AP World History Unit 1

Hunting and Gathering

Means of obtaining subsistence by humans before the mastery of sedentary agriculture; normally typical of tribal social organization

Neolithic

The New Stone Age between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; period in which adaptation of sedentary agriculture occurred; domestication of plants and animals accomplished

Nomads

Cattle- and sheep-herding societies normally found on the fringes of civilized societies; commonly referred to as "barbarian" by civilized societies

Culture

Combination of ideas, objects, and patterns of behavior that result from human social interaction

Neolithic/Agricultural/Agrarian revolution

Occurred between 8000 and 5000 B.C.E.; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture

Pastoralism

A nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies

Mesopotamia

Literally "between the rivers"; the civilization that arose in the alluvial plain of the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys

Sumerians

People who migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 B.C.E.; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states

Cuneiform

A form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge-shaped stylus and clay tablets

City-state

A form of political organization typical of Mesopotamian civilization; consisted of agricultural hinterlands ruled by an urban-based king

Ziggurats

Massive towers usually associated with Mesopotamian temple connections

Babylonian Empire

Unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 B.C.E.; collapsed due to foreign invasion circa 1600 B.C.E.

Hammurabi

The most important Babylonian ruler; responsible for codification of the law

Pharaoh

The term used to denote the kings of ancient Egypt; considered a god as well as a political and military leader. The term, "great house" refers to the palace of the pharaohs

Pyramids

Monumental architecture typical of Old Kingdom Egypt; used as burial sites for pharaohs

Hieroglyphs

Form of writing developed in ancient Egypt; more pictorial than Mesopotamian cuneiform

Monotheism

The exclusive worship of one god; introduced by Jews into Middle Eastern civilization

Phoenicians

Seafaring civilization located on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean; extensive trade, communication networks, early alphabetical script

Harappa and Mohenjo Daro

Major urban complexes of Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern

Aryans

Indo-European nomadic, warlike, pastorialists who replaced Harappan civilization

Huanghe (Yellow) River Basin

Site of the development of sedentary agriculture in China

Shang

1st Chinese dynasty

Big Geography

A term that draws attention to the global nature of world history.

Paleolithic

The period that ended about 3,000 years after the end of the last Ice Age, it lasted until about 10,000 years ago. (Old Stone Age) The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans. It predates the Neolithic period.

Path of migration for humans during Paleolithic era

From Africa to Eurasia, Australia, and the Americas

Eglitarian

Believing in the equality of all peoples

Pastoralists were often the developers and disseminators of of ____ and ___ that transformed warfare in agrarian civilizations

new weapons

modes of transportation

_____ developed in this period continued to have strong influences in later periods

New religious beliefs

Mediterranean Sea

Sea connecting Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and N. Africa

Polytheism

Belief in more than one god

Nile River

Principal water source of water flowing through North Africa (site of sophisticated cultural development); flooded regularly and enriched the soil in the process

history

the study of past events and changes in the development, transmission and transformation of cultural practices

stone age

the earliest known period of human culture, marked by the creation and use of stone tools and other nonmetallic substances

foragers

Food collectors who gather, fish, or hunt

city-state

A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate surrounding area

Babylon

an ancient city of Mesopotamia known for its wealth, luxury, and vice.

Hammurabi

Babylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BCE)

scribe

a person who copies or writes out documents; often a record keeper

cuneiform

A form of writing developed by the Sumerians (Mesopotamia) using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.

bronze

A metal that is a mixture of copper and tin

paleolithic

stone age period when human used stone tools and survived by hunting and foraging

Homo sapiens

human species derived from apes with more brain capacity for intelligence

venus figurines

paleolithic female figurines that emphasize physical attributes associated with fecundity

cave paintings

paleolithic cave paintings that emphasize hunting--Lascaux France is most famous

pastoralism

the process of domestication, raising, and herding of animals

specialization of labor

people in civilizations could be assigned different jobs and statuses in society due to having a surplus of food

patriarchy

the idea that males have a right to rule and reign over states and families

civilization

large scale communities that had certain characteristics in common such as: recordkeeping, complex institutions (government, economy, organized religion), cities, specialization of labor, long-distance trade, technology

