AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

AP World History (Ways of the World) Chapter 2 Vocab Flashcards

All of the Vocabulary for Chapter 2 of Ways of the World

Terms : Hide Images
201887808TeosinteThe wild ancestor of maize. (pron. tay-oh- SIN-tay)0
201887809Stateless SocietiesVillage-based agricultural societies, usually organized by kinship groups, that functioned without a formal government apparatus.1
201887810"Secondary Products Revolution"A term used to describe a series of technological changes that began c.a. 4000 B.C.E., as people began to develop new uses for their domesticated animals, exploiting a revolutionary new source of power.2
201887811Pastoral SocietyA human society that relies on domesticated animals rather than plants as the main source of food; pastoral nomads lead their animals to seasonal grazing grounds rather than settling permanently in a single location.3
201887812Native AustraliansOften called "Aboriginals" (from the Latin ab origine, the people who had been there "from the beginning"), the natives of Australia continued (and to some extent still continue) to live by gathering and hunting, despite the transition to agriculture in nearby lands.4
201887813Mesopotamiafirst civilization located between the Tigris & Eurphrates Rivers in present day Iraq; term means "land between the rivers;" Sumerian culture5
201887814JerichoSite of an important early agricultural settlement of perhaps 2,000 people in present-day Israel.6
201887815IntensificationThe process of getting more in return for less; for example, growing more food on a smaller plot of land.7
201887816HorticultureHoe-based agriculture, typically of early Agrarian societies.8
201887817Fertile CrescentRegion sometimes known as Southwest Asia that includes the modern states of Iraq, Syria, Israel/Palestine, and Southern Turkey; the earliest home of agriculture.9
201887818End of the Last Ice AgeA process of global warming that began around 16,000 years ago and ended about 5,000 years later, with the earth enjoying a climate similar to that of our own time; the end of the Ice Age changed conditions for human beings, leading to increased population and helping to pave the way for agriculture.10
201887819DomesticationThe taming and changing of nature for the benefit of humankind.11
201887820DiffusionThe gradual spread of agricultural techniques without extensive population movement.12
201887821ChiefdomA societal group governed by a chief who typically relies on generosity, ritual status, or charisma rather than force to win obedience from the people.13
201887822CatalhuyukAn important Neolithic site in what is now Turkey. (pron. cha-TAHL-hoo-YOOK)14
201887823CahokiaAn important agricultural chiefdom of North America that flourished around 1100 C.E.15
201887824Broad Spectrum DietArcheologists' term for the diet of gathering and hunting societies, which included a wide array of plants and animals.16
201887825Bantu MigrationThe spread of Bantu speaking peoples from their homeland in what is now Southern Nigeria or Cameroon to most of Africa, in a process that started 3000 B.C.E. and continued for several millennia.17
201887826BantuAn African-language family whose speakers eventually became the dominant culture of eastern and southern Africa, thanks to their agricultural techniques and, later, their ironworking skills.18
201887827BanpoA Chinese archaeological site, where the remains of a significant Neolithic village have been found.19
201887828AustronesianAn Asian-language family whose speakers gradually became the dominant culture Philippines, Indonesia, and Pacific Islands, thanks to their mastery of agriculture.20
201887829Agricultural RevolutionAlso known as the Neolithic Revolution, this is the transformation of human (and world) existence caused by the deliberate cultivation of particular plants and the deliberate taming and breeding of particular animals.21

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!