Pre AP World History Key Terms

Hunter-Gatherers

People who foraged for plant-based food and hunted animals for meat.

Civilization

A human society based in cities and possessing specialists, skilled workers who can advance technology and develop complex structures of governance and economic exchange.

Diffusion

A process in which one society passes its cultural, technological, or social traditions on to another neighboring culture though contact (violent or peaceful).

Agriculture

The farming of crops on the land.

Religion

The worship of superhuman powers like gods.

Polytheism

The practice of worshipping multiple gods, nearly all early religions did this.

Raw Materials

Materials such as wood or metal.

Finished Goods

Goods processed by artisans (like farming tools, furniture, or weapons).

Trade

The exchanging of goods produced in one city for goods produced in another.

Economy

The harvesting of raw materials, their conversion into finished goods, and their exchange through commerce.

Warriors

Specialists whose jobs were to protect their cities from potential enemies and to plunder goods from other cities too weak to defend themselves.

Military

Matters pertaining to fighting and war.

Infantry

Warriors fighting on foot.

Cavalry

Warriors fighting from horseback.

Government

A large number of people living together require an institution to keep order.

Governance

A government’s work.

Laws

Rules enforced by the state, was one important aspect of governance.

King

A powerful individual assisted by influential members of society. These rules might emerge from among priests, merchants, great wealth, and in most cases from warriors.

Classes

Sub-groups that are within human societies.

Tribute

Forced gifts of economic material.

State

An institution possessing the exclusive right of exercising violence within a territory.

Interstate Anarchy

The ideas that there is no world leader.*

Small States

Ranges from the scale of a city-state to a group of few cities and their hinterlands. (UAE, Luxembourg, and Nepal).

Medium State

These states tend to have a substantial amount of territory within a region without clearly dominating it. (Germany, Japan, and Iran)

Large States

States that tend to dominate their entire region and are often (but not always) empires. Modern examples include the USA and China.

Culture

Refers to people bound together by a common culture or tradition.

People Groups

Examples include the French, the Turks, the Japanese, and the Vietnamese.

Empires

A state called a metropole ruling over and exploiting conquered states called territories. These typically contain many people groups.

Tributary System

System where conquered territories retained substantial independence provided they paid regular tribute to the empire.

Dependent State

A conquered or otherwise subordinate state, like a territory, which retains some autonomy or institutional identity.