AP World History (Prehistory - 600 CE)

Civilization

A cultural group with advanced cities, complex institutions, skilled workers, advanced technology, and a system of recordkeeping

Edict of Milan

A document that made Christianity one of the religions allowed in the Roman Empire

Polis

A Greek city‐state

Indo‐Europeans

A group of semi‐nomadic people who, around 2000 B.C.E. began to migrate from central Asia to India, Europe, and the Middle East

Brahmin

A member of the social class of priests in Aryan society

Quetzalcoatl

A Mesoamerica legend of a god who would someday return to rule his people in peace

Vedas

"Wisdom," early collections of prayers and hymns that provide information about the Indo‐European Aryans who migrated to India around 1500 B.C.E.

Theocracy

A government ruled by God or by church leaders

Aristocracy

A class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially the hereditary nobility

Artisan

A craftsman

Huns

A nomadic group, believed to be from Central Asia, who invaded into Europe near the end of Rome

Democracy

A political system in which the people rule

Monsoon

A seasonal wind

Dynasty

A series of rulers from the same family

Hieroglyphics

A system of picture writing used in Egypt

Cuneiform

A system of writing originating in Mesopotamia in which a wedge‐shaped stylus was used to press symbols into clay

Foraging

A term for hunting and gathering

Covenant

Agreement; in the Judeo‐Christian heritage, an agreement between God and humankind

Slash‐and‐burn cultivation

An agricultural method in which farmers clear fields by cutting and burning trees, then use the ashes as fertilizer

Pharaoh

An Egyptian monarch

Artifact

An object made by human hands

Oracle bones

Animal bones or shells used by the Chinese priests to receive messages from the gods.

Bodhisattvas

Buddhist holy men who accumulated spiritual merits during their lifetime; Buddhists prayed to them in order to receive some of their holiness

Silk Roads

Caravan routes and sea lanes between China and the Middle East

Analects

Collection of teachings and sayings made by Confucius

Jati

Complicated system of subcastes in the Hindu caste system

Steppe

Dry grassland

Mystery religion

During the Hellenistic age, religions that promised their faithful followers eternity a state of bliss

Yahweh

God of the monotheistic religion of Judaism that influcenced later religions of Christianity and Islam

Aristotle

Greek philosopher who rejected the theory of forms and ideas, he believed that people could depend on their senses and reason to answer the mysteries of the world

Yin and yang

In ancient Chinese belief, the opposing forces that bring balance to nature and life.

Nirvana

In Buddhism, a state of perfect peace that is the goal of reincarnation

Filial piety

In China, respect for one's parents and other elders.

Moksha

In Hindu belief, the spirit's liberation from the cycle of reincarnation

Karma

In the Hindu tradition, the good or evil deeds done by a person

Latifundia

Large landholdings in the Roman Empire

Alexander the Great

Macedonian king who led an army Eastward and conquered land from Greece to India. He was known as a brilliant military leader and his death marked the beginning of the Hellenistic Era

Ziggurat

Mesopotamian Temples

Disciple

One of the 12 followers of Christ, or any of the professed followers of Christ in his lifetime

Zoroastrianism

Persian religion based on the teaching of the 6th century BCE prophet Zarathustra; its emphasis on the duality of good and evil and on the role of individuals in determining their own fate would influence later religions

Patriarchal

Pertaining to a social system in which the father is the head of the family

Reincarnation

Rebirth; a belief of both Buddhism and Hinduism

Matrilineal

Referring to a social system in which descent and inheritance are traced through the mother

Twelve tables

The codification of Roman law during the republic

Mandate of heaven

The "will of the gods" that granted a ruler the right to rule

Geocentric theory

The belief held by many before the Scientific Revolution that the earth is the center of the universe

Polytheism

The belief in many gods

Monotheism

The belief in one god

Animism

The belief that spirits inhabit the features of nature

Hsiung‐nu

The Central Nomadic people who invaded into China in the ancient world

Sati

The custom among the higher castes of Hinduism of a widow throwing herself on the burning funeral pyre of her husband

Specialization of labor

The division of labor that aids the development of skills in a particular type of work

Hellenistic age

The era in which Greek culture blended with Persian and other Eastern influences and spread throughout the former empire of Alexander the Great

Diaspora

The exile of an ethnic or racial group from their homeland

Torah

The first five books of the Jewish scripture.

Pope

The head of the Roman Catholic Church

Varna

The Hindu word for caste

Independent invention

The idea that ancient civilizations were able to achieve characteristics of civilization without contact with others

Neolithic revolution

The introduction of agriculture, domestication of animals, and a more sedentary life during the Neolithic Age

Ten commandments

The moral law of the Hebrews

Stoicism

The most popular Hellenistic philosophy; it involved strict discipline and an emphasis on helping others.

Neolithic age

The New Stone Age that was marked by the discovery and mastery of agriculture

Climate

The pattern of temperature and precipitation over a period of time

New testament

The portion of the Christian Bible that contains the Gospels that relate the account of the life of Jesus; letters from the followers of Jesus to the early Christian churches and the Book of Revelation, a prophetic text

Dharma

The position in the Hindu caste system that was determined by one's birth

Pastoralism

The practice of herding

Messiah

The religious term for "any expected deliverer"

Pax Romana

The Roman Peace; the period of prosperity and stability throughout the Roman Empire in the first two centuries C.E.

Untouchables

The social division in Hindu society that fell in rank below the caste system; it was occupied by those who carried out undesirable occupations such as undertaking, butchering, and waste collection

Agricultural Revolution

he transition from foraging to the cultivation of food occurring about 8000 ‐ 2000 BC; also known as the Neolithic revolution

Cultural diffusion

the transmission of ideas and products from one culture to another