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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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9712968759Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
9712968760NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
9712968761NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
9712968762CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
9712968763Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
9712968764PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
9712968765MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
9712968766SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
9712968767CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
9712968768City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
9712968769ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
9712968770Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
9712968771HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
9712968772PharaohThe 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
9712968773PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
9712968774HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
9712968775MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
9712968776PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
9712968777Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
9712968778AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
9712968779Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
9712968780Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
9712968781Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
9712968782PaleolithicThe 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
9712968783Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
9712968784EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
9712968785Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
9712968786_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
9712968787Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
9712968788PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
9712968789Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
9712968790historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
9712968791stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
9712968792foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
9712968793city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
9712968794Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
9712968795HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
9712968796scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
9712968797cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
9712968798bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
9712968799paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
9712968800Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
9712968801venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
9712968802cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
9712968803pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
9712968804specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
9712968805patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
9712968806civilizationlarge 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
9712968807Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
9712968808Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
9712968809Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
9712968810Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
9712968811bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
9712968812iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
9712968813wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
9712968814cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
9712968815Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
9712968816Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
9712968817HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
9712968818Harrappa & 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
9712968819Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
9712968820VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
9712968821VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
9712968822Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
9712968823Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
9712968824Shang 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
9712968825HinduismTerm 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
9712968826ZoroastrianismFounded 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
9712968827JudaismMonotheistic (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
9712968828ConfucianismThe 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
9712968829Mandate 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
9712968830Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
9712968831Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
9712968832Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
9712968833MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
9712968834ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
9712968835CarthageCity 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
9712968836irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
9712968837Indus 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
9712968838Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
9712968839Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
9712968840Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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