AP World History

Terms (8000 - 600 B.C.E.)

	The change from food gathering to food production that occurred between 8000 and 2000 B.C.E. Also known as the Neolithic Revolution.
	One of the world's best preserved and oldest neolithic village located in Yanshao dating back to 6000 B.C.E.
	Sculpture in which the figures project only slightly from the background.
	English naturalist. He studied the plants and animals of South America and the Pacific islands, and in his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) set forth his theory of evolution.
	The spread of social institutions (and myths and skills) from one society to another.
	A fictional tale that uses the actions of gods, heroes to explain the elements of nature.
	All encompassing of religion and gods.
	The 40% complete skeleton of a 3.2 million year old hominid human ancestor found by Donald Johanson.
	A scientific method for determining the age of once living things by measuring the amount of carbon 14 remaining.
	"New Stone Age" Latest part of the Stone Age beginning about 10000 BC in the middle east (but later elsewhere).
	"Old Stone Age" Older part of the Stone Age beginning about 75000 to 500000 B.C.E.and lasting until the end of the last ice age about 8500 B.C.E.
	Figurine that depicts an exaggerated version of a female's body; they were made for fertility purposes because at the time, people didn't understand child birth.
	An improvement of an existing technological product, system, or method of doing something.
	An ancient region of southern Mesopotamia which rose around 3300 B.C.E. The first empire that ruled in Mesopotamia and is credited with inventing writing.
	Early urban culture based on sedentary agriculture; located in modern southern Turkey; larger in population than Jericho, had greater degree of social stratification.
	Oldest Neolithic community in the West Bank between Israel and Jordan.
	A rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians.
	Symbol that stands for a concept or action by depicting it rather than a word.
	A farming method involving the cutting of trees, then burning them to provide ash-enriched soil for the planting of crops.
	Egyptian term for the concept of divinely created and maintained order in the universe. Reflecting the ancient Egyptians' belief in an essentially beneficent world, the divine ruler was the earthly guarantor of this order.
	Egyptian districts ruled by regional governors who were called Nomarchs.
	Stone that contained carved messages in Hieroglyphics, Greek and Demotic. Led to deciphering of hieroglyphics.
	An ancient Egyptian mudbrick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof.
	A pyramid whose sides rise in a series of giant steps. First type of pyramid to be built in Egypt.
	(3100? B.C.E.) King of Upper Egypt, united the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt.
	A city deemed to be sacred or has a mythological association.The Cosmo-Magical city Uruk of Mesopotamia is said to have been ruled by the great hero and king, Gilgamesh.
	Knotted cords of various lengths and colors used by the inca to keep financial records.
	Arc of land from the Mediterranean to the perisan gulf. This land had rich soil and abundant crops, able to sustain early civilization.
	King of the Babylonian empire; creator of the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world's oldest codes of law.
	A river running through Sumer, Mespotamia, provided resources for the Mespotamians.
	Small cylinders decorated with distinctive images. These were rolled on damp clay to leave a rectangular impression to "seal" a deal in business/ equivalent to a signature today.
	Ancient peoples of the Near East, from whom the Israelites are descended.
	A river running through Sumer, Mespotamia, provided resources for the Mespotamians.
	A period of human culture between the Stone Age and the Iron Age, characterized by the use of weapons and implements made of bronze.
	Mountain range between Syria and Israel.
	An ancient wedge-shaped script used in Mesopotamia and Persia.
	Pictographic characters grouped together to create new concepts; typical of Chinese writing.
	An epic poem from Mesopotamia, and among the earliest known works of literary writing.
	An alphabet of characters intended to represent specific sounds of speech.
	One of the first urbanized centers in western Africa. A walled community home to approximately 50,000 people at its height. Evidence suggests domestication of agriculture and trade with nearby regions.
	Second Chinese dynasty (about 1750-1122 B.C.) which was mostly a farming society ruled by an aristocracy mostly concerned with war. They're best remembered for their art of bronze casting.
	Mayan King of Tikal whose accomplishments are detailed in the stelae at Tikal.
	This was the earliest known dynasty. There is no written evidence of this early time period, but artifacts have been found. The people of this time were farmers and made pottery.
	River in Northern China. Unpredictable flooding lead to the name "China's Sorrow".
	Powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900-1168 C.E.). It influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs claimed ties to this earlier civilization.
	The most important Maya political center between 300-800 C.E. It was a city that had temples, pyramids, palaces, and public buildings.
	The imperial dynasty of China from 1122 to 221 BC; notable for the rise of Confucianism and Taoism.
	An ancient settlement of southern Indians, located near present day St. Louis, it served as a trading center for 40,000 at its peak in A.D. 1200.
	Civilization of north coast of Peru (200-700 C.E.). An important Andean civilization that built extensive irrigation networks as well as impressive urban centers dominated by brick temples.
	A formative Chinese culture located at Ordos bulge 2500 to 2000 B.C.E.; primarily an intensive hunting and gathering society supplemented by shifting cultivation.
	The first major South American civilization, which flourished in the highlands of what is now Peru from about 900 to 200 B.C.E.
	Route across the sahara desert. Major trade route that traded for gold and salt, created caravan routes, economic benefit for controlling dessert, camels played a huge role in the trading.
	A formative Chinese culture located at Ordos bulge 2000 to 1500 B.C.E.; based primarily on cultivation of millet.
	A Moche archaeological site in northern Peru that is famous for the tomb of El Señor de Sipán (Lord of Sipán), excavated by Walter Alva. It is considered to be one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the last thirty years, because the main tomb was found intact & undisturbed by thieves.
	Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.
	Valley in Mexico in which the numerous Mesoamerican civilizations, including the Aztecs, arose.
	Cattle bones or tortoise shells on which Chinese priests would write questions and then interpret answers from the cracks that formed when the bones were heated.
	An Olmec city that was a ceremonial center after the one at San Lorenzo.
	Located in West Africa, its rich soil gave rise to several civilizations; it also helped unite the region by enabling merchants and travelers to spread goods and ideas up and down the river.
	A powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600 C.E. One of the first in the Valley of Mexico.
	Civilization that flourished in southern Mexico's Oaxaca Valley (500 B.C.E. to C.E. 600). Developed own writting system, architecture modified.
	An African culture that existed around 500 B.C.E. in Northern Nigeria. They lived along the Niger river and produced terra cotta sculptures.
	The ancient Chinese capital of the Shang Dynasty.
	Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras but never unified into a single empire. Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the calendar.
	A large group of central and southern Africans who speak related languages.
	(1400 B.C.E. to 500 B.C.E.) earliest known Mexican civilization,lived in rainforests along the Gulf of Mexico, developed calendar and constructed public buildings and temples, carried on trade with other groups.
	The story of creation by the Mayans.
	City on the Niger River in the modern country of Mali. It was founded by the Tuareg as a seasonal camp sometime after 1000 B.C.E. As part of the Mali empire, Timbuktu became a major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning.
	The domination of one state over its allies without force.
	(600-529 B.C.E.) King of Persia and founder of the Persian empire.
	The domination of one state over otheres through force.
	Meaning "of a city".
	The ancient Greek known as the father of history.
	Ancient Athenian philosopher.
	The demoncratic system of government in and around Athens Greece.
	An ancient region of northeastern Africa (southern Egypt and northern Sudan) on the Nile.
	An ancient city on the east bank of the Nile which was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush it is marked by more than two hundred pyramids in three groups, they are identified as Nubian pyramids because of their distinctive size and proportions.
	Athenian statesman whose leadership contributed to Athen's political and cultural supremacy in Greece.
	An ancient city is southern Greece which dominated as a citadel militarily.