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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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8231220641Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
8231220642NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
8231220643NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
8231220644CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
8231220645Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
8231220646PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
8231220647MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
8231220648SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
8231220649CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
8231220650City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
8231220651ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
8231220652Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
8231220653HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
8231220654PharaohThe 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
8231220655PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
8231220656HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
8231220657MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
8231220658PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
8231220659Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
8231220660AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
8231220661Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
8231220662Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
8231220663Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
8231220664PaleolithicThe 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
8231220665Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
8231220666EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
8231220667Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
8231220668_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
8231220669Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
8231220670PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
8231220671Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
8231220672historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
8231220673stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
8231220674foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
8231220675city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
8231220676Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
8231220677HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
8231220678scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
8231220679cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
8231220680bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
8231220681paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
8231220682Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
8231220683venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
8231220684cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
8231220685pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
8231220686specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
8231220687patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
8231220688civilizationlarge 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
8231220689Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
8231220690Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
8231220691Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
8231220692Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
8231220693bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
8231220694iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
8231220695wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
8231220696cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
8231220697Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
8231220698Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
8231220699HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
8231220700Harrappa & 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
8231220701Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
8231220702VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
8231220703VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
8231220704Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
8231220705Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
8231220706Shang 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
8231220707HinduismTerm 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
8231220708ZoroastrianismFounded 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
8231220709JudaismMonotheistic (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
8231220710ConfucianismThe 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
8231220711Mandate 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
8231220712Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
8231220713Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
8231220714Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
8231220715MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
8231220716ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
8231220717CarthageCity 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
8231220718irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
8231220719Indus 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
8231220720Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
8231220721Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
8231220722Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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