AP World History Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering early civilizations, empires, trade centers, and key terminology from sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas.

Chiefdoms

A society led by a ruler of decent who seldom used force to lead, relying instead on generosity, charisma, and leadership, as seen in North America.

Bantu Migrations

The movement of Bantu people from 1500BCE to 500CE that spread the Bantu family of languages, culture, and iron technology, improving agricultural efficiency and sparking population growth in sub-Saharan Africa.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state in the African interior that emerged from the growing gold trade to the East African coast and flourished between 1250 and 1350 C.E.

Mali Empire

A strong West African empire from 1235-1400 featuring trading cities like Timbuktu and Gao, ruled by Sundiata and Mansa Musa, which maintained a strong gold-salt trade before falling due to a lack of strong rulers.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali (r. 1312-1337) whose extravagant pilgrimage through Egypt to Mecca in 1324-1325 established the empire's reputation for immense wealth across the Mediterranean world.

Swahili Language

A language formed by the mixture of the Arabic language and the Bantu language.

Timbuktu

A Mali trading city that became a prominent center of wealth and learning, featuring many mosques and universities.

Zazzau

The southernmost state of the Hausa peoples that conducted a vigorous trade in enslaved persons.

Aztec

A polytheistic civilization (1200-1521) that settled in the valley of Mexico around 1300, grew corn, engaged in frequent warfare, and practiced human sacrifice to provide blood for their sun god.

Cahokia

A Mississippian settlement near present-day East St. Louis that was home to as many as 25,000 Native Americans.

Chinampas

Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.

Inca

The largest and most powerful Andean empire, which controlled the Pacific coast of South America from Ecuador to Chile from its capital of Cuzco.

Machu Picchu

An abandoned city high in the Andes mountains that showcases the architectural genius of the Inca.

Mexica

The name that the Aztecs called themselves.

Tenochtitlan

The capital of the Aztec Empire located on an island in Lake Texcoco with a population of about 150,000 prior to Spanish conquest, upon whose ruins Mexico City was built.