Origins of Civilization and Ancient World History

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and historical concepts from early human prehistory through ancient river valley civilizations, South Asian and Chinese dynasties, Mesoamerican cultures, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire.

Anthropology

The study of the development of people and their societies.

Archaeology

A specialized branch of anthropology focused on the study of past cultures through material remains, including buildings and artifacts.

Artifact

Objects made by humans, such as clothing, coins, and artwork, used by historians and archaeologists to learn about the past.

Technology

The skills and tools people use to survive.

Paleolithic Period

The Old Stone Age, during which early modern humans lived as nomads hunting and gathering food, making simple tools, building fires, and using animal skins for clothing.

Neolithic Period

The New Stone Age, which began about 12,000 years ago (10,000 B.C.) when nomadic people learned to farm and settle in permanent villages.

Neolithic Revolution

The transition from a nomadic lifestyle of hunting and gathering to settled farming and domestication of plants and animals.

Domesticate

To raise or cultivate plants and animals in a controlled way that makes them best suited to human use.

Civilization

A highly organized and complex society characterized by cities, organized governments, complex religions, job specialization, social classes, arts and architecture, public works, and writing.

Polytheistic

Believing in or worshipping many gods associated with natural forces.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one group of people to another through trade, migration, and warfare.

City-state

A political unit that includes a city and its surrounding lands and villages.

Empire

A group of states or territories controlled by one ruler.

Fertile Crescent

A region of rich farmland in the Middle East extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.

Mesopotamia

The region lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers within the Fertile Crescent, where Sumer, the world's first civilization, arose.

Cuneiform

A Sumerian writing system developed by 3200 B.C. consisting of wedge-like symbols carved into clay tablets.

Hammurabi's Code

A set of civil and criminal laws carved on public pillars by King Hammurabi of Babylon in 1790 B.C., representing the first important attempt to codify all laws of a state.

Monotheistic

Believing in only one God.

Torah

The most sacred text of the Israelites, containing the first five books of the Hebrew Bible and detailing their history and covenant with God.

Covenant

A binding promise and agreement, such as the one made between God and Abraham promising a special relationship and homeland in Canaan.

Diaspora

A 500-year period during which the Jews were exiled or left Israel and spread out across the world while preserving their religious traditions.

Hieroglyphics

The ancient Egyptian writing system that used symbols and pictographs carved in stone or written on papyrus.

Rosetta Stone

A stone discovered in Egypt that allowed French scholar Jean Champollion in the early 1800s to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Mummification

The Egyptian practice of embalming and wrapping dead bodies in cloth so the soul could return to the body in the afterlife.

Pharaoh

An ancient Egyptian king who organized a central government and exercised absolute political and religious power.

Vizier

A chief minister in ancient Egypt who managed the main business of government under the pharaoh.

Monsoon

Seasonal winds in South Asia that bring dry air from the northeast in winter and heavy rains from the southwest in summer.

Vedas

A collection of Aryan hymns, chants, ritual instructions, and religious teachings originally passed down orally.

Brahman

In Hinduism, the single spiritual power that exists beyond the gods of the Vedas and resides in all things.

Moksha

In Hinduism, the ultimate goal of existence, which is achieving complete union with Brahman.

Karma

In Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, all the actions and results of a person's life that affect their fate in the current or next life.

Dharma

In Hinduism, an individual's personal religious and moral duties necessary to escape the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Ahimsa

The Hindu and Buddhist principle of nonviolence toward all living things.

Nirvana

In Buddhism, the ultimate goal of union with the universe and release from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Mandate of Heaven

The divine right to rule promoted by the Zhou dynasty in China to justify overthrowing corrupt rulers.

Dynastic Cycle

The historical pattern of the rise, aging, and downfall of ruling dynasties in China.

Feudalism

A system of government in which local lords governed their own lands but owed military service and support to a central ruler.

Filial Piety

Respect for parents, emphasized by Confucius as a person's highest moral duty.

Legalism

A Chinese philosophy based on the teachings of Hanfeizi, which held that people were inherently evil and required strict laws and harsh punishments to maintain order.

Chinampa

Artificial islands made from mud and reeds built by the Aztec to create additional farmland in Lake Texcoco.

Quipu

A system of colored, knotted strings used by Inca officials for keeping records.

Sapa Inca

The absolute emperor of the Inca empire, who claimed ownership over all land, herds, mines, and people.

Iroquois League

An alliance formed by five Native American groups (Five Nations) in northeastern North America to end inter-tribal warfare.

Potlatch

A ceremonial gift-giving feast practiced by Native Americans of the Northwest Coast to share surplus wealth.

Polis

A unique version of the city-state developed in ancient Greece, consisting of a major town or city and its surrounding countryside.

Acropolis

The fortified high city built on a hill in a Greek polis, housing temples and civic monuments.

Oligarchy

A form of government in which political power is held by a small, wealthy elite class.

Direct Democracy

A system of government, as seen in Periclean Athens, where citizens participate directly in daily political decisions rather than through elected representatives.

Ostracism

An Athenian practice where citizens voted to banish a public figure perceived as a threat to their democracy.

Republic

A form of government established by the Romans in 509 B.C. where citizens elect officials to represent them and run the government.

Patrician

A member of the landholding upper class in ancient Rome who initially controlled political office and the senate.

Plebeian

A member of the common class in ancient Rome, including farmers, merchants, and artisans.

Tribune

An official elected by Roman plebeians to protect their rights and veto laws detrimental to them.

Imperialism

The policy of establishing control over foreign lands and peoples to build an empire.

Pax Romana

A 200-year period of Roman peace, stability, and prosperity extending across the empire from Augustus's rule onwards.

Aqueduct

A bridge-like stone structure built by Roman engineers to convey water from distant hills into urban centers.

Edict of Milan

A decree issued by Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313 that granted freedom of worship to all citizens in the Roman Empire.

Heresy

A religious belief or opinion that is contrary to the official teachings of a church.