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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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8933365109Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
8933365110NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
8933365111NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
8933365112CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
8933365113Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
8933365114PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
8933365115MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
8933365116SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
8933365117CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
8933365118City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
8933365119ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
8933365120Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
8933365121HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
8933365122PharaohThe 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
8933365123PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
8933365124HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
8933365125MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
8933365126PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
8933365127Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
8933365128AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
8933365129Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
8933365130Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
8933365131Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
8933365132PaleolithicThe 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
8933365133Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation24
8933365134Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa25
8933365135PolytheismBelief in more than one god26
8933365136Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process27
8933365137stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances28
8933365138foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt29
8933365139city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area30
8933365140Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.31
8933365141HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)32
8933365142scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper33
8933365143cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.34
8933365144bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin35
8933365145paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging36
8933365146venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with femininity37
8933365147pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals38
8933365148specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food39
8933365149patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families40
8933365150civilizationlarge scale communities that had certain characteristics in common such as: recordkeeping, complex institutions (government, economy, organized religion), cities, specialization of labor, long-distance trade, technology41
8933365151Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers42
8933365152Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state43
8933365153Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi44
8933365154Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing45
8933365155bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows46
8933365156iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites47
8933365157cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay48
8933365158Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization49
8933365159Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa50
8933365160HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)51
8933365161Harrappa & Mohenjo DaroTwo early, very large, and complex Indus Valley city states. Little is known about these but their size and complexities imply central planning.52
8933365162Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner53
8933365163Chinaearliest civilization in Asia54
8933365164Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization55
8933365165Shang 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.56
8933365166JudaismMonotheistic (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.57
8933365167ConfucianismThe 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.58
8933365168Mandate 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 rule59
8933365169Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class60
8933365170Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru61
8933365171Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico62
8933365172MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans63
8933365173ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices64
8933365174CarthageCity 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)65
8933365175irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops66
8933365176Indus 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 Mohenjodaro67

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