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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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13688933223Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
13688933224NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
13688933225NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
13688933226CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
13688933227Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
13688933228PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
13688933229MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
13688933230SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
13688933231CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
13688933232City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
13688933233ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
13688933234Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
13688933235HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
13688933236PharaohThe 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
13688933237PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
13688933238HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
13688933239MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
13688933240PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
13688933241Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
13688933242AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
13688933243Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
13688933244Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
13688933245Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
13688933246PaleolithicThe 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
13688933247Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
13688933248EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
13688933249Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
13688933250_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
13688933251Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
13688933252PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
13688933253Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
13688933254historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
13688933255stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
13688933256foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
13688933257city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
13688933258Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
13688933259HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
13688933260scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
13688933261cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
13688933262bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
13688933263paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
13688933264Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
13688933265venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
13688933266cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
13688933267pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
13688933268specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
13688933269patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
13688933270civilizationlarge 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
13688933271Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
13688933272Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
13688933273Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
13688933274Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
13688933275bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
13688933276iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
13688933277wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
13688933278cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
13688933279Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
13688933280Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
13688933281HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
13688933282Harrappa & 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
13688933283Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
13688933284VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
13688933285VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
13688933286Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
13688933287Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
13688933288Shang 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
13688933289HinduismTerm 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
13688933290ZoroastrianismFounded 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
13688933291JudaismMonotheistic (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
13688933292ConfucianismThe 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
13688933293Mandate 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
13688933294Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
13688933295Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
13688933296Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
13688933297MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
13688933298ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
13688933299CarthageCity 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
13688933300irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
13688933301Indus 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
13688933302Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
13688933303Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
13688933304Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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