Intensive Reviewer on World History

Practice flashcards covering the major eras, figures, and concepts of world history from prehistory to the post-modern space age.

Who was the British naturalist that wrote 'The Origin of Species' and proposed the Theory of Evolution?

Charles Darwin

Which hominid, discovered by Eugene Dubois in Indonesia, belongs to the Stage of Primates?

Java Man

Who discovered the oldest hominid 'Lucy,' an adult female, in East Africa?

The Leakey Family (Louis and Mary Leakey)

Which evolutionary species is known as the 'Handy man' for being the first to make stone tools?

Homo Habilis

What is the meaning of the Latin name for the species 'Homo Sapiens'?

Wise man

What are the five key characteristics of a civilization according to the lecture notes?

Specialized workers, complex institutions, advanced cities, advanced technology, and record keeping

What is the meaning of the name 'Mesopotamia'?

Land between two rivers

What was the pyramid-shaped monument in Sumer which translates to 'mountain of god'?

Ziggurat

What was the name of the Akkadian ruler who created the world’s first empire in $2350$ BC?

Sargon of Akkad

The Code of Hammurabi consisted of how many specific laws?

$282$ specific laws

Which empire was the first to use iron technology for tools and weapons around $1500$ BC?

Hittite Empire

The Lydian Empire is primarily known for being the first civilization to use what form of currency?

The coin

Which Assyrian ruler collected more than $20,000$ clay tablets to form the world's oldest library at Nineveh?

Ashurbanipal

In the Persian Empire, what was the term for the $20$ provinces established by King Darius and ruled by local governors?

Satrapy

Who was the first king to introduce monotheism in Egypt by establishing the worship of the sun?

Akhenaton

What archaeological find, deciphered by Jean Champollion, allowed for the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphics?

Rosetta Stone

What are the four traditional social classes of India known as?

Varna

What term in Hinduism refers to the 'deep endless sleep' and permanent liberation from physical incarnation?

Moksha

Which Mauryan emperor turned to Buddhism after reflecting on the violence of the Kalinga war?

Asoka

Who was the founder of Buddhism, a method of living that has no set gods?

Siddharta Gautama

Which Chinese dynasty is known for the first printed book, the 'Diamond Sutra'?

Tang Dynasty

What Mesoamerican civilization is known as the 'Wisest Empire' and developed an advanced calendar and number system including zero?

Maya

Who was the last Incan king before the empire was conquered by Francisco Pizzaro?

Atahualpa

What was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Turks after a two-month siege?

Constantinople

What socio-economic system of the Middle Ages was based on land ownership by a few wealthy people in exchange for services?

Feudalism

Which document, signed by King John in $1215$, was the first written limitation on the power of English kings?

Magna Carta

Who is known as the 'Father of Humanism' and pioneer of romantic poems?

Francesco Petrarch

What was the first book ever printed using Johann Gutenberg’s movable type press?

The Gutenberg Bible

On what date did Martin Luther nail his $95$ Theses to the church at Wittenberg, sparking the Protestant Reformation?

October $31$, $1517$

Which Portuguese navigator was the first European to reach the Indies by sea?

Vasco da Gama

Who was the 'Sun King' of France who built the Palace of Versailles and famously said 'I am the state'?

King Louis XIV ($14$)

Who is considered the 'Father of Rationalism' and coined the phrase 'I think, therefore I am'?

Rene Descartes

What is the name of the set of natural rights defined by John Locke, the 'Father of Liberalism'?

Life, liberty, and property

On what date was the American Declaration of Independence signed, marking the birth of the nation?

July $04$, $1776$

Who served as the architect of the French Revolution's 'Reign of Terror'?

Maximilien Robespierre

Known as 'The Liberator,' who helped free Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia from Spanish rule?

Simon Bolivar

Which Prussian leader, known as the 'Iron Chancellor,' united Germany through 'blood and iron'?

Otto Von Bismarck

Who wrote 'The Wealth of Nations' and is considered the Father of Capitalism?

Adam Smith

Who was the leader of the Indian independence movement known for the philosophy of 'Satyaraha' (active non-violence)?

Mohandas K. Gandhi (Mahatma)

The assassination of which figure on June $28$, $1914$, triggered the start of World War I?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

What was the name of the German vision of racial superiority during the Third Reich?

Aryan racial superiority

On what date did the attack on Pearl Harbor occur, leading the US to enter World War II?

December $07$, $1941$

What term refers to the guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin beginning in $1961$?

Berlin Wall

Who was the first human to step on the moon during the Apollo $11$ mission?

Neil Armstrong