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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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10845807115Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
10845807116NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
10845807117NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
10845807118CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
10845807119Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
10845807120PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
10845807121MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
10845807122SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
10845807123CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
10845807124City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
10845807125ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
10845807126Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
10845807127HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
10845807128PharaohThe 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
10845807129PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
10845807130HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
10845807131MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
10845807132PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
10845807133Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
10845807134AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
10845807135Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
10845807136Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
10845807137Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
10845807138PaleolithicThe 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
10845807139Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
10845807140EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
10845807141Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
10845807142_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
10845807143Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
10845807144PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
10845807145Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
10845807146historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
10845807147stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
10845807148foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
10845807149city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
10845807150Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
10845807151HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
10845807152scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
10845807153cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
10845807154bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
10845807155paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
10845807156Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
10845807157venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
10845807158cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
10845807159pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
10845807160specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
10845807161patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
10845807162civilizationlarge 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
10845807163Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
10845807164Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
10845807165Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
10845807166Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
10845807167bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
10845807168iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
10845807169wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
10845807170cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
10845807171Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
10845807172Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
10845807173HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
10845807174Harrappa & 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
10845807175Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
10845807176VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
10845807177VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
10845807178Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
10845807179Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
10845807180Shang 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
10845807181HinduismTerm 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
10845807182ZoroastrianismFounded 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
10845807183JudaismMonotheistic (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
10845807184ConfucianismThe 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
10845807185Mandate 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
10845807186Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
10845807187Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
10845807188Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
10845807189MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
10845807190ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
10845807191CarthageCity 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
10845807192irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
10845807193Indus 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
10845807194Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
10845807195Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
10845807196Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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