Western Civilization Unit 1 Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, civilizations, and technological developments from Western Civilization Unit 1 notes.

Civis

The Latin word meaning "city", from which the word "civilization" is derived.

Catalhoyuk

An early settlement in Anatolia founded over 9,000 years ago that grew to a population of around 8,000 with 2,000 individual dwellings and no organized streets.

Stone Age

The period of human cultures preceding the fourth millennium B.C.E., made up of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras.

Homo Sapiens

Early human species that migrated from Africa to Eurasia around 40,000 B.C.E., crafting fishhooks, arrowheads, sewing needles, and cave art.

The Neolithic Revolution

A major period around 11,000 B.C.E. initiated by global warming that led to managed food production, permanent settlements, and intensified long-distance trade.

Anthropocene Epoch

The current geological epoch, onset during the Neolithic Revolution, characterized by large-scale human activity significantly altering Earth's ecosystems and climatological patterns.

Jericho

A fortified urban center located between Israel and Jordan (7500 B.C.E. – 3500 B.C.E.) featuring stone perimeter walls and watchtowers.

Ubaid Culture

A culture near the Persian Gulf that constructed extensive water management systems such as dikes and levees and developed a distinct priest class.

Presentism

The tendency to interpret the past in presentist terms and the shift of general historical interest toward the contemporary period and away from the more distant past.

Uranium-Thorium Dating

A precise dating method used for antiquities older than 30,000 years, offering a more reliable alternative to radiocarbon dating for older artifacts.

Pictograms

A system of symbols and picture representations used for early written communication.

Houses of the Tablet

Early writing schools established in Mesopotamia to teach reading and writing of cuneiform.

Cuneiform

An early system of writing developed in Sumer, based on inscribing symbols on clay tablets.

Early Dynastic Period

An era in Sumerian history characterized by intensified warfare between city-states, which closely linked military leadership with kingship.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

A cuneiform epic telling the story of Gilgamesh of Uruk, exploring urban life versus old hunter-gatherer ways and teaching respect for the gods.

Akkadian Empire

The world's first empire, created when Sargon conquered Sumer, utilizing a Semitic language and introducing inherited leadership.

Sargon

Leader of the Akkadians who conquered Sumer to establish the world's first empire and merged regional religions and practices.

Hammurabi

Ruler of Babylon who took power in 1792 B.C.E., expanded his army, formed the Old Babylonian Empire, and instituted a comprehensive legal code.

Code of Hammurabi

A legal code comprising 282 pronouncements covering laws, divorce proceedings, commercial rules, and class-differentiated punishments.

Manetho

An ancient Egyptian historian who devised a system to number the ruling dynasties of Egypt's Archaic Period.

King Narmer

An early Egyptian ruler who ruled over both Upper and Lower Egypt.

Pharaoh

The title given to ancient Egyptian kings, who were viewed as God-equivalents believed to continually reincarnate.

Hieroglyphs

The picture-writing record-keeping system developed in Ancient Egypt around 3200 B.C.E.

Rosetta Stone

The artifact discovered and translated by Jean Francois Champollion that enabled scholars to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Papyrus

A material similar to paper used in Ancient Egypt, sewn into scrolls to preserve written messages.

Imhotep

An administrator and right-hand official to Pharaoh Djoser who constructed the first Step Pyramid.

Ka

The Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul, which required embalming and burial supplies to reach the afterlife.

Mentuhotep

The Theban king who declared himself ruler of Egypt, establishing the Middle Kingdom and constructing eastern protective walls.

Hyksos

A group that invaded Egypt and ushered in the Second Intermediate Period (1650–1550 B.C.E.) until being driven out by Pharaoh Ahmose.

Hatshepsut

Female New Kingdom pharaoh who outlived Thutmose, launched successful military campaigns, expanded trade, and built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Akhenaten

Pharaoh (formerly Amenhotep) who altered Egyptian religion to focus on the god Aten in near-monotheism before being removed from power.

Sea Peoples

A group that wreaked havoc on Greece and Egypt around the 13th century B.C.E., coinciding with the collapse of Mycenaean Greece.

Phoenicians

An Iron Age civilization with aristocratic governments that specialized in producing ink and papyrus.