AP World History Chapter 1

Paleolithic Era

The long period during which human societies sustained themselves through gathering, hunting, and fishing without the practice of agriculture. Such ways of living persisted well after the advent of agriculture in many places

Neolithic Revolution

The switch from nomadic lifestyles to a settled agricultural lifestyle

pastoral society

Based on an alternative kind of food-producing economy focused on the raising of livestock, pastoral societies emerged in the Afro-Eurasian world where settled agriculture was difficult or impossible. Pastoral peoples often led their animals to seasonal grazing grounds rather than settling permanently in a single location.

Chiefdom

A societal grouping governed by a chief who typically relies on generosity, ritual status, or charisma rather than force to win obedience from the people.

Patriarchy

A social system in which women have been made subordinate to men in the family and in society; often linked to the development of plow-based agriculture, intensive warfare, and private property.

Hinduism

A religion based on the many beliefs, practices, sects, rituals, and philosophies in India; in the thinking of nineteenth-century Indian reformers, it was expressed as a distinctive tradition, an Indian religion wholly equivalent to Christianity.

Upanishads

Indian mystical and philosophical works, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E.

Siddhartha Gautama

the Indian prince whose exposure to human suffering led him to develop a path to Enlightenment, which became the basis for the emerging religion tradition of Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

"Teaching of the Elders," the early form of Buddhism according to which the Buddha was a wise teacher but not divine; emphasizes practices rather than beliefs.

Mahayana Buddhism

"Great Vehicle," the popular development of Buddhism in the early centuries of the Common Era, which gives a much greater role to supernatural beings and to compassion and proved to be more popular

Bhaki Movement

Meaning "worship," this Hindu movement began in south India and moved northward between 600 and 1000 C.E.; it involved the intense adoration of and identification with a particular deity through songs, prayers, and rituals.

Confuscianism

The Chinese philosophy first enunciated (spoken/created) by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order

Han Dynasty

The Chinese dynasty that emerged after the Qin dynasty collapsed, establishing political and cultural patterns that lasted into the 20th century

Daoism

A Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi.

Judaism

The monotheistic religion developed in the Middle East by the Hebrews, emphasizing a sole personal god (Yahweh) with concerns for social justice.

Jesus of Nazareth

A peasant/artisan "wisdom teacher" and Jewish mystic (divine) (ca. 4 B.C.E.-29 C.E.) whose life, teachings, death, and alleged resurrection gave rise to the new religion of Christianity.

Saint Paul

The first great popularizer of Christianity (10-65 C.E.).

Muhammad Ibn Abdullah

The Prophet and founder of Islam whose religious revelations became the Quran, bringing a monotheistic religion to Arabia and the world.

Quran

Also transliterated as Qur'án and Koran, this is the most holy text of Islam, recording the revelations given to the prophet Muhammad.

Umma

The community of all believers in Islam, bound by common belief rather than territory, language, or tribe.

Ulama

Islamic religious scholars, both Sunni and Shia, who shaped and transmitted the core teachings of Islamic civilization.

Sufism

An understanding of the Islamic faith that saw the worldly success of Islamic civilization as a distraction and deviation from the purer spirituality of Muhammad's time. By renouncing the material world, meditating on the words of the Quran, chanting the names of God, using music and dance, and venerating Muhammad and various "saints," they pursued an interior life, seeking to tame the ego and achieve spiritual union with Allah.

Silk Roads

Land-based trade routes that linked many regions of Eurasia. They were named after the most famous product traded along these routes.

Sea Roads

The world's largest sea-based system of communication and exchange before 1500 C.E. Centered on India, it stretched from southern China to eastern Africa.

Sand Roads

A term used to describe the routes of the trans-Sahara trade, which linked interior West Africa to the Mediterranean and North African world

egalitarian

social view in which all citizens are equal in all aspects of life

Caste System

A Hindu social class system that controlled every aspect of daily life

Enlightenment

state of awakening leading to the release of the cycle of rebirth, Nirvana

Aristocracy

A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility

aristocrat

A member of a rich and powerful family

Filial Piety

In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.

Secular

non-religious, related to concerns of the world

Deity

a god; a divine being

Galvanize

to startle into sudden activity

Persecute

to treat cruelly or harshly because of political, religious, or other differences

Doctrine

(n.) a belief, principle, or teaching; a system of such beliefs or principles; a formulation of such beliefs or principles

Diffusion

The spreading of a feature or trend from one place to another over time