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

AP World History Chapter 1 Vocabulary Flashcards

Terms : Hide Images
7247779734civilizationan ambiguous term often used to denotes more complex societies but sometimes used by anthropologists to describe any group of people sharing a set of cultural traits0
7247786669culturesocially transmitted patterns of action and expression. material culturing refers to physical objects, such as dwellings, clothing, tools, and crafts. culture also includes art, beliefs, knowledge and technology, transmission, and transformation of cultural practices1
7247794686historythe study of the past events and changes in the development2
7247799506Stone Agethe historical period characterized by the production of tools from stone and other nonmetallic substances. it was followed in some places by the Bronze Age and more the Iron Age3
7247805077Paleolithicthe period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans. it predates the neolithic period4
7247811754Neolithicthe period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolutions. it follows the paleolithic period5
7247816700foragerspeople who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects6
7247821119Agricultural Revolutionsthe change from food gathering to food production that occurred between ca. 8000 and 2000BCE also known as the Neolithic Revolutions7
7247827775megalithsstructures and complexes of very large stones constructed for ceremonial and religious purposes in Neolithic times8
7247834903Sumeriansthe people who dominated southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third millennium BCE. they were responsible for the creations of many fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture, such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions, taken over by their Semitic successors9
7247846210Semiticfamily of related languages long spoken across parts of western Asia and northern Africa. in antiquity these languages included Hebrew, Aramaic, and Pheonicia. the most widespread modern member of the Semitic family is Arabic10
7247854974city-statea small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. a characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia , Archaic, and Classical Greece, Pheonicia, and early Italy11
7247863078Babylonthe largest and most important city in Mesopotamia. it achieved particular eminence as the capital of the Amorite King Hammurabi in the eighteenth century BCE and the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century BCE12
7247872178HammurabiAmorite ruler of Babylon (r, 1792-1750BCE) he conquered many city-states in southern and northern Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed in a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases13
7247902463scribein the governments of many ancient societies a professional position reserved for men who had undergone the lengthy training required to be able to read and write using cuniforms, hieroglyphics, or other early cumbersome writing systems14
7247903443ziggurata massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mud bricks. it is associated with religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamian cities, but its function is unknown15
7247909660amuletsmall charm meant to protect the bearer from evil. found frequently in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, amulets reflect the religious practices of the common people16
7247916597cuneiforma system of writing in which wedge shaped symbols represented words or syllables . it originated in Mesopotamia and was initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted to represent other languages of western Asia, because so many symbols had to be learned. literacy was confined to a relatively small group of administrators and scribes17
7247928967pharaohthe central figure in the ancient Egyptian state. believed in to be an earthly manifestation of the gods. he used his absolute power to maintain the safety and prosperity of Egypt18
7247934631pyramida large triangular stone monument used in Egypt and Nubia as a burial place for the king. the largest pyramids, erected during the old kingdom near Memphis with stone tools and compulsory labor, reflect the Egyptian belief that the proper and spectacular burial of the divine ruler would guarantee the continued prosperity of the land19
7247944801Memphisthe capital of Old Kingdom Egypt, near the head of the Nile Delta. early rulers were interred in the nearby pyramids20
7247948596thebescapital city of Egypt and home of the ruling dynasties during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Amon. patron deity of Thebes became one of the chief gods of Egypt. Monarchs were buried across the river in the valley of kings21
7247956808hieroglyphicsa system of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. it was used for official or monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt. because of the long period of study required to master this system. literacy in hieroglyphics was confined to a relatively small group of scribes and administrators. cursive symbol forms were developed for rapid composition on other media such as papyrus22
7247971361papyrusa reed that grows alongside the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. from it was produced a coarse. paperlike writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other people in the acient mediterranean and middle east23
7247980117mummya body preserved by chemical processes or special neutral circumstances, often in the belief that the deceased will need it again in the afterlife. in ancient Egypt the bodies of people who could afford mummification underwent a complex process of removing organs, fillings body cavities, dehydrating the corpse with natron, and then wrapping the body with linen bandages and enclosing it in a wooden sarcophagus24
7247994222Harappasite of one of the great cities of the indus valley civilization of the third millennium BCE it was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation (in modern Pakistan) and may have been a center for the acquisition of raw material such as metals and precious stones from Afghanistan and Iraq25
7248003447Mohnejo-Darolargest of the cities of the indus valley civilization. it was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the indus river in contemporary pakistan. little is known about the political institutions of the indus valley communities, but the large scal of construction at Mohnejo-Daro the orderly grid of the streets and the standardization of building materials are the evidence of central planning26

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!