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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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11043352265Hunting and GatheringMeans of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization0
11043352266NeolithicThe New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished1
11043352267NomadsCattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies2
11043352268CultureCombination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction3
11043352269Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolutionOccurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture4
11043352270PastoralismA nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies5
11043352271MesopotamiaLiterally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys6
11043352272SumeriansPeople who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states7
11043352273CuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets8
11043352274City-stateA form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king9
11043352275ZigguratsMassive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections10
11043352276Babylonian EmpireUnified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.11
11043352277HammurabiThe most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law12
11043352278PharaohThe 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
11043352279PyramidsMonumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs14
11043352280HieroglyphsForm of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform15
11043352281MonotheismThe exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization16
11043352282PhoeniciansSeafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script17
11043352283Harappa and Mohenjo DaroMajor urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern18
11043352284AryansIndo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization19
11043352285Huanghe (Yellow) River BasinSite of the development of sedentary agriculture in China20
11043352286Shang1st Chinese dynasty21
11043352287PaleolithicThe 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.22
11043352288Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic eraFrom Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas23
11043352289egalitarianBelieving in the equality of all peoples24
11043352290Mediterranean SeaSea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa25
11043352291PolytheismBelief in more than one god26
11043352292Nile RiverPrincipal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process27
11043352293stone agethe earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances28
11043352294foragersFood collectors who gather, fish, or hunt29
11043352295Babylonan ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.30
11043352296HammurabiBabylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)31
11043352297cuneiformA form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.32
11043352298bronzeA metal that is a mixture of copper and tin33
11043352299Homo sapienshuman species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence34
11043352300venus figurinespaleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity35
11043352301cave paintingspaleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous36
11043352302pastoralismthe process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals37
11043352303specialization of laborpeople in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food38
11043352304patriarchythe idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families39
11043352305civilizationlarge scale communities that had certain characteristics in common such as: recordkeeping, complex institutions (government, economy, organized religion), cities, specialization of labor, long-distance trade, technology40
11043352306Euphrates and Tigristwo principle Mesopotamian rivers41
11043352307Sumerearliest Mesopotamian city state42
11043352308Babylonsecond oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi43
11043352309Hammurabi's Codefirst law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing44
11043352310bronze metallurgyalloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows45
11043352311iron metallurgya changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites46
11043352312wheelround object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer47
11043352313cuneiforma very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay48
11043352314Epic of Gilgameshepic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization49
11043352315Egypta founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa50
11043352316HieroglyphicsEgyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)51
11043352317Harrappa & 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
11043352318Indus RiverRiver in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner53
11043352319VedasA belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE54
11043352320VarnaCaste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into55
11043352321Chinaearliest civilization in Asia56
11043352322Huang He and Yangzi Hetwo rivers in China that supported early civilization57
11043352323Shang 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.58
11043352324HinduismTerm 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.59
11043352325ZoroastrianismFounded 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.60
11043352326JudaismMonotheistic (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.61
11043352327ConfucianismThe 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.62
11043352328Mandate 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 rule63
11043352329Oracle bonesbones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class64
11043352330Mesoamericacultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru65
11043352331Olmecthe first major civilization in Mexico66
11043352332MayaMesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans67
11043352333ChavinMesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices68
11043352334CarthageCity 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)69
11043352335irrigation systemsreplacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops70
11043352336Indus 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 Mohenjodaro71
11043352337Persian Warsa series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.72

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