Cradles of Early Science and Intellectual Revolutions (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on intellectual and scientific revolutions, and the cradles of early science.

Intellectual Revolution

Historical changes in thoughts, beliefs and social institutions due to new ideas and principles.

Scientific Revolution

Historically between 1550-1700 in Europe; changes in thought and belief, social and institutional organization; science as knowledge, discipline, and activity.

Trepanation

Earliest brain surgery; making an opening (hole) in the head.

Mummification

Process of preserving a deceased person; mummies are classified by method and medium.

Philosophy

Noble ideas to explain phenomena and provide possible explanations for life and the natural world.

Enlightenment

Period when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry transformed views of nature.

Copernicus

Polish astronomer who proposed heliocentrism and the Copernican Model; published ideas around 1510; later deemed heretical by some authorities.

Copernican Model

Heliocentric model with the Sun at the center; Earth and planets orbiting it.

Darwin

Natural selection; author of The Origin of Species (1859); voyage on HMS Beagle.

Freud

Sigmund Freud; founder of psychoanalysis; study of the mind and neurotic illness, including human sexuality.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s method for studying the mind and treating neurotic disorders; emphasizes unconscious processes.

Maya Civilization

Mesoamerican civilization (~2000 years); known for astronomy, calendars, rubber production, writing (hieroglyphics), and mathematics.

Inca Civilization

Largest pre-Columbian empire in Peru; Machu Picchu; quipu; terrace farming; irrigation; calendar; suspension bridges; sun worship.

Aztec Civilization

Mesoamerican culture in central Mexico (1300–1521); chinampa farming; Aztec calendar; mandatory education; polytheistic.

Aryabhata

Indian mathematician (476–550) known for zero, decimal system, algebra, and trigonometry.

Zero

Concept of zero in the decimal system; essential for arithmetic and algebra.

Chinampa

Aztec floating gardens; innovative agricultural technique.

Quipu

Inca recording system using knotted cords to record numbers and data.

Abacus

Ancient Chinese counting tool; manual calculator with sliding beads.

Ibn al-Haytham

Father of Optics; empirical proof; intromission theory of light.

Al-Khwarizmi

Mathematician who developed algorithm; the word algebra derives from al-jabr.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

Pioneer in experimental medicine; study of contagious disease; clinical pharmacology.

Jabir Ibn Hayyan

Father of Chemistry; foundational contributions to modern chemistry.

Golden Age of Islam

11th–13th century; period of Muslim scholarship valuing experiments; cradle of science.