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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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8051814904Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
8051814905NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
8051814906NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
8051814907CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
8051814908Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
8051814909PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
8051814910MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
8051814911SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
8051814912CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
8051814913City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
8051814914ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
8051814915Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
8051814916HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
8051814917PharaohThe 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
8051814918PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
8051814919HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
8051814920MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
8051814921PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
8051814922Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
8051814923AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
8051814924Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
8051814925Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
8051814926Big GeographyA term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.22
8051814927PaleolithicThe 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
8051814928Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas24
8051814929EglitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples25
8051814930Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizationsnew weapons modes of transportation26
8051814931_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periodsNew religious beliefs27
8051814932Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa28
8051814933PolytheismBelief in more than one god29
8051814934Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process30
8051814935historythe study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices31
8051814936stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances32
8051814937foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt33
8051814938city-stateA sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area34
8051814939Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.35
8051814940HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)36
8051814941scribea person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper37
8051814942cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.38
8051814943bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin39
8051814944paleolithicstone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging40
8051814945Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence41
8051814946venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity42
8051814947cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous43
8051814948pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals44
8051814949specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food45
8051814950patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families46
8051814951civilizationlarge 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
8051814952Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers48
8051814953Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state49
8051814954Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi50
8051814955Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing51
8051814956bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows52
8051814957iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites53
8051814958wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer54
8051814959cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay55
8051814960Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization56
8051814961Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa57
8051814962HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)58
8051814963Harrappa & 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
8051814964Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner60
8051814965VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE61
8051814966VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into62
8051814967Chinaearliest civilization in Asia63
8051814968Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization64
8051814969Shang 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
8051814970HinduismTerm 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
8051814971ZoroastrianismFounded 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
8051814972JudaismMonotheistic (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
8051814973ConfucianismThe 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
8051814974Mandate 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
8051814975Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class71
8051814976Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru72
8051814977Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico73
8051814978MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans74
8051814979ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices75
8051814980CarthageCity 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
8051814981irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops77
8051814982Indus 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
8051814983Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.79
8051814984Alexander the GreatUnited Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.80
8051814985Socrates and PlatoGreek philosopher and his student81

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