Ancient Civilizations

Natural selection

organisms better adapted to an environment survive, produce offspring, and pass on their genes

Paleolithic

“old Stone Age;” humans and their ancestors used stone tools; not associated with agriculture, and most moved around in small bands

Homo sapiens

“a knowing/wise man;” evolved in East Africa 200k-500k years ago

Material culture

physical objects that people make (tools, artwork, etc.)

The Eurasian Advantage

Homo sapiens who settled in Eurasia lived near a greater number of plants and animals suitable for domestication

Neolithic

“New Stone Age;” period of time in which sedentary agriculture and animal husbandry emerged (between 9,000-3,000 BCE)

Patriarchy

the rule of fathers in a family & men in a society; increases in cities

Husbandry (domestication)

the care, cultivation, and breeding of crops and animals

Çatalhöyük

farming village in modern-day Turkey, whose inhabitants had advanced tools and weapons; continuously inhabited for 2,000 years

Mesopotamia

“land between rivers;” Neolithic farmers moved from West Asian hills to the alluvial plains of modern-day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; this land produced the very first civilizations in history

Alluvial plains

flatlands where mud and sediment, carried by overflowing rivers or lakes, renewed the soil; world’s oldest civilizations developed along them

Sumerian city-states

the first cities; emerged around 4,000 years ago; not politically united, so were constantly fighting with each other; ergo, large walls were constructed

Social stratification

different levels of wealth and power in societies; i.e., kings + nobles, commoners, clients, slaves

Ziggurats

temples found everywhere in Mesopotamian cities; big, and in the center/heart of these cities

Polytheism

believe in multiple deities/gods, who were often anthropomorphic; gods are fickle, unpredictable, and not particularly nice

Oracles

interpret signs and omens; claim to speak with the gods

Epic of Gilgamesh

world’s first piece of literature; from ancient Mesopotamia

Bronze Age

3100-1200 BCE; humans begin working with metals

Sargon of Akkad

created the first known empire when he conquered all those warring Sumerian city-states

Cuneiform

writing system developed by ancient Sumerians; only trained scribes could read and write this complicated writing system

Hammurabi’s Code

comprehensive set of laws regulating social, political, and economic issues for the Babylonian Empire

Pharaoh

supreme leaders of Egypt; believed to be god-kings who assured the state’s continued existence; great monuments expressed their authority

Pharaoh Menes

untied Upper and Lower Egypt around 3000 BCE; created a unified kingdom along the banks of the Nile

Logograms

signs or characters representing a word or phrase (modern examples include Chinese and Japanese); those who could read and write them were highly valued + had high social status (Egyptian scribes)

Maat

Ancient Egypt’s concept of moral law and justice, personified as a goddess

Egyptian calendar

divided the day into 24 hours and created a solar calendar based on 365 days, which included a leap year every 4th year (to account for the fraction); other Mediterranean cultures adopted this calendar, including the Romans

Late Bronze Age Collapse

1200 BCE; period of societal collapse in the Mediterranean basin

Indus Valley Civilization

emerged after 3000 BCE; developed along banks of the Indus River Valley in South Asia; people that lived in these cities were as advanced as the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians; around same time pyramids were being built, these peoples were constructing elaborate cities with remarkable infrastructure

Mohenjo-daro

planned city in the Indus Valley noted for its central well, marketplace, bath, and sewer system; no walls suggested warfare was not common

Monsoon

a weather pattern characterized by the seasonal reversing of wind direction; results in a four month period of very heavy rainfall, followed by a dry period

Mesoamerica

middle America (Mexico); mountainous terrain with hot and humid lowlands; no large mammals for domestication; civilizations did not emerge along the banks of a navigable river like the Nile or Indus

Olmecs

group of civilized people who emerged from agricultural towns in southern Mexico around 1400 BCE and established a model of civilization

Mesoamerican ball game

sport involving a heavy rubber ball that was played across ancient Mexico; sacred ritual associations; played in city center

El Niño

reversal of ocean currents that affects rainfall and the availability of fish off the coast; therefore, people in South America settled in high altitudes

Altiplano

plateau region in South America situated in the Andes Mountains of modern-day Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru; where South America’s first civilizations emerged

Sahel

semi-arid grassland just south of the Sahara Desert and north of the Central African jungles; animals such as goats and cattle thrive, so herding is widespread

Sleeping sickness

parasitic disease transmitted by flies; fatal to both humans and animals; prevented animal husbandry south of the Sahel region

Nok Culture

appeared in West Africa (modern-day Nigeria) around 1000 BCE; farmed pearl millet and black eyed peas; sophisticated material culture that included terracotta sculptures and iron smelting; did not develop a writing system or build large monumental structures; culture disappeared around 500 CE, and we don’t know much about the political culture/structure

Dynasty

hereditary ruling family that passed control from one generation to the next

Shang Dynasty

1600 BC to 1000 BC; the first to leave written records; strong social stratification, chattel slavery, kings; ancestor worship; polytheistic; worried about securing borders against herding nomads (“Mongols”)

Oracle bones

pieces of animal bones used for divination; questions etched into bones, with answers determined by how they broke apart

Zhou Dynasty

overthrew the Shang Dynasty around 1050 BCE; developed an enduring justification for their uprising, and why certain families had the right to rule China

The Mandate of Heaven

cosmic forces withdraw or bestow the rules to rule; evidence = bad things happen

Dynastic cycle

theory of political change; every government goes through same process of gaining and losing the Mandate of Heaven

Warring States Period

500 BCE to 220 BCE; no strong central government in China; many different kingdoms competing to unify China under their own control; this period produces China’s great classical thinkers

Confucius

Chinese philosopher who taught that humans are basically good, but their virtues must be cultivated through education, proper rituals, and respect to the social hierarchy; believed social harmony flowed from mutual but unequal respect

