Unit 0: Foundations of Civilization

Flashcards about the lecture notes, for exam prep

City-States

Cities ruled by one family or figure that grew, formed militaries, and conquered. Often led to empires ruled through dictatorship or monarchy.

Republic

A form of government seen in Rome where the masses (plebians) elected representatives from the upper echelon of society (patricians) who formed a senate and ruled on their behalf.

Oligarchy

A form of government where a select few rule as a group. Seen in Southeast Asia.

Fortified Democracy

A form of government where all male land-owning citizens voted directly on each law instead of representatives; women and slaves were excluded.

Theocracy

A form of government with no separation between church and state. Example: Islamic Caliphate.

Bureaucracy

The idea of using divine power to decentralize and make state running efficient, like in Rome and China.

Military Conquest

A key form of expansion and maintaining state power internally that results from having control over natural resources, food surplus, and specialization of labor.

Cultural Unity

A way to integrate conquered peoples by providing commonalities such as religion or citizenship.

Infrastructure

Building of facilities, roads, and aqueducts to facilitate the movement of troops, information, and goods, and to keep conquered people satisfied.

Tribute Systems

Systems used to maintain relations between larger and weaker states, with larger states promising peace and trade in return for goods, taxes, or service.

Chinese Tribute System

Initiated by the Han dynasty with northern nomads, where the larger state dictated terms.

Vassalage

A system where large landowners distributed land and peasants owed duty or tax, typical of medieval Europe and Japan.

Feudalism

A system where smaller, poorer classes offered labor, goods, services, or taxes to larger, powerful classes in return for protection.

Agriculture

The process of planting and maintaining seeds to grow food, allowing settlement around water sources.

Domestication

The process of choosing species to breed and crossbreed until they are friendlier and provide more benefits.

Specialization of Labor

The result of food surplus allowing people to experiment with different labors after settling. Creates a need for trade.

Saddle & Stirrups

Developed by Turkic/Mongolic peoples in Central Asia. Provides stability and frees hands for fighting on horseback, giving armies an advantage in mobility.

Printing

Developed in China around 800-900 CE using blocks arranged, inked, and pressed upon a format. Allows for the spread of religious ideas, law, science, and agricultural knowledge.

Paper Currency & Banking

Created under the Tong and Soong dynasties in China to alleviate the difficulty of traversing the Silk Road with heavy coins; facilitated greater trade and required banks to verify validity and store money.

Rationalism

Comes from Greece - the idea that humans can understand the world through rational thought (Aristotle, Socrates, Plato).

Crop Rotation

Developing in multiple locations: a system to prevent degradation where land is moved to different crops on a regular basis.

Pantheons

Formations of Gods (figures who are men and women) that control nature. Most Known = Greek Pantheon. Fills society's need to explain the unexplainable and provide comfort in crisis.

Deforestation

The clearing of forests for wood, building materials, and agricultural land.

Terraforming

The process of reshaping land for human use, including irrigation systems, dams, terrace farming, chinampas, aqueducts, sewers, roads, and cities.

Irrigation Systems & Dams

Methods to redirect water sources into farms, cities, and other needed areas, creating flat land.

Terrace Farming & Chinampas

Methods used to create floating islands by importing land or using earth and rock and keep flat land and is held together by wire fences. Used by the Maya and Aztecs.

Animism

Worship of natural objects (mother nature) without any God attached to it. Practiced in pre-Columbian Native America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia.

Ancestor Worship

Praying to and seeking guidance from dead relatives. Common before agriculture. Can be accommodated by monotheistic religions.

Polytheism

The early belief with pantheons of Gods who control nature and are associated with good/bad human emotion.

Hinduism

An old form of polytheism with diverse worship methods compiled into Vedas. Core ideas: reincarnation (samsara), release (moksha), soul (atman) seeking to join the world soul (brahman) by fulfilling caste duty, and karma determining social class in the next life.

Filial Piety

Part of Chinese Confucianism which creates superior/inferior roles. Once everyone recognizes role, it reduces conflict.

Taoism

A belief system that pushes against conformist ideas; states that man creates disharmony and we must return to nature (tao) to bring us peace and harmony.

Buddhism

A derivative of Hinduism. Uses the Eightfold Path to seek Nirvana and abandon caste to achieve personal enlightenment. Origin of all suffering is desire.

Zoroastrianism

Originated in Southwest Asia - believes in a supreme God of good (Ahuda Mazda) and a God of evil (agana mainu), free will to choose, a spiritual afterlife, and a messiah.

Judaism

Based on the Abrahamic covenant. Has a covenant between him, the people, and God. Teaches that there is an eternal after-life where immoral people go to Hell.

Christianity

Based on the belief that Jesus is holy trinity. Man must believe in Jesus. It is universalizing, preaches beliefs known to all people.

Islam

Based on the prophet Muhammed and the Quaran. Believes in a single God and embraces Ummah, calling them Muslim brothers and sisters. Wealth is good as good gets passed to Ummah.

Free Labor

When someone has the free conscious decision about what they want to provide or produce with their labor. At some point, they will trade for other things (clothes etc.).

Forced Labor Systems

Debt or penal servitude, sexual slavery, Serfdom, domestic servitude.

Serfdom

A type of forced labor where peasant farmers are forced to work for aristocrats in return for protection and land to live and work on; took death to break contact.

Silk Road

A network of routes that linked Asia (East Asia through Central Asia to the Middle East and the Mediterranean) used for luxury goods. Traversed in relay.

Indian Ocean Network

The largest, oldest, wealthiest trade network with the most volume that built a regular and seasonal trade network because of efficient travel.

Sand Roads

Network which provides oppurtunity for missionaries/ temples stationed along routes or Nomadic people because they moved goods between center. Luxury goods from west move north. Camels transport and this allows cultural spread.

Patriarchy

Stratification where men control women through societal pressures. Women are looked at as not human and deprived of basic human rights.

Social Hierarchy

Classifies people into different levels and stratification is the ranking of people. Occupation and wealth cause levels of society.

Caste Systems

Social hierarchy that is held in place by unchangeable metric (ex: the hindu caste which you are born in).

Class Systems

Stratified in Democratic societies that offer a way to move out of class depending on education or occupation.