Pre-AP World History Summer Vocab

History

the study of past events, particularly in human affairs

Prehistory

the vast period of time before written records or human documentation

Bipedalism

the ability to walk upright on two legs, characteristic of Hominids

Primary Sources

information that was created at the same times as an event or by a person directly involved in the event

Paleolithic Age

Literally, "old stone." The period from the appearance of the first hominids (human-like creatures) to approximately 8000 B.C.E.

Foraging

Paleolithic era (Old Stone Age) consisted of foragers and hunters - hunted wild animals and gathered food such as plants and vegetables

Homo Sapiens

Homo sapiens sapiens, who appeared forty thousand years ago during the Paleolithic age and were the first human beings of the modern type

Neanderthal

a people first found in Neander Valley in Germany, which is also where the name "Neanderthals" originates

Neolithic Revolution

or the Agricultural Revolution. The Neolithic Revolution is perhaps the greatest and most important shift in human history. It led to the development and growth of agriculture, the establishment of permanent settlements, and the emergence of cities

Agriculture

the deliberate cultivation of particular plants and the deliberate taming and breeding of particular animals

Horticulture

Hoe-based agriculture, typical of early agrarian societies

Pastrolism

A way of life in which people depend on the herding of domesticated animals for their food

Domestication of Animals

A type of agricultural activity based on nomadic animal husbandry or the raising of livestock to provide food, clothing, and shelter

Surplus

more crops than needed

Polytheism

belief in more than one god

Metallurgy

The crafting of metallic ores into functional and/or valuable items, beginning around 4500 B.C.E.

Textiles

a type of cloth or woven fabric

Catal Huyuk

One of first true cities in history, created in the Neolithic Era in 6500 to 5500 BC, from which were created agriculture, trading, temples, housing, and religions

Civilization

a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)

Social Hierarchy

the organization of a society in hierarchical arrangement of individuals based on power and wealth within a society

Cultural Hearths

areas where civilizations first began to radiate the ideas, innovations and ideologies that culturally transformed the world

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia literally means "between two rivers" in Greek. The ancient civilizations that arose in the regions between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers

Semitic Languages

a group of languages in a common region consisting of Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Arabic

Sumerians

Ancient Sumerians were an intelligent group people that lived in Mesopotamia around 5000 BCE to 1750 BCE

City-states

A small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory

Sargon The Great

Sargon of Akkad is seen as the creator of empire in Mesopotamia

Akkadian Empire

An ancient Semitic empire centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region, also called Akkad in ancient Mesopotamia. The empire united all the indigenous Akkadian-speaking Semites and the Sumerian speakers under one rule

Fertile Crescent

Region sometimes known as Southwest Asia that includes the modern states of Iraq, Syria, Israel/Palestine, and southern Turkey; the earliest home of agriculture

Theocracy

a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.

Hittites

The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian (modern-day Turkey) people who formed an empire between 1600-1180 BCE

Assyrians

They were from the kingdom of Assyria which was located in northern Mesopotamia in what is modern-day Iraq

New Babylonians

Also known as the Chaldean empire, dominated Mesopotamia from 600 to 550 B.C.E. Built by King Nebuchadnezzar after the collapse of Assyrian empire

Hammurabi's code

A series of laws published at the order of King Hammurabi of Babylon

Cuneiform

a written language of wedge shaped symbols developed by the Sumerians in 5000

The Epic of Gilgamesh

an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction

Ziggurats

an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure

Nile River

is in Africa, flows northward through northeastern Africa, through Egypt and finally draining into the Mediterranean Sea

Cataracts

a decent of water over a steep surface

Hyksos

comprised a small group of West Asian individuals who ruled Northern Egypt, especially the Delta, during the Second Intermediate Period

Pharaoh

a ruler of ancient egypt

Old, Middle, New kingdom

three eras of egyptian civilization

Social Mobility

the movement of individuals, families, households, or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society

Patriarchy

a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line

Hatshepsut

a female pharaoh of egypt

Papyrus

a plant-paper created from the marshy plant of egypt

Amon-Re, Isis, Osiris, Horus

chief deities of Ancient Egyptian polytheism

The Book of the Dead

a collection of Egyptian funerary literature. The collection consists of spells, charms and magical formulas that were placed in tombs and were believed to protect and aid the departed in the afterlife, and it contains many basic ideas of the Egyptian religion

Mohenjo-Daro

City that flourished on the banks of the Indus River with population of about 40,000

Dravidian

Linguistic group who occupied South Asia prior to the Indo-European migrations

Aryans

Indo-European who crossed into Indian around 1500 BC

Monsoon rains

moisture laden winds from the Southwest in spring and summer, and dry winds from the Northeast in the winter and fall

Harappa

Along with Mohenjo-Daro, this great Indus Valley city was well-planned, with residents enjoying piped water, bath and drainage systems, and included a walled central city where rulers lived and where surplus crops were stored as taxes

Rosetta Stone

an ancient Egyptian stone bearing inscriptions in several languages and scripts. Their decipherment led to the understanding of hieroglyphic writing

Systems Failure

breakdown of political, economic and social systems

Xia

The dynasty that established a hereditary monarchy and centralized rule for a part of China

Shang (1766 BCE-1027 BCE)

First organized river society, introduced writing on oracles bones, local trade, ancestor worship, bronze age, Huang He river

Tribute

A payment by one ruler/nation to another in acknowledgement of submission, protection or respect/superiority

Zhou Dynasty

overthrew Shang and established 2nd Chinese dynasty

Oracle Bones

items used to tell people's future when thrown into fire

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

The Analects

record of words and acts of the central Chinese thinker and philosopher Confucius and his disciples

The Book of the Songs

Ancient Chinese (Zhou) classic, also known as the Book of Poetry, and the Book of Odes. Collection of verses on light and serious themes. 311 poems compiled and edited after 600 BCE

Divination

Techniques for ascertaining the future or the will of the gods by interpreting natural phenomena

Eastern Hemisphere

a geographical term for the half of the earth which is east of the prime meridian and west of the antimeridian

Western Hemisphere

a geographical term for the half of the earth which lies west of the prime meridian and east of the antimeridian

Olmec

were the first major civilization in Mexico

Chavin

First major urban civilization in South America (900-250 B.C.E.)