Filial piety

one’s respect for elders; central pillar of Confucianism

Daoism

Chinese philosophy founded by Laozi; religious and spiritual in nature; taught that human effort and desire caused disharmony and separated people from the way; did not like the government; Laozi taught that people should practice non-action, live in harmony with the principles of nature, and detach from worldly desires and ambitions

Legalism

Chinese philosophy founded by Xunzi; views human beings as wicked, selfish, and lazy; therefore, you need strong, centralized governments to keep order and curb human wickedness; law applies the same to everyone

Indo-Aryans

pastoralist (herding) people from Central Asia who arrived in Northern India around 1500 BCE; spoke in Indo-European language related to Latin and Greek; settled down to farm in the Indus and Ganges River Valleys

Rig Veda

collection of sacred hymns composed by Aryan priests about ritual sacrifice to their gods; today, they form a part of the Hindu tradition

Upanishads

collection of writings/texts by nameless sages that questioned the power of ritual sacrifice (did it make sense?); emphasized ethical living; introduced new concepts about the relationship between the universe and the individual’s soul; answered many important questions about life and existence, like why should I do good things instead of wicked things?

Karma

action, both good and bad, that attached to one’s soul (Atman)

Samsara

reincarnation

Dharma

sacred duty relative to one’s position

Jainism

every living person can obtain god-like consciousness when the soul sheds its cosmic bonds (nonviolence, vegetarian, no sex, etc.); founded by Mahavira

The Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama; abandoned a life of luxury to become an ascetic, someone who wanders and denies themself pleasure, because he wanted to understand suffering; preached to people of all classes, and said anyone could reach nirvana

Four Noble Truths

foundational teachings of Buddhism; to live is to suffer, desire causes human suffering, to end your suffering end your desire, the Eightfold Path can end desire

Eightfold Path

eight steps towards enlightenment; set of Buddhist practices leading to the end of human suffering and the achievement of enlightenment, open to anyone, regardless of class

Ashoka

ruled the Mauryan Empire; after a terrible war, the king embraced Buddhism and promoted its nonviolence ideals across his empire; the model of an ethical ruler; his “pillar edicts” across India encouraged religious toleration; his government showed great concern for the lives of ordinary people; remembered as a universal model for the ideal monarch who rules by moral force

Stupas

Buddhist relic mounds; inside are objects though to have belonged to the Buddha; Ashoka supported the construction of Stupas all across India

Phoenician Alphabet

developed using single characters to represent consonant sounds; major technological breakthrough in the area of writing

Zoroastrianism

Persian religion founded by the prophet Zoroaster; comprehensive notion of heaven, hell, angels, and demons, with a showdown between good and evil (the end of days, apocalypse)

Ethical monotheism

worshipping one god, who expects humans to obey moral commandments; god rewards good behavior; prime examples include Islam and Christianity

Divine plan

God controls human history; he guides it towards a conclusion

Messiah

person chosen by God to be a liberator or savior to a particular groups of people (i.e. deliver the Jews from bondage)

Cyrus the Great

Persian king who conquered Asia Minor and Mesopotamia by 550 BCE; ruled from his capital city, Persepolis; developed effective techniques for governing his massive territories; promoted cultural tolerance—nobody would be forced to change their religion, language, culture, etc.

The Royal Road

ancient highway in the Persian empire; constructed under Cyrus the Great; facilitated the movement of mail, soldiers, and commerce

Satraps

governors in faraway provinces of the Persian empire that rule in the name of the king

Panhellenic

sense of cultural identity Greeks felt in common with each other; the Olympics are an example of them all laying down their weapons for a brief period of time to come together and celebrate

Polis

Greek word for city-state, and root of the word ‘politics;’ fundamental political unit; hundreds of poleis across the Greek world; not united, but shared culture (language, religion, political culture)

Hoplite phalanx

military formation; single soldier armed with a shield and a spear; basic unit of Greek warfare in which infantry line up shoulder to shoulder

Sparta

intensely warlike; oligarchy; wealth derived from slaves (helots); women had the most freedom when compared to other city-states

Athens

largest poleis in Greece; democratic government; economy depended on trade; best known city

Persian Wars

series of military conflicts between the Greek city-states and the Persian empire; lasts from approximately 499-479 BCE; the Greeks win, in a huge military upset

Sophists

preached the importance of rhetoric (power of persuading people with language); truth is relative, and there is no objective truth

Philosophers

emphasized the pursuit of truth, knowledge, and virtue; want to understand the nature of reality

The Socratic Method

teaching style developed by Socrates using cross examination, questions, and answers; a dialogue; used to interrogate topics in an attempt to find the truth

Greek humanism

focuses on the human experience (emotions, concerns) rather than religion; exploring the human condition; gave rise to things like plays

Greek rationalism

emphasizes human reason as a means of explaining the natural world, as opposed to the supernatural conclusions (gods, etc.); mythos vs logos

Hellenization

the spread of Greek ideas and culture

Koine

“common greek;” used in hellenistic regions; language used by everyone, especially businesspeople

Seleucid dynasty

large kingdom created by one of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus; richest of the four kingdoms

Alexandria, Egypt

founded by Alexander; becomes the largest city in the world with over 500,000 people; “cosmopolis” — universal city; massive library

Epicureanism

Hellenistic school of philosophy; gods can’t influence human events (they can’t punish or reward you); no afterlife, but don’t fear death; everything in the world is material (made up of atoms); true happiness is having knowledge, friendship, and living modestly

Axial Age

pivotal time in world history from about 500 BCE to beginning of the Christian Era, in which critical intellectual, religious, and cultural ideas appeared; India, Iran, China, and the Mediterranean; products include ethical monotheism, Buddhism, and all the Chinese philosophies