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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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15082529251Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
15082529252NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
15082529253NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
15082529254CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
15082529255Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
15082529256PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
15082529257MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
15082529258SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
15082529259CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
15082529260City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
15082529261ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
15082529262Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
15082529263HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
15082529264PharaohThe 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
15082529265PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
15082529266HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
15082529267MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
15082529268PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
15082529269Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
15082529270AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
15082529271Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
15082529272Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
15082529273PaleolithicThe 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.22
15082529274Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas23
15082529275EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples24
15082529276Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation25
15082529277_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs26
15082529280Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa27
15082529281PolytheismBelief in more than one god28
15082529282Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process29
15082529283historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices30
15082529284stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances31
15082529285foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt32
15082529286city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area33
15082529287Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.34
15082529288HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)35
15082529289scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper36
15082529290cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.37
15082529291bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin38
15082529292paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging39
15082529293Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence40
15082529294venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity41
15082529295cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous42
15082529296pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals43
15082529297specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food44
15082529298patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families45
15082529299civilizationlarge scale communities that had certain characteristics in common such as: recordkeeping, complex institutions (government, economy, organized religion), cities, specialization of labor, long-distance trade, technology46
15082529300Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers47
15082529301Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state48
15082529302Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi49
15082529303Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing50
15082529304bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows51
15082529305iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites52
15082529306wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer53
15082529307cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay54
15082529308Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization55
15082529309Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa56
15082529310HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)57
15082529311Harrappa & Mohenjo DaroTwo early, very large, and complex Indus Valley city states. Little is known about these but their size and complexities imply central planning.58
15082529312Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner59
15082529313VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE60
15082529314VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into61
15082529315Chinaearliest civilization in Asia62
15082529316Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization63
15082529317Shang 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.64
15082529318HinduismTerm 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.65
15082529319ZoroastrianismFounded 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.66
15082529320JudaismMonotheistic (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.67
15082529321ConfucianismThe 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.68
15082529322Mandate 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 rule69
15082529323Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class70
15082529324Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru71
15082529325Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico72
15082529326MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans73
15082529327ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices74
15082529328CarthageCity 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)75
15082529329irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops76
15082529330Indus 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 Mohenjodaro77
15082529331Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.78
15082529332Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.79
15082529333Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student80

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