Euphrates and Tigris

two principle Mesopotamian rivers

Sumer

earliest Mesopotamian city state

Babylon

second oldest Mesopotamian city state, succeeds Sumer, most important king was Hammurabi

Hammurabi's Code

first law code in the world, of Babylonia, dealt with legal contracts and responsibility for wrong doing

bronze metallurgy

alloy of copper, tin, and zinc, this metal began to be produced from about 2800 BCE improved military equipment, agricultural knives, and plows

iron metallurgy

a changeable metal, less hard than bronze, but more flexible, developed around 1500 BCE by the Hittites

wheel

round object used to move heavy weights and to create vehicles first in Sumer

cuneiform

a very early form of writing, from Sumer in Mesopotamia, done by pressing a cone-shaped stylus into soft clay

Epic of Gilgamesh

epic Mesopotamian poem that highlights the stresses of civilization

Egypt

a founding civilization along the Nile in Northeastern Africa

Hieroglyphics

Egyptian writing (pictographs & symbols representing sounds+ideas)

Harrappa & Mohenjo Daro

Two early, very large, and complex Indus Valley city states. Little is known about these but their size and complexities imply central planning.

Indus River

River in Northern India on which the first Indian civilizations were built; flooded twice a year in a predictable manner

Vedas

A belief system based on the caste system brought into India by peoples probably from the Caucasus between about 5000 and 4000 BCE

Varna

Caste system of India: Brahmin, Khsatriya, Vaishya, Shudra--people could not move out of the caste they were born into

China

earliest civilization in Asia

Huang He and Yangzi He

two rivers in China that supported early civilization

Shang Dynasty

The dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for which we have written records (ca. 1750-1027 B.C.E.). Ancestor worship, divination by means of oracle bones, and the use of bronze vessels for ritual purposes were major elements of this culture.

Hinduism

Term for a wide variety of beliefs and ritual practices that have developed in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. It has roots in ancient Vedic, Buddhist, and south Indian religious concepts and practices.

Zoroastrianism

Founded by Zoroaster; taught that humans had the freedom to choose between right and wrong, and that goodness would triumph in the end. Marked by dualism between God = Good and the Evil. Influenced Christianity. Was one of the first monotheistic religions.

Judaism

Monotheistic (belief in one god), founded by Abraham, code of law found in the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible), led to the development of two other Abrahamic religions: Christianity and Islam.

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.

Mandate of Heaven

A political theory of ancient China in which the emperor is given the power to rule by a divine sources. This tie could be severed by ineffectual rule

Oracle bones

bones on which the ruling class in China wrote questions and had them divined by the priestly class

Mesoamerica

cultural area in the Americas extending from central America to present-day Peru

Olmec

the first major civilization in Mexico

Maya

Mesoamerican civilization in and near the Yucatan Peninsula--had the first and only pre-Columbian writing system in the Americans

Chavin

Mesoamerican civilization in present-day Peru that had highly developed art and architectural practices

Carthage

City located in present-day Tunisia, founded by Phoenicians ca. 800 B.C.E. It became a major commercial center and naval power in the western Mediterranean until defeated by Rome in the third century B.C.E. (p. 107)

irrigation systems

replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops

Indus River Valley Civilization

an ancient civilization thriving along the Indus River in what is now Pakistan and western India. This civilization is also sometimes referred to as the Harappan or Harappa-Mohenjodaro Civilization of the Indus Valley, in reference to the excavated cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro

Persian Wars

a series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC.

Alexander the Great

United Ancient Greece; Hellenistic Age, conquered a large empire.

Socrates and Plato

Greek philosopher and his student