WHAP Period 0 Vocabulary

neolithic

the era when the farming of plants and animals begins, and when, as a result, humans first begin to create permanent settlements

pastoralism

a form of an agricultural society that focused mainly on the domestication of animals (herding of them), people depended on herding for food

metallurgy

the art and science of extracting metals from their ores and modifying the metals for use

polytheism

the belief in many gods

civilization

large societies with cities and a powerful state, they have a division of labor, a surplus of food, and organized government, and a writing system

city-states

an independent state made up of a city and its surrounding territory, serves as a center and leader of political, economic, and cultural life

agrarian

of or relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land

artisan

a skilled worker

cuneiform

the first written language in history, system of writing used in the ancient Middle East

hierarchies

the way in which past and present societies organize and separate groups of people often based on class and wealth

cultural diffusion

the spread of items from one place to another

monotheism

the belief in one supreme deity

patriarchal

a system where men are in authority over women in all aspects of society

theocracy

government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided

indo-european

a family of languages consisting of most of the languages of Europe as well as those of Iran, the Indian subcontinent and other parts of Asia

bronze age

the first time humans started to work with metal

neolithic revolution

marked the transition in human history from small, nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers to larger, agricultural settlements and early civilization

pharaoh

a ruler of ancient Egypt, the heads of state and religious leaders of their people

mesoamerica

the region that is now Mexico and Central America

river valley

places with fresh water and fertile land

hammurabi’s code

a Babylonian law code of ancient Mesopotamia, consists of 282 laws written on a stele for everyone to see, earliest example of the laws of retribution or “an eye for an eye”

filial piety

the duty of people to honor their ancestors

mandate of heaven

the idea that “heaven,” or some universal force, provided the justification for an emperor and his family to rule China

reincarnation

the cycle of life and death, also known as samsara

dharma

the caste position and career determines by birth

karma

the universal causal law by which good or bad actions determine the future modes of an individual’ existence

vedas

action of poems or hymns composed in archaic Sanskrit by Indo-European-speaking, they are the oldest texts of Hinduism

diaspora

spreading, the scattering or migration of a particular group of people away from their homeland

bureaucracy

a system of government in which most important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected officials

caste

the system that divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based on their karma and dharma