From Hunting and Gathering to Civilizations, 2.5 million-1000 B.C.E.: Origins
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| 8371107795 | Hunting and Gathering | Means of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization | 0 | |
| 8371107796 | Paleolithic | The Old Stone Age ending in 12,000 B.C.E.; typified by use of evolving stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence | 1 | |
| 8371107797 | Neolithic | The New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished | 2 | |
| 8371107798 | Catal Huyuk | Early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; larger in population than Jericho, had greater degree of social stratification | 3 | |
| 8371107799 | Mesopotamia | Literally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys | 4 | |
| 8371107800 | Cuneiform | A form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets | 5 | |
| 8371107801 | City-state | A form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king | 6 | |
| 8371107802 | Hammurabi | The most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law | 7 | |
| 8371107803 | Hieroglyphs | Form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform | 8 | |
| 8371107804 | Monotheism | The exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization | 9 | |
| 8371107805 | Phoenicians | Seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean | 10 | |
| 8371107806 | Harappa and Mohenjo Daro | Major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern | 11 | |
| 8371107807 | Huanghe (Yellow) River Basin | Site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China | 12 | |
| 8371107808 | Ideographic writing | Pictograph characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing | 13 | |
| 8371107809 | Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic era | From Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas | 14 | |
| 8371107810 | Eglitarian | Believing in the equality of all peoples | 15 | |
| 8371107811 | Neolithic Revolution | Global conversion to agriculture over hunter-gatherer lifestyles | 16 | |
| 8371107812 | Patriarchy | Father based | 17 | |
| 8371107813 | identify 6 core foundational civilizations | Mesopotamia in the Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys Egypt in the Nile River Valley Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in the Indus River Valley Shang in the Yellow River or Huang He Valley Olmecs in Mesoamerica Chavin in Andean South America | 18 | |
| 8371107814 | Ahura Mazda | In Zoroastrianism, the good god who rules the world. | 19 | |
| 8371107815 | Alexander the Great | Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.E.), conqueror of the Persian Empire and part of northwest India. | 20 | |
| 8371107816 | Ashoka | The most famous ruler of the Mauryan Empire (r. 268-232 B.C.E.), who converted to Buddhism and tried to rule peacefully and with tolerance. | 21 | |
| 8371107817 | Athenian democracy | A radical form of direct democracy in which much of the free male population of Athens had the franchise and officeholders were chosen by lot. | 22 | |
| 8371107818 | Caesar Augustus | The great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar who emerged as sole ruler of the Roman state at the end of an extended period of civil war (r. 31 B.C.E.-14 C.E.). | 23 | |
| 8371107819 | Cyrus (the Great) | Founder of the Persian Empire (r. 557-530 B.C.E.); a ruler noted for his conquests, religious tolerance, and political moderation. | 24 | |
| 8371107820 | Darius I | Great king of Persia (r. 522-486 B.C.E.) following the upheavals after Cyrus's death; completed the establishment of the Persian Empire. | 25 | |
| 8371107821 | Greco-Persian Wars | Two major Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 B.C.E. and 480 B.C.E., in which the Persians were defeated on both land and sea. | 26 | |
| 8371107822 | Gupta Empire | An empire of India (320-550 C.E.). | 27 | |
| 8371107823 | Han dynasty | Dynasty that ruled China from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E., creating a durable state based on Shihuangdi's state-building achievement. | 28 | |
| 8371107824 | Hellenistic era | The period from 323 to 30 B.C.E. in which Greek culture spread widely in Eurasia in the kingdoms ruled by Alexander's political successors. | 29 | |
