 1 Pg. 24)Chinese shamans/priests that predicted the future by heat cracks on bones, which eventually formed Chinese writing. Oracles were important to the decision making of the people of the Shang dynasty. Battles may be avoided or trips may be cancelled due to predictions from the oracles.25
7254142546Ideographs (Ch. 1 Pg. 25)Pictographic elements which are put in different combinations and groups to represent something else. Writing system allowed complicated ideas to be written out and expressed easily by the Chinese. Communication is enhanced by better expression of thoughts and ideas. History can be recorded.26
7254145908Phoenicians (Ch. 1 Pg. 27)Eastern Mediterranean civilization that set up overseas colonies. 22 character writing system became key to other civilizations. Greek and Latin alphabets took after the Phoenician alphabet system. Most modern alphabets are based off of the Phoenician alphabet (Romance languages, Germanic Languages, Hellenic Languages, etc).27
7254152372Monotheism (Ch. 1 Pg. 28)The worship of 1 god instead of several or none. Introduced from Judaism. Incorporated into Islam and Christianity. Ethical system with a just god rather than fickle gods in Middle Eastern and Egyptian religions. People knew what to expect if they followed the ethical code of the religion.28

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!