AP World History Exam Must Know Vocabulary

Agricultural Revolutions

The Neolithic period when foragers started to plant food to come back and find tons of food. It was a revolution when people began to farm instead of forage.

aristocracy

A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility

barbarian

A person belonging to a tribe or group that is considered uncivilized

brahmins

Hindu priests, at the top of the caste system which the Aryans made

bureaucracy

A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials

cities

Urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into and independent, self-governing unit

civilizations

A society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)

complex institutions

law codes, religion, and an economy - they organized, united, and helped civilizations to prosper

currency

Coins and paper bills used as money

deity

A god; a divine being

democracy

System of government in which all "citizens" (however defined) have equal political and legal rights, privileges, and protections, as in the Greek city-state of Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE.

dharma

A Hindu/Buddhist concept that was a guide to living in this world and at the same time pursuing spiritual goals. According to dharma a person should accept and live within ones caste. Although the Buddhist notion of dharma is that one should seek to decrease suffering.

diffusion

Borrowing between cultures either directly or through intermediaries

diversified food supply

Depending on where a cetain civilization lived they would grow certaion crops and raise specific animals. 8000 BCE-600 BCE.

domesticated animals

These included cattle, horses, and pigs, and were a contribution to the Americas from the Columbian Exchange that changed the agriculture, diet, and even warfare among the Native Americans.

dynastic cycle

rise and fall of Chinese dynasties according to the Mandate of Heaven

egalitarian

everyone treated the same

ethical/legal codes

A set of laws or rules that a civilization lived by. One of the parts of a civilization and an exaple would be like the Code of Hammurabi. 8000 BCE-600 BCE.

frontier

A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control.

hunters and gatherers

people who survive by eating animals that they have caught or plants they have gathered

Ice Age

any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface

intensive cultivation

Any kind of agricultural activity that involves effective and efficient use of labor on small plots of land to maximize crop yield.

irrigation systems

a means of supplying land with water

karma

In Indian tradition, the residue of deeds performed in past and present lives that adheres to a "spirit" and determines what form it will assume in its next life cycle. The doctrines of karma and reincarnation were used by the elite in ancient India to encourage people to accept their social position and do their duty.

Mandate of Heaven

the ruling period of the ruler during the Zhou dynasty; where Heaven granted ruler to rule

monogamy

A form of marriage in which one woman and one man are married only to each other.

pagan

A follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times.

pastoralism

A type of agricultural activity based on nomadic animal husbandry or the raising of livestock to provide food, clothing, and shelter.

patriarchy

A form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line

polygamy

A marriage in which a man or woman has two or more spouses.

record keeping

A gov, religion, and economy became more complex, people began record keeping., Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information.

secular

Non-religious

sericulture

the production of raw silk by raising silkworms

settled populations

A group of people with one permanent base camp, rather than a nomadic group., A group of people that have settled into a civilization.

slavery

A system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by other people.

specialization of labor

To train or specialize people in certain areas of work so that people can accomplish tasks quicker

surplus

A situation in which quantity supplied is greater than quantity demanded

syncretism

A blending of two or more religious traditions

textiles

Cloth products

theocracy

a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.

ancestor veneration

The practice of praying to your ancestors. Found especially in China.

animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

bodhisattva

a person who has attained enlightenment but who has postponed nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment

caste system

A Hindu social class system that controlled every aspect of daily life

city-state

Independent state that consists of an urban center and surrounding agricultural territory.

classical

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

codifications

a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)

dao/tao

'Way' in Chinese; for Daoists, the idea of the way at once describes the dynamic flow of nature and prescribes naturalness as a guiding principle in human affairs

diaspora

Greek word meaning "dispersal," used to describe the communities of a given ethnic group living outside of their homeland. Jews, for example, spread from Israel to western Asia and Mediterranean lands in antiquity and today can be found throughout the world.

enlightenment

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation

filial piety

In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors

hellenistic

Historians' term for the era, usually dated 323-30 B.C.E., in which Greek culture spread across western Asia and northeastern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, but Greek cultural influence persisted until the spread of Islam in the seventh century C.E.

manifestations

Clinical evidence or effects, the signs and symptoms of disease.

merchants

people who buy and sell goods

missionaries

A person sent on a religious mission. Mostly Christian missionaries sent to countries where the U.S. was trying to achieve influence.

monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen

monasticism

Living in a religious community apart from secular society and adhering to a rule stipulating chastity, obedience, and poverty. It was a prominent element of medieval Christianity and Buddhism. Monasteries were the primary centers of learning and literacy in medieval Europe.

monsoon winds

Seasonal winds in the Indian Ocean caused by the differences in temperature between the rapidly heating and cooling landmasses of Africa and Asia and the slowly changing ocean waters. These strong and predictable winds have long been ridden across the open sea by sailors, and the large amounts of rainfall that they deposit on parts of India, Southeast Asia, and China allow for the cultivation of several crops a year.

rajas

India was a world of warring kingdoms ... Aryan leaders; a term for princes

reincarnation

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the process by which a soul is reborn continuously until it achieves perfect understanding

rents

higher-than-normal financial returns on investments that are realized from governmental restrictive interference or monopolistic markets

republic

A form of government in which citizens choose their leaders by voting

rituals

A repeated, patterned religious act.

sanskrit scriptures

One of the oldest written languages by Hindus in India that revealed parts of the religion

scriptures

sacred writings

shamanism

The practice of identifying special individuals (shamans) who will interact with spirits for the benefit of the community. Characteristic of the Korean kingdoms of the early medieval period and of early societies of Central Asia.

sinicization

The adoption and absorption by foreign people of Chinese language, customs and culture.

social harmony

taught what good government would come to china if people lived according to principles of ethics, good conduct, and moral judgement

universal truths

at the heart of the identity of all people, true always & everywhere, transcending culture or time period

Black Death

An outbreak of bubonic plague that spread across Asia, North Africa, and Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, carrying off vast numbers of persons.

bushido

"the way of the warrior"; Japanese word for the Samurai life ; Samurai moral code was based on loyalty, chivalry, martial arts, and honor until the death

caliphate

Office established in succession to the Prophet Muhammad, to rule the Islamic empire; also the name of that empire.

chinampa

Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.

chivalry

Code of conduct for knights during the Middle Ages

christendom

Christian-dominated Western Europe of the Middle Ages

civil service exam

In China, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the bureaucracy.

Crusades

(1095-1204) Armed pilgrimages to the Holy Land by Christians determined to recover Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The Crusades brought an end to western Europe's centuries of intellectual and cultural isolation.

Dar al-Islam

an Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule

diffusion of scientific and technological traditions

influenc of greek and indian mathematics on muslim scholars, spread of printing and gunpowder technologies from east asia into the islamic empires and western europe

entrepot

Big commercial center for importing and exporting commodities.

fuedalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to a king in return for loyalty and military service

fiefs

In medieval Europe, land granted in return for a sworn oath to provide specified military service.

gentry

In China, the class of prosperous families, next in wealth below the rural aristocrats, from which the emperors drew their administrative personnel. Respected for their education and expertise, these officials became a privileged group and made the government more efficient and responsive than in the past. The term gentry also denotes the class of landholding families in England below the aristocracy.

Grand Canal (China)

The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Empire.

Period of Warring States

The period in Chinese history (403-221 BCE) in which many different states emerged and were fighting for control of China.

Griots

Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings within the Mali Empire

guilds

In medieval Europe, an association of men (rarely women), such as merchants, artisans, or professors, who worked in a particular trade and banded together to promote their economic and political interests. ____ were also important in other societies, such as the Ottoman and Safavid Empires.

hajj

A pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims

Hanseatic League

An economic and defensive alliance of the free towns in northern Germany, founded about 1241 and most powerful in the fourteenth century.

Khan

A Mongol ruler

kow tow

to kneel, touch the head to the ground in expression of deep respect worship or submission

Little Ice Age

A century-long period of cool climate that began in the 1590s. Its ill effects on agriculture in northern Europe were notable.

manorialism

In medieval Europe, a large, self-sufficient landholding consisting of the lord's residence, outbuildings, peasant village, and surrounding land.

mit'a

Andean labor system based on shared obligations to help kinsmen and work on behalf of the ruler and religious organizations.

Neoconfucianism

Term used to describe new approaches to understanding classic Confucian texts that became the basic ruling philosophy of China from the Song period to the twentieth century.

nobility/daimyo/zamindars

A high-ranking social class

papacy

The central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the pope is the head.

quipu

An arrangement of knotted strings on a cord, used by the Inca to record numerical information.

samurai

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land.

serfs

In medieval Europe, an agricultural laborer legally bound to a lord's property and obligated to perform set services for the lord.