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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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10520167640Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
10520167641NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
10520167642NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
10520167643CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
10520167644Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
10520167645PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
10520167646MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
10520167647SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
10520167648CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
10520167649City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
10520167650ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
10520167651Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
10520167652HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
10520167653PharaohThe 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
10520167654PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
10520167655HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
10520167656MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
10520167657PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
10520167658Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
10520167659AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
10520167660Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
10520167661Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
10520167662Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
10520167663PaleolithicThe 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.23
10520167664Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
10520167665EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
10520167666Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
10520167667_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
10520167668Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
10520167669PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
10520167670Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
10520167671historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
10520167672stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
10520167673foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
10520167674city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
10520167675Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
10520167676HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
10520167677scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
10520167678cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
10520167679bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
10520167680paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
10520167681Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
10520167682venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
10520167683cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
10520167684pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
10520167685specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
10520167686patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
10520167687civilizationlarge scale communities that had certain characteristics in common such as: recordkeeping, complex institutions (government, economy, organized religion), cities, specialization of labor, long-distance trade, technology47
10520167688Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
10520167689Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
10520167690Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
10520167691Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
10520167692bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
10520167693iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
10520167694wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
10520167695cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
10520167696Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
10520167697Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
10520167698HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
10520167699Harrappa & Mohenjo DaroTwo early, very large, and complex Indus Valley city states. Little is known about these but their size and complexities imply central planning.59
10520167700Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
10520167701VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
10520167702VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
10520167703Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
10520167704Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
10520167705Shang 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.65
10520167706HinduismTerm 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.66
10520167707ZoroastrianismFounded 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.67
10520167708JudaismMonotheistic (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.68
10520167709ConfucianismThe 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.69
10520167710Mandate 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 rule70
10520167711Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
10520167712Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
10520167713Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
10520167714MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
10520167715ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
10520167716CarthageCity 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)76
10520167717irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
10520167718Indus 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 Mohenjodaro78
10520167719Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
10520167720Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
10520167721Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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