| 8371107825 | Mandate of Heaven | The ideological underpinning of Chinese emperors, this was the belief that a ruler held authority by command of divine force as long as he ruled morally and benevolently. | 30 | |
| 8371107826 | Mauryan Empire | A major empire (322-185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India. | 31 | |
| 8371107827 | Patricians | Wealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society. | 32 | |
| 8371107828 | Pax Romana | The "Roman peace," a term typically used to denote the stability and prosperity of the early Roman Empire, especially in the first and second centuries C.E. | 33 | |
| 8371107829 | Peloponnesian War | Great war between Athens (and allies) and Sparta (and allies), lasting from 431 to 404 B.C.E. The conflict ended in the defeat of Athens and the closing of Athens's Golden Age. | 34 | |
| 8371107830 | Persepolis | The capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great. | 35 | |
| 8371107831 | Plebians | Poorer, less privileged Romans who gradually won a role in Roman politics. | 36 | |
| 8371107832 | Qin Dynasty | A short-lived (221-206 B.C.E.) but highly influential Chinese dynasty that succeeded in reuniting China at the end of the Warring States period. | 37 | |
| 8371107833 | Qin Shihuangdi | Literally "first emperor" (r. 221-210 B.C.E.) forcibly reunited China and established a strong and repressive state. | 38 | |
| 8371107834 | Solon | Athenian statesman and lawmaker (fl. 594-560 B.C.E.) whose reforms led the Athenians toward democracy. | 39 | |
| 8371107835 | Wudi | Han emperor (r. 141-86 B.C.E.) who began the Chinese civil service system by establishing an academy to train imperial bureaucrats. | 40 | |
| 8371107836 | Xiongnu | Nomadic peoples to the north of the Great Wall of China who were a frequent threat to the stability of the Chinese state. | 41 | |
| 8371107837 | Yellow Turban Rebellion | A major Chinese peasant revolt that began in 184 C.E. and helped cause the fall of the Han dynasty. | 42 | |
| 8371107838 | Angra Mainyu | In Zoroastrianism, the evil god, engaged in a cosmic struggle with Ahura Mazda. | 43 | |
| 8371107839 | Aristotle | A Greek polymath philosopher (384-322 B.C.E.); student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. | 44 | |
| 8371107840 | Ban Zhao | A major female Confucian author of Han dynasty China (45-116 C.E.) whose works give insight into the implication of Confucian thinking for women. | 45 | |
| 8371107841 | Bhagavad Gita | A great Hindu epic text, part of the much larger Mahabharata, which affirms the performance of caste duties as a path to religious liberation. | 46 | |
| 8371107842 | Buddhism | The cultural/religious tradition first enunciated by Siddhartha Gautama | 47 | |
| 8371107843 | Confucianism | The Chinese philosophy first enunciated by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order. | 48 | |
| 8371107844 | Confucius | The founder of Confucianism (551-479 B.C.E.); an aristocrat of northern China who proved to be the greatest influence on Chinese culture in its history. | 49 | |
| 8371107845 | Constantine | Roman emperor (r. 306-337 C.E.) whose conversion to Christianity paved the way for the triumph of Christianity in Europe. | 50 | |
| 8371107846 | Daoism | A Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi. | 51 | |
| 8371107847 | Filial piety | The honoring of one's ancestors and parents, a key element of Confucianism. | 52 | |
| 8371107848 | Hinduism | A word derived from outsiders to describe the vast diversity of indigenous Indian religious traditions. | 53 | |
| 8371107849 | Laozi | A legendary Chinese philosopher of the sixth century B.C.E.; regarded as the founder of Daoism. | 54 | |
| 8371107850 | Legalism | A Chinese philosophy distinguished by an adherence to clear laws with vigorous punishments. | 55 | |
| 8371107851 | Mahayana | "Great Vehicle," the popular development of Buddhism in the early centuries of the Common Era, which gives a much greater role to supernatural beings and proved to be more popular than original (Theravada) Buddhism. | 56 | |
| 8371107852 | Plato | A disciple of Socrates whose Dialogues convey the teachings of his master while going beyond them to express Plato's own philosophy; lived from 429 to 348 B.C.E. | 57 | |
