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These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on technological and environmental transformations leading up to and including classical civilizations.

Paleolithic Age

Refers to the period of human history from about 12,000 BC when people were nomadic.

Neolithic Age

The age from about 12,000 BC to about 8000 BC when people settled in communities and civilizations began to emerge.

River Valley Civilizations

Civilizations that developed between 3500 to 1500 BC, including those around major rivers.

Classical Civilizations

Civilizations from about 1000 BC to 600 CE such as Zhou and Han China, Greece and Rome, and the Gupta Empire.

Cuneiform

A system of writing first developed by the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE.

Hammurabi's Code

The set of laws created by Hammurabi, king of Babylon, which established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments for violators.

Polytheism

The belief in or worship of multiple deities or gods.

Oracle bones

The earliest known form of Chinese writing, used by the Shang dynasty to communicate with ancestors.

Silk Road

An ancient trade route that extended from China to the Mediterranean, facilitating trade and cultural exchange.

Patricians

The aristocratic families in ancient Rome, typically wealthy and holding political power.

Confucianism

A philosophical system based on the teachings of Confucius, emphasizing moral integrity and social harmony.

Buddhism

A religion founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama ('the Buddha'), emphasizing the path to enlightenment through meditation and ethical living.

Mandate of Heaven

The ancient Chinese belief that Heaven granted emperors the right to rule based on their ability to govern well and fairly.

Agricultural societies

Societies that cultivate crops and domesticate animals, emerging around 8000 BCE.

Nomadic societies

Communities that move constantly in search of food and resources, relying on hunting and herding.

Social stratification

A system of structured social inequality and hierarchy within a society.

Artisans

Skilled craft workers who create handmade goods, such as pottery, textiles, and tools.

Economic systems

The means by which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed.

Hieroglyphics

A system of writing used in ancient Egypt that employed pictorial symbols.

Epic of Gilgamesh

One of the oldest known pieces of literature from ancient Mesopotamia, concerning the adventures of King Gilgamesh.