AP World Chapter 1 Key Terms

Covers the origins of humans, early human species, the Stone Age, the shift to agriculture, major early civilizations (Mesopotamia, Nile Valley, Mesoamerica, Andes, Sub-Saharan Africa), and key cultural and technological developments like pastoralism, megaliths, and the Agricultural Revolution.

Paleolithic

The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans.

Neolithic

The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution(s).

Mesopotamia

A region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where some of the first civilizations developed, influencing farming, writing, and government.

Nile River Valley (Egypt)

A fertile area along the Nile River where predictable flooding supported early agriculture and civilization.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The part of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, known for its cultural diversity and historical role in trade and development.

Mesoamerica

A region from central Mexico to Central America where advanced civilizations like the Maya and Aztec developed.

Andes

A long mountain range in western South America that shaped agriculture and civilizations such as the Inca.

Pastoralism

A way of life based on herding livestock, often involving seasonal movement to find grazing land.

Evolution

The biological theory that, over time, changes occurring in plants and animals, mainly as a result of natural selection and genetic mutation, result in new species.

Australopithecines

The several extinct species of humanlike primates that existed from about 4.5 million years ago to 1.4 million years ago (genus Australopithecus).

Hominids

The biological family that includes humans and humanlike primates.

Bipedalism

The ability to walk upright on two legs, characteristic of hominids

Great Ice Age

Geological era that occurred between about 2 million and 11,000 years ago.

Homo habilis

The first human species (now extinct). It evolved in Africa about 2.3 million years ago.

Homo erectus

An extinct human species. It evolved in Africa about 1.8 million years ago.

Homo naledi

A recently discovered early hominid with a puzzling mix of primitive and more advanced features.

Homo sapiens

The current human species. It evolved in Africa sometime between 400,000 and 100,000 years ago.

Culture

Socially transmitted patterns of action and expression.

Stone Age

The historical period characterized by the production of tools from stone and other nonmetallic substances.

Foragers

People who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects.

Agricultural Revolutions

The change from food gathering to food production that occurred between about 8000 and 2000 BCE. Also known as the Neolithic Revolution.

Megaliths

Structures and complexes of very large stones constructed for ceremonial and religious purposes in Neolithic times.