Ways of the World, 5th Edition, Chapter 1, Before 1200

Paleolithic Era

called the old stone age (from 10,000 to 2.5 million years ago); they were concerned with food supply; they used stone as well as bone tools; they were nomadic hunters and gatherers.

Agricultural Revolution

The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering

pastoral societies

societies whose subsistence derives from the rearing of domesticated animals

Patriarchy

A form of social organization in which males dominate females

Hinduism

the oldest, largest and most prominent religious tradition in India, unlike Christianity and Islam, it has no historical founder, it grew over centuries to become Hinduism as we know it today.

Upanishads

a collection of sacred texts composed by largely anonymous thinkers between 800 and 400 BCE. (Hindu)

Siddartha Gautama

Indian prince; founded Buddhism

Buddha

Means "Enlightened One." He is said to have found a path for overcoming suffering.

Theravada Buddhism

the oldest of the two major branches of Buddhism. Practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, its beliefs are relatively conservative, holding close to the original teachings of the Buddha,

Mahayana Buddhism

Also known as popular Buddhism, is allows people more ways to reach enlightenment , provided greater accessibility to a much wider range of people

Bhakti Movement

An immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity.

Confucianism

The 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.

Han Dynasty

imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy

Daoism

A religion in China which emphasizes the removal from society and to become one with nature. (Laozi is thought to be founder)

Judaism

A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with Abraham and the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. They preserved their early history in the Old Testament.

Jesus of Nazareth

a teacher and prophet born in bethlehem and active in nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity

Saint Paul

The first great popularizer of Christianity (10-65 C.E.). early convert whose missionary journeys in the eastern Roman Empire spread Christianity. Paul spoke to everyone about the "Good News of Jesus".

Perpetua

Christian martyr (one who was killed for their beliefs) from Carthage. Educated and wealthy, she died being fed to wild animals.

Muhammad

prophet and founder of Islam

Quran

the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina

umma

The community of all Muslims. A major innovation against the background of seventh-century Arabia, where traditionally kinship rather than faith had determined membership in a community.

ulama

Muslim religious scholars. From the ninth century onward, the primary interpreters of Islamic law and the social core of Muslim urban societies.

sharia

Body of Islamic law that includes interpretation of the Quran and applies Islamic principles to everyday life

madrassas (pron. MAH-dras-ahs)

Formal colleges for higher instruction in the teachings of Islam as well as in secular subjects, founded throughout the Islamic world beginning in the eleventh century.

Sufism

An Islamic mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God--divine love through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of the shari'a. Followed an ascetic routine (denial of physical desire to gain a spiritual goal), dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur'an, and the avoidance of sin.

Silk Roads

A system of ancient caravan routes across Central Asia, along which traders carried silk and other trade goods. land based

Sea Roads

The world's largest sea-based system of communication and exchange before 1500 C.E. Centered on India, it stretched from southern China to eastern Africa.

Sand Roads

trade across the Sahara and mediterranean world, used camels, ivory slaves gold horses cloth and salt