AP World 1.4-1.6 Vocab

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Matrilineal

[Social] System where lineage, inheritance, and identity pass through the female line (e.g., Mississippian culture).

Mexica

[Political/Social] Indigenous ethnic group that established the Aztec Empire in the Valley of Mexico.

Tenochtitlan

[Interaction/Political] Island capital of the Aztec Empire built in Lake Texcoco with advanced urban engineering.

Chinampas

[Interaction/Economic] Floating gardens built on lakes by the Mexica to produce massive crop yields.

Tribute System

[Economic/Political] Mandatory payments (goods, crops, captives) forced upon subject states by the Mexica.

Theocracy

[Political/Cultural] Government ruled by religious leaders or a sovereign viewed as divine.

Incan Empire

[Political] Centralized South American empire in the Andes Mountains unified by extensive infrastructure.

Pachacuti

[Political] Incan emperor who expanded the Kingdom of Cusco into a vast centralized empire.

Mit’a System

[Economic/Political] Mandatory state labor tax in the Inca Empire for public works, roads, and farming.

Temple of the Sun

[Cultural/Political] Central Incan religious shrine in Cusco honoring the sun god Inti to legitimize royal power.

Animism

[Cultural] Spiritual belief that natural objects, mountains, rivers, and animals possess living spirits.

Carpa Nan

[Interaction/Economic] Massive 25,000-mile mountain roadway network connecting the Inca Empire.

Terrace Farming

[Interaction/Economic] Step-like platforms cut into mountainsides to prevent erosion and cultivate crops.

Kin-based Networks

[Social/Political] Village-level governance managed by tribal elders and families rather than central kings.

Hausa Kingdoms

[Political/Economic] Network of West African city-states linked by culture and trade across regional routes.

Trans-Saharan Trade

[Economic/Interaction] Overland trade network across the Sahara exchanging West African gold/slaves for North African salt.

Ghana

[Economic/Political] Early West African empire that grew wealthy by controlling and taxing the Trans-Saharan gold-salt trade.

Mali

[Economic/Cultural] Wealthy Islamic West African empire known for trade centers like Timbuktu and rulers like Mansa Musa.

Zimbabwe

[Interaction/Economic] Interior Southern African kingdom famous for Great Zimbabwe's stone architecture and gold trade.

Swahili

[Cultural] Syncretic language and coastal culture blending native Bantu languages with Arabic vocabulary.

Ethiopia

[Cultural/Political] Christian kingdom in East Africa that preserved its religious independence and rock-hewn architecture.

Indian Ocean Slave Trade

[Economic/Social] Maritime trade route selling enslaved East Africans (Zanj) to the Middle East and India.

Griots / Griottes

[Cultural/Social] West African oral storytellers and praise singers who preserved community lineage and history.

Middle Ages

[Political/Cultural] Post-classical European era (c. 500–1500 CE) marked by political fragmentation and Church influence.

Feudalism

[Political/Social] Decentralized political system trading land grants (fiefs) for military service and nobility loyalty.

Manorial System

[Economic] Self-sufficient economic system centered around a lord's estate and worked by peasants.

Serfs

[Social/Economic] Unfree agricultural laborers bound to their lord's manor land.

Three-field System

[Interaction/Economic] Agricultural rotation technique across three fields to maintain soil fertility and boost yield.

Magna Carta

[Political] 1215 English document limiting royal power and establishing that the king is subject to law.

Hundred Years’ War

[Political] Century-long conflict between England and France that strengthened central militaries and national identity.

Great Schism

[Cultural/Political] Division in the Catholic Church with competing popes, weakening papal authority.

Crusades

[Cultural/Economic] Papal-sanctioned military campaigns to reclaim the Holy Land, increasing European demand for Eastern goods.

Little Ice Age

[Interaction] Global cooling period (c. 1300–1800) causing agricultural collapse and famines across Europe.

Antisemitism

[Social/Cultural] Hostility and prejudice toward Jewish people, who were often scapegoated during medieval crises.

Muslims in Europe

[Cultural/Interaction] Islamic states (e.g., Al-Andalus) that served as bridges for classical knowledge to enter Western Europe.

Renaissance

[Cultural] Rebirth of Greco-Roman artistic, intellectual, and literary tradition starting in 14th-century Italy.

Humanism

[Cultural] Renaissance intellectual movement emphasizing secular human potential, logic, and classical study over theology.

Gutenberg's Printing Press

[Cultural/Interaction] Mid-15th century invention with movable type that accelerated literacy and the spread of ideas.

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