Vocab Unit One

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Social Structure

a pattern of organized relationships among groups of people within a society

Politics

the effort to control or influence the conduct and policies of government

Interaction with Environment

How we affect & are affected by environment - how do WE affect environment

Culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Economics

the study of how society manages its scarce resources

Technology

The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes

Consensus

general agreement

Ceremonial Burial

elaborate burial sites indicated the afterlife, example of Paleolithic Societies thinking of a spirit world

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Nomads

people who move from place to place, no permanent home

Egalitarian

believing in the social and economic equality of all people

Agriculture

the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.

irrigation

A way of supplying water to an area of land

Civilization

A society with cities, a central government, job specialization, and social classes

Monumental Architecture

Large structures, such as pyramids, temples, public spaces, and large statues, that generally appear wherever powerful leaders emerge

Urbanization

Movement of people from rural areas to cities

Legitimize

To give credit or recognition to

Theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

Polytheism

the belief in or worship of more than one god.

Hiearchy

a ranking system in which each thing is placed above or below others

Patriarchy

A form of social organization in which males dominate females

Western Civilization

civilization that evolved in Europe and in recent centuries spread to America

Ancient Greece

A civilization that lasted from the 8th/6th century BCE to 600 AD.

Consolidate

to combine

Mediterranean Trade

allowed Roman empire to trade with many different places thus increasing the economy

Decentralized

governmental power is spread among more than one person or group

City-State

a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.

Athens

A democratic Greek polis who accomplished many cultural achievements, and who were constantly at war with Sparta.

Monarchy

undivided rule or absolute supreme power by a single person

Tyranny

cruel and unjust use of power

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Greek Golden Age

500 to 300 BCE gave us the great monuments, art, philosophy, architecture, and literature, which are the building blocks of our own civilization

Euclid

Father of Geometry, work in Euclidean geometry

Socrates

Founder of Western philosophy and rational inquiry, teaching style "Socratic Method"

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another

Roman Empire

Existed from 27 BCE to about 400 CE. Conquered the entire Mediterranean coast and most of Europe. Ruled by an emperor. Eventually oversaw the rise and spread of Christianity.

Latin

based on Greek writing (Phoenician writing) spoken by Latins

Romance Languages

born from Latin languages: Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian

Roman Legal Concepts

-12 tables protect the rights of free citizens.

-Elected consuls (1 led the military, 1 the government)

• Senate made up of the upper class

-Tribunes elected from the lower class

Hebrews

a theological treatise addressed to early Christians

Judaism

the monotheistic religion of the Jews.

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Abrahamic Religions

Judaism, Christianity, Islam

Imperial Cult

worship of the emperor

Diaspora

A dispersion of people from their homeland

Jewish Diaspora

the scattering of the Jewish people outside their homeland beginning about 586 BCE

Missionaries

people who work to spread their religious beliefs

Christianity

A religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus

Rome Legalizes Christianity

313 CE legalized by Constantine after the fall of Rome 2 years later

Germanic Tribes

Nomadic groups that invaded the Roman Empire from the North and East. They caused the fall of Rome.

Fall of Rome

476 CE

Roman Catholic Church

Church established in western Europe during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages with its head being the bishop of Rome or pope.

Eastern Orthodox Church

Christian followers in the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire); split from Roman Catholic Church and shaped life in eastern Europe and western Asia

Great Schism of 1054

The separation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church

Byzantine Empire

Eastern half of the Roman Empire that survived the fall of the Western half.

Hagia Sophia

the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, built by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian