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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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10627158953Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
10627158954NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
10627158955NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
10627158956CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
10627158957Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
10627158958PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
10627158959MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
10627158960SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
10627158961CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
10627158962City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
10627158963ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
10627158964Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
10627158965HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
10627158966PharaohThe 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
10627158967PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
10627158968HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
10627158969MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
10627158970PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
10627158971Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
10627158972AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
10627158973Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
10627158974Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
10627158975Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
10627158976PaleolithicThe 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
10627158977Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
10627158978EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
10627158979Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
10627158980_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
10627158981Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
10627158982PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
10627158983Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
10627158984historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
10627158985stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
10627158986foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
10627158987city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
10627158988Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
10627158989HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
10627158990scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
10627158991cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
10627158992bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
10627158993paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
10627158994Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
10627158995venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
10627158996cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
10627158997pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
10627158998specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
10627158999patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
10627159000civilizationlarge 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
10627159001Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
10627159002Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
10627159003Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
10627159004Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
10627159005bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
10627159006iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
10627159007wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
10627159008cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
10627159009Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
10627159010Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
10627159011HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
10627159012Harrappa & 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
10627159013Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
10627159014VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
10627159015VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
10627159016Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
10627159017Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
10627159018Shang 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
10627159019HinduismTerm 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
10627159020ZoroastrianismFounded 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
10627159021JudaismMonotheistic (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
10627159022ConfucianismThe 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
10627159023Mandate 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
10627159024Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
10627159025Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
10627159026Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
10627159027MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
10627159028ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
10627159029CarthageCity 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
10627159030irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
10627159031Indus 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
10627159032Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
10627159033Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
10627159034Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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