The dates and terms from the Kaplan SAT II World History study guide.
Terms : Hide Images
| 670407634 | anthropology | study of humans as a species | |
| 670407635 | artifacts | objects shaped by humans | |
| 670407636 | paleontologists | scientists who study fossilized remains | |
| 670407637 | radiocarbon dating (carbon 14 method) | dating by measuring the amount of radiocarbon remaining in a fossilized skeleton | |
| 670407638 | thermoluminescent dating | dating by measuring radioactivity released from electrons in heated flint and clay | |
| 670407639 | tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) | dating by the growth rings in trees | |
| 670407640 | DNA dating | dating by obtaining samples of DNA from living donors and comparing them to those of other, historical persons or animals | |
| 670407641 | Paleolithic Age | Old Stone Age, from when the first hominids appeared (3.2 million years ago) to 8000 BCE. | |
| 670407642 | Neolithic Age | Agricultural Age, beginning in 8000 BCE with the development of farming and specialization of labor | |
| 670407643 | Donald Johanson | discovered "Lucy" in Ethiopia in 1974 | |
| 670407644 | Australopithecenes | hominid living at the beginning of the Paleolithic Age, of which "Lucy" is the best-known example | |
| 670407645 | Homo habilis | first hominid to be classified in the "Homo" species, appearing about 2.5 million years ago | |
| 670407646 | Homo erectus | first upright hominid, appearing about 1.4 million years ago, of which Java Man and Peking Man are examples | |
| 670407647 | Louis Leakey | discovered Homo habilis skeletons in Tanzania | |
| 670407648 | Homo sapiens | "wise hominid" appearing about 100,000 years ago, either all over the world or only in Africa; these hominids spoke more, used more tools, and discovered the use of fire; an example is Neanderthal man | |
| 670407649 | Homo sapiens sapiens | a modern form of Homo sapiens, which developed in Europe and was diffused throughout the world by 90,000 BCE | |
| 670407650 | Neolithic Revolution (agricultural revolution) | a movement of early humans settling down to farm around 8000 BCE, which allowed for the development of settlement and culture | |
| 670407651 | pastoral nomadism | a form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals | |
| 670407652 | specialization of labor | the gradual refining of skills and specialties in a society once a steady food supply has been established | |
| 670407653 | Jericho | early agricultural and trade center in Palestine | |
| 670407654 | Catal Huyuk | most advanced community of the Neolithic Age, with long-distance trade relationships and superior artisans | |
| 690409113 | civilization | a culture with advanced citied, skilled workers, complex institutions, a system of writing or alternate form of record keeping, and advanced technology | |
| 690409114 | Mesopotamia | the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq | |
| 690409115 | Sumer | delta of fertile soil in the southernmost reaches of Mesopotamia | |
| 690409116 | Fertile Crescent | large belt of land between Mesopotamia and Egypt | |
| 690409117 | city-states | small, self-governed units comprised of a city and the surrounding land | |
| 690409118 | ziggurat | characteristic architectural form of the Sumerians | |
| 690409119 | cuneiform | Sumerian system of writing | |
| 690409120 | polytheistic | having or worshiping multiple gods | |
| 690409121 | Epic of Gilgamesh | Sumerian poem, the first epic in world literature | |
| 690409122 | Sargon the Great | Semitic general who invaded and united Sumer, forming the Akkadian empire | |
| 690409123 | Akkadian empire | empire formed of the united Sumerian city-states by Sargon the Great | |
| 692311921 | Babylonian empire | empire following the Akkadian empire in the land of Sumer | |
| 692311922 | Hammurabi | Babylonian emperor who formed the first code of laws | |
| 692311923 | Code of Hammurabi | Babylonian code of laws | |
| 692311925 | Menes | king of Upper Egypt who united the two kingdoms into one nation | |
| 692311926 | pharaoh | Egyptian ruler | |
| 692311927 | theocracy | government in which the ruler is also worshiped as a god | |
| 692311928 | Akhenaten | Egyptian pharaoh, living in the 1300s BCE, who attempted to introduce monotheism to Egypt | |
| 692311929 | hieroglyphics | Egyptian system of writing | |
| 692311930 | papyrus | thin parchment made from Nile reeds | |
| 692311931 | Rosetta Stone | stone inscribed in Greek and two forms of hieroglyphics, used to decipher Egyptian writing in the 1820s | |
| 692311932 | Jean Francois Champollion | French linguist who deciphered hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone in the 1820s | |
| 692311933 | Queen Ahhotep | Egyptian queen who helped drive out the Hyksos at the start of the New Kingdom | |
| 692311934 | Hatshepsut | Egyptian usurper and queen, noted for her promotion of trade and her elaborate building projects | |
| 692311935 | Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro | Indus River Valley cities with a precise layout, abandoned circa 1900 BCE | |
| 692311936 | Aryans | nomadic people from present-day Iraq and Afghanistan who invaded the Indus Valley | |
| 692311937 | Khyber Pass | pass through the Hindu Kush mountains, through which the Aryans entered the Indian subcontinent | |
| 692311938 | Vedas | Aryan hymns and chants that later became part of the Hindu religion | |
| 692311939 | caste system | the Hindu system of classifying people based on their jobs and birth | |
| 692311940 | brahmins | priests, the highest rank of the Hindu caste system | |
| 692311941 | pariahs | the untouchables of the Hindu caste system | |
| 692311942 | purdah | public isolation from non-family members as a religious practice | |
| 692311943 | sati | ritual suicide of widows | |
| 692311944 | karma | good or evil deeds | |
| 692311945 | Hinduism | religion teaching the illusion of the tangible world, the reincarnation of the soul based on karma, and the worship of gods such as Brahman, Shiva, and Vishnu | |
| 692311946 | dharma | the rules of each class in the Hindu caste system | |
| 692311947 | Jainism | religion teaching a belief in the sanctity of life | |
| 692311948 | Buddhism | religion teaching enlightenment through freedom from desire | |
| 692311949 | Four Noble Truths | 1.) All human life is filled with sorrow and suffering. 2.) Suffering is caused by desire. 3.) By rejecting desire, people progressing through a number of reincarnations can recognize nirvana, a state of perfect peace. 4.) Nirvana is attained by following the Eightfold Path. | |
| 692311950 | Eightfold Path | Right faith, right intention, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation | |
| 702543612 | Mahayana Buddhism | elaborately ritual form of Buddhism primarily practiced in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan | |
| 702543613 | Shang | a nomadic Asian people who fought on horseback and in chariots | |
| 702543614 | loess | yellow silt like that in the Huang He river | |
| 702543615 | oracle bones | bones used in ancient China to supposedly divine the will of the gods | |
| 702543616 | yin | Chinese concept for female | |
| 702543617 | yang | Chinese concept for male | |
| 702543618 | mandate of heaven | concept used by Chinese rulers to grant them the authority to rule | |
| 702543619 | Confucius | Chinese philosopher who founded Confucianism, preaching respect, education, and harmony | |
| 702543620 | Laozi | philosopher who may have founded Daoism | |
| 702543621 | Daoism (Taoism) | philosophy based on following "the Way" and living in harmony with nature | |
| 702543622 | Legalism | philosophy based on the heavy use of government censorship and control | |
| 702543623 | Shang Yang | founder of Legalism | |
| 702543624 | Olmec civilization | earliest known American civilization, located in southern Mexico and known for its pyramids and huge stone heads | |
| 702543625 | Chavin civilization | American civilization, located on the Peruvian coast and known for jade work and a complex trade system | |
| 702543626 | foraging | surviving off the land by hunting and gathering, without the use of agriculture |
