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AP World History Unit 1 Flashcards

From Hunting and Gathering to Civilizations, 2.5 million-1000 B.C.E.: Origins

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10914503737Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
10914503738NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
10914503739NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
10914503740CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
10914503741Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
10914503742PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
10914503743MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
10914503744SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
10914503745CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
10914503746City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
10914503747ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
10914503748Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
10914503749HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
10914503750PharaohThe term used to denote the kings of ancient Egypt; considered a god as well as a political and military leader. The term, "great house" refers to the palace of the pharaohs13
10914503751PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
10914503752HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
10914503753MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
10914503754PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
10914503755Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
10914503756AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
10914503757Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
10914503758Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
10914503759PaleolithicThe period that ended about 3,000 years after the end of the last Ice Age, it lasted until about 10,000 years ago. (Old Stone Age) The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans. It predates the Neolithic period.22
10914503760Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas23
10914503761EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples24
10914503762Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation25
10914503763_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs26
10914503765Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa27
10914503766PolytheismBelief in more than one god28
10914503767Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process29
10914503768historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices30
10914503769stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances31
10914503770foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt32
10914503771city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area33
10914503772Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.34
10914503773HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)35
10914503774scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper36
10914503775cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.37
10914503776bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin38
10914503777paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging39
10914503778Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence40
10914503779venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity41
10914503780cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous42
10914503781pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals43
10914503782specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food44
10914503783patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families45
10914503784civilizationlarge scale communities that had certain characteristics in common such as: recordkeeping, complex institutions (government, economy, organized religion), cities, specialization of labor, long-distance trade, technology46
10914503785Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers47
10914503786Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state48
10914503787Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi49
10914503788Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing50
10914503789bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows51
10914503790iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites52
10914503791wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer53
10914503792cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay54
10914503793Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization55
10914503794Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa56
10914503795HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)57
10914503796Harrappa & Mohenjo DaroTwo early, very large, and complex Indus Valley city states. Little is known about these but their size and complexities imply central planning.58
10914503797Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner59
10914503798VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE60
10914503799VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into61
10914503800Chinaearliest civilization in Asia62
10914503801Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization63
10914503802Shang DynastyThe dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for which we have written records (ca. 1750-1027 B.C.E.). Ancestor worship, divination by means of oracle bones, and the use of bronze vessels for ritual purposes were major elements of this culture.64
10914503803HinduismTerm for a wide variety of beliefs and ritual practices that have developed in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. It has roots in ancient Vedic, Buddhist, and south Indian religious concepts and practices.65
10914503804ZoroastrianismFounded by Zoroaster; taught that humans had the freedom to choose between right and wrong, and that goodness would triumph in the end. Marked by dualism between God = Good and the Evil. Influenced Christianity. Was one of the first monotheistic religions.66
10914503805JudaismMonotheistic (belief in one god), founded by Abraham, code of law found in the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible), led to the development of two other Abrahamic religions: Christianity and Islam.67
10914503806ConfucianismThe system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct.68
10914503807Mandate of HeavenA political theory of ancient China in which the emperor is given the power to rule by a divine sources. This tie could be severed by ineffectual rule69
10914503808Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class70
10914503809Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru71
10914503810Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico72
10914503811MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans73
10914503812ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices74
10914503813CarthageCity located in present-day Tunisia, founded by Phoenicians ca. 800 B.C.E. It became a major commercial center and naval power in the western Mediterranean until defeated by Rome in the third century B.C.E. (p. 107)75
10914503814irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops76
10914503815Indus River Valley Civilizationan ancient civilization thriving along the Indus River in what is now Pakistan and western India. This civilization is also sometimes referred to as the Harappan or Harappa-Mohenjodaro Civilization of the Indus Valley, in reference to the excavated cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro77
10914503816Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.78
10914503817Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.79
10914503818Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student80

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