| 8371107853 | Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) | The Indian prince turned ascetic (ca. 566-ca. 486 B.C.E.) who founded Buddhism. | 58 | |
| 8371107854 | Socrates | The first great Greek philosopher to turn rationalism toward questions of human existence (469-399 B.C.E.). | 59 | |
| 8371107855 | Theodosius | Roman emperor (r. 379-395 C.E.) who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman state, banning all polytheistic rituals. | 60 | |
| 8371107856 | Upanishads | Indian mystical and philosophical works, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E. | 61 | |
| 8371107857 | Vedas | The earliest religious texts of India, a collection of ancient poems, hymns, and rituals that were transmitted orally before being written down ca. 600 B.C.E. | 62 | |
| 8371107858 | Warring States Period | Period in China from 403 to 221 B.C.E. that was typified by disorder and political chaos. | 63 | |
| 8371107859 | Zarathustra | A Persian prophet, traditionally dated to the sixth or seventh century B.C.E. (but perhaps much older), who founded Zoroastrianism. | 64 | |
| 8371107860 | Zoroastrianism | Persian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra. | 65 | |
| 8371107861 | helots | The dependent, semi-enslaved class of ancient Sparta whose social discontent prompted the militarization of Spartan society. | 66 | |
| 8371107862 | latifundia | Huge estates operated by slave labor that flourished in parts of the Roman Empire | 67 | |
| 8371107863 | scholar-gentry class | A term used to describe members of China's landowning families, reflecting their wealth from the land and the privilege that they derived as government officials. | 68 | |
| 8371107864 | Empress Wu | The only female "emperor" in Chinese history (r. 690-705 C.E.); patronized scholarship, worked to elevate the position of women, and provoked a backlash of Confucian misogynist invective. | 69 | |
| 8371107867 | Mecca | Arabian commercial center; dominated by the Quraysh; the home of Muhammad and the future center of Islam | 70 | |
| 8371107868 | Umayyad | clan of the Quraysh that dominated Mecca; later an Islamic dynasty | 71 | |
| 8371107869 | Muhammad | (570-632); prophet of Allah; originally a merchant of the Quraysh | 72 | |
| 8371107870 | Qur'an | the word of god as revealed through Muhammad; made into the holy book of Islam | 73 | |
| 8371107871 | Umma | community of the faithful within Islam | 74 | |
| 8371107872 | Five Pillars | the obligatory religious duties for all Muslims; confession of faith, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, zakat, and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) | 75 | |
| 8371107873 | Caliph | the successor to Muhammad as head of the Islamic community | 76 | |
| 8371107874 | Jihad | Islamic holy war | 77 | |
| 8371107875 | Sunnis | followers of the majority interpretation within Islam; included the Umayyads | 78 | |
| 8371107876 | Shi'a | followers of Ali's interpretation of Islam | 79 | |
| 8371107877 | Abbasids | dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads in 750; their capital was at Baghdad | 80 | |
| 8371107878 | Hadiths | "traditions" of the prophet Muhammad; added to the Qur'an, form the essential writings of Islam | 81 | |
| 8371107879 | Sufis | Islamic mystics; spread Islam to many Afro-Asian regions | 82 | |
| 8371107880 | Arabic numerals | Indian numerical notation brought by the Arabs to the West | 83 | |
| 8371107881 | Ibn Battuta | Arab traveler throughout the Muslim world | 84 | |
| 8371107882 | Grand Canal | great canal system begun by Yangdi; joined Yellow River region to the Yangtze basin | 85 | |
| 8371107883 | Footbinding | male imposed practice to mutilate women's feet in order to reduce size; produced pain and restricted movement; helped to confine women to the household; seen as beautiful to the elite. | 86 | |
| 8371107884 | Shoguns | military leaders of the bakufu | 87 | |
| 8371107865 | Champa Rice | tributary gift from Vietnam to China, led to population increase | 88 | |
| 8371107866 | Tang Dynasty | followed Sui, established tributary states in Vietnam and Korea, influence Japan, Established strong Buddhist and Confucian presence | 89 |
