WHAP vocab

Paleolithic Era

The old Stone Age marked by nomadic hunter gatherer societies

Neolithic Revolution

The shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture and animal domestication leading to settled communities and the beginnings of civilization

Specialization of labor

When individuals concentrate on a limited set of skills or crafts a society as a result of surplus resources

Social Hierarchy

The division of a society into different levels or ranks based on factors like wealth, status, or occupation

Patriarchy

A social system where men hold the primary power and authority

Mesopotamia

The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, home to early urban societies like the Sumerians and Babylonians

Indus River Valley Civilization

Flourished in present-day Pakistan and India, known for urban planning and advanced drainage systems

Ziggurat

Massive step pyramids used as religious temples in ancient Mesopotamian city-states

Cuneiform

One of the earliest writing systems, developed by the Sumerians

Hieroglyphics

Ancient Egyptian writing systems using pictures and symbols

Code of Hammurabi

An early set of written laws from Mesopotamia, introducing concepts like “an eye for an eye”

Mandate of Heaven

A Chinese political theory suggesting rulers had divine authority to govern

Ancient Egypt

A civilization centered around the Nile river, known for its pharaohs, hieroglyphics and monumental architecture

City-state

An independent political entity consisting of a city and it’s surrounding territory

Centralized government

A system where power is concentrated in a central authority rather than being distributed locally

Polyhteism

Belief in many gods and goddesses

Monotheism

Belief in one supreme god

Hinduism

Developed in ancient India, characterized by belief in reincarnation, karma, and the caste system

Judaism

An Abrahamic religion originating with the Hebrew people and believing in one god (Yahweh)

Islam

A major monotheistic world religion founded in 7th- century Arabia by the prophet Muhammad. followers called Muslims, believe Muhammad was the final profit who received the revelations complied into the holy text, The Quran

Zoroastrianism

One of the earliest monotheistic religions, originated in ancient Persia

Buddhism

Originated in India with Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), emphasizing that suffering is caused by desire and can be overcome through enlightenment

Confucianism

Chinese philosophy emphasizing social harmony, filial piety (respect for parents and ancestors), and ethical conduct

Daoism

Chinese philosophy emphasizing balance with nature, following “the way” (Dao), and living in harmony with the natural order

Christianity

An abrahamic, monotheistic religions based on the teachings of Jesus, rooted in Judaism and spreading through missionary efforts

Abbasid caliphate

Dynasty of the Muslim empire of the caliphate that followed the Umayyad caliphatei destroyed by the mongol invasion in 1258

The analects

The compilation of Confucius after his death

Ancestor veneration

A Confucian practice of praying to one’s ancestors

Animism

The belief that elements of the physical world could have supernatural powers

Antisemitism

Prejudice, hostility, or discrimination directed against Jewish people

Artisans

Skilled manual workers in a particular craft who often work by hand

Ashoka

The third king of the mauryan empire who promoted Buddha

Bantu migrations

The spread of Bantu-speaking peoples from their homeland in what is now southern Nigeria to most of Africa

Bhakti movement

Hindu devotional movement that flourished in the early modem era, emphasizing music, dance, poetry, and rituals as means by which to achieve direct union with the divine

Bourgeoisie

He middle to upper class that owns the means of production ( such as factories, machinery, and capital), rather than selling their own labor

Caste system

A rigid cordial system in India that gives every Indian a particular place in the social hierarchy from birth

Champa rice

An Indian quick-maturing, very resistant rice that could be harvested twice in one growing season

Chan Buddhism

A chines school of mahāyāna Buddhism popular during the tang and song dynasty

Chang’an

Ancient Chinese capital of several dynasties; now known as xi’an

Civil service exam

A system of testing designed to select the most studious and learned candidates for appointment as bureaucrats in the chines government

Chola dynasty

A Tamil maritime empire of southern India and one of the longest ruling dynasties in the world history

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

Corvee labor

Forced, unpaid labor that was often intermitten

Crusades

A series of Christian holy wars conducted against nonbelievers

Delhi Suitahate

A Muslim kingdom that ruled parts of India from the 13th to the 16th centuries and was an Islamic state on the outside of the caliphate system

Dharma

A position and career determined by birth within the caste system

Diaspora

Any movement of the citizens of a population sharing the same ethnic descent

Eightfold path

One of buddhas teachings which outlined the path to nirvana

Ethiopia

Christian-led African kingdom that emerged in the 12th century; known for their rock hewn churches

Estates general

The traditional legislative and consultative assembly of pre-revolutionary France, representing society through three social orders (estates); the clergy (first estate), the nobility (seasonal estate), and the commoners (third estate)

Feudalism

A land system in which a king owned all the land a granted tracks to nobles in exchange for military or loyalty, and nobles granted parts of their land to vassals or serfs on worked the land.

Filial Piety

A confucian virtue of respect, obedience, and care for one’s parents and elderly family members

Four Noble Truths

Buddha’s guiding principles regarding suffering

Grand Canal

An over 1,000 mile-long transportation waterway that allowed China to be the most populous trading area in the world during the Song Dynasty.

Great Wall

A Chinese defensive fortification built during the reign of Shi Huangi to keep out Northern nomadic invaders

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state in the African interior that emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast

Gupta empire

The empire that later united India following the maurya empire

Han dynasty

Chinas longest running dynasty

Hausa kingdoms

A group of small independent city states in northern central Africa

Hebrew bible

Collection of sacred books containing diverse materials concerning the origins, experiences, beliefs and practices of the Israelites

Hein period

A period when Japan was most closely connected to and influenced by Chinese culture that lasted from 794 to 1185CE

Humanism

A renaissance intellectual malamente that focused on human potential individual achievement and the study of classical Greek and Roman texts instead of solely concentrating on religion and the afterlife

House of wisdom

An academic center for center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Bagh by the Abbasid caliph Al-mamun

Holy Roman empires

A decentralized political entity that tried to revive Roman imperial authority in Western Europe under Christian (catholic) legitimacy. It represents a key example of state building in the post classical and early modern eras that close decentralization and regional feudalism contrasting sharply with the centralized “new monarchs” forming in places like England France and Spain