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

AP World History Unit 1 Flashcards

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

Terms : Hide Images
12165709651Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
12165709652NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
12165709653NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
12165709654CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
12165709655Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
12165709656PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
12165709657MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
12165709658SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
12165709659CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
12165709660City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
12165709661ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
12165709662Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
12165709663HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
12165709664PharaohThe 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
12165709665PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
12165709666HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
12165709667MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
12165709668PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
12165709669Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
12165709670AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
12165709671Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
12165709672Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
12165709673Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
12165709674PaleolithicThe 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
12165709675Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
12165709676EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
12165709677Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
12165709678_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
12165709679Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
12165709680PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
12165709681Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
12165709682historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
12165709683stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
12165709684foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
12165709685city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
12165709686Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
12165709687HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
12165709688scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
12165709689cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
12165709690bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
12165709691paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
12165709692Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
12165709693venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
12165709694cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
12165709695pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
12165709696specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
12165709697patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
12165709698civilizationlarge 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
12165709699Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
12165709700Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
12165709701Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
12165709702Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
12165709703bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
12165709704iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
12165709705wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
12165709706cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
12165709707Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
12165709708Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
12165709709HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
12165709710Harrappa & 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
12165709711Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
12165709712VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
12165709713VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
12165709714Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
12165709715Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
12165709716Shang 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
12165709717HinduismTerm 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
12165709718ZoroastrianismFounded 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
12165709719JudaismMonotheistic (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
12165709720ConfucianismThe 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
12165709721Mandate 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
12165709722Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
12165709723Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
12165709724Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
12165709725MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
12165709726ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
12165709727CarthageCity 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
12165709728irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
12165709729Indus 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
12165709730Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
12165709731Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
12165709732Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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!